Archives: 4/2010

retinitis pigmentosa Nanoparticle Gene Therapy Restores Vision in MiceIn a research report published in the April 2010 print issue of FASEB Journal, scientists describe how they used a non-viral, synthetic nanoparticle carrier to improve and save the sight of mice with retinitis pigmentosa. They discovered that mice receiving the nanoparticle gene therapy showed significant signs of healing. These mice had structural improvement in their retinas, as well as functional vision improvements which lasted throughout the duration of the study. The mice that received the gene alone or saline continued to lose their vision. The nanoparticles were safe and well-tolerated with no adverse effects.

“We hope the results of our study will be instrumental in generating a cure for the debilitating blindness associated with retinitis pigmentosa and other inherited and acquired retinal diseases,” said Muna I. Naash, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. “Compacted DNA nanoparticles are an exciting treatment strategy for these diseases and we look forward to exciting new developments.”

Press release from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology : Making the blind see: Gene therapy restores vision in mice…
Abstract: Gene delivery to mitotic and postmitotic photoreceptors via compacted DNA nanoparticles results in improved phenotype in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa The FASEB Journal. 2010;24:1178-1191.
Image credit: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
NOTE: We welcome Aaron Rulseh, M.D. to Medgadget editorial board. Aaron is a radiology resident at Na Homolce Hospital and a Ph.D. candidate at Univerzita Karlova in Prague, Czech Republic.

uu4uu4u4234 Elekta Introduces 4D Guidance for Lung Tumor Treatment

Swedish oncology firm Elekta of Stockholm has introduced XVI Symmetry and XVI Intuity, two new products that promise to advance lung tumor radiation therapy by enabling doctors to visually confirm a tumor’s position during the breathing cycle. This new technology treats the lesion with a continuous radiation beam, increasing therapy accuracy while using less imaging radiation during treatment delivery.
Lung tumors have been among the most challenging radiation therapy targets because the patient’s breathing causes tumors to move and the lung tumor shifts position from day to day during the course of treatment. Doctors often have had to use external skin surface markers or implanted markers to estimate lung tumor position during the breathing cycle and then apply the beam only during certain points in the patient’s respiration.
XVI Symmetry captures image data during the breathing phase and performs sophisticated computations to provide 4D data. This data helps to visualize the tumor position in each phase of the respiratory cycle to arrive at an average position of the tumor for each treatment. XVI Intuity extends image guidance by better enabling critical structure avoidance, which allows doctors to understand the positional relationship between the target and organs at risk. This ensures that anatomical changes and corrections to set-up errors have not inadvertently put critical structures into the radiation beam’s path.
XVI Symmetry and XVI Intuity are feature sets of version 4.5 of Elekta’s X-ray Volume Imaging (XVI) package of software solutions for Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). XVI 4.5 recently received 510(k) clearance and CE marking, to enable sales and distribution in the United States and Europe.


Press release: Elekta Introduces Next Generation SBRT for Lung Cancer with Ground-Breaking 4D Image Guidance to Manage Tumor Motion and Enhance Safety…
Product page: Symmetry…

stretta Stretta Radiofrequency GERD Therapy System Going Live in US
Mederi Therapeutics of Greenwich, Connecticut is rolling out in the US its Stretta therapy system for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The system utilizes a radiofrequency catheter to deliver energy to the lower esophageal sphincter, muscle, and gastric cardia. As the body heals the thermal lesions, the anatomy of the region comes back firmer and more resistant to reflux.
34nnn244s Stretta Radiofrequency GERD Therapy System Going Live in USSystem features from the product page:

Stretta Control Module

  • Four channel RF energy generator
  • C onstant monitoring of temperature and impedance enables precise energy delivery
  • Interactive graphics screen displays real-time progress to allow careful control of the procedure
  • Computer algorithm controls the delivery of energy to achieve target tissue temperature
  • Stretta Catheter

  • The flexible catheter tip guides the catheter to the gastroesophageal junction
  • Balloon supports precise delivery of submucosal needles
  • Ergonomic catheter handle provides optimal operator control
  • Thermocouples enable constant monitoring of the tissue and mucosal surface temperature
  • Integrated ports deliver chilled water to mucosa while deeper tissue is treated
  • Press release: Stretta Therapy – An Effective and Minimally Invasive Option for Treating Bowel Incontinence – Launched in the US…
    Product page: Stretta Procedure…
    Flashback: Mederi Tries to Solve a Tricky Marketing Challenge
    (hat tip: MassDevice)
    Demo video below the fold:

    (more…)

    vvv34443 Ethicon Endo Surgery Announces the Launch of Echelon Flex 45 Endopath Stapler
    Ethicon Endo-Surgery yesterday announced its new Echelon Flex 45 Endopath Stapler, designed for use with 45mm staple lines. While a version of the device with a 60mm staple line is already available, the new device is of particular interest because 45mm staple lines are the most commonly used length in laparoscopic surgery.
    8884n23nn Ethicon Endo Surgery Announces the Launch of Echelon Flex 45 Endopath StaplerFrom the press release:

    The company’s Echelon Flex™ Endopath® Staplers deliver system-wide compression, natural articulation and optimal staple formation in a variety of tissue thickness. Endocutters are used to cut and staple tissue in a variety of surgical procedures.
    Compression is a critical factor in successful surgical stapling. Prior to stapling, applying compression over time exudes fluid from tissue, which helps ensure a more consistent thickness in the targeted tissue. After tissue is compressed, it is ready to accommodate a securely closed staple. Proper staple formation is necessary to achieve a leak-proof and hemostatic staple line. A staple is considered malformed when the legs of the staple do not close properly after deployment.

    Press release: Ethicon Endo-Surgery to Introduce New Echelon(TM) Flex 45 Endopath(R) Stapler for System-Wide Compression and Natural Articulation…

    774nnnmm Neuro Film Festival Winners Announced
    The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Foundation has announced the winning entries for the 2010 Neuro Film Festival. The festival is a contest held by the AAN Foundation to help raise awareness through video about brain disorders and the need to support research into prevention, treatment and cures. The entries highlight compelling videos from patients, their families and caregivers about living with a neurological condition.
    The Filmmaker Prize ($1,000) and the Fan Favorite Prize ($500) were both awarded to Peter von Elling of Falls Church, Virginia for his film “Tracking Evan: Caring, By the Numbers:


    The Storyteller Prize ($500) went to Shenly Glenn of San Francisco, California for her entry “CJD, A Personal Story”:

    The winning films are being screened at the Neuro Film Festival in Toronto during Stop Brain Disorders Week which began Sunday, April 10, 2010, in conjunction with the Academy’s 62nd Annual Meeting.
    Press release: Winners of the Neuro Film Festival Announced…

    xxccxxee Cheap Negative Pressure Wound Management Device for Developing World
    MIT engineering students have been working on a cheap negative pressure wound management device that has already proved useful in post-earthquake Haiti. The manually operated pump costs about $3 to manufacture, but relies on a perfect wound seal to ensure low pressure inside, which probably can only be delivered by an expensive tegaderm-like dressing.

    The Haitian patients who were treated with the device were pleased with how it worked. While the team didn’t have time to conduct long-term evaluations, Zurovcik [Danielle Zurovcik, graduate engineering student at MIT] says, "In the short term, we systematically evaluated the wounds, and were able to verify that negative-pressure therapy was being applied and the healing process was underway."
    The trip to Haiti was led by Dr. Robert Riviello of the Division of Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Riviello estimates that between 50 million and 60 million people in low-income countries suffer from acute and chronic wounds, and a large number of them would benefit from negative-pressure wound therapy. He says the device "has the potential to be a great benefit to patients around the world" once a few technical hurdles are cleared.
    "Our biggest challenge at the moment is ensuring a reliably intact seal on human skin [that can be] easily applied," Riviello says. "If we can resolve this, then I think there is enormous potential."
    Zurovcik notes that an improved version of the device — one that maintains a more constant pressure and is smaller and so easier to conceal when being worn for days — has been developed and is being manufactured now.


    Press release: In The World: Better wound treatment for all

    55534nnnn Social Networks Help The Medicine Go Down
    Plerts is a new social network that wants to help your friends watch your back (we’re guessing it’s a concatenation of people-alerts?). You log into the Plerts app through their website, or on your iPhone or Facebook, add contacts, and set up events and reminders — like flying to Bangkok or taking your Plavix. Then, when you fail to log your landing or med administration, your friends will get alerted as to what you’ve failed to do, and they can get on your case about it or alert authorities. There’s also an option to call 911.
    000034434 Social Networks Help The Medicine Go DownTechcrunch reports:

    For example, if you decide to buy something on CraigsList and visit a seller’s home that is unknown to you, you could enable a Plerts alert. If you don’t check-in after the visit, Plerts will alert the member of your social graph with an alert that you are rogue. Another example is to ensure that someone is taking their medication. The user can check-in after taking the medication, thus alerting their loved ones and personal contacts that their family member has taken his or her proper medication.
    Unlike 911, Plerts is designed to be preemptive to an emergency. One of themain issues with Plerts is privacy. Users may not want to tap into their social graph on Facebook, for example, and allow friends and contacts to know what your medical conditions are or who you are meeting. But with Plerts, nobody has to know where you are or what you’re doing (i.e. going on a blind date, going away on vacation) unless the unfortunate happens and you fail to check back in. Only at this point is your real-time location and personal information made available to your pre-selected contacts (which can be limited a to a few close friends or family).

    Color us skeptical. We’re all in favor of preventing emergencies, and we’re very enthusiastic about new technologies for medication compliance, and ambient sensors to detect falls or lack of movement. But this seems like yet another app for the worried well, which will probably generate more “emergencies” than it hopes to prevent, and stress out your friends in the process (if you’re forgetful enough to take your meds, you’re probably going to forget your phone somewhere and thus ignore you’re friends’ concerned calls until EMS hunts you down…)
    More at Plerts.com…

    bbbmqwe RXplore: New Tool Helps Demystify Drug Reactions
    Jon D. Duke, M.D., a medical informatics fellow at the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine, has created an easy-to-use graphical tool called RXplore that allows physicians and other health-care providers to retrieve adverse reaction data for multiple medications simultaneously, and with an intuitive visual representation.
    With RXplore a physician can easily call up a visualization of the top 10 side effects of a specific drug or ask only for side effects relating to a particular specialty such as gastroenterology. Alternatively, the doctor may request a snapshot of those drugs that cause a particular symptom, such as liver problems. Answering such questions with RXplore took less than a minute and testers reported unanimously that they preferred the new tool to what they previously used to determine drug effects.
    Duke’s work is published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Biomedical Informatics.
    Video: Demonstration of RXplore…
    Press release: RXplore: New Regenstrief Tool Lets Docs Instantly Track Down Drug Reactions…
    Website: RXplore.com…

    5884555 HCPLive Webinar: EHR Vendor Debate
    Tomorrow at 12:30 Eastern time, our friends at HCPlive will be hosting a webinar featuring a live debate and a Q&A session regarding what approach to take to selecting an EHR vendor. It’s free and everyone is invited.

    Jon Bertman, MD, representing the small EHR vendor Amazing Charts will debate Justin Barnes, representing large software providers as chairman of the EHR Association, on these benefits and argue their case for which vendor and EHR software type works best with your practice. Following the debate will be a Q & A session, during which you can ask your own questions of either participant or both.

    HCPlive: Small Vs. Large EHR Vendors: What’s Best for Your Practice