Archives: 6/2010

Neurological Surgery / Radiology

SurgiVision ClearPoint Gets FDA Clearance for Neurological Interventions

by Wouter Stomp on Jun 30, 2010 • 1:01 pm

descripimg SurgiVision ClearPoint Gets FDA Clearance for Neurological Interventions
SurgiVision has received FDA clearance for its ClearPoint system for MR guided neurological interventional procedures. It allows for precise targeting of lesions within the brain. The system consists of a disposable, MRI-compatible head-mounted adjustable trajectory frame; a multi-channel imaging head coil with integrated head fixation frame; a workstation and an MRI compatible computer and monitor with navigational software; and lastly, a complete MRI compatible surgical kit. The system can be used in existing MRI suites.
Demo video here…
Press release: DARA BioSciences Reports on SurgiVision Receiving FDA Clearance to Market Its ClearPoint System…
Product page: SurgiVision ClearPoint…

Nanomedicine

Identification of Molecules Using Nanopore-Based Single-Molecule Mass Spectrometry

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 12:25 pm

47676saz Identification of Molecules Using Nanopore Based Single Molecule Mass SpectrometryScientists at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are using nanopores (membrane gates less than 2 nanometers wide) to identify the type of molecules that are passing through the openings. The method measures the electrical change of the ionic fluid that is pumped through the nanopores along with the molecules in question. Because each molecule reduces the amount of the ionic fluid passing through based on its size and shape, the electrical measurements reveal which molecule is traversing the gate. Once developed, nanopore based technology may allow for all kinds of new diagnostic devices that can identify pathogens, proteins, and other reagents.

Nanopores are not new themselves; for more than a decade, scientists have sought to use a nanopore-based electrical detector to characterize single-stranded DNA for genetic sequencing applications. More recently, NIST scientists turned their attention to using nanopores to identify, quantify and characterize each of the more than 20,000 proteins the body produces—a capability that would provide a snapshot of a patient’s overall health at a given moment. But while nanopores permit molecules to enter into them one at a time, determining what specific individual molecule has just passed through has not been easy.
To address this problem, members of the NIST team that previously developed a method to distinguish both the size and concentration of each type of molecule the nanopore admits have now answered the question of just how these single molecules interact with the nanopore. Their new theoretical model describes the physics and chemistry of how the nanopore, in effect, parses a molecule, an understanding that will advance the use of nanopores in the medical field.

Press release: NIST Team Advances in Translating Language of Nanopores …
Abstract in PNAS: Theory for polymer analysis using nanopore-based single-molecule mass spectrometry

Pathology

Hair May Contain a Record of Your Travel History

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 11:15 am

nw4gxd Hair May Contain a Record of Your Travel HistoryResearchers from IsoForensics Inc. (Salt Lake City) and University of Utah have demonstrated that water can potentially be used as a tracer to determine the travel habits of individuals. Because of the natural geographic variability in the hydrogen and oxygen isotope content of water, proteins within hair should contain evidence of these ratios and therefore act as signatures as to where someone has traveled. The current study has shown that the geographic source of tap, bottled water, beer and sodas can be distinguished simply by measuring the isotope ratio of the water within these drinks.
In our opinion, if the technology pans out for real world use, IsoForensics has a bright future with dictatorship governments, security and intelligence services, armed forces, and maybe even some legitimate forensics causes such as war crimes investigations or even anthropology studies.
Abstract in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: Links between Purchase Location and Stable Isotope Ratios of Bottled Water, Soda, and Beer in the United States
Image credit: David Hannah…

Medicine / Pediatrics

New OneTouch Delica Lancing System for More Comfortable and Gentle Glucose Testing

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 10:41 am

n23ghqq New OneTouch Delica Lancing System for More Comfortable and Gentle Glucose Testing
J&J’s LifeScan has released a new lancing device that the firm says is less painful and easier to use than similar products currently on the market. The OneTouch Delica System features a thinner lancet that is applied swiftly in a straight line that supposedly helps prevent vibrations that can cause unnecessary pain.
From the press release:

In a clinical study of nearly 200 people with diabetes, 4 out of 5 reported the OneTouch Delica Lancing System was virtually painless and the most comfortable lancing device they have ever used. 96% said it was easy to use and 84% reported that it was quiet, and provided a discreet lancing solution.
To provide improved comfort, the OneTouch Delica System features a new, proprietary 33 gauge lancet that is 40% thinner than current industry standard 28 gauge lancets. In addition, the system’s Advanced Glide™ Control System precisely guides the lancet in a swift, straight motion that reduces vibration for a smoother lancing experience. It also features seven adjustable depth settings to allow for shallower fingertip punctures that may be less painful.
The OneTouch Delica Lancing System is now available at pharmacies and retailers nationwide and is designed to work exclusively with the new, small gauge OneTouch Delica Lancets. The OneTouch Delica Lancing System has an estimated retail price of $19.99 and includes 10 lancets. 100-count OneTouch Delica Lancets have an estimated retail price of $15.99.


Press release: NEW LANCING SYSTEM DELIVERS MORE COMFORTABLE BLOOD GLUCOSE TESTING …

Anesthesiology / Emergency Medicine / Neurological Surgery / Neurology

NeuroSense Cortical EEG Analyzer Gets EU Green Light

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 10:17 am

934jjjd NeuroSense Cortical EEG Analyzer Gets EU Green LightMedCity News is reporting that NeuroWave Systems of Cleveland Heights, Ohio has received the European CE Mark for its NeuroSENSE Monitor. The device implements an EEG system that measures signals separately in the left and right parts of the brain, giving anesthesiologists and emergency physicians guidance on ongoing events, such as the level of consciousness in OR or a stroke in the emergency room. The company clearly hopes to become the next generation neuromonitoring technology for anesthesiologists looking for ways to monitor the depth of anesthesia. Check out the following graph that shows a comparison example of the WAVCNS and BIS (v.3.4.) time courses in an arthroscopy case.
Some details from the product brochure:
35132pas NeuroSense Cortical EEG Analyzer Gets EU Green Light

The NeuroSENSE Model NS-701 is a peri-operative bilateral brain function monitor. The system acquires and displays 2 frontal EEG signals, and calculates a number of processed EEG parameters including the WAVCNS, a wavelet-based quantifier of cortical activity. Providing continuous and delay-free tracking of the patient’s brain state, the NeuroSENSE is an easy-to-use and robust aid for monitoring brain activity levels in patients in the OR, ICU, ER and other clinical settings.
Processed Variables for each brain hemisphere:

  • WAVCNS cortical quantifier
  • Electromyographic power (70-110 Hz)
  • Suppression ratio
  • Electrode-skin contact impedances
  • Density spectral array, Spectral powers, MEF, SEF

    • Technical Specifications

  • 2-channel EEG system (4 electrodes) for bilateral monitoring
  • Automatic artifact detection, identification and removal
  • Bandwidth: 0.125-300 Hz
  • Noise: < 2μVpp (0.125 - 100 Hz)
  • Sampling frequency: 900 S/s per channel
  • CMRR: > 100 dB @ 60 Hz
  • Continuous impedance check
  • Medical grade display module with touch screen
  • Compact patient module with integrated IV pole mount
  • Spill and dust resistant

    • MedCity News: NeuroWave Systems gets European nod to sell anesthesia monitor…
    Product page: NeuroSENSE Monitor …

    Dentistry

    Teeth Regenerating Gel May Put an End to Fillings

    by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 9:12 am

    ngr99hhh Teeth Regenerating Gel May Put an End to Fillings
    Though readers of this blog must be overall proud of their dental hygiene, undoubtedly many have had root canals that have been plugged using traditional fillings. The procedure is far from being everyone’s favorite past time, as only true masochists can enjoy having high speed drills working their teeth and hot glue guns filling them. A team of French researchers has been working on a new approach that uses nanostructured and functionalized multilayered films to help regenerate teeth and fill in cavities with little pain but all the gain.
    From the abstract in ACS NANO:

    Melanocortin peptides (α-MSH) possess anti-inflammatory properties in many acute and chronic inflammatory models. Our recent studies have shown that α-MSH covalently coupled to poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA-α-MSH) retains anti-inflammatory properties on rat monocytes. This study aimed to define the effects of PGA-α-MSH on dental pulp fibroblasts. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated fibroblasts incubated with PGA-α-MSH showed an early time-dependent inhibition of TNF-α, a late induction of IL-10, and no effect on IL-8 secretion. However, in the absence of LPS, PGA-α-MSH induced IL-8 secretion and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts, whereas free α-MSH inhibited this proliferation. Thus, PGA-α-MSH has potential effects in promoting human pulp fibroblast adhesion and cell proliferation. It can also reduce the inflammatory state of LPS-stimulated pulp fibroblasts observed in gram-negative bacterial infections. These effects suggest a novel use of PGA-α-MSH as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of endodontic lesions.

    Abstract in ACS NANO: Nanostructured Assemblies for Dental Application…
    (hat tip: MSNBC)

    in the news...

    Quantum Entanglement May Play Role in Maintaining Structure of DNA

    by Gene Ostrovsky on Jun 30, 2010 • 8:41 am

    jwfgqqq Quantum Entanglement May Play Role in Maintaining Structure of DNAQuantum entanglement is a mysterious process, borne out of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, in which discreet particles can forever be tied to one another, changing state when the other in the pair changes its state, regardless of how far apart the particles are. (To fully appreciate the idea of quantum entanglement, check out a Wikipedia entry on Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox). Because of the inherent ‘strength’ of this connection, scientists from National University of Singapore and University College London have proposed a new theoretical model that uses quantum entanglement to explain DNA’s inherent stability.
    From the TR’s Physics arXiv Blog:

    The question that Elisabeth Rieper at the National University of Singapore and a couple of buddies have asked is what role might entanglement play in DNA. To find out, they’ve constructed a simplified theoretical model of DNA in which each nucleotide consists of a cloud of electrons around a central positive nucleus. This negative cloud can move relative to the nucleus, creating a dipole. And the movement of the cloud back and forth is a harmonic oscillator.
    When the nucleotides bond to form a base, these clouds must oscillate in opposite directions to ensure the stability of the structure.
    Rieper and co ask what happens to these oscillations, or phonons as physicists call them, when the base pairs are stacked in a double helix…
    Although each nucleotide in a base pair is oscillating in opposite directions, this occurs as a superposition of states, so that the overall movement of the helix is zero. In a purely classical model, however, this cannot happen, in which case the helix would vibrate and shake itself apart.
    So in this sense, these quantum effects are responsible for holding DNA together.

    Read on at Physics arXiv Blog: Quantum Entanglement Holds DNA Together, Say Physicists…
    Full article in arXiv Quantum Physics: The relevance of continuous variable entanglement in DNA (.pdf version)

    Medicine / Pediatrics

    NEJM: Sensor-Augmented Pump Therapy Shows Promise in Diabetes Study

    by Dan Buckland on Jun 30, 2010 • 12:00 am

    m34fmfmfm%20copy NEJM: Sensor Augmented Pump Therapy Shows Promise in Diabetes StudyCoinciding with a presentation at the American Diabetes Association, the New England Journal of Medicine published an industry supported study on the effectiveness of Sensor-Augmented Insulin-pumps, concluding that such a technology “resulted in significant improvement in glycated hemoglobin levels, as compared with injection therapy.” This study used the MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System from Medtronic. In our recent story on Medtronic, we talked about their interest in closed-loop diabetes management. This system is a few steps removed from a closed loop system. While the continuous glucose monitoring receiver and insulin pump share the same display and housing external to the body on a belt mounted computer, they do not talk to one another, hence Sensor-Augmented and not Sensor-Driven. This device collected glucose levels every few minutes and reported levels and trends to the user who then had to interpret and direct the pump to deliver an appropriate insulin regimen.
    From the NEJM abstract:

    Results At 1 year, the baseline mean glycated hemoglobin level (8.3% in the two study groups) had decreased to 7.5% in the pump-therapy group, as compared with 8.1% in the injection-therapy group (P<0.001). The proportion of patients who reached the glycated hemoglobin target (<7%) was greater in the pump-therapy group than in the injection-therapy group. The rate of severe hypoglycemia in the pump-therapy group (13.31 cases per 100 person-years) did not differ significantly from that in the injection-therapy group (13.48 per 100 person-years, P=0.58). There was no significant weight gain in either group.
    Conclusions In both adults and children with inadequately controlled type 1 diabetes, sensor-augmented pump therapy resulted in significant improvement in glycated hemoglobin levels, as compared with injection therapy. A significantly greater proportion of both adults and children in the pump-therapy group than in the injection-therapy group reached the target glycated hemoglobin level. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00417989 [ClinicalTrials.gov].)

    Full NEJM article:Effectiveness of Sensor-Augmented Insulin-Pump Therapy in Type 1 Diabetes…
    NEJM editorial: Continuous Glucose Monitoring — Coming of Age…
    Medtronic press release: STAR 3 Trial Results Confirm Medtronic’s Sensor-Augmented Insulin Pump Therapy Achieves Better Glucose Control Than Daily Insulin Injections in People with Diabetes…

    Pathology

    The Ultimate Telemedicine Tweak to dSLRs: Cancer Detection

    by editors on Jun 29, 2010 • 9:24 am

    3214532ds1 The Ultimate Telemedicine Tweak to dSLRs: Cancer Detection
    Photography-loving doctors now have more reasons to love their digital cameras. MacGyvers at Rice University and MD Anderson Cancer Center have cleverly engineered your everyday dSLR into a portable, high-resolution fiber-optic fluorescence imaging system that can detect cancer in-vivo.
    3214532ds4 The Ultimate Telemedicine Tweak to dSLRs: Cancer Detection
    In this month’s PLoS ONE, they showed off the prowess of their camera system retrofitted with a LED light, an objective lens, a fiber-optic bundle in capturing sub-cellular images non-invasively and in real-time. In field tests of a fluorescence-labeled oral cancer cell culture, a surgically-resected human tissue specimen with dysplastic and cancerous regions, and a healthy human subject in vivo, the fiber-optic microscope resolved individual nuclei in all specimens and tissues imaged to distinguish qualitatively and quantitatively between normal, precancerous and/or cancerous tissues.
    3214532ds2 The Ultimate Telemedicine Tweak to dSLRs: Cancer Detection
    Portable and inexpensive at $2000 all-together, the clever device may be a useful tool to assist in the identification of early neoplastic changes in epithelial tissues in spartan clinical settings where MacGyver himself may have been.
    PLoS ONE: A Fiber-Optic Fluorescence Microscope Using a Consumer-Grade Digital Camera for In Vivo Cellular Imaging
    More from Rice University…

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