Archives: 9/2010

OTC

Philips Announces the Airfryer for Food Without Oil

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 13, 2010 • 10:03 am

43532aw11 Philips Announces the Airfryer for Food Without Oil
Royal Philips Electronics has just announced at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin a new kitchen gadget that can make fried greaseless food. So, while we disclaim that the Airfryer can make delicious calamari, since it is a physical impossibility, Philips believes otherwise. Perhaps it’s time for a Pepsi Challenge..

airfryer uses patented Rapid Air technology to circulate hot air around a grill component, creating delicious meals with up to 80% less fat. Whether it’s perfect French fries, crispy chicken nuggets, delicately browned meat or golden pastries, food is cooked and crisped to perfection — and because airfryer requires no heat-up time, fries are ready in just twelve minutes. Complete meals are simple to create with the Food Separator Accessory, which cooks and crisps several ingredients at once — without mixing flavors. Together with an Integrated Air Filter, airfryer’s hot air system also eliminates smelly hot oil vapors. An in-built timer lets you pre-set cooking times of up to 30 minutes, and the Adjustable Temperature Control runs up to 200°C.


Philips unveils a range of advanced consumer products that help people enjoy a healthier and better life in a simple way …

Neurological Surgery / Orthopedic Surgery

Aesculap Gets US Green Light for Cervical and Thoracic Spine Fusion System

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 13, 2010 • 9:32 am

c23ggag Aesculap Gets US Green Light for Cervical and Thoracic Spine Fusion SystemAesculap Implant Systems won FDA regulatory approval to market the firm’s S4 Cervical System. The device is intended for fusions of cervical and thoracic spine (C1 to T3) and occipito-cervico-thoracic junction (occiput to T3).
From the product page:

The S4 Cervical System offers maximum versatility through its wide range of implant selection and instrumentation to meet the special needs of the cervical and thoracic spine.
By combining the exceptionally small, yet stable design of the screw construct with simple instrumentation, the S4 Cervical System is a remarkably safe system for posterior column fixation. Small implant volume, overall biomechanical strength and easy access instruments help to achieve a fast and efficient surgical procedure with optimal patient outcome.

Press release: Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for the S4 Cervical Occipital Plating System…
Product page: S4 Cervical System…

Cardiac Surgery / Cardiology

HeartWare LVADs Get FDA Nod for More Trials

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 13, 2010 • 9:27 am

heartw1 HeartWare LVADs Get FDA Nod for More Trials
HeartWare, an Australian and Framingham, Massachusetts developer of ventricular assist 456we43 HeartWare LVADs Get FDA Nod for More Trialsdevices that utilize the company’s proprietary “wearless” impeller suspension system (see on right), has announced FDA approval to “enroll a second allotment of 54 patients in its ‘ADVANCE’ bridge-to-transplant clinical trial… The FDA granted an initial allotment of 54 patients in April 2010 and the final patient was implanted under the initial allotment in August 2010.” Given the news, the company is continuing its efforts to have its device FDA approved as a bridge to transplantation sometime in the (hopefully) not too distant future. HeartWare has already received CE Marking for the HeartWare System in the European Union.
A quick refresher about the company’s technology:

At the core of the HeartWare platform is the proprietary use of a “hybrid” system for suspending the impeller (or rotor), the only moving part within the pump. The impeller is suspended using a combination of passive magnets and a hydrodynamic thrust bearing. The hydrodynamic thrust bearing works by establishing a “cushion” of blood between the impeller and the pump housing. Once power is applied to the device and the impeller begins to rotate, there are no points of mechanical contact within the pump, effectively ensuring a “wearless” system. The elimination of mechanical bearings is expected to lead both to longer term device reliability and to a reduced risk of physical damage to blood cells as they pass through the pump.

Press release: HeartWare Receives Second Patient Allotment Under Continued Access Protocol for Pivotal U.S. Bridge-To-Transplant Clinical Trial …
Product page: HeartWare Left Ventricular Assist Devices …
Flashbacks: Medical Heart Pumps from HeartWare: HVAD, MVAD and PedVAD; HeartWare Heart Pump Shows Positive Results in Clinical Study;
(hat tip: MassDevice)

Rehab

Artificial Skin Bodes Well for Disabled Humans, Enabled Robots

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 13, 2010 • 8:48 am

urtgrx3e Artificial Skin Bodes Well for Disabled Humans, Enabled Robots
At UC Berkeley, engineers have created a material out of semiconductor nanowires that is as touch sensitive as human skin. The so called “e-skin” is projected to be used in future robots to provide tactile feedback and perhaps even in prostheses to return a sense of touch to amputees. Because the inorganic single crystalline semiconductors making up the material are chemically stable, they have a promising future in medicine.
y2oxlipf Artificial Skin Bodes Well for Disabled Humans, Enabled Robots

The UC Berkeley engineers utilized an innovative fabrication technique that works somewhat like a lint roller in reverse. Instead of picking up fibers, nanowire “hairs” are deposited.
The researchers started by growing the germanium/silicon nanowires on a cylindrical drum, which was then rolled onto a sticky substrate. The substrate used was a polyimide film, but the researchers said the technique can work with a variety of materials, including other plastics, paper or glass. As the drum rolled, the nanowires were deposited, or “printed,” onto the substrate in an orderly fashion, forming the basis from which thin, flexible sheets of electronic materials could be built.
In another complementary approach utilized by the researchers, the nanowires were first grown on a flat source substrate, and then transferred to the polyimide film by a direction-rubbing process.
For the e-skin, the engineers printed the nanowires onto an 18-by-19 pixel square matrix measuring 7 centimeters on each side. Each pixel contained a transistor made up of hundreds of semiconductor nanowires. Nanowire transistors were then integrated with a pressure sensitive rubber on top to provide the sensing functionality. The matrix required less than 5 volts of power to operate and maintained its robustness after being subjected to more than 2,000 bending cycles.
The researchers demonstrated the ability of the e-skin to detect pressure from 0 to 15 kilopascals, a range comparable to the force used for such daily activities as typing on a keyboard or holding an object. In a nod to their home institution, the researchers successfully mapped out the letter C in Cal.

Link: Engineers make artificial skin out of nanowires…
Abstract in Nature Materials: Nanowire active-matrix circuitry for low-voltage macroscale artificial skin

Anesthesiology / in the news... / Telemedicine

Transcontinental Anesthesia

by Wouter Stomp on Sep 13, 2010 • 12:00 am

434435gqu Transcontinental AnesthesiaJust two weeks after we reported on teleanesthesia in the form of remotely performed nerve blocks, the first report of transcontinental anesthesia comes in. On August 30, anesthesiologists of McGill-McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, kept watch over a patient in Pisa, Italy undergoing thyroid gland surgery. Basically they used a teleconferencing set-up with four cameras, with two cameras streaming the anesthesia data (ventilation parameters and vital signs), one camera aimed at the operating field and the last one for any special purposes. All feeds were streamed to an “anesthesia cockpit” where the anesthesiologists were sitting, while we imagine there was probably still a nurse anesthetist around in Pisa to obey their commands and control the drips. Airway assessment and taking the medical history was also done using videoconferencing. For their next step, the researchers are taking on a less technologically challenging issue: they will use teleconferencing for preoperative assessment of patients at their home.
Link@McGill: First Transcontinental Anesthesia World’s first transcontinental anesthesia …
New Anesthesia …

Anesthesiology / Cardiology / Critical Care / Emergency Medicine / Medicine / Ob/Gyn / Pediatrics / Radiology / Surgery / Urology / Vascular Surgery

BK Medical’s New Surgical Ultrasound

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 10, 2010 • 12:56 pm

vbb234jj BK Medicals New Surgical UltrasoundBK Medical, Analogic Corporation’s daughter firm, has released a new ultrasound in its portable Flex Focus line. The Flex Focus 700 is specifically designed for operating rooms, featuring a large 19 inch touchscreen along with touch controls on the bezel. There’s even an optional remote control to operate the unit from a distance.
More from BK Medical about the new ultrasound:

The system’s 19-inch screen displays sharp laparoscopic, intraoperative, and percutaneous images, with detail that is visible from virtually any angle. The Flex Focus 700 is small, lightweight, and supports a wide range of sterilizable transducers.
* Remote control* — for control within the sterile area.
* Touch screen — with a simplified control panel.
* Touch control panel.
* Completely mobile — the scanner is easy to move and maneuver
* Fully adjustable screen height — move the scanner back and forth and up and down
* Easy-access transducer connectors — no reaching down or bending over
* Completely customizable interface — so you can get started quickly and work the way you want to
* Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for simultaneous display of camera and scanner images on a single monitor.
* Optimized setups and measurements for surgical ultrasound with the Surgery Pro Package
* Access to all BK Medical’s specialized transducers
* Clear, sharp laparoscopic, intraoperative and percutaneous images
* 19" screen means image details are easy to see from any angle
* Simultanous biplane image displayed like you’ve never seen it before
* Sealed keyboard, no sharp corners or buttons where germs could hide
* Surgical transducers from BK Medical are all sterilizable


Press release: Analogic’s BK Medical Subsidiary Introduces the Flex Focus 700 Surgical Ultrasound System
Product page: Flex Focus 700…

Art

Pollen, as Seen by Electron Microscopy

by Dan Buckland on Sep 10, 2010 • 9:19 am

rrqfdmpz Pollen, as Seen by Electron Microscopy
Martin Oeggerli, A Swiss scientific photographer, has turned his talents to the bane of seasonal allergy sufferers and produced a pretty impressive gallery of colorized electron microscope images of pollen grains. The color isn’t true to life in all of the images but is altered to better show the textures in the pollen grains.
Micronaut: Image Gallery – Spectacular Pollen

(via BoingBoing)

Informatics / Medicine / Pediatrics / Surgery

iBleep, a New Generation of Clinical Pagers

by Gene Ostrovsky on Sep 10, 2010 • 3:00 am

E-Health Insider is reporting that Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and Stockport NHS Foundation Trust will be rolling out the iBleep messaging system that’s like a beeper on steroids. Instead of just getting a message to call back to the clinic, physicians will receive information about the patient and even what’s going on in the clinic.
rulwvkh7 iBleep, a New Generation of Clinical Pagers

• Specialty-Based Reason Codes and EWS scoring
• Configurable Observation Inputs, by Specialty
• Forced Call Filtering and Auto Re-Assigning
• Shadow Assignments/Auto Call Escalation
• Call Locking and Lock Alerting
• Internal PAS/PMI 5-way Lookup
• Full Call Handover
• Multiple Networks: WiFi/GPRS/Edge
• Nurse ID Requests
• Licensed BNF Connection
• Unlimited Co-ordinating Roles
• Allow Block Calls
• Verbal Advice Outcomes
• Refresh and Session Validity
• Call Raising on PDA (Incl. PAS/PMI Search)
• PDA 24HR Clinical Call History for each User
• Licensed BNF Connection

Product page: iBleep…
More from E-Health Insider: Trusts buy iBleep Hybrid system
(hat tip: MobiHealthNews)

etc.

Aethlon’s Hemopurifier Proven Effective Against Metastatic Melanoma

by Smit Shah on Sep 10, 2010 • 3:00 am

uw4qd2xf Aethlons Hemopurifier Proven Effective Against Metastatic Melanoma
San Diego, CA based Aethlon Medical has announced that an internal study confirmed the efficacy of its Hemopurifier in removing tumor-secreted exosomes from the blood of patients with metastatic melanoma. The company suggests that because such exosomes can disrupt the body’s immune response to the cancer and can play a role in its spread, their device could become an important tool in the fight against late stage cancers.
From the press release:

Aethlon believes the Hemopurifier® represents the sole therapeutic strategy to directly inhibit or reverse the deleterious effects associated with exosomes secreted by tumors as a survival mechanism for cancer. Tumor-secreted exosomes have been reported to trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis) of immune cells; interrupt T-cell signaling required to mount an immune response; inhibit the production of anti-cancer cytokines, and have implications in the spread of metastasis and allowing for angiogenesis.
In the study, small-scale versions of the Hemopurifier® removed 73% of melanoma derived exosomes from cell culture fluids in one hour and 87% in two hours.

Press release: Aethlon Medical Announces Data Against Metastatic Melanoma
Product page: Hemopurifier
Flashback: Hemopurifier to Treat Infectious Disease

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