Medical Technology News From Around The World
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Our website is written and published by a group of medical doctors and biomed engineers.
Medgadget got a quick demo of the AliveCor iPhone ECG by its inventor, Dr. Dave Albert, at the Qualcomm Pavilion at the 2011 mHealth Summit in DC.
Credits: Reporter – Shiv Gaglani; Videographer – Atul Nakhasi
Flashbacks: Interview with AliveCor Founder Dr. Dave Albert; ECG Attachment for Your iPhone; iCard ECG Turns Any iPhone/iPad Into a Powerful Electrocardiograph
We all know the 3-D body suits from behind-the-scenes footage of Hollywood movies. Now body suits are going to be put to use for healthcare research and improvements of sporting activities as well. Researchers from the University of Sunderland in the UK are using a body suit because it allows them to take 3-D motion capture out of the lab.
The suit, called MVN BIOMECH from Xsens out of Enschede, The Netherlands, is a 3-D human kinematic, camera-less measurement system with integrated small tracking sensors placed on the joints. Each sensor on the suit consists of three components: an accelerometer, magnetometers and a gyroscope. All together it gives information on each of the joints, the body segments between the joints and the 3-D movements. The technology sends the information a computer using a wireless signal which is then reconstructed into movements on the screen.
The suit is certainly not cheap and it’s probably the main reason why up until now it has only been used in the movie industry and the military. However, the research team and the university consider this new piece of equipment as an investment for future research projects. An example of ongoing research is a project to help figure out how nurses can lift patients safely into a hospital bed without straining themselves. Future research will also be sport related, such as improving the efficiency of wheelchair-bound athletes.
Link: Body suit puts Sunderland research into new dimension
Product page: MVN BIOMECH
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., a Palo Alto, California firm, received FDA clearance to update the control software of the Clinac and Trilogy targeted radiotherapy devices and for the new Pivotal Care Solution for prone breast treatment. This enables a higher intensity dose delivery, up to 2400 monitor units per minute, and better support for treating breast cancer in the prone position.
The technology can now facilitate treating breast cancer patients on their stomachs rather than their backs—an approach that can reduce the volume of lung and heart tissue exposed to radiation during treatment.
Chris Toth, senior director of marketing is cited in the press release:
“Our High Intensity Mode makes it possible to deliver some treatments up to 50 percent faster than is possible without it. We’re seeing trends toward the use of hypo-fractionation and radiosurgical approaches for many types of cancer, which means that higher doses are delivered in just one or a few treatment sessions for quick ablation of a tumor. There has been encouraging research supporting this approach for the treatment of cancers of the brain, spine, and lung, as well as for prostate cancer. With High Intensity Mode, our Clinac and Trilogy machines can deliver these high dose treatments within a clinically-feasible timeframe.
When a woman is in the prone position for treatment, the targeted breast falls away from the rest of her body, creating a greater separation between the breast and the critical organs that lie behind her chest wall. The Pivotal Solution makes it possible to treat an anatomical area that lies below the couch top, such as a breast that is hanging away from the rest of the body, enabling physicians to choose this approach if it is best for a particular patient. Varian is committed to providing clinicians with tools that make it faster and easier to offer cancer patients advanced treatments that have the best likelihood of a positive outcome.”
Product pages: Trilogy; Clinac; Pivotal breast cancer treatment…
Canada’s The Globe and Mail is reporting that workers at Ontario’s Pickering and Darlington nuclear power plants have been testing a new device that detects brain waves through skin contact on the arm. The hope is to have the ability to detect when workers are losing concentration, a critical issue when dealing with nuclear fission.
It’s not clear how the device manages to gather enough signal so far away from the brain, but Freer Logic, the Skyland, North Carolina company that developed the Body Wave device does not plan on introducing the technology for clinical use. Nevertheless, the promise of EEG monitoring away from the scalp is intriguing and we hope to see this technology develop further.
Some details from The Globe and Mail:
Five years ago, Mr. Templeton was in charge of OPG’s [Ontario Power Generation] operator training program when he heard that a kind of neurofeedback technology being used for children with attention-deficit disorder was also being used by NASA to measure astronauts’ level of concentration.
“If its original intent was to help astronauts and test pilots,” he says, “why not nuclear operators?”
The technology is the brainchild of Peter Freer, a North Carolina elementary-school teacher frustrated by stymied efforts to help students with ADD. It took 11 years and three jobs for him to scrape together enough cash to create a prototype for an educational program called PlayAttention. Mr. Freer was testing the technology on the U.S. bobsled team, with the same focus-boosting aim, when Mr. Templeton cold-called him. Could Mr. Freer whip up something like that for nuclear-plant operators?
Mr. Freer called back the next day. What ensued was years of back-and-forth on how, exactly, the device could be adapted to suit OPG.
Mr. Templeton wanted something as unintrusive as possible – normally, electroencephalograms are gathered through wires suctioned to the scalp, which can get in the way in a simulated nuclear control room. The result is a device called BodyWave. It weighs about 170 grams, can be strapped anywhere on the body and is eminently portable.
The Globe and Mail: Surfing the flow of brain waves to help employees pay attention
(hat tip: Neurogadget)
A team of researchers from the U.S. and India reviewed the reuse of pacemakers that were donated to poor people in Mumbai when the original owners in the U.S. passed away. The FDA does not permit reuse of implantable devices, but India has no such qualms.
The study involved 53 patients and two years following implantation, the devices continued working as intended without any significant complications nor did any infections occur due to the transplant. Of four patients who were previously employed, all were able to return to their manual jobs. Twenty-seven women said their symptoms had improved enough so they could resume household chores.
From an announcement by Loyola University Medical Center:
Researchers reported that between January 2004 and January 2010, 121 pacemakers were removed and donated. (The devices were made by Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific.) Sixty pacemakers were selected because they had a battery life greater than three years, but seven were discarded due to further decay in battery life. The remaining 53 pacemakers were rigorously cleaned and sterilized. They were sent to Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, which serves all patients, regardless of income.
The authors conclude that reusing pacemakers could “alleviate the burden of symptomatic bradyarrhythmia (abnormally slow heart rate) in impoverished nations around the world.”
Press release: REUSING PACEMAKERS FROM DECEASED DONORS IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, STUDY FINDS
Abstract in The American Journal of Cardiology: Reuse of Explanted Permanent Pacemakers Donated by Funeral Homes
Image credit: Marek Pokorny
Bausch + Lomb and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH (München, Germany) received European clearance for their new jointly marketed VICTUS femtosecond laser system.
Approved for LASIK flap, astigmatic keratotomy, INTRACOR, capsulotomy and lens fragmentation, the ultra short pulse laser provides precision cutting while generating little heat within the tissue.
More from press release: Bausch + Lomb and Technolas™ Perfect Vision Announce CE Mark Approval for VICTUS™ Femtosecond Laser Platform
Product page: VICTUS
We at Medgadget often report about cool new biometric sensors and gadgets that can monitor everything from blood glucose to ZQ (sleep score). Personal health monitoring is an exciting trend, though just like social networking, consumers will likely want a single convenient hub from which they can watch their health data and progress.
At the 2011 mHealth Summit this week, one app promises to make quite a, well, squawk in this arena. Produced by U.S. Preventive Medicine Inc. in a partnership with Qualcomm’s new wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Life (also announced this week; details to come), and designed by Fjord (responsible for the look of Flickr and Foursquare), Macaw is a health and fitness app that aims to be the “ultimate personal heath hub.” It is now available for free download for the iPhone and Android.
Here’s some more information about its goals and features from the press release:
Macaw is based on the clinical science of preventive medicine and is universally designed for people who exercise regularly as well as those who are novices when it comes to physical activity. By leveraging Qualcomm Life’s expertise, Macaw will be able to transform a smartphone into the ultimate personal health hub, connecting an individual’s health apps and wireless devices for tracking weight, fitness, overall activity and biometrics – including pedometers, glucose meters, activity armbands, scales, labs, sleep managers, mobile weight loss apps and blood pressure cuffs – into a single app for complete tracking. With the initial launch, Macaw will allow integration with the Fitlinxx Actiped+ all-day activity monitor, and WorkSmart Labs’ weight loss and fitness app Noom Weight Loss. Macaw users will be able to track the progress of their activity, nutrition and health knowledge while engaging in games that unlock prizes.
Features include:
- 7 questions to quickly assess your health
- GPS to track exercise
- Ability to set goals and track weight and calories
- Reminders about recommended preventive screenings based on age and gender
- Activity and knowledge cards that unlock chances for weekly prizes
- Additional features for members of The Prevention Plan include:
- A link to the Prevention Score, a unique tool that tracks an individual’s prevention efforts and key health indicators throughout the year
- Activity auto-uploaded to The Prevention Plan
- Exercise, weight and calories tracker
This author had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO of U.S. Preventive Medicine, Chris Fey, and Vice Chairman, Dr. Ronald Loeppke, to discuss the idea behind and launch of Macaw. Speaking about the importance of behavior change and how the smartphone app could revolutionize both the phone as well as personal health, Dr. Loeppke said, “The ideal solution to our healthcare problems is to prevent people from developing debilitating chronic diseases in the first place. We want to increase quality of life, and have done so with The Prevention Plan which has been shown to significantly improve factors such as hypertension, blood glucose, and excess weight. We are excited about bringing this established plan into our convenient smartphone app, Macaw, to help people adopt healthy behaviors. When it comes to health, it’s not the power of the pill, it’s the power of the will.”
Here’s a teaser video announcing the launch of the app.
Press release: U.S. Preventive Medicine® Launches First-of-Its-Kind Health & Fitness App in Collaboration with Qualcomm Life
Learn more about the Macaw App…
You’ll probably agree that learning how to swim is a typical rite of passage for adolescents, but for children who are hearing impaired this common skill becomes a major challenge. Fortunately, advancements in cochlear implants and hearing aids make learning a little easier for these kids, but the learning tends to stop at the water’s edge because electronic devices and the wet stuff tend to not get along very well.
Valencia, California-based Advanced Bionics has made bath time and trips to the pool a little more fun with the U.S. and Canadian approval of its revolutionary Neptune sound processor. Neptune is the world’s first and only waterproof sound processor. Designed to withstand extreme aquatic environments, the Neptune incorporates Advanced Bionics’ hearing technology into a lightweight, durable, and flexible package. The Neptune processor is able to be worn in a variety of ways, such as on the arm, collar, or hair (basically anywhere but on the ear), and comes in a variety of colors that will especially appeal to children who use the device.
Advanced Bionics hopes that the Neptune will allow parents of toddlers to better bond with their children during bath time, and swim students to hear important safety information at the pool. We’re also hoping to see marked improvement when it comes to singing in the shower as well.
Product page: Neptune
Press release: Waterproof Neptune Sound Processor from Advanced Bionics Approved in United States and Canada
Olympus introduced a new 25x super-long-distance microscope objective designed to deliver vivid 3D images of structures 8mm deep. The 8mm objective is the second high-performance optic Olympus has designed for the Scaleview imaging technique first developed at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan.
The objective has been optimized to be used with the Scaleview-A2 reagent and the Olympus FluoView FV1000-MPE multiphoton microscope to collect images. The reagent can make tissue transparent and minimizes light scatter. Together, they can provide detailed images within brain and other tissues. Scientists envision the possibility of using the 25x, 8mm working distance objective for developmental biology studies and for imaging and mapping the brain. Because Scaleview-A2 eliminates light scattering, it doesn’t decrease the intensity of signals emitted by fluorescent proteins, without the need for mechanical sectioning.
Eliminating tissue slicing is another big advantage of this technique. Until now, most optical microscopy techniques required slicing dead biological tissue into thin sections, damaging the specimens and making it challenging to visualize how slices fit together. By eliminating most slicing, the connectivity of the brain and other organs can be imaged intact.
Press release: Olympus SCALEVIEW Microscope Objective Allows Imaging 8mm Deep – Further into Tissue Than Ever Possible Before
Abstract in Nature Neuroscience: Scale: a chemical approach for fluorescence imaging and reconstruction of transparent mouse brain
The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
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