Archives: 4/2011
Fraser Spowart, a product design student at University of Dundee in the UK, has built a prototype dumbbell curl counter that can tweet your exercise patterns to friends and competitors. 
We can see a miniaturized version of the Tweet_Fit adapted for other repetitive exercise routines.
From the designer:
The device has two main functions, an offline and online mode. The offline mode has been designed to guide the user through the perfect bicep curl. Once this is mastered the online mode can be activated.
To activate the online mode you simply pick up the dumbbell with the device attached, doing this will send a message to your twitter feed indicating you have began to exercise. You will be notified that the message has been sent by green lights flashing. Once you have finished your exercise and put the dumbbell down again another tweet will be sent indicating the end of your exercise. Red lights will flash to indicate a second tweet has been sent.
Link: Tweet_Fit info page…
(hat tip: Engadget)
Scientists from Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork in Ireland developed an electronic microchip that can detect a person’s respiratory rate without having to make contact with the skin. The team believes the new chip can be used for monitoring of respiratory patterns in ICUs and postoperative units, prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and for a warning system that would notice car drivers falling asleep.
More about the technology from the press release:
The sensor technology also enables several other important applications such as facilitating patients in being monitored in their home, with data sent in real-time to GPs and first-aid medical staff in hospitals. It can also be used for fitness (fatigue) monitoring and personalised healthcare for independent and healthy living. In spite of its applications to the biomedical field, the microchip sensor can be applied to other civil applications requiring contactless detection of moving objects.
The sensor microchip consists of ultra-wide-band pulse radar, capable of detecting sub-centimeter movements. The radar sends very short pulses towards the chest and detects the echo reflected in proximity of the skin. The output signal provided by the sensor is therefore sensitive to the chest movement. This is the first time that such an ultra-wide-band pulse radar has been integrated into a single silicon chip.
MAQUET received FDA approval for its CARDIOHELP extracorporeal life support system. The company claims this is the world’s smallest and lightest heart-lung machine and can be used in both ground and air ambulances, as well as for cardiopulmonary support during surgery.
From the announcement:
The individual operating modes and disposables of the CARDIOHELP System make it suitable for conditions in which cardiac and/or respiratory support is needed. The CARDIOHELP System offers several applications to support patients who require veno-venous life support or veno-arterial life support; it can also be used during open heart surgery and for extracorporeal carbon dioxide (CO2) removal up to six hours.
Veno-venous life support, or respiratory assistance for lung disorders, is primarily used when the heart is still able to pump blood through the circulatory system without any additional support, as in the case of acute respiratory failure or a massive pulmonary embolism. The blood is removed from the jugular vein or a femoral vein for enrichment with oxygen, after which it is returned to a vein.
Veno-arterial life support is used with patients whose hearts are not adequately supporting their circulation or have stopped, which may occur with a myocardial infarction. It is vital to ensure cardiopulmonary support as early as possible to prevent organ damage. The CARDIOHELP System can help increase survival by enabling revascularization by means of catheterization or cardiac surgery. In the case of a veno-arterial life support, the blood is removed from the right atrium or a femoral vein and is returned to the aorta or a femoral artery after oxygenation; some of the blood therefore bypasses the heart in a parallel circulatory system, thus relieving stress on the heart muscle.
In severe cases of respiratory failure, the CARDIOHELP System can be used to reduce the CO2 level in the blood. High CO2 levels (e.g., acidosis, pulmonary hypertension) in some cases can lead to complications, and some patients need low to normal CO2 levels to protect the brain.
Minimal extracorporeal circulation (MECC) with the CARDIOHELP System makes life support for cardiopulmonary support during open heart surgery less stressful for the patient than with a conventional heart-lung machine.
The CARDIOHELP System may be installed in ambulances or helicopters and can be connected to the on-board power supply. The integrated rechargeable battery also provides a minimum of 90 minutes of operation without an external power supply. The CARDIOHELP System is operated via an easy touch screen with user guidance and a rotary knob to allow medical personnel with minimal life support experience to safely use the unit after suitable training.
The CARDIOHELP System monitors important blood parameters, including venous oxygen saturation, hemoglobin, hematocrit and arterial and venous blood temperature. The complete sensor system, which also includes three pressure sensors, is integrated into the HLS Module Advanced disposable.
The CARDIOHELP System can be configured to capture case data and data recording intervals can be set individually from 3 seconds to 10 minutes.
Press release: MAQUET Cardiovascular Receives 510(k) Clearance to Market the CARDIOHELP System in U.S. …
Product page: CARDIOHELP…
Exactech out of Gainesville, Florida has announced full market release of the Equinoxe Fx Plate. The fracture plate is used in shoulder reconstruction and is designed to reduce humeral head collapse. Additionally, surgeons can inject bone void filler after the plate has been positioned to improve outcomes.
From the product page:
The contoured plate is asymmetric to align with the bicipital groove and greater tuberosity, and tapered distally to respect the deltoid insertion. The suture holes are anatomically oriented allowing surgeons to pass the suture after the plate is secured to the bone.
Unique modular blades can be inserted to further buttress the reconstruction while locking screws diverge to support the humeral head. The large central hole allows for either a 6.5mm locking screw or deployment of bone-void filler after the plate is secured.
Multiple screw/blade configurations enable a surgeon to treat a spectrum of proximal humeral fractures. Robust instrumentation options are included to address a wide array of surgical technique preferences.
Press release: Exactech Announces Full Market Release of the Equinoxe® Shoulder Fracture Plate…
Product page: Equinoxe Fx Plate
Reminder: Last Chance to Submit Your Ideas to The DiabetesMine Design Challenge
by on Apr 29, 2011 • 9:07 am
Those of you participating in The 2011 DiabetesMine Design Challenge, it’s time to wrap things up because the deadline for submissions is midnight (Pacific) tonight. We’re excited to see what new ideas people have submitted for improving the lives of diabetics. There is a total of $25,000 at stake, in addition to other goodies, to be divided among the winners. So, don’t be late and submit your idea for a device, service, or any technological solution to improve life with diabetes.
Link: The 2011 DiabetesMine Design Challenge…
The FDA approved BIOTRONIK’s Estella and Effecta pacemakers, as well as Vp (ventricular pace) Suppression feature in the Evia line. Evia and Estella pacemakers are compatible with BIOTRONIK’s Home Monitoring technology for reporting device readings directly to the physician.
From the press release:
The Evia family combines the industry’s smallest wireless remote monitoring pacemakers with a decade of longevity. This advancement increases the intervals between necessary device replacement procedures, which could potentially reduce the risk associated with replacements—a risk demonstrated in the recently published REPLACE study .
The Evia family significantly expands BIOTRONIK’s spectrum of innovative treatment options to maximize intrinsic conduction, thus reducing unnecessary right ventricular pacing. Ventricular pace suppression, known as Vp Suppression, is a new, highly sophisticated algorithm that can promote innate conduction by enabling the pacemaker to stimulate the heart muscle only when appropriate.
Evia also features BIOTRONIK’s proprietary Closed Loop Stimulation (CLS), a unique pacing solution with a proven, physiological rate regulation algorithm that is the most advanced on the market. CLS is the only rate-response technology to receive FDA labeling as responding to physical and acute mental stress.
Press release: BIOTRONIK Receives FDA Approval for Expansion of the Premium Evia Pacemaker Portfolio
Product page: Estella; Evia; Effecta
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers are using color changing pigments to identify infectious bacteria by their smell. Well practiced microbiologists with trained noses are known to be able to do that for some bacteria, so the researchers decided to adapt their technology to look for the byproducts of bacterial metabolism that are responsible for different scents.
The researchers spread blood samples on Petri dishes of a standard growth gel, attached an array to the inside of the lid of each dish, then inverted the dishes onto an ordinary flatbed scanner. Every 30 minutes, they scanned the arrays and recorded the color changes in each dot. The pattern of color change over time is unique to each bacterium.
"The progression of the pattern change is part of the diagnosis of which bacteria it is," Suslick said. "It’s like time-lapse photography. You’re not looking just at a single frame, you’re looking at the motion of the frames over time."
In only a few hours, the array not only confirms the presence of bacteria, but identifies a specific species and strain. It even can recognize antibiotic resistance – a key factor in treatment decisions.
In the paper, the researchers showed that they could identify 10 of the most common disease-causing bacteria, including the hard-to-kill hospital infection methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), with 98.8 percent accuracy. However, Suslick believes the array could be used to diagnose a much wider variety of infections.
Next, the team is working on integrating the arrays with vials of liquid growth medium, which is a faster culturing agent and more common in clinical practice than Petri dishes. They have also improved the pigments to be more stable, more sensitive and easier to print. The device company iSense, which Suslick co-founded, is commercializing the array technology for clinical use.
Low-cost sensor can diagnose bacterial infections…
Abstract in Journal of The American Chemical Society: Rapid Identification of Bacteria with a Disposable Colorimetric Sensing Array
Link: iSense…
Flashback: A Litmus Test For Source of Sweetness
Avita Medical’s ReCell Spray-On Skin Outperforms Traditional Skin Grafting in Clinical Study
by on Apr 28, 2011 • 10:36 am
Avita Medical, Ltd. has announced the results of a pilot study of its ReCell kit for the harvesting and application of autologous skin cells. The ReCell kit was used to treat four burn victims, and resulted in a faster healing process and better cosmetic outcomes than traditional skin grafting. Treatment with ReCell, which takes about half an hour, involves harvesting a small skin sample from the patient, using it to create a cell suspension, and spraying it over the affected area. The kit is CE marked and is currently under review by the FDA.
From the announcement:
ReCell allows in-theatre preparation of a spray-on suspension consisting of cells derived from a small (2 by 2cm), thin (0.15-0.20mm) biopsy of the patient’s own skin that is sufficient to cover an area up to 80 times the size of the biopsy. The ReCell suspension contains basal keratinocytes, melanocytes, fibroblasts and Langerhans cells. The metabolically responsive epithelial cells migrate across the wound surface, leading to regeneration of skin of normal color and texture. ReCell requires only a minimal donor site and is immediate available as a cell-based spray at the patient’s bedside.
Press release: Study Demonstrates That Avita Medical’s ReCell® Spray-On Skin™ in Combination with a Biological Wound Dressing Has “a Number of Benefits Compared to Standard Skin-Grafting Techniques”…
Product page: ReCell…
Flashback: DOD Helping to Get Skin Harvesting Kit to Market
