Ultrasonix (Richmond, British Columbia) has released an optional HD video camera for the company’s Sonix Ultrasound devices.
When performing ultrasound exams, clinicians operating the machine are well aware of where the transducer is.
But, if you want to review the imagery at a later time or pass it on to someone else for a second opinion, seeing synchronized video of the transducer being applied can be helpful in understanding the ultrasound.
SonixCAM sits atop an adjustable flexi-arm and simultaneously records video in MPEG-1 format in parallel to the ultrasound itself. Post exam you can add titles to the video for easy archiving and durling playback you get picture-in-picture functionality.
The system was unveiled last week at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine Convention in New York
More: Ultrasonix introduces SonixCAM to record complete ultrasound procedures…
Product page: SonixCAM…
Anesthesiology Archives
SonixCAM Helps Document Ultrasound Exams
McGill University Researcher Creates the World’s First Intubation Robot
Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling, a McGill University professor who also happens to be the creator of the McSleepy automated anesthesia system, has created another device to assist anesthesiologists in the operating room. The Kepler Intubation System, or KIS, is the world’s first intubation robot designed to facilitate the intubation procedure and reduce some complications associated with airway management.
The device consists of a robotically mounted video-laryngoscope that is controlled by a joystick to accurately and effortlessly insert an endotracheal tube used during general anesthesia.
SpectraShield Respirator Blocks Dust, Bacteria, Wins FDA Approval
The FDA has cleared Nexera Medical‘s (Richmond, British Columbia) SpectraShield 9500 surgical respirator, a face mask the outside of which has been shown to kill three types of bacteria (Streptococcus pyogenes, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Haemophilus influenzae). The device is also a certified N95 respirator, blocking at least 95% of dust particles.
From the product page:
ContextVision Announces New US PLUSView Image Enhancement Suites
ContextVision AB (Stockholm, Sweden) has just announced its new US PLUSView line of ultrasound image enhancement suites, which the company claims will provide improved image enhancement over previous solutions. In addition to its superior speckle reduction and edge enhancement features, US PLUSView allows for deeper penetration. ContextVision claims this will facilitate better ultrasound imaging of overweight patients, which has traditionally been problematic for doctors. The US PLUSView line is based on ContextVision’s GOP technology, which has received FDA 510(k) clearance.
From the product page:
Toshiba Expands Cardiac Ultrasound Offerings
Toshiba is now introducing 3D Wall Motion Tracking and Tissue Enhancement technologies on its Aplio Artida (side image) cardiac ultrasound system. Additionally, Aplio MX (top image), Aplio XG and Xario XG ultrasounds are available with the Auto IMT feature for measuring intima-media thickness of the carotid artery.
3D Wall Motion Tracking, an industry first on the Artida, offers a new era of dyssynchrony imaging and advanced regional wall motion assessment. It aids electrophysiologists in optimizing pacemaker placement and function. It also shows 3D ejection fraction, volumes and regional and global strain function. A Toshiba-exclusive software, Tissue Enhancement has the ability to improve image uniformity and endocardial border delineation, especially in difficult-to-scan patients.
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Ornim’s Non-Invasive Continuous Blood Flow Monitoring Approved in U.S.
Ornim, headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA, has received FDA clearance for the firm’s CerOx 3210F system to be used to monitor blood flow through tissue in adult patients. This clearance is on top of the one received in 2008 for hemoglobin oxygen saturation monitoring in the brain and skeletal muscles. According to the company, the light based system is the only non-invasive and continuous blood flow monitor available.
From the technology page:
respiR8 Breathing Rate Monitor Wins European Clearance
Anaxsys Technology out of Surrey, UK received the European CE Mark of approval for its respiR8 continuous breathing rate monitor. The device works by detecting moisture that accumulates with each breath on a sensor inside a patient’s oxygen mask.
From the product page:
MedeGrip to Make Work With Central Lines, Ampules, Other Devices Easier and Safer
Inserting central lines, breaking glass ampules, and many other daily tasks of a hospital nurse or an anesthesiologist can be brutal on the fingers, especially for older clinicians and those with arthritis. Matthew Ostroff, a PICC line nurse in New York, designed a simple but effective little device to help with removing Luer Loks from central lines and pin knots from peripheral IVs, as well as to make opening ampules safer.
The MedeGrip is made of foam and provides two opposing surfaces to make grabbing onto small, rigid components more effective. This is a big improvement on the popular, but somewhat dangerous, technique of using a hemostat to grab onto the wings of endcaps and other small plastic devices. Moreover, breaking open glass ampules is responsible for about a quarter of all sharps injuries in hospitals, and MedeGrip provides a considerably safer option over using gauze. It gives a nurse a tight grip on the ampule and provides protection to the hands, all while not covering the whole of the ampule so that you can see what you’re working on. Digging around the gauze to find missing glass pieces is also a thing of the past.
CoPilot VL Video Laryngoscope to Challenge McGrath Dominance
Intubating a difficult airway, such as a trauma patient, or a patient with anterior larynx, or an individual who is status post radiation therapy to the neck, often presents a life and death challenge. To offer an alternative to the popular McGrath Series laryngoscopes, marketed by LMA, a couple nurse anesthetists decided to develop their own video device, the CoPilot VL that offers a few novel features, such as a patent-pending Bougie Port. According to Magaw LLC., the company making the device, disposable cover sheaths can be released with a push of a button and the video screen can stand on its own or be clamped to a pole for easy access. The $3,000 device should be available for purchase this summer, and you can get in line by filling out a pre-order form.
From the product page:
