Posts by: Wouter Stomp

Angel Catheter Combines Central Venous Catheter with IVC Filter for Pulmonary Embolism Prevention (video)

by Wouter Stomp on May 16, 2012

BiO2 Medical has received CE Mark approval for the Angel Catheter, a nitinol inferior vena cava (IVC) filter permanently attached to a central venous catheter, for the use of preventing pulmonary embolism in critically ill patients. The multi-lumen catheter can be used like a normal central venous system for administering medications, fluids or blood products, blood sampling and monitoring of central venous pressure. At the same time it provides pulmonary embolism prophylaxis by means of the attached IVC filter.

The primary patient population is critical care patients in whom anticoagulation therapy poses a high risk of complications, including major bleeding and death, and in which patients are at highest risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The filter can be easily removed when the central line is removed, once the danger of VTE has been resolved.

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St Jude Medical Launches EnligHTN Renal Denervation System

by Wouter Stomp on May 15, 2012

It seems that renal denervation systems are popping up like daisies these days. Today at the EuroPCR meeting in Paris, France, St. Jude Medical announced CE Mark Approval and the launch of its EnligHTN renal denervation system. Like other renal ablative systems, this one is approved to reduce blood pressure in patients with hypertension resistant to medical therapy.

Similar to the Vessix Vascular V2 system, the EnligHTN has multiple electrodes which potentially saves time during the ablation procedure, as four ablations can be performed without catheter repositioning.

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Hitachi Receives FDA Clearance for Echelon Oval 1.5T Wide-Bore MRI (video)

by Wouter Stomp on May 14, 2012

Hitachi Medical Systems received FDA clearance for its Echelon Oval 1.5T Ultra-Wide MR system. The Echelon Oval has a bore that is, as the name implies, oval-shaped, very much unlike conventional MRI systems which have a round bore. The opening is 65cm high and 74cm wide, accommodating even the largest patients and reducing feelings of claustrophobia. When the spine coil is used, this results in approximately 40% more examination space compared to conventional MRI systems.

Looking further than just the shape and size of the bore, the Echelon Oval’s imaging capabilities include non-contrast MRA, isotropic image acquisition and robust fat suppression. It features Hitachi’s Workflow Integrated Technology (WIT) suite which includes an integrated coil system and a wide mobile table.

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Live-Tweeted Brain Surgery Tomorrow Starting at 7:30 am CST

by Wouter Stomp on May 8, 2012

Tomorrow, May 9 at 7:30 am CST, a brain tumor resection will be live-tweeted from Houston’s Memorial Hermann hospital. Surgeon Dong Kim will be performing the brain surgery (removal of a cavernous angioma) on a 21-year-old woman. Tweets will be using the hashtag #MHbrain and the social media event will feature not only simple tweets, but also pictures and video, including live video feed from the operating microscope.

Live-tweeting a surgery is not new to the hospital. Less than three months ago they made news by performing the world’s first live-tweeted open heart surgery. The goal of the live-tweeted surgeries is to educate the general public about these diseases and take them into the OR to see what happens during a surgery.

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Covidien Introduces OneShot Renal Denervation System

by Wouter Stomp on May 8, 2012

Covidien is the latest in a line of companies entering the renal denervation business, as it will unveil its new OneShot renal denervation system at the EuroPCR (European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions) congress in Paris, France, on May 16. Like all other recently introduced denervation systems, it is intended to treat patients with hypertension who are not responsive to traditional medical therapy.

The OneShot system is an irrigated, radiofrequency (RF) based balloon catheter used to ablate the renal sympathetic nerves located in the outer wall of the renal arteries. The OneShot technology received CE mark clearance in February 2012. If you are attending EuroPCR, it will be possible to watch two denervation procedures that will be transmitted live from Leipzig, Germany.

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Eyewire Crowdsources Retinal Connectome Mapping

by Wouter Stomp on May 8, 2012

The eye has its own connectome, the neuronal network of the retina that processes the incoming signals before it sends them off to the brain. Much of its structure is yet unknown, and now researchers are looking into the powers of crowdsourcing to process the vast amounts of data they have acquired on the structure. Eyewire, developed by neuroscientists at MIT, comprises a game that requires the players to connect the neurons in a small piece of the retina.

The data for analysis consists of a retinal volume with a size of 350×300×60 μm3 that was imaged using serial electron microscopy at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany. In total it amounts to about one terabyte of data. Although the analysis of these images to find connectomes can be automated to some extent, a lot of it is still manual work and this can be very time-consuming. By incorporating a game-like element and engaging a crowd from all over the world the researchers hope to speed up their analyses.

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Nanoparticles Deliver High Dose Antibiotics to Sites of Bacterial Infection

by Wouter Stomp on May 7, 2012

Bacteria have remarkable capacities to develop resistance to antibiotics. However, much higher doses than usual of these antibiotics can still be effective, but it is normally not feasible to administer such high doses to patients due to the side-effects these drugs have. To overcome this limitation, researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a nanoparticle that can deliver large doses of antibiotics right to the site of bacterial infection.

The nanoparticles are made out of a polymer capped with polyethylene glycol, an often used material which is nontoxic and helps in evading the immune system as long as the nanoparticles have not reached their target. The ingenious part is how the particles target bacteria: at first they have a slight negative charge, another mechanism to avoid being cleared by the immune system. At the site of infection, the environment is a bit more acidic than elsewhere, and this acidity causes the nanoparticles to switch their charge from negative to positive. Bacteria have negatively charged cell walls and thus the nanoparticles form a strong connection with the bacteria’s cell wall.

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Vessix V2 Renal Denervation System Receives CE Mark Approval

by Wouter Stomp on May 2, 2012

Just two days after we reported on the design story behind the Vessix V2 renal denervation system,Vessix Vascular is now announcing it has received European CE Mark approval for its percutaneous radiofrequency balloon catheter technology for the treatment of hypertension. According to the company, the system is faster, easier to use and less painful for patients than any renal denervation system currently available on the market.

The V2 is approved for use in patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite taking three or more anti-hypertensive medications. In these patients, renal denervation may reduce systolic blood pressure by approximately 20 percent, thereby greatly reducing the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

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Illumina Launches MyGenome iPad App for Visualizing the Human Genome

by Wouter Stomp on Apr 26, 2012

Illumina has launched the MyGenome iPad app, an app which visualizes the human genome. It allows you to explore a real human genome and view reports about important genetic variations. In its current iteration it acts mainly as an educational tool, however in future version Illumina foresees it becoming a clinical tool for use by physicians with their patients to improve communication of genetic data.

The MyGenome app features an actual genome, a genome Map, health cards and reports and a video journey into the genome. The included genome belongs to Illumina’s own CEO Jay Flatley. More interestingly however, in future versions it will be possible to explore your own genome after you have had your genome sequenced by Illumina’s Individual Genome Sequencing service. Illumina plans to deliver genetic data first to the ordering physician via the app, providing direct access to the consumer only after the doctor has discussed the result with the consumer. The app is available for $0.99 from the Apple app store.

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Wouter Stomp is an MD from Leiden, the Netherlands, currently doing a PhD in radiology.

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