Medgadget » Cardiac Surgery

Bovie J-Plasma Handpiece Greenlighted in U.S.

Gene Ostrovsky — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:33:32 +0000

Bovie Medical received FDA clearance for its J-Plasma handpiece with retractable cutting feature for coagulating soft tissue during surgeries. It is available for both open and laparoscopic procedures.

The device is powered by a previously approved Bovie GS electrosurgical generator.

Continuous Near-Infrared Regional Cerebral Perfusion Monitoring Shows Promise in Stroke Patients

Jan Sinnige — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:47:02 +0000

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have shown that cerebral optically-based near infra-red spectroscopic oximetry applied to patients who have suffered a stroke can help monitor regional cerebral perfusion in real time, and thus “may serve as a useful, noninvasive, bedside intensive care unit monitoring tool to assess brain oxygenation in a direct manner.” The study looked at the device called Fore-Sight from Casmed of Branford, CT, that measures blood oxygen, similar to a finger clip pulse oximeter. The Mayo study results have been published in Journal of Neurosurgery this month.

Regional cerebral blood flow monitoring devices such as Fore-Sight are already in wide deployment in cardiac surgery, where they are thought to prevent brain ischemia in patients undergoing major surgeries on bypass (valve replacements, aortic arch surgeries, etc.).

Cardinal Health Releases Smart-Seal Surgical Mask

Gene Ostrovsky — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:11:23 +0000

Cardinal Health has made available its Smart-Seal surgical mask that improves both its fit and reduces interior fogging while providing a high level of filtration and resistance to liquids.

From the announcement:

Edwards Lifesciences Announces Promising Transcatheter Patient Data

Brian Klein — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:19:16 +0000

Edwards Lifesciences has announced that a recent clinical trial studying its Sapien transcatheter heart valve found reduced mortality rates in high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

A recent press release explains that patients in the trial were treated with transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) during the continued access period of Cohort A of The PARTNER Trial. The findings on the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve were announced at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ (STS) annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Medtronic DF4 High-Voltage Connector System Green Lighted in U.S.

Gene Ostrovsky — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:02:43 +0000

Medtronic received FDA clearance for its DF4 High-Voltage Connector System, a right ventricular lead and connector, compatible with various implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds).

The device is made to be easier to implant thanks to a new port featuring visual confirmation and only one connection unlike previous leads that often needed up to three hookups.

HealthStream and Laerdal Unveil New Clinical Simulator Management Tools

Gene Ostrovsky — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:11:16 +0000

HealthStream and Laerdal Medical launched a couple new products for managing and studying clinical simulations.

SimView allows for recording of simulation video, audio, data logs, and how the virtual patient responds to therapy. SimManager is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application that helps manage simulation routines from scheduling, to progress tracking, to delivering reports while tracking room and equipment availability.

Spiro PD Personal Spirometer for Lung Function Analysis

Gene Ostrovsky — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:00:17 +0000

PMD Healthcare has released its new portable spirometer that allows people with all kinds of lung conditions, like asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis, to monitor their lung function. The device can also provide reminders to take medications and perform tests, as well as to be used to conduct breathing exercises.

Data from the device can be uploaded via a computer for physicians to be able to analyze results over time.

Conformable GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis to Save Young Lives

Gene Ostrovsky — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:30:25 +0000

Thanks to a freshly issued FDA approval, W. L. Gore & Associates will be bringing its Conformable GORE TAG Thoracic Endoprosthesis to the U.S. market. The device is designed for young patients when addressing isolated lesions of the thoracic aorta and can even be used for life threatening traumatic transections of the aorta, which till now required a fully open thoracic approach.

The Conformable GORE TAG Device is the only FDA approved thoracic endoprosthesis specifically designed to treat the anatomy of young trauma patients, with the ability to treat down to 16 mm aortas and extremely tapered anatomy. The device offers conformability and ease of use, while accommodating tapered anatomy and resisting compression. The broad oversizing window for the device ranges from 6 to 33 percent, allowing physicians to choose the appropriate oversizing for the patient anatomy.
Read More

Nanotech Coating Could Stop Bleeding within Seconds

Brian Klein — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:29:43 +0000

A nanoscale biological coating could prevent battlefield deaths by halting bleeding nearly instantaneously. Developed by engineers at MIT with the assistance of Ferrosan Medical Devices A/S (Soeborg, Denmark), the coating includes thrombin, a protein involved in blood clotting that has been used clinically for decades for topical hemostasis and wound management. The coating also contains tannic acid, a molecule found in tea.

In a recent study, the researchers developed a biological coating consisting of two alternating layers sprayed onto a material, such as a sponge. The coating forms a film containing a high level of functional thrombin. According to the researchers, sponges coated with the material can be stored stably and carried by soldiers or medical personnel to treat the wounded. Similar sponges could also prove useful in civilian hospitals.

EndoWrist One Vessel Sealer Debuts for da Vinci Si Surgical System

Brian Klein — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:01:30 +0000

Robotic surgery developer Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) has received 510(k) clearance to market its EndoWrist One Vessel Sealer. The bipolar electrosurgical sealing and cutting instrument is designed for use with the firm’s da Vinci Si Surgical and a dedicated version of the ERBE VIO 300D electrosurgical generator, sold and supported by Intuitive Surgical, that will only control the Endowrist One vessel sealer instrument. The wristed, disposable instrument is intended for bipolar coagulation and mechanical transection of vessels up to 7 mm in diameter and tissue bundles that fit in the jaws of the instrument. It is not intended for use for tubal sterilization or tubal coagulation for sterilization procedures.

The EndoWrist One Vessel Sealer enables da Vinci Si surgeons to fully control vessel sealing, according to the manufacturer, while providing high surgical precision, control, stability, and 3-D HD visualization.