Medgadget » Emergency Medicine

Analogic Releases New BK Medical Ultrasounds

Gene Ostrovsky — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:39:19 +0000

Analogic has announced the worldwide launch of three new ultrasound systems from its subsidiary BK Medical, the Pro Focus UltraView 800, the Flex Focus 800, and the Flex Focus 500.

All three models sport the company’s “Quantum Technology” that provides high resolution visualization of the tissues.

U.S. Army’s New Standard Issue Individual First Aid Kit

Gene Ostrovsky — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:02:05 +0000

The U.S. Army has been trying to improve first aid medical response of soldiers in the field, and has developed the latest Individual First Aid Kit, or IFAK, to meet the unique needs that presented themselves in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the IFAK is bulky and gets in the way of other equipment, so developers at Natick Soldier Systems Center have completely redesigned the pack to store it in the small of the back while making it easily accessible from either side by the soldier injured or another trying to help him.

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:

Hidalgo Unveils Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor

Gene Ostrovsky — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:11:37 +0000

Hidalgo out of Cambridge, England has released its new wireless Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor that can continuously record ECG, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and activity levels in patients. Data is analyzed using special software for PCs, web and mobile devices and can provide real-time results that can be immediately acted upon by clinicians.

Hidalgo’s technology has already been in use by UK’s Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, Addenbrooke’s hospital, and the US Marine Corps in Iraq where wireless, mobile, and easy to use devices save the day.

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.

Ex-Army Physicians Develop Tourniquet to Slow Abdominal Bleeding in Soldiers

Gavin Corley — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:49:06 +0000

Two emergency physicians with some impressive war-time credentials, from Georgia Health Sciences University and Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, have developed a device to prevent severe abdominal bleeding in soldiers. According to the inventors, when a soldier is shot in the abdomen severe bleeding occurs due to rupturing of the major vessels in this region, making it a common target for insurgents and a difficult fix for the field medics. Due to the shape and size of the abdomen, it is difficult to apply a tourniquet or effectively apply external compression.

To overcome this problem, the physicians have come up with an inflatable, wedge-shaped bladder embedded into the abdominal aortic tourniquet. The device is wrapped around the body at the navel level,tightened and inflated into the abdomen until it occludes the aorta and stops the bleeding, hopefully increasing the chances of survival.

First App to be Registered as Class I Medical Device in the UK

Stanley Darma — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:20:46 +0000

A couple of months ago we mentioned Mersey Burns, an app which enables a quick, accurate calculation of the amount of fluids to be administered after burn injuries. Now this software is the first app to have received approval as a medical device from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Mersey Burns was created by Chris Seaton from the University of Manchester: it was developed further within the Mersey Plastic Surgery Unit. The app is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. To calculate the fluid protocol, the app requires input of the areas that are burned and patient information such as weight, height and age. Down below you can see a video on how the app works.

Company Claims Optical Blood Pressure Monitor Breakthrough

Gene Ostrovsky — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:20:54 +0000

Tarilian Laser Technologies, a Hertfordshire, UK firm claims it has developed the “greatest technological advance in blood pressure measurement for 130 years” Unlike direct pressure measurement that every other BP meter does, the company’s Sapphire device uses an optical sensor to continuously measure blood pressure at the wrist. Keeping the Sapphire stationary will provide beat-to-beat readings and Tarilian says the device can effectively be used to detect white coat hypertension (raised blood pressure due to patient being in a clinical setting).

The company believes this technology can be translated for non-contact measurement of intraocular pressure, fetal heart monitoring, and for blood pressure monitoring using small mobile devices at different spots on the body.

Ultrasound System for Treatment of Ischemic Stroke Receives CE Mark Approval

Jan Sinnige — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:55:34 +0000

Cerevast Therapeutics, Inc. from Redmond, Washington received CE mark approval for the Clotbust ER, a SonoLysis system used to treat ischaemic stroke in emergency settings. The device has been designed to non-invasively deliver therapeutic ultrasound energy to occluded blood vessels in the brain, together with standard intravenous thrombolytic therapy. The energy of the ultrasound beam is transformed into energy of fluid motion, also known as acoustic streaming. At very low pressures this streaming inside the brain will cause a mild “stirring” action in which additional fibrin binding sites are exposed to plasmin. This new method will enhance the clot lysis potential of conventional rtPA treatment.

Integrated software controls the delivery of consistent therapeutic levels of energy required to attain acoustic streaming, which makes the device operator independent and doesn’t require an experienced ultrasound specialist.

Difficult IV Access? EZ Vein to the Rescue!

Gene Ostrovsky — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:42:30 +0000

According to The Oklahoman, the FDA approved the EZ Vein, a new device developed by an Oklahoma doctor for easing the placement of intravenous catheters in challenging patients. Much like with a blood pressure cuff, the device is inflated using a hand pump and vasculature within the window opening is more readily seen.

Dr. Robert Perry, a resident at Oklahoma University Medical Center, is the tinkerer that developed the device in his home workshop and managed to score one of the fastest FDA approvals ever: 17 days from submission.