Pediatrics Archives

Asante’s Cartridge-Based Pearl Insulin Pump Gets CE Marked

by Smit Shah on Apr 14, 2011 •

vtjqrxlv Asantes Cartridge Based Pearl Insulin Pump Gets CE Marked
While the continuous delivery provided by an insulin pump allows for better control of blood sugar levels than multiple daily injections, currently available insulin pumps use a reservoir that requires frequent refilling. Sunnyvale, CA based Asante Solutions, Inc. hopes that its Pearl Insulin Pump will solve this problem, while still providing the same advantages as existing insulin pumps. The Pearl uses an insulin cartridge instead of the traditional reservoir, which the company claims will make refilling much quicker and more convenient for patients. The Pearl Insulin Pump received the CE mark this week, and is currently awaiting 510(k) clearance from the FDA.
More about the product:

The Pearl Insulin Pump is designed to simplify diabetes care for the more than 500,000 people worldwide who use an insulin pump and those considering insulin pump therapy. Unlike the insulin pumps currently available, which require users to manually fill an insulin reservoir using a vial of insulin and syringe, the Pearl Insulin Pump uses a 300-unit, pre-filled insulin cartridge that simplifies the process of loading the pump and filling the infusion set by reducing the number of steps required and thereby creating a less time-consuming and more convenient process.

Company website: Asante…
Press release: Asante Solutions, Inc. Receives CE Mark for Pearl™ Insulin Pump…

Medicine / Pediatrics

Medtronic’s Enlite Sensor Provides Improved Comfort for Continuous Glucose Monitoring Patients

by Smit Shah on Apr 12, 2011
Medtronic's Enlite Sensor Provides Improved Comfort for Continuous Glucose Monitoring Patients

Medtronic has announced CE marking and the pending launch of its new Enlite sensor for use with the company’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. The Enlite has demonstrated better accuracy than Medtronic’s previous CGM sensors, and provides greater patient comfort due to its smaller profile. CGM has proven more effective than manual finger-prick testing at enabling patients to manage their blood sugar, and Medtronic hopes that the Enlite’s improved comfort will lead to greater adoption of CGM. The new sensor is designed for use with Medtronic’s MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System, MiniMed Paradigm Veo System, Guardian REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, and the iPro2.
From the press release:

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Anesthesiology / Critical Care / Emergency Medicine / Medicine / Pediatrics

MedeGrip to Make Work With Central Lines, Ampules, Other Devices Easier and Safer

by Gene Ostrovsky on Apr 4, 2011
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.

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Medicine / Pathology / Pediatrics

Abbott’s i-STAT 1 Wireless Wins U.S. Clearance

by Gene Ostrovsky on Mar 31, 2011
Abbott's i-STAT 1 Wireless Wins U.S. Clearance

Abbott‘s i-STAT 1 Wireless point-of-care blood analyzer has been cleared by the FDA. Improving on the popular wired i-STAT, the wireless version can automatically transmit readings to a central computer without having to physically sync with it. The device accepts various cartridges for specific tests.

• Requires no special sample preparation or user calibration; maintenance is minimal

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Medicine / Pediatrics

Telcare Blood Glucose System Aims for Wireless Diabetes Management

by Gene Ostrovsky on Mar 25, 2011
Telcare Blood Glucose System Aims for Wireless Diabetes Management

Telcare is a Bethesda, Maryland firm that has developed blood glucose monitoring technology that combines a glucose meter with wireless connectivity to Telcare’s cloud server. The package is designed to keep an open two-way communication between a patient and an ecosystem of caregivers that may include the doctor, diabetes nurse educators, and family members.
With this system, results are shared with the cloud with each reading and the patient receives feedback and guidance that may be automated or may trigger a demand for specific caregiver advice. The system has completed

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Ophthalmology / Pediatrics

Nintendo 3DS to Help Identify Amblyopia and Other Vision Problems

by Scott Jung on Mar 22, 2011
Nintendo 3DS to Help Identify Amblyopia and Other Vision Problems

Most kids, many pediatricians, and the occasional Medgadget editor would relish any opportunity to utilize video games to improve health. Microsoft’s Kinect sensor has been featured here on Medgadget numerous times for its medical applications in imaging and gesture controls. The Nintendo Wii was one of the first systems to exercise more than your fingers.
Now, the American Optometric Association (AOA) is looking into the new Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system for its potential to help uncover subtle vision problems. The 3DS is Nintendo’s latest version of its dual-screen portable gaming system. One of the screens is innovative because it allows the gamer to see 3-D without the use of special glasses. Nintendo warns not to allow children under the age of 6 to use the 3D effect (which can be switched on and off) because it may harm their vision. Some optometrists say that the 3D screen is not only harmless for all ages, but can also help identify vision problems such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (eye turn).

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Medicine / Pediatrics

New Blood Glucose Test Sensor Uses Tear Fluid

by Scott Jung on Mar 16, 2011
New Blood Glucose Test Sensor Uses Tear Fluid

For those who suffer from diabetes, the pain that comes with pricking one’s finger often discourages consistent blood glucose monitoring. However, with a new sensor from engineers at Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic, the days of painful finger pricks may be numbered.
Most diabetics probably won’t shed a tear over such news, but perhaps they should, because lacrimation is exactly the basis of this new blood glucose sensor. With the device, a quick and painless dab in the corner of your eye is all it takes to get a sample of tear fluid. The sensor will measure the amount of glucose in the tear sample, which correlates closely with the amount of glucose in the blood.

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Medicine / Net News / Pediatrics

Positive ID Unveils iglucose Glucometer Data Management Device

by Gene Ostrovsky on Mar 9, 2011
Positive ID Unveils iglucose Glucometer Data Management Device

PositiveID Corporation has announced that it finished developing a stand-alone device for relaying portable glucose meter readings to an online database. The unit is designed not to require a computer so that users can simply log their readings and shoot them up straight to the server for doctor’s review.

The iglucose system, a stand-alone, self-contained unit that operates without the use of a cell phone or personal computer, automatically queries data-capable glucometers for blood glucose readings and sends that data via wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to an online database. At the patient’s discretion, blood glucose data can also be forwarded to physicians and caregivers at predetermined intervals.

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in the news... / Neurology / Pediatrics

EEG Complexity Predicts Autism Risk

by Wouter Stomp on Feb 28, 2011
EEG Complexity Predicts Autism Risk

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have discovered a method of identifying infants at high risk for developing autism based on their EEG. The main motivation for this research is identifying children at risk at an age when clinical diagnosis is still impossible, allowing for earlier start of behavioral interventions. They used machine-learning algorithms to determine the complexity of the resting state EEG signals in a group of 79 infants aged 6 to 24 months, of which 46 had an older sibling with autism. They computed the modified multiscale entropy (mMSE), which indicates the degree of randomness in the signal, a result of the density of neurons, the organization of their connections and the balance of short- and long-distance connections. Their system had a 80 percent accuracy in identifying high risk infants at nine months of age, with lower accuracy at other timepoints. For nine month old boys accuracy was even 100%, while declining at later intervals. Further studies to confirm the findings and to discriminate patterns between different types of autistic spectrum disorders are planned. The study was published online in BMC Medicine.
Press release: Using EEGs to diagnose autism spectrum disorders in infants…

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