Implants News and Research

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Special surface coating for stents to keep them in place

If a person's windpipe is constricted, an operation in which the surgeon inserts a stent to enlarge the trachea is often the only way to relieve their respiratory distress. But this grid-like implant can slip out of position, closing off the windpipe altogether. Researchers are working on a special surface coating for the stents to keep them in place.

9 Jul 2012

Cigarette smoke reduces production of Fallopian tube gene - BAD

Cigarette smoke reduces the production of a Fallopian tube gene known as "BAD", which helps explain the link between smoking and ectopic pregnancy. The finding, from scientists led by Drs Andrew Horne and Colin Duncan at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh, UK, was described today at the annual meting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) in Istanbul.

4 Jul 2012

Small coils activate neurons to modulate brain-cell activity

Magnetic fields generated by microscopic devices implanted into the brain may be able to modulate brain-cell activity and reduce symptoms of several neurological disorders.

27 Jun 2012

New video article describes novel procedure that can monitor brain function

A new video article in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, describes a novel procedure to monitor brain function and aid in functional mapping of patients with diseases such as epilepsy. This procedure illustrates the use of pre-placed electrodes for cortical mapping in the brains of patients who are undergoing surgery to minimize the frequency of seizures. This technique, while invasive, provides real-time analysis of brain function at a much higher resolution than current technologies.

27 Jun 2012

Male hormonal contraceptives applied daily to the skin reduce sperm production

Male hormonal contraceptives applied daily to the skin reduce sperm production, finds a new study to be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

26 Jun 2012

Southern Implants, Keystone announce merger agreement

Keystone Dental, Inc., a leading oral healthcare company dedicated to the delivery of breakthrough implant technology, and Southern Implants, Inc., a producer of unique and innovative dental implant technologies aimed to simplify clinical challenges for implant surgeons and restorative dentists, today announced the companies have merged.

From Danaher 22 Jun 2012

Selenium reduces Staph populations in medical implants

Selenium is an inexpensive element that naturally belongs in the body. It is also known to combat bacteria. Still, it had not been tried as an antibiotic coating on a medical device material. In a new study, Brown University engineers report that when they used selenium nanoparticles to coat polycarbonate, the material of catheters and endotracheal tubes, the results were significant reductions in cultured populations of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, sometimes by as much as 90 percent.

22 Jun 2012

Advances in robotic spine surgery

1. Please could you give a brief outline of robotic spine surgery and its recent history? Robotic spine surgery is very new, less than 10 years old. There are only 10 hospitals in the US offering it and we are the second hospital in California to offer this technology.

15 Jun 2012

FDA clears KFx Medical’s new tissue fixation anchor

KFx Medical Corporation announced it has received 510K clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its 5mm AppianFx Tissue Fixation Anchor.

15 Jun 2012

$Single-leg approach safe and effective for children with hip and thigh fractures$

Single-leg approach safe and effective for children with hip and thigh fractures

Challenging a longstanding practice of casting both legs in children with hip and thigh fractures, a new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study shows that such fractures heal just as well in single-leg casts, while giving children greater comfort and mobility.

14 Jun 2012

MIT engineers develop new glucose-powered implantable medical device

MIT engineers have developed a fuel cell that runs on the same sugar that powers human cells: glucose. This glucose fuel cell could be used to drive highly efficient brain implants of the future, which could help paralyzed patients move their arms and legs again.

14 Jun 2012

Mazor Robotics receives KFDA clearance for Renaissance system

Mazor Robotics Ltd., a developer of innovative surgical robots and complementary products, today announced that its Korean distributor, BR Holdings, received marketing clearance from the Korean Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) to market Mazor's Renaissance system.

13 Jun 2012

FDA grants Fast Track designation to Edimer’s EDI200 for treatment of XLHED

Edimer Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on developing an innovative therapy for the rare genetic disorder, X-linked Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (XLHED), today announced the receipt of Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for EDI200, the company's novel, proprietary, recombinant protein.

13 Jun 2012

Mazor Robotics successfully completes first robot-guided brain surgical procedures

Mazor Robotics Ltd., a developer of innovative surgical robots and complementary products, today announced the successful completion of the first robot-guided brain surgical procedures, which were performed with Mazor Robotics' technology.

11 Jun 2012

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agrements for spinal implants

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced new agreements for spinal implants and related products

8 Jun 2012

House passes repeal of tax on medical devices

The bill, which is likely to hit tough opposition in the Senate, would roll back a tax in the 2010 health law designed to help pay for the expansion of coverage to people who do not have insurance.

8 Jun 2012

CardioKinetix commences Parachute Ventricular Partitioning Device clinical trial in IHF

CardioKinetix Inc., a medical device company pioneering a catheter-based treatment for heart failure, announced today that it has begun enrollment in PARACHUTE III, a post-market safety surveillance trial, in Germany with the CE Marked Parachute Ventricular Partitioning Device.

7 Jun 2012

Small stature spinal system announced by K2M

K2M, Inc., a spinal device company developing innovative solutions for the treatment of complex spinal pathologies and minimally invasive procedures, today announced the debut of the MESA® Small Stature Spinal System, a Ø4.5 mm line extension of the company’s revolutionary low profile, zero torque family of products.

6 Jun 2012

College undergraduates less upset than expected by questionnaires about sex, trauma

Research on sex and trauma faces an ethical dilemma: how can we find out more about the effects of such psychologically sensitive topics without hurting the people who participate in the study?

1 Jun 2012

UCLA research projects aim to improve lives of children with serious illnesses

New hope for deadly pediatric brain tumors; opening the door to improved diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy in children; and advanced genetic testing to better understand the causes of autism and cancer in kids. These research projects are currently underway at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA under the umbrella of the UCLA Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute (CDI), and aim to dramatically improve the lives of children with serious illnesses.

31 May 2012