Device / Technology News

RSS

More pressure to lift 13 year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants

Hot on the heels of the FDA's rejection of Inamed's attempt to have its Silicone-gel breast implants re-instated, a second manufacturer Mentor has also tried to convince sceptical federal health advisers to the Food and Drug Administration to lift a 13-year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants.

13 Apr 2005

New heart valve ring helps congestive heart failure patients regain lost heart function

A new heart valve ring appears to help congestive heart failure patients regain lost heart function, reversing the disease's effects on heart structure in two ways and easing their disabling symptoms, researchers reported here today at the 85th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

13 Apr 2005

New invention can easily spot whether cancer has spread

German researchers have come up with a test that measures how stretchy cells are, which could revolutionise the way doctors spot whether cancers have spread, Inventors at the University of Leipzig have produced a laptop-sized gadget which can give a diagnosis using as few as 50 cells and avoids the need to cut out tissue and say it is 1,000 times more accurate than traditional tests.

12 Apr 2005

Technology helps Stanford shed new light on coronary bypass surgery

On March 31, Joel Dyels celebrated his 72nd birthday by having coronary bypass surgery at Stanford Hospital. He also became the third patient at Stanford - and in the United States - to benefit from a new imaging system that lets doctors see the blood pathways they have created while the patient's chest is still open.

12 Apr 2005

New optical method will help diagnose various types of skin cancers

A new optical method that can image subsurface structures under skin has been demonstrated by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

12 Apr 2005

Innovation, competitive prices to underpin uptake of diagnostic ultrasound devices

Across Europe, the pricing of ultrasound systems is expected to be central to its uptake. In addition to being competitively priced, products with an emphasis on innovation, user-friendliness, mobility and compactness are also expected to appeal to end-users.

12 Apr 2005

FDA hearings on silicone breast implants

On April 11-13, the FDA's advisory panel on General and Plastic Surgery Devices will once again meet to review data on the safety of silicone breast implants. The panel will vote Tuesday on Inamed Corporation's application for approval, and on Wednesday on Mentor Corporation's application.

11 Apr 2005

New device helps catch out kids that smoke

Bedfont, a breath monitoring equipment manufacturer, announced it developed a tool that can aid parents in testing their kids for cigarette and marijuana use.

From Bedfont® Scientific Ltd 11 Apr 2005

E-health therapies attract national accolades

Leeds University spinout company Media Innovations leading the way in new therapies for eating disorders bulimia and anorexia nervosa. In the last month, the company’s unique CD-Rom packages have won a prestigious award, been short listed for a further award and received a grant from the Medical Research Council to widen the delivery of the packages further.

10 Apr 2005

Electronic nose can be used to detect early evidence of lung cancer

The electronic nose, a device long used for safety and quality control in the food, wine and perfume industries, also can be used to detect early evidence of lung cancer, according to research conducted at The Cleveland Clinic.

7 Apr 2005

FDA approves first cranial dural sealant

Confluent Surgical, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the DuraSeal Dural Sealant System as the first and only product indicated as an adjunct to sutured dural repair during cranial surgery to achieve watertight closure. The FDA has approved the DuraSeal Sealant with a condition to conduct a post-approval study.

7 Apr 2005

FDA posts silicone gel breast implant approval information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has posted information on it's web site related to the Mentor Corporation's silicone gel breast implant pre-market approval (PMA) application, scheduled to be reviewed at a General and Plastics Surgery Devices Advisory Panel meeting April 11-13, 2005.

6 Apr 2005

Heart transplant patients benefit from new technology

New technology for cardiac transplant patients indicates a patient's risk of organ rejection with a simple blood test. News of this revolutionary testing method will be presented today at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation's (ISHLT) Annual Meeting and Scientific Session in Philadelphia.

6 Apr 2005

New technology to help heart and lung patients awaiting transplants

Promising new technology may extend the life of a failing organ for patients suffering from heart or lung disease while they wait for a donor organ. The use of stem cells may eliminate the need for a transplant and even eradicate heart disease in patients.

6 Apr 2005

Nasal filter new weapon against hay fever

The first clinical trial of a nasal filter has shown that they can significantly reduce both the number of people experiencing symptoms and the severity of their symptoms.

5 Apr 2005

Bionic eyes from Stanford

Stanford physicists and eye doctors have teamed up to design a "bionic eye," of sorts. On Feb. 22 in the Journal of Neural Engineering, Daniel Palanker, Alexander Vankov and Phil Huie from the Department of Ophthalmology and the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Stephen Baccus from the Department of Neurobiology published a design of an optoelectronic retinal prosthesis system that can stimulate the retina with resolution corresponding to a visual acuity of 20/80

4 Apr 2005

Implantable medical device that lowers blood pressure

Doctors at the University of Rochester Medical Center are the first in the nation to implant an investigational medical device that lowers blood pressure by activating the body's natural blood pressure regulation systems.

3 Apr 2005

New miniature sensors for analysing DNA

The sensors have the same size and thickness as a fingernail and reduce the time needed to identify DNA chains to several minutes or a few hours, depending on each chain.

3 Apr 2005

Device may offer alternative for stroke patients

As the most common cause of adult disability in the United States, stroke leaves many survivors unable to perform tasks that were once part of their daily routine. Much of the time the disabilities are treatable, but the high cost of rehabilitation therapy leaves many patients to cope on their own.

30 Mar 2005

New prostate cancer test

Tessera, Inc., a Seattle-based biomedical company, has released its first product, ProstaMark EPCA (Early Prostate Cancer Antigen), as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR) for commercial use in pathology laboratories to assist pathologists in their efforts to determine if cancer is present in the prostate.

28 Mar 2005