Stimulation with Electrical Noise Could Alleviate Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, Study Finds

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

A study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PloS ONE shows that a weak, electrical noise signal may help people with Parkinson's disease. The study was conducted by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy of University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In experiments on rats, stimulating the balance organs with electrical noise improved ...

First MHRA-Registered Cell Phone App Released

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

A new app for burn patients has recently been registered with UK MHRA as a medical device. Mersey Burns is the first app to be registered with the agency as a Class I medical device, according to a blog post on the website of d4, a UK nonprofit organisation. The app calculates ...

EBR Systems and Cambridge Consultants Develop Wireless Pacemaker

Monday, November 14th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_25699" align="alignleft" width="289" caption="Wireless Cardiac Stimulation System"][/caption] Cambridge Consultants has announced a collaboration with start-up company EBR Systems on what is said to be the world’s first wireless pacing system. The Wireless Cardiac Stimulation system (WiCS) uses a leadless electrode to convert mechanical energy, wirelessly transmitted from an ultrasonic pulse ...

New Technology Could Allow Patients to Monitor Brain Aneurysms at Home

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_25622" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="Aneurysm coil. Courtesy of Ken Takahata and A.R. Mohammadi, University of British Columbia."][/caption] A new technology for the monitoring of brain aneurysms developed at University of British Columbia could allow patients to monitor aneurysms at home with an handheld RF reader, according to a university press release. ...

Medtech Week Recap: AdvaMed 2011 Conference Covered Industry Trends

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Last week, the AdvaMed 2011 conference took place in Washington, DC. The event attracted over 2000 executives from the medical device sector, according to a blog post on DeviceTalk. MD+DI Editor in Chief Heather Thompson and several guest bloggers covered the conference in detail. The post links to all of ...

Medtech Week Recap: Heart Monitors the Size of a Band-Aid Could Be Next Advance in Wearable Electronics

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Wearable electronics is the new trend in medical design, as an earlier medtechinsider post on electronic tattoos demonstrated. Soon heart monitors might be as thin and flexible as the Band-Aid, reported MED in a blog post last week.

Medtech Week Recap: Study Finds that Cardiac Devices Often Cause Infections

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Last week, a blog post on DeviceTalk discussed several recent studies of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices, including one that found that infections are a common result, and can result in high costs and patient mortality.

Connector Integrates Air Lines and Electronics

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_24660" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Colder Products has introduced the Mini Hybrid Connector."][/caption] Colder Products Co. has introduced a new connector that integrates air lines and electronics into a compact, single connection point for remote tools on medical devices and equipment. The Mini Hybrid Connector is designed to prevent misconnections and enhance ...

German Engineers Develop Sensor Chip for Tumour Monitoring

Monday, August 29th, 2011

Medical engineers at Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a sensor chip that can be implanted and used to monitor tumours, according to a university press release. The electronic chip measures the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the tissue surrounding the tumour. A reduction in oxygen content in the tissue ...

Medtech Week Recap: Forward-Thinking Needed for Industry to Prosper

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Last week several blog posts and articles suggested refreshing solutions to current issues facing the medtech industry. Less than a week after a diabetic computer security expert hacked his own insulin pump during a presentation at the Black Hat computer security conference, MED published a timely article on how to ...

Electronic Tattoos Could Be Used to Treat Wounds and Monitor Brain Activity

Monday, August 15th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_24313" align="alignleft" width="123" caption="Photo courtesy: John Rogers"][/caption] Researchers at the Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois, USA) and the University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois, USA) have developed electronic tattoos that can be used for sensing, diagnostics, treatment and communications. The ultrathin, stretchable electronics are mounted on a thin sheet of plastic and ...

Wireless Power System for Heart Pumps Could Reduce Infection Risk

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

[caption id="attachment_24014" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="This University of Washington image shows a transmission coil (to the right) connected to the building's electricity, and a receiving coil (to the left). It also shows a smaller coil (to the far left), connected to a heart pump inside a jar of fluid."][/caption] Researchers at the ...