Medgadget

GE Introduces MAVRIC SL MRI Sequence to Improve Visualisation Around Metal Implants

Wouter Stomp — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:40:56 +0000

GE Healthcare has introduced a new MRI technique that improves imaging of soft tissue and bone in patients with metal joint implants. MAVRIC SL, as it is called, helps reduce artifacts caused by the presence of metal in both in-plane and through-plane dimensions compared to conventional MR techniques. On regular sequences, metal implants cause severe distortion, making it impossible to assess the soft tissue directly around the implant. MAVRIC SL allows for MRI to be used to monitor for adverse reactions, such as inflammation, in the immediate vicinity of the implant.

MAVRIC SL consists of an acquisition technique and post-processing software, and is intended for use on GE 1.5 and 3.0T MRI systems. It received FDA clearance in December 2012. Here’s a description of how the technique works, from the product page:

Nephosity MobileCT iPad Radiology Viewer Receives FDA Clearance (VIDEO)

Wouter Stomp — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:53:53 +0000

Nephosity, a graduate of Rock Health’s second class, has received FDA clearance for its MobileCT Viewer, an app for viewing radiological images on the iPad. The FDA clearance allows use of the app for diagnostic viewing of CT’s, MRI’s and radiographs on the iPad in situations where there is no access to a workstation.

MobileCT Viewer’s features, from the product page:

AB SCIEX Launches New LC/MS/MS Technology For Clinical Diagnostics

Jan Sinnige — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:39:57 +0000

AB SCIEX, Framingham, MA, announced CE approval for their API 3200 MD series of mass spectrometers. Mass spectrometry is the new revolution in routine diagnostics as more and more laboratories now offer protein and biomarker analysis at high speed for low costs.

With tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) the order of amino acids can be determined and proteins can be sequenced. This technique is already available in many research laboratories, but it is slowly moving to the diagnostic side of many labs. All sorts of organic and inorganic compounds can be identified from human specimens and very low-level concentrations of compounds can be picked up with great accuracy.

Endochoice Fuse Receives FDA Clearance; Reduces Colonoscopy Miss Rate (VIDEO)

Wouter Stomp — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:43:51 +0000

EndoChoice has received FDA clearance for its Fuse endoscopy system and is presenting research showing that the device might reduce the miss-rate of adenomas during colonoscopies.

The flexible endoscope has three small cameras at its tip, giving the colonoscopist a panoramic view of the action. Where traditional endoscopes provide up to 170 degrees of forward vision, the Fuse provides a wide 330 degree view. Multiple imagers are integrated in the tip of the scope, making the panoramic view possible. Instead of fiber optics, it employs multiple LEDs, also integrated into the tip, to illuminate the field of view. This way, small adenomas that are located behind folds and might go undetected during traditional colonoscopy can be spotted more easily.

Wireless Power Transfer Using Small Coils May Be Possible

Editors — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:19:25 +0000

Implantable devices can benefit greatly from an efficient way to transfer electric power to their location within a human body. Current methods are fairly limited, requiring large coils that keep devices bulky and more difficult to implant.

Now a group of researchers from Stanford’s Department of Electrical Engineering have shown, at least in theory, that one can build a wireless electricity transfer system that is both small and efficient, while safe for use within the human body. They showed that using radio waves at higher frequencies and staying within the “mid-field” regime (somewhere between radiating and evanescent waves), should allow for creation of a power transfer system with small coils that don’t need to matched up in size to each other.

New Microsoft Kinect Measures Heartbeat from Skin Tone Changes

Editors — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:28:22 +0000

Yesterday Microsoft released its new Xbox One gaming system, and with it a new Kinect camera. The original Kinect somewhat surprisingly found use in the clinical world, so it’s exciting to learn that the new Kinect is even more capable. One thing in particular that stands out is the camera’s improved sensitivity that gives it the ability to detect the user’s heartbeat by simply noticing the color change on the person’s skin.

Go to 3:10 in this video to see the heartbeat demo:

Philips CX50 xMATRIX Ultrasound Now with St. Jude’s ViewFlex Xtra Intracardiac Echo (video)

Editors — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:09:18 +0000

Philips has announced that its CX50 xMATRIX portable ultrasound is now available with 2-D intracardiac echo (ICE) capability.

The system already featured 3D transesophageal echo (TEE) and the new capability is thanks to the integration of St. Jude Medical’s ViewFlex Xtra intracardiac echocardiography catheter with the CX50 xMATRIX.

Novel Nebulizer Technology Brings Seawater Therapy to Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Editors — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:07:11 +0000

Some years ago someone noticed that surfers with cystic fibrosis (CF) have improved lung function over their skateboarding peers, or really anyone else with CF that doesn’t get sprayed with saltwater on a regular basis. Turns out that while nature has created a good way to deliver hypertonic saline to the lungs, carrying an ocean around is not a practical way to receive therapy. Parion Sciences, a development-stage company working on commercializing these findings into a practical inhaler, has partnered with Cambridge Consultants to create technology that can deliver tiny droplets of saline deep into the lungs.

Traditional nebulizers are not effective enough in creating the tiny droplets necessary to penetrate through the small airways of the lungs, and the trans-nasal cannula through which the mist must flow can’t condensate it or you get large droplets. The development of the new technology involved creating a filter that only allows droplets small enough to come through and a new material that prevents condensation from forming on the surface of the cannula.

Cook’s New Flexor Vue Urological Endoscopy System (w/video)

Editors — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:05:23 +0000

Cook Medical is launching in the U.S. and Europe its new Flexor Vue Deflecting Endoscopic System. The device is designed for use during urological procedures for easy navigation and visualization as an option over endoscopes in select cases.

The Flexor Vue includes a one-time-use disposable sheath and a visualization source that can be reused up to ten times with careful handling. According to a company representative, “the Flexor Vue is a new type of endoscope because of its disposability. It’s typically used for flexible ureteroscopy, but there are other medical applications as well. Flexor Vue eliminates the need for costly repairs and/or replacement of a scope if damaged. It provides better cost accounting on a per-case basis. It significantly reduces the risk of patient-to-patient biological cross-contamination due to its disposable nature.”

Brainbow Gets a Significant Upgrade, New Pics Available

Ravi Parikh — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:32:34 +0000

We have previously covered Brainbow, a collection of one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system obtained through the use of unique color fluorescing proteins. Professors Jeff Lichtman and Josh Sanes, leaders of the Brainbow initiative, taught this author neurobiology at Harvard. I remember being amazed at the beautiful pictures of neuronal collections that gave life to a sometimes dull topic. Now, as reported in a May 5 paper in Nature Methods, the team behind Brainbow made a host of technical improvements in the imaging technique to yield more informative and visually even more remarkable pictures. According to a recent press release:

“These modifications aim to overcome some of the more problematic features of the original genetic constructs,” Lichtman said. “Lead author Dawen Cai, a research associate in our labs, worked hard and creatively to find ways to make the ‘Brainbow’ colors brighter, more variable, and useable in situations where the original gene constructs were hard to implement. Our first look at these animals suggests that these improvements are fantastic.”