Medical Design and Outsourcing Archives - Page 100 of 154

MIT engineers claim they’ve created the world’s longest flexible fiber battery

This submarine drone is powered by a 20-meter-long fiber battery that is wrapped on its surface. [Courtesy of the researchers]

Researchers at MIT say they developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of a fiber that could be woven into fabrics.

The researchers say the battery, developed in the form of an ultra-long fiber, could enable a variety of wearable electronic devices and may even be used to make 3D-printed batteries in a multitude of shapes, according to a news release.

According to the researchers, they see possibilities for self-powered communications, sensing and computational devices that could be worn like ordinary clothing. Additionally, the researchers see the possibility for use in devices whose batteries could also double as structural parts.

Published in the journal Materials Today, results from a proof of concept showed that the world’s longest flexible fiber b…

MassMEDIC announces 2021 Ignite accelerator winners

MassMEDIC announced today that it concluded its 2021 MedTech IGNITE accelerator program for medical device companies.

Boston-based MassMEDIC (the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council) had 12 startups in the 2021 IGNITE cohort, with the companies including developers of wearables, diagnostics and surgical devices across areas such as women’s health, neurology, oncology, infectious disease, diabetes and cardiology.

The IGNITE cohort participated in virtual classes run by medtech executives with expertise in a number of areas, while it also included virtual networking events and fireside chats with industry luminaries. Participating startups also worked on pitches with feedback from VCs and experienced mentors.

Winners were selected by their peers, with each cohort founder presenting their corporate pitch to the cohort. They were scored on product market fit, business plan and team strength.

Encora Therapeutics won the competition, bri…

Spectrum Plastics CEO is leaving to take over Natus Medical

Natus Medical’s incoming CEO Thomas Sullivan [Image from LinkedIn]

Natus Medical recently announced that it appointed Thomas Sullivan as president and CEO, effective December 27.

Sullivan previously served as president and CEO of medical device global contract manufacturer Spectrum Plastics. He has also held numerous leadership roles at A&E Medical, Symmetry Surgical and Symmetry Medical. In addition, he held executive positions at Johnson & Johnson, including president of J&J’s medical products Canada division and its U.S. orthopedics division.

Get the full story on MDO’s sister site MassDevice.

FDA says there’s a cybersecurity vulnerability with Apache’s Log4j

[Image from Pixabay]

The FDA is raising awareness about a cybersecurity vulnerability related to Apache’s Log4j — used to log security and performance information for many software applications, including in the medical device space.

The vulnerability involves Apache’s Log4j software library, versions 2.0-beta9 to 2.14.1.

The FDA said in a statement posted on December 17 that it does not know of the Log4j problems causing a medical device adverse event. However, there is still a risk that the situation could make a medical device unavailable, or an unauthorized user could remotely impact safety and effectiveness.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) agency has established a website with more information, including recommendations to address the vulnerability. The FDA encourages manufacturers to communicate with customers about the problem and coordinate with the …

Could milk peptides treat central nervous system disorders?

Image courtesy of Pexels

Scientists found milk components that may treat central nervous system (CNS) conditions, including anxiety and depression. These are new generation compounds that showed promising results in preclinical studies, predicting the avoidance of side effects caused by anxiolytics and antidepressants found in pharmacies.

Milk can indeed calm down many people — just think of the glasses of warm milk you had before going to bed and be able to get a good sleep after a hard day. But now, scientists went farther, and after examining milk components, they found peptides that could specifically treat anxiety and depression in clinical patients.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development News.

Oracle to buy Cerner for $28.3B

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) will spend $28.3 billion to acquire Cerner Corp., the two companies announced today.

Cerner is a significant provider of digital information systems used within hospitals and health systems.

The deal is an all-cash tender offer for $95 per share. The companies expect the transaction to close next year, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, including Cerner stockholders tendering a majority of Cerner’s outstanding shares in the tender offer.

Oracle officials think Cerner will prove to be a massive revenue growth engine as it brings Cerner products to more healthcare systems worldwide. In addition, Oracle boasts cloud infrastructure to drive digital modernization, with the potential for its capabilities to do the same in healthcare.

“With this acquisition, Oracle’s corporate mission expands to assume the responsibility to provide our overworked medical professionals with a n…

TriMas completes purchase of Omega Plastics

TriMas (NASDAQ: TRS) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of medical device components maker Omega Plastics.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Omega (Clinton Township, Michigan) expects to bring in $18 million in revenue in fiscal year 2021.

Get the full story on our sister site Drug Delivery Business News.

Medtech’s biggest personnel changes in 2021

As medtech companies continued to drive innovation throughout the past 12 months, a number of high-level executives led the way.

Some of those companies and those executives opted for major changes over the course of 2021, though, with some high-profile moves from medtech giant to medtech giant.

Here are some of the biggest personnel moves in the medtech space in 2021:

1. Medtronic’s internal shuffle causes movement in every direction

At the end of 2020, Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) confirmed that it would reorganize its corporate structure, creating 20 operating units and expecting annual savings of up to $475 million in connection with the changes.

Amid all the change, a number of personnel moves both in and out of the company came over the course of 2021. Among the changes was the big move of Medtronic’s former President of Pelvic Health and Gastric Therapies Brooke Story, who departed to become the worldwide president of BD’s Integra…

The MedTech Conference is coming to Boston in 2022

[Boston image from Unsplash]

Trade group AdvaMed plans to return to an entirely in-person event for The MedTech Conference, with the annual event slated for Boston on October 24–26, 2022.

AdvaMed in September 2021 held a hybrid event that included virtual sessions as well as live sessions in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. (The year before — in pre-COVID vaccine times — the event was entirely virtual.)

“We recognized the strong desire to gather in-person at our 2021 hybrid conference, and will continue to plan for a live event while closely monitoring the status of COVID-19 in the coming months. Rest assured, the safety of our staff and attendees remains our top priority,” AdvaMed EVP Ray Briscuso and SVP Wendy Siminski said in an announcement yesterday.

MassDevice and Medical Design & Outsourcing‘s DeviceTalks is also returning in 2022 with live events: Boston May 10–11, M…

How medical device companies can benefit from digital therapeutics

Bill Betten

Image courtesy of S3 Connected Health

With so many types of digital health solutions available, device developers could be wondering where the key distinctions lie and which will drive business value for their offerings. Digital Therapeutics (DTx), however, are one subset of digital health products that device developers should keep their eye on. According to the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), DTx delivers medical interventions using evidence-based, clinically evaluated software to treat a series of conditions. The most notable DTx to date have been software products only, but growing opportunities exist for medical device vendors to create DTx that combine a software element and a device.

These combination DTx offer traditional device-based companies the chance to further their capabilities in digital health and provide a more appealing, competitive product while retaining value a…

Butterfly Network turns to Cadence Clarity 3D Solver to boost its handheld ultrasound system

Cadence Design Systems (NSDQ:CDNS) announced yesterday that Butterfly Network (NYSE:BFLY) deployed its Cadence Clarity 3D Solver in its handheld ultrasound system.

San Jose, California–based Cadence said in a news release that its Clarity 3D solver was used to support and enhance the design of Butterfly’s handheld, single-probe, whole-body ultrasound system.

Clarity 3D is used as part of Butterfly’s system design and analysis workflow for its speed and capacity, eliminating the need to partition the design and sacrifice accuracy to extract the circuit’s electromagnetic behavior, Cadence said. Butterfly achieved a five-times speedup in advanced model characterization with high accuracy compared to an alternative solution, while Clarity 3D allows the users to optimize designs and ensure the critical signal and power integrity of the system.

Butterfly Network Co-Founder & Engineering VP Nevada Sanchez said in the release that Cadence&#…

Formlabs scores contract with Vizient to get 3D printers to health providers

Formlabs says the number of hospitals and health systems using its printers to make swabs, surgical tools and more quadrupled during the pandemic. [Image courtesy of Formlabs]

Formlabs announced today that its 3D printers have made it into the catalog of Vizient, a major group purchasing organization for U.S. health providers.

The Vizient contract is the first for a 3D printing company seeking access to the healthcare market. Officials at Somerville, Massachusetts–based Formlabs said the deal demonstrates the increased demand at hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers for 3D printed surgical tools and medical supplies amid pandemic-related supply chain problems.

When traditional manufacturers were unable to meet the demand for nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing, Formlabs 3D printers picked up the slack and produced 70 million, according to the company. Formlabs says the number of hospitals and h…