Medical Design and Outsourcing Archives - Page 152 of 154

These tiny fibers may prove better at delivering drugs to the brain

[Image courtesy of Johanna Zech, for Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg]

German researchers have developed mats made of biodegradable fibers only a few microns thick that could prove advantageous to deliver certain drugs to the brain.

The drug nimodipine, for example, could prevent nerve cells from dying after brain surgery. Health providers already use it to treat cerebral hemorrhages, but it degrades very quickly and has undesirable side effects when delivered intravenously, according to the research team out of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and University Hospital Halle.

“The neurosurgeons wanted the drug to be applied locally in order to reduce potential side effects,” said professor Karsten Mäder from the Institute of Pharmacy at MLU.

Mäder and his colleagues turned to PLGA, a biodegradable polymer commonly used in medtech, and incorporating nimodipine into the …

Resolution Medical hires industry veteran as CEO

Dave Blaeser, CEO of Resolution Medical

Resolution Medical recently announced that it has brought on industry veteran David Blaeser as its new CEO.

The Fridley, Minn.–based medical device contract manufacturing and development company noted that Blaeser has 35 years of experience leading teams at Boston Scientific, Velocimed, Nidus, Endometabolic Solutions, Libra Medical, and Zift Medical. Most recently, he was founder and CEO of Ideal Medical Solutions, a medical device consulting firm that previously collaborated with Resolution Medical.

“I have seen firsthand the high degree of talent, integrity and collaboration present within the Resolution Medical team,” Blaeser said in a May 19 news release.

With Blaeser in the corner office, Resolution Medical co-founders Steve Schmidt and Shawn Patterson as active board members will focus on better serving customer needs through strategic investments …

Performance Motion Devices touts new Juno outer loop control ICs

Performance Motion Devices announced the launch of its Juno outer loop control ICs for use in medical, industrial and military applications.

The Westford, Mass.-based company’s new Juno product joins a portfolio of velocity and toque control ICs (integrated circuits) used for spindle control, centrifuge control, precision torque control and other liquid handling and laboratory automation applications.

PMD’s Juno outer loop control IC uses digital logic integration and algorithms to help control pressure, temperature, liquid level, magnetic bearings and other outer loop quantities for medical, industrial and military use.

“PMD’s new Juno outer loop control IC is a completely novel product that answers the growing call for integrated control ICs that apply advanced algorithms to control pressure, temperature, chemical reactions, and other critical applications,” PMD founder & CEO Chuck Lewin said in a news release. “…

Lille Group releases of Cardiac Signals cloud-based patient monitoring software

Lille Group announced today that it launched its Cardiac Signals cloud-based software platform for healthcare professionals to monitor cardiac patients remotely.

The secure platform enables cardiology practices and hospitals to manage cardiac patients remotely with ease and efficiency, which is aimed to help during a potential telehealth boom as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and onsite clinics are forced to delay patient care. It not only enables remote management in lieu of in-person visits, but also helps at-risk patients whose cardiac conditions could cause serious complications if they contract coronavirus.

Albany, N.Y.-based Lille Group’s platform can be integrated into any electronic health record system, or used in a stand-alone mode with any major internet browser, according to a news release. It also captures all billable events.

The company said thousands of patients have already been managed with the platform thr…

Edwards Brinton shares successful strategies to building medtech career

In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly podcast , Todd Brinton, MD, corporate vice president of advanced technology and chief scientific officer at Edwards Lifesciences, delivers heartfelt and hard won advice to professionals looking to find a home in the medtech industry.

Brinton’s own path to Edwards took an unusual root, starting first at medtech start-ups before he forced his way into medical school. After securing his MD, he landed in a job he thought he’d never have, learned to love it and then gathered the courage to walk away from it to pursue his new role at Edwards.

DeviceTalks Host Tom Salemi spoke with Brinton in March.

DeviceTalks by MassDevice · DTW’s Commencement Speaker- Todd Brinton, MD, Edwards Lifesciences on building a career in medtech

Medtronic is making its ‘artificial lung’ therapy available for COVID-19 treatment

The Medtronic Affinity CP centrifugal blood pump [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is temporarily modifying product indications so that health providers can use its extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology to treat people with severe cases of COVID-19.

ECMO could be described as a type of “artificial lung” technology that pumps blood from a person’s body to an oxygenator that provides long-term oxygen and carbon-dioxide transfer. Medtronic has devices that are FDA-cleared for extracorporeal support of up to 6 hours — an appropriate amount of time for cardiopulmonary bypass procedures (up to 6 hours).

In accordance with a new FDA guidance, Medtronic says the following devices can now be used for longer than 6 hours in an ECMO circuit to treat people experiencing acute respiratory/cardiopulmonary failure during the COVID-19 pandemic:

The Bio-Console 560…

Merck eyes tiny patches as a vaccine delivery method

Vaxxas’ High Density Microarray Patches (HD-MAP)

Merck has exercised its option to use Vaxxas‘ High Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) platform as a delivery platform for a vaccine candidate, the companies announced today.

The companies did not disclose what the vaccine candidate is supposed to treat. But Merck this month announced two COVID-19 vaccine development efforts: a collaboration with IAVI and plans to acquire vaccine developer Themis Bioscience. Vaxxas (Cambridge, Mass.; Brisbane, Australia) notes that any vaccine could be delivered with its dime-sized patch.

Also today, Vaxxas announced that German manufacturing equipment maker Harro Höfliger will help Vaxxas develop a high-throughput, aseptic manufacturing line to make vaccine products based on Vaxxas’ HD-MAP technology — with a goal of eventually churning out millions of vaccine patches a week.

Get the full story on our…

Texas-based team seeks EUA for 3D printed emergency ventilator

A team of physicians and engineers developed a hands-free resuscitator bag compression device that can be utilized as an emergency ventilator during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic goes on and a shortage of vital equipment, including ventilators, continues, a number of companies and research teams from all over have worked to create alternative options. One such alternative is this collaboration from researchers at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and The University of Texas at El Paso, with contributions from Bessel, Ansys and Stratasys (NSDQ:SSYS).

Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.

MIT researchers may have invented a safer way of splitting ventilators

[Image courtesy of MIT]

MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers say they have a way of splitting ventilators which could address many of the safety concerns — potentially boosting the supply of ventilators amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have demonstrated their concept’s effectiveness in the lab — but they still caution it should be used only as a last resort during an emergency when a patient’s life is at stake.

Ventilators should only be shared as a last resort. One problem: Patients sharing the ventilator must all have the same lung capacity. If one patient’s lung function improves or another’s deteriorates, one patient may receive the right amount of air but other may be out of luck.

Basically the MIT team incorporated flow valves, one for each patient’s branch, that allow them to control the amount of air that each receives. “These flow valves allow you to personalize the flow…

What is a pulse oximeter — and how does it work?

If you’re recovering from a respiratory problem — including COVID-19 — chances are you may have had your oxygen levels checked with a pulse oximeter.

Pulse oximetry is the non-invasive measurement of oxygen saturation (SpO2). Oxygen saturation is defined as the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood, based on the detection of Hemoglobin, Hb, and Deoxyhemoglobin, HbO2.

The typical pulse oximeter is a device that clamps on one of your fingers. Home-use oximeters are often battery-powered and self-contained with the oxygen level displayed on a built-in LCD along with heart rate.

Go to our WTWH Media sister site Microcontroller Tips and check out a teardown of a home-use pulse oximeter made by Veridian Healthcare in Illinois.

This wearable could help people practice safe distancing amid COVID-19

Image from Lopos

Imec spinoff Lopos, with the Ghent University (Belgium) announced the Lopos SafeDistance wearable for promoting safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As businesses attempt to return to in-person activities, the collaboration designed the wearable device to warn employees through an audible or haptic alarm when they are violating social distancing guidelines as they approach each other.

The Lopos SafeDistance wearable uses Lopos’ ultra wideband (UWB) technology originated from R&D at Imec and the Ghent University. When two wearables approach each other, the exact distance is measured and an alarm is activated when the minimum distance is not respected, according to a news release.

Having operated successful pilots at medium and large companies in the chemical, metal and construction industry, Lopos now intends to scale up to mass production. The company said in the rel…

Medtronic execs see quick recovery, increased M&A

Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha

If Medtronic’s troubling Q4 report offers a snapshot of a company hit hard by COVID-19, the next image in the sequence may show a faster-than-expected recovery and increased merger-and-acquisition of smaller companies.

In the quarterly call on Thursday morning, Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha and CFO Karen Parkhill expressed optimism that the company’s businesses already are showing signs of a rebound in the month of May.

At the same time, Medtronic executives believe the broader financial pressures on the industry will create attractive opportunities to acquire companies that will add to its growth rate.

Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.