The latest list — unlike the inventions honored in 2022 and 2023 — included a surgical robotics system, with the Medical Microinstruments (MMI) first-of-its-kind Symani system for microsurgery recognized for its FDA approval in April.
Related: What’s next for surgical robotics? MMI CEO Mark Toland places his bets
Another surgical robotics developer, Asensus Surgical, made the list for its AugmentOR Portal. Asensus, which developed the Senhance surgical robotics system, sold to Karl Storz in August.
Other device innovations in the Times list included (in no particular order):
- The BiVacor artificial heart, which was implanted in a human for the first time in July 2024.
- Dexcom’s Stelo, the first FDA-cleared over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which launched in August 2024.
- Onward Medical’s ARC-EX spine stimulator, which the device developer submitted for FDA de novo approval in April 2024. The system is designed to restore the function of the upper extremities for patients with spinal cord injuries.
- The EarliTec Diagnostics EarliPoint, a system for pediatric autism diagnosis and assessment using artificial intelligence for embedded eye-tracking technology that measures more than 120 focal preferences per second. (EarliTec Chief Technology Officer Sreeni Narayanan shared AI lessons with Medical Design & Outsourcing readers in February 2024.)
- The Paragonix Technologies Baroguard, an FDA-cleared system for preserving and transporting donor lungs.
- DermaSensor’s handheld skin cancer detection device, which is also called DermaSensor, won the MedTech Innovator Mid-Stage Companies Pitch Event in 2022.
- Northwell Health’s iNav and Double Neural Bypass, two medical device innovations developed by the health system. The Double Neural Bypass is an implantable system that restores motor signals disrupted by spinal injuries, while iNav is an AI-powered system for proactive imaging analysis.
- The Masimo W1 Medical watch, cleared by the FDA in November 2023 for continuous real-time monitoring of oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate, won another FDA clearance in August 2024 for telemonitoring.
- Apple AirPods Pro 2, which are now FDA-cleared as over-the-counter hearing aids.
- The Withings BeamO home checkup device, which can check body temperature and blood oxygen levels, listen to lung sounds, and aid in a physician’s cardiovascular assessment with an electrocardiogram recording and digital stethoscope for heart auscultation. Withings told Time it expects FDA clearance in November 2024.
- ALZpath’s pTau217 antibody test for Alzheimer’s looks for that biomarker in a patient’s blood as an early indicator of neurodegeneration. Time says ALZpath licensed the technology to Roche, which partnered with Eli Lilly for FDA breakthrough device designation.
- The Aspivix Carevix for managing the pain of intrauterine device placement won FDA clerance in 2023. The device uses suction to stabilize cervical tissue in a way that Aspivix says “eliminates unnecessary pain and bleeding.”
- Unify Medical’s Amplio wearable system for surgical visualization, offering what the device developer characterizes as “3D, high-definition, real-time visualization with critical, intraoperative data [featuring] a superior ergonomic, lightweight design and a wide range of capabilities including on-demand focus, intra-operative magnification and case-specific infomatics.”
- The AstraZeneca FluMist at-home nasal vaccine, which uses a nasal spray device for a needle-free, self-administered inoculation.
- The Nuvo Invu system for remote pregnancy monitoring, which won FDA clearance in 2021 for noninvasive measuring of fetal heart rate, maternal heart rate and uterine activity.
- The Daye diagnostic tampon, which tests for bacteria, fungi, STIs, and vaginal microbiome makeup using CE-marked PCR panels.
- The Winx UTI Test + Treat over-the-counter diagnostic for urinary tract infections.
- The PherDal At-Home Insemination Kit, which has FDA clearance as an over-the-counter, sterile insemination device for individuals who can’t conceive via intercourse — or don’t want to.
- The GyroGear GyroGlove, a Class I medical device designed to stabilize the hands of Parkinson’s disease patients and other people with tremors. This wearable device has a battery pack on the forearm that powers a gyroscopic spinning disc on the back of the glove.
- The Prenosis Sepsis ImmunoScore, an AI diagnostics test for sepsis that diagnosis infections and predicts which patients are at risk of decline.
- Guardant Health’s Shield for cancer screening, which uses AI to detect signs of colon cancer in blood samples.
- ArteraAI Multimodal AI, a platform that of creates targeted treatment plans for prostate cancer patients based on their health records and biopsy images. Time says the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends the technology as standard of care for prostate cancer (but also noted that Time owner Marc Benioff is an investor in the company).
You can read more about these diagnostic and device innovations — plus others in a wide range of categories — at Time.