Charles Darwin wrote, “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Medical device companies get the credit for many innovations, but many need the ingenuity and commitment of contract manufacturers who design and produce the components that make those big splashes possible.
How’d they do that? 7 innovations from medical device contract manufacturers
June 29, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Can placental tissue implants limit back and leg pain?
June 26, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Regenerative technology company StimLabs has enrolled the first patient in a clinical trial using shelf-stable placental tissue to reduce complications following herniated disc surgery. The multi-center, randomized controlled trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Revita, StimLabs’ full-thickness placental allograft, which surgeons will place following lumbar microdiscectomy procedures. Microdiscectomy is a common, minimally invasive procedure
This algorithm analyzes medical images 1,000 times faster than usual
June 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed an algorithm that makes it easier and 1,000 times quicker to analyze medical images and 3D scans. Medical image registration is a technique that uses two medical images, such as MRI images, to compare and analyze the anatomical differences in detail. In this technique, doctors overlay images from
Brain emergency averted at the push of a button
May 29, 2018 By 3 Comments
A Boston neurosurgeon recently avoided doing emergency brain surgery on a young patient just by pressing on a new device. The Alivio ReFlow ventricular system was embedded beneath the scalp of the unidentified hydrocephalus patient. Comprised of a subcutaneous “flusher” component and a ventricular catheter, the device has a “relief membrane” backup feature at the catheter’s
DARPA is developing nonsurgical neural interfaces to expand neurotechnology
April 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Researchers from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have recently started a new program called Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology to develop a non-invasive brain-system communications system to allow patients to communicate with devices using their brain. State-of-the-art brain communications systems that exist today are traditionally invasive, but allow for precise, high-quality connections to specific neurons
17 black innovators who made medtech better
February 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
From cardiology to endoscopy to blood transfusion, African Americans have played an important role as innovators in the history of medicine and medtech. To help mark African American History Month, here’s a look at some of their greatest achievements. Here are 17 black innovators who have made discoveries and invented devices to make medtech better.
Robotic spine surgery is getting a real-time image guide boost
January 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
For the first time, surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital were able to harness real-time image guidance during a robotic spine surgery procedure to insert screws into a patient’s spine. The process offers a marked improvement over the accuracy of placement compared with other image-guided procedures. Dr. Nicholas Theodore – professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University
That time Roald Dahl invented a medical device
December 21, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Roald Dahl is best remembered as an author of children’s books, particularly for works like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. His stories have sold more than 250 million copies around the globe. But Dahl was much more than a storyteller: He also helped invent a medical device that has been used on nearly 3,000 children worldwide, according
Insightec wins most innovative medical technology of 2017
October 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Insightec’s Exablate Neuro has won the Galien Foundation’s award for most innovative medical technology of 2017 at the 11th Annual Prix Galien USA Awards. The award ceremony took place on Oct. 26 at the American History Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Exablate Neuro is an ultrasound device that is FDA-approved to treat
Medtech stories we missed this week: Oct. 27, 2017
October 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
From RadiaDyne’s FDA expansion to NuVasive launching its new implants, here are seven medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth mentioning. 1. FDA expands indications for RadiaDyne’s OARtrac dose monitor RadiaDyne announced in an Oct. 24 press release that it has received additional FDA clearance for its upcoming OARtrac. The OARtrac allows
The top 10 medical disruptors of 2018
October 27, 2017 By 1 Comment
Each year the Cleveland Clinic determines what the top 10 disruptors in healthcare will be for the following year. The criteria to be considered a disruptor is that it has to be so innovative that it could change healthcare in a significant way in the next year. Approximately 150 to 200 Cleveland Clinic physicians from
Medtech stories we missed this week: September 8, 2017
September 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment
From BrainScope’s pediatric traumatic brain injury assessment device to EOS Imaging releasing new surgery planning software, here are seven medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth a mention. 1. BrainScope to develop pediatric traumatic brain injury assessment device BrainScope announced in a Sept. 7 press release that it will immediately start creating
Using robot assistance in neurosurgery for faster seizure mapping
August 3, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Head shaved, a little boy rests on the operating table, deep under anesthesia. His parents have brought him to Boston Children’s Hospital in hopes of determining the cause of his seizures. Now, neurosurgeons Scellig Stone, MD, PhD, Joseph Madsen, MD, and their colleagues in the Epilepsy Center are performing a procedure designed to monitor seizure
7 ways neurostimulation could make our lives better
July 28, 2017 By 2 Comments
Neurostimulation is being used for a lot of different things that go beyond motor disorders and diseases. Neurostimulation is used to stimulate certain parts of the brain’s nervous system. It can be invasive with implants or it can be non-invasive with electrode-filled caps and ear clips. The neurostimulation market was worth an estimated $1.9 billion
Brain implants last longer if they’re smaller: Here’s how
July 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have recently suggested that if electrodes implanted in the brain were smaller, the devices could last much longer. Diseases like Parkinson’s disease can be treated with electrical stimulations from electrodes that have been implanted in the brain. Implanted electrodes, however, can cause scarring which can make the electrodes less effective
