Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed a portable device that has the potential to be used to monitor white blood cell levels at home without the need for blood samples. A sharp drop in white blood cell counts is a major side effect of chemotherapy, leaving patients with the potential of developing a serious
This nerve stimulation therapy may improve stroke recovery
May 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Stroke patients may recover their motor skills sooner from vagus nerve stimulation, according to a new clinical trial from The Ohio State University. Stroke rehabilitation specialists at The Ohio State University are conducting a clinical trial that uses vagus nerve stimulation to improve rehab for stroke patients. Patients are implanted with a vagus nerve stimulator
Your fitness tracker could help evaluate and treat cancer patients
May 2, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Wearable fitness trackers like FitBit could be used to evaluate and help treat cancer patients, according to new researcher from the University of Texas Southwestern. UT Southwestern’s Simmons Cancer Center conducted study of older cancer patients who were willing to wear physical activity monitors (PAMs) for 10 weeks or more. The researchers gathered data from
ProVerum Medical closes $4.2M investment round
April 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment
ProVerum Medical recently announced that it has closed a $4.2 million seed investment with Atlantic Bridge University Fund leading the investment round. Dublin-based ProVerum Medical, a startup company from Trinity College Dublin, received a number of investments from Irish and American angel investors like HBAN Medtech Syndicate, Irrus Investments, Boole and Xenium Capital. The $4.2
How video games could take market share from big pharma
April 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Tracy MacNeal, Ximedica At the Biotech Showcase in January, a panel discussed how video games are replacing drug therapies in a variety of diseases. If you haven’t seen the latest technology in this space, companies like Akili are providing drug-alternative therapies to kids with ADHD and Pear Therapeutics’ software is aimed at helping people with addiction. Technologists have reached incredible heights in getting people to
Medtech stories we missed this week: April 20, 2018
April 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment
From CHF Solutions’ new Italian distribution deal to Masimo’s CE Mark approval, here are five medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth mentioning. 1. CHF Solutions signs Italian distribution deal CHF Solutions announced in an April 17 press release that it has signed a new distribution agreement with TRX Italy to distribute
DARPA is developing a human memory prosthesis: Here’s how
April 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has successfully created what it is calling a human memory prosthesis, a system with electrodes implanted in the brain that restores memory function using a person’s own neural codes. DARPA has been working on restoring normal memory function in military personnel since 2013 in a program known as
8 women medtech innovators you need to know
March 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
As we celebrate more women becoming medtech leaders and paving the way for innovation, it’s important to remember the many accomplishments women have already made when it comes to the advancement of health and medicine. X-rays on the battlefield, the American Red Cross, leprosy treatment and more — these advances happened because of women. As
9 wearable medtech companies at the Wearable Technology Show
March 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Digital health wearables are increasingly making medtech strides: They can measure heart vitals, temperature and even track when someone falls. The Wearable Technology Show 2018 — March 13–14 in London — is highlighting some of the latest wearable devices in the digital health realm. Showcased technologies include sensors to help orthopedic surgery patients, a watch to
Drug delivering contact lenses win MIT’s top healthcare innovation prize
March 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Contact lenses that deliver medications directly to the eye over a period of days or weeks were the recent grand prize winner of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize. The MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize competition had 8 finalists who pitched their healthcare innovations to judges from Optum and other local venture
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.
These medtech companies raised the most VC last year
January 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Perhaps there’s a ray of hope that venture capital funding is recovering a bit for the medical device industry. VC firms invested more than $2.8 billion in 2017, an increase of more than $647 million from 2016, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and CB Insights. There were a total 229 deals involving
These nanosponges remove sepsis-causing bacteria from the bloodstream
January 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment
California researchers have created a nanosponge that is designed to absorb and remove molecules that are known to cause sepsis. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego created macrophage nanosponges that are wrapped in the cell membranes of macrophages and can safely absorb and remove sepsis-causing molecules from the bloodstream. So far, the
How noninvasive brainwave technology improved PTSD in veterans
January 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
A noninvasive brainwave mirroring technology recently showed potential in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in military personnel, according to a study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that PTSD affects about 11-20% of Operations Iraqi Freedom and and Enduring Freedom veterans, 12% of Gulf War veterans and
How smartphones can remotely monitor chemotherapy patients
December 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment
University of Pittsburgh research has recently shown that smartphone sensors coupled with a specifically-developed algorithm could detect worsening symptoms in chemotherapy patients. The sensors offer a way for cancer patients to be remotely monitored. The sensors and algorithm can detect objective changes in patient behavior to determine if symptoms are getting worse. Indications of worsening
