Abiomed lands new insurance codes for Impella heart pumps

From Medical Design & Outsourcing

• Soft, water-powered robot makes endoscopic surgery easier
  Harvard researchers have created a rigid-soft robotic arm for endoscopes that can sense, flex and has multiple degrees of freedom. Flexible endoscopes fit through narrow passages to reach difficult parts of the body. Once they reach their target, the devices need rigid surgical tools to be able to manipulate or remove tissues. Researchers from Harvard’s […]
• How artificial neural coding could create advanced prosthetics
  Researchers are artificially making neural coding to build advanced prosthetics, thanks to research from the University of Illinois. Coordinated Science Lab (CSL) researchers at the University of Illinois have mathematically figured out how the brain times impulses that are sent out due to a sensory stimulus. “There was a major question in neuron function that […]
• New retinal imaging tech promises to help diagnose Alzheimer’s
  New technology, developed by NeuroVision Imaging and Cedars-Sinai, is exploring the use of noninvasive eye imaging to detect Alzheimers disease, scanning the retina to identify protein deposits associated with the disorder. The system is designed to look for neurotoxic beta-amyloid protein deposits, which are also found in the brain in Alzheimers patients. Normally, such deposits […]
• Sirtex swings to a loss after ‘challenging’ year
  Shares in Australian cancer treatment developer Sirtex Medical (ASX:SRX) plunged more than 15% yesterday after the company posted a net loss of -A$26.9 million in 2016, compared to a profit of A$54 million the year before. Sirtex has faced a barrage of obstacles this year, including a number of clinical trials that failed to meet primary endpoints. […]
• FDA adds UL2900 standard for medical device cybersecurity
  By Stewart Eisenhart, Emergo Group US medical device regulators have officially included a new cybersecurity standard from UL to their list of recognized standards for use in premarket reviews. Get the full story here at the Emergo Group’s blog. The opinions expressed in this blog post are the author’s only and do not necessarily reflect […]
• Fluoropolymer medical tubing: What you need to know
  Here are some important considerations when it comes to extrusion equipment and safety related to processing fluoropolymer medical tubing. Steve Maxson, Graham Engineering Corp. Medical tubing processors are showing more interest when it comes to venturing into the world of fluoropolymers – and for good reason. Materials such as FEP, PFA, PVDF and ETFE are […]
• New biocompatible batteries harvest energy from the body
  University of Maryland engineers have created a biocompatible battery that uses the same ion-based electrical energy that is present in all living things – including humans. Sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are constantly flowing through our bodies and creating electrical signals. The electrical signals are what power the brain and help control the rhythm of […]
• Microinnovation: what paper towels have to teach us about medtech
  How can you double the efficiency of a paper towel? Turns out you don’t need to reformulate or make the paper thicker. Instead, you find a simple concept that offers users a new way to think about the product. That’s what happened when paper towel manufacturers began producing the half-sized sheet. Roger Smith thinks the […]
• GI Plastek expands in-house capabilities
  GI Plastek (Wolfeboro, N.H.) – a specialist in large to medium complex molded products – announced this month that it has significantly expanded its in-house electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding capabilities. GI Plastek’s new mechanized production paint line is housed in a new 9,000-square-foot paint facility. The paint line allows GI Platek […]
• Medical extrusion conference to be held outside Minneapolis
  The Spotlight Medical Extrusion & Secondary Operations Conference will be held Nov. 7 at the Marriott Minneapolis West in St. Louis Park, Minn., according to its organizer Steve Maxson, Graham Engineering Corp.’s director of business development for extrusion. “The focus of our Spotlight conferences is on medical extrusion and secondary operations such as over-molding and tipping for catheters and […]
• How FDARA is making a difference for industry and patients
  Drs. Peter Marks, Jeffrey Shuren, and Janet Woodcock, FDA For decades, user fees paid by the medical products industry have provided critical resources needed to conduct product reviews in a timely fashion and to help ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical products that American patients depend upon. Since passage of the first medical product […]