Researchers from Oxford University demonstrated that amputees’ brains can remember their missing hands, even 30 years later. At Oxford University’s Hand & Brain Lab, the researchers used an ultra-high-power MRI scanner to monitor the brain activity of 2 people who lost their left hands 25 to 30 years ago. The scientists also scanned the brains […]
Credence MedSystems raises $15m for safe-syringe drug delivery
Credence MedSystems announced today that it raised $15 million in a Series A round to fund continued development and commercialization of its injectable drug-delivery device. The company’s flagship device is the Credence Companion safety syringe, a pre-fillable device sold to drug manufacturers for use with injectable medications. The user injects their medication, gets a cue […]
Ablative Solutions wins FDA nod for Phase II chemical denervation trial
Ablative Solutions said today that the FDA approved a Phase II trial of its chemical denervation system for hypertension under its investigational new drug application. The trial, called Target-BP I, will evaluate the efficacy of Ablative’s Peregrine infusion ablation system, which uses ethanol to interrupt signals from sympathetic nerves in the renal artery to control […]
Adhezion Biomedical, Pfizer ink long-term supply deal
Adhezion Biomedical announced today that it inked a long-term supply deal with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) for exclusive U.S. distribution rights for Adhezion’s topical skin adhesives. The Wyomissing, Pa.-based medical device company has a product family of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate adhesives designed to hold the edges of skin wounds together, for use after minimally invasive surgery and simple […]
Wearable generator that harvests heat could power devices
Researchers at North Carolina State University developed a wearable that can harvest body heat to power devices with at least 20 times the efficiency of other methods, the school reported yesterday. The study, published in Applied Energy, was conducted at the National Science Foundation’s Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors […]
ReWalk Robotics founder’s Upnride wheelchair lets you cruise through town standing
(Reuters) — Israeli technology start-up Upnride Robotics is launching an innovative upright, self-stabilizing wheelchair at a medical conference in Germany next month and hopes to hit the market next year. Before then, Upnride needs to pass 2 clinical trials, 1 with the U.S. Veterans Affairs Dept. in New York, to help it get regulatory approval and ensure health insurance companies […]
Coapt looks to bring prosthetic electrodes into the 21st century
When Jodie O’Connell-Ponkos was 16, she lost her right arm in a meat-grinding accident.* She was given a prosthesis, but quickly came to hate it. It was a standard myoelectric system, using a pair of electrodes. The electrodes measured signals from her muscles, which in turn activated sensors telling the prosthetic to move. She found […]
Nordisk issues voluntary recall of GlucaGen HypoKits
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) issued a voluntary recall of 6 batches of its GlucaGen HypoKits in the U.S., after reports of detached needles in the syringes. The company initiated the recall following 2 customer complaints, 1 from the UK and 1 from Portugal, according to Novo Nordisk. The recall comes just days after the company announced the […]
Chemists develop 3D bone-scanning technique
Chemists at Trinity College Dublin created a 3D bone-scanning technique that does not expose patients to radiation. The team attached a luminescent tag to tiny, gold structures called nanoagents. The particles seek out micro-cracks in bones and adhere to the calcium-rich surface. Using magnetic resonance imaging, the luminescent molecules light up and produce a 3D, […]
Novocure touts long-term analysis of Optune drug-device combo
Novocure (NSDQ: NVCR) touted a long-term analysis of data from a Phase III pivotal trial of its Optune device in combination with temozolomide for the treatment of newly-formed glioblastomas. Survival data for nearly 700 patients confirmed interim results from the trial, 1st published in December 2015 in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. Patients treated […]
AstraZeneca, Bespak ink deal for metered-dose inhaler
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) said last week that it inked a multi-year commercial supply deal with Consort Medical (LON:CSRT) subsidiary Bespak for its pressurized metered-dose inhaler technology. Bespak will supply inhaler valves and actuators for use with AstraZeneca’s inhaled aerosol treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. AstraZeneca won FDA approval in April for the aerosol, Bevespi Aerosphere […]