High tech imaging has led to unnecessary, costly and risky treatment of low-risk cancers, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the most recent issue of the British Medical Journal.
Research & Development
Titan Medical touts 1st working single-orifice surgical robot
Study: Robotic surgery is less safe than it appears
A "slapdash" system of reporting complications may be hiding the true dangers of robot-assisted surgery, according to a Johns Hopkins report published online this week in the Journal for Healthcare Quality.
St. Jude-backed Spinal Modulation enrolls 1st patient in pain management study
ESC 2013: Medtronic’s Symplicity hypertension treatment still promising at 1 and 3 years
New data on Medtronic’s (NYSE:MDT) Symplicity renal denervation system showed the device is safe and effective at 1 and 3 years, the company announced this week.
Considering women’s needs in developing medical devices: Here’s ‘HoW’
By: Michelle McMurry-Heath, MD, Ph.D.
Women differ from men in anatomy, physiology, risk factors and disease symptoms. They are also likely to use more medical devices over the course of their lives than men do.
That is why FDA is actively trying to learn more about how medical devices uniquely affect women, and how women can be better served by them.
Study: Presence of sales reps influences coronary stent selection, price
A sales rep’s visit could be worth as much as $230 per case in surgeons’ use of coronary stents, according to a study in the American Heart Journal. The presence of a company sales rep in the cath lab increased the likelihood that surgeons would opt for drug-eluting over bare-metal stents, researchers said.
The study, aimed at understanding the impact and influence of sales reps in PCI cases, examined the selection of stents in 1,145 patients over a 12-month period from 2008-2009.
Lab-grown mini-brains help study neurological disease | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Austrian researchers reported have developed "mini-brains," stem-cell-based versions of the embryonic human brain, that can help model hard-to-study diseases.
The tiny brains, or "cerebral organoids," include various brain regions such as the cerebral cortex and they can be programmed to model diseases based on actual patients.
The FDA’s lab rules don’t apply to early-stage research | MassDevice.com On Call
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — U.S. federal regulators cleared up some questions for medical device companies about "good laboratory practice," making it clear that the agency’s tougher standards don’t apply in very early-stage research.
The FDA clarified that, when testing a device for basic effectiveness, companies do not need to abide by the more strict quality guidelines that apply to later-stage work.
New NIH study examines brain implant for treating deafness in children
The National Institutes of Health is bankrolling the clinical evaluation of a brainstem implant that promises to restore hearing in deaf children.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the House Research Institute will coordinate the 5-year trial for auditory brainstem implant (ABI) treatment. ABI was developed at House Research Institute in the 1970s, and the device has already successfully correct deafness in adults.
Receptionists Down Under use AliveCor’s mobile iECG to screen patients ahead of exams
AliveCor’s iPhone-based electrocardiogram monitor bears all the hallmarks of modern mobile health technology, but the cheap, hand-held device also facilitates routine, clinic-based screening without the aid of a specialist. In studies taking place Down Under, some clinical receptionists screen patients for heart rhythm disorders before the patients ever sees the doctor.