Drug Delivery & Dispensing

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Medical lasers must be cooled either by premounted or portable chiller systems.

Laser systems continue to grow in application use throughout the medical industry. Applications for laser systems include diagnostic analysis systems, DNA sequencing systems, dental cleaning and surgery, skin care, eye surgery, tattoo removal, and much more. These systems commonly require cooling of the laser and other electronic components either by air flow on lower power laser systems, or by fluid circulation/chiller systems on higher power lasers. Higher power laser require an increased level of cooling capacity that results in systems that provide several gallons per minute of fluid circulation. This increased flow rate will maintain the laser and other electronics at the proper operating conditions.
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Today, a wide array of laser technologies support an amazingly diverse range of medical and biomedical applications. In fact, it would take a large volume to discuss all the current uses of lasers in medicine. This article selects just four representative examples, and shows how key developments in disparate laser technologies have enabled or enhanced each particular procedure.
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The Watson-Marlow Pumps Group, Wilmington, MA, introduced a new range of 400RXMD panelmount pumps designed specifically for medical device specialists serving the surgical ablation market. A range of precise pressure settings tailors products for specific customer applications, and the pumps are delivered with pre-set pressure performance for effective catheter ablation. An innovative mechanism has also been introduced giving improved flow accuracy, while a tube holder ensures the tube locates in the right position every time the safety lid is closed, providing rapid, trouble-free tube loading.
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Strain Measurement Devices Inc., Wallingford, CT, announces a new line of ultrasonic, air-in-water sensors for medical applications. The A230/240 air-in-water sensor is based on proprietary, digital, non-invasive, ultrasonic bubble sensing technology to accurately and reliably detect bubbles in a wide variety of fluids and tubing materials. In addition to standard parts, Strain Measurement Devices will work with the customer to develop custom sensors to fit their application.
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Smiths Medical, St. Paul, MN, received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to launch its CADD®-Solis VIP ambulatory infusion system with CADD™-Solis medication safety software. It is a multi-therapy infusion platform that includes a Smart infusion pump, medication safety software, and dedicated medication cassette reservoirs that attach to the pump. The pump’s user interface displays therapy information in an easyto- understand format, and the safety software allows clinicians to download information directly from their PC into the pump and view reports on infusion data and delivery history.
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At the 245^th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, in New Orleans, scientists from the University of California, San Diego, described their advances in micromotor technology that, they say, could open the door to broad new medical uses.

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Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Cambridge, MA, have developed an inexpensive tactile sensor for robotic hands that is sensitive enough to enable a machine to handle objects with sensitivity and dexterity. Designed by researchers in the Harvard Biorobotics Laboratory, the sensor, called TakkTile, is intended to put what would normally be a high-end technology within the grasp of commercial inventors, teachers, and robotics enthusiasts.

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Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, are developing edible electronic devices that can be implanted in the body, and say that the device could be programmed and deployed in the gastrointestinal tract or the small intestine and once the battery packaging is in place, they can activate the battery.

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Researchers say that a new type of soft material they have created by using a unique 3D printer connects thousands of water droplets, 50 microns in diameter each, encapsulated within lipid (fat) films, which can perform some of the functions of the cells inside our bodies. These printed “droplet networks,” they say could be the building blocks of a new kind of technology to deliver drugs precisely where they are needed and could one day replace or fill in damaged human tissues.


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A new study done at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore, MD, described online in JAMA Pediatrics, show that in children catheters inserted in a vessel in the arm or leg and not threaded into a large vein near the heart are nearly four times as likely to dislodge, cause vein inflammation, or dangerous blood clots as are catheters advanced into major vessels near the heart. A peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC) placed into a small blood vessel, usually in the arm, and threaded toward a major blood vessel near the lungs and heart, is used as a temporary port for medications, nutrients, or fluids. However, clinicians sometimes leave the PICC line in a peripheral vein in the arm or leg instead, which, the researchers say, should only be done as a last resort.

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Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, MA, were awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the Institute with prior DARPA support, and help accelerate its translation to humans to treat bloodstream infections. In order to rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, the patient's blood is mixed with magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood 'opsonin' protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It flows through microchannels in the device where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes, similar to how a human spleen operates. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient.

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, with the support of a $3.4 million National Institutes of Health grant, are working to develop an artificial lung to serve as a bridge to transplant or recovery in patients with acute and chronic lung failure. The project aims to develop a compact respiratory assist device called the Paracorporeal Ambulatory Assist Lung (PAAL), a wearable, fully integrated blood pump and lung designed to provide longer-term respiratory support up to three months while maintaining excellent blood compatibility. This is in sharp contrast to current long-term breathing support modalities, which include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (EMCO)—a cardiac and respiratory technique in which blood is drained from the body, oxygenated, and the returned to the bloodstream, but can significantly limit a patient’s mobility and involve unwieldy equipment.
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Researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore, in collaboration with IBM Research say that they have developed the firstever antimicrobial hydrogel that can break apart biofilms and destroy multidrug-resistant superbugs upon contact.
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Fluke Biomedical, Everett, WA, introduces its new VT305 Gas Flow Analyzer, which is small, lightweight, simple to use, and provides quick results. Featuring an intuitive fourbutton control panel, auto-orienting color LCD screen, and single flow channel, the VT305 provides instant readable graphs that can be saved using an SD card. It can test ventilators and all other gas flow and pressure-producing devices including anesthesia machines, suction devices, pressure gauges, flow meters, and more.
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A new study by researchers at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, examined how bacteria clogs medical devices, and found that the microbes join to create slimy ribbons that form tangles, trapping other bacteria, and creating a full blockage in a very short period of time. Their findings, they say, could help shape strategies to prevent clogging of devices such as stents. Using time-lapse imaging, they monitored fluid flow in a narrow tube similar to those used in medical stents with rough rather than smooth surfaces and pressure-driven fluid instead of non-moving fluid. The team of biologists and engineers placed a small number of bacteria that are common contaminants of medical devices into the tube and waited.

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This ultrasound technique is an alternative to narcotics for treating pain from acute trauma.

The objective of this effort was to demonstrate the feasibility of using ultrasound induced neuromodulation (UNMOD) to manage pain. Pain management for acute trauma is generally accomplished with narcotics, which is less than ideal in a battlefield scenario. The technology of peripheral ultrasound neuromodulation (PUNMOD) offers several advantages over narcotics and current methods of neurostimulation. PUNMOD has the potential to be highly portable as a battlefield analgesic, and has the advantage of leaving the patient’s cognitive abilities intact. In addition, PUNMOD does not carry with it the risk of abuse or the need for the surveillance that is associated with pharmaceutical analgesics.
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Clippard Instrument Laboratory, Inc., Cincinnati, OH, introduces a new series of electronic valves designed for the analytical industry, and for applications where cleanliness is especially important. The pneumatic valves utilize a unique patented system with a low power consumption of only 0.67 watts, a response time of 5 to 10 milliseconds, and voltages of 6, 12, or 24 VDC. Available in 2-way or 3-way, normally- closed or fully ported.
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Qosina, Edgewood, NY, has added an Anti-Slip Boot (#51599) to its extensive line of stock components. The new boot helps prevent luer fittings from slipping apart, and works with most standard luer fittings. Made from medical grade silicone and applicable for autoclave, gamma, and EtO sterilizing, it measures 11/32" ID × ½" OD × ¾" (0.343" × 0.5" × 0.75", 8.7mm × 12.7mm × 19.05mm). Designed to maintain the integrity of a luer fitting assembly, this solution helps prevent loss and contamination due to accidental disconnection of luer parts. MD&M Florida, Booth 404.
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Scientists at King's College London say they have demonstrated the ability to deliver a dried live vaccine to the skin without using a traditional needle. They also state that this technique is powerful enough to enable specialized immune cells in the skin to kick-start the immunizing properties of the vaccine.
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A specialized 3D printing process, using human stem cells, could pave the way to building custom replacement organs for patients, eliminating the need for organ donation, immune system suppression, and possible transplant rejection. Sound fantastic? The new valve-based technique, developed by the biomedical microengineering group at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, in partnership with Roslin Cellab, a leading stem cell technology company, allowed the researchers to print delicate embryonic cell cultures, which can replicate indefinitely and differentiate into almost any cell type in the human body. The technique relies on an adjustable "microvalve" to build up layers of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Altering the nozzle diameter precisely controls the rate at which cells are dispensed.

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Tucked within the Affordable Care Act is a provision requiring insurance companies to cover breast pumps. Insurers must pay for the new benefit, but the law doesn’t specify whether insurers must cover certain brands or types of breast pumps. It directs health plans to pay for “the costs of renting breastfeeding equipment.” Some insurance companies have agreed to pay the costs of buying a personal pump, instead of renting a “hospital-grade unit, as the costs may be less. But, mothers scrambling to find the pump they want may have a difficult time, as demand has soared since the provision went into effect.

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Scientists at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Canada, a world-renowned biomedical research center, were the first to conduct a trial comparing a dual-hormone artificial pancreas with conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump. Their research showed improved glucose levels and lower risks of hypoglycemia. Their results, published Canadian Medical Association Journal, can have a great impact on the treatment of type 1 diabetes by accelerating the development of an external artificial pancreas.

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Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to launch a strong defense if it encounters an active virus. But, for certain viruses, like HIV, even this is taking too much of a chance. In recent years, scientists have been exploring DNA as a potential alternative vaccine. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, are experimenting with a new type of vaccine-delivery film that could improve the effectiveness of DNA vaccines.

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Harvard Apparatus, the world leader in syringe pumps, announces the new Harvard Peristaltic Pump series. These remote-controlled, programmable peristaltic pumps with interchangeable sealed pump heads offer unparalleled accuracy, reproducibility, and ease of use over a broad range of flow rates. A library of tubing sizes are stored in the pump’s memory to minimize setup time.
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Acro Associates, Inc., Concord, CA, introduced two new models, the 935HF (high force) and 936 pneumatic pinch valve designed to meet the needs of single-use bio - processing systems. These models allow systems using sterile single use disposable tubing sets to control dispensing or fluid control through 2-way normally open, or closed default op eration valve positions. Model 935HF supports tubing sizes up to 1" or 25mm OD and Model 936 supports tubing sizes up to 1.5" or 38mm OD.
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