May 2015

Stories

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Briefs: Medical
A team of scientists at Vanderbilt University have achieved the first “image fusion” of mass spectrometry and microscopy, which, they say, could dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of...
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Briefs: Medical
The primary focus of diagnostic exams for glaucoma, and follow-up testing, is measuring pressure inside the eye. A rise in pressure indicates that the disease is worsening, and all current glaucoma treatments work...
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Briefs: Medical
An optical probe to detect skin cancer designed by a team of researchers at the at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas (UT) was a hometown favorite to win an innovation award...
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Briefs: Nanotechnology
The FDA recently adopted three nanotechnology standards as part of a major update to the administration’s List of Recognized Standards. The documents comprise a Technical Specification (TS) developed...
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Briefs: Medical
A group of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, PA, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, say that to understand how nanomaterials...
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Briefs: Medical
Drug-Encapsulated Prosthetic Enhancement
This invention places a drug delivery system inside a prosthetic implant to circumvent the physical issues encountered after fitting the implant. Implants being relatively large in size would be able to house the drug-carrying device inside them without compromising the structural integrity or the...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — An Apple a Day Keeps the Researcher Close
You’ve heard the latest Apple Watch claims and seen the advance sales numbers. No stranger to grand pronouncements about their products, this very “personal” one, the company says, can run its own apps, connect with iPhones, and be both a fashion and status statement.
Global Innovations: Medical
Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia, Valencia, Spain The research project PUMA (Pressure Ulcer Measurement and Actuation), founded by the European Commission, and...
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R&D: Medical
Hearing-Loss Treatment Offers Precise Drug Delivery
Current hearing-loss treatments deliver drugs to the middle ear by requiring repeat injections. A device from The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, sends precise, automated, and timed quantities of one or more drugs directly into the fluid of the inner ear.
Features: Medical
Silicone materials have been around for more than 70 years and since the 1960s have played an important and evolving part in products designed for the medical field. Since that time,...
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Features: Medical
In medical product design, proper, robust functionality is paramount. The product simply has to work. In this market, is aesthetic design of any importance? And if so, how can designers...
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Applications: Medical
An important movement within the medical device industry is poised to revolutionize the point-of-care (POC) drug delivery market. The goal at hand—making drug delivery devices more...
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Technology Leaders: Medical
Comparing the cool factor of medical device components to Robert Downey Jr.’s gleaming armor in the film Iron Man 2 is…well…tough. But compare...
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Technology Leaders: Connectivity
After a 20-year effort to establish standards which would minimize the risk of medical misconnections, the pending release of the ISO 80369 series of standards has now...
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Products: Medical
TDK-Lambda Corporation, San Diego, CA, introduces ZMS100 2" x 4" medical and ITE certified power supplies. Designed to provide long field life in medical applications, the ZMS100 series can operate with or...
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Products: Medical
Tech-Etch, Inc., Plymouth, MA, announces that its low-profile BeCu gaskets are offered in stick-on, hook and stick-on, and clip-on mounting configurations. With EMI/RFI shielding effectiveness over...
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Products: Materials
Anomet Products, Inc., Shrewsbury, MA, supplies custom manufactured clad metal wire that can combine properties such as high strength and conductivity, radiopacity, and biocompatibility to improve design flexibility....
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Products: Medical
Gowanda Electronics, Gowanda, NY, introduces its SMP2512 Series of surface mount, wirewound, ferrite core, molded power inductors designed for use in power applications requiring a specific surface mount size of 0.25" L...
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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Miyachi America Corporation, Monrovia, CA, announces its new LMWS Laser Marking Workstation, specifically designed for benchtop operation featuring improved functionality, narrow width for lean manufacturing, and...
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Products: Medical
Asahi Intecc USA, Inc., Santa Ana, CA, a ISO 9001/13485 certified medical device components manufacturer complete with guidewires and microcatheters, now offers fully extruded stainless or nitinol torque-able...
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Products: Motion Control
maxon precision motors, Fall River, MA, introduces right angle gearheads designed to be configured with maxon’s 22mm and 32mm dc motors. These compact, lightweight, and high torque gearheads were developed to transmit...
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Products: Medical
MICROMO, Clearwater, FL, introduces FAULHABER 2057 BHS Brushless DC Servo Motors designed to address the specific requirements of the medical and dental handpiece markets. While remaining cool to the touch, the...
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Products: Medical
FANUC America Corporation, Rochester Hills, MI, introduces FASBacCNC, a powerful and easy to use network-based automatic backup solution for CNC files created and customized by a machine tool builder...
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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Coto Technology Inc., North Kingstown, RI, has released the RedRock™ RR100 Micro-Electro- Mechanical Systems (MEMS)-based magnetic reed sensor that is ideally suited to the needs of medical,...
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Products: Medical
The Precision Fluidics Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, Hollis, NH, announces the release of its newest miniature solenoid actuated poppet valve, the Series MX – Model 7, a miniature solenoid...
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Products: Medical
Bell-Everman Inc., Goleta, CA, introduces ServoSpline™, a positioning stage offering a unique drive mechanism that provides backlash-free motion and simplified control. ServoSpline is an extension of a classic...
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Products: Medical
Interpower Corporation, Oskaloosa, IA, can now provide serial numbers on medical cords per a company’s specific request. While medical cords are not classified as a medical device, companies may choose to...
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R&D: Medical
Researchers 'Draw' Sensors to Measure Glucose
A new tool developed by nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego, allows users, including physicians and patients, to easily build their own sensors.
R&D: Robotics, Automation & Control
Magnetic Devices Aid Laparoscopic Surgery
Vanderbilt University researchers have created magnetically-driven laparoscopic instruments.
R&D: Medical
PolySTAT Polymer Strengthens Blood Clots
University of Washington researchers have created PolySTAT, a new injectable polymer that strengthens blood clots. The polymer, administered in a single shot, addresses internal injuries and reduces blood loss.
Mission Accomplished: Medical
A stay on the International Space Station is no vacation. During a visit to the orbiting National Laboratory, astronauts divide their time among a variety of tasks. For one, they look after a...
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R&D: Medical
‘Smart Bandage’ Detects Bedsores
A new “smart bandage” from engineers at UC Berkeley uses electrical currents to detect early tissue damage from pressure ulcers, or bedsores, before they can be seen by human eyes. The device could potentially be carried by a nurse for spot-checking target areas on a patient, or incorporated into a wound...
R&D: Medical
Mobile System Captures High-Res Retinal Images
A Rice University mobileVision system monitors eye health and spots signs of macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.The patient-operated, portable device can be paired with a smartphone to give clinicians finely detailed images of the macula – the spot in the center of the eye where vision is...
INSIDER: Medical
X-Ray Technology Makes Tumors Visible
Using a compact synchrotron source, researchers at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a technology that measures X-ray absorption, phase shifts, and radiation scattering. The technology will help doctors and scientists distinguish between healthy tissue and tumors.
INSIDER: Medical
Smartphone App Assists Heart-Failure Patients
A smartphone app created by students at Rice University regulates the flow of blood through the heart. The combined software-hardware interface works with an Android application to monitor and control a high-tech pump residing in the aorta.
INSIDER: Medical
Sensing Platform Screens Cells, Tissues
Georgia Institute of Technology engineers have built a multi-modality cellular sensor. Arranged in a standard CMOS process, each sensor pixel concurrently monitors multiple different physiological parameters of the same cell and tissue samples.
INSIDER: Medical
Thermometer-Like Device Supports Heart Attack Diagnosis
Scientists from the Pohang University of Science and Technology have developed a simple, thermometer-like device that could help doctors diagnose heart attacks. The technology detects troponin, a protein that rises when blood is cut off from the heart and muscle is damaged.
INSIDER: Medical
New Chest Strap Device Monitors Heart Rate
A team of scientists from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, developed a chest strap device for the long-term monitoring of patients with heart and circulatory problems. The new system records an electrocardiogram (ECG) of the wearer.
INSIDER: Medical
Smartphone Microscope Detects Parasites
A new smartphone microscope uses video to automatically detect and quantify parasites in a drop of blood. The CellScope technology, developed by UC Berkeley engineers, could revive efforts to eradicate debilitating filarial diseases in Africa.
Industry News: Medical
May 2015 Mid-Month Industry News
Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.
INSIDER: Medical
Compact X-Ray Source Improves CT Scans
CT scans provide valuable details of bones and dense body parts that strongly absorb X-rays, however, the techniques struggle with the visualization of soft tissues and organs. A Compact Light Source (CLS) from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory enables computer tomography scans...
News: Medical
Readiness Abroad, Better Locations at Home
Medtech companies reshuffle facility locations to capture market opportunities. In this Outsourcing Outlook newsletter, Contributing Editor Steve Halasey examines the latest industry news concerning outsourcing/contract manufacturing.
INSIDER: Medical
Designing Better, Longer-Lasting Medical Implants
Implanted biomedical devices used for drug delivery, tissue engineering, or sensing can help improve disease treatment. But, often these devices are susceptible to attack by the immune system. To help reduce that immune-system rejection, a team of scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,...
INSIDER: Medical
Creating a ‘CyberHeart’ for Advanced Medical Device Development
Computer scientists at Stony Brook University are developing a virtual-heart platform to help improve and accelerate medical device development and testing. The CyberHeart project is part of the National Science Foundation’s initiative to advance the state-of-the-art in...
Industry News: Medical
May 2015 Month-End Industry News
Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.
INSIDER: Medical
FDA Withdraws 47 Draft Guidance Documents
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn 47 draft guidance documents published before December 31, 2013, which were never finalized or acted on. The announcement was posted in the Federal Register, stating that this move was made to improve the efficiency and transparency of the guidance...
INSIDER: Medical
Engineers Reveal Surgical Robot Security Flaws
University of Washington engineers hacked a teleoperated surgical robot to test how easily a malicious attack could hijack remotely controlled operations. Incorporating security measures will be critical to the safe adoption and use of the robotic technology.
INSIDER: Medical
Octopus Arm Inspires Robotic Surgical Tool
A group of researchers from Italy's Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies created a robotic arm that bends, stretches, and squeezes through cluttered environments. Inspired by the eight arms of an octopus, the device allows surgeons to easily access remote, confined regions of the body and, once there,...

Ask the Expert

Dan Sanchez on How to Improve Extruded Components
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Improving extruded components requires careful attention to a number of factors, including dimensional tolerance, material selection, and processing. Trelleborg’s Dan Sanchez provides detailed insights into each of these considerations to help you advance your device innovations while reducing costs and speeding time to market.

Inside Story

Inside Story: Trends in Packaging and Sterilization
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Eurofins Medical Device Testing (MDT) provides a full scope of testing services. In this interview, Eurofins’ experts, Sunny Modi, PhD, Director of Package Testing; and Elizabeth Sydnor, Director of Microbiology; answer common questions on medical device packaging and sterilization.

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