Implanted medical devices like defibrillators and insulin pumps now include wireless connections to let doctors or technicians update software or download data—but such improvements could open the door to life-threatening wireless attacks. Security researchers have shown that they can...

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK say that they are developing the world’s first electronic smart pump, which could increase survival chances of victims of chronic heart failure. The smart aortic graft would be...

An innovative new heart catheter, the IntellaTip MiFi™ XP catheter, pinpoints areas for therapy delivery. The device was given FDA approval in the United States in August for the treatment of atrial flutter, an arrhythmia that affects nearly one million people in the United States.

Computerized smart systems can deliver drugs intravenously in exact volumes to hospital patients. However, the systems do not recognize which medications are in the tubing, nor can they determine the concentration of the drug in the tubing. This can lead to medication errors including incorrect...

Five young scientists have received First Award Fellowships from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Through this two-year program, they will conduct biomedical research with the aim of helping to protect astronaut health during long-duration spaceflights. In addition to...

Today, the FDA issued its final rule on the unique device identification (UDI) system that, once implemented, will provide a consistent way to identify medical devices. The UDI system should improve the quality of information in medical device adverse events reports, which will help the FDA identify product problems more...

Aydogan Ozcan, a professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and his team have created a portable smartphone microscope attachment that can be used to detect viruses and bacteria without the need for bulky and...

Eden Steven, a physicist at Florida State University Magnet Lab, Tallahassee, conducting innovative experiments with spider silk, wanted to see what would happen when strands of spider’s silk were coated with carbon nanotubes. Using drops of water to adhere the powdery carbon nanotubes to the spider...

The Altair Robotics Laboratory at the University of Verona, Italy, has developed and is making available its Xron, a new simulator for training in robotic surgery. With Xron, a trainee controls the virtual robots in a realistic environment using stereoscopic rendering and advanced input devices.

The stench released by disease-causing bacteria is the basis for a faster and simpler new way to diagnose blood infections and pinpoint the specific microbe, scientists reported at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. The new test produces results in 24 hours,...

Scientists and engineers funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NABIB) are teaming up with neurosurgeons to develop technologies that enable less invasive, image-guided removal of hard-to-reach brain tumors. Novel imaging techniques allows...

Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.

A new prototype device for rapid and safe IV insertion has been designed to reduce pain in hospitalized children. Inserting an intravenous (IV) catheter to administer fluids to patients can be difficult, particularly in children and infants, and often causes pain, distress, and frustration. To...

A research team from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering has created efficient artificial, or “robotic” muscles, which, they say can carry an object 80 times its own weight, and be able to extend to five times its original length when carrying the load—a first in...

Materials science engineers at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, have created a transparent audio speaker consisting of a thin sheet of rubber sandwiched between two layers of a saltwater gel that can carry a high-voltage signal across the surfaces and through the layers forcing the...

Women differ from men in many ways, including 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, says the FDA. That’s why the FDA is actively trying to learn more about how medical devices uniquely...

In the US, there are millions of sports-related concussions yearly, and a large percentage go unreported or undiagnosed because many high school, college, and professional athletes do not report them. Balance tests are the primary method to detect concussion. However, the current means of...

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association announced in July that medical device manufacturers have now paid $1 billion to the Internal Revenue Service for the medical device excise tax. Their...