Fitbit wants to move toward med tech and away from consumer-facing products, following in the footsteps of some of its big-name peers, such as Apple. However, the fitness wearables company could face some cost and regulatory hurdles along the way, according to some analysts.
For the first time, a quadriplegic was able to move his fingers and hand with his own thoughts, using technology that allows brain signals to circumvent his injured spine and go directly to his muscles.
The body’s response to foreign material–forming blood clots and becoming inflamed–can prevent blood-contacting implants like stents and heart valves from working properly. While the only recourse is to replace the device, Harvard scientists have developed a new biochemical method to coat these devices to preserve their function.
Scientists are looking for smarter ways to stop and prevent seizures, and now, IBM is joining the effort. The company is working with neurologists in Australia to develop a computing system that can analyze brain waves to stave off epilepsy.
Drugmakers have made great strides coming up with new treatments for diabetes as the disease gallops across the globe. However, healthcare professionals are concerned that hormone insulin meds, often the key treatment, are getting too costly for many patients, even in the U.S. In developing countries, they say engineered insulin is automatically out of reach of many people while supplies of older, but cheaper, human insulin are becoming scarce.
A bipartisan duo in the U.S. Senate introduced a bill in March that aims to streamline the way the FDA reviews medical devices.
Mobile health app developers have struggled to figure out whether their technology will pass muster with regulators. Now, feds want to take out some of the guesswork. The FTC and FDA are rolling out a new web-based tool for companies making mobile health apps that helps them understand which laws and regulations apply to their products, especially regarding security.
Scientists have found that children hospitalized in intensive care units are more likely to develop attention deficit disorders further down the road, and now, they’ve uncovered a link. Researchers in Belgium saw that plastic-softening chemicals in medical devices can lead to neurocognitive issues in kids.
Researchers may have discovered a method of detecting changes in the eye that could identify Parkinson’s disease before its symptoms develop. Scientists at University College London (UCL) say their early animal tests could lead to a cheap and non-invasive way to spot the disease.
Researchers at South Korea’s Institute for Basic Science are developing a drug-delivering glucose monitoring microneedle patch made of gold-doped graphene. It showed promise on diabetic mice, according to a just-published paper in Nature Nanotechnology.