Q-Collars may be an answer to the effects of sport-related head collisions, according to the results of a pair of studies of high school football and hockey players at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
The FDA has added a fourth kind of obesity treatment device to its roster of approved interventions. The Agency has approved the AspireAssist System from Pennsylvania-based startup Aspire Bariatrics. The device works to drain part of the stomach contents after each meal via a surgically place tube.
While hemodialysis has improved since its introduction in the 1960s, there are still some drawbacks, most notably being tethered to a machine for several hours, multiple times a week. The University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle has tested a wearable artificial kidney (WAK) that could give patients more freedom while dialyzing.
Adding blue-light imaging to white-light endoscopy can give a more complete picture of the body’s internal tissues, but can also be more costly, impractical and time-consuming. Vancouver, Canada-based Imagin is teaming up with the University of Rochester and the U.S. Department of Energy on a device that could eliminate these disadvantages and facilitate the early detection of bladder cancer.
As pharmaceutical and biotech company stocks saw a quick rise in share prices in early November, investors seem to believe the incoming Donald Trump administration and the avoidance of a California ballot measure on drug pricing will have a positive impact on the sector as a whole, at least financially.
Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed wireless probes with the aim of identifying cancer cells and suspicious lymph nodes during surgery.
Corporate wellness, and broader population health initiatives along those lines, is a small part of Fitbit’s business right now. However, the dominant wearable player is preparing to become a powerhouse tapping into the massive markets generated by major employers and insurers. Those efforts may show more promise in broader health improvement than Fitbit’s retail consumer sales given their ability to back up the technology with monitoring, incentives and even disincentives.
Currently, asthma treatment involves avoiding irritants and taking medication to relieve symptoms. Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a wearable system that more concretely monitors potential environmental irritants and could predict and potentially prevent asthma attacks.
China FDA has released an updated tally of adverse event reporting for medical devices that found more than 320,000 incidents were noted in 2015 with 80% from users of medical equipment. A separate report linked 184 deaths to incidents involving devices.
Automotive giant Toyota Motor is teaming up with Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, to create a next-generation wheelchair for disabled people and the elderly. The move comes after Toyota announced last year that it would sink $1 billion into artificial intelligence and robotics.