Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week articles from February 2001

Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week archives from February 2001

Hyponatremic Encephalopathy Can be Post-Intervention Complication.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Physicians should monitor blood sodium concentrations in patients developing long-term psychological or neurological symptoms after colonoscopy, researchers in Germany say. After observing an...

Fast, Accurate Test Can Help Diagnose Heart Failure.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Emergency-room physicians often have a hard time determining whether patients with shortness of breath are suffering from heart failure or some other condition. Physical exams and laboratory tests...

Neuromuscular Blockade of the Larynx Can be Seen Via Video.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Video imaging allows anesthesiologists to assess neuromuscular blockade of the larynx. Not only can they see it this way, but also they can...

Larynx Preservation Surgery a Good Alternative for Many Patients.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center in Philadelphia have completed a study assessing both the oncologic outcome and quality life implications following a novel surgical...

Diclofenac Not a Wise Choice in Tonsillectomy.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Rectal diclofenac, used preoperatively in patients undergoing tonsillectomy, extends surgery time and increases intraoperative blood loss. ...

Eptifibatide Improves Outcomes for Patients Transferred to Specialized Care.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three-quarters of American hospitals lack the facilities needed to perform percutaneous coronary interventions designed to widen blocked arteries. Instead, they must transfer patients to...

Specialists Offer Procedure to Monitor Women at Higher Risk.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Breast health experts at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, have started using a procedure to monitor women who are at higher risk for breast cancer. The...

Ultrasound and Imaging Biopsy Use Can Reduce Cost of Diagnosis.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The results of a recent study indicate that selective use of ultrasound and imaging-guided percutaneous biopsies in substitution for open surgical biopsies can significantly increase the cost...

Technology Provides Earliest Detection and Offers Best Opportunity to Save Vision.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- On December 21, 2000, then-president Clinton signed legislation calling for the first glaucoma detection benefit under Medicare in the U.S. This bill - part of a blindness prevention benefit...

Grant Awarded for Study of Deafness and Design Better Implants.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of California, Irvine (UCI), College of Medicine research team has been awarded a grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study how people become deaf and to design...

Fungal Flowers Offer Clues to Biofilm Formation on Medical Implants.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At first glance, yeast growing on a gelatin-like medium look breathtakingly beautiful - like gossamer flowers with radial spokes emanating from a central hub. But a florid fungus can be a...

Girth Measurements Provide Insight.(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- A new method for measuring abdominal girth in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients adds to the information needed to determine the pathogenesis...

FDA Approves "Sleep Moustache".(Brief Article)
February 18, 2001... 2001 FEB 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a device that inexpensively and accurately screens for sleep apnea at home. Characterized by the temporary cessation of breathing during...

Advancements Revolutionize Disease Diagnosis and Treatment.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Over the next two years, advances in electronics, optics, materials, and miniaturization will drive development of more sophisticated biomedical devices, revolutionizing diagnosis and treatment of...

Radiofrequency Ablation More Effective in Killing Inoperable Tumors.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The hottest weapon in the surgeon's arsenal against liver cancer uses heat instead of cold, a shift that could put the freeze on what has been the standard therapy for inoperable tumors. ...

Physicians Discuss FDA Approval to Begin Human Implants.(replacement heart clinical trial)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Physicians from the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Jewish Hospital gathered to discuss the recent announcement by Abiomed, Inc., that it had received permission from the U.S. Food and...

"Swiss Rolls" Improve Magnetic Resonance Imaging.(microstructured magnetic materials )(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A magnetic material developed might lead to dramatic improvements in the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. They described in the journal Science initial experiments...

Internal MRI Coil Receives FDA Clearance to Look Inside Blood Vessels.(magnetic resonance imaging)(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surgi-Vision, Inc., Columbia, Maryland, announced that it has received marketing clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Intercept-Vascular guidewire, a tiny magnetic...

Dual Sensor Could Provide More Information and Earlier Warning Signs.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diabetics could benefit from data provided by a device that monitors glucose and insulin levels simultaneously, allowing better management of the disease. In the laboratory, researchers...

Diagnostic Ultrasound Catheter Helps Patients at Risk.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study from the University of Chicago in Illinois reported that an ultrasound catheter successfully guides minimally invasive surgical closure of holes in the heart, such as atrial septal defects...

New Universal Electrode Plus Positioner Offers Several Benefits.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new type of hearing aid can be safely inserted deeper into the ear, with the additional benefits of lowering electrophysiological thresholds and battery power. Otolaryngologists described...

Sacral Nerve Stimulation Enables Patients to Empty Bladders More Normally.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study reported that continuous stimulation of specific nerves in the lower back significantly improves the ability of many patients suffering from intractable urinary retention to empty their...

Cryotherapy Used in Premature Children Doesn't Harm Later Vision.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study reported that the use of freezing treatment (cryotherapy) to halt the growth of abnormal retinal blood vessels in premature children does not cause myopia, as previously thought, but does...

Imaging Technology Aids Diagnosis and Classification of Maxillary Sinus Hypoplasia.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Anatomists in Turkey are using computed tomography scans to classify maxillary sinus hypoplasia in sinusitis patients. They say their system can help correctly diagnose and characterize this...

Weight-Bearing Therapy Helps Injured Man Walk.
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medical science, university research, and human determination have come together in a remarkable achievement: enabling a wheelchair-dependent man to walk. A 43-year-old man, who suffered a...

Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuit Can Reduce Platelet Loss.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Belgium have developed a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit, which can minimize interoperative platelet damage and transfusion requirements. ...

Strategy Can Minimize Blood Loss During Burn Surgery.(Brief Article)
February 25, 2001... 2001 FEB 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Blood transfusion requirements can be profoundly reduced for patients undergoing surgery for severe burn trauma, with no impact on outcome, researchers in...