Vascular closure devices have a definite niche in areas where they were not originally intended but have found frequent off-label use because of their utility.

Vascular closure devices (VCD) were first introduced in the early 1990s with a goal to achieve quick hemostasis, thus reducing patients’ stay in the hospital (shorter time to ambulation) as well as faster turnover times for cardiac catheterization laboratories. 

The use of 3-D echo can help improve the accuracy and reproducibility of cardiac quantification. The technology has the advantage of removing the inter-operator variability by imaging whole volume datasets of the heart, so specific images or organ views can be extracted and reconstructed in any position, similar to CT or MRI datasets. Also, because a volumetric dataset is captured, exam times can be shortened, instead of spending time trying to get just the right angle for a 2-D slice view. Cardiac quantification can also be improved by measuring the entire heart or ventricle, rather than just slices of it. New software also automates this quantification.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee will review two new technologies to help treat heart failure (HF) Oct. 8-9, 2013.

Atherotech Diagnostics Lab has added three new genetic tests to its cardiometabolic test offering: warfarin sensitivity, Plavix sensitivity and the thrombophilia risk test.

 

Abbott promised preliminary results from a study presented at the ESC Congress 2013, suggesting that its high sensitive troponin test may help doctors improve the diagnosis and prognosis of patients presenting with symptoms of a heart attack. [1] The test could be particularly beneficial for women, who may have different presenting symptoms and are often under-diagnosed. [2] The study, which is being conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, is evaluating Abbott's Architect Stat High Sensitive Troponin-I (hsTnI) test, which received CE mark in January 2013.

LINC Study Resuscitation Devices Defibrillator CPR Lucas Chest Compression

The main results of the large randomized LINC study, which compared the effectiveness of the Lucas mechanical chest compression system to high quality manual chest compressions, were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The LINC study showed similar short-term survival rates for Lucas (23.6%) and manual (23.7%) chest compressions. At six-months, 8.5% of the patients treated with LUCAS were alive with good neurological outcomes compared to 7.6% in the manual group.

Direct Flow Medical Inc. announced the first patient enrollment in the U.S. SALUS clinical trial. The trial will study the Direct Flow Medical Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve System, which encompasses a distinctive transcatheter aortic heart valve with a metal-free frame and flexible, low-profile delivery system designed to eliminate aortic regurgitation. The device is intended to improve the long-term survivability of aortic stenosis patients by resolving the clinical issues associated with current commercial valves.
Subscribe to
© Copyright Wainscot Media. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe Now