Nonin Medical Inc. unveiled the first fingertip oximeters that use Bluetooth wireless technology at the 2008 American Telemedicine Association (ATA) meeting in Seattle, WA.

The Onyx II, Model 9560 fingertip pulse oximeter is designed for interoperability, meeting the requirements of the emerging Medical Device Profile (MDP), IEEE11073 and Continua compliance standards.

April 10, 2008 - According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine this week, three-year data from the Stenting and Angioplasty with Protection in Patients at High Risk for Endarterectomy (SAPPHIRE) study in patients with severe blocked carotid arteries, the main blood vessels in the neck leading to the brain, who underwent carotid artery stenting (CAS) with the PRECISE Nitinol Stent and the ANGIOGUARD Emboli Capture Guidewire were comparably protected from stroke, heart attack, death and repeat revascularization procedures as patients who underwent surgery (endarterecto

April 10, 2008 - Three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the right ventricle provides important shape and volumetric insights that help cardiologists diagnose and treat patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), according to a paper published in the American Journal Cardiology (2008; Vol. 101, Issue 1, 107-113).

The 3D models created in the study provided volumetric data that was used to determine that patients with TOF had dilated right ventricles compared to individuals with normal function (end-diastolic volume index 216 /- 99 vs 81 /- 16 ml/mm, p

April 10, 2008 - SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the CardioWest temporary Total Artificial Heart (TAH-t), is unveiling the prototype of its new four-pound Companion II Driver, the next generation in its Companion Driver System series, at the 28th annual meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).
Weighing only four pounds, the Companion II is intended to be the smallest pneumatic driver for the artificial heart and designed to disappear into a fanny pack.


Medrad hopes to thrust new life into molecular imaging with its 510(k) pending FDG-PET power injector system called Intego, designed to promote greater accuracy in dose injection and which reportedly reduces radiation exposure related to FDG-handling by 40 percent.

Antibiotics were a miracle drug when introduced more than 60 years ago, but they have also spurred the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of super bug bacteria that hospitals are having a tough time controlling.

The battle for infection control is fought daily in wound management where the body's first line of defense against microbes has been breeched.
Sometimes something old is made new again with a twist of new technology, as is the case in new infection-fighting wound care products that use shrimp shells, honey and silver as their key ingredients.
The silver bullet

There has been a flood of new products and a rush by companies to get new infection control products on the market since last summer, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) passed a rule it will no longer reimburse healthcare facilities for preventable hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) starting in October 2008.


Many clinicians probably feel like they are being treated like a 5-year-old with the constant warnings and reminders to wash their hands to prevent getting sick or spreading bacteria. While it is simple and we all know hand-washing is important to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections like MRSA, people also know smoking is harmful to health, yet every medical convention I have attended I see doctors and nurses outside the convention doors smoking. Medical professionals know what is right, but must be reminded to walk the talk.

As obesity continues to be a widening problem in the U.S., anesthesiologists face more issues involving drug-induced respiratory depression and airway obstruction, but capnography provides a reliable means of assessing these complications during procedural sedation to prevent associated catastrophic adverse respiratory complications.

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