Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Blogs This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

FundamentalVR Integrates HaptX Gloves Into Virtual Reality Surgical Trainer
FundamentalVR, a company that makes virtual reality training tools for medical education, has integrated the HaptX Gloves into its Fundamental Surgery platform. Fundamental surgery can be used on different computers and with a variety of virtual reality headsets and haptic tools. Most systems that can provide a sense of touch have relied on pointer-like tools that the user holds with the fingers. The HaptX Gloves make each finger and the entire hand into a virtual reality, haptic controller. Her’es a video FundamentalVR released showing off what’s possible: Via: FundamentalVR… (Source: Medgadget)
Source: Medgadget - March 18, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Education ENT Neurosurgery Ob/Gyn Thoracic Surgery Urology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, part 2
Update In March 2019, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines that suggest that most adults without a history of heart disease should not take low-dose daily aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. Based on the ASPREE, ARRIVE, and ASCEND trials, the ACC/AHA guidelines concluded that the risk of side effects from aspirin, particularly bleeding, outweighed the potential benefit. The new guidelines do not pertain to people with established cardiovascular disease, in whom the benefits of daily aspirin have been found to outweigh the risks. ___________...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 14, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH Tags: Heart Health Prevention Source Type: blogs

Health Care Price Tags Won ’t Find You the Best Doctor
This article originally appeared on STAT here. (Source: The Health Care Blog)
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 12, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Technology Hospitals Physicians health care pricing Michael Millenson Quality of care transparent pricing Source Type: blogs

Mauna Kea ’s Cellvizio AQ-Flex 19 Miniprobe FDA Cleared for Analyzing Lung Nodules
Mauna Kea Technologies, based in Paris, France, won clearance from the FDA for its Cellvizio needle-based AQ-Flex 19 confocal miniprobe for use in sampling and imaging of peripheral lung nodules. The product allows physicians to image lung nodules directly through existing bronchoscopes and accompanying accessories. Additionally, in some markets, it can be used to analyze other internal tissues such as within the GI tract. “Our pioneering team has demonstrated that real-time imaging and identification of benign and malignant cellular structures inside pulmonary nodules and lymph nodes with needle-based Confocal Laser En...
Source: Medgadget - February 27, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: GI Medicine Pathology Radiology Surgery Thoracic Surgery Source Type: blogs

Philips Envisions Use of Augmented Reality in Operating Room (Video)
The Microsoft HoloLens is an impressive augmented reality (AR) system that lets the user overlay graphics over the visual scene in front. Philips is partnering with Microsoft to bring this technology to the operating room, and it has released a “concept” that foreshadows how AR can be used for image-guided minimally invasive therapies. Physicians working in cath labs have to take into account individual patient anatomy via MRI or CT scans captured previously, live imaging coming in from the fluoroscope, and data provided by the digital patient monitors. This can be awkward and overwhelming, particularly when on...
Source: Medgadget - February 26, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: ENT Neurosurgery Radiology Thoracic Surgery Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Overheard: Using Respiratory Muscle Strength Training in Dysphagia
The objective data comes from what you measure as an outcome. The device is the trainer. Again, use pressure threshold and then set out to measure the outcomes, a scale, a swallow exam, a cough flow rate, a voice quality, etc. Participant: How do you establish goals? There are norms for peak cough, is this what you use? Kiourkas: Respiratory uses cough peak flow to qualify for noninvasive ventilation for ALS and neuromuscular patients. The norms are different for each person. Suggested ranges are used as a guide to assist in determining if the patient is getting worse at subsequent visits. We also use a SNIP (sniffing pres...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - February 22, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Renee Kiourkas Tags: Academia & Research Health Care Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Dysphagia dyspnea muscle strength skilled nursing facility Swallowing Disorders Source Type: blogs

Intuitive Surgical Releases Ion Robotic Lung Biopsy System
Intuitive Surgical, the firm that makes the popular da Vinci surgical robotic systems, won FDA clearance and is releasing a robotic lung biopsy system called Ion in the United States. The catheter-based device allows precise penetration and sampling of tissues deep within the lungs. The catheter is only 3.5 mm wide and it can rotate and flex 180 degress in any direction. The biopsy needle itself is flexible, so it can pass through the same curvy anatomy that the catheter can navigate through. The 2mm working channel of the catheter can also be used to introduce biopsy forceps and cytology brushes. The Ion has the ability t...
Source: Medgadget - February 21, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Surgery Thoracic Surgery Source Type: blogs

Philips Unveils New Zenition Surgical C-Arms
Philips is releasing a new mobile surgical C-arm designed to improve efficiency in the operating room. The Philips Zenition sports a tablet-like interface that runs the same Unify software across the various versions of the Zenition and is similar to what appears in some other radiological equipment from Philips, allowing operators to quickly learn to operate new devices. It features a quick point-and-shoot image capture mode, a small footprint, position memory, and “BodySmart” software that produces large images with high quality all the way to the detector’s edges. Many of the algorithms that improve i...
Source: Medgadget - February 20, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiology Medicine Neurosurgery Ob/Gyn Orthopedic Surgery Pediatrics Radiology Thoracic Surgery Urology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, February 18th 2019
This study showed that potential vicious cycles underlying ARDs are quite diverse and unique, triggered by diverse and unique factors that do not usually progress with age, thus casting doubts on the possibility of discovering the single molecular cause of aging and developing the single anti-aging pill. Rather, each disease appears to require an individual approach. However, it still cannot be excluded that some or all of these cycles are triggered by fundamental processes of aging, such as chronic inflammation or accumulation of senescent cells. Nevertheless, experimental data showing clear cause and effect relationships...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 17, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Vapotherm Releases Latest Precision Flow Hi-VNI Mask-Free Ventilation System
Vapotherm, a company based in New Hampshire, has released the latest version of its Precision Flow Hi-VNI system. The system is used to deliver non-invasive ventilation to spontaneously breathing patients using the company’s Mask-Free NIV technology. The latest version of the system features updated hardware and software, which purportedly improves on reliability and “to comply with the EMC 4th Edition requirements for medical devices, IEC 60601-1-2:2014,” according to a Vapotherm press release. Precision Flow Hi-VNI uses a nasal cannula, instead of a face mask, to deliver warm, humidified gas at high ...
Source: Medgadget - February 14, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiology Critical Care Medicine Thoracic Surgery Source Type: blogs

A positive mindset can help your heart
Can being positive protect against heart disease? Yes! There is a lot of evidence suggesting that having a positive outlook — like being optimistic, cheerful, having gratitude and purpose in life — can be heart-protective. Researchers in the UK looked at psychological characteristics of over 8,000 people, and found that those who scored high on optimism and a sense of well-being enjoyed a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease. Other studies report similar findings: in a study of over 70,000 women followed for over 10 years, those who scored highest on an optimism questionnaire had a significantly lower risk of dea...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - February 14, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Heart Health Mind body medicine Source Type: blogs

X-ray Quiz 9
Discussion Some of the findings are quite obvious while some are subtle. It is an early post operative X-ray after prosthetic aortic valve replacement. The prosthetic valve ring is very difficult to make out as it is not a well penetrated film for that purpose. Bilateral pleural effusion is quite obvious. The internal jugular central venous line is also quite obvious. Sternal suture wires are also easy to make out. The stapler pins used for skin closure are visible on close scrutiny near the midline. The stapler pins and presence of central line indicates that it is an early film after the open heart surgery for aortic val...
Source: Cardiophile MD - February 12, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology X-ray Source Type: blogs

Heart Implant Measures Left Atrial Pressure to Monitor Heart Failure
Vectorious Medical Technologies, a company based in Israel, has announced that it has developed an unusual intra-cardiac monitoring device that has a built-in microchip but no battery. The V-LAP monitoring device allows patients to take measurements of the left atrial pressure at any time, which is done with the assistance of a small external module. The first implantations of the device are now being conducted as part of a first-in-human study that will enroll 30 patients across Europe and Israel. Left atrial pressure (LAP) is an an important parameter for evaluating heart health, particularly when trying to detect worse...
Source: Medgadget - February 8, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Medicine Source Type: blogs

Miniaturized Inhaled Nitric Oxide Delivery Units for Use in a Doctor ’s Office
Nu-Med Plus, a medtech firm based in Utah, has developed a range of smart delivery devices for inhaled nitric oxide delivery, including a miniaturized unit that can operate in a doctor’s office. The innovation has been possible as parts of the drug patent for nitric oxide have been invalidated, meaning that the cost of the treatment could come down. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator naturally produced by the endothelium. Inhaled nitric oxide is used to treat a variety of conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, high blood pressure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and erectile dysfunction. However, un...
Source: Medgadget - February 7, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Critical Care Medicine Thoracic Surgery Source Type: blogs