This month’s most missed USMLE question--and the right answer
As you prepare for the United States Medical Licensing Exam® (USMLE®), do you know which questions to look out for? We’re giving you an exclusive scoop on the most challenging USMLE test prep questions and expert strategies to help you beat them. Find out what this month’s toughest question is and receive an expert video explanation of the answer from Kaplan Medical.
Welcome to the third post in AMA Wire’s® series, “Tutor talk: Tips from Kaplan Medical on the most missed USMLE test prep questions.” Each month, we’re revealing one of the top questions students miss, a helpful analysis of answers and a v...
Source: AMA Wire - November 25, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Troy Parks Source Type: news
CANOA: Clopidogrel Reduces Migraine After ASD ClosureCANOA: Clopidogrel Reduces Migraine After ASD Closure
The study provides definitive data that dual antiplatelet therapy leads to fewer migraines after transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect, the lead author says. Heartwire from Medscape (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - November 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology & Neurosurgery News Source Type: news
Nido Surgical seeks $1.5m for next-gen cardiac surgery tools
del Nido
Stealthy Nido Surgical took the 1st steps toward raising a hoped-for $1.5 million, pulling in $105,000 from 3 unnamed investors in a debt-and-options round, according to a regulatory filing.
Nido Surgical, named for co-founder and cardiac surgery chief at Boston Children’s Hospital Dr. Pedro del Nido, is developing minimally invasive instruments for image-guided, beating-heart surgery, according to the LinkedIn profile of co-founder, president & CEO Gerald Moore.
The company was formed to commercialize technology created by del Nido and his team at Children’s over the past 10 years, according t...
Source: Mass Device - October 28, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Brad Perriello Tags: Cardiovascular Funding Roundup Surgical Nido Surgical Source Type: news
Medtech approvals: FDA releases August 2015 PMAs
The FDA today released its list of the pre-market approvals it granted for medical devices in August 2015:
Summary of PMA Originals & Supplements Approved
Originals: 2
Supplements: 70
Summary of PMA Originals Under Review
Total Under Review: 57
Total Active: 28
Total On Hold: 29
Summary of PMA Supplements Under Review
Total Under Review: 569
Total Active: 422
Total On Hold: 147
Summary of All PMA Submissions
Originals: 5
Supplements: 90
Summary of PMA Supplement PMA Approval/Denial Decision Times
Number of Approvals: 70
Number of Denials: 0
Average Days Fr Receipt to Decision (Total Time): 229.0
FDA Time: 130...
Source: Mass Device - October 23, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Brad Perriello Tags: Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Pre-Market Approval (PMA) Regulatory/Compliance Source Type: news
Futuristic Device Fixes Holes In The Heart Without Invasive Surgery
Scientists in Boston have come up with an ingenious new way to repair life-threatening holes in patients' hearts and other organs. Instead of invasive surgery and the risk that entails, the new technique makes use of an ultraviolet-light-enabled catheter that patches the holes using a plug made of a biodegradable, light-activated adhesive (see video above). The experimental device may prove useful in fixing stomach ulcers and abdominal hernias as well as hearts. "Currently, to repair wounds or holes in the body, a second large hole made by incision must be created in order to give clinicians access to the af...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - October 6, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
Futuristic Device Fixes Holes In The Heart Without Invasive Surgery
Scientists in Boston have come up with an ingenious new way to repair life-threatening holes in patients' hearts and other organs.
Instead of invasive surgery and the risk that entails, the new technique makes use of an ultraviolet-light-enabled catheter that patches the holes using a plug made of a biodegradable, light-activated adhesive (see video above). The experimental device may prove useful in fixing stomach ulcers and abdominal hernias as well as hearts.
"Currently, to repair wounds or holes in the body, a second large hole made by incision must be created in order to give clinicians access to the af...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - October 6, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Fixing your heart with light
Last year, cardiologists at Boston Children’s Hospital reported developing a groundbreaking adhesive patch for sealing holes in the heart. The patch guides the heart’s own tissue to grow over it, forming an organic bridge. Once the hole is sealed, the biodegradable patch dissolves, leaving no foreign material in the body.
As revolutionary as this device was, it still had one major drawback: implanting the patch required highly invasive open-heart surgery. But that may be about to change.
Researchers from the Wyss Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Appl...
Source: Mass Device - October 6, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: MassDevice Tags: Blog Vector Blog Source Type: news
Analyze This Image: A Congenital Conundrum?Analyze This Image: A Congenital Conundrum?
The patient has a ventricular septal defect, but what else is going on? theheart.org on Medscape (Source: Medscape Cardiology Headlines)
Source: Medscape Cardiology Headlines - September 30, 2015 Category: Cardiology Tags: Cardiology Case Challenge Source Type: news
Occlutech wins CE Mark for VSD closure device
Structural heart disease implant developer Occlutech said today it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its ventricle septal defect closure device.
The occluding device consists of a flexible nitinol wire mesh, and is indicated for minimally invasive closure of VSDs, the company said.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to provide patients and cardiologists with this innovative product and expect our VSD occluder to significantly add and improve therapy options for this patient population,” CEO Tor Peters said in prepared remarks.
The implantable device will be available in different configurations...
Source: Mass Device - September 29, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Cardiac Implants Cardiovascular Regulatory/Clearance Surgical Occlutech GmbH Source Type: news
HeartStitch touts new PFO closure method
Structural heart focused HeartStitch said today its NobleStitch EL device was used to repair 3 patients with patent forman ovale heart defects in Astana, Kazakhstan.
A patent foramen ovale is a congenital heart disease in which hole in the heart that normally seals at birth remains open, and can lead to severe migraines, visual auras and stroke, the company said.
The procedures were performed by Dr. Michael Mullen and guided by Anthony Nobles at the National Research Cardiac Surgery Center in Astana, according to the company.
“We are gratified that our colleagues from abroad have brought this technology to Kazakhstan...
Source: Mass Device - September 11, 2015 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Cardiac Implants Cardiovascular HeartStitch Source Type: news
Marissa’s story: “Esophageal atresia is never going to define me”
Marissa Waite lives in the smallest town in Massachusetts, but she has a big story to tell. When her mother Vicky was pregnant with Marissa 13 years ago, an ultrasound detected esophageal atresia (EA), a condition where the esophagus isn’t connected to the stomach.
Vicky was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for the remainder of her pregnancy. “I’m a take-charge kind of person. When I was pregnant, I thought, ‘I’ll make all the decisions for my baby.’ But when complications arose, I realized I couldn’t make these kinds of decisions alone,” she says.
At that point, Marissa’s care team was born.
Do...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - August 13, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jenny Fernandez Tags: All posts Our patients’ stories esophageal atresia GERD Steven Fishman VSD Wayne Tworetzky Source Type: news
Hospital live tweets open heart surgery on 8-year-old girl
A Nigerian hospital has live-tweeted an operation to repair a hole in the heart of an eight year old girl. (Source: CNN.com - Health)
Source: CNN.com - Health - August 12, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Alina’s story, Part I: Looking back on a heart transplant
Heart failure in children is a sneaky condition. The symptoms can be subtle, and the situation often worsens quite quickly. That was the case for Alina Siman. Though Alina, now 8, was born with congenital heart disease, her parents thought she had escaped the complications of her condition.
Alina was born in Miami, Florida after a fetal echocardiogram diagnosed her with a coarctation of the aorta (a narrowing of the aorta) and a ventricular septal defect (a hole between the walls of the heart’s lower pumping chambers). She had surgery soon after she was born to correct her heart’s anatomy and for a few years, she ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - August 10, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Erin Horan Tags: Heart conditions Our patients’ stories Berlin heart congenital heart disease congestive heart failure Dr. Christina Vanderpluym Dr. Elizabeth Blume Dr. Kevin Daly Heart Center heart transplant VAD Source Type: news
Late ventricular septal defect due to blunt trauma - Soleimanpour H, Shams Vahdati S, Fakhree MB.
INTRODUCTION: This is very rare case report regarding late ventricular septal defect (VSD) following blunt trauma. CASE REPORT: A 23-year-old motorcycle rider lost control and crashed to another motorcycle. He was transferred to emergency department by eme... (Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated))
Source: SafetyLit: All (Unduplicated) - August 5, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Economics of Injury and Safety, PTSD, Injury Outcomes Source Type: news
Brave Hearts: How one Mom faces her daughter’s congenital heart disease
Finding out your child has congenital heart disease (CHD) can send you on an emotional roller coaster. “You can’t help but think, is this my fault? What did I do wrong?” says Jessica Nigrelli, whose daughter Avery was diagnosed with CHD when she was 16 months old.
When Avery was a baby, she had an on-again, off-again heart murmur that was checked every three months. When the murmur persisted at 16 months, her primary care doctor recommended she see a cardiologist from Boston Children’s Hospital. At the Heart Center’s outpatient clinic in Waltham, Dr. Susan Saleeb discovered Avery’s atrial septal defect (ASD). ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - July 28, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Erin Horan Tags: Heart conditions cardiac surgery congenital heart disease Heart Center Source Type: news
