InterStim Micro Neurostimulator and SureScan MRI Leads Cleared in Europe for Incontinence Control
Medtronic won EU regulatory clearance to introduce its InterStim Micro neurostimulator and InterStim SureScan MRI leads. The devices are used to deliver sacral neuromodulation therapy to treat overactive bladder (OAB), fecal incontinence, and non-obstructive urinary retention.
The InterStim Micro is a much tinier version of Medtronic’s InterStim II neuromodulator, as it is 80% smaller, but it is a rechargeable device with an expected longevity of about 15 years. This is made possible partially thanks to so-called Overdrive technology that lets the battery maintain almost its full capacity to recharge throughout it...
Source: Medgadget - January 13, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Radiology Rehab Source Type: blogs
Bioness StimRouter Cleared in Europe to Treat Fecal Incontinence
Bioness, a Valencia, California firm, won European regulatory approval for its StimRouter neuromodulation system to treat fecal incontinence.
Previously cleared in the EU as a tool for managing chronic pain and overactive bladder, the new indication significantly expands the stated capabilities of this novel neuromodulation system.
For the management of fecal incontinence, the StimRouter system targets the tibial nerve near the ankle. This is achieved thanks to a tiny implant and an external pulse transmitter patch that’s stuck to the skin over where the electronic lead implant is positioned. The entire out...
Source: Medgadget - January 8, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: GI Neurology Neurosurgery Source Type: blogs
Medgadget ’s Best Medical Technologies of 2019
Wrapping up this year and looking back on the particularly interesting developments in medical technology, we at Medgadget are impressed and very excited about the future. We’re lucky to cover one of the most innovative fields of research and one that improves and saves lives. Having a constant eye on what’s new in medtech, we present what we believe are the most novel, smart, and medically important technologies we encountered in this passing year. As in years past, a few trends have emerged.
Opiod Overdose Treatment
Opioid addiction, and accompanying overdoses, have become disturbingly common lately. A ...
Source: Medgadget - December 30, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Exclusive Source Type: blogs
Medtronic ’s Tiny New InterStim Micro Neurostimulator Submitted to FDA
Medtronic has filed for FDA approval for its InterStim Micro neurostimulator and the accompanying InterStim SureScan MRI leads. The rechargeable device delivers sacral neuromodulation therapy to treat conditions such as overactive bladder, fecal incontinence, unobstructed urinary retention, and urinary urge incontinence. Along with the InterStim Micro, the new leads allow patients with the implanted system to safely receive MRI scans, given certain precautions.
Sacral stimulation involves modulating signals passed between the brain, bowel, and bladder, improving performance of the underlying muscles. Because the new imp...
Source: Medgadget - October 10, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Radiology Rehab Source Type: blogs
Does Botox reduce the frequency of chronic migraine?
Doesn’t it seem like Botox is showing up everywhere as a medical treatment? Botox is a brand of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), a protein substance originally derived from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In its original form it was the toxin responsible for botulism, the paralyzing illness often caused by eating contaminated food.
BoNT is now used to treat a number of medical conditions including muscle spasms, excessive sweating, overactive bladder, and some eye muscle conditions. However, one of its most common uses is in the preventive treatment of chronic migraine. Chronic migraine, defined as headache occurring mo...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 18, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Paul Rizzoli, MD Tags: Drugs and Supplements Headache Source Type: blogs
4 behavioral changes to tame urinary incontinence
Although urinary incontinence is not a life-threatening medical condition, it can significantly affect quality of life. When urinary incontinence becomes bothersome, people often stop traveling, exercising, visiting family and friends — in short, people stop doing the activities they enjoy.
Surprisingly, approximately 70% of urinary incontinence can be significantly improved just by changing behavioral habits. This is called behavioral therapy. In a recent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, behavioral therapy, either alone or in combination with medication therapy, was more effective than medication treatmen...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - July 10, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: May Wakamatsu, MD Tags: Health Healthy Aging Incontinence Women's Health Source Type: blogs
First, do no harm? Common anticholinergic meds seen to increase dementia risk
Conclusions and Relevance: Exposure to several types of strong anticholinergic drugs is associated with an increased risk of dementia. These findings highlight the importance of reducing exposure to anticholinergic drugs in middle-aged and older people.
The Study in Context:
Study: 46.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease brain pathology today, so it’s urgent to prevent or at least delay progression to clinical disease
From Anti-Alzheimer’s ‘Magic Bullets’ to True Brain Health
Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
Report: 35% of worldwide dementia cases could be prevented by ...
Source: SharpBrains - June 26, 2019 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Health & Wellness anticholinergic anticholinergic drugs antipsychotics Benadryl dementi dementia risk diphenhydramine middle-aged older-people Parkinson's meds Source Type: blogs
Axonics Sacral Neuromodulation for Urinary and Fecal Dysfunctions Cleared for MRI in Europe
Implanting a medical device often means giving up the opportunity to receive MRI scans in the future. This can be particularly true of complex electronic implants that may be negatively influenced by strong magnetic fields. Things are changing, though, as companies are engineering a way out of this dilemma.
Axonics, based in Irvine, California, won European regulatory approval for MRI conditional labeling for its sacral neuromodulation (SNM) system for treatment of overactive bladder, urinary retention, and fecal incontinence. The Axonics SNM system is now compatible, given certain precautions, with 1.5 Tesla and 3 Tesla...
Source: Medgadget - February 26, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Neurosurgery Ob/Gyn Urology Source Type: blogs
Advanced Wireless and Battery-Free Optogenetics Device to Control Neuronal Activation
Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed an advanced optogenetics device that can stimulate multiple areas of the brain at once and control the intensity of emitted light. The miniaturized device is wireless and battery-free, and the researchers hope that it will pave the way to treating severe neurological disorders and controlling chronic pain.
Optogenetics involves loading specific neurons with proteins called opsins, which can stimulate a neuron to fire when exposed to light. At present, the technique is primarily a research tool to help scientists work out how the brain operates. “We’re making these...
Source: Medgadget - January 8, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Neurology Neurosurgery Pain Management Rehab Source Type: blogs
Implant Controls Overactive Bladder Using LED Lights
Today’s neurostimulators, such as those used to control chronic pain, bladder incontinence, and depression, use electricity to activate nerves. While very effective in many patients, electrical stimulation can lead to inflammation, produce unwanted sensations and pain, and injure fragile tissues. Optogenetics is an approach that offers an alternative, potentially safer option, that relies on light and light sensitive proteins to activate individual neural cells.
To help make it a practical reality, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Northwestern Univ...
Source: Medgadget - January 3, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Genetics Materials Rehab Urology Source Type: blogs
InterStim Incontinence and Bladder Control Implant Now Controlled via App
Medtronic won FDA approval to introduce the InterStim smart programmer to control the company’s InterStim neurostimulation system used to manage overactive bladder, bowel incontinence, and some types of urinary retention.
The InterStim system delivers sacral neuromodulation therapy via an implant that looks similar to a cardiac pacemarker. The new InterStim smart programmer is a Samsung device with a Medtronic’s app loaded onto it.
It uses wireless connectivity to interface with the implant and the intuitive, touchscreen interface is used by clinicians to program the implant and by patients to discreetly contr...
Source: Medgadget - December 17, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Rehab Urology Source Type: blogs
Could medications contribute to dementia?
Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses that cause dementia are devastating, not only for those affected but also for their friends and family. For most forms of dementia, there is no highly effective treatment. For example, available treatments for Alzheimer’s disease may slow the deterioration a bit, but they don’t reverse the condition. In fact, for most people taking medications for dementia, it may be difficult to know if the treatment is working at all.
Experts predict that dementia will become much more common in the coming years. We badly need a better understanding of the cause of these conditions, as this c...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 23, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Alzheimer's Disease Brain and cognitive health Drugs and Supplements Memory Source Type: blogs
URO-1 ’s Repris System for Injecting Botox Into Bladder
URO-1, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, got FDA approval for its Repris Bladder Injection System. The product is designed for delivering Botox injections into the bladder as a treatment option for overactive bladder.
The device, which is supposed to make such procedures easier on the physicians and more comfortable on the patients, will be unveiled at the American Urological Association in San Francisco later this month.
The Repris relies on a disposable polymer sheath and a shape memory polymer-based cannula that snaps into its previous shape when inside the bladder. This allows easier navigation through the anato...
Source: Medgadget - May 9, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Urology Source Type: blogs
We heard you — incontinence affects men too. Here’s what you need to know
As men age, the simple act of urinating can get complicated. Prostate surgery often leaves men vulnerable to leakage when they cough, sneeze, or just rise from a chair. Or the bladder may become impatient, suddenly demanding that you find a bathroom right now. “Thousands of years ago, it was not as much of an issue,” observes Dr. Anurag Das, a urologist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “There were lots of trees, and you could just find one and go.”
But tricky bladders can be whipped into shape. The first step is a careful assessment of what triggers those difficult moments. Often your doc...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 8, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Matthew Solan Tags: Health Healthy Aging Incontinence Men's Health Prostate Health Source Type: blogs
Medgadget Visits The Medical Alley Innovation Summit in Minneapolis 2017
MedTech Strategist working together with The Medical Alley Association for the very first time brought their premier innovation summit to Minnesota, a place now considered by many to be the global epicenter of health innovation and care. Over the two-day long event more than 35 start-up and emerging medical companies presented their technologies and devices to representatives of leading venture capitalist and investment banks, and also to large medical device companies.
Considering that funding is of major importance to the field of medical innovation, this event gave both investors and entrepreneurs a chance to explore fu...
Source: Medgadget - October 19, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Kenan Raddawi Tags: Exclusive Source Type: blogs
