Search for: "prosthetics" - 83 articles found

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Article • Affordable and widely accessible

Robotics applied in support of patient wellbeing

Keeping technology simple and affordable is key in helping patients to fully benefit from robotic systems, according to a leading expert in the field. While expensive and complex systems have been developed, Professor Heike Vallery believes the full potential of robotics in patient care will only be realised when they become more affordable and widely accessible. She also underlines the…

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Article • Men are from Mars, women are from Venus

Sex differences in imaging cardiovascular disease

An interplanetary title for a quite down-to-earth topic: The symposium "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" at the EACVI congress (European Association of Cardiovascular imaging) launched into the differences between the hearts of men and women. While the speakers could firmly establish that both sexes share the same home world, variations in their cardiac anatomy warrant a more…

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Article • “Embracing the future: Making robots for humans” at ICRA

Conference unveils the latest developments in robotics and automation

Ever-more sophisticated robots are advancing healthcare across a wide range of areas. Latest developments and research are being showcased in London from May 29 to June 2 at the 40th International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). The event is set to be the world’s largest gathering on robotics and automation with pioneers, inventors and innovators coming together with academics,…

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Sponsored • Periprosthetic protection

Bone cements containing antibiotics for infection prophylaxis – quo vadis?

Periprosthetic infections and revisions are on the rise in Germany and worldwide, with significant consequences for affected patients as well as for the healthcare systems. Precisely because the number of patients at higher risk of infection in arthroplasty continues to rise, attention is increasingly focused on how this dreaded complication can be avoided.

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Article • Molecular targeting for better results

Emerging novel tracers for cardiovascular imaging

Molecular imaging, guided by novel tracers, is emerging as an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in cardiovascular medicine. Delegates at ICNC-CT, the online International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT, also heard that cardiology can learn from fields such as oncology and neurology that have already made important advances in this area. Professor Frank Bengel, who is…

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Article • SPECT/CT, MPI and more

The value of hybrid imaging in the cardiac arena

Combining imaging modalities is helping to achieve better diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes for heart patients. The topic, discussed in detail by experts at the ICNC-CT online International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT, examined hybrid/fusion imaging as the standard in cardiovascular imaging, and its value in clinical practice. Professor Terrence Ruddy spoke about the role of…

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Sponsored • Transcatheter aortic valve implants

TAVI: from short-term effects to lifetime management

Until recently, TAVI, the minimally invasive procedure in which a replacement valve is inserted inside a diseased valve has been mostly prescribed for patients too weak to face open heart surgery – largely involving those in the 80-plus age group. Today, due to greater longevity plus advancing skills that result in risks reduction, TAVI is increasingly prescribed for patients in their 70s and…

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News • Renal disease

New design improves dialysis

Interdisciplinary team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering finds better way to design clot-prone grafts currently used for dialysis.

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News • Restoring proprioception after amputation

New surgery improves 'phantom limb' sensation, prosthesis control

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a new type of amputation surgery that can help amputees to better control their residual muscles and sense where their “phantom limb” is in space. This restored sense of proprioception should translate to better control of prosthetic limbs, as well as a reduction of limb pain, the researchers say. In most…

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News • Biodegradable implantables

One step closer to regenerative heart valves and stents

Non-degradable prostheses for cardiovascular tissues can be used to replace heart valves and blood vessels, but they can’t stay in the body permanently. In two recent papers, researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in collaboration with a number of clinical partners, the Dutch Heart Foundation, and TU/e spin-off companies Suprapolix, Xeltis, and STENTiT have shown how…

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Sponsored • The Heraeus Symposium at DKOU

Challenges of periprosthetic infection

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is on the increase internationally. In Germany, for example, around 14,500 cases of PJI in hip and knee replacements occur annually. 5,100 of those are caused by multidrug resistant pathogens. ‘Eighty-seven percent of those affected die within five years,’ orthopaedic surgeon Professor Rudolf Ascherl MD pointed out during the Heraeus Symposium held at the…

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Article • Brain signals control a four-limb robotic system

Tetraplegic moves towards taking walks

Thanks to a four-limb robotic system controlled by brain signals, a patient with a cervical spinal cord injury could walk and control both arms for the first time in a proof of concept. Developed by CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), the system is driven via the long-term implant of a semi-invasive medical device to record brain activity.

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Article • Good for some, not all

Robotic surgery: Myths and misconceptions

The first use of a robot-supported surgical intervention was reported in 1985, when the robot arm PUMA 560 placed a needle for a cerebral biopsy using CT guidance. Since then, strong growth in the market for robotic surgery has occurred, due to an increasing automation demand in the healthcare as a whole and greater concentration on minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for faster recovery.…

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Video • VR simulator "HIPS"

Hip joint implantation in virtual reality

Researchers from Chemnitz and Bremen are developing a virtual reality simulator for a particularly critical step in hip joint implantation. Each year, more than 200,000 people receive a prosthetic hip in Germany. The success of these operations has a major impact on the quality of life of those affected. However, the procedure is often difficult, particularly the step that involves the so-called…

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News • Twisted by design

Stretchable electronics to move wearables forward

Stretchable electronics is emerging as a promising new technology for next-generation wearable devices, according to a review published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. The technology has many possible applications for healthcare, energy and the military. But there are several challenges involved in finding suitable materials and manufacturing methods. The biggest challenge for…

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News • After larynx surgery

Voice prosthesis: Russian develops cheaper alternative

People who underwent larynx surgery face a necessity of a voice prosthesis implantation, but such artificial windpipes are only produced abroad. Scientists at the South Ural State University (SUSU) are developing a Russian analogue of such an apparatus which will be several times cheaper than the imported products. The problem of vocal rehabilitation after larynx is removed has been an issue ever…

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News • Bulmedica 2019

Medical experts to meet in Bulgaria

From May 15 to 17, 2019, the international exhibition Bulmedica/Buldental will bring together in Bulgaria’s capital city - Sofia experts and leading companies from the sphere of medicine and dentistry. Being held at Inter Expo Center, Bulmedica provides a meeting place for manufacturers, importers, agents, distributors and dealers of medical equipment, furniture, devices, tools and consumables.…

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Article • Infection control

Local antibiotics improve results

Hip and knee joint surgeries are among the most common procedures in orthopaedics and trauma surgery and complications can occur. Rare, but serious, among these is periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), which causes high costs in healthcare and stress for patients. PJI is caused by microorganisms that form a biofilm on the surface of the implant and, in this sessile state, they are difficult to…

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News • Surgical implant for damaged eyes

FDA approves first artificial iris

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first stand-alone prosthetic iris in the United States, a surgically implanted device to treat adults and children whose iris is completely missing or damaged due to a congenital condition called aniridia or other damage to the eye. The iris is made of thin, foldable medical-grade silicone and is custom-sized and colored for each individual…

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News • Nano-scale diagnostics

Researchers are developing a ‘Lab-on-skin’ to monitor biomarkers

Move over, lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-paper. There’s a new diagnostic technology in research labs that is gaining credibility. It is called lab-on-skin technology and some scientists are quite excited about how it might be used for a variety of clinical purposes. A recent story published in ACS Nano titled, “Lab-on-Skin: A Review of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics for Wearable Health…

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Article • Infection - defect - regeneration

Challenges in septic bone surgery

Infections associated with osteosynthesis and prostheses are not to be underestimated: the infection rate is reported to be one to three percent after joint prosthetic surgery and five to 10 percent after osteosyntheses. ‘When you include later infections, the rate is twice as high,’ says Professor Andrej Trampuz, infectologist and Head of the Centre for Septic Surgery at the Centre of…

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Video • The Force is strong

How an amputee controls prosthetic fingers like Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker’s bionic hand is a step closer to reality for amputees in this galaxy. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created an ultrasonic sensor that allows amputees to control each of their prosthetic fingers individually. It provides fine motor hand gestures that aren’t possible with current commercially available devices. The first amputee to use it, a musician…

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News • Innovative technology

3-D-printed prosthetic implants could improve hearing loss treatment

Researchers using CT scans and 3-D printing have created accurate, custom-designed prosthetic replacements for damaged parts of the middle ear, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The technique has the potential to improve a surgical procedure that often fails because of incorrectly sized prosthetic implants, researchers…

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Sponsored • Individuals for individuals

Printing 3-D human parts

Everyone is unique – and so is human anatomy. Thus orthopaedics or implantology call for medical products that provide a perfect fit and demand is high for one-off components, or small production runs. At the same time, the materials used and manufacturing standards applied must fulfil extremely stringent quality control. This also holds for specialised surgical instruments and medical devices,…

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News • Artificial nerve response

Computer model simulates sense of touch from the entire hand

Neuroscientists from the University of Chicago have developed a computer model that can simulate the response of nerves in the hand to any pattern of touch stimulation on the skin. The tool reconstructs the response of more than 12,500 nerve fibers with millisecond precision, taking into account the mechanics of the skin as it presses up against and moves across objects.

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News • Contamination

Painful knee prosthesis: loose, infected or both?

The implantation of knee and hip joints is considered one of the success stories of recent years. But periprosthetic joints infections (PJI) are one of the severe complications, with an infection rate of 2%. The probability of revision surgery increases with concomitant diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, with fracture prosthesis or after previous surgery.

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News • Announcement

International Conference on 3D Printing in Medicine

At the 2nd International Conference on 3D Printing in Medicine from May 19-20, 2017 in Mainz, Germany, the focus is on innovative deployment options for the 3D print process in medicine. Today already, 3D printing is being applied in virtually all medical disciplines.

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Article • Microsurgery

Lower limb trauma – reconstruction or amputation?

‘Amputation v. reconstruction’ – a vital issue – was debated by two leading surgeons during the Microsurgical Lower Limb Reconstruction session at the Advances and Controversies in Reconstructive Microsurgery (ACRM) 2016 conference, held in the United Kingdom this May. Consultant Plastic Surgeon Umraz Khan, from North Bristol NHS Trust presented a plastic surgeon’s view, while Ben…

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Article • Multimodality imaging

Algorithms define prosthetic valve dysfunction

Cardiologists have highlighted the importance of all imaging modalities – including echocardiography and cardiac CT – to evaluate prosthetic heart valves in a new series of recommendations. AF-patients who were admitted to an NHS hospital over the weekend faced a higher risk of dying over the next five years than others.

News • Staphylococcus aureus

Women more likely to die within 30-days from bacterial blood infection

Clinicians around the world have long suspected that bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureus has a worse outcome in women compared to men, but direct evidence has been elusive. A study just published confirms that significantly more women than men diagnosed with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) – a blood infection of the common bacteria – die within 30 days.

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News • Fight inflammation

Stem cells engineered to grow cartilage

With a goal of treating worn, arthritic hips without extensive surgery to replace them, scientists have programmed stem cells to grow new cartilage on a 3-D template shaped like the ball of a hip joint. What’s more, using gene therapy, they have activated the new cartilage to release anti-inflammatory molecules to fend off a return of arthritis. The technique was demonstrated in a collaborative…

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News • Mimicking touch

Amputee feels texture with a bionic fingertip

An amputee was able to feel smoothness and roughness in real-time with an artificial fingertip that was surgically connected to nerves in his upper arm. Moreover, the nerves of non-amputees can also be stimulated to feel roughness, without the need of surgery, meaning that prosthetic touch for amputees can now be developed and safely tested on intact individuals.

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Article • Revolution

3-D printed muscles

With 3-D printing revolutionising manufacturing, its healthcare potential is being explored for medical devices, prosthetics, dentistry and drug development. One area under the spotlight is the creation of artificial muscles using a 3-D printing system. Dr Fergal Coulter, who has played an important role in helping develop the technique, outlined the manufacturing process, which he invented for…

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Article • Prosthesis

Just like a healthy foot

‘It’s like a new lease on life,’ says Wolfgang R, ‘I can feel the difference between grass and concrete again.’ Eight years ago the Austrian teacher‘s lower leg had to be amputated following thrombosis. Today, he is the first leg amputee, worldwide, to sport a sensory-enhanced prosthesis. ‘For the wearer the prosthesis is not a numb object, but a part of the body,’ says Dr Hubert…

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Article • Surgery

World’s first bilateral hand transplant on a child performed

Surgeons at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) joined with colleagues from Penn Medicine recently to complete the world’s first bilateral hand transplant on a child. Earlier this month, the surgical team successfully transplanted donor hands and forearms onto eight-year-old Zion Harvey who, several years earlier, had undergone amputation of his hands and feet and a kidney…

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Scientist designs bio-inspired robotic finger

Most robotic parts used today are rigid, have a limited range of motion and don’t really look lifelike. Inspired by both nature and biology, a scientist from Florida Atlantic University has designed a novel robotic finger that looks and feels like the real thing. In an article recently published in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., assistant professor in the…

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New EU medical device legislation

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for a single, co-ordinated European system to oversee the evaluation and approval of medical devices. The call is being made in a paper published online in the European Heart Journal reporting on a conference held by the ESC in January 2011 looking to increase the input of medical experts in developing medical device policy.

Agfa at RSNA 2010

Agfa HealthCare is focused on providing excellent imaging solutions to support clinical confidence and improve delivery of health outcomes. At RSNA 2010, the company will demonstrate its engineered solutions that optimize the radiology workflow all along the imaging chain. By bringing the power of IT to radiology, we deliver tools that promote strong collaboration between healthcare providers and…

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Heart in hand

Surgeon Alain Carpentier is ready to remove a patient’s heart and replace it with a mechanical device he spent 15 years developing. By 2013 the procedure will be performed on 50 European patients as part of a clinical trial to win CE approval for the world’s first fully implantable artificial heart.

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When is our hand not our hand?

When we look at our hands, how do we know they are part of our body? This seems like a strange question because it is something most of us take for granted. Exciting new data from a research group at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show that the brain uses a combination of sensory signals from our eyes and limbs to achieve a sense of ‘body ownership’.

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Computers make prosthetic legs fit better

The fit of a prosthetic leg is a vital element in determining how well an amputee will function and adapt to the device. Historically, this has been a time-consuming art performed by skilled prosthetists. Today, computers have added science to the mix.

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EFORT 2009

One of the key topics at the EFORT Congress, held recently in Vienna, was on opportunities offered by computer-aided surgery (CAS) to achieve better results for many orthopaedic interventions. Within the next decade CAS will lead to the routine use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for knee prosthetics, hip replacement and osteotomy.

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Gastric bypass undoes diabetes symptoms

French findings support the notion that gastric bypass can rapidly reverse diabetes symptoms' a side-effect that lap-band surgery does not show. The benefit results from a new-found element of glucose production by the intestine which also increases insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar.

Hemicorporectomy

Czech Republic - The second successful hemicorporectomy (translumbar amputation) was carried out several months ago by surgeon Frantisek Antos and team at the Bulovka Faculty Hospital, Prague.

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Improving blade geometry

Komet Medical report that the firm's K-2000 saw blade has been further improved, and that a completely new blade geometry for 'Evolution' has been developed, to provide an even smoother and more controlled penetration into bone.

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Robot-assisted total knee replacement

Total knee replacement (TKR) is a common procedure for treatment of severe gonarthrosis, but the outcome may be unsatisfactory due to primary malalignment of the prosthetic components. To improve precision and accuracy of this surgical procedure, CASPAR, a commercial robotic surgical system, has been adapted to assist the surgeon in preoperative planning and intraoperative execution of TKR

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