New wireless tool notifies staff when assistance is needed
Brookfield, WI - RF Technologies, a provider of Wi-Fi real-time locating systems, radio frequency identification monitoring systems and healthcare security solutions, has launched its new Help Alert wireless, staff-duress call solution.
Help Alert has a pendant with a silent call button that uses Real Time Locating System (RTLS) technology, to provide notification with the exact location where assistance is needed. The Help Alert software uses a graphical interface to immediately display alert notifications and to visually and accurately identify the alert locations on both facility and specific floor plan maps. The device’s software displays on computer monitors with a facility floor plan for accurate location notification. Signals are also sent to handheld devices carried by security personnel.
Help Alert is a wireless, battery-based system that can be easily deployed in facilities that have an existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. It can be used with any vendor’s Wi-Fi infrastructure. The patent-pending reference tags are attached to a wall or ceiling without power or data cabling requirements.
Optical coherence tomography application released
SAN FRANCISCO - The newest version of Cirrus HD-OCT, an optical coherence tomography (OCT) application, has been released.
Version 4.0 adds features to support cataract and refractive surgeons as well as advanced analyses for tracking change in glaucoma and managing retina disease. The software has been released internationally and is pending FDA clearance in the U.S.
New features include:
• Anterior Segment Imaging provides visualization of the cornea and angle with central corneal thickness measurement for glaucoma management. No external lenses are needed.
• Normative RNFL and Macular Thickness Data allows physicians to identify pre-existing glaucoma and retinal disease and to rule-out suspected glaucoma.
• Guided Progression Analysis (GPA) software supports glaucoma treatment decision making by identifying statistically significant RNFL thickness changes.
• Macular Change Analysis helps physicians evaluate retinal status and response to therapy by mapping changes in macular thickness measurements.
Cirrus HD-OCT 4.0 is ideal for practices that rely on advanced technologies to identify pre-existing eye diseases, to closely monitor disease progression and to determine the most appropriate course of treatment for each patient. The new software technologies can be seamlessly integrated onto any Cirrus HD-OCT platform.
FDA clears airstrip’s iPhone application for obstetrics
SAN ANTONIO - An obstetrics application for use on the iPhone has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, says the company that created it.
San Antonio-based AirStrip Technologies, which bills itself as a pioneer in mobile medical software applications, announced that it has received FDA clearance to release the AirStrip OB application for use on the iPhone. The application is now available for download to qualified physicians at Apple’s App Store.
AirStrip OB allows obstetricians to use their iPhones to remotely access virtual real-time and historical waveform data for both the mother and baby, including heart tracings and contraction patterns, as well as nursing notes and exam status. The data is sent directly from hospitals’ labor and delivery units and can be accessed on the iPhone anytime and anywhere the doctor gets a cell-phone connection.
The hospital purchases the AirStrip system, which works in tandem with the hospital’s existing patient monitoring system, and doctors can then install the AirStrip OB application on their iPhone.
Medical simulation developed for lung cancer procedure
SAN JOSE, CA - Immersion Corporation, a developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, has revealed a new way to accurately and efficiently train pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons on an emerging procedure for diagnosing and staging lung cancer.
Immersion has created a new haptic-enabled bronchoscopy simulator module called, Endobronchial Ultrasound with Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). It provides realistic multi-modal (sight, sound, and touch) virtual reality training for this difficult but highly accurate procedure that diagnoses and stages lung cancer.
The advanced virtual reality simulation allows medical schools and institutions to provide a risk-free, cost-saving, and effective way for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to master the EBUS procedure.
Midmark launches new diagnostic line
GARDENA, CA - The Midmark Corporation, a provider of integrated digital diagnostic devices for ambulatory care, has launched a new diagnostic product line called the Midmark IQ Diagnostics Solution Line, or Midmark IQdevices.
The products launched include the Midmark IQecg, IQspiro, IQholter, IQholter EX, IQholter EP, IQstress, IQcart and IQmanager Diagnostic Software.
The new Midmark IQdevices are functional in a stand-alone digital format utilizing the new Midmark IQmanager Software as well as connectivity to partnered electronic health and medical records.
The Midmark IQmanager software has also been enhanced with 86 features, which promote user customization, best-in-class algorithms and artifact filters, automatic wave classification and flexible reporting.
Study results of new imaging technology released by Philips
Eindhoven, Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics has released the first 3D imaging results obtained with a new imaging technology called Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI).
The technology, which uses the magnetic properties of iron-oxide nanoparticles injected into the bloodstream, has been used in a pre-clinical study to generate unprecedented real-time images of arterial blood flow and volumetric heart motion.
By combining high spatial resolution with short image acquisition times, Magnetic Particle Imaging can capture dynamic concentration changes as the nanoparticles are swept along by the blood stream. This could ultimately allow MPI scanners to perform a wide range of functional cardiovascular measurements in a single scan.
Officials say this represents a major step forward in taking Magnetic Particle Imaging from a theoretical concept to an imaging tool to help improve diagnosis and therapy planning for many of the world’s major diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.
