Product News

App Lets You Draw
Pictures for Your Patients
drawMD is a free iPad app that lets you awaken your inner artist and show patients their surgical procedures by sketching with your finger on pre-designed templates of different body parts. drawMD is tailored to 18 specialties, including anesthesia, ENT, general surgery, ophthalmology and orthopedics. You can e-mail, print or save the drawings, and add them to a medical record, says Visible Health, which is working on versions for iPhones and Android devices.
drawmd.com

Pacemaker-like Device
Controls Hunger and Fullness
This pacemaker-like device controls both hunger and fullness by blocking the primary nerve that regulates the digestive system. The Maestro Rechargeable System from EnteroMedics targets nerve activity between the brain and stomach to control feelings of hunger. It's indicated for use in adults with a body mass index between 35 and 45 and at least one other obesity-related health condition who've attempted to lose weight in the previous 5 years with supervised weight management. Surgeons implant the system's electrical pulse generator, wire leads and electrodes into the abdomen. It then sends electrical pulses to the vagus nerve, which regulates stomach emptying and sends signals of feelings and hunger to the brain. Patients charge the device using external controls and physicians are able to adjust the system's settings to optimize individual weight-loss results. The findings of an 18-month clinical trial showed the system helped nearly 160 patients lose 8.5% more excess weight over 12 months than patients who did not receive an activated system. EnteroMedics says the device will be in limited use at select bariatric centers sometime this year.
enteromedics.com

Safer Pedicle Screw
Placement for Spinal Surgery
Placing pedicle screws into a patient's spine during minimally invasive spinal surgery often comes with the risk of breaching the pedicle, which can damage the spinal cord or soft tissue. SpineGuard's Cannulated PediGuard, recently approved by the FDA, promises to make screw placement safer. The handheld, single-use wireless device is the first of its kind, using an electrical conductivity sensor in its tip to distinguish between different types of bone and soft tissue. Audible alarms and LED lights tell a surgeon as he creates the pedicle screw pilot hole whether he's on track, close to perforating the pedicle or if he's breached it. PediGuard's makers say it has a pedicle screw placing accuracy of 97%. Plus, they say, the device means surgeons can limit their use of fluoroscopy during screw placement.
spineguard.com

A Truly 'Smart' Anesthesia Drawer
The Intelliguard RFID Smart Drawer for anesthesia carts and automated anesthesia systems uses radio-frequency tracking technology to automatically capture and convey inventory data every time the drawer is opened or closed, or medication is removed, and can alert pharmacies when supplies need to be replenished. The technology eliminates the need for scanning or counting, so anesthesia workflow isn't disrupted. The drawer can be customized to integrate with various cart sizes and drawer front configurations.
mepsrealtime.com

A Better, Faster Way to
Detect Bladder Cancer
You can detect bladder cancer sooner and better visualize tumor margins with Narrow Band Imaging (NBI), which enables effective targeting of biopsies of tumors not seen under white light without the use of dyes or drugs. In studies, NBI has visualized superficial bladder cancer lesions in an additional 17% of patients as compared to white light, says Olympus. NBI is not intended to replace histopathological sampling as a means of diagnosis, but rather is a complementary method to traditional white light cystoscopy for the detection of de novo and recurrent bladder cancer, says Olympus.
medical.olympusamerica.com/nbi-urology

An App to Communicate with Patients
Seamless MD helps reduce cancellations, phone calls and readmissions via an interactive mobile app that gives patients clear instructions and provides feedback for providers. You can customize the app to focus on timely reminders and adherence to pre-op instructions, post-op self-management and remote monitoring, collecting patient-centered outcome data, or all of the above. In most instances, it can be set up remotely, but the company also provides on-site support for larger implementations. It's HIPAA-compliant and can be accessed by any smartphone, tablet or computer.
seamless.md