New, Proprietary Volcano Device Uniquely Integrates Real-Time IVUS and Balloon Dilatation Therapy
Volcano Corporation announced that it has received CE Mark approval for the VIBE(TM) RX Vascular Imaging Balloon Catheter. The company also announced that it has completed its first clinical cases with the VIBE(TM) RX in New Zealand. A single VIBE(TM) RX Catheter can quickly access, prepare, and assess challenging lesions. IVUS guidance provides precise, targeted balloon dilatation with immediate confirmation of interventional results.
“VIBE(TM) RX represents the first of what we believe will be many Volcano image-guided therapy devices designed to allow physicians to see more detail right at the point of the therapy,” commented Scott Huennekens, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volcano. “Although our initial focus is on cardiovascular applications, we believe that this platform can and will be leveraged to many other applications throughout the body. We plan to pursue this broader platform expansion through our internal development and through partnerships with other device manufacturers. Volcano is well-positioned to lead this movement in combining therapy and on-board imaging.” Read the rest of this entry »
Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization, published results today describing the successful construction of the first self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cell. The team synthesized the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides genome. The synthetic cell is called Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 and is the proof of principle that genomes can be designed in the computer, chemically made in the laboratory and transplanted into a recipient cell to produce a new self-replicating cell controlled only by the synthetic genome.
This research will be published by Daniel Gibson et al in the May 20th edition of Science Express and will appear in an upcoming print issue of Science.
“For nearly 15 years Ham Smith, Clyde Hutchison and the rest of our team have been working toward this publication today — the successful completion of our work to construct a bacterial cell that is fully controlled by a synthetic genome,” said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., founder and president, JCVI and senior author on the paper. “We have been consumed by this research, but we have also been equally focused on addressing the societal implications of what we believe will be one of the most powerful technologies and industrial drivers for societal good. We look forward to continued review and dialogue about the important applications of this work to ensure that it is used for the benefit of all.” Read the rest of this entry »
Aims to Create Method for Simulating and Improving Health-Related Decision Making
IBM launched a multi-year research effort to connect and analyze enormous collections of data from a wide variety of sources in order to enable individuals, governments and businesses to better understand which actions to take to improve human health. The project will initially focus on solving the issue of childhood obesity.
The IBM Research project will combine and analyze massive data sources that have never before been integrated to simulate the cause-and-effect relationships between agriculture, transportation, city planning, eating and exercise habits, socio-economic status, family life, and more. Predicting real-world reactions that influence human health, the project aims to provide fact-based recommendations of actions to take and ones to avoid.
“Our ability to advance the health of our population is currently limited to maintaining healthy life choices and working within a health care delivery system because it’s been impossible to understand and to quantify precisely how each factor in our environment plays a role,” said Martin Sepulveda, M.D., IBM Fellow & VP, Integrated Health Services, IBM. “We hope the results of this project will help individuals, governments and businesses actually understand exactly how the actions they take affect health – and then work together to make better decisions that make it easy to be healthy.” Read the rest of this entry »
The prosthetic hand that pioneered the bionic industry gets an upgrade
Touch Bionics announced the launch of the i-LIMB Pulse, an all-new version of the revolutionary i-LIMB Hand, the world’s first commercially available bionic hand. The i-LIMB Pulse is a significant advance for the i-LIMB product line, with a host of enhancements, including pulsing grip strength, software-enabled grip patterns and robust aluminium features for improved strength.
To be previewed at next week’s ISPO World Congress and ORTHOPADIE + REHA-TECHNIK tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany, the i-LIMB Pulse joins a family of products that has been fitted to more than 1,200 patients worldwide. The i-LIMB Pulse is offered in addition to the existing i-LIMB Hand, and both products are available to customers depending on the patients’ preferences. Its new features have been driven by Touch Bionics’ experiences in the marketplace as a pioneer of bionic technology and clinical support. Read the rest of this entry »