Expert review of medical devices
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Jul 2012
ReviewBalloon kyphoplasty in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.
Balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure indicated for treatment of painful vertebral compression fractures. During BKP, cannulae are placed percutaneously into the vertebral body, allowing insertion of inflatable balloons. Inflating the balloons partially restores vertebral body height, compacts the bone and creates a cavity for placement of bone cement after balloon removal. ⋯ Clinically significant adverse events have been rarely reported. These findings were confirmed in randomized and nonrandomized prospective controlled studies. The objective of this review is to describe the surgical procedures involved in BKP and to review the evidence supporting its use.
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Mar 2012
ReviewMRI in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices.
MRI is a powerful diagnostic tool; however, it is relatively contraindicated for patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) such as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators. Several interactions with CIEDs have the potential to cause harm, and fatalities have been reported. ⋯ The recent development of MRI-conditional pacemaker systems and the demonstration of safe magnetic resonance scanning in a large clinical trial (EnRhythm MRI SureScan Pacing System Study) is a significant advance in the care of patients with CIEDs, opening up this important imaging modality to those previously denied it. Further development of MRI-conditional CIEDs, including implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, is expected but presents many technological challenges.
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Nov 2011
ReviewMobile phone-enabled control of medical care and handicapped assistance.
Mobile phones are now playing an ever more crucial role in people's daily lives. They are serving not only as a way of talking and delivering messages, but also for exchanging various information. Nevertheless, the functional limit of the phone is still far from being reached. ⋯ Several typical applications in the area are illustrated and some potential technical challenges and key issues worthy of pursuit are outlined. The intent of the article is to provide an elementary knowledge for people with different backgrounds, such as electrical or biomedical engineers, as well as people who are working on interdisciplinary areas. It is expected that medical care at any time and anywhere will be possible via the actuation platform provided by the mobile phone and mobile medicine will be pushed forward to a new height in the coming years.
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Sep 2011
ReviewA new electronic device for subcutaneous injection of IFN-β-1a.
Disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) can provide important benefits for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but nonadherence to treatment is associated with an increased risk of relapse. All first-line DMDs used in MS require regular injection, but injection-related problems are common barriers to treatment adherence. Autoinjectors that allow automatic injection at the press of a button have increased the ease and convenience of injection, compared with manual injection. ⋯ This device is the first electronic autoinjector for use with any MS therapy, and includes several innovative features that may be advantageous to patients. One of these features is an accurate electronic dosing log, which can be viewed by the patient and the healthcare provider. This article discusses this new electronic device in the context of other autoinjectors currently used to self-inject first-line DMDs in MS.