Expert review of medical devices
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Jan 2015
EditorialThe TriGuard embolic deflection device for prevention of stroke and cerebral embolization during transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
The incidence of embolic ischemic cerebral events during transcatheter aortic valve implantation remains high. The effects range from clinically silent embolic lesions in the brain to severe disabling stroke. ⋯ The TriGuard embolic deflection device is a nitinol frame filter that is placed across all three aortic cerebral vessel ostia to prevent particles from entering the brain circulation during the procedure. The results of clinical studies suggest that this procedure can lead to a reduction of embolic events, and an improvement of neurocognitive function when compared with unprotected transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Nov 2014
EditorialBCI-FES: could a new rehabilitation device hold fresh promise for stroke patients?
It has been known that stroke constitutes a major source of acquired disability, with nearly 800,000 new strokes each year in the USA alone. While advances in public and preventative health have helped reduce stroke incidence in high-income countries in recent decades, growth of the aging population, increasing stroke rates in low- to middle-income countries and medical advances that have reduced stroke mortality are all contributing to an increase in stroke survivors worldwide. Large numbers of stroke survivors have residual motor deficits. This editorial will provide an introduction to a class of new therapies being investigated with the aim of improving motor outcomes in stroke patients that uses what is known as brain-computer interface technology.
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Expert Rev Med Devices · Jan 2014
EditorialA robot for transnasal surgery featuring needle-sized tentacle-like arms.
This paper discusses a new class of robots known as concentric tube robots and their application to transnasal skull base surgery. The endonasal approach has clear benefits for patients, but the surgery presents challenges that strongly motivate the use of robotic tools. In this paper, the concentric tube robot concept is described, and preliminary experimental results for transnasal skull base surgery are reviewed. Just as the da Vinci robot has revolutionized many laparoscopic surgeries, we expect concentric tube robots will enable the advancement of skull base surgery and the development of other minimally invasive procedures that require access through constrained paths.