medical devices

16 Stories

The Heart Pump Was Discontinued, but It's in Their Bodies
'Literally All You Can
Think About Is Death'
longform
Dec 26, 2021 5:20 PM CST

'Literally All You Can Think About Is Death'

ProPublica dives into problems faced by HVAD users

(Newser) - "Death. Literally all you can think about is death." It's what you might expect to hear from a patient before they were able to receive an implanted heart pump. But it's the after for an unfortunate group of patients who talked to ProPublica about their HeartWare...

Scientist: New Data on US 'Gives Me Hope'

Nation is 'cooling,' according to smart thermometers

(Newser) - Hundreds of millions of Americans are staying home amid tight restrictions aimed at slowing down the coronavirus pandemic. It appears to be working, according to Kinsa Health, a company that makes "smart thermometers" and has used the data to create a "Health Weather" map of the US . The...

Delta Apologizes After Breast-Pump Kerfuffle

The airline made a mother check her breast pump

(Newser) - When nursing mother Lauren Modeen tried to board a Delta flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis on a business trip last week, she was told she'd first have to consolidate her luggage—a purse, a cooler to carry breast milk, and a standard carry-on that included her pump. Modeen protested...

Artificial Heart Recipient Has 'Completely Normal Life'

Almost 6 months after surgery, device inventor says 68-year-old patient can go home

(Newser) - "Incredible" is how Dr. Alain Carpentier describes the progress of a patient who's set to go home almost six months after receiving the artificial heart Carpentier invented, the New York Times reports. The 68-year-old man, who has requested confidentiality, is "living a completely normal life" now and...

'Pacemaker Tax' at Heart of Shutdown Battle

Unpopular tax may be dropped as part of deal

(Newser) - A tax on medical devices has taken center stage in the Washington shutdown battle , Politico finds. The 2.3% tax that critics have dubbed the "pacemaker tax" is opposed even by many Democrats, and House Republicans say they would consider a deal that would drop the delay to ObamaCare...

Growing Threat to Medical Gadgets: Malware

FDA calls on manufacturers to devise security plans

(Newser) - What happens when malware attacks the very devices keeping us healthy? The threat has the FDA concerned, the Wall Street Journal reports: "We are aware of hundreds of medical devices that have been infected by malware," says a senior official. Thus far, there haven't been any known...

Microchip Pill Will Keep Tabs on Users

Regulators worry about 'smart pill' data privacy

(Newser) - "Tattletale pills" that keep track of when their people are taking them are moving a step closer to reality. Swiss biotech firm Novartis AG plans to seek regulatory approval for a pill with a tiny embedded microchip that can transmit data to smartphones or over the Internet to...

12 Museums of Odd Things
 12 Museums of Odd Things 
May 18, 2009 5:02 PM CDT

12 Museums of Odd Things

(Newser) - Trying to awake from the nightmare of history? Mental Floss' list of 12 "oddly specific" American museums may only give you bad dreams:
  • The SPAM Museum: Complete with a wall of 5,000 SPAM tins and a scale plant where visitors can suit up in white coats and
...

Docs Want Medical Devices That Talk to Each Other

(Newser) - Even as electronic consumer gadgets grow more sophisticated, medical technology lags, relying on wires that one doctor calls “malignant spaghetti,” the Boston Globe reports. Because devices such as heart monitors and IV drips can’t communicate easily, human error enters the equation. "My bank can notify me...

High-Tech Suit Gives Hope to Paralyzed

Israel's ReWalk exoskeleton lets patients paralyzed from the waist down stand upright

(Newser) - A mechanical exoskeleton developed by an Israeli firm allows paraplegics to stand upright and walk, the BBC reports. The ReWalk device consists of a backpack, leg braces and a wrist controller. Once a mode is selected, such as climbing stairs, leaning forward activates motors in the braces. “It lets...

Magnetic Pulse Heads Off Migraines
Magnetic Pulse  Heads Off Migraines
Jun 27, 2008 10:13 AM CDT

Magnetic Pulse Heads Off Migraines

New device prevents pain without the side effects of drugs

(Newser) - For some of the 13% of Americans who suffer from migraine headaches, help might be only a button-click away, Gizmag reports. A new hand-held device works by sending a painless magnetic pulse through the brain, effectively scrambling the signals that would otherwise lead from the "aura" phase of the...

Family Blames Airline for Woman's Death

American disputes cousin's account of in-flight incident

(Newser) - A woman who died en route from Haiti to New York received assistance from the flight crew and fellow passengers, American Airlines said today, disputing the victim's family's account of the incident. "Don't let me die," Carine Desir's cousin recalls her saying after a flight attendant refused to...

Supreme Court Ruling Boosts Medical Tech

Decision restricts suits under state law over devices OK'd by feds

(Newser) - A Supreme Court ruling today makes it nearly impossible for patients and their families to sue makers of federally approved medical devices under state law. The court ruled 8-1 in favor of cardiovascular device company Medtronic, dismissing a suit brought by a patient injured after one of the company's balloon...

'Fuzzy Logic' Could Help Create Better Elder Care

Researchers add computational mathematics to monitoring systems

(Newser) - Researchers in the UK and US are collaborating to develop “fuzzy logic” technology to improve care for the elderly. The 6-month project aims to create more discerning medical and accident monitors that can distinguish between, for example, a slamming door and a person falling, CNET reports. So-called fuzzy logic...

Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs
Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs
Nov 26, 2007 4:00 PM CST

Boom in CT Scans Alarms Docs

Radiation can unnecessarily increase patients' cancer risk

(Newser) - Advances in CT scans may help doctors diagnose patients quickly effectively, but also expose them to dangerous levels of radiation, the Boston Globe reports. The number of CT scans in the US climbed from 20 million in 1995 to 63 million in 2005, but many aren't actually necessary—and pose...

FDA to Regulate Cigarettes
FDA to Regulate Cigarettes
Jul 26, 2007 7:15 AM CDT

FDA to Regulate Cigarettes

Congress set to pass law to give feds power over toxic ingredients

(Newser) - Congress is set to pass a law today that will give the federal FDA the same power over tobacco it has over drugs and medical devices. Identical bills in both houses, hailed by the American Lung Association as a "win for public health," would allow the government to...

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