Europe Medical Technology Industry Profile

The medical technology and devices market of Europe is wide and varied, it accounted for a total sales of over US$ 84.66432 billion in 2006. The annual growth rate of the medical devices market in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK is close to 9 percent. Medical devices within Europe are regulated under three directives.

Read More at: TheMedica

How More Cardiac Arrest Sufferers can be Saved?

Not one or two but 325,000 people die each year in the United States due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). However, when CPR - Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is provided immediately after the attack it can double a sufferers chance of survival.

But administering CPR, unlike a pharma drug, is easier said than done, here's why? When in a study, thirty-eight doctors and nurses of both genders were evaluated for their ability to perform manual CPR, a considerable loss in their ability to provide sufficient compressions over a time period was found. And that men – supposedly endowed with more muscle power – fared no better than their fairer sex counterparts.

So what if there existed a medical device that was so portable that it didn't need to be transported using a hospital trolley, instead, could simply be strapped around a patient to aid immediate CPR, virtually anywhere and in any situation? Well it seems that the the wait could now be over, as scientists may have struck gold already.

A Life Saving Medical Device

Inventors of the device called, LifeBelt(R) CPR, may be on their way to make life safer with this appliance. This device is designed to overcome the limitation of "hands-only" CPR and is able to help the patient by producing chest compressions for about two minutes. Also, with the use of this device half as much force is needed to administer CPR, enabling the emergency response personnel or anyone providing the CPR to do it more effectively, and not lose steam out of fatigue, too soon. No wonder than this appliance also won a “Create the Future Design Contest” sponsored by NASA Tech Briefs magazine.

When Thomas Jefferson said “Where a new invention promises to be useful, it ought to be tried,” I'm positive he didn't refer to life support medical devices!

US Medical Equipment Industry Overview

There were about 8,000 medical device companies in the United States around 2004. While the number of large and mid-sized medical device companies was less, over 80 percent of firms employed no more than 50 people. The world's medical equipment and supplies industry was worth $80 billion in 2005, with the United States being the the largest consumer country of medical and dental equipment.

Read More at: TheMedica

Is Robot Assisted Surgery Better?

Slowly and gradually robots seem to be taking over many of the functions that humans perform. Though it may seem like machines rendering man redundant, in perhaps all cases these replacements are for the better, such as in robot assisted surgeries.

Surgical robots have today made remote, minimally invasive, and unmanned surgeries possible. In addition they have enabled better precision with surgical instruments e.g. scissors, miniaturization, smaller incisions, decreased blood loss, less pain, and quicker healing. As a result have led to better patient outcomes.

Aside from these advantages of robot-assisted surgeries, the following examples of their superiority are worth mentioning.

Better for Heavy Women – Uterine cancer is a medical condition with which about a 100 women are diagnosed each day in the USA. Once diagnosed with the disease, many patients are worried about how the treatment, which often includes surgery, would affect their lives and family. However, it seems that robotic surgery may be a better option than laparoscopic surgery for uterine cancer. Recently the journal Gynecologic Oncology showed that patients undergoing robot assisted surgery, lost 2-and-a-half times less blood, were 6 times less likely to need transfusions, and that the time of their stay in hospitals was halved.

Lower risk of a gastric bypass complication - Gastrointestinal leak is a rare but serious complication arising out of gastric by-pass – a weight loss surgical procedure. Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center, recently conducted a study comparing the conventional laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and a robot assisted operation, and found that while none of the robot assisted surgery group suffered a gastrointestinal leak, some patients from the conventional laparoscopy group did.

Additionally, robotic surgery has also been associated with improved survival rates for prostate cancer patients , with effective treatment of urothelial cancer of the kidney, and more.

All in all, robots with surgical instruments in their hands have a lot to offer to the field of surgery, and that robot-assisted surgery is indeed better in many cases.

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How to Count Your Calories During Sleep?

Counting your calories is important if your trying lose excess weight, but it's often a pain trying to keep a track of them. However, if scientists are to be believed then they might already have stumbled upon an automatic calorie counting method.

People try many ways to lose weight including dieting, exercise, or weight loss supplements or a combination, but physical exercise seems to be pretty popular. And most of us using treadmills to burn calories know how much we've burned in a session of exercise simply by glancing at the pedometer reading. At the same time it's important to know that we don't just burn calories while we're on the treadmill, but even when we walk, drive, cook, laugh, talk, and even while we sleep. So who'll count all those calories consumed?

The count your calories technology

Apparently, a strap-on device has been invented that allows individuals to continuously track the calories they burn.

Being worked on by a group of Georgia Institute of Technology students and called HappyHR, It's a small, rectangular-shaped instrument, which can be strapped to the wrist or ankle. Once onto the wrist, the instrument begins collecting data pertaining to heart rate and exercise. Next, the information collected is sent to a PC via Bluetooth, where the data is analyzed and calories counted by means of a web-based software.

A subtle device resembling a compact MP3 player more than with an embedded fitness monitoring technology is pretty encouraging. In fact the researchers want to move ahead further and even try to incorporate advanced health applications such as respiratory and glucose monitoring. Which might earn it a place as a valued medical and hospital equipment supply.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) about 133.6 million or 66 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese. And who may want to lose weight for better health. So if technologies such as these keep coming up, maintaining not just a healthy weight, but also fitness, might become a lot easier.

Can Heart Attacks be Predicted to Save Lives?

About one of every five deaths in the United States are attributed to heart diseases. However, scientists may now well be on their way to make heart attack prediction possible so that many lives can be saved.

Heart disease is term used for a range of different diseases affecting the heart. They are often treated by surgery and cardiovascular drugs.

Even though from 1995 to 2005 the death rate from heart disease declined 34 percent, there still is a lot of potential for it to decrease further with the aid of technology. A device is being tested to monitor the heart and raise a red flag in time so that early help can be sought.

The Life Saving Technology

Called the AngelMed Guardian system, the device is about the size of a standard pacemaker is meant to be installed inside the skin close to the collarbone with a wire placed in the right chamber of the heart.

It comprises an external telemetry device and and a programmer meant to help the medics assess the heart signals. The job of the device will be to monitor a person's heart's activity for signs that may indicate an impending heart attack.

As soon as the implanted diagnostic equipment finds that something's gone amiss inside the heart, making use of Bluetooth technology and pagers, it will sound an alert to others so that quick medical attention can be provided to the patient. Also, the more disturbing or acute the symptoms of an upcoming heart attack, stronger the alert this device transmits.

According to experts, the maximum damage to the heart occurs during the first two hours after a coronary gets blocked during a heart attack. And most of the time patients take about three hours to recognize an oncoming heart attack, so help often reaches late to the sufferers. However, the unique ability of this device is that it can recognize the warning signs and sound an alert hours before the attack actually occurs thus helping doctors save lives.

Still undergoing Phase II clinical trials, if all goes well then it may actually be able to predict heart attacks and save lives.

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Now Magnets May Drive Reflux Disease Away

An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which causes a person to experience chronic heartburn. While medical drugs helps manage the condition in the short-term, longer term relief sometimes requires surgery. But could a long term solution to the problem be hidden in modest looking magnets?

A common cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease or (GERD) is a weak or nonfunctional valve at the lower end of the esophagus (the canal that connects the mouth to the stomach), as a result the acids inside the stomach make their way into the esophagus. Since the esophagus or the food pipe isn't designed to withstand acids, the patient experiences chronic heartburn. But medics are now testing a new device which could support the function of the malfunctioning valves to treat the disease.

The New Reflux Control Device

Called the LINX Reflux Management System and introduced by Torax Medical, this device comprises a series of magnetic beads, and is meant to be placed around the bottom of the esophagus through a minimally-invasive surgical procedure, using medical instruments.

Once positioned, the magnetic attraction between the beads work in tandem with the valve and help prevent the acids to reflux, or rush up the esophagus. At the same time, the system is designed to allow food to normally pass through the esophagus to the stomach. Which is exactly what a healthy valve's function is.


According to experts, when medical therapy alone is used to treat GERD, the acids in the stomach are simply suppressed, but the underlying problem of reflux isn't cured. As a result, the most appropriate and lasting treatment for GERD would be to restore the body's own ability to avoid reflux itself.

While the new magnetic device is still being clinically tried, its real success might eventually depend on how effective it will be in comparison to other surgical procedures viz. open and Nissen fundoplications that are sometimes indicated for treating GERD.

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Medical Device Industry Overview

The US industry with its high investments in Research and Development is regarded worldwide for making sophisticated and high quality devices incorporating advanced technologies. The country's market was valued at nearly $80 billion in 2005. In addition the U.S. medical technology companies are leaders in the world's medical device production. Further, to facilitate expansion, medical device companies are increasingly looking at developing economies as an opportunity to drive future growth.

Read More at: Themedica

Pee on Paper to Treat TB – Here's How?

Effective treatment of tuberculosis entails adhering to lengthy TB pharma drugs regimen. To ensure that people follow through the duration of treatment scientists have found a clever way in which simply peeing on paper can lead you to comply with treatment.

Tuberculosis or TB is an airborne infectious disease that's curable. However it requires strict compliance with TB drugs for months. And many people, especially in poor countries drop out in the middle because the drugs can trigger nausea and other side effects. This in turn is leads to a relapse with drug resistant strains of bacteria, making treatment difficult. The consequences are evident from TB statistics. According to the WHO, TB afflicts millions worldwide – of the 9.2 million cases newly diagnosed in 2006, 1.7 million people succumbed to the disease.

The Pee based approach to TB treatment

Staff from the Innovations in International Health (IIH) project at MIT, recently devised a program which uses paper-based diagnostics called “XoutTB” with text-messaging technology and service to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment compliance in poor countries.

At the heart of the program lies a rewards schedule, whereby patients complying with to the TB drug regimens consistently for 30 days are rewarded with cell-phone minutes, encouraging them further.

To track compliance, the participants are required to pee on a paper-based diagnostic equipment, which is dispensed once each day. The device is able to detect the metabolites of the TB drug in urine – accurately assessing whether the drugs were consumed or not. Also the reaction between the drug molecules in urine and the chemicals embedded in the paper devices uncover a code that the participants need to text-message to a central database. A consistent record of compliance for 30 days is rewarded with free minuets.

It's simple and hopefully will turn out to be quite effective, as the trials are still on. While the real work is still accomplished by the good old TB drugs, the pee based diagnostics are central to making that happen. Now, that's what I'd call real waste management!

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Is Greater use of Imaging Technology Justified?

During the past several years, the availability of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning has grown rapidly. An estimated number of CT diagnostic equipment units grew more than 50 percent between 1995 and 2004, while the estimated number of MRI units more than doubled. Apparently, the use of imaging technologies has associated costs and benefits, the question is whether the benefits are more than costs or not? An insightful study conducted by Stanford University researchers recently published brought the issue into the limelight.

Read More at: Themedica

Study: Lower Death Rates Linked to Drug Eluting Stents

Patients receiving drug eluting stents (DES) — stents coated with medication to prevent narrowing of the artery — as part of an angioplasty had better outcomes one year later than patients with bare metal stents, according to a new study to be published in CMAJ http://www.cmaj.ca/press/080050.pdf.

(A stent is a device placed in the artery to keep the inner wall of the artery open.)

Mortality in the first 30 days for people with pharmaceutical drug eluting stents was significantly lower than for those with bare metal stents. However, in this prospective cohort study of 6440 patients, there was an increased risk of repeat revascularization procedures or death in the DES group after 3 years.

Patients with drug eluting stents were more likely to be female, with higher rates of kidney disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

"Our study findings suggest that drug eluting stents, despite recent concerns surrounding drug eluting stent safety, the long-term survival (to 3 years) of patients receiving drug eluting stents remains globally favourable, and certainly not measurably worse than that of patients treated with bare metal stents," state Dr. William Ghali, coauthors from the University of Calgary and Dr. Andrew Philpott. "However, we did observe a concerning risk trend toward accelerating adverse events in the DES group late in the follow-up period — a finding that underlines the need for ongoing surveillance of longer-term outcomes," write the authors.

Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) , via, EurekaAlert!

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