PillCam by Given Imaging

What if swallowing a pill is all it took to detect early signs of gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders instead of subjecting the patient to unnecessary and uncomfortable tests? Well that idea is not a "if" anymore. PillCam is dream come true for detecting and monitoring patient with GI tract disorders.

PillCam is a innovation solution by Given Imaging. The company has developed three PillCam which are a small disposable capsule that can visualize the small bowel, esophagus, and colon to monitor and diagnose GI tract disorders without subjecting patient to sedation and/or invasive endoscopic.

1. PillCam SB is the most widely used, patient-friendly tool for directly visualizing the small bowel to detect, diagnose, and monitor abnormalities. 

2. PillCam ESO is a patient-friendly tool for visualizing the esophagus. 

3. PillCam Colon is used to non-invasively complete the colon exam for patients who have had an incomplete colonoscopy. 

Take a look at the pictures below. 

For more information on each PillCam check out the company's website here and check out the video here to see how the PillCam works. 

Each PillCam has a small portable recording device that communicates with the PillCam capsules as it passes through the GI tract. The recorder is attached to the sensor belt which is worn around the patient's wrist for ease of movements. PillCam uses a software called RAPID that allows real-time viewing during the procedure. 

The device is easily discarded through excretion and the cost of the pill is significantly lower than the cost of a traditional exam. 

-B

BioLung - a bridge to lung transplantation

130 millions Americans have lung disease and of those more than twenty percent die waiting for lung transplantation. There is critical donor organs shortage in the United States. In response to this shortage researcher in our own back yard have been working over the past eight years on developing artificial organ that can serve as a bridge to lung transplantation.

Dr. Robert Bartlett, a surgeon at the University of Michigan Medical Center, is leading the research on BioLung while working with a company located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Michigan Critical Care Consultants (MC3) who makes the device.

BioLung is a device designed to fully support the respiratory needs of patients as a bridge to lung transportation or lung recover. BioLung is the size of a soda can (see picture below). This device will be connected to the right ventricle of the heart. It will depend on the heart to send blood through the lung, where it releases carbon dioxide and take in oxygen as it flows through the arrays of microfibers. Biolung then passes oxygen rich blood into the left atrium and then to the rest of the body.

Dr. Bartlett and MC3 is working on finding optimal shape of fiber arrays; distance between the fiber and the number of fiber needed within the artificial lung.

Although BioLung has only been tested in sheep and the results have been promising, rigorous animal studies are needed. The device still needs to go through human clinical trials. Only after BioLung is approved by the FDA will it be commercially available. Nevertheless, the device will provide the time needed to patients waiting for a transplant. Due to the small size of BioLung it will allow the patients to live a relatively normal lives while they wait for transplant.

Check out the 30-days study conducted on sheep using the BioLung here.

-B

Bionic hand that can sense and feel

Prosthetic have been around for a long time and are well known in the field of biomedical engineering. However, prosthetic that can sense and feel is an advancement and an achievement. It is definitely a well earned achievement for Silvestro Micera and his team. Micera and his team added sensors to a prosthetic hand which could detect and measure information about touch. The team used computer algorithms to transform the electrical signals emitted into an impulse that sensory nerves could interpret. The picture below is an example of an intraneural electrode and of signals recorded in a patient.

There has been previously developed prosthetic limbs that deliver tactile feedback but Micera and his team's discovery shows how much sensory feedback improves the patient's performance.  It was demonstrated by Dennis Aabo, a Danish man who received the prosthetic hand which was connected to his nervous system via electrodes that were implanted into the nerves in his upper arm. These were connected to the artificial sensors in the fingers of the prosthetic hand. The prosthetic hand allowed him to grip, tell the shapes and stiffness of objects.
Here is a picture of Micera and his team with Mr. Aabo performing lab tests.

The bionic hand that Mr. Aabo received was a prototype. It is still in works so it could take years before the bionic hand is commercially available. However, the bionic hand is a demonstration of how important it is to build sensory feedback into prosthetic devices because it allows individuals to perform the motions of everyday life.

Who knows, bionic hand that can detect texture and temperature is a possibility also.

-B

Replacement Transcatheter Heart Valve

The Sapien transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) by Edwards Lifesciences is an alternative to open-heart surgery for patients who need a new valve.
FDA approved Sapien on November 2, 2011. Edwards Lifesciences announced on October 15, 2015 that high-risk patients who received the advanced Edwards Sapien 3 THV via transfemoral delivery had a one-year survival rate of 89.3 percent and low rates of stroke and paravalvular leak. According to the announcement, Sapien 3 THV replacement was associated with a very low overall disabling stroke rate of 2.4 percent.
Check out the link for more information on the announcement here.
The Sapien valve is made of cow tissue that is attached to a stainless steel mesh with a polyester wrap. Below is a picture of the valve:

So cool!
The valve can be implanted in patients using the transfemoral technique or transapical technique. Check out the techniques here.
The valve is inserted into the body by cutting a small opening in the artery carrying blood to the leg. The valve is placed on the end of a balloon catheter, and is inserted into the opening in the leg. The catheter is pushed through the blood vessels until it reaches the damaged or diseased valve. the balloon on the end of the catheter is then blown up to expand the valve so it stays in the place. Once the new valve is in place, it helps the blood flow properly by opening and closing at the correct time to force the blood to flow in the correct direction.

Also, there is an article on comparison study between the Sapien Transcatheter Heart Valve by Edwards Lifesciences and CoreValve ReValving System by Medtronic here. It really is an interesting read.

-B

3-D Bioprinters!

Cyfuse Biomedical's Regenova is the runner-up when it comes to bioprinters. Regenova is a novel robotic system that facilitates the fabrication of 3-D cellular structures by placing cellular spheroids in fine needle arrays, “Kenzan method”. Using Kenzan Method the company is able to print 3-D cellular structures using cellular spheroids in fine needle arrays. Each spheroid contains thousands of cells, and once they are placed in a particular order next to other spheroids, they are cultured, leading to self-organization, and eventual tissue such as blood vessels, digestive and urinary organs, cartilage, tubular tissues, and even miniature livers. The picture below is an extract Cyfuse Biomedical's website on the Kenzan method. Also check out the 3 miniutes video on how the Regenova works here. At the end, you will see a vascular tissue sample generated by Regenova. 

Cyberdyne, a major player within the robotics space, invested inot Cyfuse Biomedical in order to push their Regenova technology forward. 

Fun Fact: The Kenzan method was invented by professor Koich Nakayama from Saga University. The method is globally patented intellectual property. Cyfuse Biomedical K.K. is granted exclusive rights of use.

Check out the company's website for more information on Regenova here.

-B

Introduction

Hello Dear Readers, 

Welcome to my blog.


First things first. Introductions!!! My name is Bhavika. I am recent BME graduate and recently started working at a well known medical device company located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Deciding what I wanted to do for the rest of my life before the legal age of voting was no piece of cake. So I did what any other teenager did back then. I took any and all classes that interested me and that included AP Biology. AP Biology opened up a whole new world and one thing led to another which led me to the decision of becoming a biomedical engineer. This field combined engineering principles and design concepts to medicine for healthcare purposes like diagnostic and therapeutic. Also the field was showing exponential growth in coming years. The more I researched the more fascinated I became with biomedical engineering. My decision was made. I was going to be a biomedical engineer. Five years and couple of thousand dollars in student loans later, I can say I am a biomedical engineer. 

Anyways, this blog will give brief summary on five inventions through the field of biomedical engineering. 

I hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to comment!

-B

p.s. here is a picture of your truly....me!