Prosthetic News and Research

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Prosthetic (Prosthesis) devices, such as an artificial leg, that replace a part of the body. Prostheses are typically used to replace parts lost by injury (traumatic) or missing from birth (congenital) or to supplement defective body parts. Inside the body, artificial heart valves are in common use with artificial hearts and lungs seeing less common use but under active technology development. Other medical devices and aids that can be considered prosthetics include artificial eyes, palatal obturator, gastric bands, and dentures.

Qiaobing Xu selected as Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences

Qiaobing Xu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering, was named a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

14 Jun 2013

New study tests vestibular prosthesis to help restore balance for people with Meniere's disease

Many disorders of the inner hear which affect both hearing and balance can be hugely debilitating and are currently largely incurable. Cochlear implants have been used for many years to replace lost hearing resulting from inner ear damage.

14 Jun 2013

New technology could improve communication and daily life of paralyzed person

Small electrodes placed on or inside the brain allow patients to interact with computers or control robotic limbs simply by thinking about how to execute those actions. This technology could improve communication and daily life for a person who is paralyzed or has lost the ability to speak from a stroke or neurodegenerative disease.

12 Jun 2013

Massachusetts Eye and Ear enrolls deaf children in new clinical trial of Auditory Brainstem Implant

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate, is now enrolling a select group of deaf infants and children in a new FDA-approved clinical trial of an Auditory Brainstem Implant.

12 Jun 2013

Strengthening miniaturized titanium-based medical devices: an interview with Dr Masaru Rao, University of California, Riverside

While titanium is used widely for more conventional macro-scale medical devices (e.g. hip implants, dental implants, and cardiac pacemakers), its use for micro- and nano-scale devices has been limited thus far.

29 May 2013

Freedom Innovations officially launches new Kinterra Foot and Ankle System

Freedom Innovations, an Irvine, CA based manufacturer of advanced technology prosthetic devices, has officially launched its new Kinterra Foot and Ankle System, making the technology available to amputees on a global level.

From PROTEOR 23 May 2013

Joint replacement surgery might be avoidable in the future, suggest scientists

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have turned their view of osteoarthritis inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, they now have evidence that the bone underneath the cartilage is also a key player and exacerbates the damage.

20 May 2013

Haptics improve outcomes in people with visual prosthetics

Normal vision is essentially a spatial sense that often relies upon touch and movement during and after development, there is often a correlation between how an object looks and how it feels. Moreover, as a child's senses develop, there is cross-referencing between the various senses. Indeed, where the links between the senses are not made, there may be developmental problems or delays. This should be taken into consideration when training new users of visual prosthetics, artificial retinas, or bionic eyes, suggest researchers in Australia.

2 May 2013

Roundup: Battles in five states become central to abortion fight; Calif. prison spending on anti-psychotics raises treatment questions

Five states have moved to adopt tighter abortion regulations, including North Dakota, where a new law prohibits abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. Jeffrey Brown gets perspectives from Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life and Ilyse Hogue of NARAL Pro-Choice America (4/30).

2 May 2013

Cempra demonstrates solithromycin's potential against urogenital infections at ECCMID

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing differentiated antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infections, today announced that it will present data at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Berlin, demonstrating solithromycin's potential to treat urogenital infections and combat challenging pathogens such as enterococci and Legionella pneumophila.

29 Apr 2013

Cempra reports net loss of $10.3 million in first quarter 2013

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

26 Apr 2013

Some Boston Marathon bomb victims will face insurance coverage limits

ayments for prosthetics, rehabilitation and a range of other treatments may fall outside some insurance limits and could continue long into the future.

24 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 23, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about immigrant patients' health care as well as the coverage limits that some victims of the Boston Marathon bombings might face.

23 Apr 2013

Clinical Research Forum selects sickle cell project among 'Top 10' clinical research achievements of 2012

Pioneering research led by Johns Hopkins scientists on the use of partially matched bone marrow transplants to wipe out sickle cell disease has been selected as one of the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements of 2012 by the Clinical Research Forum.

22 Apr 2013

Clinical Research Forum honors studies with potential to benefit human health and welfare

Ten of the most outstanding clinical research projects from institutions around the country have been selected to receive the Clinical Research Forum's Annual Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards.

22 Apr 2013

Evoking illusion of having phantom hand in non-amputated individuals possible, study shows

The sensation of having a physical body is not as self-evident as one might think. Almost everyone who has had an arm or leg amputated experiences a phantom limb: a vivid sensation that the missing limb is still present.

16 Apr 2013

Artificial neural connection bridging spinal cord injury may help restore paretic hand function

Functional loss of limb control in individuals with spinal cord injury or stroke can be caused by interruption of the neural pathways between brain and spinal cord, although the neural circuits located above and below the lesion remain functional. An artificial neural connection that bridges the lost pathway and connects brain to spinal circuits has potential to ameliorate the functional loss.

12 Apr 2013

FDA approves CryoLife's next generation HeRO device

CryoLife, Inc., a leading tissue processing and medical device company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, announced today that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for a next generation HeRO (Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow) device.

5 Apr 2013

Promising step toward safer, more comfortable implants

Researchers led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University have turned to an unlikely model to make medical devices safer and more comfortable-a squid's beak.

4 Apr 2013

Kavli Foundation applauds launch of new brain research initiative

The Kavli Foundation applauds today's launch by President Obama of his Administration's ambitious research effort to understand the brain by deciphering the brain's activity that gives rise to our perceptions, our experiences and our consciousness.

3 Apr 2013