Implants News and Research

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FDA posts silicone gel breast implant approval information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has posted information on it's web site related to the Mentor Corporation's silicone gel breast implant pre-market approval (PMA) application, scheduled to be reviewed at a General and Plastics Surgery Devices Advisory Panel meeting April 11-13, 2005.

6 Apr 2005

Bionic eyes from Stanford

Stanford physicists and eye doctors have teamed up to design a "bionic eye," of sorts. On Feb. 22 in the Journal of Neural Engineering, Daniel Palanker, Alexander Vankov and Phil Huie from the Department of Ophthalmology and the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and Stephen Baccus from the Department of Neurobiology published a design of an optoelectronic retinal prosthesis system that can stimulate the retina with resolution corresponding to a visual acuity of 20/80

4 Apr 2005

New drug approved for treating endometriosis

Drug manufacturer Pfizer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the release of depo-subQ provera 104 to be prescribed for the management of pain associated with endometriosis, a gynecological condition that affects one in ten women of reproductive age.

30 Mar 2005

Degradable glass to help new bone growth

The University of Kent is collaborating with research teams from the University of Warwick, Imperial College London and University College London (UCL) to develop novel forms of degradable glass for a variety of medical applications, including new bone growth.

23 Mar 2005

Federal database used to track trends in cochlear implant complications

Changes in the format of a federal database for mandatory reporting of major and minor complications for medical devices, including cochlear implants, could make it a valuable resource, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

22 Mar 2005

Is that a glimmer in your eye?

A medical procedure, implanting jewelry in your eye, could be outlawed in Illinois. The cosmetic surgery was developed in 2002 in the Netherlands by the Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery and about 100 patients have had the implants in Europe. Dr. Thomas Steinemann, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology says this procedure has only been done a few times in the U.S.

7 Mar 2005

Women making strides in oral and maxillofacial surgery

In the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Elaine Stuebner, DDS, is a pioneer in almost the same sense as the women who helped drive wagon trains across a brave, new world.

28 Feb 2005

New medical devices can cause new immune problems

Medical devices are traditionally thought of as fairly simple implants such as stents and hip replacements – pieces of plastic or metal that are placed in the body to handle a very specific function. But biomedical devices now on the drawing board are considerably more sophisticated and represent an unprecedented melding of man and machine.

28 Feb 2005

Better ways to heal and regenerate bones using microcomputed tomography imaging

Tissue engineers can choose from a wide range of living cells, biomaterials and proteins to repair a bone defect. But finding the optimum combination requires improved methods for tracking the healing process.

20 Feb 2005

Study aims to help heart patients adapt to implanted defibrillators

Professor Jane Irvine, of York University’s psychology department, is helping those heart patients who must use miniature implanted defibrillators to cope with the psychological stress caused by these devices. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) are programmed to electrically shock the heart in the event of a life threatening heart rhythm incident.

17 Feb 2005

Choosing breast implant size, a matter of aesthetics

Surgical breast enlargement enables a woman to choose the breast size that she feels will enhance her body image and self-confidence.

8 Feb 2005

Zimmer to distribute innovative antibiotic bone cement

Zimmer Holdings announced today it has acquired United States distribution rights for the Palacos line of bone cement products manufactured by Heraeus Kulzer of Germany, a world leader in the development and production of orthopaedic bone cement products and other health care technologies.

3 Feb 2005

Infection complicates 2 to 2·5% of breast implantations

Breast augmentation is the most frequent type of plastic surgery done in the UK and - after nose reshaping and liposuction - it is the third most common cosmetic procedure in the USA.

3 Feb 2005

Gene therapy helps generate bone around dental implants

A University of Michigan research team has found that introducing a growth factor protein into a mouth wound using gene therapy helped generate bone around dental implants, according to a new paper in the February issue of the journal Molecular Therapy.

3 Feb 2005

Small is beautiful in the medical world

Small is beautiful in the medical world. And being able to give European industry the edge in a nearly €200 billion worldwide biomedical market is what drives a consortium of EU-backed partners to make and market smaller, cheaper and better biomedical devices and innovative new applications.

19 Jan 2005

Honeycomb-like polymer implant helps re-build the faces of children

British and Russian surgeons are using a revolutionary honeycomb-like polymer implant to help re-build the faces of children injured in accidents or born with serious defects. The material bonds with bone without causing adverse reactions.

12 Jan 2005

Infants have much to say if adults will only listen

A baby's first sounds, other than crying, may baffle parents. Is that soft "coo" the sound of contentment? Boredom? Nothing more than a reflex?

12 Jan 2005

Medical device innovations - fabricating the future

Two large pieces of metal lie on the floor of what looks like a mini-factory in the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. The whirring machinery here stamps out prototypes of medical devices imagined by clinicians and researchers to help with diagnostic testing or surgical procedures.

9 Jan 2005

Exposure to the chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) stimulates prostate cancer cell growth

An estrogen-like chemical commonly used to synthesize plastic food containers has been shown to encourage the growth of a specific category of prostate cancer cell, potentially affecting the treatment efficacy for a subset of prostate cancers.

4 Jan 2005

40-year tale of investigation and innovation into the challenge of hip implant failure

A remarkable story of how a new disease was inadvertently caused by successful medical treatment, ultimately understood, and eventually defeated by scientific innovation is being told a major player in the process.

22 Dec 2004