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.

ProDigits is the first ever motor-powered system for patients with missing fingers

Touch Bionics, developer of advanced upper-limb bionic technologies, today announced the commercial launch of ProDigits, the world's first powered bionic finger solution for patients with missing fingers. Now partial-hand patients have a dexterous powered solution to support their return to function and independence.

9 Dec 2009

Neuroscientists show how brain waves can be used to perform certain tasks

Neuroscientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Fla., have demonstrated how brain waves can be used to type alphanumerical characters on a computer screen. By merely focusing on the "q" in a matrix of letters, for example, that "q" appears on the monitor.

7 Dec 2009

$Stem cell technology for rapid healing of complicated bone fractures$

Stem cell technology for rapid healing of complicated bone fractures

A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures.

30 Nov 2009

"Cheetah" limbs gave Olympic hopeful a clear and major advantage over his competition

The artificial lower limbs of double-amputee Olympic hopeful Oscar Pistorius give him a clear and major advantage over his competition, taking 10 seconds or more off what his 400-meter race time would be if his prosthesis behaved like intact limbs.

20 Nov 2009

Tailwind Capital announces the completion of investment in SDI Health

Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm focused on growing companies in the healthcare, business services, and media/communications sectors of the middle market, announced today that it has completed an investment in SDI Health (“SDI”). SDI is a leading healthcare analytics provider based in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Tailwind joins founder Andrew Kress and Philadelphia-based LLR Partners as investors in the Company.

10 Nov 2009

Amputees who use running-specific prosthetic legs have no performance advantage, say researchers

A study by six researchers, including a University of Colorado at Boulder associate professor and his former doctoral student, shows that amputees who use running-specific prosthetic legs have no performance advantage over counterparts who use their biological legs.

5 Nov 2009

CryoLife reports a net income of $1.9 million for the third quarter of 2009

CryoLife, Inc., an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, announced today that revenues for the third quarter of 2009 increased 5 percent to a quarterly record of $28.2 million compared to $26.8 million for the third quarter of 2008.

29 Oct 2009

Medtronic reports outcome of its Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve trial

Clinical trial results published in this week’s Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) describe six-month outcomes for patients using the Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve from Medtronic, Inc.. The valve is implanted through a catheter procedure instead of open-heart surgery in patients with congenital heart disease affecting the function of their pulmonary valve.

28 Oct 2009

CryoLife granted FDA approval for BioFoam human clinical trial

CryoLife, Inc., an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the company's Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to conduct a human clinical trial for its BioFoam® Surgical Matrix protein hydrogel technology.

27 Oct 2009

First child with a surgically implanted artificial humerus doing well after a year

When little Mark Blinder was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, doctors at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital gave his parents three agonizing options: amputate the affected arm at the shoulder, irradiate the tumor and risk a second malignancy, or try a limb-preserving surgery that had never been attempted in a toddler.

27 Oct 2009

Researchers discover neurons that precisely keep time in the primate brain

Groups of neurons that precisely keep time have been discovered in the primate brain by a team of researchers that includes Dezhe Jin, assistant professor of physics at Penn State University and two neuroscientists from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

23 Oct 2009

Hospitalized veterans receive therapeutic values through HHV's arts & crafts kits

It was December 1975. A relatively young organization called Help Hospitalized Veterans had been quietly delivering arts & crafts kits to VA and military hospitals for over four years and was about to reach a milestone – distribution of its 1,000,000th craft kit. Bob Hope, legendary actor, golfer and advocate for veterans presented the kit to Vietnam veteran Eugene Gardner.

22 Oct 2009

VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies to present on its implantable telescope technology

VisionCare Ophthalmic Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced visual prosthetic devices for individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), today announced upcoming scientific and corporate presentations on its implantable telescope technology.

21 Oct 2009

Modern tissue engineering gives hope for better prosthetic hands

Modern tissue engineering developed at the University of Michigan could improve the function of prosthetic hands and possibly restore the sense of touch for injured patients.

15 Oct 2009

PhysioNetics receives grant to continue development of 'gripper' for upper-extremity prostheses

A $750,000 Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow PhysioNetics, LLC to continue its development work on an innovative new “gripper” for upper-extremity prostheses.

13 Oct 2009

Wolverine Venture Fund to participate in Direct Flow Medical's Series C round of financing

Wolverine Venture Fund (WVF), managed by The Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, today announced participation in Direct Flow Medical Inc.'s Series C round of financing. Direct Flow Medical is an emerging medical device company developing a next-generation, catheter based, percutaneous-delivered prosthetic aortic valve.

12 Oct 2009

Hanger Orthopedic Group adds three patient care centers to its portfolio

Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that it recently acquired Creative Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc., Custom Orthopedics of Wyoming and certain orthotics and prosthetics assets from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

9 Oct 2009

Patients and surgeons drive demand for elective orthopedic procedures despite economic slowdown

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, patients and surgeons are driving demand for elective orthopedic procedures.

7 Oct 2009

CryoValve SG aortic human heart valve receives Humanitarian Use Device designation

CryoLife, Inc., an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced that it has received a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its CryoValve® SG aortic human heart valve.

6 Oct 2009

Direct Flow Medical releases clinical results of its new Percutaneous Aortic Valve System

Direct Flow Medical, Inc., www.directflowmedical.com, released its 12 month data from the initial clinical trial for a new device to treat valve disease without invasive thoracic surgery. Direct Flow Medical is a privately held, emerging medical device company developing a next-generation, catheter based, percutaneous delivered prosthetic aortic valve.