Articles - Medical Tech en-us http://www.thescizone.com/news N/A http://www.thescizone.com/news michael@thescizone.com 20 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1672/1/Stimulator-Helps-Spinal-Cord-Patients-Take-Giant-Steps/1.html Eleven-thousand people in the United States suffer from spinal cord injuries each year.Men are more at risk than women for this type of injury, accounting for 80 percent of them. Those between the ages of 16 and 30 are most likely to suffer such an injury. Most of the time, a spinal cord injury will result in permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the area of the spine where the injury took place.A quadriplegic or tetraplegic is paralyzed throughout most of their body, including their arms and legs while only the lower body of a paraplegic is paralyzed. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1682/1/Pneumatics-Provide-Tight-Position-Control-/1.html Spinal cord injury (SCI) has potentially devastating consequences. As of June 2006, over 253,000 people in the U.S. had structural or functional issues related to spinal cord injuries. Evaluation of spinal implant devices requires testing systems that can replicate the complex motions and loads human joints commonly undergo. Continually improving equipment that can perform tests of strength, range-of-motion, and endurance contributes to breakthroughs in the treatment of SCI patients. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1638/1/Pressure-mapping-system-identifies-right-cushion-to-prevent-sores-for-wheelchair-users/1.html According to Patricia Valenza, a physical therapist at Sunnyview, pressure mapping is a thin mat, measuring approximately 18 by 18 inches that has 256 sensors for sensing pressure at different parts of the sitting surface. “When a patient sits on the mat, the sensors read pressure at individual locations on the thighs and buttocks,” said Valenza. “This data is transferred to a computer, where we can analyze it and determine where pressure sores may occur.” michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1598/1/FDA-Approves-Diaphragm-Pacing-Device/1.html Device can help paralysis patients breathe without a ventilator for at least four hoursThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it approved the NeuRx DPS RA/4 Respiratory Stimulation System, an implantable electronic device that stimulates the diaphragm and allows certain spinal cord injury patients to breathe for at least four hours a day without a mechanical ventilator. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1564/1/Nanotechnology-may-help-spinal-cord-injury/1.html U.S. researchers say they have created a nano-engineered gel that can enable severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow.Spinal cord injuries often lead to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate, Northwestern University scientists said. Although nerve fibers or axons have the capacity to re-grow, they don't because they're blocked by scar tissue that develops around the injury. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1540/1/Nano-Scaffold-Developed-To-Rebuild-Nerve-Damage/1.html A Monash University PhD student has developed a new technique that could revolutionise stem cell treatment for Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury.David Nisbet from Monash University's Department of Materials Engineering has used existing polymer-based biodegradable fibres, 100 times smaller than a human hair, and re-engineered them to create a unique 3-D scaffold that could potentially allow stem cells to repair damaged nerves in the human body more quickly and effectively. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1413/1/Drug-can-help-patients-heal-from-spinal-cord-injuries/1.html According to the Spinal Cord Injury Information Network, there are about 11,000 new spinal cord injuries each year. Car accidents have been responsible for nearly 50 percent of spinal cord injuries since 2000, and falls have been the second most common cause of spinal cord injuries. Currently, about 253,000 Americans are living with a spinal cord injury. Dr. Michael Fehlings from Toronto Western Hospital is studying a new drug to treat spinal cord injuries soon after they happen. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1407/1/Doctors-on-the-Scene-Acted-Quickly-to-Treat-Everett-With-Cold-Therapy/1.html In the moments after a serious spinal cord injury paralyzed Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills below the shoulders, doctors began an innovative treatment based on a familiar premise: apply ice to reduce swelling. In this case, though, instead of using ice, doctors chilled Everett from the inside, infusing cold fluids into his veins. The treatment is experimental, though, and medical experts caution that it is impossible to say in an individual case whether it helped or hurt. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1293/1/New-Device-Helps-People-Walk-Again/1.html Cutting-edge technology at a rehabilitation center in Boston is helping some patients learn to walk again. The device is called a Lokomat, and it helps patients learn the most efficient way for their bodies."As [they] begin to feel what it feels like, the Lokomat gives them more control and more weight bearing through their feet so they can do more of the actions by themselves," said Dr. Donna Nimec at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1222/1/Neurostimulation-Comes-of-Age/1.html One of medicine's fastest-growing therapies targets diseases and injuries for which drugs and surgery fail to bring relief Companies like medical giant Medtronic and ANS, which became part of St. Jude Medical in late 2005, have led the way in developing spinal cord stimulation systems (SCS) that act as “pacemakers for pain.” The implantable devices interrupt the pain signals' pathways to the brain by delivering low-intensity electrical impulses to nerve fibers along the spinal cord. SCS therapy has been shown to reduce pain by 50 percent or more. The ANS flagship product for chronic pain is the EON™ system, approved by the FDA in June 2005. Its implanted pulse generator (IPG), featuring a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, is designed to last a minimum of seven years at high power settings. EON can also power up to 16 independent electrodes, which gives clinicians more programming options to better manage the patient's pain. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400