A study, by Offer Amir (Heart Institute, Hadassah Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel) and colleagues, indicates that voice analysis by a smartphone app could be used to identify lung congestion in heart failure patients, allowing early intervention before their condition deteriorates. The small study was presented HFA Discoveries, a scientific platform of the European Society [...]
A BIBA MedTech Insights survey indicates that 50% of centres performing structural heart procedures believe that they will need to increase the number of operating days per week to manage the elective cases that have been put on hold because of COVID-19. However, 22% believe that no extra measures will be required and the backlog will [...]
On 18 March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recommended “limiting non-essential care and expanding surge capacity into ambulatory surgical centres and other areas” to conserve resources and staff for managing COVID-19 patients. However, in a statement issued on 19 April, it now said it recognises “at this time, many areas [in [...]
Boston Scientific has announced that its annual meeting of stockholders will be held exclusively in a virtual meeting format on 7 May 8am Eastern Time. The virtual meeting, which will be conducted via live audio webcast, is in response to the public health impact of the COVID-19, in accordance with orders issued by the [...]
Zimmer Biomet has announced that, because of the effect of the pandemic, it estimates revenue growth for the first quarter 2020 will be approximately -9.5 to -10.5% on a reported basis and -8.5 to -9.5% on a constant currency basis when compared to the first quarter of 2019. Additionally, the company is taking several [...]
Stryker’s Emergency Relief Bed, a limited-release medical bed, supports critical needs during COVID-19 pandemic. Stryker has announced the development of a limited-release emergency response bed to quickly aid healthcare providers with efficient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Relief Bed is a low-cost solution intended to serve frontline healthcare providers. It includes a [...]
Michael Kiernan Physicians recognised the importance of remote management for heart failure patients long before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the current situation has heightened the urgency of the transition for this vulnerable population. In this commentary, Michael Kiernan reviews how remote monitoring of heart failure patients could help to reduce heart failure [...]
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorisation for a blood purification system (Spectra Optia Apheresis System, Terumo BCT) combined with Adsorption Cartridge (Marker Therapeutics) to treat patients 18 years of age or older with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure. A [...]
Santiago Garcia Santiago Garcia (Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, USA) and colleagues report in the Journal of American College of Cardiology that there was a 38% drop in cath lab ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) activations in the USA after the COVID-19 pandemic started to substantially affect US social life and [...]
Edwards Lifesciences has temporarily paused new enrolments in its active pivotal clinical trials of its transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies in response to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A press release reports that the company is coordinating closely with the trials’ clinical investigators at the relevant hospital. It adds that the decision to resume enrolments in [...]
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a proposal to postpone by one year the date of application of the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR), which was due to come into force on 26 May this year. The postponement, a press release reports, is to allow Member States, health institutions and economic operators to prioritise [...]
BD and BioMedomics have announced the release of a new point-of-care test that can detect antibodies in blood to confirm current or past exposure to COVID-19 in as little as 15 minutes. A press release states that the new test, developed and manufactured by BioMedomics, will be available through BD—and distributed exclusively by Henry [...]
In a new statement published on 2 April 2020, all 45 societies represented by the US Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS)—over 800,000 physicians—emphatically declare their belief that all frontline healthcare professionals must have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and be able to speak publicly about the lack of PPE without retribution while pushing for [...]
COVID-19 Abbott has announced that the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the its molecular test for COVID-19. According to a press release, Abbott is immediately shipping 150,000 Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 EUA tests to existing customers in the USA. The tests are used on the company’s m2000 RealTime System. The [...]
Boston Scientific has revealed that its assuming the Q2 2020 impact of COVID-19 will be more significant than that of Q1 2020. As a result, the company is “taking proactive steps to reduce costs and be in a strong position to support customers and patients when healthcare systems begin to recover, and elective procedures [...]
Helen Xun In response to a pressing need for more ventilators to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients, Sung Hoon Kang (Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, USA) and colleagues are developing and prototyping a 3D-printed splitter that will allow a single ventilator to treat multiple patients. The team has designed this [...]
A new website—www.doctorinthehouse.net—is calling for healthcare professionals to volunteer for its free virtual consultation service. The aim of the service, according to a press release, is to ease the pressure on the NHS during the COVID-19 outbreak by giving patients first-hand, remote, consultations while the UK is on lockdown. The press release states that [...]
The 2020 Charing Cross (CX) Symposium that was due to take place next month in London, UK, has been cancelled due to COVID-19. In full, the statement from the CX Symposium team, reads: “The CX Symposium team has made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel the Charing Cross Symposium 2020 that was scheduled to take [...]
Aram Saeed (School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia [UAE], Norwich, UK) and others have launched a project to 3D print ventilator parts, masks and other critical equipment to manage the COVID-19 virus. According to a press release, they are working with the tech community to access 3D printers, as well people with the [...]
Mary M McDermott A viewpoint in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has offered potential solutions to modifying ongoing randomised clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to “minimise disruption and preserve integrity”, while still ensuring participant health and safety. Authors Mary M McDermott (deputy editor of JAMA, and [...]
As a response to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, PRA Health Sciences has announced the expansion of its Mobile Health Platform for remote clinical monitoring, adding several new capabilities that address sponsor needs for COVID-19 virtual study support. A press release states that the Mobile Health Platform (MHP) engages with patients wherever they are. [...]
Kardia 6L AliveCor’s KardiaMobile 6L—the world’s only six lead personal ECG—is now allowed for use in the measurement of a patient’s QTc and detection of potentially dangerous QT prolongation. A prolonged QTc can lead to a potentially fatal side effect, which is associated with the use of several medicines now being used [...]
During a Q&A section of a European Commission (EC) college meeting on 25 March, EC spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker stated that the commission were looking to delay the “entry into force” of the new European medical device regulations (MDR) because of the global coronavirus pandemic. de Keersmaecker, who spoke via video, said: “The EC [...]