Detect your heart beat from a meter away (UK)

Scientists at the University of Sussex think they see a future without clinical electrodes. The non-contact electric potential sensor (EPS) which the team developed may one day enable patients to have their heartbeats monitored while they relax in their hospital bed or home. Other potential applications include MRI sensing probes, human-machine interfaces, non-destructive testing systems and ECG and EEG monitoring systems. The sensitivity of the EPS is sufficient to detect muscle signals and eye movements and potentially even brain and nerve signals

GE's Vscan, world's smallest portable ultrasound, now available worldwide

"GE Healthcare is finally releasing the much awaited Vscan pocket sized ultrasound. Many in the industry hope that this device offers a chance for physicians to make a move from stethoscopes to portable imaging devices, bringing advanced visualization to any examination room. The unit weighs one pound and is only 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide and 5.3 inches (13.5 cm) long, offering both standard black and white imaging, as well as colored blood flow doppler. GE is touting Vscan's size and capabilities for cardiologists to transthoracically view myocardium, pericardium, and heart valves, and for primary care physicians, as well as OB, ER, and others, to scan the liver, kidney, aorta and peripheral vessels, babies in the womb, and anything else the transducer can penetrate" - medGadget

Bayer's new blood glucose meter with USB connectivity

"Bayer has recently released the CONTOUR USB blood glucose meter that plugs directly into a Windows or Mac computer for uploading of readings for later analysis and for sharing them with your doctor. The device shows readings on the screen and you can mark whether they were taken before or after a meal. Conveniently, there's also about 500 megabytes of empty storage space on the unit, so it can be used as a traditional USB thumbdrive as well"

Pathway Medical's Peripheral Plaque Drill gets 510(k) classification

"Following up on last year's FDA approval, Pathway Medical Technologies out of Kirkland, Washington just received European clearance to sell the Jetstream G2 NXT coronary drill across the continent. Previously named Pathway PV, the system clears clogged blood vessels and aspirates the debris out the back. Jetstream G2 NXT consists of a sterile, single-use catheter and control pod and a reusable, compact console that mounts to a standard I.V. stand. The catheter has an expandable cutting tip that safely debulks and preemptively removes both hard and soft plaque, as well as calcium, thrombus and fibrotic lesions. A highly efficient aspiration port located just proximal to the cutting blades continually removes excised tissue and thrombus from the treatment site to a collection bag located on the console" - medGadget

The Hearts in Hand Collection (USA)

"The Hearts in Hand Collection at the University of Colorado, a library of physical heart models in a variety of structural disease states, allows physicians to gain a quick and thorough understanding of spatial relationships and practice catheter pathways and device selection prior to conducting minimally invasive interventions. Based on patient hearts, the Collection provides physicians and their teams with hands-on training tools to help them plan for safer and more efficient structural heart disease interventions. Each model is individually made with one of the highest resolution rapid prototyping technologies on the market. Due to the anatomical complexity of the human heart and structural heart disease, each model is constructed and meticulously detailed"