What is the purpose of the top 10 health technology hazards list, released every year by ECRI? “Our number one goal at ECRI is to reduce preventable harm,” stresses Jason Launders, MSC, former director of operations, device evaluation, at ECRI. “We know that every healthcare provider has a lot they…

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Sterile Processing Department (SPD) managers and technicians know a thing or two about pressure. In a recent webinar covering sterile processing basics, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, Inc, and Abby Smart, MPH, research associate, cited the example of a 480-bed hospital that performed 13,650…

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Editor's Note Two researchers from South China University of Technology have developed an affordable electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement system that can be incorporated into virtual reality (VR) headsets. In the future, the researchers hope to use the device to explore people's brain activity while navigating specific virtual environments and to study…

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Editor's Note Nationwide pharmacy delays and disrupted internal systems are among the effects of a February 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare technology companies in the United States. Systems were immediately disconnected to protect partners and patients, the organization reports, and “all other systems across UnitedHealth…

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Editor's Note Although lumbar disc herniation surgery can alleviate symptoms of back pain and even prevent disability, the costs exceed the benefits for a sizeable minority of patients, researchers write in a study published February 7 in Jama Network. To address this concern, they investigated whether machine learning algorithms that…

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Editor's Note A new method of measuring body composition using deep learning models and 3D scans is accurately depicts the distribution of fat and muscle in various body types, according to findings published January 30 Nature Communications Medicine.   Creating tying an accurate digital map of a person’s shape and body…

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Editor's Note The FDA has issued a warning regarding fraudulent, duplicated and otherwise unreliable data coming from third party test labs that produce data for medical device companies, including many based in India and China. Issued February 20, the alert warns medical device manufacturers that they are responsible for confirming the…

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Editor's Note Stryker Corp announced its plans to showcase new joint-replacement technologies and updates to its Mako surgical robotic platform at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting in San Francisco, according to a February 16 article in The Robot Report. The announcement includes the introduction of myMako and…

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Editor's Note A magnetically operated robot developed by the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab in Zurich along with several hospitals in Switzerland could be used to treat people in the critical moments following a stroke to remove blockage and resume blood flow. The findings were published February 14 in the journal Science…

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Editor's Note The FDA has issued a Class I recall of Philips’ BrightView, BrightView X and BrightView XCT Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) scanners due to a component failure that could result in the system’s detector falling on patients. Philips sent all affected customers an Urgent Medical Device Correction…

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