NHS Central Lancashire’s community matrons have introduced an innovative remote patient care management tool to help chronically ill patients in Preston monitor and manage their health at home and remain independent for longer. The technology is currently being piloted with 40 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If successful, NHS Central Lancashire aims to expand the programme to help patients with other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart failure across central Lancashire.

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BioElectronics Corporation has announced that its Allay™ Menstrual Pain Therapy product has been approved for over the counter sale by Health Canada for the treatment of menstrual pain symptoms, including cramps and abdominal pain, and for reducing the use of pain medication associated with menstruation, while ActiPatch™ is now approved by the South Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) for reduction of muscle pain.

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By emulating nature’s design principles, a team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has created nanodevices made of DNA that self-assemble and can be programmed to move and change shape on demand. In contrast to existing nanotechnologies, these programmable nanodevices are highly suitable for medical applications because DNA is both biocompatible and biodegradable. The work appears in the June 20 advance online Nature Nanotechnology.

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Medtronic, Inc. has announced European launch of the Protecta™ portfolio of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-Ds). The implantable defibrillators feature Medtronic-exclusive SmartShock™ Technology, comprised of six advanced shock-reduction algorithms that can significantly reduce inappropriate shocks. Findings from the Virtual ICD study statistical model predicted 98 percent of studied patients with SmartShock Technology would be free of inappropriate shocks one year after implant and 92 percent at five years post-implant.

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Using lab mice genetically bred to express immune cell proteins in different fluorescent colors, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) have developed a new imaging system that differentiates protective and destructive T-cells. This has enabled them to assess the health of transplanted tissue by visualizing immune cell responses in real time.

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Medtronic, Inc. has announced the launch of iPro™2 Professional CGM, a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system used by physicians to help improve diabetes management, in 49 countries around the world. This simplified, yet more advanced fourth-generation CGM system is valuable for detecting high and low glucose fluctuations that can lead to dangerous health complications, which often go undetected with traditional A1C tests and glucose meter measurements.

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FDA Advisory Committee affirmed the drugs positive benefit/risk profile and unanimously voted in favor of the approval of FTY720 (fingolimod) as the treatment in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. FTY720, potentially first in a new class of MS therapy, represents a significant advance as an efficacious oral treatment for people with relapsing remitting MS.

Data from the first phase III clinical trial of NovoCure’s NovoTTF device for treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) were presented as a late breaking abstract during the Neuro-Oncology session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Study results show that NovoTTF, a portable medical device, may be as or more effective than the best available chemotherapies for GBM, but without the toxicity usually associated with cytotoxic or targeted treatments.

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