Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/851647
BY STEVE BARRETT PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT E-CELSIUS F R E N C H C O M PA N Y B O DYC A P has gained Europe's CE Mark for an ingestible pill that permits wireless core body temperature measurement. The e-Celsius device enables clinicians to continuously measure a patient's temperature via the GI tract. Patients swallow the electronic capsule, which has a medical-grade plastic coating. The pill transmits readings every 30 seconds to a monitor that provides alerts if the patient's temperature goes above or below a range predetermined by a healthcare provider. The pill exits the body naturally within one to three days. The device can be valuable for detecting an infectious peak, tracking a fever or averting hypothermia, according to BodyCap. It can be utilized during surgeries that require lengthy general anesthesia, as part of general diagnostic procedures and in treatment of immunosuppressed patients, among other uses. ■ MRIDIAN LINAC T H E F D A H A S given clearance to Cleveland-based ViewRay Inc.'s MRIdian Linac system, which ViewRay President and CEO Chris A. Raanes describes as "the world's fi rst commercial system to combine MRI for soft-tissue visualization and a compact linear accelerator." The company notes that Barnes-Jewish Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit are slated to be the fi rst facilities to install the system. "The ability to see what's happening inside the body while the patient is undergoing radiation therapy and ensure the radiation continually remains on target is a huge leap forward and will help us to improve patient outcomes," Benjamin Movsas, MD, Chair of Radiation Oncology at Henry Ford Cancer Institute, stated in a news release. Physicians will be able to see tumor and organ movement during radiation treatment and adjust dosing in real time, providing additional protection to healthy surrounding tissue, according to Sasa Mutic, PhD, Director of Radiation Oncology Physics at Washington University School of Medicine. ■ BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE M O V E M E N T‡ I M PA I R E D PA R T I C I PA N T S I N a recent Stanford University study completed faster and more accurate keyboarding via brain-computer interface (BCI) than has been demonstrated in any previous research regarding BCIs. Two of the three participants' extreme limb weakness resulted from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; the third had a spinal cord injury. Using small electrode arrays in the participants' brains, researchers transmitted signals from the motor cortex to a computer. Algorithms translated the signals into commands that moved a cursor to characters appearing on an on-screen keyboard. One participant typed approximately 40 characters per minute. The rapid rates did not rely on word-completion capabilities that are common in a range of electronic keyboarding devices. Researchers say that technology would probably enhance speeds further and that the technology allows speeds nearly as fast as people text. The fi ndings were published online in eLife. ■ 0 5 M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L P E N N S Y LVA N I A 2 017