MDNews - Central Pennsylvania

Issue 1, 2019

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT BY STEVE BARRETT Drone Delivery of Temperature- Sensitive Medicine AT &T A N D S O F T B O X , a developer of temperature-controlled packaging, have successfully tested a drone's ability to safely deliver temperature-sensitive medicines in areas struck by natural disasters. The drone carried Skypod, a thermal- insulated packaging system developed by United Kingdom-based Softbox, and incorporated AT&T technology. Pharmaceutical company Merck was also involved in the field trial in locations across Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Trackable data from the drone include its location, as well as internal and external temperatures. Temperature fluctuations that reach certain thresholds trigger an alert. Trackers can also detect box tampering and whether the drone has gone outside a specified area. "The connected Skypod could be rapidly deployed globally in times of humanitarian disaster relief," Softbox Technical Director Richard Wood states in a news release about the test. n Remote Monitoring of Joint Surgery Patients A S E L F - P O W E R E D S E N S O R that could help autonomous vehicles respond to poor road conditions may also permit healthcare providers to monitor joint surgery patients' recovery remotely, according to a study in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario developed the tube-like device, which can be affixed to braces after surgery, the university notes in a news release. The wireless technology produces suf- ficient energy when twisted or bent to send information about range of motion or other indicators of postsurgical progress to smartphones, computers and other devices, allowing clinicians to track improvement. Scientists are also developing software to enable the sensor to send signals to control systems in self-driving vehicles when roads become icy or wet. Knee and hip replacements have become the third and fourth most frequent surgeries, respectively, in American hospitals. Only Caesarean sections and circumcisions are more common. n Enhancing Blood Pressure Accuracy for Obese Patients T H E O M R O N R S 7 I N T E L L I I T automatic wrist blood pressure monitor improves accuracy of blood pressure readings for obese patients, according to Japan-based Omron Healthcare. The device has been clinically validated for that patient group, the company announced recently. Accurate blood pressure readings for the obese can be challenging because of factors such as difficulty wrapping cuffs evenly around the arm, as well as subcutaneous adiposity thickness that can generate incorrect readings due to its effect on artery compression. Patients using the RS7 Intelli IT monitor obtained measures as accurate as those obtained in a physician's office, the company notes in a news release. The device's LED positioning sensor boosts accuracy by flashing if the arm is positioned incorrectly. Other features include detection of both body movement and irregular heartbeat. Nearly two in five U.S. adults and one in five U.S. children and adolescents are obese, according to the CDC. n

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