When medicine and technology are combined, many science fiction concepts may become reality, and medical devices are just at the intersection of biology and technology. It combines natural and artificial elements to improve human health. The following is European medical The ten most innovative medical devices being developed by technology companies:
 
Bionic vision implant
 
Bionic eye implants can quickly help blind people to restore their vision. By placing a photosensitive implant under the retina, they can detect and send the correct signal to the brain so that blind people can see the world.

A French company called PiximVIEW is transforming the above concepts step by step into reality through research. It is understood that the equipment studied by PiximVIEW is to use a miniature camera and install it in a pair of glasses to detect light When it enters the eye, the light pattern is converted into infrared light and sent to a 1-cent retinal microchip implant, which converts the signal into electrical pulses that activate the optic nerve.
 
At present, PiximVIEW has announced that three patients have already implanted this device and reported light perception that was not previously available.
 
Bioprinting
 
With the continuous development of science and technology, the use of 3D printing to create human tissue has become a reality. The cosmetic giant L'Oreal uses biological skin models from Organovo to replace its ongoing animal testing. The largest chemical manufacturer BASF is working with France Bioprinting company Poietis and CtiBiotech collaborated to improve their skin model for drug testing.

However, what humans pursue is not just the use of simple models of single-layer skin, but to achieve more meaningful medical-grade applications, such as the use of bioprinting technology to regenerate human tissues and organs. In Spain, BioDan Company Treatment of burns, in France, 3D. FAB is working on everything from printing live ears to using stem cells to create regenerative heart patches.
 
Artificial heart
 
Heart failure is threatening the health of more than 40 million people around the world. As the most important organ of the human body, the heart cannot be regenerated, and there are not enough organ donors to meet the huge demand. How to solve it? Creating a new artificial heart may be a good solution.
 
This is also what the French company Carmat is doing. Its artificial heart is made of biocompatible materials, and the pumping rate of the heart can be adjusted by measuring blood pressure according to the needs of patients, although the first implanted in the device The patient died after 75 days, causing the trial to stop, but Carmat has resumed clinical trials in Denmark, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.
 
Bionic surgical sealant
 
Surgeons have begun to pay more and more attention to the recovery of patients after surgery. However, how to properly close the wound after surgery is essential for recovery. Scientists are using biology to improve the performance of surgical sealants.

In Paris, Gecko Biomedical was inspired by the natural adhesives used by geckos to walk on walls and ceilings, and developed a sealant with good photoactivation, biocompatibility and biodegradability. The company called Biom'up has developed a surgical powder that can constrict blood vessels to stop bleeding faster.
 
Stroke sensor
 
Stroke has become one of the largest causes of death in the world. Even if the patient survives, he may suffer severe brain damage, especially in the absence of even medical treatment. However, this means that doctors usually have to The stroke is treated without the exact nature of the blood clot.
 
French company Sensome is developing a non-invasive sensor that introduces it into the brain through blood vessels and can report the type of clot, helping doctors choose the best treatment for each patient.

In July last year, Sensome received a financing of 4.7 million euros, which will be mainly used for the first human test of the above equipment. Sensome believes that the device may be further extended to other vascular diseases, such as heart attacks, to help reduce these diseases Resulting mortality and disability rates.
 
Wireless diabetes care system
 
As we all know, diabetic patients need to constantly monitor blood glucose levels. The French company Cellnovo is developing a wireless diabetes management system that can monitor blood glucose levels and allow patients to control the insulin pump through a mobile touch screen. A clinical study showed that this system can reduce hypoglycemic events in adults by 29% and adolescents by 39%, respectively.
 
At the same time, Cellnovo also plans to cooperate with Imperial College and other institutions to further advance its diabetes technology and create an artificial pancreas, a device that can automatically control the amount of insulin required at any time without any manual input.

Stem cell gun
 
Although it is called a "gun", this device is used for treatment. The stem cell gun developed by Renovacare can distribute the solution of stem cells to the burn site or wound to accelerate skin healing. The stem cells come from the patient’s own skin and Evenly placed on the injured area, this seems to produce better results than conventional skin grafts.
 
An American patient with 30% second degree burns has received stem cell gun treatment, which can be discharged within four days. Skin grafting usually takes several weeks and leaves a lifetime scar. Renovacare is now preparing to start clinical trials .
 
Spinal cord regeneration implant
 
Because the body cannot naturally regenerate damaged nerves, spinal cord injury can lead to severe and permanent disability. The Swedish company BioArctic is trying to use a biodegradable medical device to stimulate nerve regeneration to change this situation.

This device protects nerve grafts taken from patients. Over time, as the nerve regenerates, the device degrades and releases FGF1 (a growth factor that stimulates nerve regeneration and healing). The company is now running phase 1/2 clinical trials in Sweden, Estonia, and Norway to test this The effect of the device.
 
Anti-allergic patch
 
An allergic reaction is a normal physical reaction for some people, but it is fatal for others.
 
French DBV Technologies is developing a technology to provide allergy immunotherapy through skin patches. Over time, patches will release allergens, adapt the immune system to them, and desensitize patients to allergens.

The most preferred application of the patch is to treat peanut allergies in children 4-11 years old. For them, exposure to peanuts may be life-threatening. In a phase 3 clinical trial, 35% of the children responded to treatment. Although the response was not much higher than the placebo, DBV has begun to seek approval for the patch.
 
The second application of the DBV patch is to treat milk allergies. A phase 2 clinical trial of the desensitization ability of the patch to children with milk allergies is currently underway.
 
Brain Computer Interface
 
We have all heard of virtual reality in the video game space, but the same technology may also have a huge impact in medicine.

The Swiss company GTX is developing a brain implant with the ability to restore the activity of paralyzed patients. The implant developed by GTX can record brain signals and send them to a computer, which can decode these signals and interpret them. Which specific muscles should be stimulated and how to stimulate them. This information is then sent to the implant of the paralyzed limb, thereby sending the correct stimulation signal to the muscle.
 
The implant will be combined with a long-term rehabilitation plan that has been proven to be suitable for primates, and the company is currently working on converting it to human use.
 
(Source of this article: Medical Valley)
(Editor in charge: Zihao)