Top Medical Innovations for 2010 (from MD&DI)

The December 2009 issue of MD&DI had a small blurb about the Top Medical Innovations for 2010. Sorry I couldn’t find it on their website. The list is adapted from the Cleveland Clinic’s Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2010.

1. Bone Conduction of Sound For Single-Sided Deafness: A new non-surgical, removable hearing and communication device designed to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth to help people with single-sided deafness.

2. Low-Volume, Low-Pressure, Tracheal Tube Cuff To Reduce Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A device that dramatically reduces the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia and death in hospital ICUs by providing continuous effective airway seals.

3. Continuous-Flow Ventricular Assist Devices: Tiny, powerful, 3-ounce devices that are surgically attached alongside the heart that quietly and effectively take over the pumping ability of the heart. They allow a higher level of activity than devices currently on the market.

4. Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants: Predictable and well-tolerated alternatives to the oral anticoagulant warfarin that provide a more convenient — and safe — way for patients to dose themselves and prevent blood-clot formation.

5. Fertility Preservation Through Oocyte Cryopreservation: A rapidly-improving technology that allows eggs of a healthy woman to be safely frozen and stored indefinitely, ready to be thawed and fertilized at a later date.

6. Forced Exercise To Improve Motor Function in Patients With Parkinson’s: Pedaling at a level beyond what the patient would choose on their own on a tandem bike, dramatically improves motor functioning of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

7. Outpatient Diagnosis of Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders: Self-contained, reliable, sleep-monitoring devices for screening, diagnosing and treatment assessment of sleep-related breathing disorders the patient can use at home.

8. Oral Thrombopoeitin Receptor Agonist That Stimulates Platelet Production: This recently approved drug stimulates production of cells in bone marrow that form platelet cells in the blood for those who cannot make enough on their own or for leukemia patients.

9. Devices for Occluding Left Atrial Appendage to Reduce Stroke Risk: Device alternatives to long-term use of blood-thinners such as Coumadin that can prevent clots from developing in patients with atrial fibrillation without the drug’s side effects or need for constant patient monitoring.

10. Whole-Slide Imaging for Management of Digital Data In Pathology: A technology for creating digital pathology slides with excellent image quality that can be viewed, stored, streamed over the Internet, and analyzed on a computer.