Cleveland Clinic names top 10 medical innovations for 2014
Cleveland Clinic today announced its eighth annual list of Top 10 Medical Innovations that will have a major impact on improving patient care within the next year. The list includes a bionic eye, a neurostimulator for epilepsy and fecal transplantation.
The list of breakthrough devices and therapies was selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists and announced during Cleveland Clinic's 2013 Medical Innovation Summit.
The Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2014 are:
1. RETINAL PROSTHESIS SYSTEM - EARLY STAGE BIONIC EYE
After two decades of development and testing and more than $200 million in funding, the Food and Drug Administration approved an early-stage bionic eye for severe retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2013 that combined a surgically implanted 60-electrode retinal prosthesis, video-camera-enabled glasses, and a video processing unit.
2. GENOME-GUIDED SOLID TUMOR DIAGNOSTICS
A variety of genomic-based cancer tests are now available that, without surgery, can analyze the genes in a person's cancer tumor and predict both the biology and aggressiveness of the cancer.
3. RESPONSIVE NEUROSTIMULATOR FOR INTRACTABLE EPILEPSY
An implanted neurological device that can significantly reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures gained the unanimous backing of an FDA neurological device advisory panel in 2013. Surgically implanted under the scalp, the device delivers short electrical pulses to interrupt the triggers before seizure symptoms can occur.
4. DIRECT-ACTING ANTIVIRAL ORAL HEPATITIS C DRUGS
Sofosbuvir, the first all-oral hepatitis C treatment, is moving through the final stages of FDA approval. This medication would be the first of a new generation of hepatitis C drugs called direct-acting antivirals, which can improve treatment response rates to 90 percent or higher.
5. PERIOPERATIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
A new anesthesia management system that combines the latest in computer technology and microelectronics is now available to meet the demands of modern surgery and improve the standard of care.
6. FECAL MICROBIOTA TRANSPLANTATION
Many gastroenterologists are now employing fecal microbiota transplantation-the use of human stool transplants-to battle C.diff in those patients who do not respond to standard drug therapy.
7. RELAXIN FOR ACUTE HEART FAILURE
A synthetic version of the naturally occurring hormone, human relaxin-2, which is widely associated with pregnancy, has proven that it can improve acute heart failure symptoms after being infused over a 48-hour period in the hospital following a heart failure episode or a heart attack.
8. COMPUTER-ASSISTED PERSONALIZED SEDATION SYSTEM
A new sedation system is a first-of-a-kind device in the world that allows non-anesthesia professionals to administer the drug propofol during colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedures.
9. TMAO: A NOVEL BIOMARKER FOR HEART ATTACK, STROKE RISK
Scientists have discovered what may be an important new biomarker for heart disease that serves as an accurate screening tool for predicting future risks of heart attack, stroke, and death in persons not otherwise identified by traditional risk factors and blood tests. The novel biomarker is called TMAO, or trimethylamine N-oxide, and it's a microbial byproduct of intestinal bacteria.
10. B-CELL RECEPTOR PATHWAY TO TREAT BLOOD CANCERS
For treatment of low-grade B-cell lymphomas and leukemias, there is now B-cell receptor pathway inhibitors that interfere with cancer cell division by focusing on proteins involved in signaling pathways. By effectively blocking signals that tell cancer cells to grow and divide uncontrollably, these targeted cancer therapies can help stop cancer progression while preserving normal, healthy cells.