Search results for "medical devices"

Candida blood stream infections observed between 2011 and 2016 in a large Italian University Hospital: A time-based retrospective analysis on epidemi…

2019

Candida bloodstream infection (BSI) represents a growing infective problem frequently associated to biofilm production due to the utilization of intravascular devices. Candida species distribution (n = 612 strains), their biofilm production and hospital antifungal drug consumption were evaluated in different wards of a tertiary care academic hospital in Italy during the years 2011–2016. In the considered time window, an increasing number of Candida BSI (p = 0.005) and of biofilm producing strains were observed (p<0.0001). Although C. albicans was the species more frequently isolated in BSI with a major biofilm production, an increased involvement of non-albicans species was reported, partic…

Endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol is elevated in the coronary circulation during acute coronary syndrome

2019

Objectives The endocannabinoid system modulates coronary circulatory function and atherogenesis. The two major endocannabinoids (eCB), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA), are increased in venous blood from patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, given their short half-life and their autocrine/paracrine mechanism of action, eCB levels in venous blood samples might not reflect arterial or coronary eCB concentrations. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the local concentration profile of eCB and to detect whether and how this concentration profile changes in CAD and NSTEMI versus patients without CAD. Methods and results 83 patien…

Impact of Pre-Analytical Time on the Recovery of Pathogens from Blood Cultures: Results from a Large Retrospective Survey.

2017

Background Prompt identification of bloodstream pathogens is essential for optimal management of patients. Significant changes in analytical methods have improved the turnaround time for laboratory diagnosis. Less attention has been paid to the time elapsing from blood collection to incubation and to its potential effect on recovery of pathogens. We evaluated the performance of blood cultures collected under typical hospital conditions in relation to the length of their pre-analytical time. Methods We carried out a large retrospective study including 50,955 blood cultures collected, over a 30-month period, from 7,035 adult septic patients. Cultures were accepted by the laboratory only durin…

AMPs and biotechnology application for new generation of medical devices

2013

Factors affecting basket catheter detection of real and phantom rotors in the atria: A computational study

2018

[EN] Anatomically based procedures to ablate atrial fibrillation (AF) are often successful in terminating paroxysmal AF. However, the ability to terminate persistent AF remains disappointing. New mechanistic approaches use multiple-electrode basket catheter mapping to localize and target AF drivers in the form of rotors but significant concerns remain about their accuracy. We aimed to evaluate how electrode-endocardium distance, far-field sources and inter-electrode distance affect the accuracy of localizing rotors. Sustained rotor activation of the atria was simulated numerically and mapped using a virtual basket catheter with varying electrode densities placed at different positions withi…

Early results of a low-profile stent-graft for thoracic endovascular aortic repair

2020

Purpose To assess outcomes of a low-profile thoracic stent-graft in the treatment of thoracic aortic pathologies. Methods A retrospective analysis of all consecutive patients with aortic thoracic pathologies treated with the RelayPro device in two university hospitals between October 2018 and July 2019. Results 23 patients (65% men; mean age 63.4 ± 15 years) were treated. Pathologies included aortic dissections (n = 10), 5 residual type A (22%) and 5 type B (22%), 6 degenerative aortic aneurysms (26%), 4 penetrating aortic ulcers (17%), and aortic erosion, intramural hematoma and aortic rupture (n = 1 and 4% in each case). Two cases (9%) were emergent and two urgent. Proximal landing was a…

Biopolyester-based systems containing naturally occurring compounds suitable for biomedical devices

2016

Devices for the capture of rare cells from biological samples for diagnostic purposes

2022

The chance of surviving to a disease often depends on early diagnosis and effective therapy. In the field of early prenatal diagnosis, micromanipulation is a reliable technique for manual selection and isolation of rare fetal cells in maternal biological fluids for molecular or cytogenetic analysis. This technique allows obtaining pure cell populations for analysis, but it is expensive and time consuming, as it requires qualified and experienced staff and specific equipment [1]. This research aims at making the prenatal diagnosis more economical and reproducible in the hospital environment, by creating a device that allows selecting rare cells from biological samples in a semi-automated way…

Rare cell capture platforms based on antibody-conjugated electrospun nanofiber mats for noninvasive prenatal diagnostics

2022

The chance of surviving to a disease often depends on early diagnosis and effective therapy. In the field of early prenatal diagnosis, micromanipulation is a reliable technique for manual selection and isolation of rare fetal cells in maternal biological fluids for molecular or cytogenetic analysis. This technique allows obtaining pure cell populations for analysis, but it is expensive and time consuming, as it requires qualified and experienced staff and specific equipment [1]. The aim of this study is to make the prenatal diagnosis more economical and reproducible in the hospital environment, by creating a device that allows selecting rare cells from biological samples in a semi-automated…

Fracture resistance and the mode of failure produced in metal-free crowns cemented onto zirconia abutments in dental implants.

2019

The purpose of the investigation was to analyze fracture resistance and mode of failure of zirconium oxide (zirconia) abutments placed on dental implants bearing crowns of different esthetic materials: zirconia, lithium disilicate (LDS), and nano-ceramic resin, for replacing single teeth in the anterior sector. Eighty implant-abutment-crown units were divided into four groups: Group T-MC (control): 20 metal-ceramic crowns cemented onto titanium abutments; Group Z-Z: 20 zirconia crowns on zirconia abutments; Group Z-LD: 20 lithium disilicate crowns on zirconia abutments; and Group Z-NCR: 20 nano-ceramic resin crowns on zirconia abutments. Specimens underwent a fatiguing process (dynamic load…