Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021 - 34

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HALO SPECULUM - INVENTED BY A
FEMALE FOR THE FEMALE
Dr. Tamatha Fenster
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Mitchell Tung
OneWorld Design & Manufacturing Group, Warren, NJ
JJ Lees
Artisan Medical Devices, Medford, NJ
T
he history of the speculum dates back to the 1840s when " the
godfather of gynecology " Marion Sims performed dozens of surgeries,
without anesthesia, on enslaved women using a spoon he
bent backwards. The speculum used to perform exams today is only
millimeters away from the original model.
Why have a bill that opens up and down when a female introitus
has a circumferential opening? Why have cold, hard metal when
women have tremendous sensitivity in the vaginal canal? Why have
one basic shape when body habitus and pregnancy can alter anatomy
from patient to patient.
The Halo speculum is composed of an over-molding soft silicone
sleeve on flexible surgical steel sheet and medical-grade Nylon handles.
The design allows the speculum to be rolled up as small as a
tampon. When placed in the vagina, it gently expands and retracts
the sidewalls. This way, it does not need excessive stretch to retract
the side walls like the duck bill. The spiral accommodates all diameters
of the vaginal canal regardless of the size of the patient, increasing
ease of the procedure for both the surgeon and patient. In addition,
the speculum does not collapse with a moving patient.
For vaginal procedures like vaginal morcellation during hysterectomy
and electrosurgery during cervical cancer procedures, the steel
and silicone make it possible to perform these procedures safely in
the vaginal canal without injury to the sidewalls. The vaginal cuff can
easily be closed, as the Halo provides perfect exposure of the top of
the vagina. No additional hands are needed to hold the speculum,
as it is completely self-retaining. The Halo replaces all metal retractors
with one simple, one-size-fits-all design.
The Halo can be used in all procedures in and out of the operating
room that depend on visualization of the cervix such as colposcopy,
endometrial biopsies, intrauterine device insertions, hysterectomies,
and pap smears. About 600,000 hysterectomies are
performed each year. The surgical-grade Halo unit price is $70, so
at 20% of just the hysterectomy market, the Halo would grow profits
of almost $9 million a year.
For more information, visit
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11324
34
Cov
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
Wearable
Sensor for
Continuous
Monitoring of
Wound
Healing
Olja Simoska, University of Utah, Salt Lake City and Keith J.
Stevenson, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Russia
This wearable electroanalytical sensor, based on carbon
ultra-microelectrode arrays on flexible substrates, monitors
chronic wound activity. These low-cost devices can quantitatively
measure the state of wound healing in real time and provide
a smart dressing to deliver wound treatment.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10917
First-in-Class Therapeutic Pain Drug
Designed from Proteins
Samerender Nagam
Hanumantharao, Derek Allen,
and Paul Blum, Neurocarrus,
Lincoln, NE
This ground-breaking drug easily
treats localized pain without the side
effects of opioids. The novel drug is
engineered from natural proteins to
be a long-lasting, local painkiller. It specifically targets only the
pain neurons, so it does not affect muscular activity.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11333
LIMBER Unibody
Prosthetic Leg
Luca De Vivo, Joshua
Pelz, and Herb Barrack,
LIMBER Prosthetics &
Orthotics, La Mesa, CA
Novel 3D printing and
digital design techniques
were used to create af -
fordable, unibody prosthetic
devices. The process starts with a scan of the amputee's
limbs. Using digital design, the scans are transformed into a personalized
prosthesis manufactured using in-house 3D printers.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11131
POPSafe™ Tracheostomy
Tube Sets - A Life
Saving Device
Kay Fuller, Smart Bridge
Medical, Ann Arbor, MI
This device eliminates
deadly accidental ventilator
" pop-off " disconnect
events. The FDA 510(k)-cleared tracheostomy tube sets include
a patented ventilator el bow connector and overpressure relief
safety valve.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11227
Tech Briefs, November 2021
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10917 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11333 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11131 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11324 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11227 http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/79419-902
Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021

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