Capsules

The US Food and Drug Administration has permitted marketing of the Tandem Diabetes Care t:Slim X2 insulin pump with interoperable technology (interoperable t:Slim X2) for delivering insulin under the skin, for children and adults with diabetes. This new type of insulin pump, referred to as an alternate controller enabled (ACE) infusion pump, or ACE insulin pump, is the first interoperable one — meaning it can be used with different components that make up diabetes therapy systems, allowing patients to tailor their diabetes management to their individual device preferences. Diabetes therapy systems may comprise an ACE insulin pump and other compatible medical devices, including automated insulin dosing (AID) systems, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and blood glucose meters.

Haffkine Institute of Training, Research & Testing, with 120 years of biomedical expertise, is partnering with IIT Bombay with 60 years of engineering excellence, to establish a Biomedical Engineering & Technology incubation Centre (BETiC) at Haffkine campus in Parel, Mumbai. The MoU was formalised this week in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, among others. “The presence of leading hospitals in Parel, including Tata Memorial Hospital, King Edward Memorial Hospital and Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children will enable better identification of unmet clinical needs as well as quicker feedback on devices during their development. An interdisciplinary team of doctors and engineers will develop innovative medical devices suitable for local population, in the proposed centre,” said Dr Nishigandha Naik, Director of Haffkine Institute.

The partners are planning a Medical Device Hackathon (MEDHA) in March to kick-start activities by bringing doctors, engineers and other stakeholders together, a note on the event said.

General anaesthesia is unlikely to have lasting effects on the developing brains of young children. A single hour of general anaesthesia in early infancy — longer than is necessary to perform the most common types of minor surgeries in childhood — does not result in measurable neurodevelopmental or behavioural problems up to the age of 5 years, according to the first randomised trial of its kind involving 722 infants in seven countries, published in The Lancet . The trial provides the strongest evidence to date that one brief exposure to anaesthesia is safe in young children. Nevertheless, the authors caution that most (84 per cent) study participants were male and more research is needed to confirm the findings in girls and children with multiple and prolonged exposure to anaesthesia, a note from the journal said.