Powered Exoskeleton Systems Permit Safe Ambulation in Real-Life Settings and Produce Health Benefits

Powered Exoskeleton Systems Permit Safe Ambulation in Real-Life Settings and Produce Health Benefits

MSC published by ReWalk Robotics

 

Background:
Upon completion of exoskeleton system training, 76% of documented subjects were able to walk independently without any additional human assistance

The authors offer a number of key conclusions:

  • 76% of patients studied were able to ambulate without any physical assistance from another human being following completion of the exoskeleton training program.
  • Powered exoskeleton systems allow patients a safe means of ambulation conducive to prolonged use.
  • Routine use of the exoskeleton system is known to yield health benefits, including improvement in muscle spasticity and bowel movement regularity.

The authors expand upon the conclusions about health benefits for the user of powered exoskeleton systems in their report:

“In addition, several other benefits may accrue to SCI patients as a result of intermittent standing and habitual ambulating activity with the powered exoskeleton, including increasing upper body muscular fitness, minimizing declines in bone mineral density by periodic exposure to gravitational and muscular loading forces, improved circulatory response, and countering the independent health risks associated with prolonged sitting. Indeed, clinically relevant improve­ments were found in self-reports for muscle spasticity and bowel movement regularity following exoskeleton training. A potential focus for future research would be to assess the long-term health and cost benefits associated with chronic powered exoskeleton use. Assuming regular exoskeleton use sufficient to yield the aforementioned health benefits, it is likely that the initial expense of providing personal exo­skeletons for home use to individuals with SCI (typically $70,000–$100,000) may be offset by savings attributable to prevention of physical maladies and associated costs in SCI patients, which may ultimately result in overall savings to the health care system.”

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PTA for infrapopliteal arterial disease results in suboptimal procedural and 1-year clinical outcomes

PTA for infrapopliteal arterial disease results in suboptimal procedural and 1-year clinical outcomes

MSC was recently published in the American Heart Association

 

Background:
Contemporary outcomes of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for the treatment of infrapopliteal atherosclerotic lesions are not well characterized. Hence, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the safety and effectiveness of this approach in patients with advanced below-the-knee arterial disease.

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Stent Placement for Iliofemoral Venous Outflow Obstruction Evaluated in Meta-Analysis

Stent Placement for Iliofemoral Venous Outflow Obstruction Evaluated in Meta-Analysis

MSC published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions

 

Background:
The investigators concluded that stent placement for iliofemoral venous outflow obstruction results in high technical success and acceptable complication rates regardless of the cause of obstruction.

As summarized in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, the investigators searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for studies evaluating the safety or effectiveness of stent placement in patients with iliofemoral venous outflow obstruction. Data were extracted by disease pathogenesis: nonthrombotic, acute thrombotic, or chronic postthrombotic. Main outcomes included technical success, periprocedural complications, symptom relief at final follow-up, and primary/secondary patency through 5 years.

A total of 37 studies reporting 45 treatment effects (nonthrombotic, 8; acute thrombotic, 19; and chronic postthrombotic, 18) from 2,869 patients (nonthrombotic, 1,122; acute thrombotic, 629; and chronic postthrombotic, 1,118) were included.

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MSC publications achieve impressive readership milestones

MSC specializes in the development of manuscripts intended for submission to peer-reviewed journals.  Publication of clinical studies in reputable, Medline-indexed open access journals can enhance manuscript readership since there is no cost to the reader.  Several open access manuscripts published by MSC authors have achieved readership of over 5,000 viewers.  See below for some of our most widely read, open access works.

Perspectives on the clinical utility of allografts for bone regeneration within osseous defects: a narrative review.

AxiaLIF system: minimally invasive device for presacral lumbar interbody spinal fusion.

Rationale, characteristics, and clinical performance of the OsteoSponge®: a novel allograft for treatment of osseous defects.

Clinical utility of ultrasound guidance for intra-articular knee injections: a review.

Minimally invasive treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis with a novel interspinous spacer.

Analysis of postmarket complaints database for the iFuse SI Joint Fusion System®: a minimally invasive treatment for degenerative sacroiliitis and sacroiliac joint disruption.

Facet-sparing lumbar decompression with a minimally invasive flexible MicroBlade Shaver® versus traditional decompression: quantitative radiographic assessment.

US-Approved Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid Injections are Safe and Effective in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Saline-Controlled Trials.

MSC publishes meta-analysis on EVAR and renal complications in Journal of Vascular Surgery

MSC publishes meta-analysis on EVAR and renal complications in Journal of Vascular Surgery

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of “Suprarenal versus infrarenal stent graft fixation on renal complications after endovascular aneurysm repair”, which was published in Journal of Vascular Surgery.  The article was written by Larry Miller, PhD of Miller Scientific Consulting, Mahmood Razavi, MD of St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA), and Brajesh Lal, MD of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether suprarenal or infrarenal fixation influences the risk of renal complications after EVAR.

To read the abstract, please click here.

New article published in Clinical Interventions in Aging

A clinical study demonstrating that a joint unloading implant modifies subchondral bone trabecular structure in medial knee osteoarthritis was recently published in Clinical Interventions in Aging.  The publication was the result of a collaboration among MSC, The Jon Block Group, Bioclinica, and Moximed, Inc.

Please click here to read the full text of the paper.

Novel knee osteoarthritis program is cost effective through 2 years

Novel knee osteoarthritis program is cost effective through 2 years

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of “An 8-Week Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Program of Hyaluronic Acid Injection, Deliberate Physical Rehabilitation, and Patient Education is Cost Effective at 2 Years Follow-up: The OsteoArthritis Centers of America(SM) Experience”.

Numerous nonsurgical interventions have been reported to improve symptoms of knee osteoarthritis over the short term. However, longer follow-up is required to accurately characterize outcomes such as cost effectiveness and delayed arthroplasty.  This study demonstrated that a single 8-week multimodal knee OA treatment program is cost effective and may lower knee arthroplasty utilization through 2 years follow-up.

To read the full article, click here.

MSC publishes 2-year results from randomized trial of Superion InterSpinous Spacer in Spine

Two-year outcomes of a randomized trial with the Superion InterSpinous Spacer were published in Spine.  The study concluded that the Superion InterSpinous Spacer relieves symptoms of intermittent neurogenic claudication secondary to moderate lumbar spinal stenosis in the majority of patients through 2 years.  Larry Miller, PhD of MSC serves as the corresponding author for this paper.  More.

MSC celebrates 5 years

Miller Scientific Consulting, Inc. today announced its 5th successful year in business.  “We are proud to reach this important milestone and would like to sincerely thank all of our clients for providing support over the last five years,” said MSC’s President and Founder, Larry Miller, PhD.

“We have experienced steady year-over-year growth and continue to expand service offerings to meet this demand.  Despite this controlled growth, the secrets to our success-a focus on quality and customer service-have not changed.  Each of our team members are hand-picked experts in clinical research with the highest levels of integrity and passion,” said Miller.

MSC offers personalized consulting services to the life sciences industry including medical device, biotechnology, academic, and government organizations. MSC specializes in the conception, design, development, analysis, and publication of clinical trials in support of product approvals and post-marketing efforts.

New Article Published in Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of “Early outcomes with percutaneous treatment for infrapopliteal atherosclerotic disease: a contemporary systematic review and meta-analysis”, which was co-written by Larry Miller, PhD of Miller Scientific Consulting, Jihad Mustapha, MD of Metro Heart and Vascular (Wyoming, MI), and Mahmood Razavi, MD of St. Joseph Hospital (Orange, CA).  This meta-analysis, published in Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, determined early failure rates for several percutaneous treatments for below-the-knee atherosclerotic lesions.

Click here to read the abstract.