Ellianna Grace FoundationEllianna Grace Foundation http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org Supporting Families Who Have Children With Congenital Heart Defect Thu, 03 May 2012 00:59:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 New Miniature Heart Device is Implanted to Measure Heart Pressures in Infants and Children http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/new-miniature-heart-device-is-implanted-to-measure-heart-pressures-in-infants-and-children/ http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/new-miniature-heart-device-is-implanted-to-measure-heart-pressures-in-infants-and-children/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:53:02 +0000 ellianna_grace http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/?p=283 The National Institute of Health and  joins forces with the University of Michigan to develop and test a wireless, battery-free, miniature heart device implanted in children or infants that will measure heart pressures without the invasive heart catheterizations. The group has been working on this device for three years and received funding from the National Institute of Health for another 2.5 years of testing. They will be using the device for children with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

“The pediatric medical device field represents unique commercialization challenges due to its small size and stringent requirements,” Najafi adds. “We are grateful to the NIH for this needed support for the challenging pediatric device field. The results of this effort will have important spillover effects for broader applications within the field of adult and pediatric cardiovascular medicine.”

Well said and hats off to teh National Institute of Health and the University of Minnesota Doctors for pushing forward how we treat children with Congenital Heart Defects.

To read more:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congenital-heart-patients-to-benefit-from-wireless-battery-free-cardiac-implant-2012-01-25

]]> http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/new-miniature-heart-device-is-implanted-to-measure-heart-pressures-in-infants-and-children/feed/ 0 Scientists Identify a Genetic Mechanism Linked to Fetal Heart Development http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/scientists-identify-a-genetic-mechanism-linked-to-fetal-heart-development/ http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/scientists-identify-a-genetic-mechanism-linked-to-fetal-heart-development/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:25:34 +0000 ellianna_grace http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/?p=280 “Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified a finely tuned mechanism by which fetal heart muscle develops into a healthy and fully formed beating heart—offering new insight into the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and opening the door to one day developing therapies to fight this chronic and potentially fatal disorder.”

Source- Gladstone Institute http://www.gladstone.ucsf.edu/gladstone/site/publicaffairs/content/1/742

]]> http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/02/03/scientists-identify-a-genetic-mechanism-linked-to-fetal-heart-development/feed/ 0 Pulse Oximetry Screening for All Newborns is Recommended by the CDC http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/01/26/pulse-oximetry-screening-for-all-newborns-is-recommended-by-the-cdc/ http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/01/26/pulse-oximetry-screening-for-all-newborns-is-recommended-by-the-cdc/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:15:00 +0000 ellianna_grace http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/?p=275 Pulse Oximetry for newborns has been in the news over the last year and we couldn’t be happier to see the progress! The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is part of an advisory committee that makes recommendations for what disorders will be part of the mandatory screening for all newborns in the United States. This past September this committee recommended pulse oximetry to be a mandatory test for all newborns. Pulse Oximetry is a painless and quick test that would pick up on one of the seven Critical Congenital Heart Defects (CCHD). These defects include:  hypoplastic left heart syndrome, pulmonary atresia (with intact septum), tetralogy of Fallot, total anomalous pulmonary venous return, transposition of the great arteries, tricuspid  atresia, and truncus arteriosus. According to the CDC, approximately 280 infants with unrecognized CCHD will be discharged from the hospital each year. These babies are at risk for having life-threatening problems within the first few days or weeks of life and often require emergency care.

To read more: http://www.cdc.gov/features/CongenitalHeartDefects/

]]> http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2012/01/26/pulse-oximetry-screening-for-all-newborns-is-recommended-by-the-cdc/feed/ 0 Coming Soon http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2011/12/12/hello-world/ http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2011/12/12/hello-world/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:32:16 +0000 ellianna_grace http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/?p=1 http://www.elliannagracefoundation.org/2011/12/12/hello-world/feed/ 0