X-Message-Number: 24625 Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 10:47:18 -0700 From: James Swayze <> Subject: FDA Testing Limits of Medical Technology Many in our ilk decry the FDA as enemy of rapid advancement of medical technology. Perhaps this article may show a slightly different side to the FDA. http://www.comcast.net/News/TECHNOLOGY//XML/1500_Health__medical/3e43b662-f9ef-44a3-9018-c12fd80cd5e5.html FDA Testing Limits of Medical Technology Sun Sep 12, 1:27 AM By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON - A little-known Food and Drug program is testing the latest medical technology to determine how safe and useful it can be. One cutting-edge experiment is designed to see if injecting certain drugs directly into diseased arteries works better than commonly used stents in keeping arteries clear. Dr. William Pritchard painstakingly threads a thin tube deep into his sedated patient's beating heart. Then, in a radical move, he pushes a hair-sized needle out of the tube and deliberately punctures a crucial artery. But a pink snout beneath the sheets signals this is no ordinary operating room _ or patient. Working on the pig are FDA scientists. The agency is best known as the nation's medical gatekeeper, approving the sale of new treatments rather than actually researching them. Indeed, proving that a therapy works well enough to sell is, by law, the job of the treatment's official sponsor, usually the manufacturer. Still, in a scattered warren of laboratories, 140 FDA scientists are pushing medical devices to their limits so the agency is not totally dependent on manufacturers to learn about pitfalls before approving sales. The scientists' work also is intended to find solutions when problems arise with technology already on the market.[cont.] James S. -- Membership in order of joining - all comments on any subject are solely my opinion only and not reflective of the official positions of the following: Cryonics Institute of Michigan http://www.cryonics.org The Immortalist Society http://www.cryonics.org/info.html The Society for Venturism http://www.venturist.org Immortality Institute http://www.imminst.org Methuselah Foundation http://www.methuselahfoundation.org Methuselah Mouse Prize http://www.methuselahmouse.org [Give $$$ for life!] World Transhumanist Assoc. http://www.transhumanism.org/ WTA Portland Chapter http://home.comcast.net/~swayzej/pdxwta.html MY WEBSITE: http://home.comcast.net/~swayzej/jspage_main.html Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24625