Imaging tools evolve to meet genomic advances
Yesterday’s R&D Daily took a look at a new theory about how genes are controlled. To perform these kinds of studies, scientists rely on tools such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), which is able to monitor biosensors placed in cells. In this way, two cell behaviors can be examined simultaneously.
Heat gives "hyper" MRI jolt of speed and sensitivity
A new type of magnetic resonance imaging could mean patients will soon spend far less time in a claustrophobic chamber. The method, which uses rhyperpolarized xenon had previously it had only been test at room temperature. When elevated to body temperature, performance improved greatly.
Applications for Desktop SEMs Continue to Multiply
When FEI, Hillsboro, Ore., introduced the Phenom desktop scanning electron microscope (SEM) in 2007, many thought that the majority of users would be optical microscope users who needed higher resolution.
Tricorder look-alike delivers medical imaging anywhere, anytime
It’s not a tricorder of Star Trek fame, but it does act like one. A new handheld medical scanner transmits scanned images to the lab—where the actual expensive imaging gear is located—and receives the prognosis as simply as it gets a text image.
Atomic force measurements reveal secrets of viscosity
The first use of atomic force microscopy for the study of fluid viscosity has brought new revelations to light about the fundamental nature of fluids. According to the work by Georgia Tech researchers, even water can behave like a gel in a nanometer-size space, but also become more fluid when shaken.
On the trail of a hallucinogenic scourge
In just a few years, “salvia” sprang from nowhere to become the drug of choice for teenagers as young as 11 or 12 years old. Studying the brain’s reaction to this potent plant-based drug using positron emission tomography, Brookhaven National Lab scientists uncovered some important clues.
Steerable lasers give us a first look at firing neurons
A set of acousto-optic deflectors have allowed Baylor College of Medicine researchers to use a rotating laser beam in conjunction with a conventional multiphoton microscope to observe objects in 3-D space. The innovation gives us the chance to see live interactions of neurons.
An Advanced Benchtop SEM That’s User Friendly and Affordable
NeoScope, an advanced benchtop scanning electron microscope (SEM), was introduced in March at the 2008 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) in New Orleans, La. It is the offspring of a joint collaboration between Nikon Instruments, Melville, N.Y., and JEOL USA, Peabody, Mass.
Brute strength gives gonorrhea the edge
Small filaments, or pili, on the surface of the infectious N. gonorrhoeae can pull with a force up to 100,000 times its body weight, shedding light on the bacterium’s ability to move about. A combination of fluorescence and electron microscopy allowed scientists to measure nature’s strongest known nanomotor.
Membrane AFM probes put the pressure on cantilevers Atomic force microscopy users may want this on their wish list: new membrane-based probe tip are becoming good enough to replace traditional cantilever tips. In addition to measurement up to 50 times faster, properties such as adhesion, stiffness, elasticity and viscosity can also be quantized.
The secret acoustic life (and death) of rockets Take note: a mysterious force has been destroying rockets, and, until now, no one knew why. A team of U.S. and Russian scientists have invented a new imaging technique to observe, for the first time, acoustic waves in the combustion chamber that sometimes are strong enough rip the rocket apart.
The impact of modern tomography Non-invasive nuclear medical imaging tools, which have advanced considerably in recent years, now provide detailed and integrated information about the location and biology of internal structures, enabling recent successful work by German researchers on circulating progenitor cells.
Dental professor finds out where the clock is ticking This 3-D microscopic image of a human femur shows incremental growth lines corresponding to a biological rhythm that is repeated every eight days. In a medical first, an NYU scientist detected these and similar rhythms in the hypothalamus as part of a study of growth lines in tooth enamel.
Spectral Raman fingerprints seen deep inside living bodies Raman spectroscopy is a powerfully sensitive visual tool that until now, unfortunately, could not be used to image deep tissue objects such as tumors. Now that researcher have combined laser light with specially engineered nanoparticles, Raman spectral signatures may soon have the power to supersede fluorescence imaging or computed tomography.
Neutron detectors can see magnetic fields in 3-D, even in solids Adapting the philosophy of computed tomography scans, researchers in Berlin have built polarization detectors that can change the rotation of neutrons irradiating a magnetic samples. By analyzing the changing spins, and byrotating the specimen, researchers can get a 3-D image.
First-ever MRI images of genes in action in the living brain To monitor tissue changes, invasive brain biopsies are often unavoidable during gene therapy. Harvard Univ.’s new method relies on magnetic nanoparticle eye drops attaching themselves to the proteins responsible for the brain repair. Magnetic resonance imaging does the rest.
Plant nanotechnology helps ivy get a grip Atomic force microscopy studies by Univ. of Tennessee scientists recently discovered that ivy plant secrete 70 nm dia nanoparticles from its rootlets. A chemical analysis suggests hydrogen bonds are used to stick to surfaces. Scientists want to manipulate this biosynthetic pathway.
Now we know where David’s weaknesses lie Obtaining data sets of 3-D objects is one thing, but making use of the information is another. A surprisingly simple new engineering analysis technique, Scan and Solve, takes scanned or sampled data and calculates where points of stress will occur. The process was tested to accurate effect on the Michelangelo’s David.
The uncharted waterworld beneath our feet The vadose zone is the upper crust of the Earth between the surface and the water table. With water supply worries increasing, the demand for knowledge of this highly variable spatial environment has driven hydrogeophysical researchers to hone ground penetrating radar (GPR) to a high degree.
Anti-cancer agent, in 3-D for the first time Through advancements in a commonly-used form of molecular imaging, x-ray crystallography, researchers at Indiana Univ. and Purdue have been able to fully image the agent bleomycin, used in the treatment of testicular cancer. They believe such images will help them understand how the drug interacts with DNA.
Novel imaging methods help solve HIV mystery Normally intended for materials surface analysis, synchrotron x-ray scattering (SAXS) was used (along with confocal microscopy) by Univ. of Illinois scientists to discover that protein coating on the HIV virus transforms cell membranes, rendering them porous like sponge.
‘Smart Goggles’ TiVos your life Leveraging years of biomimetic research, Japanese scientists have created Smart Goggles, an invention to impress even Q of 007 fame. The goggles record everything you see, storing it in a database that is searchable by spoken keywords. Lose your keys? The goggles re-play the part of your life where you lost them.
Physicist throws down glove on global warming research Even the highly simplified model of the Earth’s atmosphere at the right shows complexity in jet streams and macroturbulence. To overcome daunting modeling challenges, a Brown Univ. professor is developing a set of equations that cuts through the details and arrives at the big picture.
Research confirms discovery of Earth's inner, innermost core Though the anistrophy of the Earth’s solid core was postulated more than 20 years ago, for the first time researchers know how that crystallized iron structure looks. Using 3-D tomography based on seismic waves, they were able to model core layering.
Single MRI and PET scanner is first of its kind Recent advances in solid-state electronics have led to the development of compact silicon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) that do not share the photomultiplier’s vulnerability to magnetic fields. As a result, researchers have combined two very different types of body imaging in one machine.
May 9, 2008
There are roughly 78 million baby boomers in the U.S. and about 8,000 of them turn 60 every day. A small number still have parents, many of whom are in continuing care retirement facilities, which many of the baby boomers themselves will have need of in the future. A number of studies have revealed that, under current situations, there won’t be enough health care workers available in the future to properly take care of the residents in these facilities.
One of the solutions noted was the implementation of robotic systems for many of the routine chores, thereby freeing up the available health care providers to do the more personal and intensive jobs. Other robotic systems have been demonstrated for the in-home care and monitoring of elderly citizens. Health care robotic assistants’ duties include systems for delivery and disposal of materials, infirm patient guidance and tracking, rehabilitation assistants, and overall monitoring and analysis. But while many of these systems have been demonstrated, relatively few have been transitioned into actual products and integrated into health care facilities or available for in-home use.
Likely, the overall costs for the systems including their initial acquisition, maintenance, and monitoring and control networks are still beyond the payback range required by the care facility operators or individuals. Their reliability, especially in power outage situations, also has not been proven. Certainly, the looming volume of potential customers for these products is highly visible and without question, so as to create a marketplace with adequate revenue possibilities and high-volume cost reductions. Regardless, the manufacturers of such systems are not visibly increasing, and the integrations of systems into facilities is meager at best. Indeed, research in robotic health care appears to be increasing in the EU and Japan—who have their own rising levels of senior citizens—faster than it is in the U.S.
Is this going to become a situation where robotic systems needed to take care of our elderly are sourced from suppliers outside the U.S.? These are primarily high-technology products and not commodities, so that the cost advantage for foreign suppliers should not be an issue. It will become primarily a situation of who actually designs and builds these systems and offers them for sale. I sincerely hope that U.S. industry will take advantage of this opportunity to create a new market sector.
