Medical Technology
Microtransistor prototypes map the mind
April 12, 2013 9:42 am | by Blaine Friedlander, Cornell University | News | Comments
To make better mind maps, a group of French scientists—building on prototypes developed at the Cornell University NanoScale Science and Technology Facility—have produced the world’s first microscopic, organic transistors that can amplify and record signals from within the brain itself.
To ease shortage of organs, grow them in a lab?
June 17, 2013 9:13 am | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | Comments
Growing lungs and other organs for transplant is still in the future, but scientists...
Research identifies scent of melanoma
June 13, 2013 6:00 pm | News | Comments
Melanoma is a tumor that is responsible for approximately 75% of skin cancer deaths....
Why the shape of nanoparticles matters
June 10, 2013 4:13 pm | News | Comments
A new study involving researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Center and the...
A way to detect new viruses
June 17, 2013 2:14 pm | News | CommentsIn recently published research, St. Louis Univ. researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection. In the new approach, scientists use blood serum as a biological source to categorize and discover viruses.
Testing method promising for spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis
June 14, 2013 7:49 am | News | CommentsA medical test previously developed to measure a toxin found in tobacco smokers has been adapted to measure the same toxin in people suffering from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, offering a potential tool to reduce symptoms. The toxin, called acrolein, is produced in the body after nerve cells are injured, triggering a cascade of biochemical events thought to worsen the injury's severity.
Researchers move closer to low-cost, implantable electronics
June 10, 2013 1:37 pm | News | CommentsNew technology under development at Ohio State Univ. is paving the way for low-cost electronic devices that work in direct contact with living tissue inside the body. The first planned use of the technology is a sensor that will detect the very early stages of organ transplant rejection.
From Legos to Medical Devices
June 6, 2013 11:38 am | by Lindsay Hock | Articles | CommentsIn seventh grade, now 25-year-old Nikolai Begg, 2013 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winner, was assigned a general project for English class where he had to pick a topic and write a report. That year, in life science class he took a great interest in this field, choosing to write his report on surgical robots. Able to interview surgeons using surgical robots and engineers designing them, Begg discovered an incredible field.
Researchers integrate origami and engineering
June 4, 2013 1:31 pm | News | CommentsThe quintessential piece of origami might be a decorative paper crane, but in the hands of an interdisciplinary Univ. of Pennsylvania research team, it could lead to a drug-delivery device, an emergency shelter or even a space station. Collaborating with researchers at Cornell Univ., the Penn team will share in a $2 million, four-year grant from the NSF’s Div. of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation.
Biochemists develop new technology to transfer DNA into cells
June 3, 2013 1:34 pm | News | CommentsOn any given day, Jason Atkins and Mohit Patel can be found toiling away inside a chemical biology laboratory at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. And they love every minute of it. The researchers recently developed new technology to transfer DNA into cells. The development is an inexpensive and non-toxic method to help DNA cross the cell membrane so that cells can be modified.
Improving the safety of the nation's blood supply
June 3, 2013 12:23 pm | News | CommentsA six-year collaboration between industry and the University of Wisconsin-Madison RFID Lab has achieved a major milestone with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearing the first RFID-enabled solution to improve the safety and efficiency of the nation's blood supply.
Valeant to buy Bausch + Lomb for $8.7B
May 27, 2013 11:02 am | by LINDA A. JOHNSON - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsCanadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it will pay $8.7 billion to buy Bausch + Lomb, one of the world's best-known makers of contact lenses, in a massive expansion of Valeant's smaller ophthalmology business. Valeant said the cash deal will help it capitalize on increasing demand for contact lenses and other products because of aging populations, growing demand in emerging markets and increasing rates of diabetes.
Cell phone technology helps horses recover from surgery
May 23, 2013 12:30 pm | News | CommentsTechnology that’s used in smartphones and other electronic devices also is being used by veterinarians at the University of Illinois to help horses recover safely from anesthesia. The technology, known as accelerometers, are portable data recorders that capture information on motion, vibration, and impact
Columbia University licenses 3D segmentation software to Varian
May 21, 2013 8:19 am | News | CommentsColumbia University has signed a licensing agreement with Varian Medical Systems for new imaging software that facilitates 3D segmentation, the process by which anatomical structures in medical images are distinguished from one another—an important step in the precise planning of cancer surgery and radiation treatments.
Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries
May 21, 2013 7:30 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsOver the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments has drawbacks, including the risk of side effects. A new study analyzes the potential usefulness of a new treatment that combines the benefits of angioplasty balloons and drug-releasing stents, but may pose fewer risks.
Computational tool simplifies complex data into 2D images
May 20, 2013 9:30 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. A sophisticated algorithm converts difficult-to-interpret data into visual representations similar to two-dimensional "scatter plots".
Engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin'
May 15, 2013 3:21 pm | News | CommentsEngineers combine layers of flexible materials into pressure sensors to create a wearable heart monitor thinner than a dollar bill. The skin-like device could one day provide doctors with a safer way to check the condition of a patient's heart.
Engineered biomaterial could improve success of medical implants
May 14, 2013 12:24 pm | News | CommentsIt’s a familiar scenario—a patient receives a medical implant and days later, the body attacks the artificial valve or device, causing complications to an already compromised system. Expensive medical devices and surgeries often are thwarted by the body’s natural response to attack something in the tissue that appears foreign. Now, University of Washington engineers have demonstrated in mice a way to prevent this sort of response.
Regulator keeps vaccines at right temperature
May 10, 2013 12:04 pm | News | CommentsRice University students have created a way to help health care workers track vaccines and keep them at a safe temperature. The SAFE Vaccine senior engineering design team assembled a device to regulate the temperature of any standard refrigerator to keep it within a range that’s safe for vaccines. Their invention also tracks vaccine stock, usage, and expiration dates and, as a result, takes a load of paperwork off the backs of nurses.
Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable
May 9, 2013 3:03 pm | by Carla K. Johnson, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsWhen Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Michael Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair to his full 6-foot-2-inches and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot. Still at least a year away from the market, the 27-pound Indego is the lightest of the powered exoskeletons that are now appearing in greater numbers.
Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable
May 9, 2013 3:26 am | by CARLA K. JOHNSON - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsWhen Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot.
Device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes
May 6, 2013 1:15 pm | News | CommentsTake a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device. University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient, and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
Medtronic launches two new implanted heart devices
May 6, 2013 10:51 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMedtronic has put two new implantable heart devices on the market after receiving approval from federal regulators. The FDrA approved the sale of the Viva heart resynchronization devices and Evera implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Cardiac resynchronization therapy devices are used to treat heart failure and implantable defibrillators are used to treat rapid heartbeats.
Zinc: The perfect material for bioabsorbable stents?
May 1, 2013 9:49 am | by Marcia Goodrich, Michigan Technological University | News | CommentsIn 2012, more than 3 million people had stents inserted in their coronary arteries. But the longer a stent is in the body, the greater the risk of late-stage side effects. Studies have investigated iron- and magnesium-based bioabsorbable stents, but iron rusts and magnesium dissolves too fast. Recent research shows that a certain type of zinc alloy might be the answer.
Material loss protects teeth against fatigue failure
May 1, 2013 9:07 am | News | CommentsComputer simulations conducted in Germany have shown that the reduction of natural dental wear might be the main cause for widely spread non-carius cervical lesions—the loss of enamel and dentine at the base of the crown—in our teeth. The discovery was made by examining the biomechanical behavior of teeth using finite element analysis methods typically applied to engineering problems.
Antibacterial hydrogel offers protection from stubborn infections
April 24, 2013 5:00 pm | News | CommentsCoating medical supplies with an antimicrobial material is one approach that bioengineers are using to combat the increasing spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A research team in Singapore has now developed a highly effective antimicrobial coating based on cationic polymers. The coating can be applied to medical equipment, such as catheters.
Study aims to understand how neurons represent the world
April 23, 2013 11:49 am | News | CommentsTo understand the development of sensory representations within our brain, we have to comprehend how electrical activation is linked to the sensory experience. For this reason, researchers in Italy have analyzed the behavior and the activation of neural networks in rats while carrying out tactile object recognition tests. The study represents the first time that the activity of multiple neurons has been monitored.
Scientists learn what makes nerve cells so strong
April 16, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsHow do nerve cells—which can each be up to three feet long in humans—keep from rupturing or falling apart? Recent research reports that axons, the long, cable-like projections on neurons, are made stronger by a unique modification of the common molecular building block of the cell skeleton. The finding may help guide the search for treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
X-ray approach devised to track surgical devices
April 16, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a new tool to help surgeons use X-rays to track devices used in “minimally invasive” surgical procedures while also limiting the patient’s exposure to radiation from the X-rays.
