Researchers at MIT and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed a 3D-printed microfluidic bioreactor that can be used to culture and study brain organoids. The tiny self-organizing nodules of brain tissue are very useful in studying neurological disease and the effects of drugs. However, the bioreactors used to grow brain organoids (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
Gold Sensor Lives Under Skin for Months Measuring Drugs and Biomarkers
Researchers at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany have developed an implantable biosensor that can measure concentrations of various biomarkers and drugs in the body. Unlike many implantable devices, the sensor can reside in place under the skin for many months without being rejected by the body or losing its functionality. The syst (Read more...)
Sticker on Skin Diagnoses Cystic Fibrosis in Real-time
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a sticker that can measure chloride levels in sweat in real-time through a simple color change. The sticker is applied to the skin and wicks sweat inside itself through a set of microfluidic channels, where an onboard bioassay measures chloride levels, a marker of cystic fibrosis. The technology (Read more...)
NIRVANA Test Rapidly Identifies and Sequences COVID-19 Viral Variants
Researchers at the Salk Institute in California, working with outside collaborators, have developed a COVID-19 test that can rapidly identify and sequence the causative virus, helping to track new variants. The test, called “nanopore sequencing of isothermal rapid viral amplification for near real-time analysis,” (NIRVANA), can also sim (Read more...)
Quick and Easy CRISPR COVID Test Spots Mutations
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed an easy to perform CRISPR-based COVID-19 test that takes only 30 minutes for the results to come in. The test, which involves dipping a paper strip into a mixture containing a nasal sample, can identify various new variants of the virus, and could be useful [& (Read more...)
Hope, Resilience & Healing in the COVID-19 Era: A Virtual Conference Report
Well-being and health cannot solely rely upon symptomatic treatment. In fact, “good health” cannot be truly achieved unless the root causes of dis-eases are addressed. Even more ideal is the approach of preventative and integrative medicine, in which lifestyle and behavior changes are made holistically, in conjunction with any necessary (Read more...)
Hummingbird Device for Ear Tube Placement: Interview with Steve Anderson, CEO of Preceptis Medical
In the United States approximately 1 million children undergo ear tube placement every year. The tubes are typically needed when there’s excess fluid in the middle ear and to address chronic ear infections. The tubes help to prevent this fluid build-up but require placement under general anesthesia. General anesthesia can be distressing for c (Read more...)
Mussel Protein Bioglue to Seal Fistulas Inside Body
Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology in Korea have developed a bioglue, containing a mussel adhesive protein and hyaluronic acid, that can seal fistulas within the body. It works even on fistulas present in particularly challenging areas, such as the wall of the bladder. The researchers delivered the glue using a thin syring (Read more...)
Micro-Aneurysm-On-A-Chip to Model Vascular Disease
An international research collaboration, including teams from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Brown University, and MIT, has developed an AI platform that can assess blood flow characteristics through microvasculature. The system relies on a microfluidic chip that mimics vascular disease, in this case a micro-aneurysm i (Read more...)
Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Detects Liver Fat Content
Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science have applied a new imaging technique in a way that may allow clinicians to assess liver fat content without having to take biopsies. Called near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, the method can highlight fat distribution in liver tissue, potentially helping clinicians to diagnose and assess conditions su (Read more...)
Ultrasound Technology to Decode Brain Activity for Brain Machine Interfaces
Researchers at Caltech have developed a non-invasive functional ultrasound system that can detect brain activity by listening to tiny changes in blood flow within the brain. The system could provide a viable alternative to invasive electrodes that are implanted into the brain for brain machine interfaces, such as those used in prosthetics. So far, (Read more...)
Lab-Generated Heart Valves Grow Inside Body
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a tissue-engineered heart valve replacement that can grow within a patient. The breakthrough could allow children with congenital heart defects to avoid repeated surgeries to replace heart valves that they have outgrown. To create the valves, the researchers cultured donor cells in a fibrin (Read more...)
Electrodiagnosis of Ocular Diseases Using Sensor-Enabled Contacts
Electroretinography is a common technique for diagnosing and following up on eye conditions such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa. To perform an electroretinography exam, a device is placed against the eye that projects light onto it and measures the resulting electrical signals that are generated by the retina. Commercia (Read more...)
Polymer Technologies for Tissue Repair: Interview with Christophe Bancel, TISSIUM CEO
TISSIUM, a Paris-based medtech firm, has been named a French Tech 120 company for the 2021 program. TISSIUM, previously called Gecko Biomedical, is developing a suite of polymer technologies and associated delivery devices for tissue repair applications. French Tech 120 is a French government driven program designed to support a total of 120 late-s (Read more...)
Medical Robotics and The Future of Surgery: Interview with Tracy Accardi, VP of R&D at Medtronic
Medtronic has been a key player in the minimally invasive surgery space for the last few decades, and has made great strides more recently in robotic surgery with last year’s acquisition of Digital Surgery. As a quick reference point: despite the many benefits of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), only 3% of surgeries around the world are [&hell (Read more...)
Silver-Hydrogel Composite for Bioelectronic Applications
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a silver-hydrogel composite that can conduct electricity, which looks promising for use in a variety of bioelectronics applications. These include skin mounted electrodes for neuromuscular stimulation that may be helpful in treating muscular disorders or other motor issues. Soft materials are (Read more...)
Smart Speaker Monitors Heart Rhythms
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an AI-powered sound system that can detect irregular heartbeats. The system sends inaudible sounds into its close environment and then analyzes the reflected waves to identify individual heartbeats from someone sitting close to it. The technology may be useful in detecting heart rhythm diso (Read more...)
Rapid 3D Printing of Materials with Livings Cells for Organ Replacement
Researchers at University at Buffalo in New York have developed a new technique that allows them to rapidly 3D print hydrogel materials containing viable cells. The researchers hope that their method will pave the way for 3D organ printing in the future. Current limitations include the slow pace of 3D printing, leading to poor viability […]
Improving Structural Heart Disease Care: Interview with Joel Portice, egnite CEO
egnite, a digital healthcare company based in California, offers the CardioCare, an AI-based solution that aims to help clinicians identify and treat patients with structural heart disease. CardioCare is already used in over 50 hospitals in the US. The company reports that structural heart disease can sometimes be undertreated or not identified in (Read more...)
Gold Nanoparticles Inside Contact Lenses Correct Color Blindness
Researchers in the United Arab Emirates have developed contact lenses that can help to correct color blindness. Containing gold nanoparticles, the lenses help to increase red-green contrast in wearers while also functioning as corrective lenses. The particles give the lenses a rose tint, which will hopefully result in wearers having a more positive (Read more...)