Stress is killing us. Daily demands and pressures all too often preoccupy our thoughts, leaving us feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Recent clinical data suggest that more than 70 percent of American adults regularly experience psychological and physical symptoms caused by stress, which include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, and irritability. Personally, I am surprised this number […]
Author: Medgadged
Smallest Robots Ever Developed to Sense Their Environment
The reality of being able to inject microscopic robots into the bloodstream that are capable of performing meaningful clinical tasks is now a little bit closer. Researchers are MIT have unveiled the smallest robots to have ever been built capable of sensing their environment. These tiny constructs have not only sensors, but key computing components, […]
Artificial Model of Heart Ventricle for Studying Cardiac Diseases, Drugs, Therapies
Custom-built artificial hearts are still something from science fiction, but the engineering knowledge to get there is already being assembled in labs around the world. One important piece of the puzzle has just been reported on by researchers at Harvard University, who have built a model of the heart’s left ventricle, seeded with living heart […]
Physical Binding Improves Tumor Targeting Nanoparticles
Various research teams around the world have developed tumor killing particles that consist of drug ferrying vessels and antibodies. The vessels protect the drug cargo within, while the antibodies serve as homing mechanisms to deliver the medication precisely where it’s needed. While many of these approaches have demonstrated some effectiveness, the problem is that the […]
MACH 30 Ultrasound with ShearWave PLUS Elastography Cleared in U.S., Europe
SuperSonic Imagine, a French firm, has announced that its Aixplorer MACH 30 ultrasound has been cleared in the U.S. and Europe. The system works as a traditional high power ultrasound, but also features the company’s elastography technology called ShearWave PLUS that measures tissue elasticity, or stiffness, in 3D. Elastography is now commonly used for identifying mammary […]
First Fingerstick Glucometer Cleared by FDA for Critically Ill Patients
Nova Biomedical, a firm out of Waltham, MA, won the first FDA clearance for a fingerstick glucose meter that can be used with critically ill patients. The clearance for the StatStrip Glucose Hospital Meter System allows arterial, venous, or capillary samples to be used from all patient types, effectively making it the only universal fingerstick glucometer […]
InPen Cleared in Europe to Make Insulin Injections Easier
Companion Medical, a company based in San Diego, landed the European CE Mark of approval for its InPen insulin management system. The InPen, which is already available in the United States, works like a common insulin pen, but also with the ability to send its usage data to paired smartphone. The data is used to […]
Wearable Patch Can Sense Cortisol Levels in Sweat
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a stretchy wearable patch that can measure cortisol levels in sweat. The researchers hope that the technology could help doctors diagnose adrenal or pituitary problems, and help to assess stress levels in young or non-verbal children who cannot communicate with mental health professionals. Levels of the hormone cortisol can […]
PocketECG Cardiac Rehabilitation System Helps to Get Most Out of Rehab Training
Medi-Lynx Cardiac Monitoring, part of MEDICALgorithmics, a Polish firm, won FDA clearance for its PocketECG Cardiac Rehabilitation System (CRS). The device, designed to record electrocardiography signals and to automatically spot cardiac arrhythmias, is intended to be used by patients, both high and low risk, that are undergoing rehab training. “PocketECG CRS was built on our PocketECG […]
Convenient Allergy Testing: Interview with Dr. Dua of Heal and Rebecca Rosenberger of Thermo Fisher Scientific
Heal, a California-based company, offers a doctor house call service and sends doctors to patients’ homes, or even work offices, for $99 or insurance copay. The service is currently available in Southern California, the Inland Empire, the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, with plans to expand to more […]
Microscopic, Remotely Powered Implant to Read, Transmit Brainwaves from Inside Skull
Brain-computer interfaces and other technologies that rely on reading and stimulating the brain require electrodes to obtain and deliver signals, as well as a way to transmit those signals from within the brain. Electric wires have usually served as the method of connectivity, but they create serious challenges, including potential for infection, safety issues, and […]
EyeQue Insight Visual Acuity Screener: A Medgadget Review
Every year, our “screen time” continues to increase as our gadgets get bigger and brighter. According to the Vision Council, our digital devices are causing 60.5% of Americans to report symptoms of digital eye strain, and it’s uncertain how these devices will affect our vision long-term. Aside from taking frequent breaks from our devices, reducing […]
Bioengineered Bone Grafts for Large Bone Defects
Researchers at the New York Stem Cell Foundation have developed a technique to produce bioengineered bone grafts for large bone defects, which are currently difficult to treat using conventional techniques. To deal with bone defects, clinicians currently use either synthetic materials or bone grafts from the patient or a donor. However, these grafts can trigger […]
Microparticles Carrying Bacteria-Killing Viruses Halt Deadly Pneumonia
Antibiotics suffer from eventual resistance by the bacteria and the fact that they can be quite indiscriminate in who they attack, including the gut’s healthy microbiome. But, there are also bacteriophages, which are viruses that can kill specific bacteria without harming any other bacteria. The problems with bacteriophages, though, is that they’re hard to produce […]
Syringe Simulator Replicates Feeling of Needle Insertion
Some procedures in which a needle is inserted deep into the body, such as epidurals, require the physician to have a steady hand and to know what to feel for. This is not easy to train for, as one needs real patients to really train on properly. Engineers at Penn State have now developed a […]
New Device Captures Circulating Tumor Cells Directly Within Blood Vessels
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present in the blood of people suffering from most cancers, but because of their rarity their presence is very difficult to spot. A number of technologies have been developed in the past to capture and count CTCs (see flashbacks below), but they tend to still have a number of limitations. […]
Jabra Elite Active 65t Review: Amazing Sound and Fit, with Minimal Fitness Tracking
The new Jabra Elite Active 65t are probably the best wireless earbuds out there right now. We had a chance to give them a try, and they proved to be a great addition to workouts, delivering high quality sound and sweat resistance. They’re the Apple AirPods that you really want. Fitness features The Elite Active […]
DiLumen Stabilizes Scopes Within Large Intestine to Help Avoid Surgeries: Now Approved in Europe
Lumendi, a company based in Buckinghamshire, England, won European regulatory approval for its DiLumen Endolumenal Interventional Platform (EIP). The one-time-use device fits over typical endoscopes to provide stability when visualizing, diagnosing, and treating conditions within the large intestine. It works by inflating two balloons that squeeze against the lumen of the large intestine. One of the […]
Method Tracks How Cancer Drugs Spread to Tumor Cells
When it comes to anti-cancer drugs, it’s not only their effectiveness at killing the intended target that we want to know, but also their ability to reach and penetrate the cancer cells. Knowing whether the drug actually enters cancer cells can be as important as whether it’s effective once inside. Now researchers at Francis Crick Institute […]
Glaukos iStent Inject Implant FDA Approved to Treat Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma
Glaukos, based in San Clemente, California, won FDA approval to introduce its iStent inject Trabecular Micro-Bypass System in the United States. The device, designed to treat mild to moderate primary open-angle glaucoma, is implanted alongside cataract surgeries to reduce intraocular pressure. The implant is tiny, measuring only 0.23 mm x 0.36 mm, and Glaukos believes it is the smallest device […]