Scientific collaborators at University of Rochester and University of Ottawa have developed a new DNA reader based nanopores that can accurately identify the nucleotides passing through. It consists of a silicon nitride membrane, that has nano-sized pores within its body, and a biosensor membrane with only one nanopore. The two membranes are positioned 200 nanometers […]
Author: Medgadged
Medgadget Sci-Fi Contest 2017: Meet The Winning Stories
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the moment you have all been waiting for – the day that the winners of the Medgadget Medical Sci-Fi Competition are announced and their fantastic stories are published! First, we would like to thank Eko Devices, the wonderful sponsors of our contest, that make the coolest and most advanced digital […]
Magnetically Guided Bacteria Move Confidently Within Strong Currents, May Soon Deliver Drugs Inside Body
Researchers at Queen’s University in Canada have managed to get a special type of bacteria to swim against a strong current, opening up the possibility of using the organisms as drug delivery vehicles. The team is using magnetotactic bacteria which have magnetic crystals within them and naturally orient themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field. By setting up the […]
TetraGraph Monitors Neuromuscular Blocks to Help Ensure Safety During Surgery
Senzime, a company based in Uppsala, Sweden, won European CE Mark approval for its TetraGraph device that’s indicated as a tool that allows anesthesiologists to monitor patients that received neuromuscular blockers during surgery. The device electrically stimulates a peripheral ulnar nerve on the hand and detects how the related muscles are reacting electrically (electromyography, aka EMG). […]
MolecuLight i:X Wound Assessment Tool Now Available in Europe
The MolecuLight i:X from MolecuLight, a company out of Toronto, Canada, is finally launching in Europe following CE Mark approval of the device more than a year ago. Smith & Nephew will be distributing the device, which allows clinicians to spot bacteria directly on the wound using fluorescence visualization that doesn’t require the use of any contrast agent. […]
Antibacterial Nanoscale Etching of Stainless Steel Surfaces
At Georgia Tech, researchers have developed a way of etching stainless steel surfaces so finely that bacteria that come in contact with them end up being pierced and killed. Interestingly, because of the physiological differences between cell types, mammalian cells don’t seem to be significantly impacted by these surfaces. The electrochemical etching process creates a […]
Philips IQon Elite Spectral CT Scanner with Unique Dual Energy Detector
Philips has launched a brand new true spectral CT scanner, the IQon Elite Spectral CT. Spectral CT provides a more nuanced look at body tissues, which reveals some information about the composition of anatomy and not only its structure. The different frequencies of X-rays in a spectral CT can be compared to different colors of […]
Interview with Marten Smith of Microchip Technology Inc.’s Medical Products Group
Microchip Technology Inc. is a provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, and analog semiconductors that are designed to offer low-risk product development at lower total system costs and a faster time to market for thousands of diverse applications. Those in the electrical engineering world are very familiar with their PIC microcontrollers, digital signal controllers, and other microprocessors. […]
CompactCath, a Discreet, Compact, Hygienic Urinary Catheter Cleared in EU
The San Francisco Bay Area may be best known for information technology startups, but there are other small companies around that develop very different technologies. CompactCath has created a urinary catheter that solves some of the persistent issues that users of such devices have to face every day, and the company just announced that its […]
GO2SLEEP Wearable Sleep Tracker Capable of Detecting Sleep Apnea
A new startup company called SLEEPON has recently launched their crowdfunding campaign for their first product, GO2SLEEP, “the world’s smallest sleep apnea detection ring.” Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, and this can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, and morning headaches. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases the […]
GO2SLEEP Wearable Sleep Tracker Capable of Detecting Sleep Apnea
A new startup company called SLEEPON has recently launched their crowdfunding campaign for their first product, GO2SLEEP, “the world’s smallest sleep apnea detection ring.” Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, and this can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, and morning headaches. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases the […]
GO2SLEEP Wearable Sleep Tracker Capable of Detecting Sleep Apnea
A new startup company called SLEEPON has recently launched their crowdfunding campaign for their first product, GO2SLEEP, “the world’s smallest sleep apnea detection ring.” Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, and this can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, and morning headaches. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases the […]
Boston Scientific’s Vercise Neurostimulation System Approved for Parkinson’s in U.S.
Boston Scientific won FDA approval for its Vercise Deep Brain Stimulation System for treatment of Parkinson’s. The implantable stimulator can be programmed in a variety of ways to target different regions of the subthalamic nucleus. This may help to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s by delivering therapy in an optimal way for each patient. The […]
Tiny Wireless Neurostimulator Small Enough for Injections
Neurostimulators are becoming popular for treating Parkinson’s, Essential Tremor, pain, and other neurological conditions. They typically involve a battery-powered implant resembling a pacemaker placed on the chest that has electrode leads attached reaching up to another part of the body, often the brain. There are a number of disadvantages with implantable batteries and issues related […]
New Imaging Modality Uses Scanning Electric Current to View Heart
Researchers from École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan have developed a way of imaging biochemicals in the body using electric current. The technique, named scanning electrochemical microscopy, has already been used to map out hemoglobin throughout a heart of a mouse. Other target molecules can also be used […]
SamanTree Medical’s Histolog Scanner: Interview with CEO Bastien Rachet
When surgeons excise a tumor, the challenge is always to remove the neoplasm with good margins while preserving as much of the healthy surrounding tissue as possible. To make sure that everything appropriate has been removed, pathologists look at the frozen sections and later at the full slices of samples taken during surgery. The preparation […]
Prosthetic Hand With Five Individually Controlled Fingers Lets Amputee Play Piano
Most powered hand prostheses measure the electrical signals (electromyography) produced by muscles near the stump to detect when the user wants to activate the opening or closing of the fingers. While this has worked marginally well so far, this technology doesn’t have the resolution for intuitive individual finger control. Now researchers at Georgia Tech have […]
Prosthetic Hand With Five Individually Controlled Fingers Lets Amputee Play Piano
Most powered hand prostheses measure the electrical signals (electromyography) produced by muscles near the stump to detect when the user wants to activate the opening or closing of the fingers. While this has worked marginally well so far, this technology doesn’t have the resolution for intuitive individual finger control. Now researchers at Georgia Tech have […]
Bespoke 3D-Printed Ear Prostheses Could Improve Hearing Loss Treatments
3D printing technology has changed the way many medical devices are designed and has huge potential to also disrupt healthcare by making devices more accessible, affordable, and personalized to the patient. While we’ve seen 3D-printed parts used in a variety of external limb prostheses and even for implants, researchers at the University of Maryland School of […]
New Technique Allows Mass Production of Bioengineered Liver Tissue
Researchers at Yokohama City University and Cincinnati Children’s Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine have developed a large-scale method to produce bioengineered liver tissue from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The technique could provide viable, consistently produced liver transplants, offering hope to patients with liver disease. One of the limitations faced by scientists […]