Researchers at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new method for implanted devices to communicate with the outside world that exploits the ions that are naturally present in our tissues. Ion-rich tissues store potential energy, and in this paradigm an implanted device would alter this stored energy with alternating […]
Author: Medgadged
Printing Bone Constructs During Surgery
Scientists at Penn State developed a method to print a ‘bone’ construct during a surgical procedure. The technique is intended to allow surgeons to rapidly fill bony defects that would not easily heal by themselves, and the researchers have turbo-charged the technique by including genes that promote bone formation. Consequently, they describe the resulting printed […]
Telerobotic System Uses Magnets to Perform Endovascular Procedures
Researchers at MIT have developed a telerobotic surgical system that allows a surgeon to remotely treat patients who are suffering a stroke or aneurysm. The system could be very useful, as achieving treatment as soon as possible after a stroke is crucial, but the endovascular surgeons who specialize in treating such patients may not be […]
Multiplex Immunoassay for Dengue Diagnosis
Researchers at the University of Reading in the UK created a rapid multiplex immunoassay for the detection of Dengue fever. The technology, which the researchers call the Cygnus system, aims to provide improved sensitivity compared with lateral flow tests and improved convenience and speed compared with conventional lab tests. As a point-of-care device, the system […]
DNA Vibe Jazz Band Therapy: A Review
Made in the USA, the DNA Jazz Band Vibe joins a newer class of sports medicine-related healing therapies that include photobiomodulation. Photobiomodulation is a form of light therapy that uses specific wavelengths of red light and near-infrared light to help stimulate, heal, regenerate, and protect cells. However, this product goes beyond light therapy by including […]
Spray Blocks SARS-CoV-2 Entry into Nasal Cells
Researchers at the University of British Columbia, and collaborators, created a nasal spray that can block the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into cells in the nasal cavity, potentially offering protection and treatment for COVID-19. Excitingly, in lab tests, the spray appears to work against all known variants of the virus, including the Omicron variant, which shows […]
Printed Fingertip with Enhanced Tactile Sense
Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK have created a 3D printed fingertip that is designed for use by robots or as a component of robotic prostheses. The structure mimics the dermal papillae found in human skin, which are small bumps present between the dermis and epidermis that are important in human touch. […]
New System Speeds Up Typing for the Motor Impaired
Researchers at MIT have created a new text selection interface for motor impaired individuals. People with severe physical disabilities can type to communicate with others, and often activate a switch or blink an eye to indicate a letter selection in a grid of letters on a computer screen. This approach to typing is painstaking and […]
Hemostasis on Contact: Interview with Joe Landolina, CEO of Cresilon
Cresilon, a New York-based medtech company, specializes in developing hemostatic technology. Its co-founder and CEO, Joe Landolina, created a plant-based hemostatic gel that can stop bleeding very rapidly when applied to a wound. Landolin developed the gel when he was just seventeen, and has spent the years since building the company to bring it and […]
Highly Efficient Liposome-Based Drug Screening
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have developed a technique that lets them screen the interactions of drug candidates with target molecules extremely rapidly, inexpensively, and with very small amounts of starting materials and reagents. The highly efficient method , which the researchers have called “single particle combinatorial lipidic nanocontainer fusion based on DNA mediated […]
Microfluidic Chip Collects Healthy Sperm
A team at Florida Atlantic University created a microfluidic chip that can sort and collect healthy sperm cells for fertility procedures. The chip takes advantage of the fact that healthy sperm will naturally swim against cervical mucus flows and uses fluid flow to guide the cells to swim into a collection chamber. The simple approach […]
Multi-Purpose Sensor for Rapid, Accurate COVID-19 Testing
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University developed a COVID-19 testing technology that is based on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with machine learning. The technique does not require sample preparation or special training and can deliver results in as little as 25 minutes, with an accuracy that is comparable to that of PCR, the current […]
Tiny Wireless Neurostimulator Delivered Through Blood Vessels
Researchers at Rice University developed a tiny neurostimulation device that can be delivered intravascularly and which does not require a battery or wired connection. At approximately the size of a grain of rice, the device can be advanced through the vasculature until it lies near a target nerve, and a clinician can then attach it […]
3D Bioprinted Constructs Change Shape Over Time
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a method to create 3D printed cell-loaded bioink constructs that can change shape over time, just like tissues in the body do. Incorporating crosslinking molecules into the printed hydrogels, some of which are UV light-sensitive, allows the constructs to undergo shape changes after printing. The technique […]
Extracellular Vesicles to Protect Lungs and Brain in Premature Birth
Researchers at the Ottawa Hospital in Canada have been investigating the potential of extracellular vesicles that are derived from umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to protect the lungs and brain in very premature babies. Such babies require supplemental oxygen, but this can damage their lungs, causing a condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In the […]
Optical Therapy Leads to Cancer Apoptosis
Researchers at Okayama University in Japan developed a novel technique to induce cancer cell apoptosis using light. The technology involves modifying the cells to express a light-sensitive protein that rapidly pumps hydrogen ions out of the cell when it is stimulated with light. This increase in cell alkalinity causes it to undergo apoptosis, a form […]
vMap Mapping Technology for Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interview with Mike Monko, CEO of Vektor Medical
Vektor Medical, a medtech company based in San Diego, created the vMap system, a mapping solution for cardiac arrhythmias. The system is the first to identify arrhythmia sources anywhere in the heart, including the septal wall, outflow tracts, and all four chambers. The company reports that the technology takes less than three minutes to provide […]
vMap Mapping Technology for Cardiac Arrhythmias: Interview with Mike Monko, CEO of Vektor Medical
Vektor Medical, a medtech company based in San Diego, created the vMap system, a mapping solution for cardiac arrhythmias. The system is the first to identify arrhythmia sources anywhere in the heart, including the septal wall, outflow tracts, and all four chambers. The company reports that the technology takes less than three minutes to provide […]
Wearable Sensor Uses Kirigami to Improve Skin Contact
Researchers at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan developed a wearable and wireless electrocardiogram monitor that employs kirigami, an ancient art of folding and cutting paper, to ensure better skin contact, stretchability, and breathability. The kirigami design lets the researchers minimize the size of their sensor and the technology allows for long-term vitals measurements with wireless […]
Spherical Nucleic Acid Vaccine Uses Structural Design to Improve Efficacy
A team at Northwestern University created a new type of nanoparticle-based vaccine that employs structure-function relationships during the design phase to maximize efficacy. Called a spherical nucleic acid (SNA) vaccine, the technology consists of globular DNA nanoparticles that contain a DNA sequence that can stimulate the immune system (ie. an adjuvant) and an inner portion […]