An unusually acidic environment around living cells may be an indicator that processes associated with disease are taking place in the vicinity. Of course there’s a myriad of other biological variables related to the cellular pH. To measure the cellular pH levels, fluorescent dyes exist that glow when illuminated by a specific wavelength of light […]
Author: Medgadged
Smartphone-Powered Diagnostic Spectrum Analyzer Shrinks a Hospital Lab Into Portable Device
Bioengineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have turned a smartphone into a portable diagnostic laboratory capable of performing a range of spectrum analyses that is currently done using large and expensive stationary machines. The investigators built a smartphone attachment that utilizes the smartphone’s camera to analyze the colorimetric absorption spectrum, fluorescence emission spectrum, and […]
Bio-Compatible, Flexible, Aqueous, Salt-Powered Batteries for Implantable Devices
Implantable medical devices powered by batteries only exist in a few spheres of clinical practice. It is partly because most batteries are made of nasty things that have to be safely contained inside a strong metal case, making impractical a lot of what is actually possible. Researchers at the Fudan University in Shanghai, China have […]
Automatic Heart Analyzing CADence System Cleared by FDA to Help Primary Care Physicians
AUM Cardiovascular, a company out of Northfield, Minnesota, won FDA clearance for its CADence system, which is a novel combination of a stethoscope and ECG in one device. The CADence is intended to be used by primary care physicians to help spot suspicious cardiac murmurs that should be referred to cardiologists. The physician places the device […]
Microscopic Magnetic Blocks Group Together to Control Individual Cells
Collaborators from North Carolina State University and Duke University have developed a method to remotely manipulate cells and other tiny objects in a liquid medium using magnets and what looks like articulating microscopic Lego blocks. The technology, relying on magnetic fields to control and power combinations of blocks to move together, doesn’t require any direct […]
Stimwave’s Tiny StimQ Wireless Peripheral Nerve Stimulator Cleared by FDA
Stimwave, a company based in Pompano Beach, Florida, won FDA clearance for its StimQ peripheral nerve stimulation system. The StimQ is the smallest neuromodulation device that has been available on the market and it can be used to target any peripheral nerve below the head and outside the spinal cord that is the source of […]
Ultrasound to Improve Effectiveness of Cancer Drugs: Interview with Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s Jessica Foley, PhD
Most people think of ultrasound as an imaging modality. Yet, there are many other clinical uses for the high frequency soundwaves. Focused ultrasound waves can promote the opening of the blood-brain barrier, and they can be used to ablate fibroids, among other uses. Yet the potential of ultrasound in clinical medicine is far from fully […]
MIT Researchers Detect REM in Sleeping Persons Using Wi-Fi Radio Signals
The Wi-Fi radio waves that our laptops use to communicate with wireless routers are quite sensitive to the environment they pass through. They’re so sensitive that a few years ago researchers at MIT were able to use them to wirelessly detect a child’s movement, breathing, and heart rate. Now the MIT team working with Massachusetts General Hospital […]
Ultrasound Controls Delivery of Local Anesthetic Just When and Where It Hurts
Localized pain caused by disease, injury, or surgery can be hard to control, and it leads too many people to use opioids. Though there are electronic and physical methods that can help manage some pain, these are typically only marginally effective and usually only work on targets close to the skin. Now a team from […]
Prototype ARKE Exoskeleton Features Alexa Voice Controls
Bionik Laboratories, a company based in Toronto, Canada, is developing a lower body exoskeleton to get wheelchair bound people to start walking again. Currently in its second generation prototype, the ARKE exoskeleton is designed to be light, powerful, efficient, and perhaps most importantly, aiming to achieve a comfortable and natural walking gait. The company just announced […]
Microscopy Technique Produces High Res 3D Scans of Live Embryos
When imaging histology samples using a microscope at high resolution, 3D scans are often acquired by shining a flat beam of light through the target volume. While this has allowed for a multitude of discoveries, the technique still suffers greatly from the light scattering through the sample and washing out the sharpness of the image. This […]
Microscopy Technique Produces High Res 3D Scans of Live Embryos
When imaging histology samples using a microscope at high resolution, 3D scans are often acquired by shining a flat beam of light through the target volume. While this has allowed for a multitude of discoveries, the technique still suffers greatly from the light scattering through the sample and washing out the sharpness of the image. This […]
UPRIGHT GO Posture Trainer: A Medgadget Product Review
Everyone knows that posture can affect one’s physical health, but who would have thought it can also impact one’s emotions and psychological wellbeing? Studies show that maintaining a slumped posture for extended periods of time can decrease one’s energy, foster a sense of helplessness, and ultimately lead to a depressed mood. On the other hand, […]
Magnetic Fields to Destroy Bacteria on Artificial Joints
Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a new technique using high-frequency alternating magnetic fields to heat artificial joints in the body and destroy bacterial films on their surfaces. Bacterial infections on artificial joints used in knee and hip replacements are a common and serious complication. The bacteria tend to form slimy films on the […]
3D Printed Models Help Surgeons Work on Kids’ Slipped Femurs
Individual patients undergoing hip surgeries have unique anatomies that demand personalized attention by the surgical team. In children, the level of detail is greater and it’s even more crucial to achieve optimal results since the patients will want to run, jump, and swim for many years to come. Teens and pre-teens, and particularly boys, can […]
PhysioSensing Smart Pressure Pad to Improve Rehab: Interview with Sensing Future’s Pedro De Jesus Mendes
Sensing Future Technologies, a startup company based in Coimbra, Portugal, has developed a system called PhysioSensing that relies on a dense electronic pressure pad to assess a variety of characteristics about a person’s physical state, including balance, limits of stability, and related parameters. It can also be used, in a combination with gaming software, to help […]
Researchers Induce Skin to Turn to Nerves and Vessels In-Vivo
Over the last couple of decades researchers have figured out how to induce stem cells to turn into different types of tissues, and have even managed to convert skin cells into other types of cells. This is still a long and meticulous laboratory process that requires a lot of precision and attention to detail. Now […]
Tissue Paper Made of Various Organs for Use in Wound Healing, Regenerative Medicine, Hormone Production
If you thought sheepskin paper, also known as vellum, is gross, get ready for “tissue paper” from Northwestern University. The material, made from organs mixed with a polymer in a multi-step process, may have a number of uses that are obvious, such as wound repair, and others that will have to be discovered. The tissue paper is […]
New Nuclear Tracer to Help Better Manage Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
An abdominal aortic aneurysm can have a number of related causes, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are one of those potential causes. MMP matrix enzymes have a useful role in a healthy body of breaking up the extracellular matrix during tissue growth, but sometimes they’re overproduced and are related to various connective tissue disorders, including abdominal […]
New Cervical Biopsy Device Showing Promise in Improving Comfort, Quality of Results
Following a suspicious-looking pap smear, a colposcopy is often required. In addition to a visual inspection, a sample of cervical cells has to be taken, a painful procedure that involves an imposing looking instrument. A new device is now being tried in a clinical setting at the University of California, Riverside that will hopefully prove itself just […]