A collaboration between groups at MIT and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute led to the creation of a system that allows for quick determination of the susceptibility of cancer cells to specific drugs, without the need to rely on genomic markers. The technique consists of flowing the cells through vibrating microchannels, which lets the researchers obtai (Read more...)
Author: Medgadged
POEMS Electro-Optical Cardiac Stimulator to Study Arrhythmias
At the University of Bern in Switzerland, researchers have developed the Panoramic Opto-Electrical Measurement and Stimulation (POEMS) system, which allows them to conduct advanced optogenetic experiments with mouse hearts. The device, which contains a volume into which a mouse heart can be placed, lets the Swiss team stimulate various cell types u (Read more...)
Magnetoelastic Patch Turns Body Motion Into Electricity
A team of scientists at University of California Los Angeles created a magnetoelastic device that can generate electricity from movements of the body, including the movements caused by the pulse at the wrist. The patch-like device may help to power medical wearables or implantable sensors, and may function as a waterproof heart rate monitor in [&he (Read more...)
EvoWalk Digital Therapy Platform: Interview with Pierluigi Mantovani, CEO at Evolution Devices
Evolution Devices, a company based in California, created a functional electrical stimulation device to assist people with foot drop to walk more freely. Foot drop is caused by muscle weakness/paralysis, and those affected struggle to lift the front part of their foot, which makes walking difficult and can lead to falls. The product is called [&hel (Read more...)
Wireless Photoelectric Implant for Optogenetics Research
Scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland created a wireless photoelectric implant that allows them to activate or suppress certain neurons in the mouse spinal cord. The flexible implant is controlled through Bluetooth and contains miniaturized LEDs that emit red light, which helps to avoid absorption and r (Read more...)
DNA Sensor Rapidly Determines If a Virus is Infectious
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a sensor that can rapidly detect a virus in a sample. It can also identify whether the viral particles are still infectious. So far, the researchers have trialed the technology to detect human adenovirus and SARS-CoV-2. It can provide an answer between 30 minutes and two [&he (Read more...)
Swoop Portable MRI: Interview with David Scott, President and CEO of Hyperfine
Hyperfine, a company based in St Guilford, Connecticut, created Swoop, a portable MRI scanner. The device received FDA approval as the first bedside MRI scanner in 2020, and a recent study has shown that it can help to accurately spot hemorrhagic stroke, detecting 85 of 88 blood-negative cases (96.6% specificity). Rapid detection is important for [ (Read more...)
Laser-Assisted Bioprinting of Neurons
A team at Concordia University in Montreal have developed a technique called Laser-Induced Side Transfer (LIST) that allows for bioprinting of neurons. Low energy laser pulses are directed at a capillary containing a cell-laden bioink, resulting in microbubbles that eject a microjet of the ink onto the substrate below. The technique appears to be f (Read more...)
Chip Detects Antibiotics in Exhaled Breath
Researchers at the University of Freiburg in Germany have developed a chip that can measure antibiotic levels in breath, potentially paving the way for rapid point-of-care antibiotic testing. Attaining the correct levels of antibiotics in the body is crucial to effectively treating infections and avoiding drug side-effects or the development of ant (Read more...)
Antimicrobial Coating Prevents Infections Around Ortho Implants
A group at Duke University engineered an antibiotic delivery system to make the surfaces of orthopedic implants resistant to bacterial infiltration. The technique involves spraying or painting a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers, mixed with an antibiotic of choice, onto the surface of the implant. A UV light is then used to cure t (Read more...)
EEG Test for Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK have developed an EEG test for Alzheimer’s disease. The technique involves measuring brain waves using an EEG cap while a person watches a screen with a series of flashing images. Taking just two minutes, the test quantifies a person’s ability to differentiate between images based on [&hel (Read more...)
Microneedle Patch Delivers Oxygen to Chronic Wounds
A team of scientists at Purdue University created a microneedle patch that can deliver oxygen and bactericidal agents to chronic wounds. The bacterial biofilms that form over non-healing wounds, such as foot ulcers, are a formidable barrier to successful treatment. Such wounds are typically hypoxic and the bacteria within them are shielded from ant (Read more...)
Eyevensys Electrotransfection System for Ocular Disease: Interview with Patricia Zilliox, CEO
Eyevensys, a medtech company based in France, has developed the Eyevensys Electrotransfection System, a non-viral transfection system for the treatment of ocular diseases. So far, the firm has demonstrated the safety of the technique in treating noninfectious uveitis and is developing treatments for geographic atrophy, retinitis pigmentosa, and wet (Read more...)
Algorithm Helps Rehab Robots to Move Naturally
Researchers at the Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan have developed a control algorithm for rehabilitation robots that ensures that they move naturally during rehab sessions. The control system accounts for the angles the joints in a human arm naturally make while performing various activities, and won’t let the robot attempt to bend (Read more...)
Handheld Photoacoustic Device for Lymph Node Assessment
Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology in South Korea have developed a handheld photoacoustic device that can locate sentinel lymph nodes near the armpit. The technology could help clinicians to locate the correct lymph node from which to take a biopsy when checking for breast cancer metastases. At present, this process involv (Read more...)
Pancreatic Organoids Grown Inside Synthetic Gel
A team at MIT has developed a technique to grow organoids, both from healthy and cancerous pancreatic tissue, using a synthetic gel that predictably mimics the pancreatic extracellular environment. Compared with naturally derived materials, the synthetic gel is consistent from batch to batch, meaning that it leads to more reproducible and predictab (Read more...)
3D Microscopy of Whole Organs with Micrometer Detail
A team of scientists at Umeå University in Sweden came up with a way to create complex 3D maps of whole organs in incredible detail. The approach involves embedding a whole organ in agarose, a stiff gel matrix, and then using this support matrix to section the tissue into cm3 chunks. These chunks are the […]
3D-Printed Origami Tube for Low-Cost Ventilators
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have developed a low-cost portable ventilator that uses a 3D-printed origami tube rather than a conventional airbag. The volume of the tube can be modified by changing the angles in the origami folding plates. As up to 95% of the components of the ventilator are 3D printable, the […]
Smart Dental Implant Resists Bacteria and Generates Electricity
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania created a dental implant that resists bacterial growth and generates electricity thanks to its piezoelectric properties. The generated electricity could power a light source for on-board phototherapy, a technique that could help protect gum tissue from disease and inflammation. The implant contains disc (Read more...)
EXALT Model B Single-Use Bronchoscope: Interview with Dave Pierce, Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific recently announced FDA clearance of the EXALT Model B single-use bronchoscope, intended for bedside procedures in intensive care units or in the operating room. As a single-use device that boasts high quality imaging and suction capabilities, the bronchoscope is ready to go out of the packaging, which means it mitigates the risk o (Read more...)