Dizziness is a common condition but its underlying causes can be very difficult to diagnose. It is usually unpredictable and doesn’t last very long, so by the time a patient presents to the physician everything checks out as normal. Detecting nystagmus (uncontrolled eye movements) is a pretty reliable way of diagnosing peripheral vestibular disorders, but […]
Author: Medgadged
Shear-Thinning Gel Makes for Easier Polyp Removals
When removing pre-cancerous polyps from the colon, physicians typically inject saline into the tissue below the polyps to raise them and make them easier to access. However, saline drains away quickly, requiring precise timing and repeat injections, among other difficulties. Now, scientists at MIT have developed an injectable material that can be used to create […]
Wireless Brain Implant Controls Mice Using Drugs and Light
Optogenetics is a quickly evolving field that allows scientists to activate specific neurons using bursts of light. The technique may help to uncover the basis of neurological diseases and how to tame them. Using optogenetics to assess how different drugs affect the central nervous system may offer a powerful new scientific tool. To that end, […]
New Device Supports Dialysis Fistulas
Vascular Graft Solutions, a company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, has won the European CE Mark for its FRAME FR device for repair and support of high flow and aneurysmal arteriovenous fistulas. These are created in hemodialysis patients to allow for more blood to flow through a vein and give easy access for dialysis needles. […]
Biomaterial Tricks Immune System to Grow New Blood Vessels
Researchers from Harvard’s Wyss Institute have developed a new biomaterial that can activate T cells to promote vascularization of ischemic tissues. Their work demonstrates that the biomaterial results in local blood vessel development, increased perfusion, and new muscle growth after ischemia. Various compounds have been tested to try to improve angiogenesis in tissues that have […]
Magnetically Controlled Soft Robots to Operate on Human Body
Although a myriad of robots is already used in a variety of industries, including medicine, they’re almost exclusively rigid devices using conventional mechanics. To best work with the pliability of the human body, it may be advantageous for medical robots to be soft and not include gears, motors, and metal cables. Researchers at North Carolina […]
Back Brace Simulator Uses 3D Prints of Patient Spine and Rib Cage
The development of innovative back braces has stagnated a bit. In part, this is because different patients have unique needs and there isn’t a comprehensive platform to test how new braces will help support different anatomies. Now, a team of engineers at Lancaster University in the U.K. has developed a torso simulator that can help […]
Device Speeds Cervical Cancer Screening
When screening for cervical cancer, immunofluorescence staining is used to identify the presence of proteins that are biomarkers for the disease. It is a slow and meticulous process that requires lab technicians to prepare individual cells for analysis. Even then, since not all cells show the same disease characteristics, the rate of false negatives can […]
‘EPI-Detection’ Proven to Shorten Procedure Time, Reduce Radiation Compared to Loss of Resistance
A research team at a university hospital in Korea is drawing keen attention as it demonstrated excellent performance by reducing the amount of radiation exposure and procedure times using the EPI-Detection®, a digital medical pressure checker from Saeum Meditec, compared to traditional Loss of Resistance (LOR) technique. Epi-Detection® is expected to play a role in […]
World’s First PET/SPECT Scanner Developed Using Compton Camera
Nuclear medicine relies on two imaging modalities to assess internal function and diagnose disease. Positron emission tomography (PET) typically uses fluorine-18, a radiotracer that releases positrons, and a special scanner to detect the resulting gamma rays. Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is similar, but usually depends on injecting the technetium-99m radioisotope and a gamma camera […]
Chip Captures Circulating Tumor Cells, Keeps Them Alive
Cancer metastasis continues to pose difficulties for clinicians. Tumors shed cells which travel throughout the body and attach themselves at distant sites, causing new tumors to sprout. These so-called circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are extremely rare and difficult to pick out from whole blood, in part because they’re often a similar size to white blood […]
Future of Robotics in Healthcare: Interview with Corey Ryan of Kuka Laboratories
As the manager of Medical Robotics at KUKA Robotics, Corey Ryan is at the helm of company’s research, sales, and growth in the medical sector for North America. Under his leadership, KUKA has diversified its expertise to grow its relationships with startups and expand its robotic applications. Corey is a sought after speaker and has […]
Ultrasound System to Charge Medical Implants
Batteries power most electric medical implants. Pacemakers, for example, use the same battery for years without recharging, but eventually have to be replaced once the charge starts to run out. There have been numerous attempts to create technology to generate electricity from within the body to power these devices. These have resulted in rather modest […]
LipoGlo Makes Bad Cholesterol Glow Inside Zebrafish
So-called “bad cholesterol” is a molecular complex of fat and protein. Specifically, the protein is Apolipoprotein-B, or ApoB, and the fat is cholesterol. While ApoB helps fat molecules to move around the blood vasculature, it is also what makes cholesterol stick to vessel walls, forming dangerous plaques that are one of the main causes of […]
Imperceptible Wearable Electronics Only Microns Thin
When we think of wearable electronics, devices such as smartwatches, chest-strap heart monitors, and wrist-worn activity trackers come to mind. In the future, and one that is seemingly not that far away, wearables may look like tattoos that are only microns thick. That may be thanks to researchers from the University of Houston, University of […]
3D Printed Cardiac Components
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a method to 3D print collagen and cells to form organ components, potentially paving the way for full organ printing in the future. The technique, called Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH), involves printing collagen layer-by-layer in a bath of support gel, which allows it to solidify […]
Breath Analyzer for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition in which fluid leaks into the lungs and builds up in the alveoli within. It is a rapidly progressive condition that often leads to terminal consequences, yet it can be difficult to diagnose and monitor. Now, researchers at University of Michigan have developed a portable device that […]
PrisMax for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy FDA Cleared
Baxter won FDA clearance for its PrisMax system and accompanying TherMax blood warmer. The system is designed for delivery of continuous renal replacement therapy to treat those with acute kidney injury and some autoimmune diseases. The system is an evolution of the company’s Prismaflex technology that has been available for a few years, and is […]
Device Removes Rings from Swollen Fingers without Cutting
Swollen fingers with rings on them are a common presence in emergency rooms, and bolt cutters are a typical solution. Of course nobody wants to have their wedding ring destroyed that way, but clinicians often don’t have any options other than cutting off the ring. Moreover, the increased popularity of ultra-strong titanium rings often makes […]
System Corrects for Chromatic Aberration to Improve Imaging of Eye
Our eyes are an imperfect window into the world. Individual and unique aberrations of every eye make it challenging to study how people perceive the world, but also create an impediment to imaging the eye accurately for signs of disease. Since eye imaging equipment has to peer through the imperfect lenses of our eyes, the […]