Polarean Imaging, a company based in North Carolina, is pursuing regulatory approval for clinical use of its hyperpolarized gas MRI. The technology is intended to assist in diagnosing respiratory conditions, something that would be particularly useful during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Polarean produces equipment to generate hyperp (Read more...)
Tag: Diagnostics
Smartphone App And Deep Learning Help Detect Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the world’s top causes of disease and death, affecting more than 450 million people worldwide. While technology has come a long way in helping to detect and manage diabetes, it still typically involves blood draws and clinical tools. Moreover, around half of all people with diabetes aren’t even aware that they [&helli (Read more...)
Canon Medical Unveils SOLTUS 500 Portable X-Ray
Canon Medical is releasing a compact new mobile digital X-ray. The SOLTUS 500, powered by a 40kW generator, has touch screens both at the main unit and at the collimator, making it easier and quicker to operate it around patients. Detectors are charged right on the device and stored within a special bin, plus special […]
Somatom On.site Portable CT Scanner FDA Cleared
Siemens Healthineers won FDA clearance for the company’s SOMATOM On.site mobile head CT scanner. The device can be easily brought in directly into patient rooms thanks to its powered wheels and an on-board battery. Normally, patients have to be moved to the CT scanner, wherever it may be within a hospital. With the SOMATOM On.site, […]
(Read more...)Drawing Biomedical Electronics Directly Onto Skin
Wearable biomedical devices hold the promise of allowing for continuous, remote patient monitoring in all kinds of settings. A variety of vital signs, including heart rate and its variability, body temperature, and the amount of sweat produced, can be measured. The problem is that a lot of these measurements are not particularly accurate when using (Read more...)
Nanogenerators Harvest Energy from Body, Monitor Heart Health
Wearable medical devices such as continuous heart rate monitors, insulin pumps, and neural stimulators usually need access to an electric power source in order to function. While there’s a great deal of wasted energy that our body emits that can be harvested to power such devices, making it actually happen using biocompatible materials has pr (Read more...)
Patients to Draw Their Own Biomedical Sensors Using Pencil and Paper
Wearable bioelectronic devices that stick to the skin and measure things such as temperature, heart rhythms, and other vitals are typically complex devices that use modern materials to do their job. They tend to be difficult to manufacture, expensive, and fragile, and so are still not widely available. Incredibly, researchers at the University of M (Read more...)
Thinklabs One Electronic Stethoscope Helps Physicians Stop Spread of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation and use of telemedicine and telehealth platforms and devices as part of current day-to-day standards of care in many hospital and healthcare systems. In this era of social distancing, doctors on our frontlines are at the most risk when diagnosing patients, and it’s therefore important to min (Read more...)
Smart Algorithm for Seizure Detection and Classification
To monitor, treat, and better understand how seizures arise and develop, scientists and clinicians have been looking for more objective measures and analyses of brain activity. Currently, a typical electroencephalography (EEG) recording of brainwaves throughout a seizure is of limited value as it requires quite a bit of processing to get a sense of (Read more...)
Sweat Sensor Gathers Large Samples for Accurate Analysis
Sweat excreted by the skin contains important biomarkers for a number of diseases, as well as being a critical parameter in athletic performance, overall body function, and even an early warning indicator of an oncoming illness. Measuring sweat output and its chemical composition, in an accurate and easily administered way, has been a challenge. At (Read more...)
Sound Waves Move Individual Droplets Inside Microfluidic Devices
Microfluidic devices are analogous to circuit boards, and they can be programmed to perform all kinds of laboratory tasks on a small scale. They have the potential to perform all kinds of medical tests involving body fluids in a short time and using very small samples. While circuit boards pass electricity, which can be abstracted […]
Breathalyzer to Detect COVID-19 in Seconds
Being able to tell, in a matter of seconds, whether someone is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 would certainly help put a halt to the ongoing pandemic. Existing tests typically involve a deep nasal swab to obtain enough fluid sample, which has to be transferred to a laboratory machine for processing, with the […]
Microfluidic Device Mimics Blood Vessels to Test Clotting
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a microfluidic device that mimics the complex architecture of vasculature to better study blood clot treatments. The device includes channels with spirals, bends, and curves that are similar to those found in blood vessels, and which can influence blood clotting. Besides being biomimetic, the d (Read more...)
Smart Textile Fibers to Measure Wearer’s Health
At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) researchers have developed special textile threads that can be used to detect slight variations in how a fabric is stretched, the pressures that are applied to it, and even the torque that twists it. The capability may end up being used in clothing and even bed […]
(Read more...)Microfluidic Test for Viral Antibodies Takes Just 20 Minutes
Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have developed a microfluidic test that can detect antibodies against a viral infection. So far, the test has been optimized to detect avian flu, but could be adapted to detect antibodies against the virus causing COVID-19. The device can provide a result in as little as 20 minutes and […]
Quick Urine Test for Metabolic Precursors of Kidney Stones
Researchers from Penn State and Stanford University have developed a 30-minute urine test to measure levels of substances that can contribute to kidney stone formation. The test could help patients to find out if they are prone to developing kidney stones or to monitor their progress in avoiding kidney stone formation through treatment or dietary [ (Read more...)
Fidget Spinner for Rapid Detection of Urinary Tract Infections
More than half of all women experience at least one episode of urinary tract infection (UTI) in their lifetime, with men also facing increasing risks of infection as they age. Current detection of UTIs rely on patients reporting symptoms followed by a lab culture of the urine for known bacterial culprits, which typically takes a […]
Smartphone Measures Hemoglobin Levels in Photos of Eyelids
Anemia is properly diagnosed using a blood test that measures hemoglobin, but simply looking behind a patient’s eyelid can be a pretty good alternative if you know how red the tissue is supposed to be. Now, a team at Purdue University has developed a technology that lets a clinician use smartphone pictures of the inner […]
Flexible Sensors Measure Vitamin C Levels in Sweat
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed flexible sensors that can be worn on the skin to sensitively track vitamin C levels in sweat. The devices could be useful in helping wearers to maintain optimal levels of the vitamin, which is important for a healthy immune system, and could be particularly useful […]
Philips Ultrasounds Cleared in U.S. to Manage COVID Complications
The FDA has granted Philips 510(k) clearance for its ultrasound systems to be used to address lung and cardiac complications that arise in COVID-19 patients. The clearance encompasses the firm’s EPIQ series, Affiniti series, Lumify, CX50 and Sparq diagnostic ultrasounds, and for offerings such as the QLAB Advanced Quantification Software. Ult (Read more...)