A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego created a wearable device that uses a disposable microneedle patch to continuously sample and analyze interstitial fluid. The wearable can measure glucose, alcohol, and lactate levels, all of which could be useful information for patients with diabetes. The disposable patch is attached (Read more...)
Tag: Diagnostics
Wearable Sweat Sensor Warns of Impending Cytokine Storm
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with a company called EnLiSense, developed a wearable electrochemical sweat sensor that can detect chemokines in sweat, alerting the wearer and clinicians to a viral or bacterial infection. The device also warns of an impending cytokine storm, where high levels of inflammatory molec (Read more...)
Smartphone App to Diagnose Neurological Disorders
A team at the University of California San Diego has developed a smartphone app that can precisely measure changes in pupil size as a potential method to assess a variety of neurological conditions and disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD. The technique relies on the near-infrared cameras that newer smartphones use for facial rec (Read more...)
Wireless Data Transfer for Implanted Devices Using Ionic Communication
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 wi (Read more...)
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 de (Read more...)
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 c (Read more...)
Magnetic Tentacle Robot Travels Deep into Lungs
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK have created a magnetic “tentacle robot” that is just 2 mm in diameter, which they hope will be able to navigate through some of the smallest airways in our lungs. At present, a bronchoscope is used to investigate the lungs, but this cannot pass into very […]
Smartphone App Calculates Genetic Risk of Coronary Artery Disease
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California have developed a smartphone app that can calculate a user’s genetic risk of coronary artery disease. The app can import genetic information from a commonly used genetic testing service, 23andMe, and provide a personalized risk assessment of coronary artery disease. In tests so far, u (Read more...)
Acoustic Fabric Listens to Heart and Breathing, Works as Hearing Aid
Researchers at MIT have created an “acoustic fabric” that can listen to its surroundings and convert the vibrations made by sound into electrical signals, much like the human ear or a microphone. The technology consists of piezoelectric fibers that are woven into the fabric, and the resulting machine-washable material could prove useful (Read more...)
Optical Probe Measures Dental Plaque Acidity
A team at the University of Washington have developed an optical probe that can detect the acidity of dental plaque. The acidity created by bacteria within plaque causes cavities, and knowing which areas of the teeth are particularly acidic could help dentists to predict where cavities are likely to arise. The knowledge could help someone [… (Read more...)
Microfluidic Device for Quick and Accurate SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Researchers at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, have created a microfluidic chip that can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in less than 30 minutes, and with a similar level of accuracy as the current gold-standard test, PCR. The technology combines the speed of antigen tests with the accuracy of PCR and may be […]
Blood Clotting Test on a Smartphone
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed smartphone-based technology that can allow someone to perform a blood clotting test at home. The technology is low-cost and easy to use. The test involves placing a drop of blood into a plastic attachment that can be viewed by a smartphone camera. The smartphone then vibrates the […]
(Read more...)Quick and Accurate COVID Test Uses LAMP Assay
Researchers at the University of Washington developed a new COVID testing technology that can provide accurate results in as little as 30 minutes. The technology intends to be a bridge between PCR tests, which are accurate but slow, and antigen tests, which are rapid but suffer from reduced accuracy. The system provides results straight to [&hellip (Read more...)
Cheap and Portable COVID-19 Test Lab
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have created a low-cost, portable COVID testing kit intended for use in remote, low-resource regions of the world. They describe the approach as a lab-in-a-backpack, and it makes use of a recycled computer hard-drive as a centrifuge. The test assay relies on loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP (Read more...)
Automatic Blood Smear Preparation for Reliable Malaria Diagnosis
Researchers at Cambridge and Bath universities in the UK, along with colleagues at the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, have created two devices, called autohaem, that assist in creating blood smears, a common technique for diagnosing malaria. A blood smear involves manually smudging a drop of blood across a microscope slide to allow observati (Read more...)
Quantum Sensor to Detect SARS-CoV-2 More Accurately
Researchers at MIT have designed a quantum sensor to detect SARS-CoV-2. While the device is still theoretical, the researchers have used mathematical simulations to show its potential, and the data and design indicate that it may be faster, more accurate, and less expensive than the current gold-standard technique, PCR. The system is based on nanod (Read more...)
O2Ring Keeps an Eye on Your Blood Oxygen Level: A Medgadget Review
We have all been living through a life-altering pandemic. As a result, words such as “oxygenation” and “pulse oximetry” have become mainstream and the general public has increased the use of pulse oximeters. This should come as no surprise since hypoxia (i.e., low blood oxygen level) is one of the hallmarks of COVID-19 pneum (Read more...)
New Wearable Detects Respiratory Exacerbations: Interview with Dr. Maria Artunduaga, CEO of Respira Labs
Respira Labs, a medtech company based in California, created the Sylvee sensor, an adhesive patch that the user wears on their lower rib cage, and which monitors respiratory health. The device works through acoustic resonance, whereby it emits sound into the chest cavity and analyzes the echoed vibrations. The measured data provide information on l (Read more...)
Washable Fabric Measures Electrical Activity of Muscles
Researchers at the University of Utah engineered a wearable fabric that can function as a biosensor, measuring electrical activity of muscles. The technology could be useful for physical rehabilitation, allowing clinicians and physical therapists to monitor patients’ progress. The fabric contains a network of silver flakes and gold nanopartic (Read more...)
Multistep Lateral Flow Devices Perform Advanced Assays
Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a lateral flow test platform that can perform advanced assays that would otherwise require a laboratory. By controlling the flow of liquid through the lateral flow test, the research team designed it so that it can perform advanced multistep assays that do not require sophisticated lab equipment and signif (Read more...)