Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (yes, there is such a thing) have developed a method to 3D print functional and inexpensive microfluidic probes for cancer research. The technique could make microfluidics more accessible, allowing researchers to easily design and produce their own devices, and conduct cell-based healthcare research, such as studying ca (Read more...)
Tag: Diagnostics
Wristband Performs Blood Cell Counts to Monitor Health Anywhere
The popularity of smart watches, activity trackers, and other wearable devices is in large part due to the hope that such tools can help monitor health. While new products keep coming out, progress on embedding sensors that can monitor things other than one’s heart rate and activity level has stalled. Now researches at Rutgers University [&he (Read more...)
Microsoft’s Glasses to Monitor Blood Pressure
A number of approaches have been tried in the past to accurately measure blood pressure, but the upper-arm cuff remains the standard used in hospitals, clinics, and by patients at home. People that require frequent daily checks of their blood pressure know that it can often be inconvenient to have to have a cuff-based pressure […]
Microfluidic Device Manipulates Droplets with Ultrasound: May Revolutionize Diagnostics
Microfluidic devices are a major topic of research lately, partly because they have the potential to scale down existing devices and to make new diagnostic tools possible. Typically, microfluidic systems consist of scaled-down versions of conventional tubes, pumps, and valves. While effective for many applications, conventional components often get (Read more...)
Twisters Inside a Lab-on-a-Chip Trap Viruses, DNA, Biomolecules
At Purdue University engineers have developed a new type of optical nanotweezers that can be used to grab onto and inspect viruses, DNA strings, and other important biomolecules. The innovative lab-on-a-chip device relies on a “nanostructured plasmonic metafilm” created out of a very thin gold sheet with nano-scale holes drilled into it (Read more...)
Nano-Optic Endoscope Allows High-Resolution Imaging
Researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a new type of endoscopic imaging catheter. The catheter uses metalenses, which contain nanostructures to focus light, to achieve higher resolution imaging than conventional catheter imaging systems. So far, the researchers have used the new system to image deep into (Read more...)
Microfluidic Device Detects Bacteria in Tiny Samples
Canadian researchers at McGill University and University of Toronto have come up with a new device for rapid detection of small concentrations of pathogenic bacteria within tiny samples. The technology may help to spot diseases early, and so allow clinicians to better treat their patients while slowing down the spread of infection. The device consi (Read more...)
Clinical Grade Urinalysis at Home with Your Smartphone
Smartphones have become surprisingly useful in medicine, but they still remain mostly as assistants to the core process of medicine. They make it easy for clinicians to communicate, absorb information, take notes, and do so many other things. They’re still rarely used for diagnostics, but that’s changing too. Healthy.io, a company out o (Read more...)
Artificial Model of Heart Ventricle for Studying Cardiac Diseases, Drugs, Therapies
Custom-built artificial hearts are still something from science fiction, but the engineering knowledge to get there is already being assembled in labs around the world. One important piece of the puzzle has just been reported on by researchers at Harvard University, who have built a model of the heart’s left ventricle, seeded with living hear (Read more...)
Wearable Patch Can Sense Cortisol Levels in Sweat
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a stretchy wearable patch that can measure cortisol levels in sweat. The researchers hope that the technology could help doctors diagnose adrenal or pituitary problems, and help to assess stress levels in young or non-verbal children who cannot communicate with mental health professionals. Levels of (Read more...)
Device Detects Mosquitoes Carrying Pathogenic Viruses
Mosquitoes are usually only an unpleasant nuisance, but when they’re carrying diseases we only find out once people start showing up sick at hospitals and clinics. A spinoff from Purdue University is hoping to give public health professionals, and mosquito eradication programs, an early warning system to know where to direct their resources. (Read more...)
Spectral X-Ray Scanner Gives Detailed New View Inside The Body
An amazing new X-ray scanner has been tried for the first time on a human, producing 3D color images with incredible detail. The spectral (multi-energy) scanner was developed for clinical uses by researchers at Universities of Canterbury and Otago, both in New Zealand, and it relies on a detector created originally for CERN, the large European (Read more...)
Artificial Intelligence and Radar Technologies to Measure Blood Glucose
Diabetes management is slowly moving away from needles, finger sticks, and insulin pumps that intrude on a person’s life. Now, researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a novel combination of radar and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help people manage diabetes more effectively and detect changes in glucose level (Read more...)
Contact Lens Measures Glucose, pH, Lactate in Eye
At Purdue University researchers have come up with a way of reliably attaching thin film sensors and other small electronic devices to soft contact lenses. The capability may allow for real-time, non-invasive measurement of glucose levels, delivery of drugs directly to the eye, and maybe even tracking intraocular pressure. “We developed a ver (Read more...)
Photoacoustic Computed Tomography May Replace Mammographies for Breast Cancer Screening
Though mammography helps to provide early detection of breast cancer, it is a modality that suffers from limitations, particularly in dense breasts. A new technology, developed at Caltech, may have the potential to eclipse mammographies for spotting cancerous lesions. The photoacoustic system sends near-infrared laser light into breast tissue and d (Read more...)
Stretchable, Conductive Hydrogel as a Biomedical Sensor
Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Saudi Arabia have developed an electrically conductive hydrogel that can flex, stretch, and self-heal when cut and reattached. The versatile material has potential in a variety of applications including wound healing patches, wearable electronics, and touch-sensitive robotics. T (Read more...)
Health Technology Briefs from the ITF Demo Floor
Medgadget was recently invited to attend the imec Technology Forum (ITF) conference in Antwerp, Belgium. One of the highlights of the conference was the demo floor where imec, which is a non-profit R&D innovation organization, had the opportunity to show off some cool technologies from their research teams, spinoff companies, and partner organi (Read more...)
Tiny Battery-Free Implantable Devices Powered Wirelessly Using Radio Frequency Waves
Scientists at MIT have developed a wireless system that can power tiny implantable devices in the body, without the need for batteries. The system relies on radiofrequency waves emitted by an antenna outside the body, which can then power the implants from as far away as one meter and as deep as 10 cm below […]
New Way to Inject Light into Microdisk Resonators May Allow New Diagnostics
Microdisks are special tiny resonators that trap light inside themselves and enhance the incoming light for specific applications. They rely on the whispering-gallery optical effect, similar to the sound-based effect of the same name that’s demonstrated at many children’s museums. Microdisks have great potential for assessing the s (Read more...)
Pressure-Responsive Fibers Could Lead to Color-Changing Bandages
Engineers at MIT have developed photonic fibers that change color in response to pressure. The innovation could lead to color-changing bandages that allow clinicians to easily know if they’re tight enough or too tight. Compression stockings and bandages are a common treatment for venous ulcers. However, it can be difficult to tell if an optim (Read more...)