Researchers from TU Dresden in Germany have developed a new ultrathin lensless endoscope for biomedical applications. Their work demonstrates that the endoscope, only 200 microns in diameter, can self-calibrate and adjust its focus to perform 3D imaging. This exciting development can be used for optogenetic applications, as well as monitoring cells (Read more...)
Tag: Medicine
Stick-On Wearable Sweat Sensors to Monitor Exercise, Disease
The sweat excreted by our skin contains a number of metabolites and biomarkers that may be useful in managing disease, tracking athletic performance, and helping to identify health problems. Moreover, the amount of sweat that we produce can in itself be an important measure, but current sweat analysis techniques are very limited. Now, researchers a (Read more...)
Fully Flexible and Wireless Body Monitoring Sensors
Flexible body-worn sensors that conform to the skin have great potential for monitoring patient health, conducting long-term studies, and giving consumers a way to track their exercise and overall health. Although there have been flexible sticker-like body monitors developed in the past, they have all involved rigid electronic chips and batteries. (Read more...)
DigniCap Delta Hair Loss Prevention System for Chemo Now in U.S.
Dignitana, a company out of Lund, Sweden, won FDA clearance and is now distributing its DigniCap Delta scalp cooling system in the U.S. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) will be the first recipient in America of the fourth generation system that’s designed to prevent hair loss in patients undergoing chemotherapy to fight soli (Read more...)
Adult Human Heart Tissue Grown Using Biowire II Platform
TARA Biosystems, a firm based in New York City, and GlaxoSmithKline have managed to grow adult cardiac tissue inside the Biowire II platform developed by TARA, and have used this live tissue as a test bed for cardiac drug research. Previously, growing cardiac tissue from human induced pluripotent stem cells that can be used in […]
Transcranial Electromagnetic Treatment Halts, Reverses Alzheimer’s
A new medical device is showing that it may be possible to improve and even reverse cognitive decline in those with Alzheimer’s disease, all without drugs and with little noticeable side effects. The MemorEM system from NeuroEM Therapeutics, a company based in Phoenix, Arizona, delivers transcranial electromagnetic treatment, or TEMT, to the (Read more...)
Seraph 100 Blood Filter For Blood Stream Infections Cleared in Europe
ExThera, a company based outside of Oakland, California, won European regulatory approval for its Seraph 100 Microbind Affinity Blood Filter. The device removes a variety of pathogens in patients with bloodstream infections thanks to its “sorbent-type” filter. It can remove not only molecular compounds, such as cytokines and endotoxin, (Read more...)
Accurate Blood Pressure Measured from Video Selfies
As many medical technologies continue to miniaturize, the task of accurately measuring blood pressure still requires a cumbersome upper-arm cuff. Scientists at the University of Toronto and Hangzhou Normal University in China have now shown that it may be possible to use existing smartphones to measure blood pressure. Their approach relies on notic (Read more...)
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, [&hel (Read more...)
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. […]
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 (Read more...)
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 [&hel (Read more...)
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 [&hellip (Read more...)
Tiny Robots Aim to Work Inside Our Bodies
If we’re to have robots that work inside our bodies to find and cure diseases, they must be very small. To help make the dreams of futurists a reality, researchers at Georgia Tech have now created a robot that weighs only five milligrams and is no taller than the side of a US penny. The […]
Artificial Protein Switch for Smart Cell Therapies
Researchers from University of California, San Francisco and the University of Washington have developed a new artificial protein switch, dubbed LOCKR. Their work demonstrates that the new switch can be used to control many intracellular processes, including mediating molecular traffic inside a cell, degrading specific proteins, and causing a cell (Read more...)
New Technology for Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis and Management
Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a novel technology for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS). Their work can be used to determine which damaged regions of a patient’s brain have the potential to heal themselves, and which do not. This is an exciting development for Americans at risk and already suffering from [& (Read more...)
Diagnostic Pill Samples Bacteria While Traveling Inside Gut
The microbiome inside our gut contains a wide variety of bacterial species, some of which are a source of disease. Currently, only the lower intestine can be sampled non-invasively to learn about the bacterial flora within, so there’s actually little knowledge about what goes on higher up the GI tract. Researchers at Tufts University have [&h (Read more...)
Using Microparticles to Measure Oxygen in Tissues
The field of tissue engineering is rapidly progressing, in large part thanks to hydrogel scaffolds that provide a comfortable home for new cells. A major issue that researchers bump against is tracking how well oxygen reaches freshly grown cells within such scaffolds, which can indicate how well the new cells are generally functioning. Now, researc (Read more...)
Self-Powered Microrobots Deliver Drugs to Tumors in the Gut
Treating tumors within the GI system is often a difficult challenge, frequently requiring invasive surgery. Scientists at Caltech have now developed self-propelled microrobots that can deliver drugs to precise spots within the intestines, and that can let clinicians monitor and control their activity. Besides drug delivery, the microrobots have the (Read more...)
Device for Opioid Overdoses Releases Naloxone Automatically
Opioids can bind to brain receptors that are responsible for breathing, causing hypoventilation, and all too frequently leading to death in those that overdose. Naloxone (aka Narcan) is an antidote that prevents opioids from binding to brain receptors, but when a person does overdose it’s often too late for them to administer the life-saving (Read more...)