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. […]
Tag: Medicine
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...)
Smart Bandage Pulls Skin Together to Speed Healing
Wounds on the skin are usually treated with bandages that protect the area and keep it moist, but which don’t actively help to promote healing. Researchers at Harvard and McGill universities have now created a mechanotherapy bandage that actually works to close the wound, keeps it protected from microbes, and speeds up healing much faster [&h (Read more...)
Decoding Physical Patterns of Our Bodies via Conformable Devices: Interview with MIT’s Canan Dagdeviren
Nature is full of physical patterns – from our breathing and the heart beating in our chests to the tides that lap the shore. The Conformable Decoders group at MIT believe that if such patterns can be “decoded,” they can provide a rich seam of information that can help in designing a variety of devices […]
New Biomaterial Improves Brain Cancer Survival in Rats
Researchers from the University of Nottingham have developed a new biomaterial that delivers chemotherapies to treat brain cancer. Their work demonstrates that their biodegradable paste led to increased survival compared to controls, and that half of all rats in a study were clear of any cancer as confirmed by laboratory tests. This exciting develo (Read more...)
Microfluidic Device Can Detect Sepsis Biomarker in Minutes
Researchers at MIT have developed a microfluidic sensor that can detect levels of IL-6, a biomarker of sepsis, in tiny volumes of blood within just 25 minutes. The device could be an inexpensive alternative to existing point-of-care systems for sepsis detection. Sepsis kills an estimated 250,000 patients in US hospitals every year. Detecting and di (Read more...)
Micromachines with Medical Potential Built Using Electric Fields
Micromachines that work inside our bodies is still mostly a dream, but it’s a worthy goal that could revolutionize medicine. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have just taken a step toward that goal by developing a way for tiny mechanical components to self-assemble into complex and functional devices. (Read more...)
High-Resolution Electron Microscope Reveals Interactions Between Drugs and Receptors
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have used a cryo-electron microscopy technique to observe the interactions between a drug molecule and its protein receptor. The approach provides valuable information which could offer clues as to how to modify drug molecules to improve their effectiveness. The way that drug molecul (Read more...)
Low Power Network for Wireless Body Sensors
As wearable devices multiply and gather ever more data about our bodies, the batteries and wireless networks they rely on can become strained. To give wearables a longer battery life and to allow gigabytes of data to be transmitted at the same time, researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a new type […]
Looking Deep Into Body Using Virtual Ultrasound Lens
Light is a great tool for imaging the outside of the body and for looking at the interior using endoscopes, but looking through more than a few millimeters of tissue typically requires other modalities such as X-rays and ultrasound. Using light to peer through skin, muscle, and other soft tissues has remained an elusive goal […]
Withings Releases Two Fashionable Wireless Blood Pressure Monitors
Withings is releasing two new wireless blood pressure monitors, the BPM Core and BPM Connect, one of which is a bit more than just a BP cuff. As always, the French company has given a lot of attention to the design of these cuffs, giving them a user-friendly, comfortable look. The BPM Connect is a […]