Levels has done something truly transformative: the company made continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) accessible to the general population and every day consumer. In many circles, it seems the trend of bringing healthcare to the home and directly to the patient is continuing, but understanding metabolism and lifestyle habits through this new tech tre (Read more...)
Tag: Medicine
CRISPR Combined with Glowing Proteins for Viral Detection
Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have developed a sensitive diagnostic test for viral pathogens that is suitable for use in low-resource regions. The test is based on CRISPR proteins that can detect viral genetic material but also incorporates luciferase proteins, which are bioluminescent proteins that are natura (Read more...)
Biomimetic Construct Models Burn Injuries
Researchers at Harvard University have developed a model of burn injuries that will allow them to investigate the mechanisms underlying healing in such injuries and test out new approaches to enhance this process. Burns can take a long time to heal and can be prone to infection and complicated by the presence of large quantities […]
Moving Cells Using Ultrasound
Researchers at Caltech have developed a technique that lets them move groups of cells very precisely. It involves genetically modifying cells so that they express small protein air sacs in their interior. The sacs render the cells highly susceptible to manipulation using ultrasound waves, and the researchers can precisely move them into complicated (Read more...)
Smartphone Photos to Detect Anemia
Researchers at University College London and at the University of Ghana have developed a smartphone-based system that can detect anemia through simple photos taken using the phone’s camera. The technology is intended for use in low- and middle-income countries where access to routine medical diagnostics may be unreliable. The process involves (Read more...)
Ultrasound Catheter to Treat Hypertension
Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Université de Paris, France, have tested an ultrasound denervation catheter in its potential to treat hypertension. The technology is called the Paradise ultrasound denervation device and it has been developed by ReCor Medical, a medtech company with offices in California and t (Read more...)
Neuroimmune Modulation for Inflammatory Disease: Interview with Dr. Simhambhatla, President and CEO of SetPoint Medical
SetPoint Medical, a medtech company based in California, is developing a neuromodulatory device that is intended to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The overlap between the nervous and immune systems is increasingly appreciated, and this technology aims to capitalize on this to create a new treatment for inflammatory disease. The neuromodulation device (Read more...)
HIV Vaccine Candidate Stops Virus As it Enters Body
Researchers at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute are developing a vaccine candidate against HIV. The vaccine is intended to block HIV entry into the body and is administered to the mucosal lining of the rectum and vagina to achieve this. The formulation then stimulates antibodies against HIV in precisely the areas where the virus first [&hell (Read more...)
Electrostatic Face Mask Self-Charges with Breathing
Researchers at City University of Hong Kong have developed an electrostatically charged face mask that can replenish its charge through the wearer’s breathing action. The electrostatic charge helps the mask to adsorb tiny particles, such as SARS-CoV-2 viruses. However, such masks typically lose their charge and ability to bind particles over (Read more...)
NextGen COVID-19 Antibodies Destroy Spike Protein
Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia have developed a new generation of antibodies to treat COVID-19. So far, the antibodies have been shown to neutralize several of the viral variants behind COVID-19, and the researchers hope that they will form an effective treatment for at-risk patients. Previously developed antib (Read more...)
Personalized CAR-T Cell Therapy
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a new method to prepare chimeric antigen receptor-T cells (CAR-T cells) for leukemia patients that could result in more effective treatment. CAR-T cells start life as T cells that are isolated from cancer patients, are stimulated and primed to recognize an (Read more...)
Automated Mass Spec Technique to Detect Antidepressants
Scientists at Brown University have designed an automated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system that allows clinicians to rapidly and easily process patient samples to determine levels of antidepressant drugs in the body. Getting the correct dose of antidepressant drugs into the bloodstream is important to ensure efficacy (Read more...)
Acoustic Stimulation for Insomnia
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have tested a closed-loop acoustic stimulation neurotechnology in its ability to treat insomnia. The device in question has been developed by Cereset, a medtech company headquartered in Arizona. Insomnia is not just unpleasant, but can have significant long-term health consequences, including (Read more...)
Automated Feeding Platform to Study Mosquito Disease Transmission
A team at Rice University has developed an automated feeding platform for mosquitoes that allows researchers to test different types of repellent and investigate mosquito-borne disease transmission. Traditionally, such mosquito research would require human volunteers or animal subjects for the mosquitos to feed on, but this is obviously inconvenien (Read more...)
Electrochemical Sensor for Detailed SARS-CoV-2 Immunity Data
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed an electrochemical device, called the eRapid sensor, that can assist clinicians in quickly characterizing someone’s COVID-19 infection, including identifying the infecting viral variant and the nature of someone’s immunity to the virus in terms of whether it is vaccine-mediated or (Read more...)
Terahertz Spectroscopy to Assess Severity of Skin Burns
Scientists at Stony Brook University in New York have developed a hand-held scanner that uses terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and neural network data analysis to non-invasively assess the severity of skin burns. At present, it is difficult to visually assess the depth of a burn injury, which could negatively influence treatment outcomes. The dev (Read more...)
Hydrogel Cell Carrier for Fistula Healing
Researchers at Johns Hopkins created an injectable hydrogel carrier vehicle for stem cells that is intended to aid in healing a difficult complication of Crohn’s disease, perianal fistulas. Perianal fistulas are very challenging to treat, but stem cells have shown promise in assisting with this process. However, it is difficult to get the cel (Read more...)
Bottlebrush Particle for Synergistic Drug Combinations
A scientific team at MIT has developed a bottlebrush-shaped nanoparticle that can deliver combinations of drugs for synergistic efficacy. The particles contain a central backbone and demonstrate side-chains that sprout from this backbone, similar to the handle and bristles of a bottlebrush. Several drugs can be mixed in different ratios and combine (Read more...)
Antibacterial Peptide Spray Safe for Use on Wounds
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed an antimicrobial spray that is safe to use on wounds and in the body, including as an antimicrobial coating on implantable or in-dwelling devices, such as urinary catheters. The technology is not based on harsh chemical antiseptics or antibiotic drugs that could aggravate tis (Read more...)
Flexible Sensors Detect Heavy Metals in Sweat
Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, along with collaborators in Germany and Sweden, have developed a flexible sensor that can detect heavy metals in sweat, an easily obtainable bodily fluid. Heavy metals, such as lead or cadmium, can cause serious toxicity if they accumulate in the body, but detecting the concentration of [ (Read more...)