Stick-on strain sensors that can accurately measure the flexion of joints, big and small, have turned out hard to make. Piezoresistive devices tend to have a delayed response and are not stable in the long-run, while capacitive sensors are not very sensitive and nearby electromagnetic fields tend to interfere with them. Now researchers at South [&h (Read more...)
Tag: Military Medicine
Intel’s Chip Learns to Sniff for Hazardous Chemicals
Researchers at Intel Labs and Cornell University have utilized an unusual “neuromorphic chip” to quickly learn the signature smell of ten different hazardous chemicals and spot their presence quicker than ever before. The Loihi chip, as it is called, mimics how our brains classify and identify unique smells that our noses detect, retain (Read more...)
VistaScan Ultrasound Probes for Your Smartphone Cleared by FDA
Emagine Solutions Technology, a startup based in Tucson, Arizona, won FDA clearance for its VistaScan mobile ultrasound system. The product includes ultrasound probes that can interface with a clinician’s own smartphone or tablet, and the company’s app is used to display and manipulate live images produced by the probes. The company dev (Read more...)
Device Prints Scaffolds Inside Wounds to Replace Lost Tissue
3D printing of artificial scaffolds intended to replace injured tissues has become a ballyhooed technology that’s yet to prove itself in clinical practice. One issue that complicates things is that the scaffolds have to match the volume that they’ll be replacing, in both shape and the direction in which cells will have to grow. To [&hel (Read more...)
Pill-Sized Chemical Heater for Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests
Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a miniaturized chemical heater that can precisely heat biological samples during diagnostic tests, but does not require electricity or any specialized equipment to work. The low-cost technology is based on the exothermic reaction that occurs when lithium encounters water, and the precise shape (Read more...)
First AI-Guided Ultrasound Gets Green Light from FDA
Caption Health, a company based outside of San Francisco, CA, won the first authorization from the FDA for an ultrasound software that guides clinicians at capturing images of the heart. The Caption Guidance software should work with any number of ultrasound system from different manufacturers, but currently it can only be used with a diagnostic [& (Read more...)
Body Worn Gas Sensor Sticks to Skin
Potential exposure to dangerous chemicals is a reality for many people working in mining and manufacturing, as well as medicine. While spills of liquids are easily detected, many gases are not. Sensitive wearable gas sensors stuck to the skin would be useful for gas exposure detection, but these devices have to be flexible, need a […]
Flexible Electronic Material Works as Wearable Air Conditioning
Controlling body heat is important in a variety of situations, particularly during heavy physical exertion and when patients have high fevers. Currently there are few methods of lowering one’s temperature, and many of those can be impractical, especially if a power source is required. Now, a team of scientists at the University of Missouri ha (Read more...)
First Female Battlefield Simulator to Train Emergency Response
Operative Experience, a healthcare simulation company based in Maryland, is releasing the first anatomically accurate female combat casualty simulator. The device can mimic a variety of conditions, including airway and breathing problems, severe wounds, and broken bones, and can be used to practice emergency medicine for those conditions. Since men (Read more...)
Alvo Medical Shows Off Its Vision of The Future of Operating Room Design
Located in the picturesque town of Śmigiel, Poland, Alvo Medical is a family-run business that specializes in everything related to operating room layout and design. Since the company first started producing steel operating room furniture 25 years ago, Alvo has grown to become a worldwide provider of innovative healthcare solutions in the OR. (Read more...)
Laser Activated Gold Nanorods Create Silk Seal for Incisions and Wounds
Staples and sutures are currently used to seal soft tissues together in clinical practice, but researchers at Arizona State University have come up with an alternative technique that resembles welding. It may end up being used to seal tissues during surgeries and to treat wounds, and in many cases simply to enhance the effectiveness of […]
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...)
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 […]
MX3 Diagnostics Unveils Saliva-Based Hydration Testing System
MX3 Diagnostics, a startup with offices in Austin, Minneapolis, and Melbourne, Australia, has unveiled its first product, a saliva-based hydration testing system. The MX3 Hydration Testing System can be used by athletes, travelers, and maybe even clinicians to test patients, and is promoted by the manufacturer to be of “lab-quality”. Th (Read more...)
Hot Glue Gun and Custom Biocompatible Glue for Wound Closures
Soft tissue wounds and incisions are generally closed using sutures and staples, but those leave marks behind and can be very unpleasant for patients. In some cases, such as cosmetic surgery, specialty adhesives are used to fuse tissues together. However, these can be toxic and they tend to solidify into a harder form than native […]
Military-Specific Augmented Reality Patient Simulation: Interview with Dr. Kevin King, CEO of MedCognition
MedCognition, a Texas-based startup, has been awarded a contract to develop military-specific augmented reality patient simulations for the US army, in conjunction with Chenega Healthcare Services. The technology is based on an existing patient simulator, the PerSim system, which uses Microsoft HoloLens Mixed reality to project simulations of patie (Read more...)
FDA Clears Software to Spot Collapsed Lung in Chest X-rays
Zebra Medical Vision, an Israeli firm, landed FDA clearance for the HealthPNX automated chest X-ray analysis software that can independently spot signs of pneumothorax (PNX), colloquially known as collapsed lung. The software can help radiologists quickly and confidently identify the cause of a patient’s symptoms, allowing for emergency treat (Read more...)
Haemonetics TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer Cleared for Trauma Testing
Haemonetics won FDA clearance for its TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer System to be used in adult trauma settings to evaluate the viscoelasticity of patients’ blood. The system relies on an all-in-one cartridge into which a small sample of blood is placed. The cartridge already has the necessary reagents within itself, automatically mixing them wit (Read more...)
Automated Machine for Pumping Bag Valve Masks
Bag valve masks help paramedics, anesthesiologists, and others to oxygenate the lungs, but being manual devices the operator oftentimes has to do additional tasks, such as provide jaw thrust or use both hands to ensure good seal around the face mask. Engineering students at Rice University made an attachment for ventilator pump bags so that [&helli (Read more...)
Functional Clothing Fibers Protect Wearer from Chemical Agents
Exposure to chemical agents is a possibility not only during warfare, but is a reality for many working in factories and other facilities. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center have now developed a new type of coating, designed to be applied to tex (Read more...)