Head-worn displays, including ones for virtual reality and augmented reality, are becoming common in medicine. They’re already used to superimpose planning images on the patient’s body during surgery, to teach students how to perform procedures, and to analyze clinical data like never before. While they’re already amazingly cool, headsets can be made a lot smarter, […]
Tag: Neurology
Optimal-G Pro Robotic Gait Rehab System Unveiled
Motorika, a company out of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, is introducing its Optimal-G Pro robotic walking rehabilitation system at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sessions Meeting this week in Washington DC. The device helps to train the walking gait of people who have suffered from a variety of neurological, neuromuscular, and other injuries. It does so […]
Three-Photon Imaging Gives Unprecedented View Into Brain’s Visual Cortex
Three-photon microscopy is an emerging imaging technique that scientists have been perfecting over the last few years. At MIT, this has led to the first ever look into the neural activity of the entire visual cortex of an awake mouse. The researchers were even able to view the neural activity in the subplate below the […]
NeuroMetrix Introduces AI for Pain Relief at CES 2019
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a therapy that has been around for decades. It is used to treat pain and a few other conditions, but over those decades it has gotten a bit stale. New companies, though, are taking TENS therapy to a new level and NeuroMetrix is one of the leaders in this […]
Advanced Wireless and Battery-Free Optogenetics Device to Control Neuronal Activation
Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed an advanced optogenetics device that can stimulate multiple areas of the brain at once and control the intensity of emitted light. The miniaturized device is wireless and battery-free, and the researchers hope that it will pave the way to treating severe neurological disorders and controlling chronic pain. […]
Implant Simultaneously Reads and Stimulates Brain to Control Parkinson’s, Other Diseases
Electrical stimulation may serve to treat a variety of brain-related conditions, and there are already a number of products that help to control Parkinson’s, essential tremor, addiction, and depression. Though there’s a considerable ongoing progress, most of the currently available technologies are not very smart and certainly can’t measure brain activity and respond to it […]
FeetMe Partners with Novartis to Study Gait of MS Patients: Interview with CEO Alexis Mathieu
The way we walk can be influenced by both our physical and mental states. Poor cardiovascular health can slow down a person’s gait, but so can diseases such as Alzheimer’s and depression. Some conditions make their mark on one’s walking style in other ways, such as asymmetrical steps and uneven distribution of weight over the […]
Fast and Highly Accurate Body-Monitoring Finger Sensor
The hands and fingers can be thought of as diagnostic windows into different aspects of our human physiology. Hand activity and grip strength may be useful indicators of person’s overall health. Researchers at Harvard’s School of Engineering have developed safe and accurate force and strain sensors that can be attached directly to fingers for monitoring. […]
Fingernail Sensor and Artificial Intelligence for Monitoring Parkinson’s, Other Diseases
Grip strength, as well as walking speed and gait length, can be indicators of a person’s physical and mental health. A variety of conditions and treatments can be monitored from the grip strength, but such measurements are typically only performed infrequently at the doctor’s office. IBM Research has just developed a sensor that is attached […]
Weight Loss Implant Simulates Food Inside Stomach
There are millions of clinicians fighting on the front lines of the obesity epidemic every day, but there doesn’t seem to be a winning strategy. The population of seriously overweight people around the world is rising and will soon reach one billion. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers may have a technological, drug-free solution to […]
Electronic Headband for Drug-Free Motion Sickness Therapy
Motion sickness can be a debilitating condition for many people, preventing them from traveling and engaging in various activities such as sailing. There are a few drugs available to control motion sickness, but they have side effects such as drowsiness and for many people are simply a choice of choosing one discomfort over another. A […]
Destigmatizing Hearing Loss with Technology: Interview with Eargo CEO Christian Gormsen
Today, 500 million people globally suffer from hearing loss, however, most individuals wait on average seven years before dealing with the condition due to a combination of factors, including stigmas and misconceptions related to hearing aids. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 40 million individuals live with untreated hearing loss. Stepping in to address this […]
Smart Contact Lenses are Here: Interview with Prof. Herbert De Smet of Imec
imec, a research and innovation hub for nanoelectronics and digital technologies, has announced a hydrogel-based smart contact lens that incorporates a silicon microchip, integrated LED light, and radiofrequency (RF) antenna for wireless energy transfer. Belgium-based imec claims that the new lens paves the way for integrated sensors or drug delivery capabilities, whereby a contact lens […]
3D-Printed Custom Robotic Prostheses: Interview with Easton LaChappelle, CEO and Co-Founder of Unlimited Tomorrow
Unlimited Tomorrow, a medical device startup based in Rhinebeck, NY, is developing inexpensive custom prostheses for upper limb amputees. Their approach involves 3D-printing inexpensive custom robotic devices that allow users to experience a sensation of touch, by providing live feedback on the forces that act on the prosthetics. While there are 30 million amputees globally, […]
Edge Headset for Enhanced Learning and Memory: Interview with Dr. Tim Fiori, Co-founder of HUMM
HUMM, a San Francisco-based tech company, has developed the Edge headset, a wearable electrical stimulation device that the company claims can boost learning and memory. The device consists of a headband that delivers electrical stimulation to the brain, and using it for just 15 minutes is reported to provide certain cognitive enhancements for at least […]
MusicGlove Combining Music and Games for Stroke Rehab: Interview with Dr. Nizan Friedman, CEO of Flint Rehab
Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability around the world. In the United States alone, nearly 800,00 people suffer from a stroke each year. Many of those who are lucky to survive continue to live with various long-term physical disabilities, including upper limb motor impairment. Studies have shown that early motor rehabilitation is […]
electroCore Vagus Nerve Stimulator Cleared for Prevention of Cluster Headache
electroCore, based out of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, received the first FDA clearance for a product to prevent cluster headache. The gammaCore non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) system was previously cleared for treating pain that has already kicked in, that is related to migraines and episodic cluster headaches. The new clearance means that doctors can prescribe it […]
Severely Disabled People Control Tablet Computer via Brain Implant
A team of researchers in the U.S. has given three quadriplegic people the ability to use an off-the-shelf tablet computer with impressive ease. The researchers used a BrainGate2 neural interface that relies on an intracortical electrode array implant to allow direct communication between the brain and the tablet. The high-end system connected to the tablet […]
Four Blind People Go Home With New Bionic Eyes
Bionic Vision Technologies, a firm based in Australia, has announced that its bionic eye system has been used to restore a “sense of sight” to four completely blind people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. The findings from the study, which was performed at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, were presented at the Royal Australian […]
Four Blind People Go Home With New Bionic Eyes
Bionic Vision Technologies, a firm based in Australia, has announced that its bionic eye system has been used to restore a “sense of sight” to four completely blind people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. The findings from the study, which was performed at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, were presented at the Royal Australian […]