The NFL (National Football League), having been convinced of the danger of head impacts on its players and the sport overall, has begun a number of initiatives to try to deal with concussions and related injuries. As part of their Play Smart. Play Safe. campaign, the league is releasing a software toolkit to make it […]
Tag: Neurology
AmnioStem Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell Therapy for Stroke
Creative Medical Technology Holdings, a Phoenix, Arizona firm, has filed for a patent for its AmnioStem amniotic fluid derived stem cell therapy for treatment of stroke. According to the company, “The patent application covers the use of the Company’s newly licensed AmnioStem stem cell as a production means for generation of nanoparticl (Read more...)
Brain-Computer Interfaces Work Best When Users and Computers Learn from Each Other
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI), which are able to read brain activity and turn the data into real actions such as moving a wheelchair, have the potential to liberate many severely disabled people. While a lot of progress has been achieved in this field, BCIs are still extremely limited in what they’re able to achieve and how […]
Easing Migraines with an Earplug: Interview with Cirrus Healthcare’s Grant O’Connell
Migraines are throbbing headaches often associated with light or sound sensitivity and nausea. They can be a severely debilitating, with an estimated 13% of US adults experiencing them and 2-3 million of whom are classified as chronic sufferers. Although the causes of migraines are not completely understood, many sufferers report increased incidenc (Read more...)
Researchers Present “Neuronal Cookbook” for Making Neurons from Skin Cells
A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a so-called “neuronal cookbook” that provides other scientists a set of instruction for how to convert skin cells into different types of brain neurons. The new methodology should allow researchers to generate exactly the type of cells they need and to study them in (Read more...)
Exclusive: BeCare Link’s Innovative App for Multiple Sclerosis Patients
BeCare Link has created a mobile application (“BeCare MS Link” in the Google Play app store) that connects patients to physicians and researchers to provide unprecedented levels of insight into multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. As paraphrased from a MS patient: “Much of MS is what is happening in (Read more...)
Nextstim’s NBT Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Coming to U.S. to Treat Major Depression
Nextstim, based in Helsinki, Finland, is making its NBT Navigated Brain Therapy system available in the U.S. for treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. The device is used to deliver transcranial magnetic stimulation to the brain, a therapy that has shown to be effective for certain patients. The system consists of the transcranial magnetic stimula (Read more...)
Device Provides New Way to Visualize Brain Activity
Researchers at the Rockefeller University have developed a tiny headset that can visualize neurons in the brain turning on and off while a mouse explores its environment, or interacts with other mice. The technique could help scientists to track the interactions between brain cells and learn more about what happens in the brains of people [… (Read more...)
Mirages of Reality: Holographic Laser Activates Groups of Brain Neurons
At University of California, Berkeley neuroscientists are engaged in activities normally reserved for sci-fi books. They’re using holographic projectors to control the activity of entire groups of neurons at the same time. Though there’s certainly room for abuse, the therapeutic and scientific potential for being able to manipulate the (Read more...)
Brain Stimulator May Help Recover from Stroke
Ohio State University is reporting on a study its researchers are performing that’s evaluating a brain stimulator for treating the consequences of strokes. Specifically, a device made by MicroTransponder, an Austin, Texas firm, is used to stimulate the vagus nerve while a patient performs traditional rehab exercises. The therapist holds a but (Read more...)
iSchemaView’s RAPID CTA for Brain Angiography Imaging
iSchemaView, of Redwood City, California, won FDA clearance for its RAPID CTA imaging software for CT angiography. The package helps to visualize and analyze brain vasculature, including highlighting areas of lower than normal vessel density and providing 3D tools such as rotation and zoom to give a better idea of the relevant anatomy. Product page (Read more...)
EEG Shown Effective at Predicting Onset of Autism
Diagnosing autism early in kid’s life can help to mitigate its future development. Now researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital are reporting in journal Scientific Reports that they were able to use EEG (electroencephalography) to predict the onset of autism or rule out its development with impressive accuracy. A group of children wa (Read more...)
Brain’s Mysteries May Be Revealed with MIT’s Neuron Activity Sensor
Functional MRI (fMRI) imaging has provided an amazing look into the activities happening inside the brain. Specifically, it allows scientists to study intra cerebral blood flow under the scalp, which is indicative of the goings-on of neurons in the vicinity of the flowing blood. Therefore this is an indirect measurement, which is a pretty crude [&h (Read more...)
New Technique to Measure Brain Blood Flow Using Light
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a new method to measure blood flow in the brain using light. The method could provide a cheaper and more robust way to assess patients with traumatic brain injuries or stroke. The technique is based on the principle that shining a laser light through someone’s skull […]
Accuro Helps to Make Epidurals and Spinals Easier: Interview with Will Mauldin, CEO of Rivanna Medical
Performing epidural and spinal anesthesia requires a good deal of training and being able to sense when the needle reaches the desired location. This is certainly not foolproof and some patients are harder to work with than others. One issue is that a sonographer is usually required to operate the ultrasound while the anesthesiologist delivers [&he (Read more...)
Smart Electronics Bring More Realistic Sense of Touch to Prosthetic Devices
While the capabilities of prosthetic arms have been getting more impressive over the years, commercial devices generally lack providing any sense of touch. Moreover, attempts to provide a tactile sensation have encountered the problem of producing consistent results in different situations and throughout the user’s entire day. Now researchers (Read more...)
Noninvasive Brain Tumor Biopsy Using Focused Ultrasound
Unlike many other tumors, ones found in the brain are usually too dangerous to take biopsies of. Now the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis came up with a revolutionary new way of using focused ultrasound to get tumors to release biomarkers that can then be spotted using blood samples. Thanks to […]
Tiny Wireless Optical Implant for Neural Control
Researchers in Japan have developed a tiny optical implant, no bigger than the width of a coin, that could be used to change neural behavior. The researchers can implant the device several centimeters into the body, and then activate it externally using infrared light. The device could make it easier for researchers to identify the […]
Functional Connectivity MRI Scans May Identify Variety of Neurological Conditions
Most brain related diseases are identified through the symptoms that patients experience. Real, direct testing may be on the horizon thanks to researchers at Washington University in St. Louis who have been looking at whether functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI), a new technique that maps outs the interconnectedness of the brain, may help spot (Read more...)
Motion-Capture and Eye-Tracking Tech to Help Find New Treatments for Mobility Impairments
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed new technology to investigate the relationship between vision and foot placement during walking. The devices include an eye tracker and a motion-tracking suit that record gaze and full-body kinematics as a wearer navigates various terrains. The insights provided by the technology could (Read more...)