Luminopia, a company based in Cambridge, MA, has developed Luminopia One, a visual content system that aims to treat amblyopia, also known as ‘lazy eye,’ in young children. The condition is caused by neurological deficits that typically affect vision in one eye. At present, the condition is treated using corrective glasses, eye patches, (Read more...)
Tag: Neurology
EvoWalk Digital Therapy Platform: Interview with Pierluigi Mantovani, CEO at Evolution Devices
Evolution Devices, a company based in California, created a functional electrical stimulation device to assist people with foot drop to walk more freely. Foot drop is caused by muscle weakness/paralysis, and those affected struggle to lift the front part of their foot, which makes walking difficult and can lead to falls. The product is called [&hel (Read more...)
Wireless Photoelectric Implant for Optogenetics Research
Scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland created a wireless photoelectric implant that allows them to activate or suppress certain neurons in the mouse spinal cord. The flexible implant is controlled through Bluetooth and contains miniaturized LEDs that emit red light, which helps to avoid absorption and r (Read more...)
Swoop Portable MRI: Interview with David Scott, President and CEO of Hyperfine
Hyperfine, a company based in St Guilford, Connecticut, created Swoop, a portable MRI scanner. The device received FDA approval as the first bedside MRI scanner in 2020, and a recent study has shown that it can help to accurately spot hemorrhagic stroke, detecting 85 of 88 blood-negative cases (96.6% specificity). Rapid detection is important for [ (Read more...)
Laser-Assisted Bioprinting of Neurons
A team at Concordia University in Montreal have developed a technique called Laser-Induced Side Transfer (LIST) that allows for bioprinting of neurons. Low energy laser pulses are directed at a capillary containing a cell-laden bioink, resulting in microbubbles that eject a microjet of the ink onto the substrate below. The technique appears to be f (Read more...)
EEG Test for Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK have developed an EEG test for Alzheimer’s disease. The technique involves measuring brain waves using an EEG cap while a person watches a screen with a series of flashing images. Taking just two minutes, the test quantifies a person’s ability to differentiate between images based on [&hel (Read more...)
Steerable Catheter to Navigate Tortuous Blood Vessels in Brain
A team at University of California San Diego invented a way to make steerable catheters that can more precisely navigate the tortuous architecture of the brain vasculature. The device was bioinspired by delicate structures found in nature, including flagella and insect legs, and uses principles from soft robotics to create a hydraulic steering syst (Read more...)
Inflatable Prosthetic Hand with a Sense of Touch
Researchers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University created an inexpensive robotic hand intended for use by upper limb amputees. The device is more like a soft robot than previous robotic prostheses, and includes inflatable components and pneumatics, making it lightweight and inexpensive. Excitingly, the hand is equipped with sensors and provides (Read more...)
Tiny Neural Sensors for Brain Computer Interfaces
Researchers at Brown University have developed wireless micro-implants that can function as a network of neural sensors and stimulators in the brain. The research team has dubbed their creation “neurograins,” which are intended to be implanted in the brain in large numbers. When inside, they can transmit data to an external communicatio (Read more...)
Neuromodulation for Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome: Interview with Martha Morrell, M.D., CMO of NeuroPace
NeuroPace, a medtech company based in California, has developed the RNS system, an implantable neuromodulation device for focal drug-resistant epilepsy. The system continuously monitors brain activity and then responds appropriately to target the seizure source in the brain for personalized seizure prevention. The company reports that the stimulati (Read more...)
Wearable Sensor Monitors Myoclonic Jerks
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have developed a wearable surface electromyography and three-dimensional accelerometry system that can measure the occurrence and severity of myoclonic jerks, which are sudden muscle movements experienced by patients with progressive myoclonic epilepsy. The muscle jerks can be unpleasant, but can als (Read more...)
Pressure-Sensing Glove to Aid in Stroke Recovery
Researchers at MIT created a sensing glove that can detect small pressuref changes along its surface when a wearer grasps something. The glove is threaded with tiny pressure sensors, which are studded with micropillars that create changes in an electrical signal when they bend and deform. This provides an incredibly sensitive measurement of tactile (Read more...)
Breath Test Predicts Treatment Regimen for Epilepsy Drugs
Anti-seizure medication must be tailored for individual patients, as the difference between a therapeutic dose and a toxic one is quite small. Now, researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland have developed a breath test that can rapidly provide information on the optimal drug treatment approach for epilepsy patients. Their test provides (Read more...)
Wireless Light Implant for Optogenetics Without Skull Damage
Researchers at the University of Arizona have overcome a major limitation of optogenetics with their wireless and battery-free implant that can shine light through the skull. The small device, which is implanted under the skin, could provide a light source for optogenetics that doesn’t require damage to the skull or brain. While optogenetics (Read more...)
Oscillating Magnetic Field Shrinks Glioblastoma Tumor
At the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute, researchers have developed a device that generates a magnetic field and used it to successfully shrink a glioblastoma tumor in a patient volunteer. The device is worn on the head each day during treatment, and uses an oscillating magnetic field to disrupt biochemical processes in cancer cells. While (Read more...)
Blood-Brain Barrier on a Chip for Neuro Drug Testing
Researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, engineered a blood-brain barrier on a chip using human-derived stem cells. The device closely mimics the blood-brain barrier and allows the researchers to study its function and the effect of drugs without having to use experimental animals. By incorporating sensors, the chi (Read more...)
Inflatable Neurostimulator for Minimally Invasive Pain Control
Researchers at the University of Cambridge created a spinal stimulation device that can help to control severe pain. Unlike existing technologies, which require invasive surgery for implantation, the new device can be delivered using a needle. Once implanted, the device unfurls and inflates in place to provide extensive coverage during spinal cord (Read more...)
Drinking Straw Device for Hiccups Treatment
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have developed a device to treat hiccups. The drinking straw-like device allows a user to apply forceful suction to draw water into it, with subsequent swallowing triggering both the phrenic and vagus nerves, which helps to relieve hiccups. The treatment may be the [&hellip (Read more...)
Non-Invasive Deep Brain Stimulation Using Ultrasound and Genetic Modification
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a technique they call sonothermogenetics, which combines ultrasound and genetic modification to achieve non-invasive neural control in deep brain regions. The technique involves using viral vectors to introduce genetic material encoding for ion channels to specific neurons in the brai (Read more...)
Brain Stimulation Lets User Feel Robotic Arm
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have demonstrated that providing direct sensory feedback into the brain dramatically enhanced an impaired patient’s control of a robotic arm. The arm was operated through a brain-computer interface, but the system also included brain implants in an area of the brain responsible for sensory feedback. (Read more...)