Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland have developed a technique that lets them improve the coating of nanoparticles when using cell membranes. Cell membranes offer a lot of benefits as a coating for synthetic nanoparticles, including shielding from the immune system, prolonged circulation times and improved tumor accumulation. However, c (Read more...)
Tag: Oncology
Magnetic Bacteria Target Tumors
Scientists at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have unveiled a technique that weaponizes bacterial cells against tumors. The approach involves using bacteria called Magnetospirillum that are naturally magnetic by virtue of the iron oxide particles they contain. The researchers use a rotating magnetic field applied at the tumor location from outside the bo (Read more...)
AI-Enhanced Prostate Cancer Treatment: Interview with Brittany Berry-Pusey, Co-Founder and COO at Avenda Health
Avenda Health, a medtech company based in Santa Monica, California has developed the FocalPoint ablation system, an AI-powered prostate cancer therapy. The system is designed to provide localized prostate cancer treatment and its AI system equips clinicians with a map of a patient’s cancer, along with treatment simulations to help them chose (Read more...)
3D Bioprinted Breast Tumors for Immunotherapy Testing
A team of scientists at Penn State has bioprinted breast tumor mimics with significant complexity, including a form of vascularization and the ability to precisely place cells in certain locations within the construct. The scientists used a technique called aspiration-assisted bioprinting to achieve this. With many anti-cancer therapies failing at (Read more...)
Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth
Medical researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a fluorescence imaging technique that allows them to illuminate a tumor in situ and calculate its depth below the surface of the body. The technique could assist surgeons in accurately removing a tumor and successfully excising an appropriate margin of healt (Read more...)
Nanorattles for Rapid Detection of Multiple mRNA Cancer Biomarkers
Scientists at Duke University have developed a ‘nanorattle’ system that allows for the detection of mRNA biomarkers of cancer. The tiny structures consist of gold nanospheres with a surrounding silver nanocage, forming the so-called rattle. The nanorattles are also loaded with light scattering dyes called Raman reporters. When illuminat (Read more...)
Microfluidic Device Mimics Embryonic Heartbeat to Stimulate Stem Cell Development
Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have developed a method to produce human blood stem cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells. The method may have use in treating cancer patients who require high doses of such blood stem cells to help replenish endogenous populations that have been destroyed by chemotherapy. [&h (Read more...)
Mining Ultrasound Data to Improve Liver Diagnostics: Interview with Beth Rogozinski, CEO at Oncoustics
Oncoustics, a medtech company based in Ontario, Canada, developed the OnX Liver Assessment Solution, an AI-powered ultrasound-based diagnostic system for liver disease. At present, detecting liver disease is a challenge, potentially involving high-end imaging systems, specialists, and invasive biopsies. These challenges, and the related expense, ca (Read more...)
Bacterial Microrobots Deliver Drug Payload to Tumors
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have developed tumor-targeting microrobots using bacteria. The team exploited the tendency of bacteria to naturally gravitate towards areas of low oxygen and low ph, which both tend to occur in the vicinity of a tumor. Once near the tumor, the bacteria aggravate the immune [& (Read more...)
Surgical Dressing Helps Kill Melanoma, Regenerate Healthy Cells
Scientists at the University of Nottingham in the UK have created a surgical dressing that is specifically designed to facilitate and enhance photothermal therapy following melanoma resection. The dressing allows for near-infrared photothermal therapy that lasts just 15 seconds every 48 hours. The concept involves killing any remaining melanoma cel (Read more...)
Spinning Disc Separates Circulating Tumor Cells from Blood
A team of researchers at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology in Korea created a centrifugal system to separate circulating tumor cells from blood samples. Resembling a DVD, the device separates the cells using the centrifugal force created when it is spun. A layer of white blood cells and circulating tumor cells is formed [&hellip (Read more...)
Automated Wearable Breast Ultrasound System: Interview with Maryam Ziaei, CEO of iSono Health
iSono Health, a medtech company based in San Francisco, has created the ATUSA System, a wearable 3D ultrasound breast scanning system. The device is worn on the breast, and does not rely on operator experience or skill to obtain consistent, high quality breast scans. As the scanning takes place automatically, it can be used by […]
Photonic Technique for Deeper Fluorescent Sensors
Researchers at MIT have developed a method that lets them read the signal from fluorescent sensors that are as deep as 5.5 centimeters in tissue. Previously, it was very difficult to get a good signal from a fluorescent sensor placed that deep, as fluorescence emitted by the tissue itself would muddy the signal. The new […]
Advanced Multi-Organ Chip for Personalized Medicine
Researchers at Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science developed an advanced organ-on-a-chip system that incorporates heart, bone, liver, and skin tissue in independent niches that are linked with simulated vascular flows. The system even includes immune cells that circulate within the simulated vasculature. The technology rep (Read more...)
Soft Robotic Sleeve for Lymphedema Treatment
Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada created a soft robotic sleeve to treat lymphedema. Lymphedema involves fluid accumulation in tissues because of damage to the lymph system. This wearable sleeve combines a microfluidic controller and soft robotic components that apply compression to the arm to reduce and control fluid accumulation (Read more...)
Wireless Implant for Anti-Cancer Photodynamic Therapy
Researchers at Texas A&M University created a wireless device that aims to illuminate and destroy residual tumor cells left after cancer resection. The device can be used by surgeons to illuminate the tumor bed after resection. It works in combination with a photosensitizer drug that is administered before the procedure and accumulates in tumor (Read more...)
Molecular Robots Swarm to Deliver Cargo
Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan created molecular robots that can employ swarm behaviors to move and release small cargoes. The robots can be controlled using light, and they consist of biological components, including DNA, microtubules, which are a cytoskeletal component, and kinesin, which is a motor protein that interacts with microt (Read more...)
Optical Therapy Leads to Cancer Apoptosis
Researchers at Okayama University in Japan developed a novel technique to induce cancer cell apoptosis using light. The technology involves modifying the cells to express a light-sensitive protein that rapidly pumps hydrogen ions out of the cell when it is stimulated with light. This increase in cell alkalinity causes it to undergo apoptosis, a for (Read more...)
Acoustic Tweezers Help Characterize Cell Interactions
Researchers at Duke University created an acoustic tweezer system that can precisely manipulate cells and particles. The device can be used to study the interactions between cells, for instance by precisely selecting two cells in a sample and bringing them together gently to study the adhesion force between them. This could be useful in discovering (Read more...)
Genetically Engineered Bacteria Evade Immune System to Kill Cancer
Researchers at the Columbia University created a genetically modified bacterium that expresses a molecular cloak to help the bacterial cells to stay hidden from the immune system. They have shown the potential of this bacteria as an anti-cancer therapeutic by engineering the same bacteria to also express an anti-tumor toxin, allowing them to accumu (Read more...)