Engineers at Rutgers University have developed a robot that autonomously draws patient blood and immediately performs hematology analysis. Such technology may help to speed up patient care, free clinicians to do other tasks, and even reduce the number of failed IV starts. The device was recently tested in a clinical trial for the first time […]
Tag: Pathology
Credit Card Sized Diagnostic Lab Plugs into Smartphone
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a tiny portable diagnostic device that can detect the presence of specific pathogens in a saliva sample, and relay the results to a doctor when plugged into a smartphone. The device can potentially diagnose a wide array of diseases, including malaria, HIV and Lyme disease, and could […]
Plasma Protein Levitation Technique Could Provide New Diagnostic Tool
Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a technique to levitate plasma proteins using a magnetic field. The technique provides very accurate information on the density of the proteins, and could reveal signatures of disease, potentially allowing clinicians to diagnose various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, more easily. The technique involves mixing a sample of […]
Genomic Profiling for Precision Medicine: Interview with David Spetzler, Caris Life Sciences
Caris Life Sciences, a Dallas-based innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, has developed the MI Genomic Profiling Similarity (GPS) score to compare the molecular characteristics of specific tumors against those in the Caris database. This allows clinicians to identify the molecular subtype of their patients’ tumors and guide personalized […]
Device Links Up to 10 Organ Chips to Form Body-on-a-Chip
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a “body-on-a-chip” consisting of up to 10 organ-on-a-chip devices that are linked together to mimic blood flow between different organ systems. The new system allows for more comprehensive drug testing, enabling researchers to see the effects of a drug on multiple organ systems simultaneously. The Wyss team […]
Antimicrobial Layer for Plastic Food Wrap Developed
Bacteria can take a ride and proliferate on the plastic wrap that foods are commonly packaged in. Researchers at Penn State have developed a way to bond a non-toxic transparent antimicrobial material to the ubiquitous polyethylene wrap that meats, vegetables, and mushrooms are sold in. The antimicrobial layer is made of a pullulan-based biopolymer, itself […]
Tumor Tissue Imaging and AI Bypass Path Lab for Brain Surgeries
In a major development in how tumors are excised, researchers at the University of Michigan have shown that it’s possible to accurately analyze brain tumor tissue within the operating room and assess its nature using artificial intelligence. Tumor tissues typically look just like the healthy stuff around them. When a tumor is removed, parts that […]
Tumor Chip Incorporates Vascular System for More Realistic Drug Testing
Researchers at Kyoto University in Japan have developed a tumor-on-a-chip device that incorporates perfusable blood vessels to more accurately mimic real tumors that occur in the body. The researchers hope that the device will allow for more realistic and accurate testing of anti-cancer drugs in the lab, and have already shown that the flow of […]
Handheld Device to Capture and Identify Viruses in Minutes
Researchers at Penn State have developed a handheld device called VIRRION that can capture and identify viral particles in samples within minutes. The device contains a “forest” of carbon nanotubes that capture and sort viral particles depending on their size, and then users can identify the viruses using Raman spectroscopy. The technique could help to […]
Smart Microscope Learns to Diagnose Infectious Diseases
Experienced professionals tend to be better than rookies partly because they know how to use the tools of their trade more effectively. Cytologists who evaluate cells under a microscope become more consistent and accurate when they know how to prep their apparatus to produce clear images. Researchers at Duke University have now given a microscope […]
Optical Coherence Tomography Finally Used to Measure Cartilage Health
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging modality that provides a micron-level look at the tissues being examined. It is used in ophthalmology to assess the eyes and for imaging the interior of arteries to help with atherectomies. Although OCT has significant potential to help clinicians evaluate the health of tissues, it has proven difficult […]
Low Cost Turbidity Measurements Using a Fitness Tracker
Continuous monitoring of bacterial growth is a critical step in the biotechnology industry and in biological labs. These measurements are typically taken using large and bulky spectrophotometers that do not fit into incubators for real-time monitoring. Moreover, continuous monitoring is labor-intensive as it requires multiple samplings. Recent developments by researchers from Cork, Ireland have overcome […]
AI Diagnoses Leukemia from Blood Samples as Well as Human Cytologists
A good deal of clinical diagnostics are effectively performed by cytologists who examine cells through a microscope for signs of disease. This is an imperfect, slow process that depends on the training, focus, and attention to detail of the cytologist. Now, researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the University Hospital of LMU Munich in Germany […]
Graphene Imaging Platform to Track Stem Cell Differentiation
Stem cells hold a great deal of promise in treating a huge variety of human diseases. Although much hyped to the general public some years ago, it turned out to be very difficult to safely use stem cells to generate replacement tissues without inadvertently introducing tumors or other maladies. Knowing how stem cells differentiate, and […]
3D Printed Liquid Biopsy Device Captures Most Cancer Cells
Circulating tumor cells can point to the existence of cancer and provide information about its progression. Capturing these cells remains a tricky process. Dozens of devices have been developed that do their best to grab onto only the cancer cells being looked for, but they all suffer from problems such as poor efficiency, damage to […]
Controllable Microswimmers Move Around Individual Cells in 3D
Manipulating individual cells and microscopic particles may be extremely valuable for testing new therapies, targeting tumors, and for studying the underlying causes of disease, but it is very difficult to directly manipulate individual cells within an environment shared with other cells. A collaboration of researchers from University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, and […]
Tiny Medical Imaging Sensor Sets Guinness World Record
OmniVision Technologies, a Santa Clara, California firm, just announced that it has won the Guinness World Record for “The Smallest Commercially Available Image Sensor”. The OV6948 sensor was designed for use in catheters and endoscopes, allowing these devices to be as small as possible while also providing high quality imaging from within the body. Measuring […]
Chip to Evaluate Health of Immune System from Blood Sample
Knowing how well a patient’s immune system is functioning may be very useful in diagnosing a disease and guiding the course of therapy. Researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore are making this a reality, having developed a hybrid chip that assesses the health of white blood cells in a whole blood sample. The microfluidic […]
3D Liquid-Cell Electron Microscopy Imaging Now Possible
Electron microscopy revealed a world that exists at scales smaller than the wavelength of light. Advancements in this field have allowed scientists to visualize ever more objects and processes, but actually seeing living cells in 3D and within a liquid environment has been impossible. Now, a team of researchers from Penn State University, Virginia Tech, […]
Microfluidic Device for Rapid Lyme Disease Diagnosis
Researchers at Columbia University have developed a microfluidic device that can diagnose Lyme disease in as little as 15 minutes. The device is particularly accurate in identifying antibody biomarkers that are present during early stage Lyme disease, raising hopes that it could be useful in detecting cases of early infection in a doctor’s office, leading […]