Wednesday, May 7, 2008
In the Works: Inhalable Drug Testing Device
Cambridge Consultants is reporting that the company is developing "a low-cost, portable instrument that has the potential to revolutionise [sic] the way certain drug delivery devices are tested."
From the press release:
Through the innovative use of technology, the new device can mirror the performance and level of data provided by current laboratory laser diffraction measurement machines, for an estimated one-hundredth of the cost when integrated into a high volume device. The device measures the droplet size distribution in an airstream, a technique used in testing respiratory drug delivery devices.Airborne drug delivery for deep-lung treatment relies on generating particles of a very specific size - too large and the drug never reaches the deep lung, too small and the drug is exhaled and is similarly ineffective. Methods for accurately measuring particle size are very much laboratory-based, for instance the Anderson Cascade method, which is laborious and can slow the development of devices, and the current generation of large laser diffraction measurement devices, which have high initial costs and require a lot of space and skill to operate.
By applying its established expertise in optical systems, electronic signal processing and advanced capabilities in the Mie scattering mathematical theory – a critical element of this form of droplet analysis - Cambridge Consultants has started developing a test unit which could be manufactured in volume for just a few hundred pounds - less than one-hundredth of the cost of a full laboratory laser diffraction installation, the only real solution to such measurements today.
It is also small enough to be highly portable, so it would be ideal at clinical drug delivery trials, where it is critical to establish how much drug reaches the patient’s deep lung so that doses can be accurately compared to the patient’s response. It would also be useful during end-of-line production testing of drug delivery devices...
The Cambridge Consultants device is based on low-cost LED components, considerably simplified optical configurations and the application of modern signal processing. It is designed to be robust, portable and simple enough to potentially be operated by semi-skilled clinicians, with standard IT equipment to produce highly accurate plots that indicate the number of droplets within a pre-selected range of sizes. Drugs can therefore be tested at the point of delivery, during clinical trials for example, to ensure doses are delivered as intended by the drug developer.
Full story: Breakthrough instrument to test inhalable drug delivery devices...
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Monday, May 5, 2008
Controllable Peristaltic Micro-pump
German engineers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg (Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoffmechanik) took a lesson from the GI track, and developed a miniature pump that can be designed for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic tasks, thanks to its precise mechanics:
An innovative micro-pump makes it possible for tiny quantities of liquid – such as medicines – to be dosed accurately and flexibly. Active composites and an electronic control mechanism ensure that the low-maintenance pump works accurately – both forwards and backwards.Medicines sometimes have to be administered in extremely small quantities. Just a few tenths of a milliliter may be sufficient to give the patient the ideal treatment. Micro-pumps greatly facilitate the dosage of minute quantities. Pumps like these have been built and constantly optimized for over 25 years. They find application in numerous areas – from medical engineering to microproduction technology – wherever tiny volumes have to be variably dosed with extreme accuracy.
However, these micro-pump systems are usually not as flexible as desired: They often work in only one direction, bubbles in the liquid impair their operation, they do not tolerate bothersome particles, they have a fixed pump output and they contain expendable parts such as valves or cogwheels. Together with partners from research institutes and industry, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg have developed an innovative pump system that solves all these problems: a controllable peristaltic micro-pump. “The peristaltic pump is a highly complex system,” explains IWM project manager Dr. Bärbel Thielicke. “It contracts in waves in a similar way to the human esophagus, and thus propels the liquid along – it changes shape of its own accord. To achieve this, we had to use a whole range of different materials and special material composites.” The researchers use lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) films that are joined in a suitable way with bending elements made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and a flexible tube. “PZT materials change their shape as soon as you apply an electric field to them. This makes it possible to control the pump system electronically,” says Thielicke. Special adhesives additionally hold the various components of the pump system together. Thanks to the special control electronics, tiny quantities can be pumped accurately through the system.
The peristaltic pump system has already passed its first functional tests. Now the researchers are working to adapt the peristaltic micro-pump to the various different applications.
Full story: Smart miniature pump...
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Friday, April 25, 2008
VitalJacket: Heart Monitoring Shirt
In an attempt to make heart monitoring less visible and bulky for individuals requiring continuous monitoring of their heart, BioDevices, SA, has a unique solution. The company has developed a T-shirt which continuously monitors heart rate and ECG waves. This is an ideal solution for elderly patients and has a lot of potential for fitness applications as well.
The Vital Jacket® is a wearable vital signs monitoring system that joins textiles with microelectronics. It was designed and developed to be a usable pragmatic approach for different clinical and normal life scenarios, in hospitals, home or on the move, that need continuous or frequent high quality vital signs monitoring from the patient or healthy subject. The concept was designed and specified based on the long tradition on biomedical instrumentation and telemedicine of the IEETA institute of the University of Aveiro, Portugal (www.ieeta.pt/sias).The Vital Jacket® HWM mobile device is an intelligent wearable garnment that is able to continuous monitor electrocardiogram (ECG) wave and Heart Rate for different fitness, high performance sports, security and medical applications.
There are currently two versions, HWM100 that stores data on a SD memory card for posterior analysis in a PC and, HWM200 that allows on-line visualization using a smartphone/PDA.
More from talk2myShirt
More from product page: VitalJacket
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Insulin Micro Meter Developed
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a sensor, based on nanotechnology, that is capable of measuring minute amounts of insulin produced by living pancreatic cells. The big clinical idea is that such a sensor will allow to assess the health of cells in real time, whether in a diseased pancreas or in a transplanted one.
...the researchers developed a new electrode for a device called a microphysiometer. The microphysiometer assesses the condition of living cells by submerging them in a saline solution, confining them in a very small chamber and then measuring variations in their metabolism. The volume of the chamber is only three microliters — about 1/20th the size of an ordinary raindrop — allowing the electrode to detect the minute amounts of insulin produced by special pancreatic cells called Islets of Langerhans.The new electrode is built from multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which are like several flat sheets of carbon atoms stacked and rolled into very small tubes. Provided by William Hofmeister at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, the nanotubes are electrically conductive and the concentration of insulin in the chamber can be directly related to the current at the electrode and the nanotubes operate reliably at pH levels characteristic of living cells.
Current detection methods measure insulin production at intervals by periodically collecting small samples and measuring their insulin levels. The new sensor detects insulin levels continuously by measuring the transfer of electrons produced when insulin molecules oxidize in the presence of glucose. When the cells produce more insulin molecules, the current in the sensor increases and vice versa, allowing the researchers to monitor insulin concentrations in real time. It is similar to a device developed by another group of researchers that operated at acidity levels well beyond those where living cells can function.Previous tests had shown that nanotube detectors are more sensitive at measuring insulin than conventional methods. However, the researchers had to overcome a major obstacle to adapt them to work in the microphysiometer.
In the small chamber, they found that the fluid moves across the electrode surface rather than pushing against it. These micro-currents tended to sweep the nanotubes aside rather than pinning them to the electrode surface where their electrical activity can be measured. The researchers solved this problem by coating the electrode with a chemical called dihydropyran, a small molecule that forms chains that trap the insulin molecules on the electrode surface.
"One of the key advances of this project was finding how to keep nanotubes active on the surface without being washed away by microfluidic flows," Cliffel says.
Now that the microphysiometer has demonstrated the ability to rapidly detect the small quantities of insulin produced by individual cells, the researchers hope to use it to determine the health of the islet cells used for transplantation.
More from Exploration, Vanderbilt's Online Research Magazine: Measuring insulin in minute quantities
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
EU Aims to Develop Blood Glucose Prediction Device
The European Commission has awarded a grant worth 7.1 million euros to a group of European companies to develop a glucose blood level prediction tool based on Toumaz's Sensium chip, a low power sensor interface for medical applications that we covered in July, 2006.
From EE Times:
The aim is to provide insulin dependent patients with much greater control in managing their condition. Current diabetes management techniques are restricted to the analysis of blood glucose history, with almost no ability to predict what blood glucose levels might be in several hours' time.The device will leverage sophisticated analysis of physiological inputs from non-intrusive body-worn wireless monitors based on the Sensium platform. This means the DIAdvisor will be capable of wirelessly connecting and providing information and trend data directly to healthcare providers, to enable further therapy improvements and treatment cost reduction.
Prediction of blood glucose levels will come from glucose measurements, insulin delivery data and specific patient parameters, to allow patients at any time to actively and accurately predict their short-term blood glucose outlook.
Toumaz's role in the project will be to implement the DIAdvisor hardware and software platform, leveraging its intelligent data acquisition platform and networking infrastructure to enable multiple vital signs measurements from monitors to be taken and merged with manually entered 'spot' measurements (such as food intake), providing the key data for the creation of physiological mathematical modeling, control and prediction algorithms.
More at EE Times...
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Electrical Protein Detector with Peptide-Aptamer Microarrays
British researchers (University of Leeds and Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, Cambridge) have developed an electronic microchip that can test the presence of certain proteins, without the need for fluorescent tagging, while requiring only a small sample for testing. The idea is to build diagnostic medical devices based on this interesting new technology.
Dr Wälti and Professor Giles Davies from the University’s Faculty of Engineering used an array of electrodes as the base of their device rather than the conventional glass slide. The individual electrodes are created using the same technology used to produce modern microchips, so are very small and very closely spaced, currently about 10 micrometers apart - although this can be significantly reduced.Conventional techniques use antibodies as receptors on their sensors to bind to the target proteins – but these are not very stable when attached to a sensor and tend to lose their specificity.
So Dr Paul Ko Ferrigno, formerly from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit in Cambridge, and now at the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, created an artificial robust antibody called a ‘peptide aptamer’ that is so stable that it can be attached to the electrodes and still bind to a specific target protein.
The Leeds researchers then devised a technique to attach different peptide aptamers to individual electrodes with very high precision. The electrodes are individually wired, so when the proteins of interest from samples such as blood bind to their associated peptide aptamer, an electronic signal is generated. This is far more informative than the conventional microarray system, which relies on labelling of the proteins in the sample with fluorescent tags, and using optical techniques to detect these tags.
Because the basic technology of the new device is similar to that used widely within the computer industry, the researchers believe that the number of sensors in their system could be scaled up for use commercially – with the device itself taken down to nanoscale size for use with very small samples.
Press release: Microchip could aid in future disease diagnosis
Paper: Electrical protein detection in cell lysates using high-density peptide-aptamer microarrays Journal of Biology 2008, 7:3
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
NMR on a Chip
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is reporting that its scientists, together with a group at Berkeley, developed a microchip device that incorporates a miniature atomic magnetometer with a fluid channel for studies of tiny samples. How sensitive is the magnetometer in such a device? Reportedly it can detect magnetic field variations as small as 70 femtoteslas:
A super-sensitive mini-sensor developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can detect nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in tiny samples of fluids flowing through a novel microchip. The prototype chip device, developed in a collaboration between NIST and the University of California, may have wide application as a sensitive chemical analyzer, for example in rapid screening to find new drugs.As described in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the NMR chip detected magnetic signals from atomic nuclei in tap water flowing through a custom silicon chip that juxtaposes a tiny fluid channel and the NIST sensor. The Berkeley group recently co-developed this “remote NMR” technique for tracking small volumes of fluid or gas flow inside soft materials such as biological tissue or porous rock, for possible applications in industrial processes and oil exploration. The chip could be used in NMR spectroscopy, a widely used technique for determining physical, chemical, electronic and structural information about molecules. NMR signals are equivalent to those detected in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) systems
Berkeley scientists selected the NIST sensor, a type of atomic magnetometer, for the chip device because of its small size and high sensitivity, which make it possible to detect weak magnetic resonance signals from a small sample of atoms in the adjacent microchannel. Detection is most efficient when the sensor and sample are about the same size and located close together, lead author Micah Ledbetter says. Thus, when samples are minute, as in economical screening of many chemicals, a small sensor is crucial, Ledbetter says.
Its small size and extreme sensitivity make the NIST sensor ideal for the microchip device, in contrast to SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices) that require bulky equipment for cooling to cryogenic temperatures or conventional copper coils that need much higher magnetic fields (typically generated by large, superconducting magnets) like those in traditional MRI.
The results reported in the PNAS demonstrate another use for the NIST mini-sensor, a spin-off of NIST’s miniature atomic clocks.
'NMR on a Chip' Features NIST Magnetic Mini-Sensor ...
More: New NIST Mini-Sensor May Have Biomedical and Security Applications ...
Abstract: Remote detection of nuclear magnetic resonance with an anisotropic magnetoresistive sensor ... PNAS 2008 105: 2271-2273
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
No, Not Another Electronic Nose!
A new laser based electronic nose is being described in the literature. Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder are reporting, in the latest Optical Society of America's journal Optics Express, a new breath analysis instrument, that might become useful for diagnosis of cancer and more:
When breathing, people inhale a complex mixture of gases, including nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and traces of other gases like carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and methane, said Ye, an adjoint professor of physics at CU-Boulder. Exhaled breath contains less oxygen, more carbon dioxide and a rich collection of more than a thousand types of other molecules, most of which are present only in trace amounts.Just as bad breath can indicate dental problems, excess methylamine may signal liver and kidney disease, ammonia may be a sign of renal failure, elevated acetone levels can indicate diabetes and nitric oxide levels can be used to diagnose asthma, Ye said.
When many breath molecules are detected simultaneously, highly reliable, disease-specific information can be collected, said Ye. Asthma, for example, can be detected much more reliably when carbonyl sulfide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen peroxide are all detected simultaneously with nitric oxide.
While current breath analysis using biomarkers is a noninvasive and low-cost procedure, approaches are limited because the equipment is either not selective enough to detect a diverse set of rare biomarkers or not sensitive enough to detect particular trace amounts of molecules exhaled in human breath, Ye said.
"The new technique has the potential to be low-cost, rapid and reliable, and is sensitive enough to detect a much wider array of biomarkers all at once for a diverse set of diseases," he said.
The optical frequency comb is a very precise laser for measuring different colors, or frequencies, of light, said Ye. Each comb line, or "tooth," is tuned to a distinct frequency of a particular molecule's vibration or rotation, and the entire comb covers a broad spectral range -- much like a rainbow of colors -- that can identify thousands of different molecules.
Laser light can detect and distinguish specific molecules because different molecules vibrate and rotate at certain distinct resonant frequencies that depend on their composition and structure, he said. He likened the concept to different radio stations broadcasting on separate radio frequencies.
The optical frequency comb was developed in the 1990s by Ye's JILA, NIST and CU-Boulder colleague John L. "Jan" Hall and Theodor W. Hänsch of Germany's Max-Planck Institute, who shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics with Roy J. Glauber for their work.
Ye's group has pioneered the application of frequency combs to spectroscopy, or the analysis of light emitted or absorbed by matter. The technique allows for many different gases to be detected all at once with high sensitivity through their interaction with light from such "combs," demonstrated by Thorpe, Ye and colleagues in the journal Science, in 2006.
To test the technology, Ye's team had several CU-Boulder volunteer students breath into an optical cavity -- a space between two curved mirrors -- and then directed sets of ultrafast laser pulses into the cavity. As the light pulses ricocheted around the cavity tens of thousands of times, the researchers determined which frequencies of light were absorbed, indicating which molecules -- and their quantities -- were present by the amount of light they absorbed.
Ye and his colleagues detected trace signatures of gases like ammonia, carbon monoxide and methane from the samples of volunteers. In one measurement, they detected carbon monoxide in a student smoker that was five times higher compared to a nonsmoking student, Ye said.
Abstract and Paper: Cavity-enhanced optical frequency comb spectroscopy: application to human breath analysis ...
Press release: Scientists Using Laser Light To Detect Potential Diseases Via Breath, Says Study ...
Medgadget electronic nose archives...
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Cancer Breathalyzer
At Swansea University in Wales research is being done to develop a breath analyzer that would detect the presence of specific compounds associated with various diseases, including cancer. Perhaps one day the police will be able to issue a DUI and a cancer diagnosis all in one stop.
The system works by analysing all the component chemicals and compounds that make up a patient's breath. The GCMS-TD [Gas Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry and Thermal Desorption -ed] creates a breath profile, which allows scientists to identify VOCs that may signify the presence of disease.Diagnostic techniques based on exhaled breath are much less developed than traditional blood or urine analysis techniques, and are not widely utilised in clinical practice. Such techniques have also previously been seen as crude, subjective and unreliable.
However, due to improved analytical methodology, volatile marker-based diagnostics offers new potential in the rapid diagnosis and monitoring of illnesses.
Dr Yousef [Dr Masood Yousef, senior research assistant in the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at Swansea University -ed] believes that the breath test will provide a more convenient and rapid method for diagnosing serious diseases than blood or urine analysis, and will require minimal medical intervention.
He said: "Breath samples are much easier to collect than blood and urine, for the patient as much as for the person collecting the sample. They can be collected anywhere by people with no medical training, and there are no associated biohazard risks."
Press release: Research to develop a breath test for cancer and diabetes
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Friday, February 8, 2008
Sensors Based on Photonic Crystals
SPIE Society has published a technical paper by Brian Cunningham, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in which he discusses his group's efforts to develop a novel class of diagnostic sensors that are based on photonic crystals (PC).
We have developed a new class of biosensors based on optical devices known as photonic crystals (PCs) that can be used for both label-free and fluorescence-based detection. The key attributes for acceptance of new technology in these fields are sensitivity (how low a concentration of a chemical, protein, or gene may be detected), cost per test, and throughput (the number of tests that can be performed at once). PCs represent a unique and versatile class of optical devices for manipulating the electromagnetic fields associated with light. Through the proper application of PC design and fabrication, electromagnetic fields may be confined and concentrated to enhance the interaction between light and biological material in contact with the PC. We have developed methods that enable PC biosensors to be inexpensively produced in plastic, as well as associated instrumentation. Combined, the biosensors and detection instruments enable high-throughput detection of biochemical binding kinetics, imaging large arrays of biochemical tests, and imaging detection of cells.
Full article: Novel biosensors from photonic crystals ...
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Monday, February 4, 2008
Hologram-Based Sensors from Smart Holograms
The latest Physics World is running an illuminating article by Chris Lowe and Cynthia Larbey that takes a look at the emerging science of hologram-based sensor technology. Thought to give some serious offerings to a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic applications, this novel sensor technology is already being implemented in the upcoming products for the medical market.
Traditional holograms, like those on your credit card, are stored on photo-sensitive materials and remain unchanged with time. Smart holograms, however, use materials called hydrogels that shrink or swell in response to local environmental conditions. Such holograms can therefore be used as sensors to detect chemical imbalances in potentially fatal situations.Smart Holograms, a spin-out company from the Institute of Biotechnology at Cambridge University, has already developed a hand-held syringe to measure water content in aviation fuel tanks – necessary because aeroplane engines are liable to freeze mid-air if there is more than 30 parts water to million fuel.
The same ability to detect chemical imbalances could be used by diabetics to check their blood-sugar levels; by patients with kidney disorders to check on adrenaline levels; by security forces to detect chemicals like anthrax after a terrorist attack; or, less urgently but with wide applicability, by glazing firms to detect whether water has crept in between window panes, something that can cause long-term structural damage.
Here's how Smart Holograms envisions its technology in healthcare:
Smart’s next-generation sensors offer an ideal solution for the in-vitro diagnostics market. The key benefit is that the nature of the reactive holograms removes the need for regular product calibration. Diagnostic analysis is continuous, accurate and real-time.In the case of glucose monitoring for diabetic patients, Smart is paving the way for two highly unique products for use in critical care and self-testing environments, where responsible disease management is crucial for an improved quality of life.
Current practice advises regular monitoring of patients’ glucose and insulin levels to reduce the length of stay in the intensive care unit and improve mortality rates.
The reality is up to fifteen tests every day carried out manually by nursing staff, resulting in spiralling costs for hospital trusts and additional discomfort for the patient.
Smart is developing a tailor-made product designed to remove the need for regular tests. The catheter and fibre-optic reader based sensor will be easy for hospital staff to use and detects and alerts them to changes in glucose levels.
The primary method of self-testing is blood sampling, using a finger-prick method and analysis on enzyme based strips. The samples have to be taken regularly causing some pain and inconvenience to the patient.
Smart’s product will eradicate the need for patient intervention by providing a device worn continuously which monitors glucose levels. The sensor hologram will be embedded in the device and as it senses changes in the bloodstream, it transmits the results instantly to a reader.
Physics World: Holography gets smart ...
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Friday, January 25, 2008
DNA-Based Sensors for Volatiles
Scientists from CogniScent, Inc., a North Grafton, Massachusetts company, and from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University are reporting in the latest PLoS Biology the development of solid-state sensors that are based on "a previously unreported property of deoxyribonucleic acid--the ability of dye-labeled, solid-state DNA dried onto a surface to detect odors delivered in the vapor phase by changes in fluorescence." The discovery might revolutionize our ability to develop "artificial noses" for diagnostic and other purposes.
PLoS Biology article: Solid-State, Dye-Labeled DNA Detects Volatile Compounds in the Vapor Phase PLoS Biol 6(1): e9
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Friday, January 18, 2008
FDA OK's Real-Time Test for Respiratory Viruses
ProFlu+ test from Milwaukee based Prodesse, Inc. is a multiplex real-time PCR assay to simultaneously detect and differentiate influenza A , influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The test has just been approved for marketing by the FDA, and was CE Mark'ed by the European Union in the past. The company touts that it is "the first real-time molecular diagnostic test for respiratory viruses to receive FDA clearance ... also it is the first cleared real time molecular infectious disease test to detect as many as three organisms simultaneously."
Here's what the FDA says:
These viruses can cause influenza, an infection of the airways called bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. All are among the leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections.“Antiviral drugs are most effective when initiated within the first two days of symptoms,” said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “This new test, which is part of the new era of molecular medicine, can help the medical community quickly determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by one of these four viruses and initiate the appropriate treatment.”
ProFlu+ uses a molecular biology process to isolate and amplify viral genetic material present in secretions taken from the back of the throat in patients.
While ProFlu+ is faster than conventional tests, it is specific to the four viruses, and is more accurate when used with other diagnostics, such as patient data, bacterial, or viral cultures, and X-rays, in diagnosing a patient. Positive results do not rule out other infection or co-infection and the virus detected may not be the specific cause of the disease or patient symptoms.
FDA Clears for Marketing Real-Time Test for Respiratory Viruses ...
Press release: Prodesse's Multiplex RT-PCR ProFlu+™ Assay Receives FDA Clearance ...
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Friday, January 11, 2008
Sampling Saliva for Breast Cancer at The Dentist's
University of Texas researchers believe that they have identified and created a test to detect protein markers within human saliva that point to increased possibility of having breast cancer. Considering people visit the dentist more frequently than their doctor, and that said dentist has ready access to your saliva, its quite possible that it will be the dentist performing routine breast cancer testing in the future.
The study is being applied to a "lab-on-a-chip" technology platform developed by biochemists at The University of Texas at Austin. The ultimate goal is to bring this type of diagnostic test, which is capable of detecting the presence of cancer before a tumor forms, into the dental office or other health care facilities. The technology aims to improve the ease and effectiveness with which dental professionals and other health care providers can provide quick, accurate diagnostic information and physician referrals to their patients...Streckfus [Charles Streckfus, D.D.S., University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston professor of diagnostic sciences with an expertise in salivary function and molecular epidemiology --ed.] and his team compared the levels of expression of proteins in the saliva of patients with either malignant or benign tumors to saliva from normal controls to find those that are abnormally expressed in the diseased state. Patients' proteins that are significantly higher or lower than the norm were considered biomarker candidates.
In the study, researchers analyzed saliva samples from 30 patients. They found 49 proteins that differentiated healthy patients from those with benign breast tumors and those with malignant breast tumors.
These findings suggest that patients can be tested for breast cancer by examining certain protein markers in their saliva during a visit to a dentist's office.
UT Researchers Decoding Saliva's Secrets, "Spit Test" to Detect Breast Cancer Underway...
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Trypanophobics Rejoice! Painless Ceramic Needles
Needle phobes everywhere are one step closer to realizing their dream of painless blood draws, medication delivery, and vaccinations.
Developing a way to deliver drugs intravenously with minimal pain and trauma, by someone without medical expertise, has long been a mission of biomedical engineers. Until recently, their most promising product had been stainless steel and titanium microneedles. These metal microneedles, though, are prone to break on impact with skin.Researchers led by Roger Narayan, MD, PhD, of the University of North Carolina , used two-photon polymerization of organically modified ceramic (Ormocer®) hybrid materials to create microneedles resistant to breakage. Another benefit of the hybrid needles is that they can be made in a wider range of sizes than those made with conventional microfabrication techniques.
The first patients Narayan imagines will benefit from his technique are those who require frequent injections or blood monitoring.
"Microneedles may be integrated with micropumps and biosensors to provide autonomous sampling of blood, analysis, and drug-delivery capabilities for treatment of chronic disease," he said. "For example, one needle, pump and sensor unit would assay the glucose level in interstitial fluid of patients with diabetes mellitus. Another needle, pump and drug-delivery unit would deliver insulin in a continuous or programmed manner."
Press release: Ceramic Hybrid Needles Take the Sting Out of Shots ...
Abstract: Two Photon Polymerization of Polymer-Ceramic Hybrid Materials for Transdermal Drug Delivery
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Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Roadmap for Self-Contained Implantable RFID Glucose-Sensing Microchip
As was promised, Digital Angel Corp., VeriChip Corp., and RECEPTORS LLC announced yesterday the release of a white paper entitled "Development of an Implantable Glucose Sensor" that discusses development plans for a self-contained implantable RFID glucose-sensing microchip.
Upon completion, the in vivo glucose-sensing microchip will be the first device able to measure glucose levels in the human body and be read with an external reader.
You can review the original document here: White paper (.pdf)...
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Portable MRI Technology from Aspect Magnet
Globes is reporting that an unidentified US investor has infused $6 million into Aspect Management Technologies, an Israeli company specializing in developing portable, desktop MRI systems. The company's medical subsidiary, called Aspect Magnet Technologies Ltd., explains some of the features of its technology platform, that is still under development:
Better than 75 micron resolution, Simple to use, Desktop MRI, No shielding required, System can be placed anywhere, Zero external magnetic field...ASPECT's system is based on revolutionary permanent magnet technology. The magnet is highly efficient. The system has high performance, quiet gradients™, highly sensitive coils and powerful user-friendly application software and it provides high quality MR images. Advantages in image quality are also a result of lower magnetic susceptibility, which is in contrast to most high field MRI systems.
ASPECT has placed great emphasis on optimizing the system for the research subjects -- mouse, rat and microplate. The streamlined workflow makes the imaging process simple, flexible and fast.
Unlike most existing MRI systems, ASPECT's system can be placed anywhere -- in the laboratory, office, animal facility etc. It is inherently shielded with a ZERO magnetic fringe field. It requires only a small footprint and has no special requirements for operation, thus it enables every researcher maximum operational flexibility and simplicity. Due to its relatively light weight and compact design, it is transportable. Installation is simple and fast.
Possible future clinical applications, according to the company:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and wrist diagnosis Monitoring and treatment assessment of bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and performing a non-invasive bone biopsy Cardiovascular Flow Mediated Dilation assessment Hand and foot diagnosis and real-time surgery
ASPECT Magnet Technologies Ltd. ...
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Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Wheezogram™: Audio Analysis for Monitoring of Asthma
Globes Online is reporting that KarmelSonix Ltd., an Australian owned company, has received FDA approval for its latest diagnostic system which listens to the wheezing sounds asthmatics make while breathing, analyzes their signatures, and provides feedback whether particular sounds indicate a more acute condition. Audio sensors are worn around the neck and chest, and are connected to the proprietary WIM-PC platform, which does the audio analysis.
From the company site:
It is KS' [KarmelSonix] aim to provide novel tools for Acoustic Asthma Management to the clinical market. It is doing so by providing a simple, yet highly accurate and relevant measure of asthma - the Wheeze Rate (Wz%). When coupled with measuring the Cough Count, the Wz% is an objective and quantitative indicator of the extent of the airway narrowing at any given moment. It is calculated as the duty cycle of wheeze activity as % of the elapsed time and as such should be controlled at nearly zero by proper treatment during day and night. Obtaining the Wz% only requires that the patient will breathe at the rate and depth of convenience. No imposition is made on the patient and no cooperation is needed. KS'is set forth to provide a full range of products, all based on its core technology, but implemented in the configuration that is most appropriate for its use - from the patient's home all the way to the Intensive Care Unit.
More from Globes Online...
KarmelSonix technology page...
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NuWav™ USB Ultrasound Probe
Having received FDA clearance, Direct Medical Systems has finally released its tiny USB plug-and-play ultrasound probe, a device that we reported about in May of 2006. The probe, marketed as NuWav by Laborie, is an ultrasound system that is plugged into the USB port of any computer, and, with the help of software, the two become a frugal ultrasound package that can be used in any primary care office.
Press release: Direct Medical Systems Introduces the Smallest and Lightest Ultrasound System in the World...
Flashback: The Ppups: Plug and Play Ultrasound Probe System
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» Miniaturized Wide Angle Ultrasound Probe (November 6, 2007)
» Another Nose on a Chip (November 2, 2007)
» Opto-Electronic Tweezers from MIT (November 2, 2007)
» Sad Mars Story Promises a Happy Earth One (October 4, 2007)
» Portable Flu Analysis, Identification (October 1, 2007)
» New Spectroscopy Method for Life Sciences, Public Safety (October 1, 2007)