Materials
Scientists at MIT created a glucose fuel cell that is small and powerful enough to conceivably power medical implants using the sugar present in our blood. The ultrathin device relies on a ceramic material as an electrolyte and platinum anodes/cathodes. The researchers were able to place just over 150 fuel cells onto a chip and the individual fuel cells produce a peak voltage of approximately 80 millivolts when a glucose solution was passed over them, placing them in range of the power requirements for many implanted devices. Implantable medical technologies...
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a smart stent that can monitor hemodynamic parameters. The wireless and battery-free device can transmit the data to the outside of the body, and is powered through a wireless energy transfer system that uses magnetic fields, similar to wireless chargers that are available for many smartphones. The system could be helpful in long-term monitoring and aid patients with cardiovascular issues to avoid repeated angiograms. It can also potentially function as an early warning alarm for issues such as changes in blood...Read More
Virtual Clinical Trials: Interview with Ivan Jarry, CEO at ObvioHealth
May 16th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Decentralized and virtual clinical trials are gaining prominence, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic which made it difficult for trial participants to attend in-person appointments. However, conducting clinical trials remotely has a host of potential benefits beyond reducing COVID-19 transmission, including improved patient compliance, real-world data, real-time data, and reduced costs. ObvioHealth is championing this approach to clinical trials, and through a partnership with Renovia, completed the first fully virtual clinical trial in urogynecology, which investigated the leva Pelvic Health System. The leva device is intended to treat female urinary incontinence,...Read More
A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego created a wearable device that uses a disposable microneedle patch to continuously sample and analyze interstitial fluid. The wearable can measure glucose, alcohol, and lactate levels, all of which could be useful information for patients with diabetes. The disposable patch is attached to a reusable electronic device that can communicate wirelessly with a smartphone app and which can be recharged using commercially available wireless charging stations. The researchers hope that the technology can be adapted to measure other health...Read More
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 represents an advance in organ-on-a-chip systems as it allows scientists to study the effects of drugs or interventions on multiple organs simultaneously. Moreover, as the engineered tissues are all created using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a blood sample, it could allow...Read More
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. The small components avoid the need for a stationary pump to inflate the sleeve and allow for tetherless use during regular activities. Lymphedema often strikes breast cancer patients, who frequently require surgical removal of lymph nodes in the...Read More
Helping Digital Health Companies Win Regulatory Approvals: Interview with Ruby Gadelrab, CEO of MDisrupt
May 6th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Digital Health companies often face a struggle knowing where to begin on the road to regulatory approval. Issues such as conducting clinical validation studies and finding the right regulatory experts to assist in their journey can all present major hurdles. These difficulties prompted Ruby Gadelrab to create MDisrupt, a digital health intelligence company based in California. The company aims to assist early-stage digital health companies to pursue regulatory approvals by connecting them with a large network of experienced regulatory experts, including medical advisors, commercial strategists, and regulatory strategists. The company...Read More
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with a company called EnLiSense, developed a wearable electrochemical sweat sensor that can detect chemokines in sweat, alerting the wearer and clinicians to a viral or bacterial infection. The device also warns of an impending cytokine storm, where high levels of inflammatory molecules are released by the body all at once, often proving fatal. The wearable could be particularly useful in cases of severe COVID-19, in which a cytokine storm is a significant risk. Sweat sensors are developing apace, and...Read More
A team at the University of California San Diego has developed a smartphone app that can precisely measure changes in pupil size as a potential method to assess a variety of neurological conditions and disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD. The technique relies on the near-infrared cameras that newer smartphones use for facial recognition. The system is simple to use, and could let people participate in at-home diagnostics of conditions previously diagnosed in other ways. The researchers consulted older adults while designing the system, to ensure that it is suitable...Read More
Cryoablation for Treatment of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Interview with Ric Cote, CEO of Channel Medsystems
May 2nd, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Channel Medsystems, a medtech company based in California, created the Cerene cryotherapy device for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding. Heavy menstrual bleeding can affect quality of life for many women, and the condition can be associated with abdominal pain, cramping, and tiredness. The Cerene technology aims to provide an effective treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding, a procedure which can be performed in a doctor’s surgery in just a few minutes, and which does not require general anesthesia. The procedure involves the insertion of the device into the uterus,...Read More
Perinatal Mental Health Support for Parents of Color: Interview with Lauren Elliott, Founder of Candlelit Therapy
April 29th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are very common, and can cause significant suffering and distress for many new parents. Black women and women of color are often at higher risk of such disorders. Despite this, there has been a lack of culturally relevant mental health supports for such parents. Candlelit Therapy, a company based in New York City, aims to change this by providing access to mental health supports that are specifically designed for new or expecting parents who are black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). The services provided...Read More
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 cells, making them vulnerable to the lethal effects of the delivered light. The small device can also be implanted within the body, potentially to provide longer term photodynamic therapy and guard against cancer recurrence. For many...Read More
Medicine
Wearable Uses Microneedles to Track Metabolism
A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego created a wearable device that uses a disposable microneedle patch to continuously sample and...
May 16th, 2022
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...
May 11th, 2022
Wearable Sweat Sensor Warns of Impending Cytokine Storm
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with a company called EnLiSense, developed a wearable electrochemical sweat sensor that can...
May 5th, 2022
Cardiology
Smart Stent Monitors Hemodynamics
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a smart stent that can monitor hemodynamic parameters. The wireless and battery-free device can...
May 18th, 2022
Heart Chamber on a Chip
Researchers at Boston University engineered a heart chamber on a chip that can beat by itself. The technology relies on cardiomyocytes generated from induced...
April 28th, 2022
Wireless Data Transfer for Implanted Devices Using Ionic Communication
Researchers at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new method for implanted devices to communicate with the outside...
April 25th, 2022
Surgery
Glucose Fuel Cell to Power Medical Implants
Scientists at MIT created a glucose fuel cell that is small and powerful enough to conceivably power medical implants using the sugar present in our blood. The...
May 18th, 2022
Cryoablation for Treatment of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Interview with Ric Cote, CEO of Channel Medsystems
Channel Medsystems, a medtech company based in California, created the Cerene cryotherapy device for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding. Heavy menstrual...
May 2nd, 2022
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...
April 28th, 2022
Emergency Medicine
Wearable Sweat Sensor Warns of Impending Cytokine Storm
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, in collaboration with a company called EnLiSense, developed a wearable electrochemical sweat sensor that can...
May 5th, 2022
Hemostasis on Contact: Interview with Joe Landolina, CEO of Cresilon
Cresilon, a New York-based medtech company, specializes in developing hemostatic technology. Its co-founder and CEO, Joe Landolina, created a plant-based hemostatic...
April 12th, 2022
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...
October 1st, 2021
Radiology
Smart Stent Monitors Hemodynamics
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a smart stent that can monitor hemodynamic parameters. The wireless and battery-free device can...
May 18th, 2022
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...
April 28th, 2022
Excitable Nanoparticles Destroy Endometriosis Lesions
Researchers at Oregon State University developed a nanoparticle system that can aid with the removal of endometrial lesions in a minimally invasive fashion. In...
April 25th, 2022
Anesthesiology
Magnetic Tentacle Robot Travels Deep into Lungs
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK have created a magnetic “tentacle robot” that is just 2 mm in diameter, which they hope will be able to...
March 25th, 2022
Finger Clip for Blood Pressure Monitoring
At the University of Missouri a team of researchers developed a custom finger clip device that can continuously measure a variety of vitals, including blood...
January 5th, 2022
Wireless Sensor Measures Deep Tissue Oxygen Levels
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed an ultrasound-powered implantable sensor that can measure oxygen levels in tissues deep within...
April 19th, 2021
