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Deep Learning System to Track Patient Recovery

March 20th, 2019 by Siavash Parkhideh

Informatics

Researchers from Stanford University have developed a new tool to track patient recovery in a hospital setting. They have created a deep learning-based system to see if patients are able to perform mobility tasks, such as getting in and out of bed or sitting in a chair. In an ICU setting, improved mobility is associated with better recovery, quality of life, and overall survival. In partnership with Intermountain LDS Hospital ICU, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the researchers set up depth sensors in eight patient ICU rooms. The team chose...

Injectable Bone Scaffolding Made of Plant Cellulose

March 20th, 2019 by Editors

Materials

The majority of bone implants, cements, and grafts are hard objects that don't always work well in filling the space they're supposed to inhabit. Soft objects can gently expand and relocate their mass evenly over a volume, and they tent to be less dense so as to leave room for cells to make home inside of. Researchers at the University of British Columbia and McMaster University in Canada have just reportred on a plant cellulose-based bone scaffolds that can be injected into areas of damage. The material allows native tissue...

Highly Sensitive Point-of-Care Sensor Measures Dopamine in Whole Blood

March 20th, 2019 by Editors

Diagnostics

The concentration of dopamine in a patient's blood can be an important biomarker for a variety of diseases, including certain cancers, depression, and Parkinson's. Measuring dopamine in whole blood still requires a laboratory, making it slow and expensive and not always suited for things like screenings. Scientists at the University of Central Florida have now developed a portable, enzyme-free dopamine detector that takes just a sample of blood and which provides in a matter of minutes. It is hoped that the technology will be available for point-of-care applications, potentially making...

Augmented Reality System Lets Severely Disabled Operate Own Robots

March 20th, 2019 by Editors

Rehab

Robots that help severely disabled people are generally assumed to have to be super smart, capable of replacing human caretakers. Engineers at Georgia Tech decided to take a very different approach, instead empowering disabled people to control the robots that help them. The technology allows disabled people to see what the robot is seeing, since a video feed is passed from the robot's cameras to the bedside computer. It also allows for careful, planned control of the robot's movements. The robot used was the PR2 mobile manipulator from Willow Garage, a Silicon...

Mobilett Elara Max X-ray Cleared in the United States

March 20th, 2019 by Editors

Radiology

Siemens Healthineers won clearance from the FDA for its Mobilett Elara Max X-ray system. The mobile device can be wheeled from room to room while the cables are safely hidden inside and the antimicrobial coating prevents the transfer of pathogens. The firm touts the system's IT security features that help to maintain patient privacy while being compatible with a hospital's own IT systems. It can be used to access previous scans and other patient data right at the bedside, helping clinicians to maintain continuity of care. This is thanks to a...

Nyxoah's Genio Implant for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Cleared in Europe

March 19th, 2019 by Editors

ENT

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is often caused by the tongue blocking the airway during night-time breathing. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is the most common way of raising the tongue and allowing air to flow through, but it requires wearing a face mask with a connected hose through the night. Nyxoah, a company headquartered outside of Brussels, Belgium, just obtained European regulatory approval for its Genio implant-based solution that treats OSA in an entirely new way. The Genio includes a tiny implant which is surgically inserted, in about 15 minutes into the...

Bioreactors Inside Body Grow New Bones for Transplantation

March 19th, 2019 by Editors

ENT

Injuries and disease often necessitate putting something in place of where natural bone is. While there are custom-made artificial orthopedic implants and native bone grafts, researchers from Rice University have now shown a new and better way. The team printed in 3D a bioreactor mold within which new bone can grow. It is made to be attachable to the rib bones and, once implanted, can support stem cells and the formation of blood vasculature. The mold can be custom-made to the patient's own needs and after a few month of grown,...

Macular Degeneration Treated with Viral Delivery of Gene Into Eye

March 19th, 2019 by Editors

Genetics

A number of degenerative eye diseases are related to photoreceptors no longer functioning properly. There can be a host of reasons that photoreceptors don't work, but soon it may not be that important to know why the disease is happening. That is because researchers at University of California, Berkeley have come up with a way of treating retinal degenerative diseases by turning cells that normally can't sense light into ones that can. The researchers used an inactivated virus to introduce a gene into the ganglion cells of mice suffering from macular...

Caregivers Want Robots to Take Care of Annoying Dementia Sufferers

March 19th, 2019 by Editors

Geriatrics

People with dementia, as well as those that take care of them, can benefit from a bit of robotic assistance. There are a few robots on the market that are designed to help elderly people around the house, but not too much exists for those suffering from cognitive decline. While there's been development in this field, researchers at the University of California, San Diego wanted to find out what kinds of robots would actually help. The team brought together a group of caregivers that have a good deal of experience with...

CareAlert, A Non-Intrusive Home Monitoring System: Interview with Fereydoun Taslimi, CEO of SensorsCall

March 18th, 2019 by Kenan Raddawi

Exclusive

The world’s aging population continues to grow. Today, in the U.S. alone, there are more than 46 million people 65 years and older, accounting for around 15 percent of the population. This is expected to swell to 20 percent by the year 2030. One of the main decisions that we are bound to make as we get older is whether or not we will continue to live at our own place. Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that nearly 90 percent of seniors living in the U.S. prefer to grow old in...

BD Venovo Stent Approved in U.S. to Treat Iliofemoral Venous Occlusive Disease

March 18th, 2019 by Editors

Radiology

BD (Becton Dickinson) won FDA approval for its Venovo venous stent, which is the first stent available for treating iliofemoral venous occlusive disease. Typically, arteries are the vessels that become narrow or even blocked from calcified plaque, but veins can also suffer from similar issues. The iliac and femoral veins near the groin are particularly prone to being occluded and that's where the Venovo stent should help. The Venovo is made of nitinol and it's made to be very flexible, so as to be able to reach the target treatment zone....

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