Pediatrics
Many people who suffer from autism experience periods when they become aggressive, something that tends to come out of the blue. Those taking care of such folks have a hard time managing such episodes, particularly because there's no warning and there's no time to take mitigating actions. Now, researchers at Northeastern University have developed a system, which relies on a wrist-worn device, that can predict aggressive episodes a minute before they become apparent with nearly 90% accuracy. The wearable device collects information about the patient's heart rate, level of sweating,...
Motion Sickness Study to Mitigate Motion Sickness in Self-Driving Cars
August 23rd, 2019 by Medgadget Editors
Motion sickness is slated to become a more prominent problem once self-driving cars become a commonality. Interiors of vehicles are expected to be much different than those of today's forward-facing cars, including blackout windows with TVs inside for playing video games and watching movies. Even those not prone to motion sickness may have trouble when they're playing Fortnite inside a self-driving car on twisty roads. There have been some interesting technologies, including special fluid-filled glasses from Citroën, that may help some people, but researchers at the University of Michigan are...
Flexible Transistors for Body-Worn and Implantable Medical Devices
August 22nd, 2019 by Medgadget Editors
Recently, engineers in a variety of institutions have been making great progress in the field of flexible electronics. A variety of devices have been made, including completely flexible body-worn sensors. While a great deal of the components have indeed been created to be flexible, integrated circuits and the transistors that they're made of have had to remain rigid. Now, researchers at Tufts University have developed completely flexible transistors from linen thread. This will allow for completely flexible devices made of thread that can be integrated into clothing, worn directly on...
Researchers at Yale University have for the first time showed that it is possible to control the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers recruited twenty one 11 to 19 year-olds and used real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF), a technology that lets patients monitor their own brain activity, to control the frequency of tics. While rt-fMRI-NF is a relatively new technology, it seems to have the capability to significantly impact on neuropsychiatric conditions. Potentially, it may have long-lasting impacts on patients, which is something that has...
Researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK and Washington University School of Medicine have developed a new non-invasive brain imaging method for studying the shape of the brain’s surface and oxygenation of brain tissues. Their discovery enables deeper brain imaging with higher resolution than prior studies with similar capabilities. This exciting development can one day improve brain mapping, ICU patient monitoring, and early diagnosis of a number of neurological conditions. Functional neuroimaging provides valuable medical information about the health and condition of brain tissue. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)...
MathWorks Helps Develop New Medical Devices: Interview with Arvind Ananthan
August 21st, 2019 by Rukmani Sridharan
As the Global Medical Device Industry Manager at MathWorks, Arvind Ananthan has immense experience working with medical device engineers, academic researchers, and regulatory authorities. Having a background in signal processing and electrical engineering, Arvind joined Mathworks 15 years ago as a technical sales engineer working with embedded systems before moving into his current role, where he identifies and addresses challenges faced by the medical device industry. We recently had the opportunity to interview Arvind to learn more about how MathWorks software and toolboxes help with the development and testing of...
Optic Nerve Stimulation Device Could Provide Visual Aid for Blind People
August 20th, 2019 by Conn Hastings
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have developed a new type of intraneural electrode to bypass the eyeball and send messages directly to the brain through the optic nerve. The technique could provide a visual aid for permanently blind people. Using retinal implants to treat blindness is a developing field. The concept involves allowing users to have the sensation of observing light, which is experienced as white patterns. While this isn't the same as full vision, it can serve as a visual aid for blind people as...
High-Performance Handheld Ultrasound Based on Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers
August 20th, 2019 by Kurt Yaeger, M.D.
The company EXO Imaging out of Redwood City, CA recently emerged from stealth mode to announce the development of a novel technology called Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (pMUT) for ultrasound imaging. EXO Imaging is bringing together advances in micromachined materials and artificial intelligence to enhance both the ultrasound probe as well as the receiver that a clinician uses to visualize the ultrasound images. Traditional ultrasound transducers are built from bulk piezoelectric materials, in a process that is inefficient and expensive. Advances in micro-machining has allowed the development of pMUT sensors...
Cold plasma is an unusual gaseous substance in which only the electrons are heated to thousands of degrees, with the rest of the material remaining at room temperature. Purdue University researchers have advanced this field and have helped to make it ready for clinical applications, since cold plasma has the ability to kill target cells while sparing nearby cells. In particular, Purdue researchers created one of the first practical cold plasma generators and tested how cold plasma affects biological tissues. Now, a cold plasma device from US Medical Innovations, a...
Lensless Endoscope Captures 3D Images of Objects Smaller Than Individual Cells
August 19th, 2019 by Siavash Parkhideh
Researchers from TU Dresden in Germany have developed a new ultrathin lensless endoscope for biomedical applications. Their work demonstrates that the endoscope, only 200 microns in diameter, can self-calibrate and adjust its focus to perform 3D imaging. This exciting development can be used for optogenetic applications, as well as monitoring cells and tissues. Typical endoscopes use a combination of cameras, lenses, optical fibers, and light sources in order to visualize internal body structures. New technology has enabled researchers to develop ultra-thin lensless endoscopes. Yet, these new optical designs are very...
The sweat excreted by our skin contains a number of metabolites and biomarkers that may be useful in managing disease, tracking athletic performance, and helping to identify health problems. Moreover, the amount of sweat that we produce can in itself be an important measure, but current sweat analysis techniques are very limited. Now, researchers at University of California, Berkeley have developed new sticker-like sweat sensors that can quantify the amount of sweat that is produced by the skin below them. The same sensors can also be used to measure the...
Flexible body-worn sensors that conform to the skin have great potential for monitoring patient health, conducting long-term studies, and giving consumers a way to track their exercise and overall health. Although there have been flexible sticker-like body monitors developed in the past, they have all involved rigid electronic chips and batteries. So, although they're flexible and can be worn on the skin, they're still rather bulky and require recharging. Now, a team at Stanford University have developed highly flexible sticker sensors that don't have any on-board electronic chips or any...
Medicine
Flexible Transistors for Body-Worn and Implantable Medical Devices
Recently, engineers in a variety of institutions have been making great progress in the field of flexible electronics. A variety of devices have been made,...
August 22nd, 2019
Lensless Endoscope Captures 3D Images of Objects Smaller Than Individual Cells
Researchers from TU Dresden in Germany have developed a new
ultrathin lensless endoscope for biomedical applications. Their work demonstrates
that the endoscope,...
August 19th, 2019
Stick-On Wearable Sweat Sensors to Monitor Exercise, Disease
The sweat excreted by our skin contains a number of metabolites and biomarkers that may be useful in managing disease, tracking athletic performance, and helping to...
August 19th, 2019
Cardiology
Fully Flexible and Wireless Body Monitoring Sensors
Flexible body-worn sensors that conform to the skin have great potential for monitoring patient health, conducting long-term studies, and giving consumers a way to...
August 19th, 2019
Adult Human Heart Tissue Grown Using Biowire II Platform
TARA Biosystems, a firm based in New York City, and GlaxoSmithKline have managed to grow adult cardiac tissue inside the Biowire II platform developed by TARA, and...
August 14th, 2019
Carbon Nanotube Fibers as Electrical Bridges for Damaged Heart Tissue
Damaged heart tissue, as a result of a myocardial infarct, is not only a problem because it weakens overall cardiac function but also because it no longer conducts...
August 13th, 2019
Surgery
Cold Plasma to be Tested as Killer of Cancer Cells
Cold plasma is an unusual gaseous substance in which only the electrons are heated to thousands of degrees, with the rest of the material remaining at room...
August 19th, 2019
Nexus Ultrasonic Surgical Platform from Misonix Cleared in Europe
Mixonix, a Farmingdale, New York company that focuses on ultrasonic devices for surgical applications, including osteotomies and debridements, landed European CE...
August 14th, 2019
Neurons Grow on Crosslinks of Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes have a host of interesting properties. They are biocompatible and electrically conductive, so have been investigated as a possible material for...
August 8th, 2019
Emergency Medicine
Breath Analyzer for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition in which fluid leaks into the lungs and builds up in the alveoli within. It is a rapidly progressive...
August 2nd, 2019
Device Removes Rings from Swollen Fingers without Cutting
Swollen fingers with rings on them are a common presence in emergency rooms, and bolt cutters are a typical solution. Of course nobody wants to have their wedding...
August 2nd, 2019
New Device Helps Deliver Accurate Chest Compressions
Chest compressions, if performed properly, can save people from cardiac arrest. Most bystanders faced with an individual requiring resuscitation fail at this task,...
August 1st, 2019
Radiology
Tourette Syndrome Treated with Functional MRI
Researchers at Yale University have for the first time showed that it is possible to control the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome using functional magnetic resonance...
August 22nd, 2019
New Optical Method for Functional Brain Imaging
Researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK and Washington University School of Medicine have developed a new non-invasive brain imaging method for...
August 22nd, 2019
High-Performance Handheld Ultrasound Based on Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers
The company EXO Imaging out of Redwood City, CA recently emerged from stealth mode to announce the development of a novel technology called Piezoelectric Micromachined...
August 20th, 2019
Anesthesiology
Breath Analyzer for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition in which fluid leaks into the lungs and builds up in the alveoli within. It is a rapidly progressive...
August 2nd, 2019
Microfluidic Device Can Detect Sepsis Biomarker in Minutes
Researchers at MIT have developed a microfluidic sensor that can detect levels of IL-6, a biomarker of sepsis, in tiny volumes of blood within just 25 minutes. The...
July 24th, 2019
Potrero Medical Receives CE Mark for the Accuryn® Monitoring System.
The company received its FDA clearance in
2016 when it
transformed the traditional urinary catheter into a smart sensing platform that
helps to accurately monitor...
July 15th, 2019
