Medicine
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a DNA toolbox that allows researchers to explore binding interactions between ligands and their respective receptors based on receptor density and arrangement. The basis for many pharmacological interactions between drugs and cells, and indeed many physiological or pathological interactions involving biological signaling molecules, involves a molecule, termed a ligand, binding to a receptor that is typically present on the cell membrane. This binding is highly specific, but it can be influenced by the density of ligands present. However,...
Researchers at Oregon State University created a new type of hyperthermic magnetic nanoparticle that is intended to assist in destroying tumors through localized heating under an alternating magnetic field. Previous iterations of such technologies could heat up to about 44 degrees Celsius (111 F), which was only effective in easy-to-access tumors that can be reached with a hypodermic needle, allowing a clinician to inject a large number of the nanoparticles directly into the tumor. For difficult-to-access tumors, intravenous delivery of the nanoparticles is required, but this typically only results in...Read More
At the University of California Los Angeles, scientists have developed a handheld lab kit that can conduct automated pooled testing for viral diseases, including COVID-19. The technology consists of a microfluidic platform that relies on swarms of magnetic discs, which the researchers have termed “ferrobots”, to shuttle samples through the device and mix them with reagents before reaching an area where a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay takes place. The assay amplifies hallmark nucleic acid signatures and allows for rapid identification of a viral pathogen. Cleverly, the device is designed with...Read More
Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard have developed a mechanically active gel-elastomer-nitinol tissue adhesive, otherwise known as MAGENTA. The implantable device functions as a soft robot, and it can be adhered to the outside of a muscle. When an electrical charge is applied to the device, a spring inside made from nitinol (a shape memory alloy) heats up and begins to actuate, creating a contraction and stretching effect on the attached muscle. In an animal model of muscle atrophy, the device slowed atrophy compared with...Read More
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a nanotechnology platform that can make cancer cells more vulnerable to immune attack in the body. The researchers call their system the bispecific tumor-transforming nanoconjugate (BiTN) platform. The idea is to make solid tumors more appealing for the immune system by attaching a molecule that acts as an “eat me” signal to white blood cells. This molecule is called signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family member 7 (SLAMF7) receptor and is more commonly found on cancer cells in blood...Read More
SpineX, a medtech company based in California, has developed the Spinal Cord Innovation in Pediatrics (SCiP) device, a non-invasive spinal cord neuromodulation technology that is intended to treat children with cerebral palsy. The technology is designed to be used in conjunction with activity-based neurorehabilitation therapy with the goal of improving functional movements in such children. Through transcutaneous spinal cord neuro-stimulation, the technology aims to modulate dysfunctional brain and spinal cord connectivity. In a recent pilot study, the company reports that 16 pediatric patient volunteers, with a range of cerebral palsy...Read More
Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical
November 11th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Cordio Medical, a medtech company based in Israel, has developed HearO, an app that can assist in monitoring congestive heart failure. The technology is based on the phenomenon whereby congestive heart failure patients demonstrate changes in their voice as their disease progresses or in advance of disease exacerbation. This includes lung sounds, such as wheezing and crackling. Indeed, some cardiologists report that they can hear changes in their patient’s voice, but that this typically occurs relatively late during disease exacerbation, making it less useful. This phenomenon inspired Cordio Medical to...Read More
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, in collaboration with Shani Biotechnologies, a local firm, have created a point-of-care device that can accurately measure hemoglobin levels and perform pulse oximetry in individuals with dark skin. At present, methods to determine hemoglobin levels at the point of care, such as pulse oximetry, are inaccurate in individuals with higher levels of melanin in their skin, and there is a clear need to develop alternatives that work for everyone. Instead of the red-infrared light used by common pulse oximeters, this new device...Read More
Engineers at MIT have developed a system that could let users of robotic prostheses to more sensitively control their bionic limbs. The technology involves implanting pairs of small magnetic beads into muscles. When the muscles contract, the beads move closer together, allowing prosthetic devices to more precisely calculate a user’s intentions and mirror these. Current systems measure the electrical activity in muscles, but this is not as accurate as measuring actual muscle movement. Medgadget last covered the technology in August 2021, and since then, the researchers have tested it in...Read More
In-Office Pediatric Ear Tube Procedures: Interview with Preceptis Medical's Greg Mielke
November 8th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Preceptis Medical, a medtech company based in Minnesota, created the Hummingbird Tympanostomy Tube System. The device allows ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons to insert ear tubes in the comfort of their office. The procedure requires only local anesthetic and is intended to be less distressing for pediatric patients than the conventional approach, which requires general anesthesia. The Hummingbird device provides a “one-pass” approach to ear tube placement, with an ear drum incision and tube placement occurring with a few simple manipulations of the device. Medgadget spoke with Steve Anderson,...Read More
Smartphone and Cheap Earbuds for Accessible Newborn Hearing Test
November 8th, 2022 by Conn Hastings
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a low-cost hearing test for newborns. Traditionally, the equipment for such testing is quite expensive. As newborns cannot let us know if they can hear something, the test is based on creating a noise within the ear canal and then listening to the vibrations created by the specialized hair cells within. The UW researchers used cheap earbuds that are connected to a small microphone that can listen to the vibrations of the hair cells. A smartphone app then analyzes the sounds and...Read More
Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland have developed a technique that lets them improve the coating of nanoparticles when using cell membranes. Cell membranes offer a lot of benefits as a coating for synthetic nanoparticles, including shielding from the immune system, prolonged circulation times and improved tumor accumulation. However, current approaches to coating nanoparticles with cell membranes often result in an incomplete covering. These researchers realized that a simple technique involving adding some additional phospholipids during production was enough to increase the membrane fluidity of the coating, allowing it...Read More
Medicine
Toolbox to Study Ligand Binding for Enhanced Treatments
Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have developed a DNA toolbox that allows researchers to explore binding interactions...
November 24th, 2022
Ferrobot Swarms for Rapid Viral Testing
At the University of California Los Angeles, scientists have developed a handheld lab kit that can conduct automated pooled testing for viral diseases, including...
November 18th, 2022
Making Tumors Tastier for the Immune System
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a nanotechnology platform that can make cancer cells more vulnerable to immune...
November 15th, 2022
Cardiology
Monitoring Congestive Heart Failure Through Speech: Interview with Tamir Tal, CEO of Cordio Medical
Cordio Medical, a medtech company based in Israel, has developed HearO, an app that can assist in monitoring congestive heart failure. The technology is based on...
November 11th, 2022
Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, in collaboration with Shani Biotechnologies, a local firm, have created a point-of-care device that can...
November 11th, 2022
Battery-Free Light-Powered Pacemaker Now a Reality
Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a battery-free light-powered pacemaker that uses optogenetic stimulation of cardiomyocytes to achieve heart...
November 7th, 2022
Surgery
Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy
Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard have developed a mechanically active gel-elastomer-nitinol tissue adhesive,...
November 16th, 2022
Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, in collaboration with Shani Biotechnologies, a local firm, have created a point-of-care device that can...
November 11th, 2022
Electrospun Construct Mimics Elasticity of Blood Vessels
Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia have developed an electrospun blood vessel replacement. The material contains tropoelastin, a natural precursor...
November 7th, 2022
Emergency Medicine
Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, in collaboration with Shani Biotechnologies, a local firm, have created a point-of-care device that can...
November 11th, 2022
Smartphone Camera Measures Blood Oxygen
At the University of Washington a research team has developed a smartphone system that can measure blood oxygen levels. The technology uses the camera and flash of...
September 21st, 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
Radiology
Fluorescence Imaging System Illuminates Tumor Depth
Medical researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a fluorescence imaging technique that allows them to illuminate a tumor...
October 17th, 2022
Soft Robot Grows Like a Plant to Travel Through Tight Spaces
At the University of Minnesota, researchers have developed a soft robotic system that can ‘grow’ like a plant. The mechanism allows it to travel through...
October 3rd, 2022
Mining Ultrasound Data to Improve Liver Diagnostics: Interview with Beth Rogozinski, CEO at Oncoustics
Oncoustics, a medtech company based in Ontario, Canada, developed the OnX Liver Assessment Solution, an AI-powered ultrasound-based diagnostic system for liver...
August 23rd, 2022
Anesthesiology
Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, in collaboration with Shani Biotechnologies, a local firm, have created a point-of-care device that can...
November 11th, 2022
Smartphone Camera Measures Blood Oxygen
At the University of Washington a research team has developed a smartphone system that can measure blood oxygen levels. The technology uses the camera and flash of...
September 21st, 2022
Perfusion Machine Restores Donor Liver for Transplant
Clinical researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have created a perfusion machine to store donor livers before transplant. We originally reported on...
June 7th, 2022
