Medicine
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK have developed a wearable that can assist in keeping track of stress hormone levels in the body over time. Disregulated stress hormones can play a role in various disease states, from heart disease to depression. However, until now, researchers had to perform blood draws to measure stress hormone levels, meaning that they could obtain just one snapshot in time of hormone levels or repeated blood draws over time, neither of which are ideal. This latest technology, called U-RHYTHM, acts as a...
MISHA Knee Shock Absorber: Interview with Anton Clifford, CEO of Moximed
July 12th, 2023 by Conn Hastings
Moximed, a medtech company based in California, has developed the MISHA knee system, an implantable shock absorber for use in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The system is designed as an alternative to total knee replacement, and can help to reduce pain and discomfort for patients when performing daily activities, such as walking. The system is implanted on the outside of the knee, beneath the skin, and there is no need to remove bone, muscle, or ligament, resulting in a much faster patient recovery compared with knee replacement procedures. Many patients...Read More
Engineers at MIT have developed a microelectronic probe that can measure and influence the behavior of neurons involved in the brain-gut axis. Neural communication between the brain and GI tract has been implicated in a range of conditions as varied as autism and Parkinson’s disease. However, studying the interplay between these neurons was difficult, until now. The new microelectronic probes are thin polymer filaments that contain sensors and other microelectronic components, including microfluidic channels to deliver drugs and light sources to perform optogenetics. The probes can be advanced into gastrointestinal...Read More
Researchers at the University of London have collaborated with QuantuMDx, a medtech company based in the UK, to develop a microfluidic diagnostic device for tuberculosis. The CAPTURE-XT chip is designed to concentrate and purify Mycobacterium tuberculosis from suspected tuberculosis patients, particularly in areas that lack access to routine diagnostic technologies. The chip uses dielectrophoresis to capture the bacteria based on their dielectric properties, whereas other bacteria and impurities in the sputum sample are washed away. The captured bacteria can be assessed visually, providing a simple yes/no diagnosis, and the purified...Read More
Researchers at Harvard University have developed a technique that lets them create biomaterial heart valves in a matter of minutes. The approach, called 'Focused Rotary Jet Spinning’, has been described by the researchers as 'a cotton-candy machine with a hair dryer behind it.' Essentially, the technique involves using jets of air to direct polymer strands onto a heart valve shaped frame. This results in a porous scaffold that allows cardiac cells to enter and grow. The formed constructs also have the mechanical properties to function as a one-way valve within...Read More
Scientists at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have developed an advanced surgical sealant that can alert clinicians to the presence of an intestinal leak after gastrointestinal surgery. Such leaks can be very dangerous, but until now clinicians had few ways to detect them before they start causing symptoms. This new polymer patch reacts to pH changes in the presence of leaked intestinal fluid, and produces small bubbles within its structure in response, often within minutes or hours of a leak starting. This physical change in...Read More
Researchers at MIT have developed a metal-free electrode using conductive polymers. The electrode is flexible and strong enough for long-term implantation in the body. The device is intended as an advanced replacement for rigid metal electrodes that can cause tissue damage and scarring over the long term, leading to device failure. The new technology required quite a bit of refinement to achieve the correct properties of flexibility, strength, and electrical conductivity. The electrode material can be printed using a 3D printer, meaning that the researchers can easily create a vast...Read More
Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed an ultrasound implant that can assist in opening the blood brain barrier to allow chemotherapy to enter and treat brain cancer. However, unlike cumbersome ultrasound systems, this technology can be implanted directly into the brain, and does not require a follow-up surgery to remove the device later as it degrades away to nothing in the brain over time. The implant contains crystals of the amino acid glycine, which has been shown to be strongly piezoelectric, meaning that it vibrates when an electrical...Read More
Shelf-Stable Breast Milk Powder: Interview with Dr. Vansh Langer, CEO at BBy
June 26th, 2023 by Conn Hastings
BBy, a medtech company based in New York, has developed a spray drying method that hospitals can use to process human breast milk into a shelf-stable powder. Human breast milk is an incredibly important source of nutrition for neonates in intensive care units (NICUs). At present, human donor milk is frozen and must be defrosted prior to use in such facilities. This is highly labor intensive for staff and is very wasteful, as excess defrosted milk must be thrown away and large freezers use a lot of electricity. The spray...Read More
Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design have created a flexible knee wearable that contains integrated circuitry within its knitted structure. The wearable can track joint movement in real time, assisting clinicians in spotting the early signs of movement disorders or allowing them to track the progress of patients undergoing physical therapy to improve their movement. The new device was designed to be as comfortable as possible, and functions as a single knitted garment, with sensors and other functional components such as resistors forming flexible circuits within the...Read More
Scientists at Rice University have developed a highly flexible nanoelectrode that is designed for long-term implantation in the brain. The brain stimulation provided by the technology is incredibly fine-grained, thanks to the very low current it can deliver. This results in a very discrete area of neurostimulation, potentially allowing for much finer control of small groups of neurons. Pre-existing electrodes tend to be more rigid and larger, potentially causing issues such as tissue damage and scarring if left in place for long periods. However, the new electrode has been shown...Read More
Researchers at Rockefeller University have developed a cell culture platform in which to grow ‘lung buds’ from human embryonic stem cells. The tiny structures are similar to the lung buds that form during fetal development, and they contain tiny airways and alveoli. The researchers create the structures in a bio-reactor style device that is furnished with microfluidic chips in which the lung buds grow. The team developed a cocktail of growth factors that can stimulate the embryonic cells to differentiate into the lung buds, and they hope to use the...Read More
Medicine
Bacteriophages to Diagnose and Treat Bladder Infections
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a bacteriophage system to identify and treat bacterial bladder infections. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria,...
August 8th, 2023
Biomaterial Injection Combines T Cell and Cancer Vaccine Treatments
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed an anti-cancer biomaterial treatment that combines adoptive T cell therapy and cancer vaccine technology to...
August 7th, 2023
Gravity-Driven Microfluidics for Low-Cost Diagnostics
Researchers at Duke University have developed a gravity-powered microfluidic device that is intended for use as a diagnostic technology in low-resource areas....
August 4th, 2023
Cardiology
Wireless Patch Monitors, Paces Heart and then Biodegrades
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a cardiac monitoring device that is intended for use in patients who have suffered a cardiac event. The soft...
August 2nd, 2023
Photonic Radar Monitors Breathing from a Distance
Engineers at the University of Sydney have developed a photonic radar that allows them to monitor breathing rates without the need to attach equipment to a...
July 25th, 2023
Nanomagnet Patch Measures Muscle Movements
Researchers at UCLA have developed a wearable patch that can measure muscle movements in underlying tissues. The patch contains nanomagnets, and movements in...
July 19th, 2023
Surgery
Artificial Muscle Changes Stiffness with Voltage
Scientists at Queen Mary University of London have developed an artificial muscle that can change from soft to hard in response to a voltage change. The technology...
August 2nd, 2023
Implantable Sponge for Hemorrhage Monitoring and Control
Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation in California have developed an implantable sponge that can monitor for signs of a hemorrhage, and...
August 2nd, 2023
Photonic Radar Monitors Breathing from a Distance
Engineers at the University of Sydney have developed a photonic radar that allows them to monitor breathing rates without the need to attach equipment to a...
July 25th, 2023
Emergency Medicine
App Converts Smartphone to Clinical Thermometer
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an app that converts common smartphones into clinical thermometers. Spotting the signs of fever early...
July 14th, 2023
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
Radiology
Portable and Radiation-Free Imaging with Magnetic Nanoparticles
Researchers at the University of Würzburg in Germany have developed a portable scanner that is the first to be able to image humans using Magnetic Particle Imaging...
August 9th, 2023
Imaging Technique Reveals Living Brain Tissue in its Complexity
Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have developed a brain imaging technique called Live Information Optimized Nanoscopy Enabling...
August 7th, 2023
Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have created a wearable ultrasound system that can monitor deep tissues, as far as 16.5 cm (6.5 inches) below...
June 6th, 2023
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