… to better understand and treat spinal cord injury. A research team led by scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative technology for in vivo imaging of the important biological processes involved in the injury and repair of spinal cords, paving the way for a better understanding of the pathology and potential treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). A tight bundle of neural cells (neurons and glia) and nerve pathways (axons), the…
A novel algorithm delivers superresolution images 80 times faster than the current standard imaging method for structured illumination microscopy. Superresolution structured illumination microscopy (SR-SIM) is an outstanding method for visualizing the subcellular dynamics in living cells. SR-SIM can achieve rapid, optically sectioned (OS), superresolution (SR) observation with hundreds to thousands of time points, which are the number of superresolution frames for continuous imaging. However, the reconstruction algorithm for OS-SR-SIM imposes a significant computing burden, due to a complex workflow and…
First-of-its-kind survival predictor detects patterns in heart MRIs invisible to the naked eye. A new artificial intelligence-based approach can predict, significantly more accurately than a doctor, if and when a patient could die of cardiac arrest. The technology, built on raw images of patient’s diseased hearts and patient backgrounds, stands to revolutionize clinical decision making and increase survival from sudden and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, one of medicine’s deadliest and most puzzling conditions. The work, led by Johns Hopkins University researchers,…
With any highly infectious disease, time can be a killer. It is crucial to get a test result for a pathogen quickly, lest someone continue in their daily lives infecting others. And delays in testing have undoubtedly exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the most accurate COVID-19 test often takes 24 hours or longer to return results from a lab. At-home test kits offer results in minutes but are far less accurate or sensitive. Researchers at the University of Florida, however,…
An international research team has successfully developed and tested a concept in which nerves are stimulated with light pulses. The method provides considerable advantages for medicine and opens up a wide range of possible applications. The technology enables completely new types of implants that can be used to stimulate nerve cells and was developed in a joint effort by researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), the Medical University of Graz (Med Uni Graz), the University of Zagreb and…
New technique uses the body’s naturally occurring ions to help transmit data. Implantable bioelectronics are now often key in assisting or monitoring the heart, brain, and other vital organs, but they often lack a safe, reliable way of transmitting their data to doctors. Now researchers at Columbia Engineering have invented a way to augment implantable bioelectronics with simple, high-speed, low-power wireless data links using ions, positively or negatively charged atoms that are naturally available in the body. Implantable bioelectronics are…
A new tool speeds up development of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products by more than one million times while minimizing costs. In search of pharmaceutical agents such as new vaccines, industry will routinely scan thousands of related candidate molecules. A novel technique allows this to take place on the nano scale, minimizing use of materials and energy. The work is published in the prestigious journal Nature Chemistry. More than 40,000 different molecules can be synthesized and analyzed within an area…
The appearance of ovarian lesions on ultrasound is an effective predictor of cancer risk that can help women avoid unnecessary surgery, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of the gynecologic cancers, killing about 15,000 women every year in the United States. Characterization of adnexal lesions, or lumps near the uterus, on ultrasound examination is crucial for appropriate patient management, as some adnexal lesions can progress to cancer, while many others are…
Nanofountain Probe Electroporation system enables efficient engineering of stem cells. One of the ultimate goals of medical science is to develop personalized disease diagnostics and therapeutics. With a patient’s genetic information, doctors could tailor treatments to individuals, leading to safer and more effective care. Recent work from a team of Northwestern Engineering researchers has moved the field closer to realizing this future. Led by Professor Horacio Espinosa, the research team developed a new version of its Nanofountain Probe Electroporation (NFP-E), a…
… to pass into the narrow tubes of the lung. Engineers and scientists have developed proof of concept for a robot that can reach some of the smallest bronchial tubes in the lungs – to take tissue samples or deliver cancer therapy. Known as a magnetic tentacle robot, it measures just 2 millimetres in diameter, about twice the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Magnets on the outside of the patient will be used to guide the tentacle…
COVID 19 has turned PCR and other antigen tests from tools known only to medical professionals into an everyday experience for all of us. To mark the successful completion of their research on the PoC-BoSens platform, the project consortium led by Fraunhofer IZM can announce the birth of a new generation of such diagnostic systems: a photonic platform for precise point-of-care diagnostics. The core of the platform is an automated analytical system based on tiny optical fiber structures that ensures…
The flexible backing allows arrays of micro-scale needles to conform to the contours of the brain, which improves high-resolution brain recording. Engineering researchers have invented an advanced brain-computer interface with a flexible and moldable backing and penetrating microneedles. Adding a flexible backing to this kind of brain-computer interface allows the device to more evenly conform to the brain’s complex curved surface and to more uniformly distribute the microneedles that pierce the cortex. The microneedles, which are 10 times thinner than…
Harvard Wyss Institute’s eRapid sensor technology licensed to Antisoma Therapeutics. The low-cost multiplexed electrochemical biomarker detection platform will be commercialized in point-of-care diagnostics to be put into the hands of patients and primary health practitioners. Today, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Australian biotech company The iQ Group Global Ltd. announced that the Institute’s electrochemical eRapid technology has been licensed to Antisoma Therapeutics Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of The iQ Group Global. The licensing agreement was coordinated by Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development and…
Researchers in biomedical physics and biology have significantly improved micro-computed tomography, more specifically imaging with phase contrast and high brilliance x-ray radiation. They have developed a new microstructured optical grating and combined it with new analytical algorithms. The new approach makes it possible to depict and analyze the microstructures of samples in greater detail, and to investigate a particularly broad spectrum of samples. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is an imaging method which generates detailed three-dimensional images of the internal structure of…
A pulse wave is a wave in which the blood flow – that originates from the heartbeat – is transmitted to the body. It is an important biosignal that indicates cardiovascular health. Analyzing the pulse wave signal can diagnose cardiac conditions including high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and more. However, conventional pulse wave measuring devices are cumbersome as they require wearing the blood-pressure measuring cuff or stiff tong-shaped sensor and can mostly be performed at hospitals. Recently, a POSTECH research team…
Novel technology could prevent repeat operations to replace a faulty bioprosthetic heart valve. Many patients implanted with a bioprosthetic heart valve are forced to undergo complicated valve replacement surgery ten years later due to valve calcification. Novel technology offers more durable valves based on genetic engineering preventing expression of foreign sugars, thereby minimizing structural valve deterioration due to calcification. An international study led by a researcher from Tel Aviv University offers a novel technology that can assist many patients implanted…
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