A clearer ‘picture’ of blood vessels in health and disease thanks to new imaging approach. Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have developed and tested a new imaging approach they say will accelerate imaging-based research in the lab by allowing investigators to capture images of blood vessels at different spatial scales. Tested in mouse tissues, the method, dubbed “VascuViz,” includes a quick-setting polymer mixture to fill blood vessels and make them visible in multiple imaging techniques. The approach enables researchers to visualize…
A new non-invasive technique provides a near-real-time view of the human brain’s waste-clearance vessels. A joint research team at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the University of Florida describes the first non-invasive and near real-time visualization of the human brain’s waste-clearance system in Nature Communications. The brain is densely organized, and visualizing the structures dedicated to waste removal, also known as lymphatic structures, had been a limitation in the field. “This is the first report to show…
Ultrasound scans, best known for monitoring pregnancies or imaging organs, can also be used to stimulate cells and direct cell function. A team of Penn State researchers has developed an easier, more effective way to harness the technology for biomedical applications. The team created a transparent, biocompatible ultrasound transducer chip that resembles a microscope glass slide and can be inserted into any optical microscope for easy viewing. Cells can be cultured and stimulated directly on top of the transducer chip and…
Scientists at UCL have developed a new technique that uses microscopic magnetic particles to remotely activate brain cells; researchers say the discovery in rats could potentially lead to the development of a new class of non-invasive therapies for neurological disorders. Published in Advanced Science, the pioneering technique called “magnetomechanical stimulation” or , allows touch sensitive brain glial cells called astrocytes to be stimulated with a magnetic device outside the body. Microscopic magnetic particles, or micromagnets, are attached to astrocytes, and used as…
MHH programme PRACTIS for the training of clinician scientists is supported with 1.3 million euros for another two years. In order to provide patients with the best possible care, the latest scientific findings must be incorporated into diagnostics and therapy. This requires so-called clinician scientists. These are doctors who not only have excellent clinical but also scientific training. They carry urgent questions from everyday clinical practice into research and at the same time translate scientific findings into patient care. In…
Collaboration achieves milestone with successful accelerator experiment. Molybdenum (Mo-99) plays a seminal role in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. After a few hours, the radioisotope decays to produce Technetium-99m, which is used in the imaging procedures needed to examine millions of people around the world every year. The current fission-based process has many challenges like the aging reactors and the environmental impact of the process. That is why researchers are searching for alternative methods of production. At the…
While there is currently no cure for blindness, a first-of-its-kind artificial vision system has undergone its first successful implantation, bringing with it the potential to restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight. The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP), an implant that bypasses the retina and optic nerves to connect directly to the brain’s visual cortex, has been successfully surgically implanted in the ICVP study’s first participant at Rush University Medical Center this week. This surgery is part of…
The new tool has made it possible to detect SARS-CoV-2 in exudate from symptomatic patients with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5%. This new methodology, whose first results are published in the journal Scientific Reports, from the Nature Group, has obtained a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 87.5% in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal exudate (the same samples used in a PCR test) from symptomatic people. It has also been possible to detect the…
Compact, inexpensive tunable lenses could be useful for portable medical diagnostics, miniature cameras and more. For the first time, researchers have created a metasurface lens that uses a piezoelectric thin film to change focal length when a small voltage is applied. Because it is extremely compact and lightweight, the new lens could be useful for portable medical diagnostic instruments, drone-based 3D mapping and other applications where miniaturization can open new possibilities. “This type of low-power, ultra-compact varifocal lens could be…
Scientists at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) have teamed up with a company called Cellbricks to develop a 3D printer that can produce a biological wound closure: Using a mix of gelatin and skin cells, the device prints a perfectly fitting bandage that can be used to close large wounds. This could be a good alternative to autologous skin grafting, and not just for burn victims on Earth: Astronauts could also be treated individually far away from…
Researchers were able to greatly reduce tumors in a preclinical model of a rare genetic lung disease. Researchers at the Tufts University School of Engineering are building a reputation for precision targeting in drug delivery. Their tools: tiny lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) that can be fine tuned to latch on to specific tissues, organs, even cell types within the body. Their latest creation: LNPs that carry genetic instructions directly into the lungs. Even before LNP delivery had its first blockbuster debut…
Real-time aberration-free dynamic speckle microscopy was realized using compressed time-reversal matrix. Microscopes are an important tool in biomedical research as it allows for detailed observation and imaging of tissues. Since biological materials are opaque by their nature, severe light scattering occurs as light travels through tissues, which induces a high level of background noise and complex optical aberration. Therefore, typical light microscopes mostly allow us to see the surface of the tissues, and details that are multiple cell layers deep…
… are the latest innovation from SFU Empowering small, humanoid-sensing robots to take a patient’s blood pressure—using only a simple touch—is Simon Fraser University researcher Woo Soo Kim’s latest health care technology development. Based on the intricacies of origami—and inspired by the movements of nature’s leeches—his research is advancing how robots could carry out basic health care tasks in certain conditions, including in remote regions, or where minimal personal contact is needed, such as during pandemics. The research is published…
Study by the University of Bonn: Self-learning software could help detect atherosclerosis at an early stage. Researchers at the University and the University Hospital of Bonn have developed a method that could be used to diagnose atherosclerosis. Using self-learning software, they were able to identify vascular changes in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), often at an early stage. Although these early stages do not yet cause symptoms, they are nevertheless already associated with increased mortality. The algorithm used photos…
What otherwise takes hours in the laboratory, involves annoying waiting times and many sources of error, can now be accomplished by a robot in less time, well digitally documented and with high reproducibility. Automation of synthesis processes for nanoparticles can be a milestone for the use of new therapeutic and diagnostic medical devices – and at the same time increase occupational safety and relieve highly qualified laboratory personnel from monotonous routines. Biofunctionalized nanodiagnostics and therapeutics have been predicted for some…
Smartwatch developed at UCLA measures key stress hormone. Device opens new possibilities for personal health monitoring. The human body responds to stress, from the everyday to the extreme, by producing a hormone called cortisol. To date, it has been impractical to measure cortisol as a way to potentially identify conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress, in which levels of the hormone are elevated. Cortisol levels traditionally have been evaluated through blood samples by professional labs, and while those measurements can…
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