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EarliPoint Evaluation System for ASD Diagnosis: Interview with Tom Ressemann, CEO of EarliTec Dx

August 8th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Exclusive

EarliTec Dx, a medtech company based in Georgia, has developed the EarliPoint Evaluation System for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This common neurodevelopmental condition is often overlooked in affected children, leading to a lack of early intervention and care. Part of the issue is a lack of access to specialists who can diagnose the condition. Another issue is the lack of quantitative tools that can assist clinicians in diagnosing ASD, and instead they rely on subjective measurements and observations. The EarliPoint system is hosted on a touchscreen tablet, and involves children...Read More

Bacteriophages to Diagnose and Treat Bladder Infections

August 8th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Medicine

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a bacteriophage system to identify and treat bacterial bladder infections. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, but these microorganisms have fallen out of favor as a treatment method for infection since antibiotics came along. Well, antibiotics are looking increasingly shaky as bacteria evolve to resist them, so researchers are returning to bacteriophages as a way to treat antibiotic-resistant infections. However, these Swiss-based researchers have turbo-charged bacteriophages by genetically modifying them so that they are more effective at killing bacteria, and also so they will...Read More

Semi-Automated Manufacture of E-Skin Sensors

August 8th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Rehab

Engineers at the Technical University of Munich in Germany have developed a system that allows them to semi automate the production of tactile sensors. Such sensors can provide robotic systems, such as robotic prostheses, with a sense of compression and tension with regard to the objects and surfaces they come in contact with. Most robotic systems have integrated sensors, but this design allows researchers to create sensors for a variety of arbitrary surfaces, and then just wrap them around the object they wish to imbue with a sense of touch....Read More

Biomaterial Injection Combines T Cell and Cancer Vaccine Treatments

August 7th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Oncology

Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed an anti-cancer biomaterial treatment that combines adoptive T cell therapy and cancer vaccine technology to treat solid tumors. The researchers have called their technique SIVET, which is short for “synergistic in situ vaccination enhanced T cell”. The approach combines local delivery of cytotoxic T cells with longer lasting cancer vaccine technology that engages with the immune system more broadly for long lasting anticancer action. The researchers hope that the technology could lead to improvements in efficacy for immune therapies in treating solid...Read More

Imaging Technique Reveals Living Brain Tissue in its Complexity

August 7th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Neurology

Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have developed a brain imaging technique called Live Information Optimized Nanoscopy Enabling Saturated Segmentation (LIONESS). The method lets the researchers create high-resolution 3D images of living brain tissue that reveal its cellular complexity, and even how it changes over time, allowing for monitoring of neural plasticity. The technique relies on deep learning approaches that help to refine the image quality and also to distinguish cellular structures within this dense and highly complex tissue. The approach can provide unprecedented detail of live...Read More

Visually Guided Uterine Biopsies in Physician’s Office: Interview with Allison London Brown, CEO of LUMINELLE

August 4th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Exclusive

LUMINELLE, a medtech company based in North Carolina, has developed a suite of endoscopic tools that allow clinicians to perform visually guided gynecological procedures right from their office. At present, the majority of uterine biopsies taken to investigate the cause of abnormal uterine bleeding are taken blind, with no visual guidance at all. This leads to suboptimal outcomes, and the frequent need to repeat the biopsy procedure because the first attempt did not yield an adequate sample. To address this, LUMINELLE has developed the LUMINELLE SUSTAINE system and the LUMINELLE...Read More

Above Elbow Amputee Controls Individual Bionic Fingers

August 4th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Rehab

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a new technique that could allow above-elbow amputees to better use robotic prostheses, including making individual finger movements. Unlike below-elbow amputees, these patients have a more limited number of remnant muscles with which to produce fine control of multiple bionic structures, such as bionic fingers. To address this, these researchers performed a surgical procedure on an above-elbow amputee and reconfigured his peripheral nerves to create small neuromuscular constructs that are served by an array of sensors. This dramatically increased the...Read More

Gravity-Driven Microfluidics for Low-Cost Diagnostics

August 4th, 2023 by Conn Hastings

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. Microfluidics have enormous potential for point-of-care diagnostics, but the inclusion of tiny pumps and other sophisticated electronic components dramatically increases the complexity and cost of such devices. In an effort to develop a low-cost alternative, these researchers have turned to gravity as a way to shuttle drops around the tiny channels within a device, using spots of dried reagents to influence the assay, and different areas that are...Read More

Artificial Muscle Changes Stiffness with Voltage

August 2nd, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Materials

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 aims to mimic human muscles in both its movements and in its ability to sense forces and deformation. The muscle is made using carbon nanotubes that have been coated with silicone to form a cathode that can also sense forces, and an anode made from a soft metal mesh, forming an actuation layer between the anode and cathode. The resulting artificial muscle can...Read More

Wireless Patch Monitors, Paces Heart and then Biodegrades

August 2nd, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Cardiac Surgery

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 and flexible patch can be affixed to the outside of the heart during a routine procedure, but does not require a second procedure to remove the device later, as it is fully biodegradable. The patch is transparent, and so should allow clinicians to image the heart as normal, while the microelectrode array within it helps to monitor heart activity in terms of optical and electrical...Read More

Implantable Sponge for Hemorrhage Monitoring and Control

August 2nd, 2023 by Conn Hastings

Surgery

Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation in California have developed an implantable sponge that can monitor for signs of a hemorrhage, and then help to control bleeding once it has occurred. The researchers used silk fibroin, a protein produced by the Bombyx mori silkworm, to create the sponge, and took advantage of its biodegradation and anti-inflammatory properties to create a porous and highly absorbent shape-memory sponge. The sponge also contains two layers of silver nanowires above and below the sponge layer which deliver anti-bacterial action and serve as...Read More

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