Exciting Medtech at the Healthcare ᐩ Expo Taiwan
Medgadget was recently invited to Taiwan to cover the 2022 Healthcareᐩ Expo in Taipei. As is the case for most trade shows, the exhibit hall comprised a large portion of the expo. Consisting of over 2000 exhibitors in two massive halls, the main hall showcased the best of Taiwan’s healthcare industry. Here are some notable trends we observed while roaming the aisles.
Big Tech is Invested in Healthcare
At the MedTex Summit Asia that took place during the expo (see here for our coverage), speakers from ASUS, Microsoft, Intel, and Oracle shared about how each of their companies were partnering with hospitals ...
Source: Medgadget - December 21, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Scott Jung Tags: Diagnostics Exclusive Informatics Medicine Radiology Source Type: blogs
Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients
Researchers at Florida Atlantic University have developed a belt that can monitor heart failure patients for signs of disease progression. The wearable device measures heart rate, thoracic impedance, electrocardiogram, and motion, all of which can provide information on a heart failure patient’s status and potentially enable early detection of disease exacerbation. So far, the researchers have tested the device in a variety of everyday contexts, including routine activities, such as sitting, lying, standing, and walking, and found that it performs quite well. The researchers hope that the technology could help to reduce ...
Source: Medgadget - December 21, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiology Diagnostics Telemedicine FloridaAtlantic heart failure Source Type: blogs
Medgadget Visits Healthcare ᐩ Expo Taiwan
This past week, Medgadget was an official media partner with the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan. This four-day annual event brings together healthcare companies from all over Taiwan and the rest of the world. It is also an opportunity for tech companies not typically associated with healthcare, such as ASUS, Intel, and BenQ, to showcase what they’re doing in medicine and healthcare.
The event kicked off with an opening ceremony presided by Taiwan president Tsai Ing-Wen, as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between hospital representatives from Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand...
Source: Medgadget - December 17, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Scott Jung Tags: Diagnostics Exclusive Genetics Medicine Telemedicine healthcareexpo Taiwan TaiwanHealthcare Source Type: blogs
Camera Measures Blood Pressure with Quick Look
At the University of South Australia, researchers designed a system that allows them to measure a patient’s blood pressure with a camera. The camera visualizes the patient’s forehead and focuses on two regions in particular to optically determine photoplethysmographic signals that AI algorithms then convert to blood pressure data. The researchers tested their system in 25 volunteers, and so far it has proven to be approximately 90% as accurate as traditional pressure cuff measurements. The system could provide contact-free measurements in as little as ten seconds, and could be very useful for large health screens or in...
Source: Medgadget - December 7, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiology Medicine Telemedicine UniversitySA Source Type: blogs
Diabetes Management Tech for Type II patients: Interview with Jeffrey Brewer, CEO of Bigfoot Biomedical
Bigfoot Biomedical, a medtech company based in California, has developed the Bigfoot Unity System, a diabetes management technology for patients on multiple daily injection therapy. The system uses continuous glucose monitoring data and doctor recommendations to provide insulin dose recommendations, helping patients to avoid uncertainty.
The company argues that type 2 diabetes patients have been historically underserved by the medtech industry, in part because such patients typically tend to be older at diagnosis, and perhaps less inclined to adopt new technologies. This contrasts with type 1 “power users” w...
Source: Medgadget - December 2, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Medicine Telemedicine bigfootbiomed diabetes type 2 Source Type: blogs
Modified mRNA Demonstrates 10-Fold Protein Production
Scientists at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology came up with a technique to increase the efficiency and potentially the efficacy of mRNA therapeutics. mRNA molecules have what is called a poly-A tail, which is basically a string of adenine nucleotides at one end. These researchers discovered that by replacing some of these nucleotides in the mRNA tail with cytidine, a cytosine base with a ribose sugar attached, that they could enhance the resulting protein production of the mRNA and increase its stability and life-span. The technique could lead to more effective mRNA therapies and vaccines, potentially enablin...
Source: Medgadget - December 2, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Medicine HKUniversity Source Type: blogs
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 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. ...
Source: Medgadget - November 24, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Medicine Public Health EPFL ligand binding Source Type: blogs
Extra Hot Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy
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 a small number of par...
Source: Medgadget - November 18, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Nanomedicine Oncology Source Type: blogs
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 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 rapi...
Source: Medgadget - November 18, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Medicine Public Health ucla Source Type: blogs
Implantable Device Adheres to Muscle, Treats Atrophy
This study by Dave Mooney and his group is a very elegant and forward-looking example of how this type of mechanotherapy could be used clinically in the future.”
The MAGENTA device with its tough hydrogel adhesive surface (shown on the left) was implanted on a mouse’s calf muscle that in the atrophy model then was immobilized for a longer period of time to induce muscle wasting. Actuating the device by turning the electricity on lets it contract, generating mechanical stimulation to the underlying muscle, whereas turning the electricity off allows the device and muscle to relax (top row on the right). The pa...
Source: Medgadget - November 16, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Orthopedic Surgery Rehab muscle atrophy wyssinstitute Source Type: blogs
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 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 cancers, which explains the relative success...
Source: Medgadget - November 15, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Nanomedicine Oncology MDAndersonNews Source Type: blogs
Non-Invasive Spinal Modulation for Cerebral Palsy
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 c...
Source: Medgadget - November 15, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Neurology Rehab cerebral palsy CP spinex_official Source Type: blogs
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 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 develop an AI-po...
Source: Medgadget - November 11, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiology Diagnostics Exclusive CHF Congestive Heart Failure Source Type: blogs
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 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 relies on a blue-green light in addition to assess...
Source: Medgadget - November 11, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Anesthesiology Cardiology Critical Care Emergency Medicine Military Medicine Pediatrics Surgery utarlington Source Type: blogs
Implanted Magnets for Prosthetic Control
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 turkeys, showing that the impla...
Source: Medgadget - November 11, 2022 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Rehab mit prosthetics Source Type: blogs
