Lateral Flow Test for Gingivitis
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a lateral flow assay that can detect bacterial toxins from Porphyromonas gingivalis, the causative bacteria for gingivitis. The technology could make it easier and faster to identify early-stage gingivitis, which can lead to periodontitis and eventual tooth loss, as well as contributing to a variety of other diseases such as stroke and heart disease. The lateral flow assay requires a small saliva sample, and can provide results very quickly, but does require the saliva sample to be pre-treated with potato starch to deactivate salivary amylase, an enzyme that can in...
Source: Medgadget - October 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Dentistry Diagnostics gingivitis UofCincy Source Type: blogs
Sensor Monitors Transplanted Organs for Signs of Rejection
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a sensor that can monitor transplanted organs for signs of rejection. Patients who receive transplants require immunosuppressive medication to ensure that their body does not reject the transplanted tissue, but this can still happen, sometimes years after the initial transplant. Current methods to monitor for immune rejection involve taking biopsies or monitoring blood markers, but these techniques are invasive and blood markers may not show up until the rejection has already progressed somewhat. This new sensor is thin and flexible and is designed to sit on the surface...
Source: Medgadget - October 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Surgery northwestern transplant rejection Source Type: blogs
miRNA Therapy Slows Cancer Growth
Scientists at Purdue University have developed a microRNA therapy designed to slow tumor growth. The technology takes advantage of the tendency of several cancer types to express an excess of surface receptors that bind folate (vitamin B9) and draw it into the cell interior. By attaching the microRNA strand to a folate molecule, the researchers could target it to cancer cells. This targeting specificity is advantageous in reducing the potential for side-effects elsewhere in the body, and in reducing the required dose to achieve a tangible anti-cancer effect. The researchers hope that the treatment will expand the therapeut...
Source: Medgadget - October 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Oncology Source Type: blogs
Ball Changes Shape with Breath for Mental Health Management
Researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom have developed a shape-shifting ball that can inflate and deflate in response to someone’s breath. The idea is an advancement of many techniques designed to help people de-stress and manage their mental health, which all focus on awareness of the breath. For instance, mindfulness meditation often requires people to focus on their own breath, which can help to reduce anxiety and stress, but maintaining this focus is difficult. The ball, which the researchers call the Physical Artefact for Well-being Support (PAWS), is designed to be held in the hands, and sensors...
Source: Medgadget - October 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Shear-Thinning Biomaterial for Embolic Applications: Interview with Upma Sharma, President and CEO of Arsenal Medical
Arsenal Medical, a medtech company based in Massachusetts, has developed Neocast, an embolic biomaterial designed for catheter-mediated embolization procedures. Conventional materials for embolization can have several limitations, including a lack of radiopacity, catheter clogging, catheter entrapment at the delivery site, solvent-mediated pain at the delivery site, and they can even cause sparking of electrocautery tools.
Neocast is solvent-free, avoiding delivery site pain, and functions with a unique shear-thinning action that allows deep vessel penetration. The material flows with the blood to embolize distal vessel...
Source: Medgadget - October 17, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Exclusive Materials Neurosurgery Radiology Vascular Surgery ArsenalMedical embolization Source Type: blogs
Soft Implant Uses AI to Deliver Drugs Despite Fibrous Encapsulation
Scientists at the University of Galway in Ireland and MIT have collaborated to create a soft robotic implant that can work to fight fibrotic encapsulation and deliver drugs despite the presence of fibrous scar tissue. The device, which the researchers have termed the FibroSensing Dynamic Soft Reservoir (FSDSR), is designed to reside in the body for extended periods and deliver drugs. However, the immune system typically recognizes such medical implants as foreign, and walls them off with a thick layer of fibrous scar tissue, limiting drug diffusion and leading to eventual failure. This new soft robotic implant can inflate ...
Source: Medgadget - October 11, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Medicine News fibrotic encapsulation mit uniofgalway Source Type: blogs
Lollipop Puts the Fun in Saliva Collection
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a technique to make saliva collection for diagnostic purposes a little less disgusting and a little more fun and pleasant. Saliva collection often acts as a less invasive alternative than throat swabs in the detection of a variety of pathogens, such as that causing streptococcal soar throat (strep throat). However, manually collecting the right amount of saliva is pretty gross. In an effort to streamline this process, and make it more appealing to both adults and children, these researchers have developed a new solution. The CandyCollect is a specially designed lol...
Source: Medgadget - October 11, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Materials Medicine Source Type: blogs
Refillable Device for Drug Delivery Past the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview with Mike Maglin, CEO at CraniUS
CraniUS, a medtech company based in Baltimore, has developed the NeuroPASS drug delivery system. The technology is designed to deliver drugs to the brain, and it can bypass the blood-brain barrier. This layer of specialized endothelium significantly restricts which drug molecules can enter the brain, normally greatly limiting treatment options for patients with brain-based disease.
The NeuroPASS device is implanted into the skull, where it sits under the scalp. The device inserts catheters into the brain tissue which allow for controlled infusions of drug when required. The implant can be easily refilled from outside, a...
Source: Medgadget - September 29, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Medicine Neurology Neurosurgery Oncology Source Type: blogs
Optical Strain Sensors for Rehab
Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology in South Korea have developed a durable strain sensor that can detect complex body movements. The technology will be useful for patients undergoing physical rehabilitation, allowing physical therapists to assess their movements in significant detail and measure progress. Conventional strain sensors are often affected by heat and humidity, making them less durable as a wearable, and they typically detect only biaxial strain, providing less detail than these new sensors. The new technology uses computer vision, whereby an algorithm reviews digital images of the sen...
Source: Medgadget - September 29, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Rehab Source Type: blogs
Droplet Battery Harnesses Ionic Gradients for Bioelectronic Implants
Researchers at Oxford University have developed a tiny battery that can power small implantable devices, such as drug delivery technologies. The new battery is inspired by the ionic gradients that electric eels use to generate electricity. It involves tiny droplets of a conductive hydrogel that are placed near each other. Each droplet has a different ionic concentration, meaning that ions will flow from high concentration droplets to low concentration droplets. When the researchers connect electrodes to this chain of droplets they can harness the energy generated by this ion gradient in the form of electricity. The researc...
Source: Medgadget - September 29, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Surgery Oxford Source Type: blogs
Implantable Bioreactor for Kidney Cells
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have developed an implantable bioreactor that may pave the way for artificial kidneys. Dialysis and kidney transplants both have significant disadvantages for patients with kidney failure, and so scientists are trying to develop a lab created kidney that would not require harsh immunosuppression or a donor kidney. This implantable bioreactor may be a step in the right direction, and it includes a type of cell found in the kidney which is protected from the immune system behind a silicon membrane. Blood can flow through the device, and so far the researchers have sho...
Source: Medgadget - September 26, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Surgery Urology artificial kidney UCSF Source Type: blogs
Virtual Reality Headset Takes EEG Measurements
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that is incorporated into a virtual reality headset. The technology can measure brain activity while someone is undergoing an immersive virtual reality experience. The device may assist in enhancing medical virtual reality interventions, such as those used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder or phobias, by revealing brain activity during different tasks or experiences that help clinicians to tailor treatment plans to maximize efficacy. The electrodes are soft and spongy, which makes them comfortable against the head, an...
Source: Medgadget - September 26, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Neurology Source Type: blogs
Etched Nanopillars Kill Bacteria, Fungi on Titanium Implants
Researchers at RMIT in Australia have developed a drug-free approach to kill bacteria and fungi that can infect surfaces on medical implants. Such pathogens can cause serious and difficult-to-treat infections around medical implants, sometimes requiring the removal of the implant. In addition, many microbes are increasingly resistant to common antibiotics, highlighting the need for drug-free approaches. This new technique is inspired by the nanopillars present on dragonfly wings, which can skewer microbial cells, killing them. The researchers used a relatively simple plasma etching technique to create such nanopillars on t...
Source: Medgadget - September 20, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Medicine Public Health Candida RMIT Source Type: blogs
Growth Factor-Loaded Microparticles Enhance 3D Bioprinted Muscle
Researchers at the Terasaki Institute in Los Angeles have developed a new method to create 3D printed muscle constructs with enhanced muscle cell alignment and maturation. The technique involves creating microparticles loaded with insulin-like growth factor (IGF) using a microfluidic platform. Then, these particles are included in a bioink that also incorporates myoblast cells and a gelatin-based hydrogel. Once 3D printed, the resulting constructs show enhanced cell growth, elongation, and alignment, and in some cases even began to spontaneously contract after a ten day incubation. The Terasaki researchers hope that their ...
Source: Medgadget - September 20, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Rehab Surgery artificial muscle TerasakiInst Source Type: blogs
Battery Charged by Tears for Smart Contact Lenses
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a tiny, flexible battery that is intended for use in smart contact lenses. The device is as thin as the human cornea and can be charged by a saline solution, which is particularly useful in the eye, as it is full of salty tears. When the battery-equipped smart lens is not in use, such as at night, then it can be stored in a saline solution, helping to further recharge the battery. The device avoids materials that could cause damage to the eye, such as metal electrodes, and works through a glucose oxidase coating that generates current when it react...
Source: Medgadget - September 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Ophthalmology NTUsg Source Type: blogs
