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
Why Sustainability in the Healthcare Sector Requires a Cultural Mindset Shift
The following is a guest article by Sheetal Chawla, Head of Life Sciences and Head of Northeast Region at Capgemini Americas, and Stephen Obana, Vice President of Life Sciences at Capgemini Americas
The healthcare sector has long been globally recognized as one of the leading carbon-intensive industries, accounting for 4.5% of the world’s greenhouse gases. However, the increasing attention on reducing emissions and forging a path to net zero in recent years has many leaders questioning how they can implement new sustainability strategies across their organizations.
In fact, in 2021, the World Health Organization organi...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 22, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System LTPAC Regulations Capgemini Americas Carbon Footprint environmental health Greenhouse Gas Emissions Healthcare Sustainability Scope Emissions 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
EEG Headset Could Spot Early Alzheimer ’s Disease
Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have developed a technique that may spot the very early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, years before symptoms arise. The method may alert patients and clinicians to an increased risk of the disease, potentially allowing them to take steps to slow the disease progression. The method involves using a simple EEG headband while sleeping. The researchers have identified EEG signatures in aging adults that may indicate early Alzheimer’s pathology. These EEG phenomena relate to memory reactivation that occurs during sleep, and may reveal aspects of early-stage Al...
Source: Medgadget - September 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Neurology CUAnschutz CUSystem Source Type: blogs
Cells Release Insulin in Response to Music
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an insulin delivery system that relies on music as a trigger. The unusual technology is based on calcium ion channels that typically reside in the cell membrane. Such channels are sensitive to mechanical deformation and these researchers discovered that sound waves will activate the channels. When insulin-producing cells are genetically modified to express this channel, they will experience an influx in calcium ions when music is played close by, prompting them to release insulin. The concept could be useful as a treatment for diabetes, whereby such cells, housed in a specialized ca...
Source: Medgadget - September 19, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Genetics Medicine diabetes ETH Zurich Source Type: blogs
Bonfire Analytics, an AI-Driven Sales Intelligence Platform, Closes Pre-Seed Round
Bonfire Analytics, a Startup Offering AI-Driven Lead Scoring and Claims-Based Targeting, has Closed its Pre-Seed Funding Round
New York-based healthtech startup, Bonfire Analytics, has just become venture-backed as they close a pre-seed round. The company was recently founded in 2022 and has achieved tangible success for both itself and its clients.
Bonfire Analytics is a company that enables digital health, medical device, and biotech organizations to identify qualified leads through machine learning and analytics. By knowing which providers match ideal customers from the start, sales teams can maximize their sales effici...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 18, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Bonfire Analytics Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Jaya Pokuri Vinay Nagaraj Source Type: blogs
A Prescription-Strength Formula for Stronger Cybersecurity in Healthcare Organizations
The following is a guest article by Steven Stone, Head of Rubrik Zero Labs at Rubrik
In early August, a ransomware attack disrupted operations across its network of 17 hospitals and more than 165 clinics in four states and forced some to rely on paper records. Some emergency rooms were shut down and ambulances diverted after the company took its computer systems offline to protect and restore them.
Again. Here we go again. This is what most of us thought when we read this story. Cyberattacks on healthcare institutions are not only particularly galling, they’re growing. Healthcare organizations were hit with 1,426 attacks...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 15, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Ambulatory Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System LTPAC Security and Privacy American Hospital Association Cyberattacks Cybersecurity Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Healthcare Cybersecurity Healthc Source Type: blogs
Brain Computer Interface Decodes Speech and Facial Expressions
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have developed a brain computer interface that can lets someone with severe paralysis communicate with both speech and facial expressions, in the form of a digital avatar. The breakthrough advances what has been possible, with previous brain computer interface systems providing speech only, and allows people to communicate more completely, encompassing facial expressions, which are an important aspect of natural communication. The system includes electrodes that intercept brain signals that are intended for the muscles of the face, essentially decoding complex facia...
Source: Medgadget - September 14, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Rehab brain computer interface UCSF Source Type: blogs
Highly Precise Pressure Sensor for Laparoscopic or Robotic Surgical Tools
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a highly sensitive pressure sensor that can provide haptic feedback for surgeons using laparoscopic tools or for use in robotic grippers as part of robotic surgical systems. The technology is inspired by the surface of the lotus leaf, which is extremely sensitive to the pressure exerted by tiny drops of water and will repel them. This sensor is also highly sensitive, using an incorporated layer of air to detect tiny pressure changes, and a surface coating inside to reduce friction. Called “eAir”, the devices can also be highly miniaturized to just a few...
Source: Medgadget - September 14, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Materials Surgery NUSingapore Source Type: blogs
Microneedle Skin Patch Measures Cancer Biomarkers
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a technique that lets clinicians to characterize and monitor melanoma. The system involves using a microneedle patch that can draw deep interstitial fluid into itself through a series of penetrating hyaluronic acid needles. The needles can later be dissolved to release the biomarkers into a test tube before analysis, using a highly sensitive technique called Simoa, to detect individual biomarker protein molecules. The Simoa method involves capturing these molecules using an antibody attached to a magnetic bead, which allows the researchers to use magnets to separate ...
Source: Medgadget - September 14, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Dermatology Diagnostics Medicine Oncology harvard wyssinstitute Source Type: blogs
Organoids Produce Tooth Enamel Proteins
Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have developed a method to create stem cell-derived organoids that can produce tooth enamel proteins. The breakthrough could pave the way for lab grown enamel that can be used in dental repairs and may even allow for living fillings or completely new living teeth that can be implanted into a patient’s jaw. The researchers studied the genetic activity that occurs during tooth development, and then used this information to steer stem cells into becoming ameloblasts, which are the cell type responsible for enamel creation. Once present in organoids, the cells ca...
Source: Medgadget - September 12, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Dentistry Genetics Materials uwsomwwami Source Type: blogs
Enzyme Treatment Strips Mucins from Cancer Cells
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new type of cancer therapy. The technology targets mucins, sugar-coated proteins that help cancer cells to metastasize and avoid the immune system. In particular, mucins enable cancer cells to survive free-floating as they travel through the blood during metastasis and can also trick immune cells into assuming that the cancer cell is not a threat. The new treatment involves combining an enzyme called mucinase with a cancer-specific nanobody that can bind to the cell surface, allowing the mucinase to destroy any mucins present. In tests with mice with simulated breast and ...
Source: Medgadget - September 12, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Oncology Source Type: blogs
