According to the World Health Organization, 47% of childhood deaths worldwide occur in the first four weeks of life. This neonatal mortality rate is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly one million newborns die every year. Many of these deaths can be prevented with medical devices that more developed countries often take for granted, such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), phototherapy lights, and temperature monitors. However, solving the problem is not as...
Thu May 07, 2020 18:57
BioIntelliSense, a Silicon Valley company, is unveiling its FDA cleared BioButton device that may help with tracking symptoms of COVID-19 in potential patients and help society return to a normal state of affairs. The BioButton is about the size of a large coin and, with the help of accompanying applications and triage dashboards, it can be used to keep an eye on many people at the same time. The device tracks the person’s temperature, respiration and heart rate at rest, the position of the...
Thu May 07, 2020 18:38
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new technique to dramatically enhance the resolution achievable when imaging intracellular structures with super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The technique uses the distortions created by a specimen to pinpoint the location of individual molecules, and thereby infer the location of intracellular structures. The technique could be particularly useful in studying neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Understanding the structural...
Thu May 07, 2020 16:53
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many healthcare facilities around the world are inundated with critically ill patients, and resources such as equipment and staff are stretched thin. Shortages of critical equipment, such as ventilators, can mean the difference between life and death for patients, and the need to keep critically ill patients comfortable and alive has spurred healthcare staff and medtech companies to innovate and look for alternatives. One example of this involves...
Wed May 06, 2020 22:14
The current pandemic is revealing the level of commitment needed from multiple sectors to deliver innovative solutions to tackle severe shortages of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and raw materials. Researchers at the Prakash lab at Stanford University are no stranger to taking up extreme challenges, and they have kept up their reputation by coming up with several solutions during the COVID-19 crisis. The team is are already known for their frugal science, having...
Wed May 06, 2020 21:28
ZOLL Medical, a part of the Asahi Kasei Group, won EU clearance for its SuperSaturated Oxygen (SSO2) Therapy System to be used to minimize the damage that heart attacks cause within heart muscle. Approved about a year ago in the United States, SSO2 is the only option beyond percutaneous coronary intervention (stenting) that can help stricken patients recover with improved outcomes. These days, heart attacks are usually treated by placing stents at the sites of narrowing coronary...
Wed May 06, 2020 19:19
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a soft sensor and actuator to monitor bladder volume and help empty it on-demand. The device is intended to be implanted on the bladder surface during a surgical procedure to treat patients who cannot completely empty their bladders voluntarily. Patients can suffer from an underactive bladder following a spinal cord injury, meaning that they cannot easily sense when the bladder is full, or completely empty it. Approximately...
Wed May 06, 2020 19:07
Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK have developed a 3D-printed microscope design, called OpenFlexure, which is open-source and can be assembled for as little as $18. More complex versions of the design are possible, and the microscope can incorporate full automation and a Raspberry Pi computer. The research team hopes that the design could help with medical research and diagnostics around the world, including in low-resource areas. The humble microscope is a crucial piece...
Wed May 06, 2020 17:09
Optogenetics is a fast evolving technique that allows scientists to activate specific neurons within the brains of living laboratory animals using flashes of light. It may also be effective at recovering sight, as well as achieving other impressive feats (see flashbacks below). To best study and manipulate complex brain activity using optogenetics, particularly activity that occurs over time such as memory, one has to be able to stimulate and immediately sense what the surrounding neurons...
Tue May 05, 2020 15:12
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