Medical
The making of a 3D printed rehabilitation orthosis
Medical 3D printing has many applications in various fields. In orthotics, industrial 3D printers are used to manufacture custom-sized orthoses, braces as well as prosthesis and parts for powered exoskeletons. First two helps patients with broken bones while the latter are used for amputees. By Marcin Traczyk, ZMorph.
Chemotherapy drug directed to tumour site through nanoparticles
The overall five-year survival rate for people with pancreatic cancer is just 6%, and there is an urgent need for new treatment options. More than 80% of pancreatic cancer diagnoses occur too late for surgery, making chemotherapy the only possible treatment. Scientists from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a delivery system for one chemotherapy drug that greatly reduces the...
PCB mount 5W power supply meets medical standards
Available in either an encapsulated or open frame mechanical format, the EME05 series of ultra-compact, single output, 5W AC/DC power supplies have been unveiled by XP Power. Claimed by the manufacturer to be one of the smallest 5W supplies on the market, the EME05 measures just 35.6x23.7x17.6mm, taking up minimal space in the end application.
Monkeys drive wheelchairs using only their thoughts
Neuroscientists at Duke Health have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that allows primates to use only their thoughts to navigate a robotic wheelchair. The BMI uses signals from hundreds of neurons recorded simultaneously in two regions of the monkeys’ brains that are involved in movement and sensation.
Device could combat memory loss caused by Alzheimer's
UT Southwestern Medical Center has joined a consortium of seven leading universities to develop new technologies to improve memory in people with traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, UT Southwestern is part of a study with the goal of developing an implantable neural monitoring and stimulation system by the end of 2018 that would treat memory loss.
Using graphene to fight bacteria
New research on graphene oxide may one day transform our ability to fight infections acquired in the hospital and elsewhere. Scientists at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome are studying graphene oxide in the hopes of one day creating bacteria-killing catheters and medical devices. Coating surgical tools with this carbon-based compound could kill bacteria, reducing the need for antibiotics, decreasing the rates of post-operat...
Scientists 'break the ice' on organ banking
After decades of studies, scientists now believe that a breakthrough in preserving body organs for the purpose of saving lives is close at hand. A heart or lung is kept viable for transplantation for only six hours before deterioration begins. Pancreas or liver would go to waste after 12 hours in storage, and a kidney could be kept outside the body for less than 30 hours. These time constraints pose a tremendous logistical challenge for the proce...
Nanostructures allow diseases or allergens to be detected
The industrial engineer Iñaki Cornago-Santos has developed structures on a nanometric scale that can be used as biosensors for medical, food or environmental sectors to detect diseases, allergens or contaminants; or can be used to reduce the reflection of solar cells in order to increase their efficiency. This is what he says in his PhD thesis defended at the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre.
Improved imaging takes X-ray risks out of the picture
Fluoroscopy makes guiding a catheter through a blood vessel possible. However, fluoroscopy, a form of real-time moving X-ray, also exposes the patient to radiation. Now, a University of Missouri School of Medicine researcher has evaluated technology that may be used to replace fluoroscopy, eliminating the need for X-ray during cardiac ablation procedures.
Home health care with the wave of a wand
Increasingly, health care is moving out of the doctor's office and into the home, allowing greater patient freedom and monitoring, but also giving rise to new security risks. One of the main challenges facing home health technology design is the public's inability to set up a secure network in their home and keep it operational. This can lead to compromised or stolen data, or even potentially hacked devices, such as heart rate monitors or di...