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Double amputee controls two robotic arms with his mind
Here's one other DARPA-funded robotic limb controlled by thoughts alone -- actually make that two, because Colorado man Les Baugh had two bionic arms attached from shoulder level. Baugh got them this summer, 40 years after losing both arms, as part of a Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program test run at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The project's researchers have been developing these Modular Prosthetic Limbs (MPL) over the past decade, but they say Baugh is the "first bilateral shoulder-level amputee" to wear two MPLs at the same time. Unlike Jan Scheuermann who controlled a robotic arm with a pair of neural implants, though, Baugh had to undergo a procedure called targeted muscle reinnervation, which reassigned the nerves that once controlled his arms and hands.
Wireless chip cures your staph infection then dissolves away
As bacteria get more resistant to antibiotics, researchers need to get more creative to clear them out. Researchers from the Tufts University and UIUC have definitely done that with a chip implant that can kill a localized staph infection with heat, then dissolve away. It consists of a silk substrate with a magnesium heating element that's activated by a wireless transmitter, raising the temperature enough to kill surrounding bacteria. The treatment time can be controlled for different applications, and the whole thing is reabsorbed into your body in a couple of weeks.
Nanotech has a future in monitoring tumors and diagnosing illness
A team of MIT researchers have developed nanoparticle sensors that could eventually be used to monitor tumors or other diseases, as well as act as a tool to diagnose illnesses. These nanoparticles are made of polymer chains that can bind to the sensors a doctor needs. For instance, in the scientists' tests, they used an MRI contrast agent called nitroxide along with Cy5.5, which glows when it encounters vitamin C, as sensors. These individual strands then merge to form the structure you see above, which the researchers call "branched bottlebrush polymer." As you can guess, the bottlebrush polymer the team developed for the study can perform MRI and detect vitamin C, as detailed in their paper recently published in Nature. Since nitroxide grabs electrons from the vitamin and remains inactive in its presence, the scientists don't get confused by the two different signals.
Walgreens to offer affordable and needle-free blood tests in more stores (updated)
You might still think of Walgreens as a corner drugstore chain, but the company aims to be much more than that. In its quest to become a "healthcare leader," Walgreens recently teamed up with Silicon Valley startup Theranos, which boasts a new and innovative blood testing method developed by founder Elizabeth Holmes (above). In fact, a Walgreens in Palo Alto started offering blood tests from within its premises last year, followed by over 40 stores in Phoenix. Now, according to Walgreens exec Tim Theriault, the company could eventually offer this in-store blood test in locations across the country-- a move that has huge implications, as Theranos' tests are much cheaper, quicker to do and a lot more efficient than its more traditional counterparts.
Nintendo's next gadget to track, improve sleep patterns
Following earlier reports that Nintendo had plans to join the health-monitoring industry, company president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the gaming giant is currently developing a device to track a user's sleep patterns and encourage them toward more healthy, restful sleep. "Since fatigue per se is not regarded as a disease in the medical world, it is said to be a field where sufficient research has yet to be conducted," Iwata stated. "We have been fortunate to encounter several experts who have been conducting cutting-edge research in the science of fatigue. Together, we are now developing technology to estimate fatigue." The unnamed device, which is currently being developed in cooperation with medical device manufacturer ResMed Inc., is "about the size of a hand and can be placed on a user's bedside table," according to Reuters. It uses microwave sensors to track the length and quality of a user's sleep cycles, then collects that data and sends it to applications which can then help users develop better sleep habits. There's currently no release date for Nintendo's sleep monitor, though Iwata hopes to have it available to the public at some point during the 2015 financial year. [Image: Nintendo]
Philips' wearable sensor gives COPD patients constant health tracking
Philips is no stranger to the healthcare industry, and with a new sensor, it's looking to further dive into medical wearables for real-world use. The company developed a gadget for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) sufferers that's worn inside a disposable adhesive patch, continuously gathering diagnostic stats like heart rate, respiratory function and physical activity (or inactivity). All of the data is collected on the sensor, transferred to the patient's mobile device and uploaded to a cloud-based healthcare repository. The tech, which was co-developed with Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, allows doctors to monitor patients from afar and assess an episode before things get too severe. According to Philips, this is just the first in a line of low-cost sensors in the works to monitor chronic medical conditions in real time.
Swaive smart thermometer works with iPhone, Health app
The Swaive intelligent in-ear thermometer (US$79.99 for the thermometer, companion app is free) makes the glass-and-mercury model I remember from childhood look like a museum relic. It works as a stand-alone device and syncs data with Apple's Health app, making it easy to track history. I had a chance to talk with Swaive's Gurpal Bhoot about the compelling new device, currently available for preorder. Anyone who's had to care for someone who's down with a fever knows the importance of keeping a track of the patient's temperature over time. I'm famous for writing those numbers down on a piece of paper, and then promptly losing said paper. Not only does the Swaive keep this history for you, Bhoot says it can use that data in several ways. "The data that the Swaive gathers gets transferred to the iPhone automatically via low-energy Bluetooth. Now, you can use that information in a variety of ways. For example, you can create a history of each individual's temperature, if you're monitoring more than one sick individual. You can also monitor when each temperature was taken and compare it to a person's typical temperature range, or baseline." That's great for keeping a nurse or doctor up to day. But what if you're away and someone else is watching the kids? You can opt to get notifications to your phone as well. The Swaive has the largest display on any thermometer available as well as a built-in flashlight. I shouldn't be as excited about the flashlight as I am, but if you've ever woken up a sick child by turning on the bedroom light, you understand my enthusiasm. I'm excited about what Apple's iPhone and Health app mean for the wellness and fitness industries. Devices like the Swaive expand the iPhone's capabilities far beyond what I ever imagined for it in 2007.
Researchers manipulate electrical signals to give prosthetic limbs a sense of touch
Adding the sense of touch to prosthetic limbs could significantly improve an amputee's quality of life, so there's a long list of researchers trying to make it happen. Some of those scientists make up one team out of Cleveland, who -- according to their paper recently published in Science -- have successfully recreated the sense of touch for two men missing an arm in a lab setting. Just like a recent experiment conducted by a team from the EU, this group implanted electrodes around three main nerves in the test subjects' arm stumps. A machine then sends electrical signals between the electrodes and the prosthesis when it's attached, something which, the subjects said, felt like electric tingles at first.
Health trials using Apple's HealthKit about to start at two US hospitals
Apple's HealthKit is one of the most exciting aspects of iOS 8, but when it launches, the app's focus will be mainly on fitness rather than longterm health. HealthKit still has a long way to go before its full potential is realized, but work is already underway. Reuters is reporting that Stanford University Hospital and Duke University are starting trials that use the service to help treat patients. Stanford is developing a way to let doctors use the app to track blood sugar changes in diabetic children, while Duke's program aims to develop a way to track blood pressure, weight, and other metrics for heart disease and cancer patients. Apple has been clear since announcing HealthKit that its goal is for the service to serve as a medical aid for doctors, but this is the first time that details of medical trials involving the app have been released. Reuters was able to speak Stanford's CIO to get a better understanding of what the trials will be like: Stanford Children's Chief Medical Information Officer Christopher Longhurst told Reuters that Stanford and Duke were among the furthest along. Longhurst said that in the first Stanford trial, young patients with Type 1 diabetes will be sent home with an iPod touch to monitor blood sugar levels between doctor's visits. HealthKit makes a critical link between measuring devices, including those used at home by patients, and medical information services relied on by doctors, such as Epic Systems Corp, a partner already announced by Apple. You can read Reuters' complete report here, including an examination of the privacy issues that may arise from use of the app. We'll keep you updated when more information from the trials becomes available.
DARPA is funding the development of a soft, fabric-based exoskeleton
When someone says "exoskeleton," it's easy to imagine a clunky contraption made of metal, like the one we typically see in the news courtesy of various research groups, or in movies like Edge of Tomorrow. The exoskeleton that Harvard's Wyss Institute is developing, though, doesn't look like it was torn off a robot: it's called the Soft Exosuit, and as its name implies, it's lightweight and made of fabric. Wyss has actually been working on the Soft Exosuit for years, but now DARPA has granted it a $2.9 million funding under its Warrior Web program to further its development. Its current iteration is really more like smart clothing that can be worn like pants, designed to mimic how leg muscles and tendons move and to support the users' joints as they walk. That's made possible thanks to the strategically placed straps around the legs that contain flexible sensors -- all controlled by a low-power microprocessor.
Experimental app can detect jaundice in newborns with just a snapshot
Want to make sure your newborn baby's jaundice-free? There's an app for that! A team of researchers from the University of Washington have developed an app that can diagnose jaundice among infants just by taking their pictures. Since the condition's typically diagnosed by the excessive yellowing of one's skin, it's not too odd to develop a tool that can detect it with just a snapshot, just like that app that can spot skin cancer through a smartphone. You simply place a color calibration card (which helps the software determine lighting and flash conditions, as well as account for the baby's skintone) on the baby's tummy, take a picture and then upload it to the cloud for analysis. The algorithm quickly does its job, and you get the results and the baby's bilirubin levels almost instantly.
Hail nearby medics with the GoodSAM smartphone app
In a serious medical emergency, action in the first few minutes can be key to a positive outcome. An ambulance might be only a few miles away, but what if someone with medical training, who could provide immediate care while the cavalry's on route, was sitting just next door? It's this kind of scenario a doctor with London's Air Ambulance service had in mind when he created GoodSAM, an Android and iOS app that sends out a request for any nearby professionals to lend a hand in an emergency.
Cleveland Clinic Foundation develops iPad-based MS disability assessment tool
The portability and power available on the iPad makes Apple's little machine that could a source of incredible opportunity in the medical diagnostic field. Recently the Cleveland Clinic Foundation developed a new app for the device called the Multiple Sclerosis Performance Test (MSPT). MSPT helps doctors assess balance, walking speed, manual dexterity, visual function, and cognition in patients living with the inflammatory disease. MSPT can be used in a clinical situation or by patients at home. Once the data is collected it's transmitted to a clinical or research database, which in some cases could eliminate the need for a clinic visit by the patient. You can read the Cleveland Clinic Foundation's report on the app and its development here. Their report starts with a wonderful video presentation showcasing the app. Sadly it's not embeddable, but if you have even a passing interest in the development of medical apps or the fight against MS, you should take the ten minutes required to watch. Given the promised innovations coming with Apple's upcoming HealthKit, we're going to be seeing more medical apps coming to iOS in the near future. We can't wait to see what new doors the medical field will be able to open once iOS 8 hits the market.
What you need to know about 3D-printed organs
Sure, 3D printers that can spit out chocolates, create shoes, handcraft cars and help astronauts sound fun and magical, but a lot of scientists are working to make models that aren't just fun. They're developing 3D printers that can also save and change lives by printing out functional human organs. Think about it: If we can make organs on demand, patients don't have to wait as long for transplanted organs. In the United States alone, 78,837 patients are waiting for organ donations (at the time of publication), but only 3,407 donations have been made since January 2014. Machines capable of creating functional human parts could significantly shorten -- or nullify -- that line. Sadly, we're still at the early stages of the technology. As it turns out, printing working human organs is a lot more complex than printing out plastic toys.
'Bleeding' pants can show paralympians that they're injured
One of the biggest worries paralympians have is sustaining injuries in areas where they won't be able to feel it. After all, if they don't even know they're injured, they might end up bleeding to death. That's why a group of students from London's Imperial College and The Royal College of Art have teamed up to create Bruise pants, which show paralympians where they're injured and how severe it is. The designers sewed pressure-sensitive films made by Fuji onto a pair of Lycra leggings, marking vital points where injuries would be most damaging. In the event that any of those areas sustain impact damage, the film develops a red stain similar to blood seeping through cloth. If the color's showing up as a deep, dark magenta, that means it's time to stop and find the medics.
This purple, talking box can save you from an accidental prescription overdose
How's this for a crazy statistic: according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more people die each year from drug overdoses than car accidents -- and 70 percent of those deaths are caused by legally prescribed medication. Kaleo, a pharmaceutical firm, hopes it can change that. It's creating a device called Evzio, a small, easy to use drug delivery system that can safely administer a life-saving dose of naloxone. This device could save the lives of thousands of patients who have been prescribed legal opiates to treat pain. Not sure how to use it? Don't worry about it: it talks.
Life-saving vest shocks wearers' hearts to keep them alive
Apparently, 20 percent of patients who need to wear defibrillators don't actually keep them on at all times -- even if they mean the difference between life and death. So, a group of biomedical engineering students from the Johns Hopkins University designed a new type of wearable defibrillator, which is unobtrusive and comfortable unlike traditional harness designs. The undergrads' version takes on the form of a stretchable, waterproof vest fitted with sensors. Also, instead of using bulky control boxes to monitor the condition of a patient, its sensors are connected to a relatively small smartwatch-like interface.
Human 'suspended animation' trials to start this month
The researchers behind it don't want to call it suspended animation, but it's the most conventional way to explain it. The world's first humans trials will start at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, with 10 patients whose injuries would otherwise be fatal to operate on. A team of surgeons will remove the patient's blood, replacing it with a chilled saline solution that would cool the body, slowing down bodily functions and delaying death from blood loss. According to Dr. Samuel Tisherman, talking to New Scientist: "We are suspending life, but we don't like to call it suspended animation because it sounds like science fiction... we call it emergency preservation and resuscitation."
Scientists are now 3D printing tumors to help them fight cancer
The idea of 3D printing living cells offers a veritable launchpad of miracle treatments: we could grow new organs or create new skin for burn victims. There's one idea you may not have considered, however -- printing tumors. Researchers are developing a new process for researching cancer treatments that uses 3D printers to create a better in-lab cervical tumor model. Tumor models, used to test treatment methods, are usually grown in a dish, but these traditional "2D tumors" are often a poor analog for the real thing. 3D-printed tumor behave more like naturally cancerous flesh might, growing and reacting to treatments like the real McCoy. A healthier fake tumor means that medical research and drug trials will yield more authentic results. In other words, creating cancer could be the future of treating cancer. Researchers are still developing the process, but anyone who wants to peek in on their progress can find it in the Institute of Physics' Biofabrication journal. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Surprise: Tobacco could eventually lead to new cancer treatment
When tobacco and cancer are used in the same sentence, the word "cause" usually goes in between. That's why a new research from La Trobe University in Australia could confuse some folks -- after all, the researchers discovered that tobacco could potentially be used for cancer treatment. Before you pick up that box of Marlboros, know that it's actually a flowering tobacco plant named Nicotiana alata, which isn't even the same species used to make cigarettes, that has magical, cancer-beating properties. After a series of tests, the scientists have determined that NaD1 (a protein found in its pink and white flowers) can not only fight off plant fungi, but also kill cancer cells.
