Category: Technology & Devices
New Swiss tech keeps livers alive outside the body, rejuvenates damaged livers for transplant
A group of surgeons, biologists and engineers from Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a new machine that can keep donor livers alive outside the body for up to a week. The new perfusion machine’s primary function is to preserve organs set for transplantation by feeding them oxygen and nutrients, but can also restore damaged livers to […]
Google AI system found to identify breast cancer more accurately than radiologists
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK – about one in seven women in the UK develops breast cancer during their lifetime, contributing to around 55,000 diagnoses every year, according to Cancer Research UK. There could soon be a tool to “support” radiologists performing breast cancer screenings, as an artificial intelligence (AI) […]
Tooth-on-a-chip device enables better dental observation of cavities
Yet another organ-on-a-chip device – used in medical settings to gauge how a full organ might react to medication or toxins – has been developed by scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), US. This time, the world’s first tooth-on-a chip shows how a cavity in a tooth allows the entry of bacteria […]
Life-saving injectable magnetic fluid could staunch blood loss
In treating most accident victims, first responders struggle to control bleeding especially with deep or wide open wounds – a team at America’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), led by Yonatan Tekleab, have designed a magnetic fluid that can effectively do this. The magnetorheological suspension is liquid with tiny magnetic particles which will instantly solidify […]
Fibrous membrane designed in Switzerland to protect heart pacemakers
As useful as pacemakers may be, they do need to be surgically replaced every few years and may sport a layer of fibrous tissue on its surface by then, which could complicate the removal process, risk infections and so on. However, scientists from the Swiss ETH Zurich Research Institute (ETH Zurich) have designed a new […]
US researchers design wireless, wearable sensor to monitor babies’ blood oxygen
A flexible, wireless optical sensor could soon be used to remotely monitor a sick baby’s blood oxygen level s – created by engineers at Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the Band-Aid-sized gadget measures the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood in real time, which is a more accurate indicator of respiratory health than finger-clamp […]
US scientists add working blood vessels into 3D-printed skin
The advent of 3D-printing technology has enabled the bioprinting of living skin grafts as temporary wound coverings – scientists have now gone one step further by including blood vessels into these bioprinted skin grafts so that they remain viable and are eventually incorporated into a patient’s own skin. A team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) […]
Double-sided tape invention provides alternative to surgical sutures
Sutures are the go-to method to close up wounds within the body but scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have recently developed a special double-sided tape – inspired by nature’s glue, produced by spiders – to instead finish the job. Spiders usually secrete charged polysaccharides which absorb water from insect prey in wet conditions, […]
Quadriplegic reports a two-handed sense of touch after first bilateral brain implant
Paralysis patients could soon receive sensory feedback as they control a prosthetic limb, as a US team from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, have developed a system that enables a quadriplegic to control two prosthetics arms simultaneously and also feel a sense of touch in response. The system works through custom sockets that support the […]
Israeli imaging device could help with better dry eye diagnoses
An insufficient tear film across one’s eyes can cause it to frequently become irritated, in what is known as dry eye disease. The condition is sometimes tricky to treat, but a new device developed by Israeli firm Advanced Optical Methods (AdOM) could greatly improve its diagnosis and effective treatment. Research team leader Dr. Yoel Arieli […]
