Medical Engineering

Co-author Spenser Simpson, PhD, and corresponding author Kiel Neumann, PhD,St. JudeDepartment of Radiology, radiolabeled an FDA-approved drug used to treat ALS and repurposed it to track oxidative stress, a key contributor to brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Image Credit: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Medical Engineering

Repurposed ALS Drug Enhances Neurodegeneration Diagnosis

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital used positron emission tomography (PET) with edaravone, a drug used to treat ALS, to detect oxidative stress Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technique used to diagnose conditions such as cancer. An innovative advance from scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is enhancing the technique’s ability to check for signs of neurological disease. The researchers repurposed the drug edaravone, an antioxidant used to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as a probe to…

Medical Engineering

Copper-Infused Microvesicles: Advancing Biofunctional Medicine

In a study published today in Biofunctional Materials, Prof. Dr. Haidar, Founder and CEO of BioMAT’X I+D+I LABs in Santiago, Chile, unveils a groundbreaking advancement in dental care: Copper-incorporated microvesicles (CiMs). This innovative technology combines the healing power of copper with microvesicles to enhance tissue regeneration, promote healing, and combat oral diseases. With potential applications in dentistry, cranio-maxillo-facial surgery and beyond, CiMs; a promising leap forward in biomedical technology. In an exciting breakthrough for dental care, researchers are introducing copper-incorporated…

University of Delaware Assistant Professor Catherine Fromen and current graduate student Dominic Hoffman work with an adaptable lung model that can replicate realistic breathing maneuvers and offer personalized evaluation of aerosol therapeutics under various combinations of breathing conditions, formulations and parameters. They are testing to see the effectiveness of inhalable medications in the model. Image Credit: Kathy F. Atkinson / University of Delaware
Medical Engineering

3D Lung Model Enhances Research Capabilities

Adaptable model can replicate realistic breathing maneuvers and offer personalized evaluation of aerosol therapeutics under various breathing conditions Respiratory diseases are a challenging problem to treat. Inhalable medicines are a promising solution that depend on the ability to deliver tiny particles known as aerosols to the correct location in the lungs at the correct dosage. How effectively this works can get complicated, depending on the drug, delivery method and patient. This is because it is difficult to predict just how…

A codon, a sequence of three nucleotides in DNA and RNA that codes for a specific amino acid, acts like an “instruction manual” for protein synthesis, telling the cell which of the 20 natural amino acids to add to a growing protein chain — or, in the case of the three “stop” codons (known as TAG, TGA, and TAA), signaling the termination of protein synthesis. Yale scientists recoded a cell to have a single, non-degenerative TAA codon. The newly “free” TGA and TAG codons have been reassigned to encode nonstandard amino acids into synthetic proteins that possess new chemistries with innumerable applications. Image Credit: Yale University / Michael S. Helfenbein
Medical Engineering

Yale Scientists Redefine Genome for Programmable Proteins

Synthetic biologists from Yale were able to re-write the genetic code of an organism — a novel genomically recoded organism (GRO) with one stop codon — using a cellular platform that they developed enabling the production of new classes of synthetic proteins. These synthetic proteins, researchers say, offer the promise of innumerable medical and industrial applications that can benefit society and human health. The creation of the landmark GRO, known as “Ochre” — which fully compresses redundant, or “degenerate” codons,…

EEG ad tDCS chould serve as the basis of therapeutic strategies to combat newrological disorders. Image Credit: Institute of Science Tokyo
Medical Engineering

Using Electroencephalography to Improve Language Disorder Treatments

Researchers work towards an inexpensive and portable solution for treating aphasia  Electroencephalography (EEG) may offer a more accessible alternative to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for guiding transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) when treating aphasia. Researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo found an 80% agreement between EEG and fMRI in identifying brain regions activated during language tasks. Furthermore, EEG-guided tDCS improved picture-naming speed in participants, indicating its potential for innovative therapies in language disorders. Many neurological disorders are directly linked…

Medical Engineering

Revolutionizing stent surgery for cardiovascular diseases with laser patterning technology

Innovative stent surface technology to control vascular cell responses without drug side effects. The research team led by Dr. Hojeong Jeon and Dr. Hyung-Seop Han of the Biomaterials Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Oh Sang-Rok), along with Dr. Indong Jun from KIST Europe, has developed a novel stent surface treatment technology using laser patterning. This technology promotes endothelial cell growth while inhibiting smooth muscle cell dedifferentiation in blood vessels. By controlling cellular responses to nanostructured…

Medical Engineering

MRI-first strategy for prostate cancer detection proves to be safe

Active monitoring is a sufficiently safe option when prostate MRI findings are negative. There are several strategies for the early detection of prostate cancer. The first step is often a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). If PSA levels exceed a certain threshold, the next step typically involves taking a tissue sample for analysis. Another option is to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to search for signs of a tumor before deciding whether a biopsy is necessary, reserving biopsies only…

Medical Engineering

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

A new method of scanning lungs is able to show the effects of treatment on lung function in real time and enable experts to see the functioning of transplanted lungs. This could enable medics to identify sooner any decline in lung function. The scan method has enabled the team, led by researchers at Newcastle University, UK, to see how air moves in and out of the lungs as people take a breath in patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease…

Medical Engineering

3D Printed PLA-CaP Scaffolds Enhance Bone Healing

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia have developed novel 3D printed PLA-CaP scaffolds that promote blood vessel formation, ensuring better healing and regeneration of bone tissue. Bone is a highly vascularized tissue, and the link between angiogenesis -blood vessel formation- and bone healing has long been discussed by the scientific community, with several studies describing the impairment of bone healing because of lack of or diminished angiogenesis. Traditional approaches like grafting often result in complications due to an…

Medical Engineering

Enhancing Bone Healing with Implantable Sensors in Recovery

New research uses the implantable sensors to show how data-enabled resistance training can enhance bone healing. Tiny implantable sensors are helping University of Oregon researchers optimize the process of recovery from severe bone injuries. Scientists at the UO’s Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact have developed miniature implantable sensors that transmit real-time data about what’s happening at an injury site. In a new study, they use the technology to show that a resistance-training rehabilitation program can significantly…

Medical Engineering

Miniature Robots: Targeted Drug Delivery Innovations Ahead

In the future, delivering therapeutic drugs exactly where they are needed within the body could be the task of miniature robots. Not little metal humanoid or even bio-mimicking robots; think instead of tiny bubble-like spheres. Such robots would have a long and challenging list of requirements. For example, they would need to survive in bodily fluids, such as stomach acids, and be controllable, so they could be directed precisely to targeted sites. They also must release their medical cargo only…

Medical Engineering

New Laser Method Enhances Immune Response Research

Using high-powered lasers, this new method could help biologists study the body’s immune responses and develop new medicines. Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses. But light scatters when it shines into biological tissue, limiting how deep it can penetrate and hampering the resolution of captured images. Now, MIT researchers have developed a new technique that more than doubles…

Medical Engineering

Real-Time Protein Tracking: A Breakthrough in Inflammation Monitoring

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago’s milestone achievement tracks protein levels in real time, enabling monitoring of inflammation at the cellular level. Proteins are the building blocks of life, and changes in protein levels can indicate improving health or impending illness, including signs of inflammation. While protein levels can be measured in periodic blood or urine tests, it has been an uphill challenge to figure out how to continuously monitor protein levels in the human body in real time. Now, a team…

Medical Engineering

High-Throughput Bioprinting: Advancing Tissue Fabrication

The novel high-throughput-bioprinting technique opens the door for tissue fabrication with high cell density at scale. Three-dimensional (3D) printing isn’t just a way to produce material products quickly. It also offers researchers a way to develop replicas of human tissue that could be used to improve human health, such as building organs for transplantation, studying disease progression and screening new drugs. While researchers have made progress over the years, the field has been hampered by limited existing technologies unable to…

Medical Engineering

First Implant of Sternum Electrode Defibrillator at UMG

Defibrillator with sternum electrode implanted for the first time at Göttingen University Medical Center to prevent sudden cardiac death. At the Heart Center of the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), a new type of defibrillator with a sternum electrode was implanted for the first time in a patient with cardiac arrhythmia: The Aurora system is a defibrillator that lies outside the heart and prevents sudden cardiac death. According to the German Heart Foundation, around 65,000 people die of sudden cardiac…

Medical Engineering

University of Jena Unveils Graphene-Based Biosensor Innovation

Chemists at the University of Jena develop graphene-based biosensor. Just like other biosensors, a graphene-based biosensor requires a functionalised surface on which only specific molecules can attach. If, for example, a specific biomarker is to be detected from a blood or saliva sample, a corresponding counterpart – a so-called capture molecule – must be applied to the sensor surface. The problem: “If graphene is functionalised directly, its electronic structure changes unfavourably,” explains Prof. Dr Andrey Turchanin from the University of…

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