Category: Medical Breakthrough

Magnified image showing adult stem cells in the process of turning into bone cells after treatment with high-frequency sound waves. Green colouring shows the presence of collagen, which the cells produce as they become bone cells. Magnification: 60X.

by  RMIT University

Researchers have used sound waves to turn stem cells into bone cells, in a tissue engineering advance that could one day help patients regrow bone lost to cancer or degenerative disease.

The innovative stem cell treatment from researchers at RMIT University offers a smart way forward for overcoming some of the field’s biggest challenges, through the precision power of high-frequency soundwaves.

Tissue engineering is an emerging field that aims to rebuild bone and muscle by harnessing the human body’s natural ability to heal itself.

A key challenge in regrowing bone is the need for large amounts of bone cells that will thrive and flourish once implanted in the target area.

To date, experimental processes to change adult stem cells into bone cells have used complicated and expensive equipment and have struggled with mass production, making widespread clinical application unrealistic.

Additionally, the few clinical trials attempting to regrow bone have largely used stem cells extracted from a patient’s bone marrow—a highly painful procedure.

In a new study published in the journal Small, the RMIT research team showed stem cells treated with high-frequency sound waves turned into bone cells quickly and efficiently.

Continue reading… “How sound waves could help regrow bones”

Existing bionic eye systems have a chip fitted to a person’s retina, which connects wirelessly to a camera fitted to glasses

By Bernd Debusmann Jr

Once upon a time there were some unusual Australian sheep, with exceptionally sharp eyesight.

The small flock spent three months last year with bionic, artificial eyes, surgically implanted behind their retinas.

These sheep were part of a medical trial that aims to ultimately help people with some types of blindness to be able to see.

The specific aim of the sheep test was to see if the device in question, the Phoenix 99, caused any adverse physical reactions – the bionic eye was said to have been well tolerated by the animals. As a result, an application has now been made to start testing in human patients.

The project is being carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales.

The Phoenix 99 is wirelessly linked to a small camera attached to a pair of glasses, it works by stimulating a user’s retina. The retina is the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye that convert light into electrical messages, sent to the brain via the optic nerve, and processed into what we see.

Continue reading… “Bionic eye tech aims to help blind people see”

By Bharat Sharma

A nerve-stimulation device controlled by a touchscreen tablet was recently able to help three completely paralysed patients walk, cycle, and even swim!In a research outlined on Monday, scientists gave a new leash of life of three people who had suffered serious spinal cord injuries that left them paralysed in a region called the “thoracic spine” situated below the neck and above the backMost patients with the nerve-stimulation implant suffered injuries one to nine years before receiving the treatment

A nerve-stimulation device controlled by a touchscreen tablet was recently able to help three completely paralysed patients walk, cycle, and even swim!

In a research outlined on Monday, scientists gave a new leash of life of three people who had suffered serious spinal cord injuries that left them paralysed in a region called the “thoracic spine” situated below the neck and above the back.

Continue reading… “AI Nerve-Stimulation Device Allowed Paralysed Patients To Walk And Cycle”

by Alex Baker

A tiny camera that fits inside a pill-sized capsule has revolutionised cancer screening in Scotland.

Over two thousand patients have now used the PillCam rather than the more traditional invasive method of having a colonoscopy.

The PillCam has reduced waiting times for bowel cancer screening and allowed faster diagnoses, an important factor in battling the disease.

The procedure itself is technically called a colon capsule endoscopy (CCE). The tiny camera is swallowed like a pill and then travels through the digestive system, recording 50,000 images along its journey.

Continue reading… “THIS LITTLE PILL CAMERA COULD BE THE END OF COLONOSCOPIES”

Infrared goggles can even help wearers navigate in darkness, say researchers 

By Vishwam Sankaran

A new device that can help blind people navigate and avoid obstacles was developed by scientists using infrared goggles and an array of vibrating pads on the forearm. 

Unlike canes and many other tools commonly available to visually impaired people for navigation, the new device enables the full use of their hands, according to a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study on the device that was posted in the preprint repository arXiv this month.

“The most common tool available to them is the cane. Although the cane allows good detection of objects in the user’s immediate vicinity, it lacks the ability to detect obstacles further away,” researchers Manuel Zahn and Armaghan Ahmad Khan from the Technical University of Munich in Germany wrote in the study.

The new device also does not interfere with the user’s sense of hearing – which is extensively used by the visually impaired – according to the scientists.

It uses a pair of infrared cameras inserted in 3D-printed prototype goggles to capture a stereoscopic image that a small computer uses to create a map of the surrounding area.

Continue reading… “SCIENTISTS BUILD NEW DEVICE THAT MAY HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND ‘SEE’ IN INFRARED”

By Nica Osorio 

Key Points

• Quantum Operation Inc., announces a medical miracle at the CES 2022
• The Japanese IoT startup claims it has developed a non-invasive glucose monitor
• Called the Noninvassive Glucometer Wristband, the device promises to revolutionize diabetes management

Blood glucose monitoring is crucial in managing diabetes as it keeps track of the changes in a person’s blood sugar levels, which in effect, provides vital information on how food, exercise, stress and habits affect the disease.

Over the years, scientists, engineers and even tech giants have tried to come up with a non-invasive blood glucose monitoring device that diabetics can use, but to no avail. Interestingly, Quantum Operation, a Japanese healthcare IoT startup, claims that it has developed a Noninvasive Glucometer Wristband — a needle-less and accurate blood glucose monitoring wearable that is capable of non-stop monitoring.

Advanced medical technology

Quantum Operation’s Noninvasive Glucometer Wristband offers a far simpler and easier solution that will not require patients to prick their finger for a blood sample that would then be used on test strips of traditional glucose meters. But how is this even possible?

Continue reading… “Quantum Operation Non-Invasive Glucose Monitor: World’s First-Ever Non-Invasive Needle-Less Wearable”

By Matthew Hart

In December of 2021 SpaceX sent its 24th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). On board the mission were various experiments—including ones involving plants and potential cures for cancer. A bioprinter that uses “viable cells” to print tissue structures was also aboard. And it makes human skin “band-aids.”

Design Taxi reported on the delivery of the bioprinter, or Bioprint FirstAid, which is a handheld device. The device, in the images above and below, uses a patient’s own skin cells to create tissue-forming patches to cover wounds. And, simultaneously, accelerate the healing process.

NASA notes the device—which kind of looks like a tape dispenser with a bendy syringe instead of tape—uses prepared bio-inks consisting of a patient’s own cells. The collection of human skin cells, coupled with a “crosslinking” material, form a “band-aid patch” in the case of an injury. (Unfortunately, it’s unclear what the cell band-aid looks like as it heals. Or after it has healed. Although it seems to spread as a clear, viscous liquid.)

Continue reading… “A HUMAN SKIN ‘BAND-AID’ PRINTER IS LAUNCHING INTO SPACE”

New advances in stem cell science could alleviate devastating early-life conditions. But this comes with a moral conundrum.  

ACCORDING TO MULTIPLE studies, one in three pregnancies results in miscarriage, and one in 33 babies that are born will have a birth defect, due to the embryo forming incorrectly in the womb. Studying how the embryo develops can help us find ways to bring these numbers down. In 2022, we will see advances in this research thanks to stem-cell-based, embryo-like structures that can be grown in the lab.

Stem cells offer a powerful way to study the early development of the embryo. They can be grown in the lab in vast numbers and can be pushed toward making a huge assortment of cell types, including brain, blood, bone, and muscle.

Recently, several researchers have found ways to join stem cells together into small 3D balls of cells, which facilitate the creation of tiny embryo-like structures. These are currently rudimentary—the structures can be variable, they are inefficient to create and are unable to develop much further. Next year, we are likely to see improvements, with more advanced embryo-like structures made from stem cells. And we are also likely to see scientists using these models to investigate specific problems, such as how the embryo implants into the uterus, how organs start to develop or how the embryo ensures that cells are in the right positions.

Continue reading… “Lab-Grown Embryo Research Is Poised to Transform Medicine”