cardiac – Impact Lab

Biotech, Healthcare, Medical Breakthrough, Solar Power, Wearables

Japan’s new solar-powered “Second Skin” device revolutionizes wearable tech

October 2, 2018

It looks more like a band-aid than a watch.

Advances in wearable tech have been pretty impressive lately, but the device described in a new Nature study blows the competition out of the water. While the Apple Watch is now equipped with an FDA-approved EKG sensor and companies like Samsung are going out of their way to make smartwatches look like fashion statements, the device described in the paper, published Wednesday, puts both to shame. This heart-sensing device has no wires, requires no charging, and is so small that it can wrap around a rat’s heart.

Study co-author Kenjiro Fukuda, Ph.D., a research scientist at Japan’s RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science is quick to say that his device represents a big step forward for wearables. It looks more like a band-aid than a watch, and it’s thinner than a piece of cardboard.

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3D Printer, Biotech, Medical Breakthrough

Scientists can 3D print human heart tissue now. The future is here

July 10, 2018

Long term, the goal of 3D bioprinting is to be able to 3D print fully functioning organs which can be used to replace the failing biological organs of humans in need of a transplant. That may still be years off, but Chicago-based biotech startup Biolife4D this week announced a major new milestone: Its ability to bioprint human cardiac tissue.

The scientific landmark followed shortly after the company opened a new research facility in Houston. It involved the printing of a human cardiac patch, containing multiple cell types which make up the human heart. It could one day be used to help treat patients who have suffered acute heart failure in order to restore lost myocardial contractility, the ability of the heart to generate force for pumping blood around the body.

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Analysis, Health & Fitness, New Discoveries, Science & Technology News

New blood test could predict heart attacks: Study

March 22, 2012

The study found that the endothelial blood cells from heart attack patients are abnormally large and misshapen.

Researchers in the U.S. have found oddly-shaped blood cells in heart attack patients, indicating that a blood test could help predict whether a patient is at risk of an imminent cardiac emergency.

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Analysis, Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Stem cells can reverse heart attack damage

February 14, 2012

A ground-breaking study that may change how heart attacks are treated.

When a person has a heart attack a piece of muscle in a person’s heart dies from lack of blood flow , it scars over and is lost. But a team of researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles has proven that those muscles may not necessarily be gone forever.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Watching More Than Four Hours of TV a Day Damages Your Heart Even If You Are Fit

January 11, 2011

The chance of heart disease and premature death from any cause soars for those spending more than four hours a day watching TV.

Watching too much television or playing computer games damages your heart regardless of how much exercise you do, scientists have warned. The risk of heart disease and premature death from any cause doubled for those spending more than fours hours a day glued to a screen, it was claimed.

Continue reading… “Watching More Than Four Hours of TV a Day Damages Your Heart Even If You Are Fit”