Archive for April 2016
Optogenetics to Produce Pain Relief
The potential of light as a non-invasive, highly-focused alternative to pain medication was made more apparent thanks to research conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre. Researchers bred mice with a light-sensitive trait in peripheral neurons that were known to be responsible for…
Read MoreAbbott CEO Says “Not Appropriate for me to Comment” on Alere Issues
Point-of-care diagnostics maker Alere ($ALR) is struggling under the weight of foreign corruption probes. And Abbott ($ABT) CEO Miles White doesn’t know if he wants to bear the load. On a Q1 earnings call, the med tech helmsman declined to affirm his commitment to closing Abbott’s previously announced deal for Alere, saying that it was…
Read MoreSoft Robotics Inc. Appoints Mark J. Chiappetta as Chief Technology Officer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Soft Robotics Inc., an early stage robotics company, today announced that it has appointed Mark J. Chiappetta as its Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Chiappetta is a high energy technology leader with over 20 years of experience in high growth, start-up and mid-size companies. He is an established inventor…
Read MoreResting-state brain imaging leads to growth chart creation for pediatric ADHD
Neuroimaging has revealed distinguishable maturation patterns in the brains of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), opening the possibility for the development of a pediatric neurological growth chart, according to results of a study published online April 13 in JAMA Psychiatry. For the past 200 years, normative growth charts for pediatric height, weight, head circumference and other physical…
Read MoreZero DBS Electrode Infections Reported When Utilizing the ClearPoint® NeuroNavigation System
IRVINE, Calif., April 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MRI Interventions, Inc. (OTCQB:MRIC) today announced the results of a 10 year study in which Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) leads were implanted in a diagnostic MRI suite. The study was published in the March, 2016 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery and outlines a 10 year history…
Read MoreCancer Cells Identified Faster with New Microscope
Scientists at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have developed a new technique for identifying cancer cells in blood samples faster and more accurately than the current standard methods. In one common approach to testing for cancer, doctors add biochemicals to blood samples. Those biochemicals attach biological “labels” to the cancer cells, and those labels…
Read MoreRice University Students Design Testing to Validate 3-D Printed Hands
The Rice team calling itself Carpal Diem has developed a testing suite to validate how well 3-D printed hands transfer force from the wearer, typically a child born without a fully formed hand, to the prosthetic intended to help pick up and manipulate small objects. These 3-D printed hands have become a source of pride…
Read MoreSuperbugs are on track to kill 10 million people by 2050 if things don’t change
In November of 2015, scientists in southeastern China were combing through bacterial samples collected from hospitals in the Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces when they discovered something that would immediately grab the attention of the entire medical community. Many of the bacteria collected were carrying a new gene called MCR-1. It’s an innocuous-sounding name for a…
Read MoreDoes ‘Superhero DNA’ Exist?
Some people appear to be born with ‘superhero DNA’ that cancels out genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis, say researchers. The study of nearly 600,000 people found 13 who should have developed debilitating diseases, but did not. The hope is discovering what, against the odds, keeps them healthy and if that could lead to new therapies.…
Read MoreHigh-Tech Hand Hygiene
A wide range of hand-hygiene compliance monitoring systems are available to help facilities managers decrease the growing number of health care-associated infections (HAIs). These systems are designed to monitor the patient care environment, remind personnel of critical hand-washing events and provide data to drive improved compliance. While the market penetration is relatively low, health care…
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