Medical
Adding colour to SEM imaging
The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is widely used in various fields of industry and science and it allows users to see details 1,000 times smaller than a conventional microscope.
World’s first kidney transplant using a 3D printer
Three year old Lucy Boucher from Northern Ireland has become the first child to receive a kidney transplant using the help of a 3D printer. The transplant was performed by surgeons at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Taking charge of medical design
Professional battery manufacturer Accutronics will be representing the best of British medical component manufacturing at this year’s MD&M West, which is taking place at the Anaheim Convention Centre in California from February 9th – 11th. Accutronics will be exhibiting its extensive range of reliable medical batteries and chargers in hall E at booth 470.
Light-activated nanoparticles kill 'superbugs'
In the ever-escalating evolutionary battle with drug-resistant bacteria, humans may soon have a leg up thanks to adaptive, light-activated nanotherapy developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Salmonella, E. Coli and Staphylococcus infect some 2m people and kill at least 23,000 people in the United States each year.
Blood test can distinguish bacterial from viral infections
A new test could help doctors tell whether a patient's flu-like symptoms of respiratory infection are viral or bacterial in origin, helping to avoid the overprescription of antibiotics in situations where they're not needed.
Heartbeats could be measured wirelessly
A group of researchers at Kyoto University have developed a technique that measures heartbeats wirelessly. The technology works in real time and, the researchers claim, is as accurate as an electrocardiograph. The sensors work by using millimeter-wave spread-spectrum radar technology and a signal analysis algorithm that identifies signals from the body.
Using electrical signals to train the heart's muscle cells
Columbia Engineering researchers have shown, for the first time, that electrical stimulation of human heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) engineered from human stem cells aids their development and function. The team used electrical signals, designed to mimic those in a developing heart, to regulate and synchronise the beating properties of nascent cardiomyocytes, the cells that support the beating function of the heart.
“Invisibility cloak” can destroy drug-resistant tumors
A new drug delivery method may enable cancer drugs to overcome resistance mechanisms in tumors, resulting in the destruction of cancer cells using 50 times less chemotherapy than is currently required.
The most advanced thought-powered prosthetic limb
Surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland have managed to develop a system wherein a man can move his prosthetic arm by using nothing but the power of thought. The Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) is a resounding success, as was the unique method used to attach it.
App helps identify women at risk of premature birth
An app called QUiPP could help doctors to better identify women at risk of giving birth prematurely. The app, developed at King’s College London, was tested in two studies of high-risk women being monitored at antenatal clinics. Worldwide 15m babies are born preterm (before 37 weeks) each year and over a million of these die of prematurity-related complications.