Author: lisaweiner

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Cancer Data Machine Learning

MD Anderson uses IBM’s Watson supercomputer to accelerate cancer fighting knowledge

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/42214.wss

Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center is feeding IBM’s Watson “cognitive computer” case histories on more than 1 million leukemia patients, along with information about the disease, research and treatment options. Hospital staff and doctors hope it will help guide care and reduce the death rate. They also hope the supercomputer will be able to spot trends missed by researchers, possibly leading to suggestions for new targets for cancer drugs.

The collaboration with IBM is part of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program designed to use innovative approaches to fight eight deadly cancers.

Categories
Conference

Noninvasive nanoparticle diagnostic detects blood clots early

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nn403550c

Current blood clot tests are very indirect.  MIT’s Sangeeta Bhatia has developed a diagnostic based on technology first reported to detect colorectal cancer.

The system consists of iron oxide nanoparticles, FDA approved for human use, coated with specialized peptides that interact with thrombin. After being injected into mice, the nanoparticles travel throughout the body. When the particles encounter thrombin, the thrombin cleaves the peptides at a specific location, releasing fragments that are then excreted in the animals’ urine. The protein fragments can be identified in collected urine by treating the sample with antibodies specific to peptide tags included in the fragments. The amount of these tags found in the urine is directly proportional to the level of blood clotting in the mice’s lungs.

Other applications for the nanoparticle system could include monitoring and diagnosing cancer and tracking liver, pulmonary, and kidney fibrosis.

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Assistive Technologies Brain

Brain stimulation and touch sensitivity in prosthetic limbs

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/10/08/1221113110.abstract?sid=35f0c072-fa67-4ec8-9e83-17a292a83982

University of Chicago scientists have completed a study on stimulating a prosthetic limb wearer’s brain with electrical signals to replicate feelings of touch.

The researchers used monkeys with electrodes connected to touch-associated areas of the brain. They completed touch exercises with their normal hand and an unstimulated brain. The same exercises were conducted with a prosthetic hand, which was equipped with pressure sensors to register instances of touch. Pressure registered by the hand was converted into electrical signals, which the electrodes delivered to the monkeys’ brains. The monkeys responded the same in both situations. This includes when the monkeys first touched or released an object, sensing pressure and identifying where on their finger they touched an object.

This has not yet been studied in humans.

Categories
Brain

EEG discovered biomarker differentiates ADHD types, suggesting tailored treatments

http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(13)00776-2/abstract

University of Amsterdam Professor Ali Mazaheri and UC Davis researchers used EEG to discover a potential subtype differentiating biomarker in ADHD.

The study was conducted in 57 children between 12 and 17 years, 23 without ADHD and 17 participants in each of the inattentive- and combined-type groups. The collaborative study was conducted between 2009 and 2013 by the UC Davis Center for MIND and Brain and UC Davis MIND Institute.

The teens’ brain waves were assessed using EEG caps with 32 electrodes during evaluations of their performance on a computer task in which they received visual cues that could help aide their performance. Some cues were more helpful than others, so the task required the participants to sometimes override an initial impulse in order to respond correctly. Such situations are particularly challenging for people with ADHD.

The researchers found that the teens with the type whose primary symptom is inattentiveness exhibited different brainwave patterns from those whose symptoms include hyperactivity and impulsivity.

According to UC Davis Professor Catherine Fassbender, “Most treatments for ADHD do not take subtype differences into account. Our findings suggest targets for treatment should differ for the ADHD inattentive versus combined subtypes, and that advanced analysis of brain waves may provide a biomarker for testing treatment responses.”

Categories
BCI Brain

Brain inspired computing trend continues as Qualcomm develops “neuro-inspired” chips

http://www.qualcomm.com/media/blog/2013/10/10/introducing-qualcomm-zeroth-processors-brain-inspired-computing

Similar to IBM’s “Brain on a Chip” and Intel’s “Neuromorphic Chip” initiatives, Qualcomm is developing “neuro-inspired” chips for robots, vision systems, brain implants and smartphones to more efficiently sense and process information.

Qualcomm would like its Zeroth processor to mimic human-like perception and have the ability to learn as biological brains do.  They claim to replicate brain architecture by developing neuron models that can be implemented in hardware.  Their goal is to create a “Neural Processing Unit” which is a class of processors that are parallel and reprogrammable, with comprehensive tools and human like functions.

Categories
fitness mHealth Monitoring Sensors Wearables

Printable, multi-touch sensors consumers can cut with scissors

http://embodied.mpi-inf.mpg.de/files/2012/11/ACuttableMultiTouchSensor.pdf

Max Planck Institute researchers and the MIT Media Lab have developed printable, multi-touch sensors that are printed with e-ink and can be cut with scissors.  A new circuit layout makes it robust against cuts, damage, and removed areas.  By customizing and pasting such a sensor, one can make every surface interactive, including the wristband of a watch, a fabric or an object.  This implies many digital health and fitness applications.

The scientists use “printed electronics” – electrical components and devices which are printed. The approach is similar to that of inkjet printers. Instead of printing with normal ink, electrically-functional electronic ink is printed on flexible, thin films called substrates.

In the circuit layout, the wires run horizontally, vertically, and parallel to each other. At the intersection of one parallel and one horizontal layer are the touch-sensitive electrodes. Via the wires they are connected to a controller. This type of layout requires only a minimal number of wires, but is not robust. Since each wire addresses several electrodes, a small cut has a huge effect: many electrodes become unusable and possibly large sensor areas do not work anymore. “It was not easy to find an alternative layout, robust enough for our approach” said lead developer Simon Olberding. They took their inspiration from nature, looking at the human nerve system and fungal root networks, and thus came up with two basic layouts. The “star topology” has the controller in the center. It is connected to every electrode separately. The “tree topology” also has the controller in its center connected to each electrode separately. But the wires are bundled similarly to a tree structure. They all run through a vertical line in the middle and then branch off to reach their electrodes.

The scientists found out that the star topology supports  basic forms like triangles, rectangles, or ovals best. It is suited for shapes commonly used for crafts, like stars, clouds, or hearts. In contrast, with the tree topology it is possible to cut out whole areas. The researchers were also able to combine both layouts in a space-saving way, so that the sensor supports all basic forms.
Categories
Apps fitness

Streamlined, simplified, cloud based consumer health data

http://www.wellnessfx.com/

WellnessFX provides consumers with lab test results, real time heart rate data, and long feedback data from sleep sensors in a simple and well designed format.  They seek to empower individuals to control their health and fitness by monitoring themselves, making it “easy to view changes that occur between blood tests, allowing you to adjust your lifestyle for even better health.”

Categories
AI Crowdfunding

Crowdfunded, tendon driven robot mimics human movement

http://www.roboy.org/about.html

Univerity of Zurich’s AI Lab has crowdfunded its first version of an open source, flexible robot.

Roboy, developed by Professor Rolf Pfeifer, has a four foot tall human shape and a set of “muscles” inspired by the human musculoskeletal system. The plastic muscles work together via electrical motors and artificial tendons. Its tendon-driven systems mimic the flexible mechanics of biology, and could result in a new, more natural moving class of robots.

The next iteration of Roboy will be larger and contain more motion sensors.  Its top half will be lighter and more spring-loaded designs will be used to enable it to walk..

Categories
Brain fMRI

Brain imaging method improves resolution in PAG studies

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/25/1306095110.abstract

The “mid­brain peri­aque­ductal gray region,” or PAG, is extra­or­di­narily dif­fi­cult to inves­ti­gate in humans because of its size and intri­cate struc­ture.  Northeastern University researcher Ajay Satpute is uses state-​​of-​​the art imaging to cap­ture this com­plex neural activity. His technique increases the spatial resoluion of fMRI.  As fMRI lacks temporal resolution, there is much room for improvement.

Satpute’s goal is to help sci­en­tists explore the grounds of human emo­tion.  “The PAG’s func­tional prop­er­ties occur at such small spa­tial scales that we need to cap­ture its activity at very high res­o­lu­tion in order to under­stand it,” he explained.

Until recently, neu­roimaging studies have been done with fMRI,  pro­viding data for under­standing how the dif­ferent areas respond to dif­ferent stimuli.   When those areas become suf­fi­ciently small and com­pli­cated, their res­o­lu­tion falls short.  In the case of the tiny PAG, this problem is para­mount because the PAG wraps around a hollow core, or “aque­duct,” con­taining cere­brospinal fluid, Sat­pute said. Tra­di­tional fMRI instru­ments cannot dis­tin­guish neural activity occur­ring in the PAG from that occur­ring in the CS fluid. Even more dif­fi­cult is iden­ti­fying where within the PAG itself spe­cific responses originate.

Col­lab­o­ra­ting with researchers at Mass­a­chu­setts Gen­eral Hos­pital, Sat­pute  used a seven Tesla magnet fMRI.   Cou­pled with manual data analyses, he was able to resolve activity in sub-​​regions of the PAG with more pre­ci­sion than ever before.  The research team showed 11 human sub­jects images of burn vic­tims, gory injuries, and other con­tent related to threat, harm, and loss while keeping tabs on the PAG’s activity. The sub­jects also viewed neu­tral images.  The researchers com­pared results between the two scenarios.  The proof-​​of-​​concept study showed emotion-​​related activity con­cen­trated in par­tic­ular areas of the PAG. While sim­ilar results have been demon­strated in animal models, nothing like it had pre­vi­ously been shown in human brains.

Using this method­ology, the researchers said they would not only gain a better under­standing of the PAG but also be able to inves­ti­gate a range of brain-​​related research ques­tions beyond this par­tic­ular structure.

Categories
Brain

Precision PET scanner corrects patient movements, improving accuracy

http://www.hamamatsu.com/jp/en/news/development/20130905000001.html

Japan’s Hamamatsu Photonics and Hamamatsu University School of Medicine are developing a new PET diagnostic system for Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.  The system combines a tracer that reflects changes in acetylcholine-related cognitive functions and a high-precision brain PET scanner that can correct the movement of a patient’s head.  It is designed to improve the accuracy and overcome the limitations of current systems, which require patients to not move for a long period of time.

Categories
Brain EEG

Biofeedback tool identifies seizure brain patterns through music

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/september/seizure-music-research-092413.html

In a recent experiment, Stanford professors Chris Chafe and Josef Parvizi created audio EEG recordings of both normal brain activity and seizure states.  During the state of seizure, tones became more pronounced and their tempo became chaotic.  “We could instantly differentiate seizure activity from non-seizure states with just our ears,” Chafe said. “It was like turning a radio dial from a static-filled station to a clear one.”

Since some seizures can occur without immediate, behavioral symptoms, Chafe and Parvizi have decided to use this research to develop a tool for caregivers to use real time brain data to hear and recognize undetected seizures.

The EEGs Parvizi conducts register brain activity from more than 100 electrodes.  Chafe selects certain electrode/neuron pairings and allows them to modulate notes sung by a female singer. As the electrode captures increased activity, it changes the pitch and inflection of the singer’s voice.

Before the seizure begins (during the pre-ictal stage) the notes from each “singer” almost synchronize and fall into a clear rhythm.  In the moments leading up to the seizure event, each of the singers begins to improvise. The notes become progressively louder and more scattered as the full seizure event occurs (the ictal state).  One can hear the electrical storm originate on one side of the brain and eventually cross over into the other hemisphere.  After about 30 seconds of chaos, the singers begin to calm, tapering off into their post-ictal rhythm. Occasionally, one or two will behave erratically, but on the whole, the choir sounds extremely fatigued.

According to Professor Parvizi, this is the perfect representation of the three phases of a seizure event.

Categories
Apps Assistive Technologies Eyes

Smartphones and tablets assist the visually impaired

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/disruptions-guided-by-touch-screens-blind-turn-to-smartphones-for-sight/?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&_r=0

The New York Times Bits blog reports that “advocates for the blind say that smartphones and tablets could be the biggest assistive aid to come along since Braille was invented in the 1820s.”  Writer Nick Bilton explores some of the many ways–from voice commands to gesture readers–that mobile devices are helping the visually impaired.