DEEP TECH HEALTH + NEUROTECH
Miguel Nicolelis has developed a non-invasive system for lower-limb neurorehabilitation. Study subjects wore an EEG headset to record brain activity and detect movement intention. Eight electrodes were attached to each leg, stimulating muscles involved in walking. After training, patients used their own brain activity to send electric impulses to their leg muscles, imposing a physiological gait. With […]
University of Vermont researchers have developed an algorithm that detects anxiety and depression in children’s voices with 80 per cent accuracy, according to a recent study. Standard diagnosis involves a 60-90 minute semi-structured interview with a trained clinician and their primary care-giver. AI can make diagnosis faster and more reliable. The researchers used an adapted […]
Klaus Gerwert at Ruhr-Universität Bochum has developed a blood + CSF test that he claims can detect Alzheimer’s disease 8 years before the onset of symptoms. The goal is early stage therapy to achieve better results than current treatment protocols. To reduce false positive results from the initial study, the researchers first used a blood […]
Edward Chang and UCSF colleagues are developing technology that will translate signals from the brain into synthetic speech. The research team believes that the sounds would be nearly as sharp and normal as a real person’s voice. Sounds made by the human lips, jaw, tongue and larynx would be simulated. The goal is a communication method for […]
Charles Marmar, Adam Brown, and NYU colleagues are using AI-based voice analysis to detect PTSD with 89 per cent accuracy, according to a recent study. PTSD is typically determined by bias-prone clinical interviews or self-reports. The team recorded standard diagnostic interviews of 53 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with military-service-related PTSD, as well as 78 veterans without […]
NeuroSigma has received FDA clearance for its forehead patch which stimulates the trigeminal nerve during sleep to treat ADHD. The device won CE Mark approval in Europe in 2015. The approval was based on study of 62 subjects. Over four weeks, those who received the treatment showed a decrease in ADHD-RS by -31.4%. The control group showed a -18.4% decrease. […]
Alan Jasanoff and MIT colleagues are using MRI to monitor calcium activity at a much deeper level in the brain than previously possible, to show how neurons communicate with each other. The research team believes that this enables neural activity to be linked with specific behaviors. To create their intracellular calcium sensors, the researchers used […]
Luis Parada and Sloan Kettering colleagues are focusing on cancer stem cells as a new approach to glioblastoma. Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells have the ability to rebuild a tumor, even after most of it has been removed, leading to cancer relapse and metastasis. According to Parada: “The pharmaceutical industry has traditionally used […]
Duke’s Ravi Bellamkonda has developed a “Tumor Monorail” which tricks aggressive brain tumors such as glioblastoma into migrating into an external container rather than throughout the brain. It has been designated “Breakthrough Device” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The device mimics the physical properties of the brain’s white matter to entice aggressive tumors to […]
Columbia University’s Nima Mesgarani is developing a computer-generated speech method for those who are unable to talk. How brain signals translate to speech sounds varies from person to person, therefore computer models must be trained individually. The models are most successful when used during open skull surgeries, to remove brain tumors or when electrodes are […]