Category: Heart
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Human body simulation for health research
The Virtual Physiological Human project is a computer simulated replica of the human body that is being created to test drugs and treatments. It will allow physicians to model the mechanical, physical and biochemical functions of the body as a single complex system rather than as a collection of organs. The goal is to offer personalized treatment…
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Custom fitted, 3D printed, sensor based, implantable cardiac device
Nature paper | Washington University | University of Illinois A custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors, while invasive, may offer an improved method for detecting and treating heart issues. Washington University professor Igor Efimov and University of Illinois professor John Rogers (see previous ApplySci Rogers coverage) have created a 3-D elastic membrane made of a soft, flexible, silicon material that is precisely…
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Update: Samsung increases health applications with Gear 2 watch, Gear Fit, Galaxy S5
Samsung has updated its devices as it tries to establish dominance in the health and fitness tracking market. Its Gear 2 watch is now based on Samsung’s Tizen operating system rather than Android. It includes an accelerometer and gyroscope – capable of acting as a pedometer and an optical heart rate monitor. This allows the watch…
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Non-invasive, nanoparticle method for identifying atherosclerosis plaques
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl404816m Case Western‘s Michael Bruckman and colleagues have developed a multifunctional nanoparticle that pinpoints blood vessel plaques caused by atherosclerosis using MRI. The goal is to create a non-invasive method of identifying heart attack and stroke causing plaques vulnerable to rupture, in time for treatment. Currently doctors can only identify narrowing blood vessels caused by plaque…
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Piezoelectric nanoribbons power pacemakers
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57617483-76/nanoribbons-let-beating-hearts-power-their-own-pacemakers/ Scientists are studying various steady energy source alternatives for small biomedical sensors, including piezoelectric power. University of Illinois researchers have attached small, flexible strips (piezoelectric nanoribbons) to internal organs of animals, and harvested energy from their movement to power pacemakers and other medical devices. Current practice depends on hard-to-change batteries. This is a minimally invasive power source,…
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Study: Surgeons view detailed, real-time 3D holograms of heart
http://www.realviewimaging.com/ Philips and RealView Imaging recently completed a clinical study demonstrating the feasibility of using live 3D holographic visualization and interaction technology to guide minimally-invasive structural heart disease procedures. RealView’s technology was used to display interactive, real-time 3D holographic images acquired by Philips’ interventional X-ray and cardiac ultrasound systems. In addition to viewing the patient’s heart on a 2D screen,…
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Miniature pacemakers inserted with out surgery
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/522306/worlds-smallest-pacemaker-can-be-implanted-without-surgery/ Medtronic and St. Judes Medical have developed miniaturized pacemakers that can be implanted in the heart through blood vessels via an incision in the thigh, reducing or eliminating the need for invasive surgery. Doctors in Austria implanted the 24mm Medtronic device in a patient last week as part of a human trial. St. Jude…
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NIH funds robots for the vision impaired, stroke patients, doctors performing catheter ablation
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2013/nibib-23.htm Three projects have been awarded funding by the National Institutes of Health. All involve robots that cooperate with people and adapt to changing environments to improve human capabilities and enhance medical procedures. A co-robotic navigation device for the blind: Cang Ye at University of Arkansas is incorporating 3D imaging sensor technology into the white cane. This…
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ECG wristband sensors use your heartbeat as your password
http://www.getnymi.com The Nymi wristband confirms a user’s identity via electrocardiogram sensors that monitor the heartbeat and can authenticate a range of devices, from iPads to cars. Developers at Bionym, the Toronto-based company that makes the device, say the peeks and valleys of an individual’s heartbeat are harder to imitate than the external features of biometric…
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Mayo Clinic studies step tracking data as a post-surgery monitoring tool
http://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(13)01253-8/fulltext Mayo Clinic has published a study using step recording from a Fitbit activity tracker to monitor recovery in cardiac surgery patients and help hospitals determine the appropriate length of stay. Those who had the shortest hospital stay walked the most on all days in the study, by a statistically significant margin. Likewise, patients bound for home walked…
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Elfi-Tech – non-invasive sensor captures more meaningful health data
http://elfi-tech.com Elfi-Tech of Israel, led by Dr. Ilya Fine, has disrupted digital healthcare. They are the only Israeli finalist in the Nokia XCHALLENGE competition, which “envisions a future of access to affordable, personalized healthcare through sophisticated sensing technologies”. The company has developed a sensor that is more suitable as a continuous monitor with minimal discomfort.…
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Stethoscope add-on improves patient assessment and diagnosis
http://rijuven.com/cardiosleeve.html CardioSleeve, when attached to a stethoscope, records, displays and analyzes electrical and acoustical footprints of the heart in real time via any wirelessly connected portable device. The data can be stored in the cloud or uploaded into an EHR.