DEEP TECH HEALTH + NEUROTECH
HealthTell is another single blood drop home diagnosis device. ApplySci described Dr. Eugene Chan‘s Nokia X prize winning similar system last month. HealthTell claims to detect disease by monitoring the body’s immune response. Infection antibodies are detected with a peptide built semiconductor wafer. When a few drops of blood hit the surface, antibodies stick to the […]
Sharp‘s prototype “Blood Vessel Aging Degree Sensor” can detect diabetes, arteriosclerosis or other diseases at an early stage. The sensor quantifies the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (protein saccharified in blood vessels known to correlate with blood glucose level). AGEs are thought to cause several diseases including diabetes, dementia, cancers, high blood pressure, and arteriosclerosis. […]
Harvard Medical School professor Conor L. Evans has developed a transparent liquid bandage that does not need to be removed to check oxygen levels. Its phosphors glow red when a wound isn’t getting enough oxygen, and green when it is. The glowing effect is triggered by a light source that can be captured with a smartphone camera. […]
Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System eliminates finger pricking for diabetics. The insertion of a tube under the skin is required, therefore the procedure, while continuous and comfortable, is still invasive. A user wears a sensor on the back of the upper arm, and through a small tube inserted just under the skin, it measures […]
A wearable “artificial pancreas” passed initial tests, constantly monitoring blood sugar and automatically giving insulin or a sugar-boosting drug as needed. The experimental device is being developed by Boston University professor Edward Damiano, Mass General doctor Steven Russell, and colleagues. The “bionic” pancreas improved blood-sugar control more than standard monitors and insulin pumps when tested for […]
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, […]
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/introducing-our-smart-contact-lens.html Google is testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears. It uses a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. The prototype can generate a reading once per second. They are investigating the potential of integrating tiny LED lights that […]
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/new-implantable-sensor-1103.html MIT scientists are developing injectable and embeddable carbon nanotube sensors that can monitor blood sugar levels, inflammation, and other health issues. The continuous monitor can stay in a person’s body for up to a year. Researcher Nicole Iverson wrapped carbon nanotubes in DNA sensitive to nitric oxide and made two types of sensors. One is injectable […]
http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/diabetes-breathalyzer University of Pittsburgh professor Alexander Star, Dan Sorescu of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and graduate student Mengning Ding have demonstrated sensor technology that could simplify the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes through breath analysis alone. The researchers used a “sol-gel approach,” a method for using small molecules (often on a nanoscale level) to produce solid materials. […]
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2013/05/0570.html Navy sonar technology is being miniaturized by University at Buffalo professor Tommaso Melodia to be applied inside the human body to treat diseases like diabetes and heart failure in real time. A network of wireless body sensors that use ultrasounds could be used to wirelessly share information between medical devices implanted in or worn by diabetic/heart failure patients. Previously, researchers focused […]