DEEP TECH HEALTH + NEUROTECH
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 […]
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514456/carbon-nanotube-sensor-detects-glucose-in-saliva/ A team led by Mitchell Lerner at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a carbon nanotube based transistor that can detect glucose levels in body fluids, including saliva. The nanotubes are coated with molecules of pyrene-1-boronic acid, which makes them highly sensitive for glucose detection. When exposed to glucose, the nanotube transistor’s current-voltage curve changes, […]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riva-greenberg/diabetes-clinical-trial_b_3110140.html The bionic pancreas consists of three pieces of hardware. There’s an iPhone with an app that contains the system’s control software and algorithm and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The CGM’s sensor/transmitter, worn under the skin, streams glucose (blood sugar) data to two connected infusion pumps. One delivers insulin to lower blood sugar and […]