Scientist-led conferences at Harvard, Stanford and MIT
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Radar monitor uses appliances to track health wirelessly
Toru Sato and Kyoto University and Panasonic colleagues have refined a wireless, radar-based vital measuring device they developed last year. The original sensor combined a radar with signal analysis algorithms to measure how the body moves as the heart beats. Software filters isolated the heart’s minute motions while the body moved. However it was extremely…
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Implanted vagus nerve stimulator partially reverses vegetative state
A person described as being in a vegetative state for 15 years showed partial signs of consciousness after a vagus nerve stimulator was implanted. University de Lyon’s Angele Sirigu led the research. This challenges the belief that those unconscious for more than 12 months could not be revived. It also poses a potential challenge…
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App uses phone’s camera to monitor heart health
Mory Gharib and Caltech colleagues have developed an app which uses a phone camera to monitor heart health. When held to the neck, it infers the left ventricular ejection fraction of the heart by measuring the amount that the carotid artery displaces the skin of the neck as blood pumps through it. According to Gharib:”What is…
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Exoskeleton builds muscle capacity, improves posture in cerebral palsy
Thomas Bulea and NIH colleagues have developed a robotic exoskeleton for children with cerebral palsy. “Crouch gait,” where a person walks with a perpetual bend in their knees, is a hallmark of the disease. This damages muscles and joints and results in paralysis for half of cerebral palsy patients. Bulea believes that increasing the amount…
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Patch monitors diabetes compounds in sweat for 1 week
University of Texas professor Shalini Prasad has developed an adhesive sensor that measures diabetes-associated compounds in small amounts of sweat. Blood glucose levels, cortisol and interleukin-6 are detected in perspiration for one week with full signal integrity. The device uses ambient sweat, created by the body with out stimulation. The sensor can be placed anywhere…
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Phone camera + machine learning detect concussion
Shwetak Patel and UW colleagues have developed PupilScreen, an app that uses a phone’s camera to detect concussion from the pupil. The phone’s video camera and flash check the eye for its pupillary light reflex, measures size changes associated with concussion. Machine learning algorithms confirm the diagnosis. Hospitals typically use a pen light to check…
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Detecting dementia with automated speech analysis
WinterLight Labs is developing speech analyzing algorithms to detect and monitor dementia and aphasia. A one minute speech sample is used to determine the lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, semantic content, and articulation associated with these conditions. Clinicians currently conduct similar tests by interviewing patients and writing their impressions on paper. The company believes that their…
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Robotic, in-vivo neuron recording
Ed Boyden and MIT colleagues have developed a robotic system capable of monitoring specific neurons. An algorithm based on multiple image processing methods analyzes microscope images and guides a robotic arm to within 25 microns of a target cell. The system then relies on both imagery and impedance, which more accurately detects contact between the…
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Google incorporates depression screening in search
Google has introduced a new depression screening feature. When the word “depression” is used in search, mobile users are offered a PHQ-9 questionnaire, which recognizes symptoms. A “Knowledge Panel” containing information and potential treatments appears on top of the page. The goal is self awareness, and encouragement to seek help when needed. Another company dedicated to…
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Small, adhesive, wireless patch collects, transmits, extensive health data
Northwestern’s John Rogers and Kyung-In Jang of the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology have developed a small, adhesive, flexible silicone patch capable of monitoring multiple health parameters. The soft, body-conforming wearable contains 50 components connected by 250 3-D wire coils embedded in protective silicone. It collects and wirelessly transmits data about movement, respiration, and…
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Retina scan + curcumin for early Alzheimer’s detection
In a recent study, Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui and Keith Black at Cedars-Sinai used a retina scan to detect amyloid-beta deposits, a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease, up to 20 years before symptoms. 16 Alzheimer’s patients drank a curcumin solution, which caused amyloid plaque in the retina to “light up” and be detected. Another key finding was the discovery…
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Machine learning for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Anant Madabhushi and Case Western colleagues have used machine learning to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease via imaging data in a small study. The goal is early intervention, which could potentially extend independence. 149 patients were analyzed using a Cascaded Multi-view Canonical Correlation (CaMCCo) algorithm, which integrates MRI scans, features of the hippocampus, glucose metabolism rates in the…
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