A cobot or co-robot (from collaborative robot) is a robot intended to physically interact with humans in a shared workspace.[3] This is in contrast with other robots, designed to operate autonomously or with limited guidance, which is what most industrial robots were up until the decade No area of industrial robotics has attracted more fanfare than human-robot collaboration. You can’t deny the compelling nature of collaborative robots. They have an innate ability to both fascinate and empower...

Lancaster (UK) based Cardiocity Limited have developed their second variant of the RhythmPad product range to successfully screen from Hypertension through simple hand placement. The RhythmPadGP is a simple USB connected lead1 and 6 lead screening tool. In under 30 seconds the subject’s lead1 and 6 lead ECG may be obtained and analysed giving instant outputs ranging from Sinus Rhythm to Atrial Fibrillation through to Right Bundle Branch Block. The RhythmPadGP makes screening for cardia...

Arterys, a pioneer in cloud-based medical imaging software, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Arterys Software. This clearance allows the Arterys product to be used in clinical settings for the quantification of cardiac flow, which includes 4D flow and 2D Phase Contrast workflows, and cardiac function measurements. The product seamlessly integrates into clinical practice to provide comprehensive, simple and quick Cardiac MR i...

The importance of foot comfort cannot be overstated, especially for those suffering from conditions such as diabetes. That is, while ordinary discomfort in shoes can be frustrating to anyone, it can actually be dangerous for those with diabetes, as atrophied nerve endings in the foot caused by the disease can dull or eliminate the sensation of pain, which can in turn result in serious foot injuries or wounds. Custom padded insoles have been an important part in curbing this problem, though un...

TransEnterix Completes Successful Pre-Clinical Robotic Surgical Procedures; Management Affirms FDA Timeline A medical device company that is pioneering the use of robotics and flexible instruments to improve minimally invasive surgery, today announced the successful completion of four general surgery and urology procedures using its SurgiBot system patient-side robotic surgery system. Management also stated that the preparation of its FDA 510(k) filing is proceeding as planned, and affi...

Protection of food from microbial or chemical deterioration has traditionally been an important concern in the food industry. Chemically synthesised preservatives have been classically used to decrease both microbial spoiling and oxidative deterioration of food. However, in recent years, consumers are demanding partial or complete substitution of chemically synthesised preservatives due to their possible adverse health effects. This fact has lead to an increasing interest in developing more “...

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a magnetic ink that can be used to make self-healing batteries, electrochemical sensors and wearable, textile-based electrical circuits. The key ingredient for the ink is microparticles oriented in a certain configuration by a magnetic field. Because of the way they’re oriented, particles on both sides of a tear are magnetically attracted to one another, causing a device printed with the ink to heal itself. The device...

Diluo is a Swedish innovation that could just be your new best friend. The infant formula is ready to serve in no time, always perfectly prepared at the right temperature thanks to innovative technology and easy smartphone control. You can control your Diluo remotely by smartphone or make your selections directly on your Diluo. It’s quick and easy. Diluo always makes the right mixture of powder and water. The risk of your baby getting a tummy ache or becoming upset is minimised when the finis...

Research led by the University shows that stimulation of the brain impacts on endurance exercise performance by decreasing perception of effort. Researchers led by Dr Lex Mauger from Kent’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences found that tDCS delayed exhaustion of the leg muscles by an average of 15% during an exercise task, and that this was likely caused by the participants feeling less effort during the exercise. However, tDCS elicited no significant effect on the neuromuscular response t...

Newly discovered archaebacteria converts methane into carbon dioxide with the help of iron A microbe that ‘eats’ both methane and iron: microbiologists have long suspected its existence, but were not able to find it - until now. Researchers at Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen discovered a microorganism that couples the reduction of iron to methane oxidation, and could thus be relevant in controlling greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. ...

Genetic variants might also impact nicotine and other drug metabolism Depending on a person’s genetic make-up, he or she might be able to guzzle coffee right before bed or feel wired after just one cup, based on continuing research at Northwestern Medicine. Studying how genes impact coffee consumption habits is nothing new. In previous work from Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor in the department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, she identif...

In a proof-of-concept study with mice, scientists at The Johns Hopkins University show that a novel coating they made with antibiotic-releasing nanofibers has the potential to better prevent at least some serious bacterial infections related to total joint replacement surgery. A report on the study, published online the week of Oct. 24 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted on the rodents’ knee joints, but, the researchers say, the technology would have “broad appli...

World's First 3D Scanner Powered by a Smartphone. As they worked to verify some specifications on a parabolic dish solar energy project, the team at Eora 3D began researching what it would cost them to purchase their own 3D scanner. They were stunned when they checked out the price for the type of device they needed, so they decided to confront the problem head on and build their own. They say the discovery that the cheapest 3D Scanner which would meet their needs was priced ...

Bluesound is the ultimate choice in hi-res multi-room streaming players. Made by audiophiles for audiophiles, Bluesound’s award-winning line of wireless speakers and digital music players is the first to fully support high-resolution audio. Listen to your favorite tracks, in every room of your home, as close to life-like performance as possible. The Bluesound ecosystem uses your home wireless network to stream music and communicate with other BluOS-enabled players on your network. The ecosyst...

As the focus on hospital-acquired infections intensifies, some medical device manufacturers are considering deep UV light emitting diodes for smaller, portable disinfection devices. Here's how the technology can be used in medical device design. Mark Pizzuto According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) one in every 25 hospital patients in the United States will contract a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) during their visit. Often expensive and sometime...

St. Jude Medical's Amplatzer PFO Occluder for patent foramen ovale (PFO) has received FDA approval, the company announced on October 28. The device, made of two nitinol mesh disks with thin polyester fabric, can now be used in the United States to close the PFO—a congenital hole in the tissue between the heart's left and right atria—in patients who have suffered an ischemic stroke, in order to reduce risk of recurrent stroke. Although PFO is relatively common, observed in about a quarter of a...

Mocoro Robot Cleaning Ball  robotic duster with a mind of its own; roaming freely around your home picking up dust and filth, changing direction whenever it hits an obstacle so it doesn't get stuck in tight corners or insist on trying to go upstairs. Just sit back and let it do it's thing – it's got so much personality you'll expect it to hop up on your lap and start purring. To stop this playful ball from wasting battery there's an internal timer that pauses it after 15 minutes until disturb...

A great looking lawn can be a lot of hard work. With a robotic lawn mower, the grass gets mowed automatically - around the clock without your supervision. Cuttings are small enough that you won't need to rake the clippings, adding fertilization back to the soil. The Husqvarna Automower® is able to maintain ½ acre lawns in any weather, with rough terrain and slopes up to 35%. When it meets an obstacle it stops and redirects itself. It also knows when it needs to be charged. With the convenient...

Thromboelastography (TEG) is a method of testing the efficiency of blood coagulation. It is a test mainly used in surgery and anesthesiology. Thromboelastography is a viscoelastic hemostatic assay that measures the global visco-elastic properties of whole blood clot formation under low shear stress. it shows the interaction of platelets with the coagulation cascade (aggregation, clot strengthening, fibrin cross linking and fibrinolysis). https://youtu.be/SjH05uGSGv0 EG® measures the ph...

The hygiene hypothesis proposes that a 20th century surge in allergies and asthma is because people are living in increasingly hygienic environments. Rather than the rural farm life of the agricultural 19th century, families live in urban and suburban communities, have fewer children who can exchange infections, bathe and wash their hands more frequently, and use antibiotics excessively. This all means reduced infant exposure to microbes that would have tempered excessive immune reactions, such ...

In a study led by the University of Leeds, scientists have solved one of the most long-standing challenges in atmospheric science: to understand how particles are formed in the atmosphere. Fundamental questions remain about the origin of newly formed atmospheric aerosol particles because data from laboratory measurements have been insufficient to build global models. In contrast, gas-phase chemistry models have been based on laboratory kinetics measurements for decades. Here we build a global...

New training technique would reveal the basis for machine-learning systems’ decisions. In recent years, the best-performing systems in artificial-intelligence research have come courtesy of neural networks, which look for patterns in training data that yield useful predictions or classifications. A neural net might, for instance, be trained to recognize certain objects in digital images or to infer the topics of texts. But neural nets are black boxes. After training, a network may be very ...

Hanging around the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil is a thing of the past. Whether you’re super efficient or ultra lazy the iKettle will save you over two days a year. With the iKettle 2.0 you can check your water level remotely. Never will you have to re-boil the kettle when you have more than a few guests. Now you can control all products via the Smarter app using one single interface. The centre dial allows you to customise your brew within seconds giving you complete control and...

British label Emel + Aris has launched a smart coat range for men and women using infrared-heating technology. Founder Rana Nakhal Solset is working with a proprietary fabric and a special polymer in the lining of the coat that produces the heat. “There’s three levels of heating — low, medium and high — so you can regulate it,” Solset said. “The technology ensures you that you can’t overheat. It’s like wearing a warm blanket so you can be at ease and comfortable. The heat that it generates...

One day, microrobots may be able to swim through the human body like sperm or paramecia to carry out medical functions in specific locations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed functional elastomers, which can be activated by magnetic fields to imitate the swimming gaits of natural flagella, cilia and jellyfish. Using a specially developed computer algorithm, the researchers can now automatically generate the optimal magnetic conditions ...

Fossil fuels have ushered in the modern industrial age, but carbon-neutral methods of electricity production are needed for the future. Salinity gradient energy (SGE) is one approach that is based on using two solutions with large differences in salt concentration to produce electricity. These include naturally occurring water sources with different salinities, such as river water and seawater, and salt brines and seawater or river water, or treated used waters and seawater prior to discharge in...

A microbial fuel cells (MFC) or biological fuel cell is a bio-electrochemical system that drives a current by using bacteria and mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature. MFCs can be grouped into two general categories: mediated and unmediated. Renewable and clean forms of energy are one of society's greatest needs.  At the same time, 2 billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation and the economic means to afford it.  In this research, we are working to address both of these hum...

Robots have traditionally been made from hard materials such as metal and plastic. They have been driven by motors and other heavy electro-mechanical actuators. These robots are more like machines than biological organisms. Soft robotics on the other hand seeks to make robots that are soft, flexible and compliant, just like biological organisms. The ‘body’ of a soft robot is soft like natural tissue. A soft robot is driven not by heavy motors but by soft artificial muscles. The energy stor...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA, Merck & Co., Inc.) for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test. This is the first FDA approval of a checkpoint inhibitor for first-line treatment of lung cancer. This approval also expands the indication in second-line treatment of lung cancer to include all patients with PD-L1-expressing NSCLC. The FDA approval ad...