West African genes lower the risk of obesity in men

Posted on June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 by

Researchers at the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Ala, found that obese women get just one hour of vigorous exercise each year, while obese men exercise fewer than four hours, Foxny HealthDay reports. “They’re living their lives from one chair to another,” Edward Archer, a research fellow with the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, said. “We didn’t realize we were that sedentary. There are some people who are vigorously active, but it’s offset by...

‘Gecko vision’: Key to the multifocal contact lens helping see colors at night

Posted on May 31, 2016 by

Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses. The key to the exceptional night vision of the nocturnal helmet gecko is a series of distinct concentric zones of different refractive powers, according to a study published in the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology's peer-reviewed, online Journal of Vision("The pupil...

iBOT – powered wheelchair

Posted on May 30, 2016 by

The iBOT is a powered wheelchair developed by Dean Kamen in a partnership between DEKA and Johnson and Johnson's Independence Technology division. iBOT has a number of features distinguishing it from most powered wheelchairs: By rotating its two sets of powered wheels about each other, the iBOT can "walk" up and down stairs, much like a cog railway or a rack and pinion with the two wheels as the "teeth" of the gear. The wheels can roll slightly at each step to compensate for a wide range ...

iBeat -smartwatch that will monitor the wearer’s heart activity around the clock for heart attack

Posted on May 30, 2016 by

iBeat is a new company in San Francisco that hopes to address this problem. They are designing a new smartwatch that will monitor the wearer’s heart activity around the clock, and analyze the results. If it detects a dangerous condition, it can alert the wearer, as well as family members and emergency responders. It will include 3G cellular wireless communication, as well as a medical-grade heart rate sensor. The company has indicated that it will pursue a “Wearable-as-a-Service” business model ...

Muscle Atrophy

Posted on May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 by

Muscle atrophy is when muscles waste away. The main reason for muscle wasting is a lack of physical activity. This can happen when a disease or injury makes it difficult or impossible for you to move an arm or leg. You may have muscle loss if one of your limbs appears smaller (not shorter) than the other. Schedule a physical exam to determine the cause of the loss. Your doctor will determine what treatment you need. In some cases, muscle wasting can be reversed with a proper diet, exercis...

Organs grown by scientists

Posted on May 29, 2016 by

Little livers Transplanted hepatic progenitor cells can self-renew (yellow) and differentiate into hepatocytes (green) to repair the damaged liver (Image: Wei-Yu Lu, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh’) The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine researchers used liver stem cells, called hepatic progenitor cells, to regrow damaged livers in mice. After extracting the stem cells from healthy adult mice and maturing them in the lab, the researchers transplante...

Researchers urge greater attention to autism-related food issues

Posted on May 26, 2016 by

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a complex set of related developmental disorders that are characterized by impairments in communication, social interaction, and repetitive behaviors. Impairments in sensory processing are also extremely common. The prevalence of ASDs is increasing and is currently estimated to affect 1 in 150 children. ASDs are considered to be a major health and educational problem, affecting many areas of daily living, including eating. Children with ASDs are often de...

NASA’s Research To Understand How Space Travel Affects Blood Vessels

Posted on May 26, 2016 by

Ever rise quickly from the couch to get something from the kitchen and suddenly feel dizzy? With a low heart rate and relaxed muscles, the cardiovascular system does not immediately provide the resistance necessary to keep enough blood going to your head. Gravity wins, at least for a short time, before your heart and blood vessels can respond to the sudden change in position and correct the situation. Images above: These figures show feed arteries and first-order arterioles from control...

University of California -Sticker That Measures Glucose

Posted on May 23, 2016 by

Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have tested a temporary tattoo that both extracts and measures the level of glucose in the fluid in between skin cells. This first-ever example of the flexible, easy-to-wear device could be a promising step forward in noninvasive glucose testing for patients with diabetes. The sensor was developed and tested by graduate student Amay Bandodkar and colleagues in Professor Joseph Wang’s laboratory at the NanoEngineering Department and the ...

Wearable device that can be used to monitor patient conditions around the clock

Posted on May 23, 2016 by

Scientists at Northwestern University and University of Illinois have collaborated on creating a wearable device that can be used to monitor patient conditions around the clock. The thin, flexible patch moves with the person’s skin, and so should be unobtrusive to wear. The patch requires no electricity; a matrix of 60 by 60 liquid crystals provides 3,600 points of measurement. A new wearable medical device can quickly alert a person if they are having cardiovascular trouble or if it’s simply...

Smart Dose – first wearable patch medicine injector

Posted on May 23, 2016 by

West Pharmaceutical Services is developing a solution to this problem: the SmartDose. According to the company, this is the first wearable patch injector that has been tested on human subjects. The device includes a concealed needle that is activated once the patch is applied to the patient’s skin. Visual and audible feedback provides indicators about the device’s status, whether it is operating correctly, or when it needs to be removed or refilled. The device works with a disposable plastic car...

Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK)

Posted on May 23, 2016 by

The U.S Food and Drug Administration has granted Expedited Access Pathway status to the Wearable Artificial Kidney (WAK) after the device performed successfully in its first U.S. clinical trial, at UW Medical Center in Seattle. Despite technical issues that halted the trial early, the FDA signaled its support for keeping research and development of the device fast-tracked as its components are redesigned. More than 600,000 Americans have end-stage kidney disease, whose annual mortality rate is...

Watch that monitors tremor patients by tracking and reporting tremor incidence

Posted on May 22, 2016 by

A startup called Trequant has set out to help tremor patients by tracking and reporting tremor incidence. Waterproof and able to travel with you anywhere you go! The Kanega watch is a self-contained watch and is not dependent on a connection to a home-based system or a smartphone, so you can get assistance at home or on the go in one simple, stylish watch. Voice Controlled for Ease of Use No buttons to press – speak to it by its name, and it speaks to you. It’s that easy. On-call Emergency...

Innovative camping kit

Posted on May 22, 2016 by

Mobile Foodie Survival Kit: The Mobile Foodie Survival Kit is a travel-sized spice pack that makes sure you don't have sub-par food. Anywhere you go, you are stocked with organic herbs and spices. Nightlux Handpowered Lamp and Flashlight: Its lightweight and compact design makes this lantern perfect for traveling; its handpowered or recharges via USB, has two brightness modes, and easily shifts from flashlight to lantern. Reborn by X Zhichao: Reborn is a multi functional ...

NASA’s research on impact on the immune system

Posted on May 21, 2016 by

Studies have shown that spending a long time in space has a negative impact on the immune system of crew members. Medical scientists are particularly concerned about disruption of the development of white blood cells which are our first line of defense against illness. The BONEMAC investigation analyze some defense cells from mouse bone marrow, and find that their numbers increase a lot faster during space flight than on the ground. Space flight also has an impact on coagulation, or blood c...

A Personalized Virtual Heart Predicts the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Posted on May 21, 2016 by

Recently scientists and researchers at Johns Hopkins University developed an assessment technology that is much better at predicting arrhythmia risk than the blood pumping test. The team performed pre-implant MRIs from patients who were determined to need defibrillator implants. They used the MRIs to create personalized, virtual 3-D hearts. They then used the 3-D models to simulate the electrical processes in the heart to predict the likelihood that the virtual heart would develop arrhythmia. If...

MIT – Ingestible origami robot

Posted on May 21, 2016 by

Robot unfolds from ingestible capsule, removes button battery stuck to wall of simulated stomach In experiments involving a simulation of the human esophagus and stomach, researchers at MIT, the University of Sheffield, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have demonstrated a tiny origami robot that can unfold itself from a swallowed capsule and, steered by external magnetic fields, crawl across the stomach wall to remove a swallowed button battery or patch a wound. The new work, which the ...

HemaVision uses both a thermal sensor array and a visible light sensor array

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Using its internet of things (IoT) thermal imaging sensor, Optimet has developed a thermal Wi-Fi camera that the company says is 35% less than the lowest cost comparable thermal image sensor. The thermal imaging is also used in a computer vision-enabled thermal imaging device, called the HemaVision that the company expects to offer at a sixth of the price of typical thermal imagers. The imaging system automatically enhances images for the diagnosis of building and equipment problems. HemaVisi...

Life expectancy

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of their birth, their current age and other demographic factors including sex. The most commonly used measure of life expectancy is at birth (LEB), which can be defined in two ways: while cohort LEB is the mean length of life of an actual birth cohort (all individuals born a given year) and can be computed only for cohorts born many decades ago, so that all their members died, period L...

Sleep directly related to life expectancy

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Research shows naps increase performance. NASA found pilots who take a 25 minute nap are 35 percent more alert and twice as focused. Research by NASA revealed that pilots who take a 25-minute nap in the cockpit — hopefully with a co-pilot taking over the controls — are subsequently 35 percent more alert, and twice as focused, than their non-napping colleagues. Little siestas helped people across a whole host of measures. Improved reaction time, fewer errors… NASA found that naps made yo...

Lung cancer screening app using NASA’s sensor technology for early detection

Posted on May 14, 2016 by

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has entered into an exclusive license agreement with an mHealth company to commercialize mobile healthcare products derived from NASA's patented technology. The agreement with NASA, annnounced by Vantage Health, licenses the use of multiple patents relating to inventions in the fields of nanotechnology, chemical sensing, carbon nanotubes, medical diagnoses, environmental sensing and cell phone applications. "Nanobeak and Vantage He...

Technology to make your lives better

Posted on May 12, 2016June 5, 2016 by

The Sensoria Smart Socks for runners are made from high-tech running friendly fabric, an electronic anklet magnetically attaches to the sock and an app monitors and guides you through real-time audio cues while you run. Working along with your smartphone, it lets you know the speed, altitude, cadence, foot landing and more. The Beddit is flat, and can be placed under the bed sheet; it measures sleep cycles and quality of it by measuring various other factors. This non-wearable smart devi...

Ultrasonic Periodontal Structures Mapping Device

Posted on May 10, 2016 by

Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center have developed diagnostic mapping system for making and recording differential measurements of periodontal structures of a dental patient. The invention employs first and second ultrasonic sensors controlled by a dental hand-piece to make measurements of the cemento-enamel-junction (CEJ) of each tooth and the depth of the periodontal pocket or cavity of the tooth relative its CEJ. These measurements are visually displayed, recorded (or mapped), and c...

NASA – Directional Microwave Applicator/Antenna

Posted on May 10, 2016 by

A directional, cylindrical antenna of ~0.095-in. (~2.4-mm) diameter has been developed for localized delivery of microwave radiation for heating (and thus killing) diseased tissue without excessively heating nearby healthy tissue. By "localized" is meant that the antenna radiates much more in one radial direction than in the opposite radial direction, so that it heats tissue much more on one side than it does on the opposite side. Prior compact, cylindrical antennas designed for therapeutic l...

Wipro’s medical remote monitoring wearable device

Posted on May 9, 2016 by

Wipro Ltd has a health monitoring solution called Wipro Assure Health that improves affordable patient care through wearable devices, and a cloud-based clinical decision support system. An extension of this is the Wipro Assure Health Maternity Care Solution, which helps customers by enabling management of high-risk pregnancies with remote assessment of the foetus and the mother. The solution includes a small wearable wireless foetal-maternal monitoring device that can be accessed on a mobile ...

NASA Vision Chip

Posted on May 9, 2016 by

Retinal Light Processing Using Carbon Nanotubes The Vision Chip is targeted to treat Age-related Macular Degeneration, and other degenerative diseases of the retina by replacing a compromised retinal photoreceptor system with an array of equivalent external photoreceptors and carbon nanotube (CNT) "towers" (bundles of CNTs) that provide a pathway to transmit signals from the external photoreceptors to an active layer of retina. NASA has patented a new technology called the Vision Chip, an ...

Philips – Lumify smart ultrasound device

Posted on May 8, 2016 by

With Lumify, high-quality portable ultrasound is available almost anywhere. Just subscribe, download the Lumify app, plug in the transducer, and you're set. Meet patients at the point-of-care, make a faster diagnosis, and deliver care whenever it's needed. https://youtu.be/HRLHtnza2jM Royal Philips launched the Lumify smart ultrasound device, offered as part of a “novel subscription model.” Customers with subscriptions, which Philips said start at a monthly price of $199, receive equipm...

Foot Drop Management, Post Stroke

Posted on May 8, 2016 by

Foot Drop Management, Post Stroke The STIMuSTEP system is a highly recommended treatment that helps correct dropped foot in chronic stroke patients. Since the product was entered into the market in 2004, many patients worldwide (mainly within Europe) are benefiting from it. The use of FES to treat Foot Drop is N.I.C.E (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) recognised, following the Interventional Proce...

Smart medical devices for patients

Posted on May 8, 2016 by

Smart medical devices for patients Cue IoT Advantage: self-diagnosis Benefit: Enables preventive care Cue’s multi-use wand and corresponding cartridge increase the ways that patients can track their own health. With this smart medical device, patients can take their health into their own hands—testing their nasal fluids, saliva and blood. Quell IoT Advantage: pain relief Benefit: Improves quality of care Quell Relief is worn below the knee like any brace—but its embedded sens...

PositiveID Health and Seurity Identification

Posted on May 5, 2016 by

PositiveID develops biological detection systems for America’s homeland defense industry as well as rapid medical testing. PositiveID is focused on the development of microfluidic systems for the automated preparation of and performance of biological assays in order to detect threats at high-value locations, as well as analyze samples in medical environments. PositiveID’s microfluidic technology alleviates all existing problems by replacing robotics with integrated microfluidics, reducing cos...