Tag: medical technology

Categories : VaccinesTags :

Zapping Pathogens for Faster, Cheaper Vaccine Production

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

A team of researchers from three Fraunhofer Institutes has developed a method of producing vaccines that is faster, more efficient and more environmentally friendly than the conventional production process.

Vaccines date back to 1796, and the first vaccines were simply pus samples freshly taken from people with cowpox. Gruesomely, the Spanish shipped orphaned children to South America to act as cowpox carriers — the world’s first vaccine shipment. As medicine advanced, scientists were able to isolate viruses and inactivate them. However, this is still a lengthy, expensive process.  

But a new production process for inactivated vaccines is set to make vaccine production faster, more environmentally friendly and more efficient than ever before while also reducing costs. Dr Sebastian Ulbert and Dr Jasmin Fertey from the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Leipzig, Frank-Holm Rögner from the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP in Dresden, and Martin Thoma from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart have been awarded the 2021 Fraunhofer Prize for “Human- and Environment-Centered Technology” on behalf of their teams. 

To date, chemicals have always been used in inactivated vaccine production. The pathogens are stored with toxic chemicals, particularly formaldehyde, until the viral genetic information is completely destroyed and it is incapable of replication. This process is known as inactivation.
However, it has a number of drawbacks. For a start, the chemicals also destroy part of the external structures that the immune system forms antibodies from. Also, industrial-scale vaccine production involves large quantities of toxic chemicals, which are hazardous to humans and the environment. Finally, depending on the virus, it can take weeks to months to actually ‘kill’ it.

Their high-tech approach has none of these disadvantages. “Instead of inactivating the virus with toxic chemicals, we fire electrons at it,” explained Dr Ulbert. “The viral particle [is] almost completely intact. There are no chemicals that we need to dispose of and the entire process takes just a few seconds.” 

But there was a problem. The electrons can only penetrate liquids to less than half a millimetre, losing energy along the way. To reliably kill viruses in the liquid with the electrons, the liquid film has to be no thicker than around 0.1 millimetres—and it must be transported evenly, too. “This required complex equipment technology, which is why we brought Fraunhofer IPA on board,” said Rögner.

At Fraunhofer IPA, Martin Thoma developed two ways to overcome the problem. “The pouch module is suitable for conducting preliminary tests that provide useful information, while the tumbler module is beneficial for larger quantities,” said the physics graduate. On the basis of this setup, Dr Fertey investigated viruses such as influenza, Zika and herpes as well as numerous bacteria and parasites, which were treated with electrons subject to targeted acceleration via the pouch and tumbler module. “We were able to successfully and reliably inactivate all classes of pathogens,” said the delighted biologist.

In about five to seven years, the production modules—which are the size of a refrigerator—could be integrated into pharmaceutical production in order to produce vaccines in a quick, efficient and environmentally friendly process.

Source: Phys.Org

Categories : Medical Research & TechnologyTags :

Spacesuit Tech Leads to Improved Patient Outcomes

On By ModernMedia

A tech startup is pioneering wearable health technology derived from spacesuit technology.

Maarten Sierhuis, a NASA alum, commented to Rachna Dhamija, a tech veteran and his future cofounder saying, “If your dad would just wear a space suit, I could monitor him”. Both had ageing parents with health issues.

Having worked for 12 years as a senior research scientist at NASA, Sierhuis used sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor astronauts in space. When astronauts go on spacewalks, their spacesuits contain various sensors that monitor their vitals, with the data being sent to NASA and distributed to the flight surgeon, biomedical engineers, and others. The ground-based crew uses that information to guide its support efforts—perhaps a reminder to drink some water and avert dehydration, or to take a short break to lower heart rate. This technology—called the Brahms Intelligent Agent platform—was licensed to Ejenta from NASA. Now, hospitals and health systems are using it to help better their patient care.

“When we started the company, we just had a very strong conviction that our parents deserve the same level of care NASA provides its astronauts,” Dhamija said.

Ejenta integrates wearable and home sensors that gather data from patients with AI-driven virtual assistants. Using a chat function, patients can use the platform to exchange messages with these assistants, called “intelligent agents” by Ejenta, right from their homes. Clinicians can securely access patient information from the Ejenta platform to better inform their care decisions.

Advances in cloud computing enabled the technology to be adapted from space to the Earth. Ejenta’s founders use a cloud infrastructure to securely collect, store and analyse health data.

Ejenta—whose name is a Bengali slang term for “agents”— is one of them. The company, which was founded in 2012, originally focused on government-related work, including projects for NASA. However, in the last four years, Ejenta evolved into a digital health company. Dhamija said the company’s AI-driven technology is what makes Ejenta unique from other digital health startups.

“There are a lot of healthcare devices available to consumers, but what’s missing is AI and the automation that can turn this data into insights a doctor can use—actionable data to make care more preventative and more proactive,” she said.

Ejenta uses its NASA technology to take data from wearable Internet of Things (IoT) devices and at-home sensors to monitor a patient’s health. Patients can interact with their assistant via text or voice and ask questions like, “What medication do I need to take with breakfast?”and receive an appropriate answer.

A clinical trial with Ejenta by one of the country’s largest healthcare providers, saw heart failure readmissions dropped by 56%. Readmissions come are costly for both patients and the healthcare system, so this application can save considerable amounts of money as well as improving the patient’s quality of life. Ejenta, in separate clinical trials, also contributed to improved outcomes for women who had high-risk pregnancies, reducing risk for gestational diabetes, preterm birth and cesarean sections. These successes were made possible by years of difficult development.

“We had a big challenge adapting our solution, which was originally designed to monitor 12 astronauts in space, to scale up to support thousands of patients across a number of different customer types and a number of different health conditions while still being HIPAA compliant,” Dhamija said.

However, by leveraging Amazon Webs Servers (AWS) as its cloud provider, Ejenta was able to scale up. Dhamija said her team chose AWS because it offers both flexibility and scalability in a secure cloud environment, which is critical when dealing with healthcare data. Ejenta wanted a “cloud provider that had a reputation for providing HIPAA-compliant services our customers would trust,” she said.

Ejenta was part of the Alexa Accelerator, an Amazon programme to help companies incorporate voice technology into their innovations. Before entering the programme, Ejenta had used Alexa to support improved diabetes care management for patients. It continued this work during the accelerator.

“Alexa is one of the only voice-based solutions that gave us the ability to engage customers, whether it’s patients or their family, with voice and do it in a HIPAA-compliant way,” Dhamija said.

Ejenta’s participation in the accelerator led to its involvement in AWS Connections, a program that introduces startups to large organisations that have specific technological or business needs. Through this programme, Ejenta is developing a health and communication management system for astronauts in deep space to relay health informationa and communicate with their families.

“It’s translational, meaning it can be applied for both Earth and space,” Dhamija said. “If you look at some of the problems we face on Earth or space, they do inform each other, so the goal is to have our Earth-based work inform space, and vice versa.”

Source: Forbes

Categories : Injury & TraumaTags :

New Adhesive Hydrogel For Soft Tissue Repair

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Scientists have developed an injectable gel that serves as a biodegradable adhesive for various kinds of soft tissue injury.

Soft tissue tears are a common injury, and it is difficult for surgeons to secure the tissue back together, since stitches often do more harm than good. According to Dominique Pioletti, the head of the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics at EPFL’s School of Engineering, such surgeries often don’t produce the best results because the tissue doesn’t properly heal. 

Tears in tissue such as cartilage and the cornea, often fail to heal properly, and tissue repair strategies may be suboptimal. For example, loose pieces of cartilage are often excised for symptomatic relief, but the remaining cartilage in articulating joints is placed under greater burden and generates faster.

A long-standing goal for researchers around the world has been the development of an adhesive for soft tissue that can withstand the natural stresses and strains within the human body. Now, Pioletti’s group has come up with a novel family of injectable biomaterials that can adhere to various forms of soft tissue. Their gel-based bioadhesives, can be used in a variety of injury-treatment applications.
Like other hydrogels, this one has a high water content, 85%, and also has two key advantages: It is injectable anywhere in the human body, and it has high intrinsic adhesion without additional surface treatment. “What makes our hydrogel different is that it changes consistency while providing high adhesion to soft tissues,” said Peyman Karami, a postdoc at Pioletti’s lab who has developed the gel during his PhD. “It’s injected in a liquid form, but then sets when a light source is applied, enabling it to adhere to surrounding tissue.”

The hydrogel has an innovative design that allows its mechanical and adhesive properties to be tailored, making it an extremely versatile soft tissue glue that can be used throughout the human body.

To obtain these versatile properties in their hydrogel, the scientists took the base polymer and modified it with the compounds that play an important role in tissue adhesion. The first is known as Dopa and is derived from mussels. “Dopa is what lets mussels attach firmly to any kind of surface—organic or otherwise,” said Pioletti. The second is an amino acid that our bodies make naturally.

“The advantage of our hydrogel compounds is that, unlike some medical adhesives, they don’t interfere with the body’s chemical reactions, meaning our hydrogel is fully biocompatible,” said Karami.

The new hydrogel also possesses unique energy-dissipation characteristics that improve its adhesive capability. Karami added: “We had to achieve an adhesion mechanism for injectable hydrogels, through the resulting synergy between interfacial chemistry and hydrogel mechanical properties. The hydrogel is capable of dissipating the mechanical energy produced when the hydrogel deforms, so that it protects the interactions at the interface between the hydrogel and surrounding tissue.”

A further advantage of this hydrogel is that it can release drugs or cells to encourage tissue repair, which is especially beneficial for cartilage and other tissues that don’t regenerate on their own.

“Our in vitro tests showed that the hydrogel binds to many different kinds of tissue, including cartilage, meniscus, heart, liver, lung, kidney and cornea,” said Pioletti. “We’ve made a sort of universal hydrogel.”

The scientists have received a grant to research possible orthopedic applications of the gel, and hope to be able to release their innovation onto the market within the next five years.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: An intrinsically‐adhesive family of injectable and photo‐curable hydrogels with functional physicochemical performance for regenerative medicine, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, DOI :10.100 2/marc.202000660

Categories : Injury & Trauma NeurologyTags :

Brain Glue Heals Neural Damage from Brain Injuries

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In a new study, researchers at the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Regenerative Biosciences Center have shown that the “brain glue” they developed protects against loss of brain tissue after a severe injury, and may also help in functional neural repair.

Significant traumatic brain injury (TBI) commonly results in extensive tissue loss and long-term disability, with no clinical treatments available to prevent this.

The new finding is the first to provide visual and functional evidence of the repair of brain neural circuits involved in reach-to-grasp movement in brain glue-implanted animals following severe TBI.

“Our work provides a holistic view of what’s going on in the recovery of the damaged region while the animal is accomplishing a specific reach-and-grasp task,” said lead investigator Lohitash Karumbaiah, an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The brain glue developed by Prof Karumbaiah was designed to mimic the meshwork of sugars supporting brain cells. The hydrogel contains key structures that bind to two protective protein factors that can enhance the survival and regrowth of brain cells after severe TBI: basic fibroblast growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

In previous research, Prof Karumbaiah and his team demonstrated that the brain glue conferred significant protection to brain tissue from severe TBI damage. In order to tap the neuroprotective capability of the original, they changed the delivery surface of protective factors to help accelerate the regeneration and functional activity of brain cells.

“Animal subjects that were implanted with the brain glue actually showed repair of severely damaged tissue of the brain,” said Karumbaiah. “The animals also elicited a quicker recovery time compared to subjects without these materials.”

The team used a tissue-cleaning method to make the brain less opaque, allowing them to 3-D image the cells’ response in the reach-to-grasp circuit, which is similar in rats and humans.

“Because of the tissue-clearing method, we were able to obtain a deeper view of the complex circuitry and recovery supported by brain glue,” said Prof Karumbaiah. “Using these methods along with conventional electrophysiological recordings, we were able to validate that brain glue supported the regeneration of functional neurons in the lesion cavity.”

“Doing the behavioral studies, the animal work and the molecular work sometimes takes a village,” said Karumbaiah. “This research involved a whole cross-section of RBC undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members from both UGA and Duke University.”

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Charles-Francois V. Latchoumane et al. Engineered glycomaterial implants orchestrate large-scale functional repair of brain tissue chronically after severe traumatic brain injury, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe0207

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

New Exosome-coated Shunt Boosts Blood Vessel Recovery

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Researchers have developed a new exosome-coated shunt that enhances tissue repair and heals vascular injury without narrowing the blood vessel, while also providing regenerative stem cell-derived therapy to ischaemic (blood starved) tissue.

A metal stent is often used in angioplasty to reinforce arterial walls and prevent collapse once the blockage is removed. However, placing the stent usually injures the blood vessel wall, stimulating smooth muscle cells to proliferate and migrate to the site to repair the injury. What results is restenosis, a re-narrowing of the blood vessel previously opened by angioplasty.
“The inflammatory response that stents cause can decrease their benefit,” said corresponding author Ke Cheng. “Ideally, if we could stop smooth muscle cells from over-reacting and proliferating, but recruit endothelial cells to cover the stent, it would mitigate the inflammatory response and prevent restenosis.” Cheng is the Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine at NC State and a professor in the NC State/UNC-Chapel Hill Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering.

There are drug-eluting stents currently in use coated with drugs that ihibit cell proliferation, but these anti-proliferative drugs also delay the desired outcome of endothelial cells covering the stent.

To solve this, Prof Cheng and his team developed a stent coating made up of exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells. Exosomes are tiny nano-sized sacs secreted by most cell types. As the exosome surfaces are similar to cell membranes, they ‘camouflage’ the stent to fool smooth muscle cells and the body’s immune system. The exosomes also encourage endothelial cells to cover the stent and, in the case of injury, travel downstream to the site to promote tissue repair.

In order to prevent the therapy running out early, the stent releases exosomes when it encounters reactive oxygen species (ROS) – which are more prevalent during an inflammatory response.

“Think of it as a smart release function for the exosomes,” Cheng says. “Ischemic reperfusion injuries, which occur when blood flow is diminished and then reestablished, create a lot of ROS. Let’s say the heart is damaged by ischemia. The enhanced ROS will trigger the release of the exosomes on the stent, and regenerative therapy will travel through the blood vessel to the site of the injury.”

Using in vitro testing, they found that in the presence of ROS, the exosomes released up to 60% of their secretions within 48 hours after the injury.

The researchers used a rat model of ischaemic injury to compare their exosome-eluting stent (EES) to both a bare metal stent (BMS) and a drug-eluting stent (DES). They found that in comparison to the BMS, their stent performed better in both reducing stenosis and stimulating 0endothelial coverage.

While the DES and EES were similar in preventing restenosis, the EES caused lesser vessel wall injury and had better endothelial coverage overall. Additionally, the exosomes released from EES promoted muscle regeneration in rats with hind limb ischaemia. Next, the researchers plan testing of the system in a larger animal model, eventually leading to clinical trials.

“This bioactive stent promotes vascular healing and ischaemic repair, and a patient wouldn’t need additional procedures for regenerative therapy after the stent is in place. The stent is the perfect carrier for exosomes, and the exosomes make the stent safer and more potent in tissue repair,” said Prof Cheng.

Source: News-Medical.Net

Journal information: Hu, S., et al. (2021) Reopen and Regenerate: Exosome-Coated Stent Heals Vascular Injury, Repairs Damaged Tissue. Nature Biomedical Engineering. doi.org/10.1038/s41551-021-00705-0.

Categories : Medical Research & TechnologyTags :

New X-Ray Tool to Spy into Virus’ Cellular Subversion

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A new X-Ray tool called the Compact Cell-Imaging Device (CoCID) will seek to answer the questions of how viruses penetrate cells, and disrupt and subvert cellular processes to produce more virus copies.

In order to advance research into viral diseases, the aim of the project is to develop a particularly suitable cell-imaging method – which has so far been of limited access to researchers – for extensive application in medical research.

A particularly high-performance method of cell-imaging is soft X-ray microscopy (SXM), explained Dr Venera Weinhardt from the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University. A physicist specialising in innovative X-ray procedures, she is head of the Molecular Virology division at the Department of Infectious Diseases of Heidelberg University Hospital. “SXM makes use of the special properties of the soft X-ray spectrum in order to look into the interior of a single intact cell and generate three-dimensional images of its whole internal structure. That also reveals the changes induced by viral infections,” explained Dr Weinhardt. 
Thus, soft X-ray microscopy is distinct from methods like electron microscopy, which can visualise individual parts of a cell but not the whole interior.

Professor Ralf Bartenschlager, a Molecular Virologist at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg commented, “As a virologist working on how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with and alters its host cell, we will greatly benefit from the development of a soft X-ray microscope that allows us to gain unprecedented insights into this intimate interaction. We have previously used several imaging technologies to address the question of host cell reprogramming by viruses, but each technique has its limitations.”

Since the illumination required for this type of microscopy comes from huge particle accelerators called synchrotrons, currently SXM can only be performed at five research stations in the entire world. The main feature of CoCID therefore lies in further developing a miniaturised soft X-ray approach which has been patented by SiriusXT, a spin-out company from University College Dublin. The breakthrough technology will reduce the size of the X-ray source from a football-field sized synchrotron, instead using a laser-produced plasma (LPP) device that can fit on a bench.

“The SXM microscope developed by SiriusXT performs just as well but is many times smaller, less expensive, and still very fast.” said Dr Weinhardt.

Heidelberg researchers are particularly interested in the potential of the new technology in researching SARS-CoV-2. Prof Bartenschlager’s working group is mainly concerned with how the virus reprograms its host cells. He said that SXM images created under the leadership of Dr Weinhardt at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California are already promising in this respect.

Three-dimensional images of cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 were generated thanks to a cooperation agreement with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg.

“Through working with these images we have a pretty good idea of what factors play a role with imaging in connection with the virus-infected cells and we can pass these findings on to the CoCID consortium. As soon as the soft X-ray prototype from Dublin is up and running we will also deliver samples of infected cells, enable a direct comparison with available images and provide support in interpreting data,” said Prof Bartenschlager.

According to the Heidelberg researchers, a soft X-ray microscopy available for daily use should have distinct advantages over current techniques, such as being much faster. Prof Bartenschlager said: “We can’t afford long waits or a time-intensive method when it comes to novel viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, which we learn something new about and which changes on a daily basis.”

Source: News-Medical.Net

Categories : Neurodegenerative DiseasesTags :

Green Light for New Device for MS Treatment

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The American Food & Drug Administration has approved a new device for treating gait deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

The Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS), generates electrical pulses on the tongue to stimulate trigeminal and facial nerves to treat motor deficits. The FDA said that for it to be available by prescription, must be part of a supervised therapeutic exercise program in MS patients 22 and older. The device was authorised through the FDA’s ‘de novo’ premarket review pathway for new devices which pose do not pose significant risks of adverse effects.

In a statement, Christopher Loftus, MD, acting director of the Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said: “MS is one of the most common neurological diseases in young adults. Today’s authorisation offers a valuable new aid in physical therapy and increases the value of additional therapies for those who live with MS on a daily basis.”

Onset of MS symptoms, which can include difficulties with walking and balance, typically occurs between 20 and 40, with greater frequency in women.

The PoNS device electrical stimulates the dorsal surface of the patient’s tongue. A control unit is worn around the neck which sends signals to a mouthpiece which the patient keeps in place with lips and teeth. Later, usage data can be viewed by a therapist to spot “potential areas of missed or shortened sessions,” the FDA noted.

The FDA gave their approval based on two clinical studies. One involved 20 MS patients with gait deficits (half with PoNS; half with a sham device). Th FDA said that the PoNS group showed “statistically significant and clinically significant” improvement in Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) scores at 14 weeks not seen in the sham device group.

The other study, with 14 patients, showed improvements from baseline in sensory organisation task scores (but not in DGI scores) at 14 weeks. There were no serious safety or adverse effects reported.

Among the FDA’s cautions, the FDA stated that the PoNS device should not be used by patients with penetrating brain injuries, neurodegenerative diseases, oral health problems, chronic infectious diseases, unmanaged hypertension or diabetes, pacemakers, or a history of seizures.

Source: MedPage Today

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Medical Research & TechnologyTags :

New Smart Speakers That Can Remotely Monitor Heartbeat

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Smart speaker services like Amazon’s Alexa have shown that they can be adapted to monitor the breathing of babies, and recent development has enabled them to detect heartbeats without contacting the skin.

“Heart rhythm disorders are actually more common than some other well-known heart conditions. Cardiac arrhythmias can cause major morbidities such as strokes, but can be highly unpredictable in occurrence, and thus difficult to diagnose,” explained co-senior author Dr Arun Sridhar, assistant professor of cardiology at the UW School of Medicine. “Availability of a low-cost test that can be performed frequently and at the convenience of home can be a game-changer for certain patients in terms of early diagnosis and management.”

Instead of listening to the heartbeat, the smart speaker emits a continuous sound which bounces off the patient’s body. Changes in the received sound are associated with motions in the body from a heartbeat.
“The motion from someone’s breathing is orders of magnitude larger on the chest wall than the motion from heartbeats, so that poses a pretty big challenge,” said lead author Anran Wang, a doctoral student in the Allen School. “And the breathing signal is not regular so it’s hard to simply filter it out. Using the fact that smart speakers have multiple microphones, we designed a new beam-forming algorithm to help the speakers find heartbeats.”

Beam-forming is a technology where an array of emitters or receivers can change the direction in which a signal is emitted or received. Applications of such technology include directing sound only in one direction, such as a person watching TV while another wants quiet while they read,
Much in the way AI systems sort out sounds to identify human speech, the algorithm developed by the team can pick up heartbeats. As this does not produce the usual peaks seen in heartbeat monitors, this also requires processing the heartbeat further to extract the inter-beat interval.
“With this method, we are not getting the electric signal of the heart contracting. Instead we’re seeing the vibrations on the skin when the heart beats,” Mr Wang said.

The researchers tested their prototype smart speaker system on 26 healthy participants and 24 patients with hospitalised with a variety of cardiac conditions. The team compared the smart speaker’s inter-beat interval with one from a standard heartbeat monitor. Of the nearly  2,300 heartbeats measured for the healthy participants, the smart speaker’s median inter-beat interval was within 28 milliseconds of the standard monitor. With cardiac patients, the median inter-beat interval measured by the smart speaker was within 30 milliseconds of the standard.

The technology is currently set up for spot checks; a person concerned about their heart rhythm could sit in front of a smart speaker for a reading. In the future, the researchers hope that the system could be set up to monitor heartbeats for long periods, such as when they are sleeping, helping to diagnose conditions like sleep apnoea.

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Medical Research & TechnologyTags :

Faster 3-D Bioprinting A Step Closer to Printing Whole Organs

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With the demonstration of a new type of more rapid 3-D bioprinting, University at Buffalo engineers have taken a step closer to the fabrication of whole organs.

In a video of the process, a hand emerges over a matter of seconds from a vat of liquid almost as if out of a science fiction movie. In reality, the video was sped up from its original duration of 19 minutes, but even this is a quantum leap ahead of the six or so hours such a process previously took. 
“The technology we’ve developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard, and it works with large sample sizes that have been very difficult to achieve previously,” said co-lead author Ruogang Zhao, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

The new method involves a 3-D printing technology called stereolithography and hydrogels. Hydrogels have applications in wound dressings, contact lenses and hygiene products, as well as scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Scaffolds are particularly important in 3-D bioprinting, and the team has spent a great deal of its time and effort on these in order to come up with an optimised solution for its fast, accurate 3-D printing technique.
“Our method allows for the rapid printing of centimeter-sized hydrogel models. It significantly reduces part deformation and cellular injuries caused by the prolonged exposure to the environmental stresses you commonly see in conventional 3-D printing methods,” said the other co-lead author, Chi Zhou, PhD, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering.

This method is readily suited for the printing of cells with embedded networks of blood vessels. It is expected that this emerging technology will be key to producing whole 3-D printed organs and tissue.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Nanditha Anandakrishnan et al, Fast Stereolithography Printing of Large‐Scale Biocompatible Hydrogel Models, Advanced Healthcare Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202002103
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-rapid-3d-method-3d-printed.html

Categories : Medical Research & Technology Neurodegenerative DiseasesTags :

Scientists Develop AI Tool to Detect Parkinson’s Disease

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Researchers have developed an AI program that can assist physicians in performing a quantitative analysis when diagnosing Parkinson’s disease. 

As human populations continue to age due to improved medical care, there is an impending ‘Parkinson’s disease pandemic’ where numbers of individuals suffering this age-related neurodegenerative disease threaten to overwhelm healthcare systems. There is a need to distinguish between Parkinson’s and other diseases which have similar motor symptoms.
Assistant Professor Andrey Somov at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and colleagues developed a machine learning algorithm to analyse video recordings of patients performing certain tasks.

“As part of the research process, we had the opportunity to closely interact with doctors and medical personnel, who shared their ideas and experience. It was fascinating observing how two seemingly different disciplines came together to help people. We also had the opportunity to monitor all parts of the research, from designing the methodology to data analysis and machine learning,” Kovalenko said.

The advantages of the video analysis approach is that it is simple, objective, noninvasive, quick, inexpensive and versatile.

To develop the machine learning algorithm, the researchers recorded 83 patients with and without Parkinson’s performing 15 tasks that they had designed, such as filling a glass with water. These tasks were developed in a prior feasibility study using wearable sensors. The machine learning technology allows for objective analysis which picks up certain features of the disease which may not be visible to the naked eye.

Coauthor of the study Sklotech Assistant Professor Dmitry Dylov, and “Machine learning and computer vision methods we used in this research are already well established in a number of medical applications; they can be trusted, and the diagnostic exercises for Parkinson’s disease have been in development by neurologists for some time. What is truly new about this study is our quantitative ranking of these exercises according to their contribution to a precise and specific final diagnosis. This could only be achieved in collaboration between doctors, mathematicians and engineers.”

“This collaboration between doctors and scientists in data analysis allows for many important clinical nuances and details that help achieve the best results. We as doctors see great potential in this; apart from differential diagnosis, we need objective tools to assess motor fluctuation in patients with PD. These tools can provide a more personalized approach to therapy and help make decisions on neurosurgical interventions as well as assess the outcomes of surgery later,” noted coauthor of the paper, neurologist Ekaterina Bril.

Source: News-Medical.Net

Journal information: Kovalenko, E., et al. (2021) Distinguishing Between Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor Through Video Analytics Using Machine Learning: a Pilot Study. IEEE Sensors.doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2020.3035240.