Pulses News and Research

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Microinjection of live single cells

Specialized pulsed lasers have been used to inject individual cells with a variety of materials, but little is known about how this type of injection might affect living cells.

17 Jun 2007

Diagnosing skin cancers with laser-based system

In an early step toward nonsurgical screening for malignant skin cancers, Duke University chemists have demonstrated a laser-based system that can capture three-dimensional images of the chemical and structural changes under way beneath the surface of human skin.

5 Jun 2007

Better understanding of deep brain stimulation

Brain "pacemakers" that have helped ease symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders seem to work by drowning out the electrical signals of their diseased brains.

1 Jun 2007

Backup brain region compensates for stroke

Researchers have pinpointed in humans how a "backup" brain region springs into action to compensate for disruption of a primary functional area, as happens during stroke.

4 May 2007

Two-photon absorption imaging of hemoglobin

In an advance that can potentially assist cancer diagnosis, a new optical technique provides high-resolution, three-dimensional images of blood vessels by taking advantage of the natural multiple-photon-absorbing properties of hemoglobin, the red-blood-cell molecule that carries oxygen throughout the bloodstream.

1 May 2007

Non-coplanar PCBs and related chemicals warrant serious attention for health reasons

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing.

24 Apr 2007

Laser technique to identify deadly anthrax

Texas A&M University and Princeton University physicists have joined forces to perfect a powerful new weapon in the war on terrorism – a laser technique to identify deadly anthrax spores.

15 Apr 2007

Precise and low-cost submicron fabrication technique for manufacturing human spare parts

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Tampere University of Technology and Nanofoot Finland Oy have developed a direct-write three-dimensional forming method of biomaterials.

11 Apr 2007

Stanford technique directly controls brain cell activity with light

Every thought, feeling and action originates from the electrical signals emitted by diverse brain cells enmeshed in a tangle of circuits.

5 Apr 2007

Scientists invent way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

2 Apr 2007

Treating congenital heart defects in babies still in the womb

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital reviewed the cases of 80 fetuses who had prenatal cardiac interventions during a six-year period (most often to avert hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

30 Mar 2007

Drug resistant headache pain eased by brain stimulation

Researchers in Britain and the United States have found that the extreme pain of cluster headaches can be eased by electrodes.

11 Mar 2007

Plasma skin regeneration tool may help to reduce wrinkles

A study involving eight patients suggests that multiple low-energy treatments with a plasma skin regeneration tool may help to reduce wrinkles and improve facial appearance with minimal healing time, according to an article in the February issue of Archives of Dermatology.

20 Feb 2007

Bionic eye offers light at the end of the tunnel for the blind

Researchers in the United States have been given the green light by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to trial a bionic eye implant in blind patients.

18 Feb 2007

Smart bladder pacemaker

Duke University biomedical engineering researchers have moved a step closer to a "smart bladder pacemaker" that might one day restore bladder control in patients with spinal cord injury or neurological disease.

18 Feb 2007

New ANS spinal cord stimulation lead for patients with low back pain

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of two spinal cord stimulation tripolar paddle leads for use with the Renew Neurostimulation System.

15 Feb 2007

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems receives European approval for Rapid Programmer

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), the neuromodulation business of St. Jude Medical, Inc., has announced European CE Mark approval for its newest clinician programming platform, Rapid Programmer 3.0 for spinal cord stimulation (SCS), an advanced therapy for managing chronic pain.

18 Jan 2007