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Pitt mathematicians to target symptoms of Parkinson's disease

University of Pittsburgh mathematicians have been collaborating with Pitt's School of Medicine to find ways to stop the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, thanks in part to a four-year, $1.86 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a five-year $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

9 Nov 2011

RNS system offers significant relief to patients with intractable seizures

Brain stimulation, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, has now been shown to offer significant relief to patients with intractable seizures for whom drugs and other treatments have not worked.

9 Nov 2011

IntraPace receives CE Mark for new gastric stimulation/food sensing lead

IntraPace, Inc. announced today that it has received CE Mark for the LGL102, a new gastric stimulation/food sensing lead designed to work with the innovative abiliti system, an implantable weight loss management system.

7 Nov 2011

Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System successfully implanted in advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa patient

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., the world's leading developer of retinal prostheses for the blind, announced that the first ever commercial implantation of such a prosthesis was successfully completed on Saturday, October 29th in Pisa, Italy.

2 Nov 2011

Non-invasive rtACS treatment can reduce partial blindness

It has long been thought that blindness after brain lesions is irreversible and that damage to the optic nerves leads to permanent impairments in everyday activities such as reading, driving, and spatial orientation. A new study published in Elsevier's Brain Stimulation suggests that treating such patients with low levels of non-invasive, repetitive, transorbital alternating current stimulation (rtACS) for 10 days significantly reduces visual impairment and markedly improves vision-related quality of life.

1 Nov 2011

UV light improves biosensing by immobilizing antibodies

From detecting pathogens in blood samples to the study of protein synthesis, Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensors have many uses in modern biology. In this technique, antibodies anchored to gold electrodes on a piece of quartz crystal act like the "hooks" on the sticky side of a Velcro strap, grabbing molecules of interest as they pass by.

1 Nov 2011

First rapid measurements of dopamine release in human brain

A research team led by investigators at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute has demonstrated the first rapid measurements of dopamine release in a human brain and provided preliminary evidence that the neurotransmitter can be tracked in its movement between brain cells while a subject expresses decision-making behavior.

29 Oct 2011

Fertility chip can accurately count sperm and measure their motility

Loes Segerink, a researcher at the University of Twente has developed a "fertility chip" that can accurately count sperm and measure their motility. The chip can be inserted into a compact device for one-off use.

29 Oct 2011

Study examines link between political differences and humans' built-in physiological traits

Most likely, you would be disgusted if confronted with a picture of a man eating a mouthful of writhing worms. Or a particularly bloody wound. Or a horribly emaciated but still living body. But just how much disgust you feel may lend important insight into your personal political proclivities.

27 Oct 2011

HMS, EPFL to collaborate on 6 pioneering neuroengineering projects

Two of the world's leading universities are joining forces to combine neuroscience and engineering in order to alleviate human suffering caused by such neurological disabilities as paralysis and deafness. Scientists, engineers, and clinicians at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Ecole Polytechnique F-d-rale de Lausanne (EPFL) will collaborate on six pioneering neuroengineering projects made possible thanks to a $3.6 million grant from the Bertarelli Foundation.

24 Oct 2011

Encision second quarter total revenue increases 14% to $3.267 million

Encision Inc., a medical device company owning patented surgical technology that is emerging as a standard of care in minimally-invasive surgery, reported its financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2011.

24 Oct 2011

Wake up refreshed with a brain-monitoring alarm clock

We all know the feeling, the short, sharp shock of waking to the sound of an alarm clock. Whether the traditional clattering metal bells, the incessant beeping of digital or the dulcet tones of today's radio news reader. Even the chance to slap the snooze button to grab a few extra moments between the sheets does not leave everyone feeling refreshed when they finally crawl out of bed. Now, researchers in India think they have the answer.

21 Oct 2011

NEP successfully inserts specific doses of anti-cancer gene into leukemia cells

For the first time, researchers have found a way to inject a precise dose of a gene therapy agent directly into a single living cell without a needle.

18 Oct 2011

Paralyzed man moves robotic hand using mind

In a remarkable advance, a paralyzed man - Tim Hemmes - has managed to move a robot hand attached to his wheelchair only with the use of his mind. He was left paralyzed after a motorcycle accident. Moving a robot hand towards his girlfriend was a success for both the man and for the team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh, who led and monitored the experiment.

11 Oct 2011

Gold nanowires in engineered cardiac patches could help heart attack patients

A team of physicians, engineers and materials scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used nanotechnology and tiny gold wires to engineer cardiac patches, with cells all beating in time, that could someday help heart attack patients.

26 Sep 2011

New research reveals how brain devotes time to reflect on tough choices

Take your time. Hold your horses. Sleep on it. When people must decide between arguably equal choices, they need time to deliberate. In the case of people undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, that process sometimes doesn't kick in, leading to impulsive behavior. New research into why that happens has led scientists to a detailed explanation of how the brain devotes time to reflect on tough choices.

26 Sep 2011

Stanford Hospital & Clinics inaugurates new Brain Tumor Center

Today, Stanford Hospital & Clinics inaugurates its new Brain Tumor Center, framing its considerable corps of top-notch specialists into a treatment team driven by expertise, experience and compassion.

22 Sep 2011

Henry Ford Hospital performs DBS procedure inside iMRI to treat Parkinson's

Henry Ford Hospital became the third hospital in the United States to perform a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure inside an Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, or iMRI.

20 Sep 2011

Intelligent t-shirt patient biomonitoring platform

Using this garment-based patient biomonitoring platform allows us to register a number of the patient's physiological parameters in a non-intrusive manner. "The information gathered by an intelligent t-shirt using e-textile technology is sent, without using wires, to an information management system, which then shows the patient's location and vital signs in real time", explain the UC3M researchers.

19 Sep 2011

Noninvasive method can detect sudden infant death syndrome, sleep apnea

University of Utah engineers who built wireless networks that see through walls now are aiming the technology at a new goal: noninvasively measuring the breathing of surgery patients, adults with sleep apnea and babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

19 Sep 2011