Electrode News and Research

RSS

Laser-scanning microscope records brain activity in freely moving animals

The majority of our life is spent moving around a static world and we generate our impression of the world using visual and other senses simultaneously. It is the ability to freely explore our environment that is essential for the view we form of our local surroundings.

4 Nov 2009

Deep brain stimulation can help patients with severe forms of depression

In deep brain stimulation, doctors specifically target the impaired function of certain areas of the brain with an electric brain pacemaker. For the purpose of this study, they implanted electrodes in what is known as the nucleus accumbens. That is an important part of the 'reward system' which ensures that we remember good experiences and puts us in a state of pleasant anticipation.

2 Nov 2009

Rutgers scientist receives 2009 Gruber International Research Award

For the first time, it now is possible for researchers to peer into those internal processes in a rodent brain. Eva Pastalkova, a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University, Newark and her advisor, Professor Gy-rgy Buzsaki, have developed a method for studying internally generated brain activity in rats.

28 Oct 2009

Neuros Medical announces $1.8 million series A round of investment

Neuros Medical, Inc., a medical device company developing innovative neurostimulation technology for the treatment of chronic pain, announced today a $1.8 million series A round of investment, led by the North Coast Angel Fund (NCAF), which was joined in the investment by Glengary LLC, Ohio Tech Angel Fund, Queen City Angels First Fund III, and individual investors. This round follows the initial investment made earlier in the year from JumpStart Ventures and Case Technology Ventures.

24 Oct 2009

Scientists demonstrate how second set of cells carry signals from the inner ear to the brain

Deep in the ear, 95 percent of the cells that shuttle sound to the brain are big, boisterous neurons that, to date, have explained most of what scientists know about how hearing works. Whether a rare, whisper-small second set of cells also carry signals from the inner ear to the brain and have a real role in processing sound has been a matter of debate.

23 Oct 2009

University researchers inject 'nanowires' in rat brains

The biological safety of nanotechnology, in other words, how the body reacts to nanoparticles, is a hot topic. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have managed for the first time to carry out successful experiments involving the injection of so-called 'nanowires.'

23 Oct 2009

Electronic eye implant mimics human retina; restores partial vision

A 50-year-old New York woman who was diagnosed with a progressive blinding disease at age 13 was implanted with an experimental electronic eye implant that has partially restored her vision. A team led by Dr. Lucian V. Del Priore at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center performed the June 26 surgery -- the first case of its kind in New York.

22 Oct 2009

Controlled formation of patchy particles may serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease

Physicists, chemists and engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated a novel method for the controlled formation of patchy particles, using charged, self-assembling molecules that may one day serve as drug-delivery vehicles to combat disease and perhaps be used in small batteries that store and release charge.

21 Oct 2009

St. Jude Medical's quadripolar pacing system receives European CE Mark approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced it has received European CE Mark approval for the industry’s first quadripolar pacing system for cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). The quadripolar system offers physicians the ability to more effectively and efficiently manage the ever-changing pacing needs of patients with heart failure.

21 Oct 2009

Retinal prosthesis restores partial vision to people who are totally blind

Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health, may lead to new treatments for the blind. Researchers also reported that an engineered protein restored vision in an animal model and identified ways to improve stem cell treatments.

21 Oct 2009

Remote-controlled robot for testing visual prosthesis

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a remote-controlled robot that is able to simulate the "visual" experience of a blind person who has been implanted with a visual prosthesis, such as an artificial retina.

20 Oct 2009

New EVestG diagnostic technique aids in quick detection of mental and neurological illnesses

An innovative diagnostic technique invented by a Monash University researcher could dramatically fast-track the detection of mental and neurological illnesses.

19 Oct 2009

Central DuPage Hospital to test new device that may reverse brain damage up to 24 hours after stroke

Central DuPage Hospital, in Winfield, Ill., is the only Illinois hospital that will participate in a national investigational trial to test the effectiveness of a device that might extend the traditional stroke treatment window from three hours to an unprecedented 24 hours.

13 Oct 2009

Hoana Medical to be showcased at the FiReGlobal : West Coast conference

FiReGlobal : West Coast is proud to announce that Hoana Medical, Inc. has been selected as a FiReStar company to be featured at the FiReGlobal : West Coast conference. FiReStar companies, both local and global, are pre-selected based on their potential to bring positive change to the world. These companies will be showcased throughout the conference, and at a FiReStar reception, during which local and global investors will be given the chance to meet company officers.

8 Oct 2009

It is possible to communicate through power of thought alone: Study

New research from the University of Southampton has demonstrated that it is possible for communication from person to person through the power of thought alone.

6 Oct 2009

ImThera Medical launches the aura6000 neurostimulation system for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Today, at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery annual meeting, ImThera Medical, Inc. unveiled its new product, the aura6000™ neurostimulation system for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

5 Oct 2009

Imthera Medical receives Ethics Committee clearance to start human clinical trials in Belgium

ImThera Medical, Inc. has received Ethics Committee clearance to begin human clinical trials in Belgium. The trials will include ImThera’s Targeted Hypoglossal Neurostimulation (THN) Sleep Therapy to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Along with the clinical trial approvals, ImThera has received ISO 13485 certification of its quality system as a pre-requisite for the future CE mark application for European commercialization of medical products.

1 Oct 2009

NovoCure initiates newly-diagnosed GBM clinical trial

NovoCure, Ltd., a privately held medical device company focused on developing the Novo-TTF device, a non-invasive portable medical device for the treatment of cancer, announced the completion of a new funding round today. Key investors in this round included Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation and Index Ventures.

29 Sep 2009

ImThera Medical completes THN system development

ImThera Medical, Inc. announced today that it has completed development of its Targeted Hypoglossal Neurostimulation (THN) system for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

24 Sep 2009

Electrically stimulating nerve cells can restore some vision

Results: MIT engineers have designed a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

24 Sep 2009