Sensor for the naked eye detects early-stage diseases

Scientists from the Imperial College London were able to develop an ultra-sensitive sensor that will allow doctors to detect the early stages of diseases with their naked eye. The newly developed sensor, which is still a prototype, is reportedly ten times more sensitive than the current methods today. This allows doctors to detect the onset of diseases such as prostate cancer and other virus infections, and even HIV.

Essentially, the sensor works by analyzing serum, a protein-rich liquid that separates when blood coagulates. Positive and negative reactions can then be viewed easily by the naked eye. The scientists believe that the new sensor will greatly help other countries without the necessary equipment and technology to treat its patients. So far the sensor was able to detect a biomarker called p24 in blood samples, which actually indicates HIV. In another series of tests conducted, the sensor was also able to detect a biomarker called Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), which is an indicator for Prostate Cancer.

“We have developed a test that we hope will enable previously undetectable HIV infections and indicators of cancer to be picked up, which would mean people could be treated sooner. We also believe that this test could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world,” said Dr. Roberto de la Rica of Imperial College London.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Spectral Instruments’ 1100-series 112 megapixel camera is one of a kind, Paper sensor performs malaria and HIV tests,

Cheaper prosthetic finger prototype could be a blessing to many

10,000 miles will not stop Richard Van As of South Africa and Ivan Owen of Washington State from building an inexpensive prosthetic finger prototype that could one day help millions of amputees. Richard lost his arm last year in an accident. In spite of his condition, he did not lose hope and decided to search for prosthetics online that could help him. After a seemingly futile search, he eventually found one of Ivan’s mechanical hand prop videos on YouTube. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nike’s Spike Pad on Ossür’s Flex-Foot Cheetah legs used in the London Olympics, Prosthesis take the sexy route,

New bandages are removable sans pain

Removing a plaster or a bandage from a wound might be an uncomfortable, even painful, process for some. After all, it is inevitable that some bodily hair would remain stuck to the bandage due to its stickiness, and infants who have yet to develop the epidermis layer of their skin could be more than susceptible to injury from bandages. This has spurred researchers from MIT and Harvard Medical School to create a far more gentle bandage – and they managed to do so by including an intermediate layer of silicone which peels off the adhesive. Once that is removed, the glue which remains on the skin can be washed off, or if you hate baths, just let it pop off on its own.

Just what are some of the names that you could call the new bandages? How does Ouchless sound to you? All it needs now would be the right kind of marketing push, and I do not suppose should these bandages come with cute cartoon animal motifs on them, they would by far and large be a bestseller – assuming that the price is right, of course. Parents do not have an unlimited budget to work with – most of us, anyway.

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SurgiLux laser-activated plaster ups your healing factor

While we would all like to have the kind of healing factor that Wolverine possesses, we all know that this is but a pipe dream at the moment. What we can rely on, however, would be advances made in the medical field such as this laser-activated plaster that was specially designed to replace stitches for wounds. The “miracle” patch is known as SurgiLux, where it functions as some sort of biological Band-Aid. Using a material derived from chitin, the very same substance required for crab shells and insect exoskeletons to remain stiff and rigid, SurgiLux’s ultimate aim is to far outperform stitches or sutures for wounds and surgeries, considering how it remains atop the skin instead of threading underneath.

John Foster, a biotech researcher at the University of New South Wales who is working on SurgiLux, said, “Though sutures have a superior strength to SurgiLux, sutures are physically invasive. SurgiLux is a thin film, so you do not end up with any physical invasion or further damage to the tissue, thus allowing more complete healing.”‘

Sounds like this is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but would come in more handy for delicate operations. Even better is if this does not leave that much of scar tissue compared to regular stitches. Will the phrase “a stitch in time saves nine” be relevant should the SurgiLux surge in popularity?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Rage Control video game to assist in anger management among children, Grown Kidney “Organoids” Work in Rats,

Researchers create video game that monitors heart rate to keep children’s anger in check

Researchers create video game that monitors heart rate to keep children's anger in check

Nintendo may have left its Vitality Sensor by the wayside, but researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital are using heart rate monitoring in a video game to teach children with anger issues how to temper their emotions. Dubbed RAGE (Regulate and Gain Emotional) Control, the game tasks players with blasting hostile spaceships while keeping their heart rate from exceeding a predefined limit. If a gamer’s pulse rises above the ceiling, they’ll lose the ability to shoot until they can ease their pulse back down. A group of 18 kids who received standard treatments and played the game for five, 15-minute-long sessions had better control of their heart rate and lower anger levels than a group that only used traditional treatments. Currently, a controlled clinical trial of RAGE Control is underway and there are plans to take the concept a step further with toys and games suited for younger children. Look out below for the full press release or tap the second source link for the team’s paper in the Journal of Adolescent Psychiatry.

[Image credit: Thirteen of Clubs, Flickr]

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Rage Control video game to assist in anger management among children

What do you think about video games – are they capable of turning that cute little child of yours into a rampaging monster many years from now, or could it actually have junior end up as a better person in the long run? The Boston Children’s Hospital did run a study using video games, hoping that the Rage Control game can help kids with their anger management issues. The study saw researchers rely on traditional treatments with children (aged 9 to 17) who had anger control issues, and these include cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, and social skills.

As for the second group of 18 children, they not only received the same standard treatments but also played a video game known as Rage Control for the last 15 minutes of their session. The video game sounds like Space Invaders, where kids had to keep their heart rate under a preset limit, or they are unable to destroy enemy spaceships in the process. Researchers claimed that the video game group were far better at keeping their heart rates down, and this resulted in clinically-significant decreases in anger scores on standardized tests. Hmmm, perhaps Bruce Banner should have given this a go instead of scouring the universe for a “cure”.

I do wonder, though, just how kids keep their heart rates down when playing a video game. I mean, I get all excited especially during the more tense moments in a game, how about you? [link to study]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: SPARX video game treats depression in youngsters, Counter Strike kept boredom at bay in Mars500 experiment,

Grown Kidney “Organoids” Work in Rats

Renal organoids, implanted in a rat

With 26 million Americans having chronic kidney disease and almost 100,000 waiting for a kidney transplant, the numbers themselves are rather grim. Although the amount of donors and transplants has risen recently, researchers are still looking for ways to build an organic kidney that could replace defective ones. As a temporary solution, other researchers have looked at creating an artificial kidney that would give more time while waiting for a transplant.

The Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research has successfully built kidney “organoids”. They are not like “whole” kidneys, but they perform the same organic functions – mainly blood filtration. This was done by growing kidney tissues and the hard part was to promote enough blood vessels growth in the new areas so that blood filtering could happen. For now, it works in rats.

This is more an “extension” of the kidney than a replacement, but if it helps performing the function, why not? Although this seems very promising, we’re probably years, if not decades, away from any human medical application. What do you think of the idea of growing a kidney in a lab one day?

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Hacked Pacemaker Transmitters Could Turn Pacemakers to Literal Heartstoppers

Pacemakers save millions of lives, but a security researcher has shown that they can be used to kill on a massive scale as well. Speaking at the Breakpoint security conference, Barnaby Jack of IO Active reverse engineered a pacemaker transmitter – a device like this one used to monitor installed pacemakers – eventually enabling him to wirelessly deliver 830v shocks to a pacemaker using his laptop. Yikes.

no pacemaker sign by library mistress

Image Credit: Library Mistress

Even worse, Jack warned that a hacked transmitter could control all pacemakers within 30ft. Aside from jolting people, the compromised device could also be used to read and write patient data or load infected firmware into a pacemaker. These infected firmware could even be made to jump and infect other pacemakers, extending a malicious attackers’ range and possibly resulting to mass murder. Jack says he demonstrated this flaw in order to warn pacemaker manufacturers to step up the security of their device. Let’s hope they do.

[via SC Magazine via DVICE]

 

 


Electric pants might just prevent bedsores

For anyone who were forced to recuperate in bed for months on end without the means of moving oneself, bedsores are a very real and painful situation, as you require your help to move your body from time to time so that you will not develop bedsores. Perhaps we might be able to call upon the legacy of Zeus by relying on electricity to beat the threat of bedsores, where this radical idea of specially designed underwear that jolts the buttocks with electricity in order to prevent potentially dangerous open wounds.

According to Canadian academics who ran a short trial of such electric pants on 37 people, the mild current actually mimicked fidgeting, while preventing such bedsores from forming. It might be a good idea to get it implemented and sold eventually though, as the Royal College of Nursing did some calculations and claimed that such sores cost the NHS up to a whopping £2 billion per annum. Apparently, being zapped with 10 seconds of stimulation every 10 minutes for 12 hours a day should be able to do the trick, and I do wonder just how uncomfortable it would be to be on the receiving end of such electric jolts.

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Smart Shocking Shorts Stop Sleeptime Sores [Health]

Racy undewear can often be described as shocking, but rarely has that statement been literally true. Neuroscientists have designed a pair of pants that look a bit like cycling shorts and which send tiny electric currents to the wearer’s bottom. The undergarment has the potential to prevent pressure ulcers in people with mobility problems. This could save the US an estimated $12 billion annually. More »