MDB Newsletter 7-22-2009
Posted in Newsletter on
Wednesday, July 22 2009
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In this edition, sponsored by Keyence, COMSOL, and Protomold:
• Researchers Match Surgical Adhesives to Specific Body Tissues• PET Imaging Provides Early Evidence of Alzheimer's Disease
• Tiny Heart Catheter Pump Uses Air Propulsion
• Chemically Assisted Photocatalytic Oxidation System
• Benchtop Antigen Detection Technique
Researchers Match Surgical Adhesives to Specific Body Tissues
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| Images showing the interface between a surgical glue (green) and tissue samples (red, blue, and black) from the heart, lung, liver, and duodenum. The glue works best with duodenum tissue (note smooth interface), and worst with lung tissue (pockmarked with holes). (MIT) |
Existing materials have limitations that often force doctors to compromise between adhesion strength and tissue reaction. For example, for a given tissue, the material may be adhesive but release toxins that could affect healing. Alternatively, the material could be tissue-compatible, but degrade quickly, becoming non-adhesive. If the glue doesn't work, a doctor must switch to sutures or staples.
The new work characterized a variety of interactions between one kind of glue (hyrogels composed of polyethylene glycol and dextran aldehyde, or PEG: dextran for short) and tissue from a rat's heart, lung, liver, and duodenum (the first section of the intestine). The team found, for example, that the glue worked well with tissue from the duodenum, but poorly with that from the lung.
They then went on to identify the functional groups in the material that are responsible for adhesion with tissue functional groups, and created a model to optimize adhesion for each tissue. The team will use these findings to develop a platform of adhesive materials for specific tissues.
Click here for more information.
Sponsor Message
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PET Imaging Provides Early Evidence of Alzheimer's Disease
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| On the left is a PET scan showing normal levels of glucose metabolism, indicated in yellow and red. The levels of glucose metabolism in the brain decrease in patients with mild cognitive impairment (center) and with Alzheimer's disease (right). (UC Berkeley) |
The study aims to find people during earlier stages of Alzheimer's disease who show no outward signs of cognitive impairment. By the time a patient is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, there is usually little one can do to stop or reverse the decline. Researchers are trying to determine whether treating patients before severe symptoms appear will be more effective, and that requires better diagnostic tools than what is currently available.
PET scans and memory recall ability were the most consistent predictors. An earlier study at UC Berkeley found that PET scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could detect neurological changes in asymptomatic people who subsequently developed dementia or mental impairment, although it was too soon to say if those people would go on to develop Alzheimer's.
Click here for the full story.
Sponsor Message
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Tiny Heart Catheter Pump Uses Air Propulsion
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| Heart catheter pump. |
The pump drive, which is operated pneumatically, is particularly innovative, since it uses air propulsion. Scientists at the university have produced a prototype of a ratio of 2:1The aim was to avoid the development of heat, which is caused by heart pumps that are driven by an electric motor. The heat that is produced is transferred to the blood. The pump is driven with pneumatic air propulsion, which doesn’t have to be cooled.
The heart catheter pump is intended for temporary bridging after an operation or after a heart attack, and can be used for a maximum of five to ten days. The pump is powered with compressed air via a tube; the blood that is transported is hermetically separated from the compressed air. According to the scientists, the target capacity should be five liters per minute.
The heart catheter pump is challenging from a construction point of view. Given its size, it is difficult to obtain purchased parts and storage, so special manufacturing and production processes are required.
Click here for the full story.
Tech Briefs
NASA's Johnson Space Center has developed a chemically assisted photocatalytic oxidation system (CAPOS) for destroying microorganisms and organic chemicals suspended in the air or present on the surfaces of an air-handling system that ventilates an indoor environment. The CAPOS comprises upstream and downstream stages that implement a tandem combination of two partly redundant treatments.Click here for the full story.
Glenn Research Center has developed a benchtop technique that detects bacteria and viruses from antigenic surface marker proteins in water. It combines nanofiltration and near-infrared dyes to isolate and distinguish microbial antigens using laser excitation and spectrometric analysis. It can be used to monitor water quality by testing for contamination at restaurants, water treatment plants, and food processing plants.
Click here for the full story.
Sponsor Message
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