Researchers have developed a new lab-on-a-chip technology that could quickly screen possible drugs to repair damaged neuron and retinal connections, like what is seen in people with macular degeneration or who’ve had too much exposure to the glare of electronic screens.

There is a continuing need for practical chip-based sensors that can be used at the point of care to detect cancer and other diseases. An innovative way to inject light into tiny silicon microdisks could help meet this need by bringing down the cost and improving the performance of chip-based biosensors. The advance could eventually lead to a portable and low cost optical sensor for early-stage cancer diagnostics.

Researchers have developed a set of modular blocks that can be put together in different ways to produce diagnostic devices. These “plug-and-play” devices, which require little expertise to assemble, can test blood glucose levels in diabetic patients or detect viral infection, among other functions.

MIT researchers have developed a system that can produce images of objects shrouded by fog so thick that human vision can't penetrate it. It can also gauge the objects' distance.

A radiologist's ability to make accurate diagnoses from high-quality diagnostic imaging studies directly impacts patient outcome. However, acquiring sufficient data to generate the best quality imaging comes at a cost – increased radiation dose for computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) or uncomfortably long scan times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Now researchers with the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have addressed this challenge with a new technique based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, enabling clinicians to acquire higher quality images without having to collect additional data. They call the technique automated transform by manifold approximation or AUTOMAP.

Researchers have developed a new imaging agent that could help guide and assess treatments for people with various neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis. The agent, which is used in positron emission tomography (PET) scans, targets receptors in nerve cells in the brain that are involved in learning and memory.

As we get older, it's not uncommon to experience "senior moments," but are these memory lapses normal? There is currently no good way to tell. However, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have found that high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain can be used to show some of the underlying causes of differences in memory proficiency between older and younger adults.

Designing durable medical devices is challenging due to the rise of superbug threats causing more stringent disinfecting protocols throughout medical facilities.

Medical product manufacturers share the ideals of a circular economy, in which high value is given to the recovery and recycling of resources whenever possible. Zeus Industrial Products Inc., Orangeburg, SC, has recently extended its achievements in this area by developing a new method for recycling polylactide (PLA)-based bioabsorbable/biodegradable polymers. To find out more about the method, which promises to improve the useful range and cost profile of such polymers, Medical Design Briefs recently spoke with Bruce Anneaux, PhD, corporate director of research and development at Zeus.