INSIDER

UCLA neuroscientists have collaborated with physicists to develop a non-invasive, ultra-high-speed microscope that can record in real time the firing of thousands of individual neurons in the brain as they communicate, or miscommunicate, with each other.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute engineering researchers have developed pistons, in which oscillating droplets of ferrofluid can be used to pump small volumes of liquid. They can also function as liquid lenses that vibrate at high speeds and move in and out of focus as they change...

An international team of physicists and neuroscientists has reported a breakthrough in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that generates brain scans more than seven times faster than currently possible. The improvements allow full 3D brain scans in less than half a second, instead of the typical 2 to 3 seconds.

Sanjeevi Sivasankar was looking for a better tool to study how cells adhere to each other. Cells have surface proteins, called cadherins, that help them stick together. Different kinds of cells have different kinds of cadherins. The typical tools for observing and measuring those...

Ultrasound, a reverberating pitch too high for the human ear to recognize, has many applications including creating images of fetuses in the womb. But Elisa Konofagou, a professor at Columbia University, may be on the brink of uncovering a new use for ultrasound - the ability to temporarily open...

A new system for femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery developed at Stanford University School of Medicine uses a new approach to make the procedure less dependent on surgical skill and allow for greater consistency.

A first-of-its-kind clinical trial of robot-assisted brachytherapy for treating prostate cancer will take place at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Prostate brachytherapy, which requires accurate insertion of some 60 to 120 radioactive seeds in very specific places in the prostate, calls for a high...

Princeton engineers have developed a sensor that may revolutionize how drugs and medical devices are tested for contamination, and in the process also help ensure the survival of two species of threatened animals. In the wild, the African clawed frog produces antibacterial peptides...

One of the main techniques for measuring and monitoring mental activity, called functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), can often be impaired because a person's hair gets in the way. A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington have...

University of Arkansas at Little Rock researchers are inventing a "smart" cane that will help guide visually impaired users with a Flash LADAR (laser detection and ranging) sensor that provides a more detailed "picture" of the physical environment.

Researchers are developing microelectronic circuitry to guide the growth of axons in a brain damaged by an exploding bomb, car crash, or stroke. The goal is to rewire the brain connectivity and bypass the region damaged by trauma, in order to restore normal behavior and movement.

Engineers at UC Berkeley have developed a pressure-sensitive electronic material from semiconductor nanowires. The material functions like human skin, incorporating the ability to feel and touch objects, said Ali Javey, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and head of the UC Berkeley...

Arizona State University researchers have demonstrated a way to dramatically simplify testing patients for infectious diseases and unhealthy protein levels. Testing instrumentation developed by Antonia Garcia, a professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, and...

Implanted medical devices such as glucose-level sensors, pacemakers, catheters, and others add quality of life, deliver lifesaving medicine, or protect the lives of patients who need them - but those same devices are at risk from the patients themselves. "One of the biggest problems with...

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, Georgia Tech researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins, and DNA directly into living cells. The work is believed to be the first to use activation of reactive carbon nanoparticles by lasers for...

A sniffing-based device developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel may enable disabled people to navigate wheelchairs or communicate with loved ones. The system identifies changes in air pressure inside the nostrils and translates these into electrical signals. In the future, researchers predict that this...

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could someday allow people without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines. The new patch could also help prevent unsafe reuse of hypodermic needles, particularly in parts of the world with poor medical infrastructure.

Developed at the University of Sussex, the Electric Potential Sensors (EPS) are the first electrical sensors that can detect precisely the electrical activity of the heart without direct resistive contact with the body. The new sensors can detect a heartbeat up to a meter away, and make monitoring a patient's heartbeat easier...

Researchers from Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have used an off-the-shelf digital camera to create an inexpensive device that is powerful enough to let doctors easily distinguish cancerous cells from healthy cells, simply by viewing the LCD monitor on the back of the camera.

A new ultrasensitive medical imaging technique developed at Purdue University uses a pulsed laser and tiny metallic "nanocages" to enable both the early detection and treatment of disease. The system works by shining near-infrared laser pulses through the skin to detect hollow nanocages and solid nanoparticles that are injected into...

TOUCH-FREE WIRELESS SENSING UC San Diego electrical engineering PhD student Yu Mike Chi has developed a wireless sensor that records "biopotentials" - tiny voltage signals that appear on the skin surface - without touching the skin. Biopotentials emanate from electrically active cells, such as neurons and cardiac cells,...

A compound found in sunless tanning spray may help to heal wounds following surgery, according to research by biomedical engineers at Cornell University.

University of Florida engineers have developed a prototype of a "tattletale pill" by adding a tiny microchip and digestible antenna to a standard pill capsule. The prototype opens up the possibility that mass-produced pills will someday be equipped to inform doctors and loved ones that patients have ingested their medication.

A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will send an army of microorganisms into space to investigate new ways of preventing the formation and spread of biofilms - or clusters of bacteria - that could pose a threat to the health of astronauts.

The field of biosensors may be getting a boost from an unlikely source: coffee rings. UCLA researchers are studying the "coffee ring" phenomenon - the observation that many liquids, when spilled, evaporate to leave a darker ring around the perimeter that contains a much higher concentration of particles than the center. A...

Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a way to enhance how brain tumors appear in MRI scans and during surgery, making the tumors easier for surgeons to identify and remove.

An ultrasensitive medical imaging technique from Purdue University, which uses a pulsed laser and tiny metallic "nanocages," might enable early detection and treatment of disease. The system works by shining near-infrared laser pulses through the skin to detect hollow nanocages and solid nanoparticles - made of an...

It's illegal for health products with medical formulations to be accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without tests on animals - a situation that has serious ethical and moral implications. New research in the field of tissue engineering, by Professor Amit Gefen of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of...

Researchers from Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Pennsylvania are the first to demonstrate a flexible silicon electronics device used for a medical application. The device produced high-density maps of a beating heart's electrical activity, providing a potential...