A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a chip that can detect a type of genetic mutation known as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and wirelessly send the results in real time to a smartphone, computer, or other electronic device. The chip is at least 1,000 times more sensitive at detecting an SNP than current technology.

A high-tech device-transformer for ultrasound examination combines three functions in one device. So instead of two types of vehicles (stationary and portable), medical institutions can use a single device for a high-precision study using the full configuration of the equipment or in emergency room, where the speed of decisions is important.

Researchers at Caltech have developed an implantable pressure sensor that can reside in the human eye for years at a time while wirelessly sending data about the eye’s health to the patient or medical professionals. The implant could make it easier to prevent one of the leading causes of blindness.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major, yet often preventable threat to patient safety, and they can have a significant impact on the survival rate of patients who undergo procedures and treatments. In particular, catheter-associated infections are difficult to prevent, even when products are made of silicone, due to their inherent positioning both inside and outside of the body.

Fluorescence-based biosensing and bioimaging technologies are widely used in research and clinical settings to detect and image various biological species of interest. While fluorescence-based detection and imaging techniques are convenient to use, they suffer from poor sensitivity. For example, when a patient carries low levels of antigens in the blood or urine, the fluorescent signal can be feeble, making visualization and diagnosis difficult. For this reason, fluorescence-based detection is not always preferred when sensitivity is a key requirement.

An international team of researchers have developed a low-cost sensor made from semiconducting plastic that can be used to diagnose or monitor a wide range of health conditions, such as surgical complications or neurodegenerative diseases.

Researchers have found a way to convert nanoparticle-coated microscopic beads into lasers smaller than red blood cells. These microlasers, which convert infrared light into light at higher frequencies, are among the smallest continuously emitting lasers of their kind ever reported and can constantly and stably emit light for hours at a time, even when submerged in biological fluids such as blood serum.

Treatment to control involuntary body movements characteristic of Parkinson's disease could someday be guided by brain signals recorded by electrodes inside a fashionable hat. That is a piece of a larger goal in the research of Nicole Swann of the UO's department of human physiology. She's the lead author of a newly published study in the Journal of Neural Engineering that, she says, offers encouragement to pursue that notion.

Amputees often experience the sensation of a “phantom limb”—a feeling that a missing body part is still there. That sensory illusion is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a team of engineers at Johns Hopkins University that have created an electronic skin. When layered on top of prosthetic hands, this e-dermis brings back a real sense of touch through the fingertips.

Defects in the lattice of diamonds produce more than just beautiful coloration. A new approach developed by researchers at UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry shows great promise for enhancing the signal from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) using lasers without expensive magnets.