Researchers have found a method of identifying biological markers in small amounts of blood that they believe could be used to detect diseases, infections, and medical conditions at early stages, including early detection of traumatic brain injury in athletes.

Arterial Everter

Jeffrey Plott, Adeyiza Momoh, Ian Sando, Brendan McCracken, Mohammed Tiba, Kevin Ward, Jeffrey Kozlow, and Paul Cederna
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Microvascular anastomosis is the surgical joining, or coaptation, of small (sub-centimeter) veins and arteries with the aid of loupe or microscope magnifcation,This is accomplished using a microanas-tomotic coupling device (Synovis GEM Coupler) that reduces complication rates, improves patency rates, and substantially reduces the time necessary to complete the coaptation compared to manual suturing.

Standard medical imaging and new 3D printing technologies are being used to create patient-specific heart valve models that mimic the physiological qualities of the real valves. Their aim is to improve the success rate of transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) by picking the right prosthetic and avoiding a common complication known as paravalvular leakage.

Researchers report that they have developed a technology to scan a tumor sample and produce images detailed and accurate enough to be used to check whether a tumor has been completely removed. Called photoacoustic imaging, the new technology takes less time than standard analysis techniques.

When it comes to testing for cancer, traditional sensors can help. The challenges are that they often are bulky, expensive, nonintuitive, and complicated. Now, one team reports that portable pressure-based detectors coupled with smartphone software could provide a simpler, more affordable alternative while still maintaining sensitivity.

A new wearable system from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will help blind users navigate through indoor environments.

Cancer patients who also undergo radiation therapy experience unfortunate side effects including skin irritation, and sometimes peeling and blistering. Researchers are testing a new imaging device designed to monitor, quantify, and hopefully one day predict skin toxicity levels induced by radiation therapy. Using visible and near-infrared light at very low power, the researchers are trying to characterize the skin damage during radiation therapy, especially for the treatment of breast cancer.

Many things in the natural world are geometrically chiral, meaning they cannot be superimposed onto their mirror image. Being able to observe and analyze the chirality of an object is very important in numerous fields. However, current chiral imaging techniques to resolve polarization and spectral (color) information require multiple cascading components, leading to bulky and expensive pieces of equipment.

An international team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Korea University say that they have developed an ultrathin film that is both transparent and highly conductive to electric current, while also being cheaper and simpler to produce than current materials.

Researchers from Biomedical Image Technologies (BIT) at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) are working to develop an endoscopic scanner that offers early detection of specific cancers. A miniaturized detector is introduced inside the patient's body and placed close to the organ of interest.