dailybiotechm

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Working Human Skeletal Muscles Grown In Lab For First Time

Bioengineers at Duke University reported today that they have made the first lab-grown human skeletal muscle tissue that contracts and relaxes with electrical and chemical stimulation.

“The beauty of this work is that it can serve as a test bed for clinical trials in a dish,” said Nenad Bursac, an associate professor of biomedical engineering who led the study. “We are working to test drugs’ efficacy and safety without jeopardizing a patient’s health and also to reproduce the functional and biochemical signals of diseases—especially rare ones and those that make taking muscle biopsies difficult.” 

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“Arthur Zang, a 24 year-old Cameroonian engineer, has invented the Cardiopad, a touch screen medical tablet that enables heart examinations such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) to be performed at remote, rural locations while the results of the test are transferred wirelessly to specialists who can interpret them. The device spares African patients living in remote areas the trouble of having to travel to urban centers to seek medical examinations.“

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Prosthetics are evolving at an incredible rate. Here’s a hand that’s soft like a natural one. And it really likes tomatoes.

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Stretchy Prosthetic Skin Feels Pressure, Temperature

by Txchnologist staff

Researchers in South Korea and the U.S. have developed what they call a “smart” prosthetic skin embedded with heat, humidity and pressure sensors that can relay sensations to the wearer. 

They say their stretchy silicone-based material can recreate the feelings of temperature and mechanical strain and pressure through electrodes that stimulate the wearer’s nerves. They argue their integrated device represents the next generation of prosthetic skin research by making previously rigid or semi-flexible sensors soft.

“Recent advances in the design of prosthetic limbs integrated with rigid and/or semi-flexible tactile sensors provide sensory reception to enable feedback in response to variable environments,” the team write in the paper reporting their work published today in the journal Nature Communications. "However, there still exists a mechanical mismatch between conventional electronics in wearable prosthetics and soft biological tissues, which impede the utility and performance of prosthetics in amputee populations.“

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The Stand Up for Science protest today proved that any time a massive group of scientists gets together to tell you something you should pay attention

The Boston Globe reports that hundreds assembled in Copley Square to fight for the validity of science in today’s world of “alternative facts.” Rally participants ranged from Harvard and MIT professors to biomedical engineers to middle school teachers. One uniting factor: Their protest signs were pretty stellar.

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Robot surgery, friend or foe? In may of 2017, the first ever surgery done by a robot became a complete success. After a retinal surgery proved to be difficult for doctors to risk they decided to take on the surgery using a precision robotic arm capable of surgical tasks. Though as innovative as it is, robotic surgery poses the question of drastically changing the economic landscape in many fields by out phasing human workers. As of now, the field of healthcare stands strong in opposition of full robotic operations to the risk of errors and the preference of human flexibility in discretion and assessments.

[dailybiotechm]

3D Printed Tech

Various items from prosthetics to braces can greatly benefit from 3D printing. with costs of 3D printing decreasing with the quality of materials for it increasing the medical field could use more efficient methods in a time of a competitive economy. Many benefits can also include faster production time and a more customized fit for the individual patient. with such innovations we could see more items 3D printed for healthcare in the coming future with already large support from many healthcare advocates and institutions.

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Anti-Bleeding Gel

Veti-gel is a new found innovation using algae to stop hemorrhaging. Found by Joe Landolina, the plant based gel does not use any strong chemicals which make it easier to produce from plant based derivatives. Veti-gel could stop any bleeding in seconds as soon as the gel makes a chemical reaction with the blood and rapidly produces coagulation and seal. Veti-gel has been yet to be released for widespread use that can make trauma wounds exponentially easier and decrease fatality risks.

[dailybiotechm]

What is Biomedical Engineering?

Biomedical Engineering, BME is the application of engineering studies and applied to the creation of technology for the purposes healthcare for the human body. A relatively new field it is one of the fastest growing fields of engineering seeing the need for more innovative and efficient solutions for treating the human body. BME ranges from the molecular-tissue to macro things like prosthesis and medical machines found in hospitals