Balance Boards to Stay Active in the Offfice: Interview with Joel Heath, CEO of FluidStance 

Fun and durable, the FluidStance balance board deck can be found at many offices these days as working professionals with desk jobs look for ways to stay active and healthy. Long hours slumped over at a desk means that your muscles remain inactive for long periods of time – a running hypothesis is that long periods of inactivity lead to issues with...

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Biobots Use Optogenetic Muscle Actuators for Movement

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed centimeter-scale biobots that combine soft materials, mouse muscle tissue, and wireless electronic components. The tiny devices can be controlled remotely through optogenetics. The muscle within the devices forms an optogenetic actuator and creates movement when exposed to...

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Artificial Neuron Uses Ions Like the Real Thing

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have developed artificial neurons that demonstrate 15 of the 20 characteristics of biological neural cells and can communicate with natural neurons in the body. The researchers call their device the “conductance-based organic electrochemical neuron,” or c-OECN, and it is based on materials that can conduct...

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Hydrogel Scaffold Makes a Living Electrode

A team of researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a soft, hydrogel scaffold that can function as a living electrode for brain-computer interface applications. The researchers used electrically conductive materials and created a porous and flexible scaffold using a freeze-drying process. They then seeded the scaffold with human neural...

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Bioprinted Eye Tissue to Study Retinal Diseases

Researchers at the National Eye Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, have created a method to 3D bioprint eye tissue that forms the outer blood-retina barrier. This tissue supports the photoreceptors in the retina and is implicated in the initiation of age-related macular degeneration. The outer blood-retina barrier...

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Point-Of-Care Biosensor to Detect Oral Cancer

Researchers at the University of Florida have created a point-of-care biosensor that can rapidly detect a biomarker for oral cancer. The device uses test strips, such as those used in blood glucose tests, to spot cell proliferation regulating inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A), a protein biomarker that can reveal the presence of oral cancer....

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Optogenetics Tech for Long-Term Changes in Neuronal Excitability

Scientists at MIT have developed an optogenetics technique that can lead to long-term changes in neuronal excitability by altering neuronal membrane capacitance. Unlike conventional optogenetics, which involves using light to rapidly activate ion channels on engineered neurons, the new technique relies on a light-sensitive reaction to increase the presence...

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Microbial Fuel Cell Powers Ingestible Devices

Researchers at Binghamton University have developed a microbial fuel cell that can power ingestible devices, such as cameras, that can detect health issues in the gastrointestinal tract, and specifically within the small intestine. The fuel cell contains dormant Bacillus subtilis endospores that only germinate and become active when they encounter nutrient-rich...

Dec 2022

Exciting Medtech at the Healthcareᐩ Expo Taiwan

Medgadget was recently invited to Taiwan to cover the 2022 Healthcareᐩ Expo in Taipei. As is the case for most trade shows, the exhibit hall comprised a large portion of the expo. Consisting of over 2000 exhibitors in two massive halls, the main hall showcased the best of Taiwan’s healthcare industry. Here are some notable trends we observed while roaming...

Dec 2022

Belt Monitors Heart Failure Patients

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University have developed a belt that can monitor heart failure patients for signs of disease progression. The wearable device measures heart rate, thoracic impedance, electrocardiogram, and motion, all of which can provide information on a heart failure patient’s status and potentially enable early detection of disease...

Dec 2022