Real-time Detection of Staph Aureus Using Novel Optical Microscope and Lytic Phage Probes
By admin | August 17, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Researchers at Auburn University have developed a system of detecting Staphylococcus Aureus using an optical microscope in real-time. Led by Vitaly Vodyanoy, PhD, their report appears in the September 15 issue of Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Staphylococcus Aureus and in particular the strain (MRSA) that is now drug resistant to methicillin, the antibiotic that was previously used to treat it, is a dangerous human pathogen. Timely diagnosis is key to effective treatment.
Current diagnostic methods involve culturing and growing the bacteria in a laboratory setting. Definitive diagnosis can take up to 72 hours. The test developed at Auburn can be run in minutes on a real-time basis.
Researchers used biorecognition phage monolayers in conjunction with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to bind to MRSA cultures. The cultures were placed on a previously prepared glass slide and then viewed under an optical light microscope system developed by CytoViva, Inc.
The researchers reported near instantaneous and selective binding for the MRSA and virutally no bind with other non-Staphylococcus species such as Salmonella enterica and Bacillus subtilis.
The next step in developing this technology, according to Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy, is to use a probe to differentiate MRSA from non-MRSA specimens and to apply this technique to human specimens to test sensitivity and specificity.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Infectious Diseases | No Comments »
Computer-Aided Glasses Allow Blind To Detect Moving Objects
By admin | August 11, 2008 at 12:51 am
Researchers at Philips Electronics in Germany have designed a set of body-worn sensors that alerts them to objects that are moving in their surroundings. The team, led by Richard Daniel Willman has recently filed a patent on their device.
Already existing “electronic canes” are limited by their inability to discriminate stationary from moving objects. Using a series of sensors, the Philips device allows the visually impaired to determine the spatial orientation of moving objects. Two orientation sensors detect the position of the head and trunk of the person. A third detector is used to register motion in the surroundings.
The sensor worn on the head and trunk are vector magnetometers that detect changes in magnetic fields, which are coupled with an accelerometer. The movement detected is computed by a microprocessor using optical flow, which estimates the motion of objects with a visual representation. An assistance device (worn as a wristband) provides feedback to the person when a collision is possible through a wireless personal network.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Rehabilitation, Visual Impairement | No Comments »
Improved PET Scans To Detect Early Alzheimer’s Disease
By admin | August 8, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania presented reported their development of a novel 18F-labeled PET imaging agent that may make PET scans a routine diagnostic tool for early Alzheimer’s disease.
Michael J. Pontecorvo, PhD and colleagues reported their findings at last weeks ICAD 2008 meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
PET scans to date have not been widely used in the study of the abnormal acculumation of brain amyloid characteristic in Alzheimers because of the short half-life of the first radioactive tracer 11C-PIB (aka Pittsburgh Compound B). This prompted researchers to try other longer-acting radiotracers, such as flourine based tracers, to detect the abnormal build-ups.
In their study, Pontecorvo injected different 18F compounds into patients with Alzheimer’s disease and healthy controls. Disease-carrying patients showed retention of the amyloid binding tracer in brain areas minutes after injection. Healthy patients showed rapid clearance from the brain. One tracer used, 18F-AV-45 was noted to have particularly rapid uptake and constant levels in the brain up t0 90 minutes post-injection.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Alzheimer's Disease, Imaging, Neurology | No Comments »
Drexel University Researchers Develop Cold Plasma Technology For Medical Use
By admin | August 7, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Researchers at the A.J. Drexel Plasma Institute have decided to commercialize their development of cold plasma technology as a medical treatment across a wide spectrum of conditions.
Partnering with Plasma Technology Incorporated, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Dr. Gary Friedman and Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics Chair Dr. Alex Fridman have developed prototype medical devices that can kill bacteria including Staphylococcus, Streptococus and E. Coli in living tissue in seconds without causing side effects.
Cold plasma technology has also been shown to stop bleeding, making it potentially useful in surgery and gastrointestinal bleeding.
Cold plasma is a commonly used component in flourescent light bulbs and high-end televisions. It’s therapeutic effect is related to its ability to enhance and quicken biochemical reactions.
Initial research support was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Surgery | No Comments »
Tiny Tongue Magnet Allows Control of Devices
By admin | August 6, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Engineers at Georgia Tech have developed a tongue-operated assistive device that can control a powered wheelchair and instructions to a computer.
Said lead researcher Maysam Ghovanloo, “This device could revolutionize the field of assistive technologies by helping individuals with severe disabilities, such as those with high-level spinal cord injuries, return to rich, active, independent and productive lives.”
Ghovanloo, working with graduate student Xueliang Hoo, chose the tongue to operate the system because tongue movement is spared even in high-spinal cord injuries.
The magnetic tracer, the size of a grain of rice, is attached to the tongue by an adhesive or piercing. Movement of the tracer is detected by an array of sensors placed in a headset or by an orthodontic brace placed in the oral cavity. The sensors then send signals to a portable computer which can be attached to the patient or the wheelchair. The computer can be programed to make the large number of tongue movements patient-specific.
To date, the system has been tested by able-bodied patients with a response time of less than one second for each command with an almost 100% accuracy. Ghovanloo and his team are now collaborating with Atlanta-based Shepherd Center and the Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access to test the device in people with severe disabilities.
Research and development on this device was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. A manuscript describing this work will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Rehabilition Research and Development.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injuries | No Comments »
Caltech Researchers Develop Microscopic Microscope
By admin | August 4, 2008 at 12:05 am
Dr. Changhuei Yang and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have developed a microscope smaller than a dime that provides high power magnification without the use of lenses.
Dr. Chang, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering has dubbed his device an optofluidic microscope. It can be used on a real-time basis to detect the pathogens that cause malaria in blood samples and to check water samples for Giardia. The cost of a mass-produced unit is around $10.
The microscope is fabricated using a microscopic chip made from a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor that is similar to the sensors used in digital cameras. A layer of metal is then applied over the CCD. Holes less than one-millionth of a meter are punched into the metal in a linear arrangement.
A microfluidic channel is then attached to the top of the metal layer. The sample to be analyzed is then placed into this channel which flows across the holes. Objects in the sample cover the holes and produce a pattern that are then combined to produce a two-dimensional image of the objects in the sample.
According to Yang, the future of the device could include implanting it into humans to detect cancer in its earliest stages.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Optofluidics | No Comments »
ZnO Nanoparticles Shown To Preferentially Kill Cancer Cells
By admin | August 3, 2008 at 4:09 am
Researchers at Boise State University have published research indicating that ZnO nanoparticles have properties that allow them to selectively kill cancerous T-cells while sparing normal healthy cells.
D Wingett and A Punnoose also showed that the effect of ZnO nanoparticles against rapidly proliferating cancer cells is potentiated by linking monoclonal antibodies to tumor-associate proteins, thus increasing the therapeutic index of the chemotherapeutic drug.
Copyright 2008 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Nanotechology, Oncology | No Comments »
Johns Hopkins Researchers Develop “Lab on a chip” To Aid Study Of Neurons
By admin | February 26, 2008 at 1:15 am
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering and the NanoBio Technology Institute have developed a micro laboratory that allows researchers to individually control the chemical composition surrounding single neurons.
Please click here for the complete press release.
Topics: Nanotechology, Neurology | No Comments »
Medihoney™ Now Available For Ordering
By admin | November 21, 2007 at 8:34 pm
An active Manuka honey absorbent dressing from Derma Sciences, Inc. is now available to clinicians in the United States and Canada for use in the treatment of both acute and chronic wounds.
It is the first honey-based wound dressing to be approved for use in both countries. Many European countries have approved honey-based dressings.
The active ingredient in the dressing is Leptospermum honey, which is derived from the Manuka bush in New Zealand. Honey has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries by native New Zealanders and it’s properties are now being researched by scientists such as Peter Molan, PhD, professor of biological sciences at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
The basis of Leptospermum honey’s antibacterial effect is the production of hydrogen peroxide when bees add a certain enzyme to the nectar when they are collecting it. Manuka honey is effective against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, anaeroboic and aerobic bacteria, and fungi.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
FDA Approves Silver-Coated Agento™ Breathing Tube For Marketing
By admin | November 21, 2007 at 3:31 am
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced recently that it has cleared for marketing the Agento endotrachael tube (breathing tube) manufactured by CR Bard in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
The Agento tube is coated with a thin layer of silver, which acts to retard the growth of bacteria that can lead to the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). It is estimated that up to 15% of patients on a ventilator with an endotracheal tube will develop VAP.
There are an estimated 26,000 deaths a year in the United States due to ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In a recent study, the use of the silver-coated Agento endotracheal tube reduced the incidence of VAP from 7.8% to 4.5%.
Although other medical devices have used the silver coating to reduce microbial infections on their surfaces, the Agento product is the first endotracheal tube to use the technology.
Copyright 2007 Medgizmo.com
Topics: Critical Care, Infectious Diseases, Pulmonary | No Comments »
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