NOW GET COLORED MRI'S- INTERESTING UPDATE

Customized microscopic magnets that might one day be injected into the body could add color to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while also potentially enhancing sensitivity and the amount of information provided by images, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) report.  The new micromagnets also could act as “smart tags” identifying particular cells, tissues, or physiological conditions, for medical research or diagnostic purposes (www.nature.com). NIH has already filed for a patent for the micromagnets. The micromagnets are compatible with standard MRI hardware.
NIST and NIH investigators have demonstrated the proof of principle for a new approach to MRI.  Unlike the chemical solutions now used as image-enhancing contrast agents in MRI, the NIST/NIH micro-magnets rely on a precisely tunable feature—their physical shape—to adjust the radio-frequency (RF) signals used to create images. The RF signals then can be converted into a rainbow of optical colors by a computer.  Sets of different magnets designed to appear as different colors could, for example, be coated to attach to different cell types, such as cancerous versus normal.  The cells then could be identified by tag color.
“Current MRI technology is primarily black and white.  This is like a colored tag for MRI,” says lead author Gary Zabow, who designed and fabricated the microtags at NIST.
Tiny Tracking Tags
The micromagnets also can be thought of as microscopic RF identification (RFID) tags, similar to those used for identifying and tracking objects from nationwide box shipments to food in the supermarket. The device concept is flexible and could have other applications such as in enabling RFID-based microscopic fluid devices for biotechnology and handheld medical diagnostic toolkits.
The microtags would need extensive further engineering and testing, including clinical studies, before they could be used in people undergoing MRI exams.  The magnets used in the NIST/NIH studies were made of nickel, which is toxic, but was relatively easy to work with for the initial prototypes.  But Zabow says they could be made of other magnetic materials, such as iron, which is considered non-toxic and is already approved for use in certain medical agents.  Only very low concentrations of the magnets would be needed in the body to enhance MRI images.
Each micromagnet consists of two round, vertically stacked magnetic discs a few micrometers in diameter, separated by a small open gap in between.  Researchers create a customized magnetic field for each tag by making it from particular materials and tweaking the geometry, perhaps by widening the gap between the discs or changing the discs’ thickness or diameter.  As water in a sample flows between the discs, protons acting like twirling bar magnets within the water’s hydrogen atoms generate predictable RF signals—the stronger the magnetic field, the faster the twirling—and these signals are used to create images.
Visit www.nibib.nih.gov for more biomedical news.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Permanent link to this post (471 words, 6 images, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS ARE GIFTED ONES ALWAYS

There’s Smart, and then there’s Mega-Smart
Biomedical engineers are smart people; this is a universal truth. As a rule, dim-witted people do not develop bioartificial organs or design pacemakers. But then there are the pioneers who have taken the biomedical field by storm over the past century, earning more awards and patents and inventing more devices than any mere mortal should. You could refer to this rare breed as The Ridiculously Smart Bioengineering Club, a league of gifted souls with DNA like Einstein’s.
What Do They Have in Common?
Let’s start with biophysicist Otto Schmitt. Though his parents weren’t scientists, Otto was exposed at the age of 16 to the work of his older brother Frank. Frank became a professor of zoology in 1929, and Otto was allowed to “gadgeteer” in Frank’s laboratory and create instrumentation (www.thebakken.org). Otto would also do experiments at home, much to his mother’s chagrin. His mom fainted when she went into his bedroom one day and saw Otto with sparks flying out of his nose and fingers; he had crafted his own rudimentary Tesla Ball out of spare parts to make his hair stand straight up. Despite his crazy antics with electricity, Otto survived his youth and went on to invent devices like the cathode follower.
Leslie Geddes has taught one-fifth of all biomedical engineers currently in practice. He’s patented everything from a baby pacifier that delivers medication to biomaterials (www.mit.edu). As a kid, Leslie’s dad would bring home radio parts from work for his son to tinker with. Because some relatives were physicians, Leslie decided he would like to combine electronics with medicine.
Extraordinary curiosity is a common theme in the early years of the genius bioengineers. Robert Langer, currently Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT in Cambridge, received a Gilbert chemistry and microscope set from his parents as a young boy. He was fascinated watching chemical color changes, and enjoyed watching shrimp grow with his little microscope (www.thebiotechclub.org). This young chemist would grow up to receive more than 600 patents and 160 major awards, and be the most cited engineer in history. His controlled drug delivery developments have alleviated human pain for countless patients. The stubborn Langer is oft-quoted as saying, “A lot of times somebody will tell you that your idea, or your invention, can’t be done. I think that’s very rarely true. If you believe in yourself and if you really work hard and stick to it, I believe there is very little that is impossible.”
This stubbornness gene can be found in Alfred E. Mann, entrepreneurial physicist and philanthropist billionaire. He’s said, “To say we can’t do something because other people have failed is not good enough for me” (www.inhealth.org).
It seems the formula for biomedical engineering mega-success is one part insatiable curiosity, one part influence by mentors, two parts giftedness, and three parts stubbornness.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Permanent link to this post (457 words, 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

CONVERT A STUDY INTO PAPER WRITING IN DOC DIRECTLY-JUST TWO STEPS PROCESS

IEEE Logo

Image via Wikipedia

We have seen generally that student at undergraduate level are not able to associate their study skills with paper writing capabilities, So I thought that it would be right to have a tutorial about how to extract a paper from regular study material

It could be an IEEE paper or paper being presented at any other level

what are the basic fundamental skills required for writing a paper

A major goal of this tutorial is the development of effective technical writing skills. To help you become an accomplished writer, you will prepare several research papers based upon the studies completed in lab.

This is a preview of CONVERT A STUDY INTO PAPER WRITING IN DOC DIRECTLY-JUST TWO STEPS PROCESS. Read the full post (2081 words, 2 images, estimated 8:19 mins reading time)

MRI perilous for pacemaker patients:IMAGING STUDY

Exposure to an MRI magnetic field can cause unintended cardiac stimulation and considerably alter pulse in patients implanted with pacemakers–conditions that can have potentially devastating consequences–according to research published Dec. 15 in BioMedical Engineering Online.

Howard I. Bassen, a researcher with the FDA in Rockville, Md., and Gonzalo G. Mendoza, a biomedical engineer at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., measured the electric fields (E-fields) induced near the tips of pacemakers by a simulated MRI gradient system to assess the risks involved in patients with a cardiac device who undergo MRI.

According to the researchers, “patients are generally not allowed (by present practices) to undergo MRI procedures if they have implanted cardiac and neurological stimulations devices,” however, some clinicians “condone scanning patients” implanted with cardiac pacemakers. In addition, Bassen and Gonzalo noted that there has been a push to develop medical implants that are MRI compatible.

This is a preview of MRI perilous for pacemaker patients:IMAGING STUDY. Read the full post (574 words, 2 images, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER JOB IN PATNA/BIHAR

Company:

Internationally reputed Agency
Position:

Bio Medical Engineer
Location:

Patna
Qualification:

BE/BTech – Bio Medical Engg/ Tech
Experience:

Min 5 Yrs
Salary:

Attractive Salary


Job Description:

Selection, Procurement, Installation, Maintenance of Hospital   Equipments

Candidate Profile:

Relevant Exp, Exp in accreditation norms, Good Communication,

MS-Office


Email: ssrivastava@ipeglobal.com
Email Subject: Bio Medical Engineer
Contact:

S. Srivastava
Apply By Date:

24 December, 2009

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
Permanent link to this post (61 words, 1 image, estimated 15 secs reading time)