Category Archives: RESEARCH

Biomaterials Research: Synthetic Material to replace Vocal Cords

In 1997, the actress and singer Julie Andrews lost her singing voice following surgery to remove noncancerous lesions from her vocal cords. She came to Steven Zeitels, a professor of laryngeal surgery at Harvard Medical School, for help.

Zeitels was already starting to develop a new type of material that could be implanted into scarred vocal cords to restore their normal function. In 2002, he enlisted the help of MIT’s Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, an expert in developing polymers for biomedical applications.

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BioMarkers Playing important role in diagnosing Fatal Diseases

A new research paper sheds light on the way antibodies distinguish between different but closely related ‘biomarkers’ – proteins which reveal information about the condition of the human body. This new understanding could enable pharmaceutical companies to develop new technologies for quickly diagnosing and treating fatal diseases.

All diseases have proteins, or concentrations of proteins, specifically linked to them called biomarkers. Identifying these can prove a powerful diagnostic tool. These biomarkers are detected by immunoassays – a test which mixes a substance (eg blood, urine) with antibodies, which bind to the protein if it is present. The antibodies can then be measured to identify the level of the biomarker, which in turn indicates the presence and extent of an illness.

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Biomedical Research: New Driving Simulator For Rehablitation

Yubin Xi, an automotive engineering graduate student, tries out the driving simulator at CU-ICAR with Paul Venhovens, the BMW Endowed Chair in System Integration.

Clemson University researchers, working with simulation technology company DriveSafety, have developed a new driving simulator designed for patient rehabilitation that now is being used at 11 Army, Navy and Veterans Affairs facilities. The program recently expanded to Europe with the addition of a driving simulator at Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany.

Driving simulators provide patients with engaging treatment sessions in a safe environment, including practicing realistic driving skills. Therapists can work with patients on treatment areas including cognitive, perceptual and physical skills.

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Research update on Impedance Tomography in Biomedical imaging

Tomographic image of lungs taken with the EIT chest belt developed at CSEM. At the start of inhalation, the lungs are not visible (reference image). Following the inhalation cycle, the lungs filled with air appear in blue (indication of an air-filled, hence less conductive, material).

A thesis on the use of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) for noninvasive patient monitoring argues for the development of an EIT device suitable for large-scale commercialisation. Completed by Pascal Olivier Gaggero at the Swiss private research centre CSEM and University of Neuchâtel, the thesis reportedly represents a significant step forward in the clinical use of EIT.

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Biomedical Innovation: Patient Specific 3D Blood Flow Model

For a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, spending time crunching numbers is leading to technologies that could save lives.

Thomas Hughes is developing three dimensional models of blood flow of individual patients.

Dr. Thomas Hughesand his colleagues have pioneered patient-specific 3-D models of blood flow through the heart and blood vessels that could help guide best practices for cardiologists.

Rather than relying on earlier computer models — where simple two-dimensional geometry shared little resemblance to actual anatomy — medical doctors can now use the work of Hughes to better understand how various medical interventions in the heart and vessels affect blood flow. As a result, crucial information can be provided about the safety and effectiveness of commonly used devices like stents, angioplasties and bypass grafts.

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Biomaterials Research Update: New Wound Healing Materials at Purdue

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Researchers at Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering are in the process of developing scaffold-like materials that promises to speed up the recovery process for patients. The wound healing material has a fast curing time once inside the body.

Alyssa Panitch, an associate professor at Purdue University, heads the research team that discovered the liquid wound healing material, after numerous years of clinical testing at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. The material is being touted as a modern medicine breakthrough and promises to create an expedited process for burn victims and those that require the fastest recovery time possible.

The research is showing that the liquid material can be injected directly into a wound site and will solidify and fill any space needed. Once inside the body, the liquid spreads out and forms an almost immediate bonding for repairs of such wound treatments as mending damaged bones, spinal cord fusions, arterial reattachment, and other tissue rebuilding procedures.

This is a preview of Biomaterials Research Update: New Wound Healing Materials at Purdue. Read the full post (638 words, 2 images, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)