Medical

AliveCor’s smartphone Heart Monitor has received FDA approval and will go on sale to healthcare professionals in the United States in January 2013. The AliveCor Heart Monitor allows the recording, display, storing, transferring, and evaluation of single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythms using an iPhone 4 or 4S.  Read More

Using online medical resources to diagnose our various aches and pains is just as likely to send someone rushing to the doctor in the belief they have some incurable, life-threatening disease as it is to put any fears to rest. Medical startup Scanadu, which is based at the NASA-Ames Research Center, is set to provide a set of home diagnostic tools that are designed to let users monitor their health over time and provide a better indication of whether a trip to the doc is actually necessary.  Read More

Having the right tool can make all the difference in a life-or-death situation, as multi-tool manufacturer, Leatherman, knows full well. That's why the Oregon-based company's latest product is a pair of medical shears designed specifically for military and civilian emergency medics. The Raptor is equipped with a range of features and tools aimed at helping field medics get people out of dangerous situations and into proper medical care as quickly as possible.  Read More

Biocompatible scaffolds, like those developed to stimulate the repair of heart tissue and bone and cartilage in the body, would normally need to be implanted surgically. Now bioengineers at Harvard University have developed a compressible bioscaffold that can be delivered via a syringe before popping back to its original shape inside the body. The material is also able to be loaded up with drugs or living cells that are gradually released as the material breaks down.  Read More

Pulling off a finger plaster is one of life’s little trials that can reveal a lot about a person. Do it fast or do it slow, it still hurts like heck and there’s no pretending that it didn't. For an adult, it’s an instant of pain, but for a newborn it can mean injury or even permanent scarring. In order to prevent this, a team of researchers are developing a new medical tape that can be pulled off safely without tearing delicate infant skin.  Read More

A group of researchers at the University of Washington has found a way to isolate and identify medically interesting molecules using little more than scraps of office paper, a Ziplock bag and a cheap diluted solvent. If properly developed, the system – which requires minimal costs and know-how to build and operate – could be made to administer a wide range of medical tests nearly free of charge.  Read More

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed a new prototype cell-sorting device which uses sound waves to arrange cells far more efficiently than before. The advance in efficiency presents the possibility that future medical analytical devices could be scaled-down to a size much smaller than is currently the case.  Read More

Although there are various efforts under way to create a working Star Trek-like medical tricorder, such a device isn’t available for general use just yet. In the meantime, however, doctor’s offices may soon be equipped a piece of equipment that wouldn’t look at all out of place in the sick bay of the Enterprise. Developed by engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, it’s a hand-held scanning device that provides real-time three-dimensional images of the insides of patients’ bodies.  Read More

Deep-tissue optical imaging may soon be getting easier – or at least, the images may soon be getting sharper. That’s because an international team of scientists have developed photoluminescent nanoparticles that are able to shine through over three centimeters (1.2 inches) of biological tissue. If attached to anomalies deep beneath the skin, the nanoparticles could allow those anomalies to be seen more clearly from the outside.  Read More