Nanotubes that capture individual cancer cells:
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new design for a nanotube-based device that can trap circulating tumor cells (CTC’s), and potentially viruses. The device is an upgrade of an earlier prototype, which performed fairly well but let too many CTC’s pass through without detection, according to MIT.
Researchers design needle based on mosquito:
New Scientist reports that Japanese researchers at Kansai University in Osaka mimicked the structure of mosquito’s proboscis to create a group of silicon needles that are activated by piezo-ceramic actuators. The goal is to create a less painful solution to blood sampling than current smooth needles provide.
Looking for genomes… on Mars:
A research team at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital are working on a lab-on-a-chip technology that can isolate, amplify, detect, and classify any DNA or RNA found in a soil sample. The hopeful source of the soil? Mars. Called the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG), the team presented a summary on the current status of the technology at the IEEE Aerospace Conference this month.
Tool allows composers to make music with just their mind:
The world’s next great musical work of art may come from someone who can’t strum a guitar, let alone move altogether, thanks to composer Eduardo Miranda from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research (ICCMR) at the University of Plymouth. An instrument he invented allows paralyzed people to play music using only their thoughts.
The device consists of a specially developed EEG system. Users are trained to focus on a repeated stimulus, pushing a button, for example, which allows the system and the user to associate particular brain signals with specific tasks. The device detects the unique pattern in the EEG associated with the particular stimulus, and can trigger a musical note or melody when the pattern is detected. The user can even change the intensity, like pushing the button harder, by varying the intensity of attention.
So far, Miranda and his team have only been able to successfully develop a four button system, but it is certainly enough to create music and could prove to be therapeutic for patients with brain and spinal cord injuries.
Check out the video of the system at work, set to the soundtrack of Beethoven who also made beautiful music with a severe impairment:
A weekly roundup of new developments in medical technology, by MedGadget.com.
Image above courtesy MIT News office.