Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative neurological disease found in the brains of athletes and others with a history of repetitive hits to the head, is hard for researchers to pin down. The disease’s prevalence is not known and it is only after death that scientists can confirm if someone was suffering from CTE. But now, […]
6 brain-controlled devices helping people regain movement
People who have lost feeling in their limbs or have lost the ability to move them may soon have those sensations restored thanks to a slew of recent brain-controlled device innovations. While we are moving toward less invasive methods like electrode-filled caps on the head, there are still more invasive implants that are benefiting those […]
Mind-controlled robots read your mind to correct errors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Boston University have developed a system that allows humans to direct and correct robots using only their brains. The system uses an electroencephalography (EEG) monitor to record brain activity that the system can detect when the user notices that there was an error […]
Researchers’ bionic pancreas outperforms standard insulin pump therapy
Researchers from Boston University have developed a bionic pancreas system that outperformed conventional insulin pump therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a trial conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital. The team’s work was published in The Lancet. This device is the latest development in the race to make an entirely closed loop insulin pump system, […]
BU researchers examine how spinal structure affects fracture rate
A Boston University mechanical engineering professor is attempting to improve spinal fractures predictions using an unusual set of tools – the same used for analyzing stress and strain on bridges and buildings. Spine fractures affect approximately 20% of men over 50 and 40% of women over 80, according to a report from Boston University. Despite the […]
Study finds biomarkers linked to NFL players’ brain injuries
BMJ study: Hip, knee volumes rose after RomneyCare hit Massachusetts
The utilization rate for hip and knee replacements jumped in Massachusetts in the wake of its pioneering universal healthcare plan, enacted under former Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006, according to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal.
Medical Device Tax: Repeal hopes fade with SCOTUS ruling on ACA
The medical device industry’s bid to repeal the medical device tax took what might prove to be a mortal blow today when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional, according to a Boston University law professor who’s amicus brief was cited in the court’s opinion.
"Today was not a great day for people who were hoping to repeal the device tax," Prof. Kevin Outterson told MassDevice.com. Justice Ruth Ginsburg cited a brief prepared by Outterson, his colleagues and students supporting the government’s position that the law is constitutional.
Boston University lands $13.6M to study cancer detection tools | Funding Roundup
Boston University School of Medicine landed a $13.6 million grant from the U.S. Defense Dept. lung cancer research program to study technologies focused on the early detection of lung cancer.
The five-year study, the Detecting Early Lung Cancer Among Military Personnel consortium, will focus on veterans and active military personnel at number of military hospitals and VA medical centers across the country.
Smoking rates are 50 percent higher in military populations than civilian populations and veterans are between 25 and 75 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than non-veterans, according to BU.
BUSM Receives $13.6M Grant to Develop Tools for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer
Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is the lead institution on a $13.6 million study aimed at developing novel technologies for the early detection of lung cancer. The five-year multi-site, multi-phase study that will focus on active military personnel and veterans is funded by the United States Department of Defense (DOD) Lung Cancer Research Program and will be conducted under the direction of principal investigator Avrum Spira, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine, pathology and bioinformatics at BUSM and a pulmonologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC)….
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm-news/2011/10/19/busm-receives-13-6m-grant-to-develop-tools-for-the-early-detection-of-lung-cancer/
Cancer: Allegro Diagnostics hunts lung cancer’s “canary in the coal mine”
Dr. Avrum Spira in the clinic
If Allegro Diagnostics’ clinical trials go as planned, the Maynard, Mass.-based company will be on its way to commercializing a test to detect the "canary in the coal mine" of the planet’s deadliest cancer: Early-stage lung cancer.
With a patented molecular diagnostic assay, Allegro co-founder and Boston University associate professor Avrum Spira has garnered over $3.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health and $8.9 million from investors.
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