Wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacemakers made of bioresorbable components could represent the future of temporary pacing technology. Flexible, dissolvable electronics could soon pave the way for temporary pacemaker wearers to avert the risks associated with surgical procedures from initial implantation to the removal of the device once its job is done. Northwestern and George Washington […]
Northwestern University
This AI algorithm could detect COVID-19 in chest X-rays
Northwestern University researchers are touting a new AI platform that can detect COVID-19 in X-ray images of the lungs. DeepCOVID-XR, a machine-learning algorithm, performed better than a team of specialized thoracic radiologists by spotting COVID-19 in X-rays about 10 times faster and 1%-6% more accurately, according to a news release. Get the full story at […]
These researchers adapted a stroke patient device for COVID-19
Designed to detect speech and swallowing problems, the device has found a new use in tracking cough frequency to alert healthcare providers that frontline workers may need to be tested for SARS-COV-2. Researchers in Chicago have adapted a flexible patch they developed to monitor stroke patients for swallowing trouble to help detect symptoms of COVID-19. […]
Eko lands $2.7m federal grant for heart disease detection study
Eko announced today that it received a $2.7 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Oakland, Calif.-based Eko said in a news release that the grant will be used to fund its collaborative work with Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute as they validate algorithms to help screen for […]
How can we keep our medtech community connected?
Everyone has had to rethink some priorities since the COVID-19 pandemic began circling the world. We’re working hard to make and renew connections in this critical industry with an eye toward personal safety and good health. Tom Salemi, Editorial Director, DeviceTalks Organizing conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic certainly creates new challenges. Most of us can’t […]
Want to save your medical device as a souvenir? It’s easier than you might think
Keeping a medical device that was inside you — or even a removed body part — is actually easier than it might seem, according to a recent story in the Chicago Tribune. Just ask Barbara Brotman. Brotman is a senior assistant director of development communications for University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences and a […]
Wireless preemie monitoring system allows more parental contact
A new, less invasive system for monitoring preterm and critically ill newborns’ vital signs would allow parents skin-to-skin contact with their babies when they otherwise couldn’t have it. The system, designed by researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago, uses ultrathin, skin-like electronic sensing technology to overcome the limitations of traditional systems that require a large […]
8 Alzheimer’s disease breakthroughs you need to know
Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that can cause problems with memory, thinking and behavior, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. It is the most common form of dementia that gets worse over time. Nearly 6 million Americans presently live with Alzheimer’s— and there’s no cure for it. The disease is caused by protein buildups […]
This tissue paper is made from actual organ tissues
Northwestern University researchers have created biomaterials made from animal organs and tissues that could potentially support natural hormone production in young cancer patients and aid wound healing. The materials, aptly named tissue papers, are made from structural proteins that are excreted by cells and give organs their forms and structures. The tissue papers are thin and […]
7 ways neurostimulation could make our lives better
Neurostimulation is being used for a lot of different things that go beyond motor disorders and diseases. Neurostimulation is used to stimulate certain parts of the brain’s nervous system. It can be invasive with implants or it can be non-invasive with electrode-filled caps and ear clips. The neurostimulation market was worth an estimated $1.9 […]
Study: Nanomedicine shuts down cells that drive cancer growth in glioblastoma
Researchers from Northwestern Medicine have developed lipid polymer-based nanoparticles that target key cancer drivers, called brain tumor initiating cells, in a mouse model of glioblastoma brain tumors. “BTICs are malignant brain tumor populations that underlie the therapy resistance, recurrence and unstoppable invasion commonly encountered by glioblastoma patients after the standard treatment regimen of surgical resection, radiation and […]
