From the patient’s perspective, the way that blood tests work today is not very different from how they worked 30 years ago: a blood sample taken at a doctor’s office gets sent to a lab somewhere and then a week or so later the results return.
Now, what if the entire lab could be put inside a device as simple as a cellphone that could process the same blood work in just 20 minutes using a single drop of blood?
The target of eliminating viral hepatitis infection by 2030 is achievable, especially in Europe. But on a global scale, new healthcare funding mechanisms are needed for the dream to become a reality, writes Pierre Van Damme.
Professor Pierre Van Damme is Executive Secretary of the Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board (VHPB).
A new paper-based rapid test for Zika virus could be a valuable tool for health workers in areas that don’t have access to more complicated diagnostic technology. It’s also sensitive enough to distinguish between Zika and common related viruses like dengue, a challenge that hampers some conventional diagnostic tools. And its inventors say it could be ready for use in the field in a matter of months.
This week we learned about a robot surgeon that successfully operated on a live pig for the first time, genetically engineered immune cells that sent into remission 93 percent of patients with advanced leukemia involved in a medical trial and fat-seeking nanoparticles loaded with medicine that can help doctors fight obesity. Take a look.
Biogen CEO George Scangos has spent the last several years focusing the company’s research efforts on drugs for tough-to-treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. That made the Cambridge, MA-based company’s hemophilia drugs outliers, which is why perhaps it’s no surprise that today the company has announced plans to funnel those drugs into a separate, standalone business.
Seattle biotech startup ID Genomics, Inc. has been awarded a prestigious three-year, $3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The company will use the funds to continue development of its molecular digital technology to compile a database of antibiotic resistance profiles of individual bacterial strains. This database can then be used by doctors to quickly identify bacteria in clinical specimens in order to prescribe the correct antibiotic within minutes of seeing the patient.
What have you shared on social media today? Did you comment on last night’s election results; mention that you’re going to the gym later; sympathize with a friend who’s been in the hospital; describe your meal at a favorite burger joint, or display pictures of your daughter’s jazz dance recital?
And what do those posts reveal about your health and your risk for serious medical conditions?
AirStrip, a San Antonio, TX-based company integrating mobile health and IT technologies, has raised $25 million in a strategic funding round that includes new and existing investors.
In a statement, AirStrip says the capital would be used to support the continued expansion of its AirStrip ONE mobile technology platform, introduce its technology to the home health market, expand overseas, and apply analytics capabilities to the healthcare data it is collecting.
SALVADOR, Brasil—Ana Gabriela do Prado Paschoal se sentó en un escritorio en un pequeño consultorio médico y dio inicio a un ritual tan conocido como desgarrador. La cabeza de su bebé es más chica de lo normal, le dijo a una madre ansiosa que había contraído el virus del zika mientras estaba embarazada.
Su hija de tres meses, Maria Luiza, también tenía lesiones en su cerebro. Sus músculos eran más rígidos de lo normal, una señal de daño cerebral. Maria Luiza demoraría más de lo habitual para caminar y hablar, le dijo a la madre, una trabajadora agrícola de 24 años. Era probable que el bebé sufriera complicaciones más graves, pero la doctora consideró que ya había dado suficiente información por un día.
Israeli researchers have developed a tiny “liver-on-chip” that could help scientists fight liver disease, cancer, and a host of other conditions.
The chip is made up of human tissues, with sensors for oxygen, glucose, and lactate. Measurements can be tracked in real time, and readouts appear immediately on a computer. The technology, developed at Israel’s Hebrew University, will enable the study of cellular processes, and will further the understanding of what happens when cells are damaged due to disease.
