'Bio Tech'
Computer model improves ultrasound image
Dutch researcher Koos Huijssen has developed a computer model that can predict the sound transmission of improved designs for ultrasound instruments. The computer model is capable of processing large quantities of data and can be run on both a PC and a parallel supercomputer. Erasmus University Medical Centre and Oldelft Ultrasound are now using this program to design a new sonographic transducer.
Koos Huijssen went in search of a computer model that could predict the behaviour of ultrasonic waves. Over the past ten years, the images produced by ultrasound or sonography have been vastly improved by making partial use of the nonlinear nature of acoustic waves. Thanks to these developments ultrasound can now be used for a larger group of patients.
Read more on: Bio Tech, Electronics, instrumentation, supercomputer, ultrasoundMending broken hearts with tissue engineering
Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold developed by MIT researchers and colleagues.
The idea is that living heart cells or stem cells seeded onto such a scaffold would develop into a patch of cardiac tissue that could be used to treat congenital heart defects, or aid the recovery of tissue damaged by a heart attack. The biodegradable scaffold would be gradually absorbed into the body, leaving behind new tissue.
Read more on: Bio Tech, biomaterials, stem cells, tissueSniffing out a better chemical sensor
NIST researchers have developed a new approach for “electronic noses.” Comprised of 16 microheater elements and eight types of sensors, the tiny device could be a potent tool for applications such as sniffing out nerve agents, environmental contaminants, and trace indicators of disease, in addition to monitoring industrial processes and aiding in space exploration
Researchers at The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a new approach to ‘electronic noses’, marrying a sensitive detector with a pattern-recognition module that mimics the way animals recognise colours.
According to a recent paper, the NIST electronic nose is more adept than conventional methodologies at recognising molecular features even for chemicals it has not been trained to detect, and is also robust enough to deal with changes in sensor response that come with wear and tear.
In animals, odorant molecules in the air enter the nostrils and bind with sensory neurons in the nose that convert the chemical interactions into an electrical signal that the brain interprets as a smell. In humans, there are about 350 types of sensory neurons and many copies of each type; dogs and mice have several hundreds more types of sensory neurons and many copies of each type; dogs and mice have several hundreds more types of sensory neurons on top of that.
Read more on: Bio Tech, Design, detector, electronic nose, Electronics, molecules, sensorNanoscale dimensioning is fast, cheap with new NIST optical technique
This schematic shows how a TSOM image is acquired. Using an optical microscope, several images of a 60 nanometer gold particle sample (shown in red) are taken at different focal positions and stacked together.
A technique under development at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses a relatively inexpensive optical microscope to quickly and cheaply analyze nanoscale dimensions with nanoscale measurement sensitivity. Termed “Through-focus Scanning Optical Microscope” (TSOM) imaging, the technique has potential applications in nanomanufacturing, semiconductor process control and biotechnology.
Optical microscopes are not widely considered for checking nanoscale (below 100 nanometers) dimensions because of the limitation imposed by wavelength of light—you can’t get a precise image with a probe three times the object’s size. NIST researcher Ravikiran Attota gets around this, paradoxically, by considering lots of “bad” (out-of-focus) images. “This imaging uses a set of blurry, out-of-focus optical images for nanometer dimensional measurement sensitivity,” he says. Instead of repeatedly focusing on a sample to acquire one best image, the new technique captures a series of images with an optical microscope at different focal positions and stacks them one on top of the other to create the TSOM image. A computer program Attota developed analyzes the image.
While Attota believes this simple technique can be used in a variety of applications, he has worked with two. The TSOM image can compare two nanoscale objects such as silicon lines on an integrated circuit. The software “subtracts” one image from the other. This enables sensitivity to dimensional differences at the nanoscale—line height, width or side-wall angle. Each type of difference generates a distinct signal.
Read more on: Bio Tech, Electronics, microscope, nanoscale, nanotechnology, semiconductorSupercomputer provides computational boost to biomedical research
In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout.
That would be 700 billion computations in less than 1/60th of a second, says Dan Stanzione, director of the High Performance Computing Initiative at ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
The “Saguaro 2″ supercomputer, housed on the first floor of ASU’s Barry M. Goldwater Center for Science and Engineering, is capable of 50 trillion mathematical operations per second.
“That’s the equivalent of taking a calculator and doing one operation per second, by hand, continuously for the next one and a half million years,” Stanzione said.
Read more on: Bio Tech, supercomputerEngineering technique identifies disease-causing genes
Scientists believe that complex diseases such as schizophrenia, major depression and cancer are not caused by one, but a multitude of dysfunctional genes. A novel computational biology method developed by a research team led by Ali Abdi, PhD, associate professor in NJIT’s department of electrical and computer engineering, has found a way to uncover the critical genes responsible for disease development.
“We see our research developing a novel technology holding high promises for finding key molecules that contribute to human diseases and for identifying critical targets in drug development,” said Abdi. “The key to success was our collaboration among researchers with different backgrounds in engineering and medical sciences.”
The scientists analyzed large cellular molecular networks whose dysfunction contributed to the development of certain complex human disorders. Molecules–genes or proteins—communicate through interconnected pathways via different biochemical interactions, explained Abdi.
Read more on: Bio Tech, geneticLatest EADS project is all heart
Tapping into the aerospace industry’s expertise in modelling, stress testing, miniaturisation, and design for severe environments – plus the latest advanced in medicine, biology, and materials science – EADS have developed a ‘full’ artificial heart ready for implementing in humans.
The new design employs two internal pumps to move blood to the lungs and into the body, rather than the single pump typical of earlier designs. Cutting edge biopolymer materials are used to reduce the formation of dangerous blood clots – a persistent problem with early artificial harts – and may even spare patients from needing to use nettlesome anticoagulant drugs.
Read more on: Bio Tech, EADS artificial heart, pump, sensorsCompound effectively targets cancer cells
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a compound said to be more than 1,200 times more specific in killing certain kinds of cancer cell than currently available drugs.
The new compound puts a novel twist on the common anti-malarial drug artemisinin, which is derived from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua L). The scientists attached a chemical homing device to artemisinin that targets the drug selectively to cancer cells, sparing healthy cells.
The challenge faced by cancer drug designers is that cancer cells develop from normal cells, this means that most ways of poisoning cancer cells also kill healthy cells. Most available chemotherapies are very toxic, destroying one normal cell for every five to 10 cancer cells killed, which is why the side effects of chemotherapy are so devastating.
The compound developed by Professor Tomikazu Saski and his collegues, kills 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell, meaning it could be turned into a drug with minimal side effects. A cancer drug with low side effects would be more effective than currently available drugs, since it could be safely taken in higher amounts.
Read more on: Bio Tech, cells, compound, iron, proteinsExtreme nature helps scientists design nano materials
Scientists are using designs in nature from extreme environments to overcome the challenges of producing materials on the nanometre scale.
A team from the UK’s John Innes Centre, the Scripps Research Institute in California and the Institut Pasteur in Paris have identified a stable, modifiable virus that could be used as a nanobuilding block.
Viral nanoparticles (VNPs) are ideally sized, can be produced in large quantities, and are very stable and robust. They can self-assemble with very high precision, but are also amenable to modification by chemical means or genetic engineering.
Some applications of VNPs require them to withstand extremely harsh conditions. Uses in electrical systems may expose them to high temperatures, and biomedical uses can involve exposure to highly acidic conditions. VNPs able to remain functional in these conditions are therefore desirable. The team identified viruses from the hot acidic sulphurous springs in Iceland. One of these, SIRV2, was assessed for its suitability for use as a viral nanobuilding block.
Read more on: Bio Tech, nanomaterial, nanotechnologyNanotechnology boosts war on superbugs
Scientists from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at UCL are using a novel nanomechanical approach to investigate the workings of vancomycin, one of the few antibiotics that can be used to combat increasingly resistant infections such as MRSA.
The researchers, led by Dr Rachel McKendry and Professor Gabriel Aeppli, developed ultra-sensitive probes capable of providing new insight into how antibiotics work, paving the way for the development of more effective new drugs.
Read more on: Bio Tech, nanotechnology, probesResearchers design artificial cells that could power medical implants
Researchers at Yale University have created a blueprint for artificial cells that are more powerful and efficient than the natural cells they mimic and could one day be used to power tiny medical implants.
The scientists began with the question of whether an artificial version of the electrocyte – the energy-generating cells in electric eels – could be designed as a potential power source. “The electric eel is very efficient at generating electricity,” said Jian Xu, a postdoctoral associate in Yale’s Department of Chemical Engineering. “It can generate more electricity than a lot of electrical devices.”
Read more on: Bio Tech, cells, implantUltrasound-activated microbubbles for localised drug delivery
Scientists at Philips Research are developing a localized drug delivery system based on ultrasound and microbubbles that are partially filled with cancer drugs.
An ultrasound-based drug delivery technology designed to increase the effectiveness and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy treatment for certain types of cancer is being developed by Philips Research.
The system proposes the use of drug-loaded microbubbles, no larger than red blood cells, that can be injected into the patient’s bloodstream, tracked via ultrasound imaging, and then ruptured by a focused ultrasound pulse to release their drug payload when they reach the desired spot. Because the drugs would only be released at the site of the diseased tissue, the patient’s total body exposure to them could be limited. For certain types of treatment, this could reduce unpleasant side effects.
Read more on: Bio Tech, microbubbles, ultrasoundNon-invasive nanoparticle measurement
Technology that can determine the concentration of nanomaterials in living tissue has been licensed by The University of Texas at Austin to Houston-based nanoTox.
The technology was developed by James Tunnell, the Cockrell School of Engineering, which specialises in developing minimally invasive optical technologies for the detection, diagnosis and treatment if disease, in particular the application to cancer screening and therapeutics.
Read more on: Bio Tech, nanomaterial, nanoparticles, tissue, x-ray