A paper-folding art known as kirigami is the inspiration behind a new adhesive film for bandages that don’t usually stick to mobile joints like the knees and elbows. Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed a thin, lightweight and rubber-like adhesive film that sticks to highly deformable regions of the body. The kirigami-inspired film has
This fluorescent dye could create clearer biological imaging
April 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Massachusetts researchers have repurposed a commercially-available dye that has been around since the 1950s to make short-wave infrared easily available for clearer imaging. Fluorescence imaging is often used to visualize biological tissues or blood vessels during reconstructive surgery to see if vessels are connected properly. Currently, researchers use a dye that runs at the near-infrared
Drug delivering contact lenses win MIT’s top healthcare innovation prize
March 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Contact lenses that deliver medications directly to the eye over a period of days or weeks were the recent grand prize winner of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize. The MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize competition had 8 finalists who pitched their healthcare innovations to judges from Optum and other local venture
This startup is bringing vision care to developing countries
January 11, 2018 By Leave a Comment
PlenOptika, an MIT startup, has developed a portable autorefractor device that measures refractive errors of the eye and is able to estimate prescriptions in 10 seconds, bringing vision care to less accessible areas. The device, known as QuickSee, is more cost-effective than current technology and is currently on the market in India. “People at the
Tiny hair-like fibers help create interconnections between brain regions
January 10, 2018 By Leave a Comment
MIT researchers have used a single flexible fiber about the size of human hair to deliver optical, electrical and chemical signals back and forth into the brain to create an improved way of learning about the functions and interconnections of different brain regions. The fibers replicate the softness and flexibility of brain tissue which allows
Artificial intelligence could prevent breast cancer false positives: Here’s how
October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Artificial intelligence could improve detection and diagnosis of breast cancer and eliminate false positives, according to new research out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). A team of researchers from MIT’s CSAIL, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School developed an AI system with machine learning that can
How targeting a gene mutation could treat aggressive lung cancer
October 16, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a gene mutation that could help treat an aggressive form of lung cancer that is known to be “undruggable.” Gene mutations in the KEAP1 gene could help treat mutations in the KRAS gene that causes certain lung cancer types to be undruggable. KEAP1 mutations occur with
This paper-based test quickly diagnoses Zika
October 6, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed a paper-based test that is able to diagnose the presence of Zika virus in 20 minutes. The MIT-developed test is a cheap, portable and easy-to-use diagnostic test that could be used in countries where Zika is prominent, but tests that measure viral RNA in the bloodstream are not.
This smart mat can predict the onset of foot ulcers
September 12, 2017 By Leave a Comment
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology hackathon participant developed a smart mat that helps detect early warning signs of foot ulcers. Jon Bloom, co-founder of startup company Podimetrics, developed a mat that can detect foot ulcers before they happen and reduce the number of amputations occurring. Bloom completed his residency in anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in
IBM and MIT partner on AI research lab
September 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment
IBM and the Mass. Institute of Technology plan to expand their ongoing partnership to create the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab to perform research on artificial intelligence. IBM is making a 10-year, $240 million investment to establish the Cambridge, Mass. center. The lab will harness the work of 100 scientists, professors and students to develop AI…
MIT researchers find way to automate measuring brain cell signals
September 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Engineers at the Mass. Institute of Technology are working to automate the process of recording electrical signals from a brain neuron, which could help researchers more precisely study individual brain cells that affect learning and functioning and cause cognitive diseases. “Knowing how neurons communicate is fundamental to basic and clinical neuroscience,” Ed Boyden, senior author…
Non-invasive cell probing offers new insight into disease progression
August 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have figured out a way to assess the mechanical properties of a cell using simple observation. Usually, cells have to be probed with expensive instruments like atomic force microscopes and optical tweezers to determine the mechanical properties of a cell. Those methods make direct and invasive contact with the cells. The
7 diagnostic devices to boost healthcare in the developing world
August 16, 2017 By Leave a Comment
The World Health Organization estimates that a quarter of death and disease globally is caused by hazards and environmental burdens in developing countries with little to no access to preventative care and diagnostic devices. Since developing countries are poor agricultural regions that are still becoming economically and socially advanced, it is harder for doctors to
How WiFi could monitor sleep disorders
August 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Monitoring sleep disorders could be as easy as measuring the radio waves around a patient through WiFi, according to new research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital. Traditionally, physicians measure sleep disorders through electrodes or other sensors attached to a patient. The new method, however, is a device that uses an advanced
7 ways neurostimulation could make our lives better
July 28, 2017 By 2 Comments
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 billion
