Health tech

New tablet app could diagnose concussions on the sidelines

It's no secret that the standard hand-eye coordination tests doctors use to monitor neuromuscular deficits -- typically when a patient is injured or as a patient ages -- can be subjective, relying on, say, descriptions of reflexes and cognitive status such as "mild," "moderate," and "severe."

So researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, the Beth Israel Medical Center, and Hebrew SeniorLife have been developing what they call a rapid neuroassessment device, nicknamed NeuroAssess, to measure neuromuscular performance quantitatively instead of qualitatively.

They've recently tested it on 150 … Read more

FDA approves bionic eye for adults with rare genetic disease

For most of us, light-sensitive cells that line our retinas convert light rays into electrical impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain to be assembled into images. But for an estimated 1 in 4,000 people in the U.S. with a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, those cells are damaged, which most commonly impairs vision at night. What's more, treatment to prevent eventual (if unlikely) total blindness remains elusive.

Enter the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, which the FDA approved today to treat a very specific population: adults 25 and older with severe to profound RP who have bare or no light perception in both eyes but inner layer retinal function and a history of the ability to see forms.

Though the bionic eye doesn't restore vision to these patients, it could allow them to detect light and dark, which in turn could help them identify the movement or location of objects.… Read more

What a heart rate monitor says about your relationship

New research out of UC Davis suggests that when couples who are romantically involved interact, their heart and respiratory rates sync up.

But that doesn't mean you should bring a pair of heart rate monitors to scout out potential partners on your first date. When study participants were paired with someone outside their relationship, neither their heart rates nor their breathing closely matched.

To conduct their research, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology and Emotion, the psychologists in one study placed couples a few feet apart in a quiet, calm room and instructed them not to talk or touch. In another, the couples were asked to mimic each other without speaking. In both instances, heart and respiratory rates were closely matched.… Read more

Crisis: Teens have started sleep-texting

The burden of being a teen never lightens. You think you've got studying cracked, when along comes dating. You think you've got dating cracked, when along come drugs.

And then there are music and clothes and gadgets to deal with. It's too much.

This might (or might not) offer some explanation as to why teens have started texting in their sleep. Yes, it's just like sleepwalking, except you can be really, really mean. LOL.… Read more

Under Armour unveils its Nike FuelBand-killer

Under Armour is prepared to jump into the heavily contested field of fitness monitoring with its Armour39 system.

Armour39 consists of a sensor-equipped strap worn around the chest (or right below it); it includes a center sleeve for a "bug," which acts as a computer in storing and moving fitness data to the cloud via Bluetooth. Users can check their progress on a watch or by way of an app on the smartphone. The system will be available on March 20. The strap and bug will cost $149.99, while the optional watch accessory will cost $199.99. … Read more

Your smartphone knows which side of the brain you're using

Some people use the left, some the right, but which side of the brain do you primarily use for language? It may seem like a trivial question, but for one thing, if you ever have to undergo any type of brain surgery, the answer can help avoid damage to speech areas.

While lab tests can provide the answer, an app that involves a few minutes of concentration works just as well, according to a study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Furthermore, a version of the app for patients with schizophrenia trains them to improve their focus so that when … Read more

Use your cell phone to detect mercury levels in water

It may not make your list of must-have camping gear, but a new sheet that detects mercury levels in water may prove useful to those who live or work downstream from industrial and mining sites (such as gold mines and coal-fired powered plants) and want to drink the local water.

When dipped in water for five minutes, the sheet, manufactured by chemists at the University of Burgos in Spain, signals the presence of mercury by turning red -- a process that can be seen with the naked eye.

Take a picture of that sheet with a digital camera, and you can learn the specific concentration of the mercury, a metal that is liquid at room temperature and has been found to cause long-term neurological issues after accumulating in the brain.… Read more

3D printing with stem cells could lead to printable organs

Some day in the future, when you need a kidney transplant, you may get a 3D-printed organ created just for you. If scientists are able to achieve that milestone, they may look back fondly at a breakthrough printing process pioneered by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland in collaboration with Roslin Cellab, a stem cell technology company.

The printer creates 3D spheroids using delicate embryonic cell cultures floating in a "bio ink" medium. They end up looking like little bubbles. Each droplet can contain as few as five stem cells. Basically, this comes down to the printer "ink" being stem cells rather than plastic or another material. … Read more

New device traps, then zaps, airborne pathogens

In the midst of this year's particularly bad flu season, we're reminded just how many nasty little particles roam the air we breathe -- from bacteria and viruses to allergens and diesel exhaust particulates.

But a new device that recently protected immunocompromised mice from these particulates has the potential to be both effective and safe for human use as well, according to researchers behind a new study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

"Small particles are difficult to remove, and our device overcomes that barrier," says Pratim Biswas, who chairs the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering at Washington University. In fact, the device not only traps the particles, it even inactivates them -- and that includes bioterror agents, Biswas says.… Read more