Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have developed a nanoparticle vaccine immunotherapy that fights multiple cancer types, according to a preclinical study published in Nature Nanotechnology. The nanovaccine, which the team calls a 1st of its kind, is made up of tumor antigens inside of a synthetic polymer nanoparticle. “What is unique about […]
Research & Development
How IBM is using deep learning to detect diabetic eye disease
IBM’s deep learning technology can detect and classify the severity of diabetic retinopathy with 86% accuracy, according to new research. The diagnostic tool could help doctors and physicians better understand disease progression and determine treatment, IBM said. The company’s technology was trained to identify lesions using more than 35,000 eye images. It can classify the […]
6 ways hydrogels are enabling medtech innovation
Hydrogels are water-based biomaterials developed specifically for human use, according to a Biomaterials journal article. They are a water-swollen polymeric material that doesn’t change its distinct 3D structure. They are formed from super-absorbent, chain-like polymers and are not soluble in water. However, their porous surface allows for nutrients and cell waste to pass through. They have shown the […]
Targeted drug delivery system releases chemo drug for 40 days
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a targeted drug delivery system that is triggered by the acidic environment around a tumor. The system delivers chemotherapy to the tumor for 40 days and doesn’t affect healthy tissues, according to a preclinical study published in Experimental Biology and Medicine. Traditional cancer therapy sometimes requires patients to receive […]
Researchers identify signal that could speed up healing
Researchers from the University of Southern California identified the signal that triggers stem cells to take action after an injury and showed how it could be used as a therapy to accelerate the body’s healing process. “Our research shows that by priming the body before an injury, you can speed the process of tissue repair and […]
GE funds startups to make overdose reversal devices more accessible
General Electric (NYSE:GE) is reportedly funding 2 of the startups that launched out of its opioid hack-a-thon last year, even though only 1 of the companies won. The company is backing GEM Boxes, the competition’s winner, and We Are Allies with more than $20,000 worth of funding to help curb the opioid epidemic that kills 91 […]
Study: Biodegradable nanoparticles reprogram immune cells to fight cancer
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Researcher Center have reportedly engineered biodegradable nanoparticles that can genetically reprogram immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, without taking the immune cells out to manipulate them. The team demonstrated their idea in a proof-of-principle study published in Nature Nanotechnology. They showed that reprogrammed immune cells, or T cells, help […]
Medtech stories we missed this week: April 14, 2017
From FDA approvals to business expansion plans, here are medtech stories we missed this week but thought were still worth mentioning. 1. BioTelemetry launches offer to acquire LifeWatch BioTelemetry and LifeWatch announced in an April 9 press release that the 2 companies have entered a transaction agreement that states BioTelemetry will launch a tender offer to acquire all […]
Nanoparticle nasal spray targets drugs to the brain
Drug delivery to the brain could 1 day be as simple as a sniff, according to engineers at Washington University that developed a new nanoparticle-based delivery technique. “This would be a nanoparticle nasal spray, and the delivery system could allow a therapeutic dose of medicine to reach the brain within 30 minutes to one hour,” […]
‘Organs-on-Chips’ technology: FDA testing groundbreaking science
By: Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. There are many things you might envision putting on a chip. It’s unlikely that a human organ is one of them. But creating human organ systems in miniature on micro-engineered chips about the size of a AA battery is a revolutionary testing technology that has captured the attention of food scientists […]
