http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsnen-ukvipCMShttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1757July 19, 2008 - An article on www.techradar.com outlines the premise behind Intel s wonder chip for medical diagnostics. The introduction and link to the full article are below: quot;Medical diagnostics is a pretty time consuming and expensive endeavour. Testing bodily fluids for various markers of ailments and disease, spooling up those high tech scanners... it all adds to the cost of health care. It s a cost that is becoming increasingly crippling in developed nations. But what if there was a technology that was not only massively cheaper, but also much faster, as well as more sensitive and more capable? Well, there is. At least that s what Ilan Levy, one of Intel s big brains at its research centre in Israel (yup, that ll be the same Israeli outfit that saved Intel s bacon with first, the Pentium M, and then, Core 2 CPU architectures). The basic idea is simple enough to grasp. To use Intel s peerless silicon chip expertise to mass produce a computer chip festooned with diagnostic sensors. quot;We have developed a single-die chip with 148 different sensors capable of multiple levels of analysis, quot; Levy explains. Thanks to the use of cutting-edge silicon technology, the final production chip is likely to be very small, and hence extremely cheap. That in turn should allow it to be integrated in.....READ MORE...Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:35:15 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1757http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1758July 17, 2008 - IMEC has further extended the functionality of its wireless ECG patch for cardiac monitoring. It added wave analysis software locally on the patch node. The algorithm achieves excellent results for sensitivity and predictivity, and covers a broad range of wave morphologies. The innovative ECG patch is intended to monitor single-lead ECG in daily-life conditions, opening new perspectives for cardiovascular disease management. Besides technological advancements, IMEC also announces National Semiconductor, a specialist in energy-efficient analog integrated circuits, as a new partner within its Human++ program. IMECa's wireless ECG patch is a wearable, wire-free system easy to set-up. It removes disturbances and discomfort caused by current cardiac monitoring systems. The hybrid system combines electronic assembly on flexible polyimide substrate and integration in textile. This enables flexibility in one dimension and stretchability in the other, which is required for optimal personal comfort. The patch features IMECa's proprietary ultralow-power biopotential ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) to extract the bio-potential signals produced during the ECG measurements, a commercial microcontroller and a 2.4GHz radio link. The patch can continuously monitor the patienta's heart at a sample rate of up to 1KHz. It sends the results directly to the receiver, or it can analyze the signals locally before sending them. Local analysis reduces the use of the radio, improving the autonomy of the patch. The current autonomy with local delineation is 10 days of continuous mon.....READ MORE...Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:38:53 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1758http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1759July 16, 2008 - St. Jude Medical has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Merlin@home transmitter, an RF wireless technology that remotely monitors patientsa' implanted cardiac devices. The transmitter supports the St. Jude Medical Current RF and Promote RF family of devices and works in conjunction with the St. Jude Medical data management system, Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN), to provide complete remote care service for patients and their physicians. The Merlin@home transmittera's wireless technology gives patients the additional comfort of having devices automatically checked. Since the transmitter initiates the scheduled follow-up and uses RF wireless telemetry to download data from the device, the entire follow-up procedure is conducted without any direct patient involvement. The only requirement is that each patient remains within range of the transmitter while it reads his or her device. Patients also may initiate data transmissions as instructed by their physicians. The Merlin@home transmitter is transportable and can be set-up wherever a standard phone line is available, typically by the bedside for data transmission while the patient sleeps. Data downloaded by the Merlin@home transmitter is sent to Merlin.net PCN, a secure, Internet-based data management system, where it is stored for review by the patienta's physician. a“We have simplified remote follow-ups to the extent that they are now something that can be performed seamlessly without interrupting the patienta's day. Patients simply set-up the Merlin@home transmitter; after that, the system handles all aspects of patient follow up, including daily monitoring,a” said Eric S. Fain, M.D.....READ MORE...Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:49:13 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1759http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1756July 16, 2008 - The iShoe insole could help doctors detect balance problems before a catastrophic fall occurs, says Erez Lieberman, a graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology who developed the technology as an intern at NASA. Lieberman is now testing the iShoe technology in a small group of patients. The current model is equipped to diagnose balance problems, but future versions could help correct such problems, by providing sensory stimulation to the feet when the wearer is off-kilter. quot;By doing that we can replace the sense and thus improve people s balance, quot; Lieberman says. Lieberman and other iShoe team members have applied for a patent on the technology, to be jointly held by MIT, Harvard and NASA. In April, the company won a $50,000 grant from the Lunar Ventures Competition to help with start-up costs. Lieberman originally developed the technology to help NASA monitor balance problems in astronauts returning from space. Zero gravity environments wreak havoc on the vestibular system, one of three body systems that control balance. (The others are vision and sensory receptors called proprioceptors, which tell you where your body parts are in relation to other body parts and the outside world.) quot;The change in gravity really screws with their sense of balance. They re falling all over the place, quot; says Lieberman, who is a Hertz Fellow and also receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:26:21 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1756http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1754July 9, 2008 - A tiny device invented by ST+D will enable clinicians to assess a patienta's condition irrespective of where they are. The ground-breaking a“no wiresa” technology will also help to reduce patientsa' time in hospital and free up beds more quickly. a“It wona't matter whether the patient is in hospital, at home recuperating - or holidaying in, say, Spain or South Africa,a” according to Michael Caulfield, chief executive of ST+D. a“Doctors will be able to click onto a website and review the state of their patientsa' health.The breakthrough is based on a disposable adhesive electrode patch worn on the patienta's chest. A small electronic unit with wireless technology is attached which sends processed signals back to the doctor.a” The company has revealed that a specific version of the device is now being developed by ST+D and clinically trailed in collaboration with the Royal Victoria Hospital in a project which has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UKa's largest medical research charity. This programme-related investment by the Trust is the first of its kind for a private sector business in Northern Ireland. Ted Bianco, Director of Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust, said: a“Our translation awards are designed to facilitate the development of medical products in areas of unmet need in healthcare. In this way, the Wellcome Trust aims to bridge the gap between a good idea and an in.....READ MORE...Wed, 9 Jul 2008 16:55:46 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1754http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1750July 7, 2008 - New Scientist Magazine outlines the use of heartbeat inspired systems for passing sensor data from node to node being developed by IBM: quot;PUMPING quot; data around a wireless network of sensors - just as blood is pumped around the human circulatory system - could allow the sensors batteries to last four times as long. Sensor networks like the ones used for environmental monitoring are usually quot;tree-like quot;. Their branching structure means information gets from A to B quickly, but means devices have to be turned on permanently to co-ordinate the data traffic. Now IBM s TJ Watson Labs in New York have come up with a biologically inspired alternative: a quot;heartbeat quot; that synchronises the flow of information from node to node around the network. Nodes only turn on when the beat reaches them, saving battery power - but the system is slow because data has to travel all the way around the network. quot; The full article is in issue 2663 of New Scientist magazine, 07 July 2008, page 23 Link to posting on www.newscientist.com .....READ MORE...Mon, 7 Jul 2008 22:54:28 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1750http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1755July 5, 2008 - A researcher at the University of Southampton has developed a new self-powered sensor to monitor progress during knee operations. As part of his final year project in his Masters degree in Electromechanical Engineering, which he studied at the University s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), Fauzan Baharudin explored the potential for the use of thick film technology in the development of medical sensors which could be embedded in the knee during surgery. This new sensor, called Serial In-vivo Transducer (SIT), which uses thick film technology, could measure tendon force during Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament and is frequently damaged by athletes; in fact it is reported that this is the ligament associated with Tiger Woods injury. Fauzan s project was supervised by Professor Neil White in ECS, who in 1991 developed thick film piezoelectric material. This made it possible to produce a sensor that could power itself if it were installed in a device that vibrates and would be ideal for appliances where physical connections to the outside world were difficult. Professor White said: quot;Although this work is still in its infancy, our earlier research in thick-film sensors has shown that it is feasible to apply the technology to medical applications such as prosthetic hands. We have also shown that it is possible to harvest energy from the human body using piezoelectric materials and the knee is subjected to very high levels of force during everyday activities. It therefore seems logical to combine the two.....READ MORE...Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:18:56 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1755http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1753July 2, 2008 - Imperial College London researchers have developed an implantable cardiac monitor that supposedly can detect changes in cardiac contractility, hence can function as a continuous (and also wireless) heart failure monitor. The sensor is constructed from silicon and vibrates at a rate which varies according to the pressure inside the heart. Once at home, patients would wear a reader, a miniature device that detects these vibrations through radio pulses, and translates them into precise measurements. Patients would be able view their own readings at home via the reader, while doctors could take measurements by dialling up the reader via a mobile phone or by logging onto a secure internet site. The reader could also be set to automatically send alarms to the doctor if a patienta's heart reading reaches critical levels. Lead researcher, Professor Christofer Toumazou, from Imperial College Londona's Institute of Biomedical Engineering, says: a“The heart pressure sensor could transform the lives of people living with chronic heart problems and has the potential to revolutionise heart monitoring. At the touch of a few buttons a family doctor could dial up their patienta's heart history and plot pressure trends to better manage their condition and prevent the progression of heart failure.a” .....READ MORE...Mon, 7 Jul 2008 23:19:19 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1753http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1752July 2, 2008 - A collaboration of European engineers is working on minuscule muscle tension sensors that can be woven into fabric to provide real-time data taken from a person s state of electrical excitation of the muscles. The vest consists of sensors woven into the fabric that register the electrical excitation of the muscle fibers, and thin conducting metallic fibers that pass the signals to an electronic analysis system. Peoplea's muscle tension changes with their stress level the greater the stress, the more likely the muscles are to produce a synchronous twitching effect. Though this is barely perceptible, the electrodes register the change. The idea of the sensor vest originated with biomedical scientists at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, who needed an inconspicuous measuring tool for stress studies. Until then, they had affixed electrodes directly to their test subjectsa' chests. But this itself induced stress, with the result that the tests delivered very little useful information. The new vest is designed to ensure a more relaxed test environment. The project members are exploring further potential applications such as a special vest for computer games. By selectively tensing the torso muscles, players could use the vest to control figures on the monitor and for instance burst their heroesa' chains and fetters. The vest could also contribute to safety at the workplace perhaps ensuring that workers do not lift loads that are too heavy for them. And sports coaches could .....READ MORE...Mon, 7 Jul 2008 23:13:07 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1752http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1744June 16, 2008 - Freescale Semiconductor and Monebo Technologies have forged a partnership to deliver a comprehensive platform for medical equipment using electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. The quot;ECG-on-a-chip quot; solution combines Monebo s Kinetic(TM) ECG software with Freescale s embedded processing technology to enable medical equipment manufacturers to develop easy-to-use ECG monitoring tools. To help health care professionals assess cardiac parameters, Monebo Technologies has developed the Kinetic(TM) ECG algorithm, which enables signal processing and interpretation of the ECG waveform. The algorithm provides highly accurate QRS (Q wave, R wave and S wave) detection and feature extraction, beat classification, interval measurement and rhythm interpretation for up to 16 leads of captured ECG data. Monebo s Kinetic software runs on a broad range of Freescale microprocessors (MPUs) and microcontrollers (MCUs). These processing platform options give developers freedom of choice for their ECG applications, based on their performance, operating power, integration and system cost needs. quot;Based on our unique software algorithms and Freescale s processing platforms, we have the technology to provide detailed information to the clinician, enabling physicians to monitor heart patients from a remote location and also analyze and interpret ECG data from any device, including those used for pharmaceutical clinical trials, quot; said Dale Misczynski, president and CEO of Monebo Technologies. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:18:14 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1744http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1745June 13, 2008 - A low-power microchip developed at the University of Michigan uses 30,000 times less power in sleep mode and 10 times less in active mode than comparable chips now on the market. The Phoenix Processor, which sets a low-power record, is intended for use in cutting-edge sensor-based devices such as medical implants, environment monitors or surveillance equipment. The chip consumes just 30 picowatts during sleep mode. A picowatt is one-trillionth of a watt. Theoretically, the energy stored in a watch battery would be enough to run the Phoenix for 263 years. Phoenix measures one square millimeter. There s nothing special about its size, as chips in many modern sensors and electronics are one square millimeter and smaller. But Phoenix is the same size as its thin-film battery, marking a major achievement. quot;Low power consumption allows us to reduce battery size and thereby overall system size. Our system, including the battery, is projected to be 1,000 times smaller than the smallest known sensing system today, quot; Blaauw said. quot;It could allow for a host of new sensor applications. quot; A group of U-M researchers is putting the Phoenix in a biomedical sensor to monitor eye pressure in glaucoma patients. Engineers envision that chips like this could also be sprinkled around to make a nearly invisible sensor network to monitor air or water or detect movement. They could be mixed into concrete to sense the structural integrity of new buildings and bridges. And they could power a robust pacemaker that could take more detailed readings of a patient s health, researchers say. To achieve such low power, Phoenix engineers.....READ MORE...Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:30:49 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1745http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1749June 10, 2008 - Gentag Inc. and MacroArray Technologies LLC are developing a low-cost, wireless test that detects cancer early on. They are anticipating the technology to reach the market in two years, after receiving all funding and Food and Drug Administration approvals. D.C.-based Gentag will combine its cell phone communication technology with Pennsylvania-based MacroArray s urine diagnostic test for prostate cancer to create the disposable diagnostic tests. quot;The proprietary technology from Gentag combined with MacroArray s biomarkers will provide a significant level of exclusivity in this market, quot; said John Peeters, CEO of Gentag. Designed like a pregnancy test, a male gives a urine sample on a test strip that contains an imbedded wireless sensor tag, and the antibodies in the strip test react with the antigens in the urine. The resulting data is sensed by the sensor tag and communicated to a cell phone or PDA that processes the data and transmits the results to the attending physician. During the past year, 200,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The companies hope the availability of a urine-based test will increase the number of men who regularly evaluate their prostate health. MacroArray s team plans to expand and develop other types of biomarkers that can detect more diseases in the same way. quot;Our vision is these tests should be conducted at home but communicated directly to a physician. That s the wave of the future, to use cell phones for diagnostics, quot; said Peeters. Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:28:44 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1749http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1748June 8, 2008 - This extract from an article from the Sydney Morning Herald outlines the planned uses of the monitoring pill: quot;An electronic pill developed by NASA is the secret weapon for our athletes preparing for the heat and humidity at the Beijing Olympics. The white, silicon-coated pill acts as an internal thermometer to give a true reading of the core body temperature. The pill - half battery, half radio transmitter - is ingested by an athlete and passes through the stomach into the intestines, where it monitors, records and reports real-time core body temperatures. It can tell coaches and medical staff through a wireless hook-up how an individual is faring under extreme climate conditions, allowing them to tailor precautionary measures and on-field strategies for each athlete to prevent physical problems. Sport scientist Matt Brearley, from the Northern Territory Institute of Sport, said heat, rather than the much-publicised pollution from the city of 17 million residents, would be the main problem confronting athletes at the Games in August. The weather fluctuates wildly at this time of year although temperatures can sit at 35 degrees for days on end, with humidity levels up to 70 per cent. Once an athlete s core body temperature reaches a consistent 40 degrees, physical and mental performance are impaired, with dehydration also an issue. Working closely with Australia s men s and women s hockey teams, Mr Brearley has led the way to popularise the core temperature pill, known by some as the athlete s little helper. He said the pill was being used as a pre-event monitoring tool but could foreseeably be used during competition.Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:19:31 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1748http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1747June 6, 2008 - Seiko Epson Corp. has developed the S1C17602, a low power consumption 16bit MCU that incorporates a newly developed 10bit ultralow power consumption ADC and is capable of controlling various sensors used in health care equipment. The S1C17602 has an ultralow power consumption ADC with a running current consumption of 120aµA (typical when the sampling clock is 2MHz), an RF converter with a 24bit counter for monitoring temperature and humidity, and various serial interfaces, which enable connection with sensors that are incorporated in healthcare equipment to monitor body temperature, blood pressure, body composition. The product also contains a segment LCD driver for displaying alphanumeric characters and icons. The S1C17602 is the first 16bit MCU produced by Epson with a segment LCD driver. This LCD driver is compatible with not only ordinary four common drivers (max of 160 dots) but also eight common drivers (max of 288 dots) enabling display support for increasingly higher resolutions and greatly enhancing expression. Through the development of the S1C17 family of products, Epson has provided a lineup of 16bit MCUs that contain an LCD controller and a dot matrix LCD driver. The addition of these products containing a segment LCD driver enables the S1C17 family of products to support every type of LCD. Products equipped with LCDs are becoming much more diversifie.....READ MORE...Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:10:44 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1747http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1746June 6, 2008 - Logic Product Development (Logic) and TI have released a new development kit specifically designed to quickly bring new medical products to market. The new Zoom Medical Development Kit (MDK) and companion System-on-Modules (SOMs) use TI s OMAP35x processor. The SOM-based development kit allows medical product companies to develop sophisticated integrated medical devices with advanced graphical user interface, smart physiological processing and wired and wireless connectivity options for patient monitoring and data logging applications. quot;This platform provides excellent opportunities for the Indian customers in the medical market to kick start their development, quot; said Jithu Niruthambath, director, wireless business development, Texas Instruments India. quot;The OMAP3503 SOM-LV will highly benefit the medical and other embedded markets, quot; stated Kurt Larson, product marketing manager, Logic. quot;Since the OMAP35x processors are based on high-performance, low power ARM processors, customers can realise significant gains in horsepower and peripheral functionality, even within the tightest power constraints. quot; OMAP35x processors are available in two package options: 0.65mm pitch BGA and 0.4mm pitch BGA. By using the 0.4mm pitch BGA package with Package-On-Package capability to mount the memory on top of the OMAP35x processor, equipment manufacturers can deliver the smallest form factor and lowest power for medical and other embedded applications. These packages often require complex design and manufacturing, but the SOM module minimises these challenges. Logic has placed the OMAP35x processor onto a SOM-LV Type III form factor module. The OMAP 3 SOM, measuring 31x76.2x7.4 mm, is small enou.....READ MORE...Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:03:01 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1746http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1733June 5, 2008 - Performance Health Technologies, Inc. (PHT), a leader in the development and marketing of innovative products that guide and monitor exercise and rehabilitation, announced its proprietary Core:Txa® technology is now available for therapists and healthcare professionals, making the entire rehabilitation process more efficient, from providing therapy, to optimizing reimbursement. Designed to enhance existing rehabilitation, preventative and strengthening protocols, Core:Txa® for Professionals turns rehabilitation into a wireless, game-like challenge that is entertaining and works for a variety of patients recovering from neuromuscular conditions as well as joint injuries. Core:Txa® is a patent-pending wireless system built on PHT s innovative MotionTracka™ platform, used by professional sports teams. It combines hardware and software operating on a personal computer (PC) as well as a small, soap bar-sized motion-sensing device that can be attached anywhere on a user s body with adjustable straps. This device senses the user s limb motion relative to the user s joint and continuously transmits that information wirelessly to the PC software. This real-time visual feedback helps keep the patient engaged in the therapy routine, while simultaneously aiding neuromuscular reeducation and strengthening muscles throughout an adjustable range of motion. quot;Seniors are enjoying their own video game revolution, using gaming for mental and physical exercise, quot; said Stephen Page, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Rehabilitation Sciences, Physical Medicine amp; Rehabilitation, Neurosciences; Scholar, Institute for the Study of Health; at the University of Cincinnati. quot;Increa.....READ MORE...Thu, 5 Jun 2008 19:25:35 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1733http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1732June 4, 2008 - Images from inside the body can be collected using with tiny cameras which the patient has to swallow. However, until recently, there was no easy way of controlling the device as it passed through the body. Now, according to researchers at Fraunhofer Institute, such a a'pill camera , can be steered and stopped where desired, and even deliver images of the esophagus. Images of the inside of the intestine can be obtained even today: The patient swallows a camera that is no larger than a candy. It makes its way through the intestine and transmits images of the intestinal villi to an external receiver which the patient carries on a belt. This device stores the data so that the physician can later analyze them and identify any hemorrhages or cysts. However, the camera is not very suitable for examinations of the esophagus and the stomach. The reason is that camera only takes about three or four seconds to make its way through the esophagus producing two to four images per second and once it reaches the stomach, its roughly five-gram weight causes it to drop very quickly to the lower wall of the stomach. In other words, it is too fast to deliver usable images. For examinations of the esophagus and the stomach, therefore, patients still have to swallow a rather thick endoscope. In collaboration with engineers from the manufacturer Given Imaging, the Israelite Hospital in Hamburg and Imperial College in London, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering in Sankt Ingb.....READ MORE...Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:57:13 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1732http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1731June 3, 2008 - Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated (PARC), a Xerox Corporation company, has been selected by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and prototype, all-printed, disposable, blast dosimeters. This technology is a flexible, wearable, electronic a“tapea” that contains sensors to record data associated with exposure to explosive blasts in the battlefield. The $2 million, 18-month DARPA program will leverage PARCa's jet-printing expertise to develop low-cost technologies and processes for fabricating the tapea's sensors, memory, and control electronics. a“The sensor-tape program is an important next step for PARC to take in the direction of printing high-value, low-cost electronics,a” PARCa's President and Center Director Mark Bernstein said. a“It builds upon the foundation of our scientific breakthroughs in large-area electronics and extends our core competencies in all-additive deposition of polymer devices and circuits. We believe there are significant future application opportunities for this technology in manufactured packaging, for electro-mechanical sensing, and in a broad range of biomedical scenarios.a” The sensor tape is designed to monitor the intensity and frequency of battlefield explosions experienced by soldiers and emergency responders. PARC will develop and implement multiple sensors to collect and record data associated with blasts, in.....READ MORE...Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:30:13 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1731http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1723 May 30, 2008 - The Maastricht University Medical Centre (UMC+), University Medical Center Aachen (UKA) and Royal Philips Electronics N.V. announced that they are to set up a strategic partnership, the aim of which is to pool their knowledge, expertise and experience in the field of healthcare. The planned cooperation will make it possible for new scientific findings to be made available more quickly for routine application in hospitals, thus benefiting patients. The universities of Aachen and Maastricht are also supporting the initiative. Among others, Prof. Henning SaaŸ and Guy Peeters MD, chairmen of the Boards of Management of the Aachen and Maastricht medical centers respectively, Dr. Henk van Houten, head of the Healthcare Research Program at Philips Research, and Jochen Franke, CEO Philips Healthcare DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), signed a letter of intent at the Biomedica 2008 international Life Science Summit in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The signing took place in the presence of Mrs M. van der Hoeven and Mrs C. Thoben, Ministers of Economic Affairs for the Netherlands and the German federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia respectively, and Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Research and Innovation in North-Rhine Westphalia. Philips and the two university medical centers intend to work closely together and to combine their advanced clinical knowledge and research specifically in the fields of cardiovascular disease and cancer treatment. Their cooperation will cover the research, development and application of new diagnostic and treatment methods. Among other things, the partners aim is to set up a joint research program in the field of medical imaging technology. quot;Shortages in th.....READ MORE...Fri, 30 May 2008 17:35:55 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1723http://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1722May 28, 2008 - Caltech researchers are working on developing a MEMS-based (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) brain-computer interface, with initial designs proving promising, and they already claim that the software side is essentially complete. Here s how the algorithm makes a neural connection: As the electrodes are driven into the tissue, the software starts taking sample recordings to detect spikes of electrical activity at the electrode tip. When the software detects spikes, it moves forward in small increments and tracks how the signals change. After determining whether the signal has improved or gotten worse, it the algorithm moves the electrode to a new position and does more recording and comparing, driving the electrode in further if necessary until it finds the best signal. If the signal wanes, the algorithm will automatically adjust the electrode position to improve the signal. For all this to work, the program must be able not only to correctly discriminate between spikes from different neurons in the same recording but also to retain this information and track a neuron s spiking patterns over time. The neuron-tracking algorithm was inspired by software the U.S. military uses to track planes, and Wolf Michael Wolf, engineer at Caltech expects that his formulas may be useful to other applications in robot and computer vision. Yu-Chong Tai, a MEMS researcher at Caltech, is designing the hardware that would move the electrodes on a scale of microns. Each electrode in an array would have to connect.....READ MORE...Fri, 30 May 2008 17:34:44 GMThttp://vip.doc.ic.ac.uk/bsn/index.php?article=1722