Browse Topic: Cardiovascular system
Advancements in sensor technologies have led to increased interest in detecting and diagnosing “driver states”—collections of internal driver factors generally associated with negative driving performance, such as alcohol intoxication, cognitive load, stress, and fatigue. This is accomplished using imperfect behavioral and physiological indicators that are associated with those states. An example is the use of elevated heart rate variability, detected by a steering wheel sensor, as an indicator of frustration. Advances in sensor technologies, coupled with improvements in machine learning, have led to an increase in this research. However, a limitation is that it often excludes naturalistic driving environments, which may have conditions that affect detection. For example, reductions in visual scanning are often associated with cognitive load [1]; however, these reductions can also be related to novice driver inexperience [2] and alcohol intoxication [3]. Through our analysis of the
Komatsu introduced its first battery-electric load-haul-dump (LHD) machine, the WX04B, at the MINExpo tradeshow in September. The WX04B is designed specifically for narrow vein mines in underground hard rock mining operations. Komatsu is pairing the electric LHD with its new OEM-agnostic 150-kW battery charger that was also revealed in Las Vegas. The 4-tonne WX04B LHD features what Komatsu claims is best-in-class energy density, offering up to four hours of runtime on a single charge. The Li-ion NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) battery from Proterra has a capacity of 165 kWh and nominal voltage of 660 V. Fewer charge cycles are needed compared to competitors, the company claims, which helps to maximize operational efficiency and minimize downtime. Proterra and Komatsu began their collaboration on the LHD's H Series battery system in 2021, long before Komatsu's acquisition of American Battery Solutions (ABS) in December 2023.
The Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto Toronto, ON, Canada
In the quest to develop lifelike materials to replace and repair human body parts, scientists face a formidable challenge: Real tissues are often both strong and stretchable and vary in shape and size.
University of Waterloo Chemical Engineering Researcher Dr. Elisabeth Prince teamed up with researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University to design the synthetic material made using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues, thereby recreating its unique biomechanical properties.
A wearable health monitor can reliably measure levels of important biochemicals in sweat during physical exercise. The 3D-printed monitor could someday provide a simple and non-invasive way to track health conditions and diagnose common diseases, such as diabetes, gout, kidney disease or heart disease.
For many patients waiting for a donor heart, the only way to live a decent life is with the help of a pump attached directly to their heart. This pump requires about as much power as a TV, which it draws from an external battery via a seven-millimeter-thick cable. The system is handy and reliable, but it has one big flaw: despite medical treatment, the point at which the cable exits the abdomen can be breached by bacteria.
Understanding heart function and disease, as well as testing new drugs for heart conditions, has long been a complex and time-consuming task. A promising way to study disease and test new drugs is to use cellular and engineered tissue models in a dish, but existing methods to study heart cell contraction and calcium handling require a good deal of manual work, are prone to errors, and need expensive specialized equipment.
iMotions employs neuroscience and AI-powered analysis tools to enhance the tracking, assessment and design of human-machine interfaces inside vehicles. The advancement of vehicles with enhanced safety and infotainment features has made evaluating human-machine interfaces (HMI) in modern commercial and industrial vehicles crucial. Drivers face a steep learning curve due to the complexities of these new technologies. Additionally, the interaction with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) increases concerns about cognitive impact and driver distraction in both passenger and commercial vehicles. As vehicles incorporate more automation, many clients are turning to biosensor technology to monitor drivers' attention and the effects of various systems and interfaces. Utilizing neuroscientific principles and AI, data from eye-tracking, facial expressions and heart rate are informing more effective system and interface design strategies. This approach ensures that automation advancements
As medical devices in today’s modern medicine continue to advance, they require power supplies that allow them to perform an ever-widening roles. These lightweight, wearable — and even implantable — medical devices comprise everything from activity/exercise watches, hearing aids, and medical call buttons to pacemakers, insulin pump monitors, and neuro- or gastric stimulators, as well as implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators (ICDs). The rechargeable batteries used in these devices must provide for such vital functions as monitoring, signal processing, collecting and transmitting data, and providing specialized electronic pulses when needed to stimulate cardiac output and other physiological activity.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an exosome-coated stent with a “smart-release” trigger that could both prevent reopened blood vessels from narrowing and deliver regenerative stem cell-derived therapy to blood-starved, or ischemic, tissue.
The global medical device market offers opportunities for innovation-driven growth. Demand for smart, new lifesaving and life-enhancing technologies is perhaps stronger than ever. Manufacturers around the world looking to capitalize on this eager global market face a long list of challenges — some big, some small. Supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages, rising materials costs, and other headwinds are leading to delays in both engineering and manufacturing processes. Despite these challenges, the world demands medical device manufacturers’ best. A surging geriatric population, implications of a global pandemic, and the mortality rates for heart disease, cancer, obesity, and other conditions are all contributing to strong and sustained market demand. One study predicts a compound annual growth (CAGR) of 5.4 percent will push global sales of medical devices to nearly $658 billion (USD) by 2028. Of course, the road to success will be littered with familiar roadblocks — and some that are
Researchers have been pursuing the development of robots so tiny that they can maneuver through blood vessels and deliver medications to certain points in the body. Now, scientists have succeeded in building such micromachines out of metal and plastic in which these two materials are interlocked as closely as links in a chain. This is possible thanks to a new manufacturing technique they have devised.
ECGs help manage cardiovascular disease — which affects around 4 million Australians and kills more than 100 people every day — by alerting users to seek medical care.
Monitoring the success of surgery on blood vessels is challenging, as the first sign of trouble often comes too late. By that time, the patient often needs additional surgery that carries risks similar to the original procedure. A new device could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery.
A beating heart makes for a formidable surgical arena, but a new robotic catheter could someday equip surgeons to operate in the cardiac environment with greater ease.
Royal Philips is integrating AI in its cardiac ultrasound devices and across cardiac care to help improve clinical confidence and increase efficiency. The portable Philips Ultrasound Compact System 5500 CV includes an AI-powered automation tool (the automated strain quantification) to assess the function of the heart’s left ventricle, a key indicator of heart health.
In patients with severe artery blockage in the lower leg, an artery-supporting device called a resorbable scaffold is superior to angioplasty, which has been the standard treatment. A resorbable scaffold is a stent-like structure that props the artery open but is biodegradable and dissolves within a few years, avoiding some of the potential complications of a permanent stent.
Researchers from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and their collaborators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Ultrasound Research and Translation (CURT) have developed a new medical imaging device: the Noncontact Laser Ultrasound (NCLUS). This laser-based ultrasound system provides images of interior body features such as organs, fat, muscle, tendons, and blood vessels. The system also measures bone strength and may have the potential to track disease stages over time.
For some with AFib, a catheter ablation is used to burn or freeze the precise area causing the problem to restore a normal heart rhythm. While this method is effective, the energy from the catheter tip can cause serious damage to the adjacent esophagus, which is only a few millimeters away. It’s an injury that can be life threatening, so an electrophysiologist has helped develop a new device that gently diverts the esophagus out of harm’s way, greatly improving safety.
Nearly 700,000 people in the United States die from heart disease every year, and one-third of those deaths result from complications in the first weeks or months following a traumatic heart-related event.
Our brains contain an intricate network of arteries that carry blood throughout the organ along winding paths. For neurosurgeons, following these paths with a wire — which is just a third of a millimeter in diameter and enters the body through the femoral artery — to reach an obstructed blood vessel can be tricky. For instance, if they want to point the wire in a different direction, they often have to pull the instrument out and then reinsert it, lengthening surgery times and increasing the risk of complications.
Strep throat is a common and treatable childhood disease in the United States, but in less wealthy countries, children afflicted with strep can develop rheumatic fever, in which runaway inflammation attacks the body’s tissues. Rheumatic fever often damages the valves of the heart, causing rheumatic heart disease that can lead to serious health problems, including heart failure.
Therapy developers are being asked to consider ways to deliver drugs for a longer time period with a single dose. This has spurred innovation in both the oral and parenteral spaces, but the greatest potential for long-acting delivery remains in implantable systems. Because of this, growth for the global implantable drug-delivery market is forecast at 10 percent annually in coming years with an expectation for the market to reach nearly $30 billion (USD) by 2025.1 Contraceptive, ophthalmic, cardiovascular, diabetes, oncology, and autoimmune disease applications are all likely to focus on development of these therapeutic forms.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a soft and stretchy ultrasound patch that can be worn on the skin to monitor blood flow through major arteries and veins deep inside a person’s body.
Huge libraries of drug compounds may hold potential treatments for a variety of diseases, such as cancer or heart disease. Ideally, scientists would like to experimentally test each of these compounds against all possible targets but doing that kind of screen is prohibitively time consuming.
Creaking joints come from cartilage rubbing on other soft tissue. A growling stomach signals hunger or that you’ve eaten something that disagrees with you. And though a cough can mean that you are ill, you might also be perfectly healthy and just took too big of a gulp of your drink. Even more interesting is that our body sounds and its variation over time could tell us a lot not only about a particular organ (e.g., your knee cartilage and tendons), but also about general wellness, and respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, and neurological health. This article digs into the future of acoustic epidemiology and our growing ability to interpret the body’s sounds using artificial intelligence (AI).
A new technology that uses bioprinted patches to repair damaged heart tissue has been proven to be safe and cost-effective for patients.
Researchers have created an engineered heart via 3D printing technology that allows for early monitoring of drug-induced cardiotoxicity. They produced the heart model using biohybrid 3D printing.
A new sensor — so cheap and simple to produce that it can be hand-drawn with a pencil onto paper treated with sodium chloride — could clear the way for wearable, self-powered health monitors for use not only in “smart diapers” but also to predict major health concerns like cardiac arrest and pneumonia.
A University of California San Diego-led team has developed a wearable ultrasound device — about the size of a postage stamp — that can assess both the structure and function of the human heart. The portable device can be worn for up to 24 consecutive hours and works even during strenuous exercise.
With cancer, diabetes, and heart disease among the leading causes of disability and death in the United States, imagine a long-term, in-home monitoring solution that could detect these chronic diseases early and lead to timely interventions.
A new sensor could help workers in daycares, hospitals, and other settings provide more immediate care to their charges. The new sensor — so cheap and simple to produce that it can be hand drawn with a pencil onto paper treated with sodium chloride — could clear the way for wearable, self-powered health monitors for use not only in “smart diapers” but also to predict major health concerns like cardiac arrest and pneumonia.
A new biomaterial that can be injected intravenously, reduces inflammation in tissue and promotes cell and tissue repair. The injectable biomaterial was tested and proven effective in treating tissue damage caused by heart attacks in both rodent and large animal models. Researchers also provided proof of concept in a rodent model that the biomaterial could be beneficial to patients with traumatic brain injury and pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Engineers and physicians have developed a wearable ultrasound device that can assess both the structure and function of the human heart. The portable device, which is roughly the size of a postage stamp, can be worn for up to 24 hours and works even during strenuous exercise.
Cardiovascular diseases account for 32 percent of global deaths. Myocardial infarction, or heart attacks, play a large part in heart diseases and the necrosis of cardiac tissue after blood supply is decreased or stopped.
A highly sensitive wearable sensor for cardiorespiratory monitoring could potentially be worn continuously by cardiac patients or others who require constant monitoring.
Using a suspended nanowire, a University of Massachusetts research team has created a tiny sensor that can simultaneously measure electrical and mechanical cellular responses in cardiac tissue — a first.
There are about 64 million cases of heart failure worldwide. According to the American Heart Association, 6.2 million adults in the United States have heart failure and that number is estimated to increase to 8 million by 2030. Heart failure is a progressive clinical syndrome characterized by a structural abnormality of the heart, in which the heart is unable to pump sufficient blood to meet the body’s requirements.
Implantable bioelectronics are now often key in assisting or monitoring the heart, brain, and other vital organs, but they often lack a safe, reliable way of transmitting their data to doctors. Now researchers at Columbia Engineering have invented a way to augment implantable bioelectronics with simple, high-speed, low-power wireless data links using ions, positively or negatively charged atoms that are naturally available in the body.
A fully rubbery stretchable diode maintains performance. Flexible devices can behave more like biological tissue, allowing for better bio-integrated devices. An example may be a soft patch device that could be implanted on the heart.
Tiotronik’s Renamic Neo communicates with a medical device implanted in a patient, such as a pacemaker, ICD, or implantable cardiac monitor. The control unit received FDA premarket approval in April 2022. The privately owned medtech company has been developing medical devices that improve the quality of life of patients suffering from cardiovascular and endovascular diseases for more than 50 years.
Atrial fibrillation — a form of irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia — leads to more than 454,000 hospitalizations and nearly 160,000 deaths in the United States each year. Globally, it is estimated that approximately 60 million people are affected by the condition.
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