Medicine

Reuters reporter Storay Karimi spotlights how the Afghan all-girls robotics team has designed a low-cost ventilator, based in part off the E-Vent device developed by MIT researchers.

Fast Company reporter Adele Peters writes that researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new face mask that is made of silicon and designed to be reused and sterilized repeatedly. “We wanted to have a system that could be accessible and used by anyone globally,” says Prof. Giovanni Traverso

CNBC reporter Will Feur spotlights how researchers from MIT are working with 3M on developing a rapid coronavirus antigen test. The test “will be a paper-based point-of-care testing device, which will help reduce the cost,” Feur explains.

Researchers from MIT and 3M are developing a new rapid antigen test for Covid-19, reports Carl O’Donnell for Reuters. “The test would produce results within minutes and could be administered on a low-cost, paper-based device, similar to a home pregnancy test, that could be delivered at the point of care,” writes O’Donnell.

TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that researchers from MIT and 3M are working on creating a new diagnostic tool for Covid-19 that can be manufactured cheaply and in large volumes for mass distribution. “The goal is to create a test that detects viral antigens,” Etherington explains, adding that the tests “provide results much faster than the molecular PCR-based test.”

WBUR’s Carey Goldberg explores how MIT researchers developed a new CRISPR-based research tool that can be used to detect Covid-19. "A lot of things that we try fail," says research scientist Jonathan Gootenberg. "And that’s OK. Because sometimes you find these things that are really, really awesome."

UPI reporter Sommer Brokaw writes that researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have created a new reusable silicon face mask with N95 filters. “The new masks have space for one or two N95 filters to be replaced after each use, and the rest of the rubber mask itself can be sterilized and reused many times,” writes Brokaw.

Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed a new reusable face mask outfitted with N95 filters that can be sterilized, reports WHDH.

Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new silicon mask with N95 filters that can be sterilized and reused, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. “The mask is made of silicone rubber and includes one or two detachable N95 filters, but those filters require much less N95 material than a traditional N95 mask,” writes Finucane.

MIT researchers have developed a skin patch that could be used to fight melanoma, reports Berkeley Lovelace Jr. for CNBC. “Our patch technology could be used to deliver vaccines to combat different infectious diseases,” explains Prof. Paula Hammond. “But we are excited by the possibility that the patch is another tool in the oncologists’ arsenal against cancer, specifically melanoma.”

A sensor developed by MIT researchers could make diagnosing sepsis easier, quicker and more affordable, reports Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. Etherington explains that the sensor, which “employs microfluidics to detect the presence of key proteins in the blood,” could have “a huge potential impact, as sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in hospitals.”

Writing for STAT, Prof. Jonathan Gruber examines his research showing that while doctors have more information about different tests and treatments, they make decisions similar to their patients when receiving care. Gruber says this finding suggests that to improve health care decision-making, financial incentives and other approaches are needed that go beyond providing patients with more information.

A study co-authored by Prof. Cynthia Breazeal found that a “social robot” teddy bear “boosted spirits, eased anxiety and even lowered perceived pain levels” among Boston Children’s Hospital patients aged 3 to 10 years old, reports Robert Preidt for US News & World Report. “We want technology to support everyone who's invested in the quality care of a child," says Breazeal.

In an article they co-authored for STAT, Prof. Eric von Hippel and visiting scientist Harold DeMonaco suggest that patients often offer solutions for improving health care that medical professionals overlook. “In addition to fulfilling a personal need, patient-innovators are also attracted by the learning they gain from the process and from sharing their innovations with people with similar needs,” they write. “In short, it is a highly self-rewarding endeavor.”

Researchers at MIT and Brown University created an interactive data system that “could give everyone AI superpowers,” writes Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. Known as ‘Northstar,’ the system can instantly generate machine-learning models to use with existing data sets in order to generate useful predictions, explains Etherington.