Medicine

“Our prediction is that we might be able to identify risk for preterm birth ahead of time, before labor sets in,” says Katharina Ribbeck, an associate professor of biological engineering at MIT and the senior author of the study. “Diagnostic tools for this are missing.”

Study suggests simple way to predict preterm births

Test of cervical mucus may reveal pregnant women’s risk of going into labor too early.

September 4, 2017

MIT startup Podimetrics has developed a smart mat that can detect early warning signs before foot ulcers form, which may drastically reduce amputations and cut medical costs.

Smart mat detects early warning signs of foot ulcers

Conceived at an MIT hackathon, system could reduce amputations, cut medical costs for diabetics.

August 15, 2017

MIT researchers have demonstrated a new way to reverse memory loss by blocking an enzyme known as HDAC2.

Blocking a key enzyme may reverse memory loss

MIT study suggests a new approach to developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

August 8, 2017

Researchers have devised a new way to monitor sleep stages without sensors attached to the body. Their device uses an advanced artificial intelligence algorithm to analyze the radio signals around the person and translate those measurements into sleep stages: light, deep, or rapid eye movement (REM).

New AI algorithm monitors sleep with radio waves

Patients with sleep disorders could be studied nonintrusively at home using wireless signals.

August 6, 2017

Summer Scholar Alejandro Aponte works on a prototype for a pump that can deliver drugs to the brain. Aponte, a University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez mechanical engineering major, is working to make the pump small enough to be easily implantable.

Prototyping a pump for brain treatment

Summer Scholar Alejandro Aponte troubleshoots the design for an implantable pump that can deliver drugs to the brain.

August 4, 2017

MIT engineers have devised a way to assess a cell’s mechanical properties simply by observation. The researchers use standard confocal microscopy to zero in on the constant, jiggling motions of a cell’s particles.

Fast, noninvasive technique for probing cells may reveal disease

Researchers gauge a cell’s stiffness, which can reflect cancer or other conditions, simply by watching it.

August 3, 2017

The COBRA sensor is more portable and cost-effective than existing indirect calorimetry sensors. It includes a chest harness and bite grip that enable hands-free use of the system during exercise and training.

Monitoring metabolic energy expenditure, health, and fitness with a breath analyzer

Simple-to-use, low-cost respiratory sensor enables measurement and tracking of personal metabolism.

July 27, 2017

Twine has developed a platform that lets users build customized disease-management and care plans on an app, which then sends alerts about when to take medications, tracks the patient’s various health goals, and offers key analytics, among other features.

Coaching platform improves health outcomes, lowers medical costs

New app lets patients work alone or with others to prevent, monitor, and reverse chronic disease.

July 21, 2017

Graduate student Anthony McDougal has developed a model that predicts a single heart cell’s response to dwindling supplies of oxygen.

Study predicts heart cells’ response to dwindling oxygen

Results may help surgeons determine when and how to treat heart attacks.

July 20, 2017

Researchers have developed a new way to engineer liver tissue by organizing tiny subunits that contain three types of cells embedded into a biodegradable tissue scaffold. This image shows vascularized engineered human liver tissue that has self-organized into a lobule-like microstructure.

Engineered liver tissue expands after transplant

Tiny implantable “seeds” of tissue produce fully functional livers.

July 19, 2017

people at computers with "Solve" poster in the background

MIT’s Solve initiative seeks solutions to its 2017 global challenges

Applications for problem-solvers interested in four new areas are due August 1.

July 19, 2017

Ram Sasisekharan wins Agilent Thought Leader Award

Honor recognizes bioengineer’s advance of analytical techniques for characterization of biopharmaceuticals.

July 18, 2017

A new technique for imaging biopsy samples relies on an approach known as expansion microscopy, in which the researchers expand a tissue sample to 100 times its original volume before imaging it.

Microscopy technique could enable more informative biopsies

Expanding tissue samples before imaging offers detailed information about disease.

July 17, 2017

Researchers have developed a metal-free contrast agent for MRI scans, which could be safer for certain patients.

Metal-free MRI contrast agent could be safer for some patients

New agent could be used for certain high-risk groups and may enable longer-term tumor imaging.

July 12, 2017

At MIT graduate student Reginald Avery has been conducting research on a biomaterial that could stop wounded soldiers from dying from shock due to severe blood loss. “I wanted to do something related to the military because I grew up around that environment,” he says. “The people, the uniformed soldiers, and the well-controlled atmosphere created a good environment to grow up in, and I wante...

Preventing severe blood loss on the battlefield or in the clinic

PhD student Reginald Avery is developing an injectable material that patches ruptured blood vessels.

July 11, 2017

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