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Fellowbook News
AIMBE Fellowbook collects news stories highlighting the members of the AIMBE College of Fellows. Read the latest stories, jump to the College Directory, or search below to find the newest research, awards, announcements and more for the leaders of the medical and biological engineering community.
Engineered yeast could expand biofuels’ reach
Gregory Stephanopoulos | Via MIT | June 25, 2021Boosting production of biofuels such as ethanol could be an important step toward reducing global consumption of fossil fuels. However, ethanol production is limited in large part by its reliance on corn, which isn’t grown in large enough quantities to make up a significant portion of U.S. fuel needs. To try to expand biofuels’ potential […]
Inspired by Chinese finger traps, an annuloplasty ring that grows with the child
Jeffrey Karp | Via Boston Children's Hospital | June 23, 2021This post is part of a series on innovations to treat valvular disease in children. Read our prior posts on transcatheter valve replacement and an expandable prosthetic heart valve. Prosthetic annuloplasty rings have improved the durability of heart valve repairs in adults. Implanted at the perimeter of dilated, leaky valves, they help keep the valve […]
AI helps head off shock in pediatric sepsis patients
Raimond Winslow | Via AI in Healthcare | June 21, 2021Comparing four methods for predicting septic shock in children hospitalized with sepsis, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a newer machine-learning approach superior to an older one as well as to two conventional methods. The top performer, the open-source XGBoost (for eXtreme Gradient Boosting), supplied accurate early predictions that, in clinical practice, would have given critical-care […]
Resetting Travelers’ Circadian Clocks
Douglas Weber | Via Carnegie Mellon University | June 17, 2021The body’s circadian rhythms are sophisticated cycles that regulate essential functions that range from sleeping and waking to digestion and hormone production. When the brain’s master clock is disrupted — as with travel — physiological and mental processes bear the burden, causing a person to experience insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, impaired cognitive function and even a […]
Melina R. Kibbe Named Dean of UVA’s School of Medicine
Melina Kibbe | Via UVA Health | June 9, 2021The University of Virginia has named pioneering physician leader Melina R. Kibbe, MD, as 17th dean of the UVA School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer for UVA Health. Dr. Kibbe is an outstanding clinician, researcher and highly respected educator. She comes to UVA effective Sept. 15 from her role as the Colin G. […]
The Patient Outcome Trajectory
Ron Schilling | Via AIMBE | June 8, 2021At RSNA 2013, Dr. Frandics Chan of Stanford University presented the 1st results that allowed radiologists to image “3D objects” directly, in open 3D space, as opposed to creating 3D information in their brain, by studying an array of 2D images [1]. The results, based on Interactive Mixed Reality (IMR) showed an improvement in workflow […]
Visiting professor wins ScienceFather award for IVF research
Urmila Diwekar | Via University of Illinois at Chicago | June 7, 2021The most common technique, and often the last resort, for couples struggling to conceive a child is in vitro fertilization. However, despite many advances since the first IVF baby was conceived in 1978, the procedure is still expensive and has a success rate of around 20% to 35% on the first attempt. But thanks to […]
Study of perception and memory in older adults will improve understanding of dementias
Xiaoping Hu | Via UC Riverside | June 7, 2021UC Riverside scientists will use a $2 million NIH grant to study the brain’s locus coeruleus UC Riverside has received a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Aging to study how the brain’s main norepinephrine production center regulates perception and memory in older adults. The results could improve noninvasive diagnoses and treatments for […]
Cytovale Begins Enrollment in FDA 510(k) Clinical Validation Study of IntelliSep Rapid Sepsis Test
Dino Di Carlo | Via Business Wire | June 2, 2021Cytovale, a medical diagnostics company focused on providing a faster, more insightful way to diagnose fast-moving and immune-mediated diseases, today announced the first enrollment in a clinical trial of the Cytovale system and IntelliSep test to aid in the rapid assessment of potential for sepsis in the emergency department (ED). The trial, A Clinical Validation […]
Building better bubbles for ultrasound could enhance image quality, facilitate treatments
Michael Kolios | Via NIBIB | May 25, 2021Ultrasound is a non-invasive technique that uses sound waves to either generate images of tissues inside of the body, or to interact with tissues as a therapeutic tool – to break up gallstones, increase blood flow, or ablate tumors, for instance. Ultrasound contrast agents, which are typically tiny bubbles filled with gas, can enhance the […]
Building better bubbles for ultrasound could enhance image quality, facilitate treatments
Agata Exner | Via NIBIB | May 25, 2021Ultrasound is a non-invasive technique that uses sound waves to either generate images of tissues inside of the body, or to interact with tissues as a therapeutic tool – to break up gallstones, increase blood flow, or ablate tumors, for instance. Ultrasound contrast agents, which are typically tiny bubbles filled with gas, can enhance the […]
New AI technology protects privacy
Daniel Rueckert | Via TUM | May 24, 2021AI algorithms can support medical personnel in diagnosing illnesses. However, to train these algorithms, a precious good warranting careful protection must be accessed: medical data. A team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a technology that ensures that patients’ personal data are protected in the training of algorithms. It is […]
Virgin Galactic successfully makes first human spaceflight from New Mexico
George Pantalos | Via NASA Spaceflight.com | May 22, 2021Virgin Galactic has successfully performed the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America, just south of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, today, using the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft VMS Eve climbed to an altitude of 44,000 feet before releasing VSS Unity for a rocket-powered flight to space. Flight restrictions in the airspace […]
Virgin Galactic successfully makes first human spaceflight from New Mexico
Jim Antaki | Via NASA Spaceflight.com | May 22, 2021Virgin Galactic has successfully performed the first human spaceflight from Spaceport America, just south of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, today, using the VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spacecraft. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft VMS Eve climbed to an altitude of 44,000 feet before releasing VSS Unity for a rocket-powered flight to space. Flight restrictions in the airspace […]
Computer science research team gains international recognition for method that accurately predicts intrinsic disorder in proteins
Lukasz Kurgan | Via VCU | May 19, 2021A computer science research team from VCU Engineering won an international challenge for their novel method of predicting intrinsically disordered proteins. These proteins are inherently unstructured and have been found to be associated with cancers, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, which makes them promising targets for drug discovery. Lukasz Kurgan, Ph.D., the Robert J. Mattauch Professor […]
Keeping immune cells in check to ward off diabetes
Andy Wang | Via Advanced Science News | May 18, 2021Researchers have shown they can avert the immune destruction of pancreatic beta cells and potentially halt the progression of type 1 diabetes. In autoimmune diseases, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself, as it does foreign pathogens. In the case of type 1 diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are the marked targets. As […]
Compound may prevent risk of form of arrhythmia from common medications
Jianmin Cui | Via Washington University in St. Louis | May 17, 2021Dozens of commonly used drugs, including antibiotics, anti-nausea and anticancer medications, have a potential side effect of lengthening the electrical event that triggers contraction, creating an irregular heartbeat, or cardiac arrhythmia called acquired Long QT syndrome. While safe in their current dosages, some of these drugs may have a more therapeutic benefit at higher doses, […]
Engineered organism could diagnose Crohn’s Disease flare-ups
Jeff Tabor | Via Rice University | May 17, 2021In an important step toward the clinical application of synthetic biology, Rice University researchers have engineered a bacterium with the necessary capabilities for diagnosing a human disease. The engineered strain of the gut bacteria E. coli senses pH and glows when it encounters acidosis, an acidic condition that often occurs during flareups of inflammatory bowel […]