AIMBE
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.
Blood test detects common cancer types 4 years before current screening methods
Kun Zhang | Via Healio | September 3, 2020A novel blood-based assay demonstrated the ability to detect five cancer types up to 4 years earlier than current screening methods, according to study results published in Nature Communications. The noninvasive PanSeer test (Singlera Genomics), which is based on DNA methylation, detected stomach, esophageal, colorectal, lung and liver cancer in 91% of asymptomatic individuals who […]
Predictive placentas: Using artificial intelligence to protect mothers’ future pregnancies
Philip LeDuc | Via EurekAlert | September 2, 2020After a baby is born, doctors sometimes examine the placenta–the organ that links the mother to the baby–for features that indicate health risks in any future pregnancies. Unfortunately, this is a time-consuming process that must be performed by a specialist, so most placentas go unexamined after the birth. A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon […]
Scientists use two powerful immunotherapies to eradicate solid tumors
Yuman Fong | Via Science Daily | September 2, 2020City of Hope scientists have combined two potent immunotherapies — an oncolytic virus and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy — to target and eradicate solid tumors that are otherwise difficult to treat with CAR T therapy alone, according to a new Science Translational Medicine study. In preclinical research that could lead to a […]
Scientists Show How Brain Flexibility Emerges in Infants
Weili Lin | Via UNC Healthcare | August 31, 2020Cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands, seems to begin developing during the first two years of life, which is much earlier than previously thought. UNC BRIC researchers led by Weili Lin, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging techniques to show […]
Scientists Show How Brain Flexibility Emerges in Infants
Dinggang Shen | Via UNC Healthcare | August 31, 2020Cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to switch between mental processes in response to external stimuli and different task demands, seems to begin developing during the first two years of life, which is much earlier than previously thought. UNC BRIC researchers led by Weili Lin, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging techniques to show […]
Physiological Test for Autism Proves Effective Independent of Co-occurring Conditions
Juergen Hahn | Via Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | August 28, 2020Model developed at Rensselaer predicts diagnosis despite the presence of other medical conditions Developing a physiological test for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one that measures certain components in the blood, has the potential to be a paradigm shift for diagnosing ASD. However, the large heterogeneity of how ASD affects individuals has long been viewed […]
Neuroimaging experts are using AI to establish imaging biomarkers for brain disorders
Vince Calhoun | Via Health Imaging | August 26, 2020Neuroimaging experts at Georgia State University are using artificial intelligence to map the distinct brain patterns of various mental illnesses.
The project is being led by Vince Calhoun, PhD, director of the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science, and Sergey Plis, director of machine learning at the TReNDS center. Using various datasets, they plan to develop multi-modal biomarkers to help diagnose mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and depression
New Insights into How COVID-19 Causes Heart Damage
Todd McDevitt | Via Gladstone Institutes | August 25, 2020COVID-19 was initially identified as a respiratory disease, but scientists now appreciate that it also affects several other organs in the body, including the heart. Heart damage is a major determinant of COVID-19 related deaths, and even patients who experience only mild COVID-19 symptoms exhibit signs of cardiac dysfunction several months after recovery. A new […]
Research Examines Links Between ‘Long COVID’ and ME/CFS
Ronald Tompkins | Via Medscape | August 24, 2020The persistence of long-term symptoms in some individuals with COVID-19 illness has opened up a new line of research into the mechanisms underlying myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic post-viral illnesses.
Some patients who had COVID-19 continue to have symptoms weeks to months later, even after they no longer test positive for the virus. In two recent reports — one published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July and another published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report this month — chronic fatigue was listed as the top symptom among individuals still feeling unwell beyond 2 weeks after COVID-19 onset.
One step closer to implanting diagnostic electronics in the body
David Martin | Via Open Access Government | August 17, 2020The American Chemical Society (ACS) are closer to using electronics in the body, to diagnose tumours and track illnesses Although true “cyborgs” (part human, part robotic beings) are science fiction, researchers are taking steps toward integrating electronics with the body. Such devices could monitor for tumour development or stand in for damaged tissues. But connecting […]
Brain-NET predicts surgeons’ capabilities based on neuroimaging data
Xavier Intes | Via Health Imaging | August 14, 2020A new deep learning approach can pull brain optical imaging data to accurately predict how proficient a physician’s surgical motor skills are, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers recently reported. Brain-NET, as it’s known, is the work of engineers at the Troy, New York, institution, and surgery experts from the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine […]
Tumor Growth Slowed Down by Restricting Amino Acid Metabolism
Christian Metallo | Via Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | August 13, 2020For optimal growth, tumors depend on the non-essential amino acids serine and glycine. Serine and glycine are biosynthetically linked and together, they provide the essential precursors for the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids that are critical to cancer cell growth, as well as supporting tumor homeostasis. Over the last decade, scientists have learned […]
Artificial intelligence recognizes deteriorating photoreceptors
Daniel Rubin | Via EurekAlert | August 13, 2020A software based on artificial intelligence (AI), which was developed by researchers at the Eye Clinic of the University Hospital Bonn, Stanford University and University of Utah, enables the precise assessment of the progression of geographic atrophy (GA), a disease of the light sensitive retina caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This innovative approach permits […]
U of T Engineering researchers develop cell injection technique that could help reverse vision loss
Molly Shoichet | Via University of Toronto | August 13, 2020U of T Engineering researchers have developed a new method of injecting healthy cells into damaged eyes. The technique could point the way toward new treatments with the potential to reverse forms of vision loss that are currently incurable. Around the world, millions of people live with vision loss due to conditions such as age-related […]
Genetic engineering shows how ‘foreign’ DNA impacts evolution
Bernhard Palsson | Via Science Board | August 11, 2020A new study has demonstrated that “foreign” DNA — DNA transferred horizontally into a species from a source other than a parent — can become functional over time and can impact an organism’s evolution and fitness, according to a paper published August 10 in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Horizontal gene transfer is the lateral exchange […]
Sheldon Weinbaum earns Presidential mentoring honor
Sheldon Weinbaum | Via The City College of New York | August 11, 2020Dr. Sheldon Weinbaum, Professor Emeritus in The City College of New York’s Grove School of Engineering, is one of 12 recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from the White House. The awards are America’s highest honor for mentors who work with underrepresented groups to develop fully the […]
New Vaccine Platform – With No Needles – Has Potential to Be More Effective With Fewer Side Effects
Joel Collier | Via SciTech Daily | August 7, 2020Study shows that peptide nanofibers induce immune response in lungs and lymph nodes without requiring adjuvants for efficacy, indicating promise for new vaccine development. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is shining a bright spotlight on vaccine development. As numerous vaccines race through clinical trials, physicians and researchers continue to work on developing new vaccine technologies to […]
UChicago awarded $20 million to host COVID-19 medical imaging center
Maryellen Giger | Via University of Chicago | August 7, 2020Two-year federal contract will support open-source database, enable AI-driven research A new center hosted at the University of Chicago—co-led by the largest medical imaging professional organizations in the country—will help tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by curating a massive database of medical images to help better understand and treat the disease. Led by Prof. Maryellen […]
How Thoughts Could Someday Control Electronic Prosthetics
Krishna Shenoy | Via AI Daily | August 6, 2020For many years, Stanford researchers have been working towards an advance in technology that could one day help people with paralysis regain use of their limbs, and allow amputees to use their thoughts to control the wireless prostheses and to interact with computers. The brain-computer interface is a device that is implanted beneath the skull […]
Clinical trial in a dish: A novel strategy for drug development in heart disease
Joseph Wu | Via Medical Xpress | July 30, 2020Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that results in decreased function of the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber. This decreases the heart’s ability to pump blood, which can lead to irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), blood clots, heart failure, or sudden cardiac death. While there are several contributing factors to the development […]