Acoustic noise reduction in MRI significantly reduces patient discomfort without hurting image quality

December 31, 2020 “Our study indicates that the effects of acoustic noise reduction in routine clinical MRI can be translated into reduced patient discomfort from acoustic noise and improved audibility of music,” Sartoretti, a candidate of medicine in the Winterthur, Switzerland-based hospital’s Department of Radiology, and colleagues wrote Nov. 3.  “Acoustic noise reduction, thus, significantly … Read more

Earwax test could reveal stress levels

December 29, 2020 This could open the door to better ways of diagnosing psychiatric conditions including depression, according to lead author Dr Andres Herane-Vives.  He has also developed a new type of swab which won’t damage the eardrum. Cortisol is known as your “fight or flight” hormone.  When it sends out alarm signals to the … Read more

Researchers develop quick and cheap cardiovascular disorder detection system

December 24, 2020 The new system was developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).  “Conventional test machines are very bulky and sometimes need a whole floor, but our system can be housed in a microwave oven-sized machine. It can be carried to anywhere,” ETRI’s PR Manager Baek ji-heon told Aju News on November … Read more

UNM researchers working on test to detect breast cancer earlier

December 23, 2020 According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in New Mexico.  Officials at UNM said the new blood test, also known as a liquid biopsy, may help catch the disease early, and give women the best chance of beating the disease. “In other … Read more

Flexible Skin Sensor to Help ALS Patients Communicate

December 17, 2020 Canan Dagdeviren, the Lead Researcher on the project, and who has been previously interviewed by Medgadget, became inspired to develop technology to assist those with ALS to communicate after meeting Professor Stephen Hawking in 2016, and noting that the technology he used to communicate was not optimal.  Hawking, who passed away in … Read more

European Medicines Agency (EMA) hit by cyberattack, Pfizer-BioNTech documents accessed

December 15, 2020 “It is important to note that no BioNTech or Pfizer systems have been breached in connection with this incident and we are unaware that any study participants have been identified through the data being accessed.  At this time, we await further information about EMA’s investigation and will respond appropriately and in accordance … Read more

New Leak-Proof Mask for Use with Ordinary CPAP Machines Provides Ventilator Alternative for COVID-19 Patients

December 10, 2020 A group of six (6) third-year undergraduate students at Johns Hopkins University (JHU; Baltimore, MD, USA) has designed the leak-proof mask that could be used with common CPAP machines to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients.  In order to combat the shortage of ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients, the students began researching … Read more

Johns Hopkins develops saliva-based test to detect Covid-19 antibodies

December 08, 2020 According to the researchers, the results can be obtained in hours from small samples of saliva.  The saliva-based test serves as a potential substitute to blood-sample antibody tests for research and clinical use. Based on antigens from SARS-CoV-2, mostly from its outer spike and nucleocapsid proteins, the test analyses saliva sample collected … Read more

Now the U.S. Has Lots of Ventilators, but Too Few Specialists to Operate Them

December 03, 2020 As record numbers of coronavirus cases overwhelm hospitals across the United States (US), there is something strikingly different from the surge that inundated cities in the spring of 2020:  No one is clamoring for ventilators. The sophisticated breathing machines, used to sustain the most critically ill patients, are far more plentiful than … Read more

Hypertension, Diabetes Increase Risk of COVID-19 Neurological Complications

December 02, 2020 Based on CT and MRI images, investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania determined that these chronic conditions could play a role in which patients are impacted by more than just the hallmark lung inflammation that comes with viral infection.  “COVID-19’s effects extend far beyond the chest,” … Read more