Needle in Biological News

Autonomous robot detects shrapnel

... tiny pieces of metal within flesh and guide a needle to its exact location - all without the need for ... researchers used tiny (2 millimeter) pieces of needle because, like shrapnel, they are subject to ... by the computer, it successfully guided a needle to the site of the shrapnel." By proving that ...

MIT: Novel needle could cut medical complications

... the oil industry. It involves a hollow S-shaped needle containing a filament that acts as a guide wire. ... applying force only to the filament, not the needle itself, thanks to a special clutch. When the ... the tube, the filament locks into place "and the needle and wire advance as a single unit," said Jeffrey ...

For old or young dialysis patients, AV fistulas remain pure gold

... and stronger so it can be used for repeated needle insertions. This vascular access provides an ... are placed into the vein for dialysis. One needle is used to draw blood and run through the dialysis machine; the second needle returns the cleansed blood. Interventional ...

Dogs, humans, put heads together to find cure for brain cancer

... the genes involved in human brain cancer can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and sometimes the needle you find may not be the right one. By comparing human and canine genomes, ...

Right whale sedation enables disentanglement effort

... system built by Trevor Austin of Paxarms New Zealand, comprises a 12-inch needle and a syringe driven by compressed air, which injects the drug into the ... with the addition of a sedation dose, delivered by remote syringe and needle with no success. The dose given appeared to make the animal feel less ...

Novel technique changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiation exposure

... surgery. A piece of tissue can then be removed using a minimally invasive needle biopsy and tested for cancer. "We will convert an invasive surgical procedure into a minimally invasive needle biopsy," Wang said. ...

Novel technique changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiaiton exposure

... surgery. A piece of tissue can then be removed using a minimally invasive needle biopsy and tested for cancer. "We will convert an invasive surgical procedure into a minimally invasive needle biopsy," Wang said. ...

Consumers influence christmas tree styles

... for its conical shape, dark green foliage, pleasant aroma, and excellent needle retention. Consumer surveys indicate that the shape of a tree is the most important factor affecting Christmas tree selection, followed by needle retention, species, and price. Traditionally, Americans have preferred ...

Biomarker predicts malignancy potential of HG-PIN lesions in the prostate

... not yet developed, but it might, and they are advised to undergo repeated needle biopsies as a precaution. Investigators from Spain have found a means ... could spare patients the discomfort and inconvenience of unnecessary needle biopsies. The Spanish team found that expression of the PTOV1 gene in ...

Doctors learn to control their own brains' pain responses to better treat patients

... cortex, was activated when members of that group saw someone touch with a needle but not activated when the person was touched with a Q-tip. Physicians ... brain related to pain, whether they saw an image of someone stuck with a needle or touched with a Q-tip. However, the physicians, unlike the control ...

New center at Georgia Tech aims to improve recovery of soldiers with severe injuries

... when inserted into the body. "Studies in our laboratory have shown that when stem cells are encapsulated in microbeads, they can be injected by needle without loss of cell viability and they remain at the injury site for at least two months," said Boyan. Protecting the cells during insertion is ...

Star Trek-like technology offers noninvasive monitor for patients and athletes

... that its measurements are not impacted by skin color or body fat. A noninvasive system also means a reduced risk of infection due to the lack of needle pricks. Most of the system's development has occurred at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where Soller is a professor of ...

Making a point: Picoscale stability in a room-temperature AFM

... and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to detect and monitor the tiny amount of light reflected directly off the needle point of an atomic force microscope probe, and in so doing has demonstrated a 100-fold improvement in the stability of the instruments measurements ...

Tiny samples could yield big predictive markers for pancreatic cancer

... over time," says co-author Jeffrey Tokar, M.D., Fox Chase gastroenterologist. "Many patients with pancreatic cysts are referred to us for endoscopic needle aspiration of fluid within the cyst, which is then sent to the laboratory and a variety of tests are commonly performed. However, while these tests ...

Freezing prostate cancer does a man's body good

... about prostate cancer," added Onik. With cryoablation, interventional radiologists insert a probe through the skin, using imaging to guide the needle to the tumor; the probe then circulates extremely cold gas to freeze and destroy the cancerous tissue. This minimally invasive treatment targets only ...

Oh, my aching back: Give me a shot of ozone

... disk. "Oxygen/ozone treatment of herniated disks is an effective and extremely safe procedure; interventional radiologists use imaging to guide a needle to inject oxygen/ozone into injured disks. The estimated improvement in pain and function is impressive when we looked at patients who ranged in age ...

Stem cells replace stroke-damaged tissue in rats

... support structure. Dr Modo continued: "This works really well because the stem cell-loaded PLGA particles can be injected through a very fine needle and then adopt the precise shape of the cavity. In this process the cells fill the cavity and can make connections with other cells, which helps to ...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- Jan. 14, 2009

... the disease's complications, including loss of vision, nerve damage, and kidney damage. One important barrier is the need for sometimes-painful needle sticks to draw blood for tests. The discomfort can discourage patients from properly monitoring their blood sugar levels, the scientists say. The ...

Research yields new clues to how we locate objects in space

... images. To test the accuracy of the visualization component of perception, the participants were asked to use the ultrasound to help them guide a needle to the bead. The subjects made errors in locating the bead; they consistently picked locations that were too shallow. To test the accuracy of the ...

Franklin Square to study airway bypass procedure for severe emphysema

... will first use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The procedure involves placing up ...

National Jewish Health researchers evaluating treatment to help emphysema sufferers breathe easier

... physicians will use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale-Drug-Eluting-Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The procedure involves placing up ...

Researchers at National Jewish Health evaluating a treatment

... physicians will use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale-Drug-Eluting-Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The procedure involves placing up ...

UCSF Fresno leading-edge study lends hope to emphysema patients

... a pathway for the trapped air in the inner lung to escape by "bypassing" the collapsing small airways. These new pathways are created using a special needle through a bronchoscope. After each new passage is made, a small drug-eluting stent (a wire mesh similar to what is used to keep coronary ...

New blood test for Down syndrome

... are currently considered the "gold standard" in prenatal testing, involve sampling cells in amniotic fluid. Those cells are obtained by inserting a needle into the mother's uterus. The procedure carries up to a one percent risk of inducing a miscarriage. For that reason, routine use of these invasive ...

Anti-tumor therapy with endoscopic ultrasound may fight cancer more safely and effectively

... September 12-13. This technique, which uses a flexible gastrointestinal endoscope with a miniature ultrasound transducer on the tip to guide a small needle directly into a tumor, could prove to be a safer and more effective approach to administering chemotherapy since it allows doctors to deliver therapy ...

Genetic data promises new future for kiwi fruit

... ESTs are essential in helping scientists identify the genes they're looking for. "If breeding a new fruit with a specific trait is like finding a needle in a haystack, then MAS is like having a metal detector," says Dr Laing. "Our breeding programme with ZESPRI generates many thousands of ...

Multithreaded supercomputer seeks software for data-intensive computing

... a massively multithreaded algorithm on the Cray XMT," said Georgia Tech computational scientist and engineer David A. Bader. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack. The algorithm searches for genes whose removal quickly causes networks and pathways in the cell to breakdown." The processors and ...

Researchers mimic bacteria to produce magnetic nanoparticles

... particles about 50 nanometers in size. These crystals are bound by membranes to form chains of particles which the bacteria use like a compass needle to orient themselves with the Earths magnetic field. To see if researchers could learn from the bacteria, Surya Mallapragada, Ames Laboratory ...

Needle-size device created to track tumors, radiation dose

... diameter of about 2.5 millimeters, or thousandths of a meter, and is about 2 centimeters long, making it small enough to fit inside a large-diameter needle for injection with a syringe. The current size is small enough to be used in tumors, but researchers will work to shrink the device to about half a ...

Clinical trial that may help patients breathe easier begins at Central DuPage Hospital

... will first use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The approximately two hour ...

New way to produce high-vitamin corn could improve nutrition in developing countries

... merely by visual inspection. "Therefore, identifying crops that have high levels of vitamin A precursors has traditionally been like finding a needle in a haystack." But the team led by Buckler and Rocheford has significantly simplified the task of sifting through that proverbial haystack. They ...

Researchers at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System to study airway bypass treatment for emphysema

... will first use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The procedure involves placing up ...

EMD Serono launches easypod, new electronic growth hormone injection device

... was designed with patients in mind. easypod has a sleek, ergonomic shape and is similar in size to a juice box. The device also features a hidden needle intended to help reduce patient anxiety. easypod was the recipient of a 2007 Gold Medal from the Medical Design Excellence Awards, the premier ...

US faces burning emissions issue

... emissions. The fires include wild fires, prescribed burning and burning for agricultural purposes, but the majority of these emissions come from needle leaf forest fires in the western and southeastern States. ...

Flu vaccine in painless skin patches under development at Emory, Georgia Tech with NIH grants

... PhD, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. "Beyond that, the possibility of replacing a hypodermic needle with a microneedle patch should significantly impact the way that other vaccines are delivered." The project team has extensive experience in ...

Rare albino ratfish has eerie, silvery sheen

... that venomous spine. Located on their back, just in front of the dorsal fin, ratfish have a spine several inches long that is serrated on one edge, needle sharp at the tip and delivers an irritating venom. The spine could be the reason the only predators to eat Puget Sound ratfish are dogfish and ...

Emphasis on conifer forests places multiple species at risk

... health, including ability to resist disease, soil function and fixation of nitrogen. An illustration of this concern is a current epidemic of Swiss needle Cast, a tree disease occurring in areas that used to have many diverse tree and shrub species, but which have been largely converted to a monoculture ...

Finding that 1-in-a-billion that could lead to disease

... the genetic code can give rise to cancer and a host of other diseases, but finding these errors can be more difficult than looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Now, scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered how the tiny protein-machines in cells tasked to search for such potentially ...

Researchers design pulsed mircrojet system to deliver protein drugs without pain or bruising

... is driven by a combination of factors, including needle phobia, pain and discomfort, infections, and accidental needle sticks to healthcare providers. Currently, about 12 billion needle injections are performed every year for the ...