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2 weeks ago | 
iop.org | Cynthia E Keen
Researchers from four universities in Shanghai, China, are developing a practical visual assistance system to help blind and partially sighted people navigate. The prototype system combines lightweight camera headgear, rapid-response AI-facilitated software and artificial “skins” worn on the wrists and finger that provide physiological sensing.
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1 month ago | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
Researchers at the University of Victoria in Canada are developing a low-cost radiotherapy system for use in low- and middle-income countries and geographically remote rural regions. Initial performance characterization of the proof-of-concept device produced encouraging results, and the design team is now refining the system with the goal of clinical commercialization.
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2 months ago | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
FLASH irradiation, an emerging cancer treatment that delivers radiation at ultrahigh dose rates, has been shown to significantly reduce acute skin toxicity in laboratory mice compared with conventional radiotherapy. Having demonstrated this effect using proton-based FLASH treatments, researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark have now repeated their investigations using electron-based FLASH (eFLASH).
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Feb 19, 2025 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
A photothermal, nanoparticle-based deep brain stimulation (DBS) system has successfully reversed the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in laboratory mice. Under development by researchers in Beijing, China, the injectable, wireless DBS not only reversed neuron degeneration, but also boosted dopamine levels by clearing out the buildup of harmful fibrils around dopamine neurons. Following DBS treatment, diseased mice exhibited near comparable locomotive behaviour to that of healthy control mice.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
Biomedical microrobots could revolutionize future cancer treatments, reliably delivering targeted doses of toxic cancer-fighting drugs to destroy malignant tumours while sparing healthy bodily tissues. Development of such drug-delivering microrobots is at the forefront of biomedical engineering research. However, there are many challenges to overcome before this minimally invasive technology moves from research lab to clinical use.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
auntminnie.com | Joe Constance |Cynthia E Keen
The American College of Radiology (ACR) Learning Network introduced its first two vendor partners, Inflo Health and Radloop, to its ImPower program. ACR ImPower connects health systems and radiology practices with resources, expertise, and a structured approach to identifying, training, and supporting multidepartment quality improvement (QI) teams. The program combines QI education with the direct application of QI tools to projects for team analytical problem-solving, according to the ACR.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
FLASH radiotherapy is an emerging cancer treatment that delivers radiation at extremely high dose rates within a fraction of a second. This innovative radiation delivery technique, dramatically faster than conventional radiotherapy, reduces radiation injury to surrounding healthy tissues while effectively targeting malignant tumour cells.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel have developed a method to detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease at the cellular level using skin biopsies. They say that this capability could enable treatment up to 20 years before the appearance of motor symptoms characteristic of advanced Parkinson’s. Such early treatment could reduce neurotoxic protein aggregates in the brain and help prevent the irreversible loss of dopamine-producing neurons.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease who experience disabling tremors and slowness of movements. But because the therapy is delivered with constant stimulation parameters – which are unresponsive to a patient’s activities or variations in symptom severity throughout the day – it can cause breakthrough symptoms and unwanted side effects.
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Aug 15, 2024 | 
physicsworld.com | Cynthia E Keen
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the abnormal formation of amyloid-beta peptide plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Although initially identified in 1907, the molecular structures and arrangements of these protein aggregates remain unclear. Now, a research team headed up at the University of Leeds has determined the 3D architecture of these molecules within a human brain for the first time, reporting the findings in Nature.
