29 July, 2019

Indian scientists develop world’s 1st robotic hand for paralytics

Scientists at the IIT-Kanpur have ventured into the world’s first robotic hand for the rehabilitation of stroke patients and have finished their tests on it. The device is a two-finger robotic hand (exoskeleton) that uses a four-bar mechanism and has four degrees of freedom (DOF).

Professor Ashish Dutta and Professors K S Venkatesh who have achieved this feat, explain that “The exoskeleton can be used by a patient on the hand. It uses brain signals, with the help of the brain computer interface (BCI) that is worn on the head, and helps paralysed patients to open and close the movement of their thumb, forefinger and middle fingers for physical practice.”

The exoskeleton is operated by an MEGA microcontroller of 300 Mhz and powered by a battery. The teachers say that the device will cost around Rs 15,000. For the exoskeleton, the duo has partnered with the University of Ulster, based in the United Kingdom, and their teacher Girijesh Prasad, who belongs to Gorakhpur. The device has sensors that control the pressure of the fingertip applied by the patient. If the patient can close or move the finger, the device follows the movement passively. If it does not, then the device actively forces the finger to close, while taking BCI instructions using signals.

Regarding the design of the device, the movement of degrees of freedom of the exoskeleton is based on the movement of the human finger while manipulating a coin in the hands. The joints in the device consist of four bars to give a human movement. The design and development of an exoskeleton robot for the support and rehabilitation of human hands is a Rs 55 lakh MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Department) and the British Council (the UK) project which was approved in 2018.

The research has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience Methods, Biomedical and Health Informatics, Haptics and Engineering in the Medical and Biology Society.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

29.07.2019

The time is always right to do what is right

 Martin Luther King

22 July, 2019

Routine check-up can prevent heart failure in competitive athletes

A recent study has suggested ways, which can prevent and help in managing the risk of cardiac arrest in competitive athletics. The study has been published in the journal of ‘Canadian Medical Association.’ The sudden heart failure is something rare and, in young athletes, is usually the first sign of heart disease, although one study has found that 29 per cent of athletes had symptoms of underlying disease before an arrest.

It is very difficult to predict or prevent, and screening programmes are challenging and of uncertain benefit. Therefore, physicians should routinely ask athletes if they feel dizzy, short of breath or experience chest pains during or after exercise and ask about family history to determine if there may be an inherited condition. Survival rates after sudden cardiac arrest in athletes are quite high when automated external defibrillators are used.

Dr Paul Dorian, a cardiologist from Ontario, said: “Establishing effective resuscitation protocols and increasing the availability of automated external defibrillators in settings where the competitive sport is undertaken are the most effective strategies in helping reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death among athletes.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

22.07.2019

Do what is right, not what is easy

15 July, 2019

Chinese scientists develop tumor-specific anti-cancer therapy

Chinese scientists developed a combined tumor-killing therapy that can be activated specifically at tumor sites in mouse models of cancer, which is more effective than previous similar therapies. The study published on Friday in the journal Science Immunology described the new cancer immunotherapy that can prevent the immune system from becoming tolerant of tumors, which occurs in 30 per cent of all cancer patients, the Xinhua news agency reported.

A team led by Wang Dangge from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University developed a common immune checkpoint inhibitor in a nanoparticle formulation, which is highly tumor-specific. The checkpoint inhibitor is a kind of increasingly popular anti-tumor drug. It can block proteins that keep immune T cells from killing cancer. But the checkpoint inhibitor used to target those immune system-suppressing proteins like PD-1 and PD-L1 often fails to reach deep-seated or metastatic tumors.

Wang’s team combined the nanoparticles carrying PD-L1-targeting antibodies with a light-activated molecule. The molecule called photosensitiser can produce tumor-killing reactive oxygen species after encountering a protein abundant in tumors, according to the study. In mouse models, a local near-infrared radiation that activated the photosensitiser, along with the administration of antibodies-carrying nanoparticles, promoted the infiltration of cancer cell-killing T cells into the tumor site and made the tumors more sensitive to the checkpoint blockade.

This combination also helped the nanoparticles effectively suppress tumor growth and metastasis to the lung and lymph nodes, resulting in approximately 80 per cent mouse survival over 70 days, compared to complete mouse death in 45 days in the group treated with only PD-L1 antibodies, according to the study.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

15.07.2019

Knowing is not enough; we must apply, wishing is not enough; we must do

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

8 July, 2019

Now doctors may predict accurate treatment for patients: Study

A recent research may enable doctors to use the genetic profiles of patients to predict with great accuracy which treatment and prevention protocols will work for them, but requires greater inclusion of ethnic minorities as well. Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, an anthropologist, and bioethicist said that to improve medical care researchers need more data about the individual differences that make each of us unique.

“Without engaging underrepresented communities in genetic studies, efforts to move precision science forward may recapitulate ongoing inequities in health care and limit and bias the research. The early stages of precision medicine offer a critical window in which to intervene before research practices and their consequences become locked in,” Lee said in the study which was published in the journal of Science. Precision medicine relies on the collection of biospecimens, electronic records and other sources of behavioral and environmental data, Lee said.

Diseases can present differently among ethnic groups. They may, for example, appear at an earlier age, or they may progress more rapidly or respond disparately to treatment. The study will explore how these centres recruit participants and collect, measure and share data. It will also examine how they communicate the findings of their research. “We are looking to see if there are unintended consequences that would limit researchers’ ability to meet diversity recruitment goals, address social and biological causes of health disparities, and distribute the benefits of precision medicine equitably,” Lee said.

Lee warned that building a diverse genetic database may prove challenging. He also stressed that, as a result, recruiting for diverse participation alone is not nearly enough. “An ethics of inclusion demands transparency and a culture of openness. Precision medicine studies must open themselves up to multidisciplinary teams that include social scientists, ethicists, and policymakers who can identify and implement practices that respect the histories and concern of diverse populations-and recognize where reform is needed,” she said.

Source: www.thehealthsite.com

08.07.2019

When someone does something wrong,
don’t forget the things they did right