#New laser device spells end for diabetic finger pricking LONDON: A new technology developed by an Indian-origin scientist,
which uses a laser device may be able to non-invasively monitor blood glucose levels and eliminate the need for daily finger pricking for diabetics.
Currently, many people with diabetes need to measure their blood glucose levels by pricking their fingers,
squeezing drops of blood onto test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers. The new technology, developed by Professor Gin Jose and a team in the Faculty of engineering at the University of Leeds,
uses a small device with low-powered lasers to measure blood glucose levels without penetrating the skin.
It could give people a simpler pain-free alternative to finger pricking. The technology has continuous monitoring capabilities making it ideal for development as a wearable device.
This could help improve the lives of millions of people by enabling them to constantly monitor their glucose levels without the need for an implant."
this technology opens up the potential for people with diabetes to receive continuous readings, meaning they are alerted instantly
At the heart of the new technology is a piece of nano-engineered silica glass with ions that fluoresce in infrared light when a low power laser light hits them.
When the glass is in contact with the users'skin, the extent of fluorescence signal varies in relation to the concentration of glucose in their blood.
"The glass used in our sensors is hardwearing, acting in a similar way as that used in smartphones.
Because of this, our device is more affordable, with lower running costs than the existing self-monitoring systems,
One will be a finger-touch device similar to a computer mouse. The other will be a wearable version for continuous monitoring,
The results of a pilot clinical study, carried out at the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine under the supervision of Professor Peter Grant,
suggest that the new monitor has the potential to perform as well as conventional technologies. LONDON: A new technology developed by an Indian-origin scientist,
which uses a laser device may be able to non-invasively monitor blood glucose levels and eliminate the need for daily finger pricking for diabetics.
Currently, many people with diabetes need to measure their blood glucose levels by pricking their fingers,
squeezing drops of blood onto test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers. The new technology, developed by Professor Gin Jose and a team in the Faculty of engineering at the University of Leeds,
uses a small device with low-powered lasers to measure blood glucose levels without penetrating the skin.
This could help improve the lives of millions of people by enabling them to constantly monitor their glucose levels without the need for an implant."
this technology opens up the potential for people with diabetes to receive continuous readings, meaning they are alerted instantly
At the heart of the new technology is a piece of nano-engineered silica glass with ions that fluoresce in infrared light when a low power laser light hits them.
When the glass is in contact with the users'skin, the extent of fluorescence signal varies in relation to the concentration of glucose in their blood.
"The glass used in our sensors is hardwearing, acting in a similar way as that used in smartphones.
Because of this, our device is more affordable, with lower running costs than the existing self-monitoring systems,
One will be a finger-touch device similar to a computer mouse. The other will be a wearable version for continuous monitoring,
The results of a pilot clinical study, carried out at the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine under the supervision of Professor Peter Grant,
suggest that the new monitor has the potential to perform as well as conventional technologies s
#utated lepto bacteria resistant to drugs, heatmumbai: Scientists at the premier Regional Medical Reference Centre (RMRC) at Port Blair have found that the bacterial species that causes leptospirosis is no longer socially aloof,
as has been held for years. Leptospira now interacts aggressively with other organisms, in the soil and water, becoming stronger and smarter,
while posing a greater threat to public health. The study is the first to demonstrate how leptospira mutates to form a biofilm, an extra protective layer of microbial cells,
when it interacts with other organisms in water. Its relationship with azospirillum brasilense, a bacteria routinely found in plants
This biofilm, created with help from the plant bacteria, made leptospira almost invincible when attacked with normal doses of antibiotics, ultraviolet radiation or even heat.
Understanding leptospira's mutation, when in contact with aquatic organisms, is of greater significance for Mumbai,
In July, leptospirosis came out of nowhere to kill 16 people in two weeks. The mutation study, published in a Federation of European Microbiological Studies journal in May, was a wake-up call for public health experts to find better ways to tame the bacteria.
The world over leptospirosis has emerged as a crucial zoonotic disease, with leptospira evolving and thriving in an array of mammal hosts
and routinely causing havoc by sneaking into humans.""The biofilms showed very high resistance to Penicillin g, ampicillin and tetracycline,
some of the leading antibiotics used to treat acute leptospirosis in humans and animals,"said Dr Paluru Vijayachari, director of the Port Blair institute."
"The biofilms also increased leprospira's tolerance to UV radiation and high temperature. It could withstand up to 49 degrees C,
"he said. The findings are added crucial, he.""This biofilm protects the leptospira from adverse environmental conditions,
and is probably the key factor for its persistence and survival, "Vijayachari said. The paper, primarily authored by scientist K Vinod Kumar,
raised a need to understand its role in epidemics better. Two rare sergroups of the bacteria, Tarassovi and Djasmin, were found responsible for the recent outbreak.
Literature shows pathogenic leptospires can be found in rodents, dogs to pigs and even horses."
"Humans can literally catch infection in the blink of an eye. The infection can enter through membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth,
or through cuts and abrasions,"said Dr Jayanti Shastri, head of microbiology at BYL Nair Hospital.
She said its spread in humans could be controlled by treating or vaccinating animals.""Till that happens, early diagnosis
and prompt treatment is the key
#Vaccine success holds hope for end to deadly scourge of Ebola The world is for the first time on the verge of being able to protect humans against Ebola,
the World health organization (WHO) said on Friday, as data from a trial in Guinea showed a vaccine was 100 percent effective.
Initial results from the trial, which tested Merck and Newlink Genetics'VSV-ZEBOV vaccine on some 4, 000 people who had been in close contact with a confirmed Ebola case,
showed 100 percent protection after 10 days. The results were described as"remarkable"and"game changing"by global health specialists."
"We believe that the world is on the verge of an efficacious Ebola vaccine, "WHO vaccine expert Marie Paule Kieny told reporters in a briefing from Geneva.
The vaccine could now be used to help end the worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, which has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa
since it began in December 2013. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the results, published online in the medical journal The Lancet,
were an"extremely promising development"."""This is going to be a game changer, "she told reporters.""It will change the management of the current Ebola outbreak and future outbreaks."
"This and other vaccine trials were tracked fast with enormous international effort as researchers raced to be able to test potential therapies
and vaccines while the virus was still circulating.""We knew it was a race against time
and that the trial had to be implemented under the most challenging circumstances, "says John-Arne Rottingen, head of infectious disease control at the Norwegian Institute of Public health and chair of the trial's steering group."
"Ring vaccination"The Guinea trial began on March 23 to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a single dose of VSV-ZEBOV using a so-called"ring vaccination"strategy,
where close contacts of a person diagnosed with Ebola are immunised-either immediately, or at a later date.
As data began to emerge showing the very high protection rates in those vaccinated immediately,
however, researchers decided on July 26 that they would no longer use the"delayed"strategy, since it was becoming clear that making people wait involved unethical and unnecessary risk.
with all participants receiving the vaccine immediately, and will be extended to include 13-to 17-year-olds and possibly also 6-to 12-year-old children,
Jeremy Farrar, a leading infectious disease specialist and director of the Wellcome Trust, said the trial"dared to use a highly innovative and pragmatic design,
which allowed the team in Guinea to assess this vaccine in the middle of an epidemic"."""Our hope is that this vaccine will now help bring this epidemic to an end
and be available for the inevitable future Ebola epidemics, "his statement said. The medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF),
which has led the fight against Ebola in West Africa, is now calling for VSV-ZEBOV to be rolled out to the other centres of the outbreak, Liberia and Sierra leone,
where it says it could break chains of transmission and protect front-line health workers. The success of the Guinea trial is a huge relief for researchers, many of
whom had feared that a sharp decline in cases this year would scupper hopes of proving that a vaccine could work.
Another major trial in Liberia which had aimed to sign up more than 28,000 subjects, had to stop enrolling after only reaching its mid-stage target of 1, 500 participants,
and plans for testing in Sierra leone were scaled also back. That left the study in Guinea, where Ebola is still infecting new victims,
as the only real hope for demonstrating the efficacy of a vaccine e
#China plans to enforce real names on Social media Chinese government has issued new regulations to eliminate fake social media accounts.
Starting March 1 the internet watchdog will ensure that people use their real names on message boards social media websites and instant messaging services.
The move is part of China#s recent plan to enforce stronger online censorship in the country.
When real names and identities will be used internet users will be careful while commenting on anything online. Users will be allowed to choose screen names.
However if the screen name or profile pictures includea anything#illegal or bad#the account will be deleted.
In a statement issued on its website Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) informed that the real-name registration requirement will control the spread of rumors online.
Wechat QQ and Weibo's micro-blogging services are among the most popular in China.
and websites will have the responsibility of enforcing the rules for usage of real names during account registration.
#Samsung launches Portable 1tb SSD DRIVE Samsung has launched a portable SSD DRIVE with one terabyte capacity. The Samsung portable SSD DRIVE is with small form factor
and weighs only 30 grams. The SSD DRIVE measures 71x53 mm and is 9 mm thick.
The solid state drive is smaller than a business card in size. Samsung has launched Portable SS T1 in 250gb, 500gb and 1tb variants.
Samsung has offered an amazing portable storage option for consumers, powered by 3d V-NAND memory technology.
Samsung T1 series will support data transfer speed up to 450mb per second. Samsung will offer the drive by the end of January in US
European and Asian market, covering 14 countries during the first phase of launch. Samsung SSD will work with both Windows and Mac computers.
With dynamic thermal guard feature, Samsung T1 will automatically turn off during extreme temperatures. Samsung offers three year warranty for the SSD.
Samsung has packed a lot in a small size and the company has placed a higher price tag on all the variants.
Samsung T1 SSD 250 GB will cost $179. 99 while 500gb variant will put you down by $299. 99.
The top end one terabyte portable SSD will cost $599. 99. In the recent years
SSD market has grown faster due to the data write and read speed. Also, with improved performance, consumers don mind shelling out extra money for SSD.
However, for internal SSD, the storage capacity has remained in the lower range. With consumers downloading massive files and media,
500 GB plus storage has become a bare minimum for any PC user. Many companies have started offering SSD options for the laptops.
The latest offering from Samsung is impressive. However, many technology experts feel that the higher price tag could be the only constraint for T1 SSD series i
#Mobile App Connects Cardiac arrest Victims with CPR Trained People A mobile phone app can now help save lives of people who suffer from a cardiac arrest,
by connecting them with their saviors. The latter ones are the people who have been trained specially in CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
In the study published in The New england Journal of Medicine, researchers from Sweden employed a mobile phone app on a sample of 30,000 patients from Stockholm, Sweden.
They used the mobile notification system, called SMS Lifesavers, to locate CPR-trained volunteers in the vicinity of the victim.
These people could help revive patients before emergency assistance arrived. SMS Lifesavers was a mobile-phone positioning system that used the same type of technology as GPS tracking.
The researchers found that the notification system brought about a 30 percent increase in the number of volunteers providing emergency CPR for victims of heart attack.
Further they said that the 30-day survival rate after heart attack, was 10 percent when onlookers provided CPR,
while only four percent, if they did not. They also observed that when the app was activated,
there was a 30 percent increase in CPR administration by onlookers before medical responders reached the spot.
Ever since the app was launched, as many as 6, 000 people trained in CPR, but not part of the health care system formally, came forward.
Later, another 4, 000 joined and these were usually volunteers within the distance of about one-third of a mile from the patient.
However like all other applications built in the US, this app too would require to be passed by the government,
before it can be put to use commercially y
#Audi unveils virtual cockpit piloted driving system at CES Introducing a new wave of avant-garde automotive technology Audi has unveiled its virtual cockpit
and piloted driving system at the Consumer electronics Show (CES) in Las vegas. The virtual cockpit unveiled by Audi at the CES is based on the Android platform;
and was showcased in a Q7 concept model. The virtual cockpit features Google earth street views and cloud music services;
and boasts integration with high speed LED data. All the functions of the virtual cockpit are controllable by voice commands.
With regard to the virtual cockpit which was showcased in Q7 Audi said that the Q7 will be the first-of its-kind car that will continue to increase its knowledge;
thanks to its permanent connectivity to the cloud for receiving updated information on a regular basis. Announcing its piloted driving system at the CES event Audi said that it is tantalizingly close to bringing its piloted car to the market.
Revealing that it has driven successfully test its autonomous car over a 560-mile distance from the Silicon valley to the CES venue in Las vegas this week Audi claimed that its test marked the longest drive of any autonomous car thus far.
Though Audi has acknowledged that it will bring piloted driving system mainstream only after addressing safety concerns
and standards for autonomous cars Audi President Scott Keogh said in reference to the test drive: Audi proved that a true turning point for the (autonomous) automobile has arrived d
#Britain's Transport Department has given go-ahead to test driverless cars on public roads According to a statement released by Britain's Department for Transport (Dft),
the government has given the requisite go-ahead for the testing of driverless vehicles on public roads. As a result, driverless vehicle testing will begin in Britain from next summer.
The Dft statement has revealed that driverless vehicle testing has been approved by the government on the condition that there should be a driver present in the vehicles to take control of the vehicles in case of an emergency.
The testing of driverless vehicles on public roads in Britain has been approved by the government after a review carried out into driverless cars revealed that there were no legal barriers with regard to the testing of the technology in the country.
With the go-ahead been given to driverless vehicle testing in Britain, the government is now working on a code of practice for driverless cars.
The code will likely be published in the spring, and the testing of driverless vehicles across the country will start in the summer.
About the government approval to testing of driverless vehicles, Britain Transport Minister Claire Perry said:""I want Britain to be at the forefront of this exciting new development,
to embrace a technology that could transform our roads and open up a brand new route for global investment
#Japan to invest $21 million in developing 3d printed human organs Could 3d printable human organ transplants become a reality in the coming years?
It#s certainly starting to look that way as reports are surfacing that the Japanese government will also begin heavily investing in this very human branch of 3d bio printing technology.
This announcement is following recent developments in that same field; last November we reported on Russian scientists who are confident that they will be able to 3d print human kidneys by 2018.
And just a few weeks ago in early December we learned of a collaboration between 3d printing company Organovo and the Yale School of medicine that aims to pioneer 3d bioprinted surgical tissues themselves.
This Japanese announcement thus follows a current trend in medical science but they are reportedly doing it on a hitherto unseen scale.
For reports have surfaced that they will invest a massive sum of 25 billion yen in the development of transplantable human organ printing over the next five years
which comes down to a sum of approximately $21 million. Now that is going somewhere. This sum is to be spread out over five research organizations attached to Osaka University who will use it to develop 3d printable human tissue and ultimately transplantable organs.
Research into human tissue printing is reportedly already well underway in Osaka where research teams have been working with ips cells (induced pluripotent stem cells
or artificially cultivated stem cells that can be used in 3d bio printing processes) with the hopes of generating cardiomyocytes or muscle cells of the heart.
Now these fields will need reportedly a lot of time before they#ll reach a stage where they can applied to human subjects.
This new round of investments is great news for the development of 3d printed medication which is expected to revolutionize medical help.
And as an estimated 100000 people are on the waiting list for organ transplantation in the US alone it#s no wonder that the medical field is turning its focus towards 3d printing r
#Design Lab Workshop merges 3d printing with solar energy for glowing architecture As more architects look into ways of using additive manufacturing as a way of constructing their buildings,
wee been seeing new ways of creating modular structures to even large-scale 3d printers that are capable of printing an entire house (or multiples) within a day.
Historically, architects have been using 3d printers for years to create small-scale mockups of concepts to present to clients or colleagues,
Among other work in their portfolio the architects have done everything from creating 3d printed ceramic bricks that use a variety of different infills for various structural and aesthetic qualities to 3d printed vertices that connect multiple wooden rods
new smart technologies (light sensors and photovoltaics) and are powered by renewable energy sources (solar energy). Constructed out of 94 digitally designed
the Solar Bytes Pavillion is the result of their experiment and through its use of embedded technologies becomes a glowing structure at night
Each of the 94 modules were 3d printed using a 6-axis robot arm in the Robotic Fabrication Lab at the nearby College of Architecture and Environmental design at Kent State university in Ohio, USA.
Each module was 3d printed with translucent plastic to allow the structure to filter sunlight during the day
while also allowing the light to penetrate to be able to reach the sensors that would in turn,
The included solar cells all act independently to capture and store energy for each individual LED.
The pavilion served as a shading device during the day and a beacon at night along the lakefront during Ingenuity Fest in Cleveland, Ohio in September of 2014.
#Recent developments in 3d printed plastic electronics showing promise With today's printed plastic electronics performing nearly just as well as
and the fabrication of plastic circuit boards involve little more than simple inkjetting and processing with low-cost liquids.
The largest hurdle has primarily been in duplicating the micron-level features seen in today's integrated circuits.
More recently, an IBM Research lab in Zurich, Switzerland developed a device by reconfiguring an atomic force microscope
so that it was capable of creating 3d patterns with a nanometer scale resolution in organic material.
and used it to desorb material from a thin film of organic molecular glass or polyphthalamide polymer (PPA).
When heated, both materials evaporate and thus, leave no residue behind. When done in more complex patterns,
The additional necessary materials for creating the electronics are applied then to the board via the pattern on the mask.
IBM has licensed the device to Swisslitho AG, a startup that is developing several enhancements for the technology.
Their version of the device, the Nanofrazor, has been able to outperform conventional electron-beam lithography equipment used in the semiconductor manufacturing process and costs just $500
founder of the Trillion Sensor movement. If Bryzek's theory is correct, then the potential for being able to cheaply fabricate plastic boards for wearable electronics
and other small connected devices isn't too far off of the horizon. If the printed plastic electronics truly do make an impact,
it will likely eliminate large semiconductor companies due to smaller workshops, firms and even larger companies being able to literally 3d print their own circuit boards...
so long as they have the equipment. As the cost of additive manufacturing methods continue to go down, that future might not be too far off f
#Artec Spider & SDK Automated Scanning creates 3d models with unprecedented detail and accuracy Scanning physical objects to create real-life,
3d models is becoming more and more commonplace, especially in the fields of medicine, CGI and graphic design.
However, even for experienced users with good equipment, it can be a challenge to accurately reproduce objects with complicated textures, occlusions and fine details.
a group of international researchers and engineers have combined Artec Scanning Software and the Artec Spider,
a handheld 3d scanner designed specifically for CAD users, to create a new, high-fedelity 3d scanning technique.
and assessing potential low-quality areas with the algorithm progressively captures the surface of the scanned object,
it's worth the investment. The Luxembourg-based company, seen as the leading experts in the sphere of capturing
and processing 3d surfaces, also offers software licenses for roughly#500 more. In order to prove the superiority of their new scanning method,
the researchers compared it to two other state-of-the-art NBV-based algorithms, one focused on visibility and the other one on boundaries.
The Spider and SDK technique outperformed both the quality and surface reconstruction of the previous methods.
They also compared their algorithm to curvature and density-based approaches, and went even further to compare 3d models that had been scanned manually,
Finally, the researchers experimented with using their algorithm on a one-armed industry robot instead of the PR2,
The group of international researchers include engineers from the Visual Computing Research center, Tel-aviv University, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Konstaz and Shandong University.
#Doctors use 3d printing to aid successful open-heart surgery on four-year old Jan 15, 2015 By Simon Born with a heart condition that resulted in her having two open heart surgeries before the time she was even four years old, Adaenelie Gonzalez, a four-year old from Miami, Florida in the United states,
recently underwent her third heart surgery last week. However unlike her previous open heart surgeries, the use of 3d printing enabled doctors to perform a third open heart surgery last week that may just be her last.
Gonzalez condition, which prevented blood from properly flowing into the heart from the lungs (also known as anomalous pulmonary venous connection),
caused her to experience erratic and severe breathing problems. Sadly, the four-year old has spent much of her young childhood dealing with the condition
and going in and out of the hospital for efforts to control it. At one point, the doctor even said that they were out of options. seriously,
I kind of lost hope. I didn think there was anything that was going to be able to help her,
Thankfully, a team of pediatric medicine professionals from Miami Children Hospital were able to scan Gonzalez heart and produce a 3d printed model
which was used for surgeons to study the condition. Creating an anatomically-correct 3d print of a patient heart is far from your run-of-the-mill 3d printing project, however.
the surgeons were able to practice manipulating the blood vessels and exploring all of the possible repairs without having to operate.
the surgeons were then able to create a map of every nerve and artery before attempting their third open heart surgery on the four-year old.
The use of the 3d printed model was critical for the surgery success in part because the team had done never the surgical procedure before.
Without properly training themselves the doctor ran the possibility of tragically killing the young girl if any steps in the surgery went awry.
Even though the doctors were previously able to study Gonzalez condition using traditional two-dimensional scans, the data proved to be not as informative as they needed for operating. wasn going to operate on her based on the data that we already had said
Burke. He even compared the use of a two-dimensional image to a 3d printed model to teaching somebody how to throw a football,
adding: t be like saying, K, I going to teach you how to throw a football by handing you a picture of a football.
You can look at it all day long and until you have a football in your hand, youe not going to be able to figure out how to throw it
Thankfully, the ability to study the 3d printed model of Gonzalez heart proved to be an invaluable tool before heading into the surgery last week.
Already, Gonzalez is out of the bed and moving whereas before the surgery she could barely move
Thanks to the surgery, Gonzalez is expected at least to live through her teenage years. o me,
Thanks to the success of Gonzalez surgery, Miami Children Hospital plans on using 3d printing in the future for other surgical procedures."
"The fourth day after surgery I envisioned her still being on a breathing machine in the ICU getting massive amounts of medication,
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