such as electronic-prescription and pill-barcoding systems at hospitals in their native Iceland and other European countries.
But all that time spent in hospitals soon opened their eyes to a major health care issue:
Indeed a 2006 report from the Institute of Medicine found that 1. 5 million hospitalized patients in the United states experience medication errors every year due in part to drug-administration mistakes.
Commercialized through startup Mint Solutions Medeye has now been used for a year in hospitals in The netherlands where the startup is based) garnering significant attention from the medical community.
Medication verification is a pinnacle point of medical safety says Helgason a physician and product developer.
Mint Solutions aim Reynisson says is to aid nurses in rapidly efficiently and correctly administering medication.
We want the device to be the nurse s best friend says Reynisson now Mint s CEO.
and working with a Dutch health care insurance company to bring the Medeye to 15 hospitals across the country as well as Belgium the United kingdom and Germany.
Systematic approachto use the Medeye a foot-high box in a white housing a nurse first scans a patient s wristband
The nurse then pushes the assigned pills into the Medeye via a sliding tray. Inside the device a small camera scans the pills rapidly identifying them by size shape color and markings.
because it s new for instance the system alerts the nurse who adds the information into the software for next time.
We save a lot of time for nurses that way. Similar systems exist for catching medication errors:
About 15 years ago some hospitals began using barcode systems which Reynisson and Helgason actually helped install in some Dutch and German hospitals.
These systems also require nurses to use a handheld scanner to scan a patient s wristband
and then the imprinted barcodes on each pill container. But the hurdle has been getting these installed Reynisson says.
Hospitals have to make all these things work together and it s hard for small and medium hospitals to afford.
No one is selling turn-key barcode systems. That s where Medeye is truly unique Helgason says:
As an entire system that requires no change in a hospital s workflow or logistics it s more usable and more accessible in health care facilities.
Feedback from nurses using Medeye to ease their workloads has been positive Reynisson says. And errors are caught more often than expected.
when a nurse at the Dutch hospital demonstrated the Medeye for department heads on a random patient.
The nurse scanned four pills which had been assigned to the patient and added an extra erroneous pill to show how Medeye caught errors.
But to his surprise so were two other pills that the nurse had assumed were correct
because another nurse had dispensed those Reynisson says. Goes to show that even with full focus it is common for nurses to be in a position where they are expected to catch errors made in other parts of the medication-delivery process.
Vision for new technologyhelgason conceived of Medeye while studying in the MIT-Harvard Health Sciences and Technology program.
At the same time he started taking heed of MIT s burgeoning startup ecosystem prompting him to contact his longtime medical device colleague.
But a 2010 demonstration at a Dutch hospital of an early prototype a bulkier version of the Medeye with off-the-shelf parts constructed at MIT changed their perception.
The hospital had to identify about 250 small white pills of different medications that in fact all looked the same.
That s when we realized what a change it would be for a hospital to collect data
and efficiently without asking the nurse to pick up a pen. Mint Solution now has 40 Medeye systems ready to deploy across Europe in the coming months with hopes of gaining some client feedback.
At the core of the startup is this belief that better information technology in hospitals can both increase efficiency
This circuit could offer a target for new drugs to help treat conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder the researchers say In the future one may be able to develop methods that help people to remember positive memories more strongly than negative ones says Susumu Tonegawa the Picower
and posttraumatic stress disorder but the neural circuitry underlying such malleability is known not. In this study the researchers set out to explore that malleability with an experimental technique they recently devised that allows them to tag neurons that encode a specific memory or engram.
Last year Tonegawa s lab used this technique to implant or incept false memories in mice by reactivating engrams
whether reactivating pleasant memories has any effect on depression in hopes of identifying new targets for drugs to treat depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.
and also has potential implications for treating mental illness. This is a tour de force of modern molecular-biology-based methods for analyzing processes such as learning and memory at the neural-circuitry level.
Their device, about the size of a dime, could be used to detect the extremely rare tumor cells that circulate in cancer patientsblood,
helping doctors predict whether a tumor is going to spread. Separating cells with sound offers a gentler alternative to existing cell-sorting technologies,
which require tagging the cells with chemicals or exposing them to stronger mechanical forces that may damage them. coustic pressure is very mild and much smaller in terms of forces and disturbance to the cell.
To test whether the device could be useful for detecting circulating tumor cells, the researchers tried to separate breast cancer cells known as MCF-7 cells from white blood cells.
the researchers plan to test it with blood samples from cancer patients to see how well it can detect circulating tumor cells in clinical settings.
A 1-milliliter sample of blood may contain only a few tumor cells. f you can detect these rare circulating tumor cells,
it a good way to study cancer biology and diagnose whether the primary cancer has moved to a new site to generate metastatic tumors,
Dao says. his method is a step forward for detection of circulating tumor cells in the body.
It has the potential to offer a safe and effective new tool for cancer researchers, clinicians and patients,
Suresh says. The research was funded by the National institutes of health and the National Science Foundation a
#Unlocking the potential of simulation software With a method known as finite element analysis (FEA), engineers can generate 3-D digital models of large structures to simulate how theyl fare under stress, vibrations, heat,
and other real-world conditions. Used for mapping out large-scale structures such as mining equipment, buildings, and oil rigs these simulations require intensive computation done by powerful computers over many hours, costing engineering firms much time and money.
In one demonstration, for instance, a mining company used components available in the Akselos library to rapidly create a simulation of shiploader infrastructure complete with high-stress ot spotsthat needed inspection.
so they can visualize the stress, strain, and displacement in 3-D in their browser, he says. e think it a great way to show students the value of fast, 3-D simulations.
whose production from raw ores can produce toxic residues, as a drawback. But by using recycled lead from old car batteries,
instead be used to divert toxic material from landfills and reuse it in photovoltaic panels that could go on producing power for decades.
Since this could expose miners and smelters to toxic fumes the introduction of recycling instead could provide immediate benefits,
#RNA combination therapy for lung cancer offers promise for personalized medicine Small RNA molecules including micrornas (mirnas)
and small interfering RNAS (sirnas) offer tremendous potential as new therapeutic agents to inhibit cancer-cell growth.
However delivering these small RNAS to solid tumors remains a significant challenge as the RNAS must target the correct cells
This week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT report that they have delivered successfully small RNA therapies in a clinically relevant mouse model of lung cancer to slow
and shrink tumor growth. Their research offers promise for personalized RNA combination therapies to improve therapeutic response.
Delivering combination therapiesusing the KP mouse model in which a mutant form of the oncogene KRAS is activated
and tumor-suppressor gene p53 is deleted researchers injected mice with RNA-carrying nanoparticles. This mouse model reflects many of the hallmarks of human lung cancer
and is used often in preclinical trials. It was developed originally in the laboratory of Koch Institute Director#Tyler Jacks the#David H. Koch Professor of Biology#who is co-senior author of this paper.
They were developed in the laboratories of co-senior author Daniel G. Anderson the Samuel A. Goldblith Associate professor of Chemical engineering an affiliate of MIT's Institute of Medical Engineering and Science;
In this study researchers tested the nanoparticle-delivery system with different payloads of therapeutic RNA. They found that delivery of mir-34a a p53-regulated mirna slowed tumor growth as did delivery of sikras a KRAS-targeting sirna.
Next researchers treated mice with both mir-34a and sikras in the same nanoparticle. Instead of just slowing tumor growth this combination therapy caused tumors to regress
and shrink to about 50 percent of their original size. Researchers then compared mouse survival time among four treatment options:#
They found that the nanoparticle treatment extended life just as well as the cisplatin treatment and furthermore that the combination therapy of the nanoparticles and cisplatin together extended life by about an additional 25 percent.
Potential for personalized cancer treatmentsthis early example of RNA combination therapy demonstrates the potential of developing personalized cancer treatments.
With efficient delivery of therapeutic RNA any individual small RNA or combination of RNAS could be deployed to regulate the genetic mutations underlying a given patient s cancer.
Furthermore these RNA therapies could be combined with more traditional drug therapies for an enhanced effect.
Small-RNA therapy holds great promise for cancer Jacks#says. It is appreciated widely that the major hurdle in this field is efficient delivery to solid tumors outside of the liver
and this work goes a long way in showing that this is achievable. RNA therapies are very flexible
and have a lot of potential because you can design them to treat any type of disease by modifying gene expression very specifically says James Dahlman a graduate student in Anderson s
and Langer s laboratories who along with senior postdoc#Wen Xue of Jacks laboratory is co-first author of the paper.
and for one of the first times we demonstrate targeted RNA combination therapy in a clinically#relevant model of lung cancer.
and engineers together to engage in interdisciplinary cancer research. This study is a terrific example of the potential of new RNA therapies to treat disease that was done in a highly collaborative way between biologists
and engineers Langer#says. It s an example of what makes the Koch Institute very special.
This research was supported by grant funding from the National institutes of health and the National Cancer Institute e
#New analysis reveals tumor weaknesses Scientists have known for decades that cancer can be caused by genetic mutations
but more recently they have discovered that chemical modifications of a gene can also contribute to cancer.
Analyzing these modifications can provide important clues to the type of tumor a patient has
For example patients with glioblastoma a type of brain tumor respond well to a certain class of drugs known as alkylating agents
In some cancers the MGMT gene is turned off when methyl groups attach to specific locations in the DNA sequence namely cytosine bases that are adjacent to guanine bases.
This technique which cuts the amount of time required to analyze epigenetic modifications could be a valuable research tool as well as a diagnostic device for cancer patients says Andrea Armani a professor of chemical engineering
of which epigenetic markers are linked to which diseases. The MIT team is now adapting the device to detect methylation of other cancer-linked genes by changing the DNA sequences of the biochip probes.
They also hope to create better versions of the MBD protein and to engineer the device to require less DNA.
With the current version doctors would need to do a surgical biopsy to get enough tissue
but the researchers would like to modify it so the test could be done with just a needle biopsy.
#An easier way to manipulate malaria genes Plasmodium falciparum the parasite that causes malaria has proven notoriously resistant to scientists efforts to study its genetics.
It can take up to a year to determine the function of a single gene which has slowed efforts to develop new more targeted drugs and vaccines.
That s about 2500 genes that if only we knew what they did we could think about novel therapeutics
whether it s drugs or vaccines says Niles the senior author of a paper describing the technique in the Aug 10 online edition of Nature Methods.
Plasmodium falciparum a blood-borne parasite carried by mosquitoes is responsible for most of the estimated 219 million cases and 655000 deaths from malaria per year.
CRISPR a gene-editing system devised within the past several years exploits a set of bacterial proteins that protect microbes from viral infection.
and eba-175 that had previously been knocked out in malaria using traditional approaches. The kahrp gene produces a protein that causes red blood cells
when infected with malaria. Niles team was able to disrupt this gene in 100 percent of parasites treated with the CRISPR system;
and immunology at Cornell University who was not part of the research team. Now based on CRISPR we can modify genes in a shorter timeframe and with greatly enhanced precision.
which could generate new drug and vaccine targets. I think the impact could be quite huge Niles says.
The research was funded by the National Institute of General Medical sciences the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences the National Science Foundation the National institutes of health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation n
#A new way to model cancer Sequencing the genomes of tumor cells has revealed thousands of mutations associated with cancer.
They have shown that a gene-editing system called CRISPR can introduce cancer-causing mutations into the livers of adult mice enabling scientists to screen these mutations much more quickly.
In a study appearing in the Aug 6 issue of Nature the researchers generated liver tumors in adult mice by disrupting the tumor suppressor genes p53 and pten.
They are now working on ways to deliver the necessary CRISPR components to other organs allowing them to investigate mutations found in other types of cancer.
The sequencing of human tumors has revealed hundreds of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in different combinations.
Tyler Jacks director of MIT s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the David H. Koch Professor of Biology is the paper s senior author.
Gene disruptioncrispr relies on cellular machinery that bacteria use to defend themselves from viral infection.
To investigate the potential usefulness of CRISPR for creating mouse models of cancer the researchers first used it to knock out p53 and pten
Previous studies have shown that genetically engineered mice with mutations in both of those genes will develop cancer within a few months.
and pten the researchers were able to disrupt those two genes in about 3 percent of liver cells enough to produce liver tumors within three months.
Using CRISPR to generate tumors should allow scientists to more rapidly study how different genetic mutations interact to produce cancers as well as the effects of potential drugs on tumors with a specific genetic profile.
This is a game-changer for the production of engineered strains of human cancer says Ronald Depinho director of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who was not part of the research team.
Enhanced potential of this powerful technology will be realized with improved delivery methods the testing of#CRISPR/Cas9 efficiency in other organs and tissues and the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in tumor-prone backgrounds.
In this study the researchers delivered the genes necessary for CRISPR through injections into veins in the tails of the mice.
The research was funded by the National institutes of health and the National Cancer Institute u
#New material structures bend like microscopic hair MIT engineers have fabricated a new elastic material coated with microscopic hairlike structures that tilt in response to a magnetic field.
the breathing of an infant in the neonatal ward of a hospital, or the pulse in a subject wrist.
The work might enable new kinds of biomedical or microfluidic devices or solar panels that could automatically clean themselves of dust and grit.
and surgery but it's all invasive in the sense that you either have to put something in your eye wear something on your head
or undergo surgery. We have a different solution that basically puts the glasses on the display rather than on your head.
says Chris Dainty a professor at the University college London Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Still others could help children with autism better interact el Kaliouby says such as games that make people match facial cues with emotions.
Together they quickly started applying the facial-coding technology to autism research and training the algorithms by collecting vast stores of data.
#$650 million commitment to Stanley Center at Broad Institute aims to galvanize mental illness research The following is adapted from a press release issued today by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The Broad Institute today announced an unprecedented commitment of $650 million from philanthropist Ted Stanley aimed at galvanizing scientific research on psychiatric disorders and bringing new treatments based on molecular understanding to hundreds
The Stanley commitment the largest ever in psychiatric research and among the largest for scientific research in general will support research by a collaborative network of researchers within the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute a biomedical research institution
that brings together faculty from MIT Harvard university Harvard-affiliated hospitals and collaborators worldwide. Stanley s commitment to support the work of the Broad Institute will consist of annual gifts during his lifetime followed by a bequest with a total current value exceeding $650 million.
The biological causes of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have mystified scientists for decades; in the last five years however understanding has accelerated dramatically driven by advances in human genomics.
Because researchers cannot study the biochemistry of the living human brain the genes that predispose people to schizophrenia
and bipolar disorder represent the best way to gain molecular insights into these disorders. The discovery of specific genes associated with these disorders provides significant clues to their biological basis and points to possible molecular targets for novel therapies.
Since 2004 Ted Stanley and his late wife Vada Stanley have been instrumental to the progress made thus far in identifying the genetic risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and the initiation of therapeutic efforts based on those discoveries.
Their gifts made possible the establishment of the Stanley Center at the Broad Institute in 2007
Stanley s new commitment is the culmination of a 25-year personal mission to discover the biology of psychiatric disorders
and lay the groundwork for effective therapies. Human genomics has begun to reveal the causes of these disorders.
Years of frustration give way to progressmental illness exacts an enormous human toll. The leading cause of disability in the United states it affects millions
and most often strikes patients while they are young and otherwise healthy. Biomedical researchers have struggled for years to understand the molecular causes of serious ailments such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Until five years ago there was no clear scientific evidence around even a single gene that contributes to causing either disorder.
Yet in the past few years scientists have begun to find genes that shape the risk of schizophrenia bipolar disorder and other illnesses thanks in large part to Stanley s support.
and assembled the world s largest collection of DNA samples in psychiatric research currently more than 175000 samples including schizophrenia bipolar disorder autism attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and healthy control samples.
Analysis of 80000 of these samples so far by Broad researchers and collaborators has linked more than 100 genomic regions to schizophrenia
Significant efforts are ramping up in bipolar disorder autism and other conditions. We are going to illuminate the biology behind these conditions says Eric Lander founding director and president of the Broad Institute and a professor of biology at MIT.
If we know the biological causes we can begin to dispel the stigma around people battling mental illness
when his son Jonathan was stricken with severe bipolar disorder while in college. The first few years were difficult
but Jonathan overcame his illness with the help of lithium a landmark drug first used to treat patients with mental illness in 1949.
Now a successful attorney Jonathan is also a founding board member of the Treatment Advocacy Center a nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming laws that affect persons with a mental illness and an advocate for the National Alliance on Mental illness.
Although lithium helped give Jonathan a normal life other patients who suffer from mental illness have not been as fortunate.
When Edward Scolnick met the Stanleys he had had a stellar career first in cancer research in the 1970s and then as one of the most respected scientists in the pharmaceutical industry.
the first vaccine against cervical cancer; and many other breakthroughs. Instead of retiring Scolnick took on a new challenge:
He moved to the Broad Institute to tackle mental illness because he had a deep personal interest in the field.
Early in his career Scolnick had helped launch a revolution in cancer research based on the discovery of the first cancer genes.
He wanted to set psychiatric research on the same path. Scolnick vividly remembers the moment he and the Stanleys joined forces.
The Stanleys had given many small grants to support psychiatric research through their foundation but Scolnick argued for the importance of critical mass
Thus the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad was launched in 2007 with Scolnick as its founding director.
Before taking that post Hyman a psychiatrist had served as head of NIMH from 1996 to 2001.
Scolnick served as a member of Hyman s National Advisory Mental health Council from 1998 to 2002
and genetics and along with Scolnick and Lander supported the collection of DNA samples from patients with the hope that the samples could someday be analyzed to find disease genes.
When Hyman left the NIMH in 2001 to become provost of Harvard he had lost almost completely hope that true progress could be made in his lifetime in elucidating the mechanisms of psychiatric illness.
and Harvard in 2004 and over time became encouraged by the Broad s progress in the molecular understanding of psychiatric disorders.
Ten years ago finding the biological causes of psychiatric disorders was like trying to climb a wall with no footholds says Hyman who Is distinguished also the Service Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard.
Formally founded in 2004 to fulfill the promise of the Human genome Project by facilitating collaborative biomedical research across disciplines
and institutions it brings together faculty from MIT Harvard and the five major Harvard-affiliated hospitals:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical center Boston Children s Hospital Brigham and Women s Hospital Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Broad investigators have led international consortia that have found thousands of genetic variants responsible for common diseases such as diabetes heart disease
and Crohn s disease and translated that knowledge into descriptions of the underlying biological processes a critical step in the development of rationally designed drugs.
They have discovered several hundred genes that are mutated in cancer and applied this knowledge to begin to invent new targeted forms of therapy.
Broad scientists have invented also powerful new tools that allow researchers to precisely manipulate the genome and measure the millions of complex chemical interactions within cells.
The future of psychiatric research The Stanley Center engages a community of more than 150 scientists at the Broad Institute and its partner institutions.
Complete the list of all genes that play roles in severe psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia bipolar disorder autism and others.
To create a comprehensive catalog of the genetic variation that underlies mental illness the researchers plan to expand their international network
They also plan to expand their sample collection efforts dramatically especially among understudied populations such as those in African nations to reveal the many as-yet-undiscovered mutations relevant to disease.
when and how these genes act in human brain cells and how in psychiatric patients those processes may go awry.
In contrast to researchers studying cancer or diabetes researchers studying psychiatric disorders have been unable to identify animal models that correctly capture important biological aspects of the disorders
and correctly predict which therapies will be effective in humans. Now with growing knowledge of the genes underlying psychiatric disorders Broad researchers plan to create cellular models in the laboratory
and animal models that more faithfully match both the genetic variation and the biochemical processes seen in human patients.
The researchers plan to build on the existing therapeutic efforts within the Stanley Center and draw on the Broad s Therapeutics Platform a technological powerhouse with the capacity to create
and screen hundreds of thousands of compounds to identify molecules that can powerfully and precisely influence specific biological pathways relevant to psychiatric disorders.
They then plan to comprehensively investigate those chemicals effects to determine which of them might serve as promising leads for drugs that could be safely
I d be bold enough to say that in five years all the drug companies that got out of psychiatric research will be getting back in.
The coming decades of psychiatric research will yield new science and a needed parallel effort to increase resources for services that can help patients and their families.
About the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research The mission of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute is to reduce the burden of serious mental illness through research.
Stanley Center researchers focus on schizophrenia bipolar disorder autism attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders.
Situated within the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard the Stanley Center aims to exploit the most advanced technologies for human genetic analysis to study these psychiatric disorders
in order to understand disease mechanisms identify potential biomarkers and ignite needed progress in therapeutics. Launched in 2007 by a $100 million commitment from the Stanley Medical Research Institute the Stanley Center has extensive collaborations with investigators at MIT Harvard and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals as well as with investigators around the world.
About the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvardthe Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was launched in 2004 to empower this generation of creative scientists to transform medicine.
The Broad Institute seeks to describe all the molecular components of life and their connections; discover the molecular basis of major human diseases;
develop effective new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics; and disseminate discoveries tools methods and data openly to the entire scientific community.
Founded by MIT Harvard and its affiliated hospitals and the visionary Los angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad the Broad Institute includes faculty professional staff
and students from throughout the MIT and Harvard biomedical research communities and beyond with collaborations spanning more than 100 private and public institutions in more than 40 countries worldwide e
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