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A new tissue typing technology has developed in Sydney to accurately overcome rejection of transplant organs. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than the current methods.

To avoid immunological rejection of organs transferred from a donor to recipient it is necessary to use tissue typing to determine whether it is compatible or not. The test involves individual human leukocyte antigen proteins to be examined. These proteins are located on the surface of nearly every cell in the body. Any significant difference in the structure indicates whether they are compatible or not.
This new technology could help save lives by broadening the base of available tissue and organ donors. By avoiding the complications of essential tissue match required it boosts the speed and accuracy to prevent organ rejection.

For those who want to lose that bulging belly quickly and easy without hitting the gym. A machine invented by surgeons called “ULTRASHAPE” can “melt away” stubborn tummy fat without surgery. It’s very effective in removing excess stomach fat, love handles or fat in other areas. It’s the most advance non-invasive method of fat reduction to date. It works by focusing high frequency ultra sound waves from the outside of the body to targeted areas. Absolutely no anesthesia, no pain, and no recovery are needed. The ultrasound waves break down fat cells without damaging blood vessels or other tissues. The fat cells are then eliminated through natural process over a period of three weeks. Patients can resume their normal activities right after every session. It is as fast as having a lunch break.

ULTRASHAPE is the first and only non-surgical fat destroying treatment. It promises a reduction of 2cm in a single session. Normally about 4 to 5 sessions are recommended to fully achieve the result required. It is available at Marie France, Belo, Godiva and other beauty clinic.

Rutherford-Appleton Laboratories have developed one of the World´s largest imagers that could form the heart of future medical scanners. The new technology will allow doctors to produce more sensitive and faster images of the human body at a lower-cost to the healthcare profession.

The innovative technology, which has been developed as part of the £4.5m Basic Technology MI-3 Consortium, will help in providing instant analysis of medical screening tests and the early detection of cancer.

Easier to use and faster than the imagers used in current body scanners, and with very large active pixel sensors with an imaging area of approximately 6cm square, the technology has been specifically developed to meet demanding clinical applications such as x-ray imaging and mammography. This silicon imager is about 15 times larger in area than the latest Intel processors.

The next step of the project is to produce wafer-scale imagers which can produce images that approach the width of the human torso. This will eliminate the need for expensive and inefficient lenses and so enable lower-cost, more sensitive and faster medical imaging systems. Very large active pixel sensors could soon be making a major impact on medical imaging by further reducing the need for the old technology of film. The UK is a World-lead in such sensors for scientific and medical applications and this is a lead that UK intends to maintain.

Nutrigenomics is the study of molecular relationships between nutrition and the response of genes. (wikipedia) It focuses on the effects of nutrients to gene development and the overall effect to human health. The aim is to develop a personalized nutrition program based on an individual’s genotype, as certain diseases are caused by changes in the DNA.

Nutrients are seen by the cells as signals, and the cell’s sensor system interprets this signal. This process then changes gene, protein expression and metabolite production depending on the level of nutrient it senses. Nutrigenomics aims to identify these patterns and effects called dietary signatures.

This research is still in its early stages, but is a promising field that gives hope for the future.

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Useful Links:
http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu/
http://www.nutrigenomics.nl/
http://www.nugo.org/everyone

The study was conducted by researchers from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the Weill Cornell Medical Center in the US. In the study, genes for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) were delivered into the subthalamic nucleus of the brain in a dozen Parkinson’s patients using a viral carrier. The genes were delivered to only one side of the brain to reduce risk and to better assess the treatment.

The results from the brain scan study on the gene therapy patients show that only the motor networks were altered by the therapy. This study demonstrates that PET scanning can be a valuable marker in testing novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease.

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Heart Attack is considered a treacherous disease because one can never know when it will happen to him… But thanks to Australia’s HD Medical Group, ViScope is born to foretell an impending heart attack through the utilization of mechanical audio data. This device can sense the noise that comes from the heart which signal an approaching attack. The low-voltage radio waves from the heart are received by this life-saving device — pretty much like attracting fish using sonar waves if you’re a fisherman! Heart attacks can happen anytime, but a device like ViScope helps in getting the symptoms earlier so the patient, his nurse or loved one can take action on it before it’s too late.

If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, produces a cow-like snoring and maintains a compulsion to be sleepy all throughout the day, it’s not normal. Science calls this disorder Sleep Apnea (apnea means “without breath”) wherein the breathing patterns of a person repeatedly halts and starts when one is sleeping. The latest treatment against Sleep Apnea is called TAP or Thornton Adjustable Positioner, a customized oral appliance that the patient wears during sleep. By holding and keeping the lower jaw forward and not allowing the tongue and the throat tissues to collapse to the airway, it prevents snoring and sleep apnea.

A mobile phone sensor system for the senior citizens have been developed by Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. With this new system, family members, doctors and nurses can be quickly informed about the situation of the elderly. Through GPS technology that links the hospital’s computer to the sensor carried on the patient’s belt. The computer automatically calls the phone of the patient to check if the person is hurt. The sensor detects sudden movements like a fall or bumping into something. Studies are being undergone so that the product will be put under the operation of mobile phone companies so that any signal from the sensor can then be sent to any mobile phone.

If you know anyone who has experienced Angiography, you know that he will never recount the story of the experience without cringing or deep facial expression expressing pain — both the physical and the financial pain, mind you. And now comes Super X-ray that saves one from the angiogram fatality caused by bacterial invasion and exposure to radiation that may eventually lead to cancer. According to studies, this new product will eliminate the use of some 1.3M cardiac catheterizations per annum. Although there have been debates on the radiation level this new technique can emit, more scientists have favored it for its accuracy.

The latest in high tech prosthetics has just come out: PROPIO Foot which is deemed to restore the zest of life and functionality to amputees. With Propio, artificial legs and hands are fitted using microprocessors so that they will be imbued with “artificial intelligence” — which enables it to think for itself! This marvelous products boast of adjusting itself to diverse terrains and contains “advanced censors” that makes wonders for the foot like memorizing the habits of its user. It is also anatomically correct and friendly to its users albeit its seemingly complicated and sophisticated design. This product was developed by a company named Ossur.