Converging on Bionic

Bionic: It's not just for Arnold any more.
When the word comes to mind, people are more likely to conjure images of Terminator's steel endoskeleton than think of silk and ribbons. But the future is looking something like this: Stamp-on heart monitors, pathogen-sensing micro-antennas, "saran-wrap" defibrillators and silk microchips. Society has had a long-standing historical preoccupation with forcing results out of uncooperative materials (for anyone who has ever spent hours raking leaves or weeding a garden) but new technology deviates surprisingly from this approach, and this may be what transcends bionic technology from the stuff of science fiction into practical application.

Rather than forcing electronic materials to become flexible, researchers are instead making flexible materials electronic, and as close to human tissue as possible. The article below contains an exciting preview of developing bionic technology that may very well become commonplace in the next ten to fifteen years. Some of the ideas have been touched on previously in this blog (see "Computerized Surgical Gloves") but for people who are pressed for time (eg. all of us) this is an excellent grab-bag summary of breaking developments.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/346135/title/Beginnings_of_Bionic

Carly's Voice

Carly Fleischmann is a girl with autism. She is non-verbal, and didn't learn to communicate until the age of 10. Then, with the help of therapists, she learned to type on a computer, giving her a voice to communicate with the world. In finding her voice, Carly has helped give the world insight into the mind of a person living with autism. Though she is still unable to communicate verbally, in typing she has shown remarkably fluent, eloquent, introspective, empathetic communication. Her parents realized inside was an articulate, intelligent, emotive person that they had never met, and her writing helped them to understand why she does the things she does. Carly has co-written a book with her father called Carly's Voice.

Carly also has become the youngest person to speak on the panel at The Nantucket Project. While using her speech device, she took part in a panel discussion with moderator Tom Ashbrook, Autism Speak's Bob Wright, Marc Sirkin, her aide Howard Dalal and Senator John Kerry (Senator Kerry, who was scheduled to speak afterwards, joined Carly on stage at her request). You can watch the video at http://bigthink.com/collective-intelligence/autism-speaks.

Carly is now 17, and has an IQ of 130. Carly has ambitions to attend college (she has requested Senator Kerry write her a letter of recommendation for Yale), and become a journalist, maybe even the host of her own TV show. Technology has given Carly her voice, and has helped her to find her place in society.

http://carlysvoice.com/home/
http://www.facebook.com/carlysvoice

Technology Week Presentation

We are very excited to announce our first guest speaker of the year! If you didn't already know, October 29th-November 2nd is Technology Week at the U of S. In cooperation with the USST and HIPPI, we will be participating by having a guest presentation on Friday, Nov 2 from 12:30-1:30 in B3. Dr. Daniel Chen will be discussing the field of Regenerative Medicine in the area of Tissue Engineering, with a focus on scaffold designs, advents in Tissue Engineering, current research, and where this exciting field is headed. Dr. Chen is a professor of Mechanical Engineering here at the U of S, and is the head of the Tissue Engineering Research Group. If you wish to attend, please try to RSVP on the calendar at http://www.saskmedstudents.com/ and feel free to invite your friends; this event is open to everyone! And don't forget to check out the other events going on during Technology Week http://www.usask.ca/technologyweek/

Hope to see everyone there!

Pitch Party V ft. Brett Wilson

For those of you who are interested in entrepreneurship, the Wilson Centre of Entrepreneurial Excellence is hosting their 5th Annual Pitch Party on Nov 14. Tickets are $30 for students, and includes a free book by Brett Wilson. (Last year, a fellow med student was up on stage talking about his company Glovely and his entrepreneurial experience.) It's going to be a great night!

http://www.usask.ca/wilsoncentre/pitchparty.php
http://www.picatic.com/pitchpartyv

tMED Election

It's election time for our group. We already have the President and Vice President positions filled (Adam and Robin, respectively), but there are several other positions we are working to fill to help with group functioning. Listed below are the six positions we have available and a short job description for each one. If you are interested in running for a position, please read the description, and write a short (max 300 words) statement outlining why you want to run and/or why you believe you are qualified for the position. Nominations are open until Thursday Oct 18, after which elections will take place via SurveyMonkey over the weekend (using the write-ups submitted). Good luck to everyone!

1. Member at Large, Undergraduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Undergraduate is the voice of the undergraduate student members. This is basically like an undergrad student rep. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive.

2. Member at Large, Graduate In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Member at Large, Graduate is the voice of the grad student members. Their role is to help guide the direction the group takes through discussions with students, and bring forward ideas and concerns of the student members to the Executive. This position will be filled on as-need basis depending on graduate student membership.

3. Liaison to USST In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Liaison to the U of S Space Design Team will act as a liaison between tMED and the USST. They are required to attend all executive meetings of the USST as a representative of tMED, and report on ongoing activities of either group. They will also be responsible to helping to organize events that these two groups are doing together with the help of the Social Director, help with fundraising for either group where needed, and find ways to allow members from both groups to work together on projects that either group is working on.

4. Social Director In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Social Director is responsible for organizing social activities of tMED. This includes organizing presentations and seminars for the tMED group, working with other student groups to organize joint activities, and organize social events for tMED.

5. Treasurer In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Treasurer is responsible for the financial aspect of tMED. This includes applying for funding from the SMSS for tMED events, keeping detailed accounts of receipts and reimbursements, ensuring that all expenditures are authorized by Council, authorizing expenditures along with the President or Vice-President, attending to the payment of all accounts, preserving the financial records, presenting a detailed account of the yearly expenses and income to the active members, and submitting a detailed budget to the SMSS at the end of the year.

6. Secretary In addition to representing the interests of the tMED members, the Secretary is responsible for helping where needed in the general functioning of the group, as well as taking the minutes of the meetings and ensuring they are posted on the tMED Facebook page and/or blog. For group events, they are responsible for contacting the SMSS Student Group Coordinator for arranging room booking.

All members of the tMED executive council are required to attend all tMED meetings.

Because this is the first year this group is operating again, we are going to ask those of you that are elected to prepare a small document outlining your role during the year and useful information for your role. These documents will be used to help guide the creation of a constitution for our group, and to help your replacement next year. Be creative, have fun! These positions are being created for the first time, so you have the ability to make them as exciting as you wish! Feel free to email us if you have any questions, or bring them up at the meeting next week.

First Meeting of the Year

tMED is calling the first general meeting of the year for this student group. We are meeting on Wednesday, 17 OCT 2012 in Upper MUMPS. This meeting is to discuss the direction this group is going to go, and to discuss the upcoming tMED election. Please do your best to attend, and bring any ideas that you have. Thanks.

http://www.facebook.com/events/503935922951420/

50-hour Genome Test

Researchers at the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City recently announced that they were able to sequence a person's entire genome is 50 hours at a cost of $13,500 USD. While this is still quite expensive, compared to traditional methods that take at least a month, and the Human Genome Project that took years and $3 billion, this is quite an accomplishment. Considering there are more than 3500 different genetic diseases out there, this technology could prove very useful in diagnosing and treating genetic diseases and possibly cancers. This technology would be very useful in pregnancy and neonatal periods when having a diagnosis quickly can provide treatment options to save the baby's life.

For more information:
50-hour whole genome sequencing provides rapid diagnosis for children with genetic disorders

Titanium Jaw

Using a 3D printer, researchers in the Netherlands fabricated a replacement jaw from titanium, and transplanted it into a patient in June 2011. Using a scan of the patient's jaw, succesive layers of titanium powder were fused with a laser, creating the replacement jaw, which was coated with a bioceramics upon completion. The titanium jaw was fabricated in a matter of hours, and transplanted into an 83-year-old woman who had a bone infection that was destroying her jaw. The surgery only took about four hours, which is a fifth of the time it takes to do a normal jaw reconstruction. The woman surprised her doctors by talking a few hours after the surgery, normal swallowing the following day, and was able to go home four days after her surgery.

Her titanium jaw weighs in at 107 g (~30 g heavier than her normal jaw), and is fabricated with holes for muscle attachment, and grooves for blood vessels and nerves. A special-made dental bridge was fashioned, to which false teeth will be anchored, allowing the woman to return to normal eating.

If you'd like more information, you can take a look at these articles:
BBC: Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first
NewScientist: 3D printer provides woman with a brand new jaw

Electronic Nose for Detecting Cancer

Prof. Hossam Haick of Technion (the Israel Institute of Technology) has created an electronic nose that is capable of detecting the biomarkers of cancer from a patient's breath. Currently undergoing clinical trials, the Nano Artificial NOSE (NA-NOSE) is capable of detecting the biomarkers of lung and head and neck cancers in a non-invasive test. It is also showing promise in detecting other forms of cancer and diseases in the body by the unique chemical signature emitted in the breath.

Blade Runner

This summer, Oscar Pistorius (nicknamed the "Blade Runner") became the first below the knee double amputee to compete in the Olympic games. Born with bilateral fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the fibula), Oscar's parents had his legs amputated at 11 months of age, and he first learned to walk using prosthetics. Introduced to running at 17, Oscar runs on a pair of Flex-Foot Cheetah carbon-fibre blades developed by biomedical engineer Van Phillips and manufactured by Icelandic company Össur. Oscar, holding the Paralympic world record in the T44 class in the 200 and 400 metre events, previously held the record for the 100 metre as well, and a personal best time of 45.07 s in the 400 m, is known as the fastest man on no legs. He competes on the South African paralympic team, and this summer qualified to compete in the 400 m and 4 x 400 m race in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Oscar's journey to the Olympics has been fraught with controversy. Initial studies in 2007 showed that his carbon-fibre legs gave him a significant advantage when running at top speed in a straight line, and thus rendered him ineligible to compete in the normal Olympics. He appealed this decision, and the subsequent trial reversed this previous ruling on the grounds that his prosthetic legs are a disadvantage at starting from blocks and during acceleration, and that there is no evidence that his high tech legs give him any net-advantage over able-bodied athletes. Other studies on single below the knee amputees have found that the stiffer carbon-fibre prosthetics generate 9% less power than biological legs.

Links:

Flex-Foot Cheetah blades

NPR: Studying Oscar Pistorius: Does The 'Blade Runner' Have An Advantage?

Mensa Test Sale

For those that are interested, Mensa is having a sale on qualifying exams from Sept. 29 and Oct. 7 for only $25 (compared to $70 for students and $90 for the general public normally). Please contact us at uofs.tmed@gmail.com if you would like more information, or go to http://www.canada.mensa.org/ and find the Saskatoon proctor.

Space Robotics to Robotic Surgery

Have you ever wondered what impact space exploration has on technological advancement in the field of medicine? Among the many ways, an amazing Canadian advancement is the neuroArm. Canadian engineering-company MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates (who developed and built Canada's biggest contributions to space exploration: the Canadarm, Canadarm2, Dextre, the Mobile Base, and all the related training and real-time support infrastructure) worked closely with physicians, nurses, and scientists at the University of Calgary to develop a robotic surgical device that is capable of operating in the high magnetic field environment of an MRI Scanner. The neuroArm is equipped with several safety features, and controlled by a neurosurgeon working from a computer station. Engineers working on the development of the neuroArm spent time in the operating room, observing surgeons, learning about the tools used, what types of movements are made, and what degree of motion there needs to be, all with the goal of biomimicring the surgeon to create an effective surgical tool. The neuroArm allows surgeons the opportunity to get real-time images during surgery to ensure surgical success, and improved accuracy and precision of the surgery. If you would like to learn more about the neuroArm, you can go to their website: http://www.neuroarm.org/

Adaptive Optics in the Developing World

The lack of eye care in the developing world has long been a problem. People in need of corrective lenses struggle with reaching their economic potential, thus hindering their quality of life. Now Professor Joshua Silver, atomic physicist and professor of physics at the University of Oxford, has developed a simple and inexpensive solution: adaptive lens eyeglasses. The lenses of his glasses are are two layers of plastic filled with fluid, and the user simple adjusts and sets the amount of fluid in lenses themselves in a process called self-refraction. His goal is to help the millions of people lacking access to an optometrist, with a goal of helping a billion people through vision correction. For more information, please see the Centre for Vision in the Developing World.

Bionic Eye

Sheila Nirenberg, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University where she is studying neural coding. She is working to develop a bionic eye using an encoder-transducer to help create the appropriate neural signals that the brain can understand. Her work appears to improve bionic vision from high contrast edges and light to actual images, though it has still to be tested in humans. Learning to use the neural codes has potential to revolutionize the world of bionics.

Treadmill Desk

How would you like to increase your fitness, increase your concentration, creativity, and productivity, and burn about 100 extra calories an hour, all while studying or doing homework?

That's the beauty of a treadmill desk. The concept is that you set up a desk around a treadmill, and walk 1-2 mph while doing your work on the computer or reading your textbook (note: writing by hand would not be advisable). If you want a professional product, some companies, such as Steelcase's Walkstation, offer a fully integrated treadmill desk, and others have a desk designed to fit around an existing treadmill, such as TrekDesk, or the Walk N Work. I personally bought the Lifespan TR1200-DT5 Treadmill Desk from Flaman Fitness (and I'm successfully using it while typing this post). If you prefer the DIY method, or are on a starving student budget, you can always get a new or used treadmill, place a surface on the arms of the treadmill, and set your computer on that (here's one someone built for $39 for a treadmill they already had), or construct a free-standing desk.

N.B. Exercise has been shown to help improve memory and concentration, and help the brain grow. If you would like more information on this, please see Dr. John Ratey's book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain and his website.

Bluring the lines between tissue and technology

Researchers at Harvard (with contributions from MIT) have developed a way to incorporate nanoscale wires and electrodes into living tissues. This technology has the potential to aid in the study and development of new drugs, as well as in the realm of cybernetics and engineered tissues.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120826143610.htm

Welcome

It's that time of year again: summer holidays have come to an end, classes have started, and it's all too soon for some of us. Welcome and congratulations to the new Phase A students, and welcome back to the all the Phase B, C, and D students!

U of S Space Design Team (USST)

We pleased to announce that there is a cooperation between tMed and the USST, and we are looking at furthering collaboration between our two groups. The USST is currently comprised of students from Engineering, Computer Science, and Commerce. Ultimately the USST may not be able to fully commit the team to a full partnership since it would be outside the realm of space technology that the team is accustomed with pursuing, but we are investigating the prospect of doing some joint projects, and may be asking tMed members for project ideas.

Description of the USST from their website:
The University of Saskatchewan Space Design Team (USST) is a student and alumni group on campus that’s dedicated to the development of next generation space technologies. We’ve been working on a variety of space design projects for over six years, and it is through these projects that our team has achieved a history of international success.

If you would like to know more about the USST, please see their website and Facebook page:

http://usst.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/UofSSpaceDesignTeam

Chemotherapy that only enters tumor cells!

The invention of Theranostic Imaging has allowed the development of a new form of drug chemotherapy. By binding a chemotherapy drug with a certain enzyme, the complex is only absorbed by tumor cells in prostate cancer. Once inside the tumor cell, the enzyme of the complex begins to activate the drug, allowing for it to kill the cell. Great stuff!

Theranostic Imaging for Prostate Cancer

Revolutionizing Pharmaceutical Manufacture with Nanotech

A new form of manufacturing was discovered by accident by a university of central Florida student, and it promises to make big time game-changes to the pharmaceutical industry.

Nanotech Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Alzheimer's Blood Test

The possibility of having a blood test that could indicate a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is gaining ground: Alzheimer's Blood Test

Computerized surgical gloves

Smartphone? Smartcar? How about Smartgloves? Researchers at the U of Illinois are developing surgical gloves that could contain sensors or imaging tech, perhaps allowing us to sense the electrical properties of tissue, or perform ultrasound, with our fingertips!

Smartgloves

There is also a group of Harvard students working on a glove to augment the physical exam. Their glove, known as the Glove Tricorder, has a variety of sensors, such as accelerometers, temperature, force, sound, vibration, and plans to include other probes, such as ultrasound, in the future. The glove also has the capability to wirelessly transfer the data the physician is gathering, and to provide immediate feedback.

Med Sensation

Injecting life saving oxygen into a vein!

Check this out! This could really help with cardiac arrest! Imagine setting up a drip of this stuff during a code, ensuring full oxygenation of the body! With this tech it would be possible to negate the effects of running too much fluid into a person during a trauma arrest while trying to keep their blood pressure up. Typically you give blood, but if you're out of blood or in a rural setting, or on ambulance, blood might not be an option. If your patient is starting to bleed Kool-Aid instead of blood, this could be a saving grace.

Injectible Oxygen-containing Lipid Bubbles

15 Smartphone Apps to improve your medical practice

Courtesy of Medscape here is a list of 15 smartphone apps that you may find useful in medical practice! : http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/apps2?src=fb_mstu

Grand Challenges Canada

Grand Challenges Canada is an organization that "is dedicated to supporting bold ideas with big impact in global health. We are funded by the Government of Canada and we fund innovators in low- and middle- income countries and Canada. The bold ideas we support integrate science/technology, social and business innovation – we call this Integrated Innovation. We focus on bringing successful innovation to scale, catalyzing sustainability and impact. We have a determined focus on results, and saving and improving lives."

http://www.grandchallenges.ca/

(You may have heard about Grand Challenges Canada in relation to a TB Breathalizer currently being tested in India.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/11/07/tuberculosis-electronic-nose.html)

Biomimicry of a Shark

Have you ever heard of biomimicry? Sharklet is an anti-microbial surface coating being used in hospitals that is based on shark skin.

http://www.sharklet.com/

(If you'd like to know more about biomimicry, here's the Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry )

Growing organs

Have you ever seen anyone print a kidney? It's amazing what is coming in the field of regenerative medicine!
(N.B.: this is a kidney scaffold, not an actual functioning kidney)

http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

S.W.A.L.L.O.W. Inc.

SWALLOW Inc. (Safe Water And LED Lighting Operatives Worldwide Inc.) is a company based in Regina that has developed a simple, inexpensive water-filtration system for providing clean water that is being used in developing countries.

http://www.swallowinc.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/SWALLOW-Safe-Water-and-LED-Lighting-Operatives-Worldwide-Inc/200524743291150

Intellectual Ventures

Intellectual Ventures is a company dedicated to inventing and marketing new technology, including helping fight diseases in the developing world, better sanitation, and many, many others.

https://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/nathan_myhrvold_could_this_laser_zap_malaria.html



http://www.tedmed.com/videos-info?name=Nathan_Myhrvold_at_TEDMED_2010&q=updated&year=all&sid=52&vid=15

Bionic limbs

Some of the latest and greatest in bionic limbs for amputees. A great example of the benefits of interprofessional in the development of new technology!

https://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/todd_kuiken_a_prosthetic_arm_that_feels.html



https://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/dean_kamen_previews_a_new_prosthetic_arm.html

Bone Marrow Miner

Dr. Daniel Kraft has developed an efficient and effective, not to mention easier and less painful way of harvesting bone marrow from donors, which he calls the Marrow Miner.

https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kraft_invents_a_better_way_to_harvest_bone_marrow.html

How I repaired my own heart

How a boiler engineer came up with a way to fix his own aorta, and teamed up with clinicians adventurous enough to try his solution. Talk about interprofessionalism!

https://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/tal_golesworthy_how_i_repaired_my_own_heart.html

Navigating the vascular pathways

Here's a presentation on some of the possibilities of using catheters for endovascular surgery and medication delivery.

http://www.tedmed.com/videos-info?name=Alex_Berenstein_at_TEDMED_2010&q=updated&year=all&sid=64&vid=125

EXVIVO Lung Perfusion system

The EXVIVO Lung Perfusion system is used to preserve and prepare lungs for transplant and is a technology that was developed here in Canada.

http://www.tedmed.com/videos-info?name=Shaf_Keshavjee_at_TEDMED_2010&q=updated&year=all&sid=72&vid=39

Medicine X Stanford

Here's another conference coming up at Stanford from Sept. 28-30 on new ideas about the future of medicine and emerging technologies.
http://medicinex.stanford.edu/

Design of Medical Devices Conference

For those interested in seeing some of what the future holds, there is a conference being held in Minneapolis, MN all about medical devices. The conference is a month before our finals (April 8-11, 2013), but it is definitely within driving distance.
http://www.dmd.umn.edu/

iUSask

iUSask is an app for your smartphone that works similar to PAWS. It allows users to access:
-their personalized information (class schedules, PAWS updates, etc.),
-campus news,
-an interactive map of the campus,
-the U of S telephone book and email directory,
-the library catalogue and library information,
-location and availability of computer labs, and
-webcams from around the campus.

The app is available for iOS and Android. Go to http://www.usask.ca/its/services/iusask/ for more details.

Medscape Education

Medscape provides a wealth of online medical reference, news, and continuing education opportunities. It is even possible to earn AMA PRA Category 1 continuing medical education (CME) credits by completing CME exercises!
http://www.medscape.org/medscapetoday

Mobile Medical Reference Programs

U of S students have access to mobile medical reference programs such as DynaMed, Lexicomp, and Stat!Ref for FREE through the health sciences library. Check them out and if you're a medical/nursing student, give them a try!
http://library.usask.ca/hsl/mobile_devices.php

tMed is restarting!

tMed has been restarted!  The group will be up and running again for the Fall of 2012, thanks to the gracious support of the former tMed President Lei Xia, who has gone on to begin his residency this year.  At this time, the tMed executive consists of  is Adam McInnes (in Second Year) as the President, and the Vice President is Robin Bushell (in First Year), and we are planning to have more council positions open for election when the school year starts.  Let us know if you are interested in taking on any roles this year, or if you are wanting to be a member.  You can also check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/UofStMED