Laser Wound Healing

In news that is sure to ruin Bond villain’s plans for deadly lasers, researchers at Tel Aviv University are demonstrating the ability for lasers to speed healing of wounds. Rather than using traditional or bioresorbable sutures, Katzir, a physicist, has shown the efficacy of using lasers to melt and bond skin together which speeds healing and minimizes scarring by carefully controlling the temperature of the skin under the laser beam.

Surgical Antibiotic Implant on FDA Fast Track

CollaRx, a surgical implant developed in Ireland, is on the fast track for FDA approval, skipping directly to large phase III clinical trials. Designed to prevent postoperative infections, the small biodegradable sponge is composed of collagen filled with antibiotics. Previous testing has shown that the high localized antibiotic concentration can eliminate even antibiotic resistant bugs, such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphlococcus aureus).

Disposable, Single Use Safe Laryngoscope Unveiled

The Yeescope is a disposable single use laryngoscope, used for intubation of patients. In addition to the safety benefits it brings patients by preventing cross-contamination, the Yeescope minimizes dental damage thanks to a specially curved handle. Standard laryngoscopes are notorious for their propensity to chip and fracture the front teeth.

Sorry for the technical difficult, but the HMDN website (www.hmdn.org) is back online.

The presentation files have been posted on the Invention2Venture Workshop page.

Announcements: Mark Kroll Speaking on November 6th

Inventor and entrepreneur Mark Kroll will be speaking at the HMDN Seminar Series on this Thursday at 5:30pm in CSEB B17. Read more by clicking the link above. Refreshments and snacks will be offered.

Hopkins Researchers Create Organic Wire

A team of researchers at the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, here at Johns Hopkins, have designed organic, self-assembling wire. The wire, small enough to interact with individual cells, may be used to stimulate individual cells–much like a highly sensitive pacemaker.

Laproscopic Surgeons Using 3D Roadmap

Doctors in Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center have taken to using OsiriX, an open source medical-imaging application, to construct three dimensional views guiding their surgeries more precisely. Unlike previous methods which relied on specialists’ subjective analyses of image stacks, this nearly automated method is allowing surgeons to render accurate models from images within minutes.

Hopkins Doctors Working on Psychadelic Studies

Doctors at Johns Hopkins who have worked on one of the first psilocybin studies in years are now speaking about their experiences. Psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in ‘magic mushrooms,’ was studied for the first time in thirty years here at Hopkins and the findings have been surprising; the long-term effects have been shown to have personal and spiritual significance over a year after its use. Their findings are published in psychopharmacology in 2006 and 2008.

Ice Slurry for Quick-Cooling

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have developed a biocompatible ice slurry which is able to cool down the body from inside. This minimizes damage to organs after heart failure. Unlike external cooling, this will allow large organs to cool more quickly without damaging the cells while they are without oxygen.

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