NIBIB in the News

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering has established a new Center for Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration, dedicated to applying engineering principles to biomedical discovery and therapeutics. We talk to the Center’s Director Manu Platt about their plans and the focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Source: Nature Reviews Bioengineering

Since the development of functional magnetic resonance imaging in the 1990s, the reliance on neuroimaging has skyrocketed as researchers investigate how fMRI data from the brain at rest, and anatomical brain structure itself, can be used to predict individual traits, such as depression, cognitive decline, and brain disorders. But how reliable brain imaging is for detecting traits has been a subject of wide debate. Researchers now report that stronger links between brain measures and traits can be obtained when state-of-the-art pattern recognition (or 'machine learning') algorithms are utilized, which can garner high-powered results from moderate sample sizes. Source: Dartmouth College/Science Daily

Researchers create a biomimetic model to study wound healing in burn and laceration wounds. The team designed an in vitro model system made of fibroblasts embedded in a collagen hydrogel. Wounds were created in this microtissue using a microdissection knife to mimic laceration or a high-energy laser to simulate a burn. They discovered that fibroblasts clear away damaged tissue before depositing new material. This part of the healing process is slower in burn wounds. Source: American Institute of Physics/Science Daily

New research found that using focused-ultrasound-mediated liquid biopsy in a mouse model released more tau proteins and another biomarker into the blood than without the intervention. This noninvasive method could facilitate diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders, the researchers said. Source: Washington University in St. Louis/Science Daily

A soldier suffers a serious gunshot wound on a remote battlefield or a machinist has a work accident and gets stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital. Secondary, uncontrolled bleeding from traumatic injury is a leading cause of death for Americans ages one to 46. Chemical and biomedical engineers plan to change that with a novel microneedle patch that can immediately stop bleeding after injury. Source: Penn State/Science Daily

Researchers have developed a new tool and technique that uses 'vortex ultrasound' -- a sort of ultrasonic tornado -- to break down blood clots in the brain. The new approach worked more quickly than existing techniques to eliminate clots formed in an in vitro model of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Source: North Carolina State University/Science Daily

Using a specialized MRI sensor, engineers have shown that they can detect light deep within tissues such as the brain. Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Science Daily

Researchers report that they have developed a new experimental pipeline to combine bacterial therapy with current cancer drugs. Their study, which explores resistance to bacterial therapy at the molecular level, has achieved better treatment efficacy without additional toxicity in laboratory models. Source: Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science/Science Daily

A team of engineers has developed a photoacoustic patch that can monitor biomolecules in deep tissues, including hemoglobin. It can perform 3D mapping of hemoglobin with a submillimeter spatial resolution in deep tissues, down to centimeters below the skin, versus other wearable electrochemical devices that only sense the biomolecules on the skin surface. Source: University of California - San Diego/Science Daily

A new website from NIH is allowing people in the United States to anonymously report their rapid test results. Sharing your results on the site, called MakeMyTestCount.org, bolsters the information public health departments have about whether or not the COVID is spreading. Source: VeryWell Health