For Medical Professionals
A robot maneuvers into tiny "unreachable" places
An infant's brain. A fetus's heart. Pockets in the gut. Surgeons' hands guide flexible, mechanical arms. Computers process images with enhanced precision. Repair defective heart valves. Mend birth defects. Save lives. Minimally invasive. Maximally effective.
Researchers: Pedro J. del Nido, MD, chairman, Department of Cardiac Surgery; Pierre E. Dupont, PhD, chief, Pediatric Cardiac Bioengineering; Hiep T. Nguyen, MD, director, Robotic Surgery Research and Training
More information:
- Microrobotic Vascular Surgery System at TEDMED2010
- Center for Robotic and Minimally Invasive Reconstructive Surgery
- BioRobotics Research Group
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Webcast: Robotically-Assisted Ureteral Reimplantation
Customized cells = customized treatment
Skin or blood, their identity erased, morph in the lab into heart. Lung. Brain. Stem cells--today, a model to find drugs and understand disease. Tomorrow, customized to repair patients' damaged organs. One-time cure will replace lifetime treatment for diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's, more.
Researchers: George Daley, MD, PhD, director, Stem Cell Transplantation Program; Mathew William Lensch, PhD, senior scientist, George Q. Daley Laboratory
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Peer into the fetal and newborn brain
Watch it form. Pediatric brain experts and engineering gurus build non-invasive imaging systems safe for preschoolers, babies and even fetuses still in the womb. Stunning pictures reveal muddled connections and subtle deviations. Detect injuries before delicate developing brains are irreversibly harmed.
Researcher: P. Ellen Grant, MD, founding director, Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center
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Inviting patients to the table
Autism. Asthma. Muscular Dystrophy. Cancer. Power in numbers and massive data. Genes, medical records, family history, lifestyle. Patients become partners in research. Clinicians formulate treatments matched to individuals. A system that detects early hints of illness. Secure. Private. Definitive.
Researcher: Dietrich A. Stephan, PhD, executive director, The Gene Partnership.
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Hot spots
Outbreaks flare. Computers track. Researchers map hot spots around the world. Warn of merging threats. Stop disease. Save lives. Clever systems that can think global and act local.
Researchers: John Samuel Brownstein, PhD, director, Computational Epidemiology Group; Clark Freifeld, research software developer, Children's Informatics Program
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A contraceptive for men and women
First-of-its-kind. Nonhormonal. Safe. Effective. Simple. Cheap. Unisex pill stops sperm from swimming by disabling the engine in their tails. Men take it before sex. Women just before or after.
Researcher: David Clapham, MD, PhD, chief, Basic Cardiovascular Research Laboratories
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Diagnosis down the toilet
Start with urine, a biological dumping ground for the leavings of disease. Add a dipstick studded with antibodies to warn of cancer's rude arrival or return. Dip. Watch. Know. Get treated before it is too late.
Researcher: Marsha A. Moses, PhD, director, Vascular Biology Program
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Cell meets silicon—and breathes
Lung-on-a-chip promises to clear the air about pollutants, pathogens and health. Offers faster, cheaper model for testing drugs. Tissue engineered from human cells, it mimics the critical boundary between lung and blood and the inhale-exhale of a living lung.
Researcher: Donald E. Ingber, MD, PhD, senior associate in Vascular Biology
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In sight: contact lens as drug dispenser
Medication seeps from polymer embedded in soft contact lenses. Flows day after day, promising long-lasting, precision treatment for glaucoma, dry eye, post-surgical infection and more. Goodbye drops. Hello, sight for sore eyes.
Researcher: Daniel S. Kohane, MD, PhD, principal investigator
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