Hong Chen, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering and radiation oncology at Washington University in St. Louis, is dedicated to what may seem like the impossible. “This constant puzzle of what’s happening in my brain.” Chen is referring to all human brains that share this complexity. And getting answers to serious problems can be very […]
A team led by Washington University in St. Louis has been awarded $1 million over two years from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines, or NSF Engines, program. The team, called NEURO360, is among some 40 teams nationwide to receive NSF Engines Development Awards, which aim to spur collaborations to create economic, societal […]
An interdisciplinary project has received funding to help ensure that if — or more likely, when — certain imaging tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) are put to clinical use, their inherent uncertainty is considered as part of any subsequent clinical decisions, including guiding treatment. The project, led by Abhinav Jha, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical […]
Collaboration across disciplines is integral at WashU, often yielding life-changing discoveries. In 2002, when Eric Leuthardt, MD, and Dan Moran, PhD, were introduced to each other by their department chairs, no one could have predicted it would lead to a collaboration that is reshaping the future of neuroscience. Moran, professor of biomedical engineering at the […]
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Daniel Moran, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, more than $1 million over five years to create the Translational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Training Program. This interdisciplinary program will train students to use engineering tools to develop technology that address neurological issues such as […]
Brain-computer interfaces connect activity in the brain to an external device by means of a computer. Research has shown it’s possible to use such interfaces to move robotic arms and perform other tasks. Almost 30 years ago, Washington University researcher Eric Leuthardt, MD, a professor of neurosurgery, demonstrated that he could hook electrodes to the brains […]
A submarine can inadvertently reveal its location because of cavitation, a condition that creates bubbles underwater that burst, then emit sound waves that can be detected by sonar. A team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis plans to use the same concept to detect cavitation in human brains that may contribute to […]
Researchers and clinicians have been working to use focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for both noninvasive diagnostic use as well as to deliver treatments to the brain for tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the few existing devices for preclinical research are expensive, bulky and lack the precision needed for […]
The IpsiHand, an innovative stroke-recovery device that helps stroke patients recover significant arm and hand function by retraining their brains, has received the 2021 Pantheon Product of the Year Award from California Life Sciences. The organization advocates for the state’s life sciences sector and its innovation pipeline by supporting companies of all sizes, from early-stage […]
Glioblastomas are aggressive brain tumors that are commonly diagnosed through a risky and invasive surgical biopsy. A team of researchers led by Hong Chen, PhD at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a noninvasive diagnostic method that may one day replace the tissue biopsy with a simple blood test. Chen, associate professor of biomedical engineering at […]
New methods to treat human brain disorders is one of the top priorities of the National Institutes of Health’s ambitious BRAIN Initiative. To find noninvasive tools that are equally or more effective is a kind of Holy Grail for neuroscience, and a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has it in her sights. […]
Neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy have had some treatment success with deep brain stimulation, but those require surgical device implantation. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on […]
Stroke patients who are struggling to regain the use of a hand will soon have access to a new FDA-cleared device that uses signals from the undamaged part of the brain to retrain the injured limb. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a device that can help stroke patients regain the […]
A first-of-its kind device that helps people disabled by stroke regain significant control over their arm and hand function by using their minds has received market authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The IpsiHand Upper Extremity Rehabilitation System, developed by Neurolutions Inc. – a Washington University in St. Louis startup company – leverages brain-computer interface […]
Brain tumors are typically diagnosed using MRI imaging, as taking a sample for a tissue biopsy is risky and may not be possible due to tumor location or a patient’s poor health conditions. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are developing a method to diagnose brain tumors without any incisions. The method is developed […]
The Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis recently announced six teams were selected for funding to prepare their projects for commercialization through the spring 2020 LEAP Gap Fund cycle. The LEAP Gap Fund is open to any person or team with potential or existing university intellectual property. Through the program, […]
Each year, more than 30 million people have their eyes scanned using optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect for diseases of the retina, such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. While OCT takes excellent images, it is very sensitive to any movement — even breathing — by the patient, and is limited to a […]
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new imaging agent that could let doctors identify not only multiple types of tumors but the surrounding normal cells that the cancer takes over and uses as a shield to protect itself from attempts to destroy it. The study appears March 9 […]
Bomb-sniffing cyborg grasshoppers have been created by scientists to detect explosives such as TNT. Academics at Washington University in Missouri tapped into the insects’ minds to monitor whether they were smelling explosives, and if so, what kind they were detecting. Or as the researchers put it, the “bio-hacked” grasshoppers play a similar role to a “canary […]
People with severe Parkinson’s disease or other neurological conditions that cause intractable symptoms such as uncontrollable shaking, muscle spasms, seizures, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are sometimes treated with electric stimulators placed inside the brain. Such stimulators are designed to interrupt aberrant signaling that causes the debilitating symptoms. The therapy, deep-brain stimulation, can provide relief […]
Hong Chen, assistant professor at the McKelvey School of Engineering and at the School of Medicine, received a $309,909 grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the application of a focused ultrasound-mediated drug delivery technique for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Read more.
Hong Chen, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering and of radiation oncology at the School of Medicine, received a $470,500 research grant from the Office of Naval Research to detect traumatic brain injury (TBI) using ultrasound sensors. This research represents just one arm of a multi-faceted approach in the Chen […]
If traditional drug delivery were a type of painting, it might be akin to paintball. With good aim, a majority of the paint ends on the bullseye, but it also drips and splashes, carrying streams of paint across the target. If the drug needs to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout your body for treating […]
Hong Chen, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering and of radiation oncology at the School of Medicine, received a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The research will fund a broader understanding of Chen’s earlier work combining intranasal drug delivery […]
From the WashU Newsroom… A team of neuroscientists and engineers has developed a tiny, implantable device that has potential to help people with bladder problems bypass the need for medication or electronic stimulators. The team — from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Feinberg School […]
Brain changes evident in scans before memory, cognitive decline From the WashU School of Medicine News… One day, MRI brain scans may help predict whether older people will develop dementia, new research suggests. In a small study, MRI brain scans predicted with 89 percent accuracy who would go on to develop dementia within three years, […]
Pulses of electrical stimulation help heal injured nerves From the WashU Newsroom… Car accidents, sports injuries, even too much typing and texting can injure the peripheral nerves, leaving people with numbness, tingling and weakness in their hands, arms or legs. Recovery can take months, and doctors have little to offer to speed it along. Now, […]
From The Scientist… When you move only your right arm, there’s neural activity in both the left and right sides of the brain, researchers report today (October 8) in The Journal of Neuroscience. Recent animal and human studies have hinted that moving muscle on only one side of the body resulted in neural activity from the same side—or […]
Interdisciplinary research brings together imaging, aerosols and pediatric neuro oncology to fight tumors From the WashU Newsroom… A person’s brainstem controls some of the body’s most important functions, including heart beat, respiration, blood pressure and swallowing. Tumor growth in this part of the brain is therefore twice as devastating. Not only can such a growth […]
An interdisciplinary team of WashU researchers will be developing a non-invasive neuromodulation tool From the WashU School of Engineering & Applied Science News… Hong Chen, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science and radiation oncology in the School of Medicine, has received a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of […]
Study focuses on people not treated effectively with antidepressants From the WashU School of Medicine News… People with depression who are treated with nerve stimulation experience significant improvements in quality of life, even when their depression symptoms don’t completely subside, according to results of a national study led by researchers at Washington University School of […]
The US researcher – and sci-fi author – on how brain implants will drive the next turning point in human evolution From The Guardian… Dr Eric C Leuthardt, 45, is a neurosurgeon at Washington University in St Louis. He is also the co-founder of NeuroLutions, a research laboratory developing direct interfaces between mind and computer. Leuthardt […]
Collaborative research team developing biological sensors that would analyze saliva, send information electronically to doctors From the WashU Newsroom… An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the School of Engineering & Applied Science is redefining the notion of a wisdom tooth. The team is developing a smart-tooth […]
Study shows that brain networks reliably track individuals over time From the WashU Newsroom… There are no laboratory tests to diagnose migraines, depression, bipolar disorder and many other ailments of the brain. Doctors typically gauge such illnesses based on self-reported symptoms and behavior. Now, a new study shows that a kind of brain scan called […]
From STL Public Radio… Two years ago, Joe Weissmann lost something many take for granted: his sense of smell. “I still eat, but I don’t enjoy it near as much, because I can’t taste any food or have any sensation of smell,” said Weissmann, a lifelong St. Louis resident and retired sheet metal worker. Still, […]
Washington University researchers are developing a new way to look inside the brains of pediatric patients. From the WashU Newsroom… A team of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a new way to look inside the brains of the littlest patients — a technique that will provide precise measurements without requiring children to […]
Launched in 2013, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is designed to fund research that will ultimately revolutionize the understanding of the human brain, from individual cells to complex neural circuits. From the WashU School of Engineering Newsroom… The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a two-year, BRAIN Initiative grant to engineers at […]