Research Highlights

Showcase of NIBIB-Supported Research: 2007

Nonlinear Optical Microscopy – Advancing Diagnostics and Improving Treatments: December 28, 2007
Multimodal multiphoton microscopy – a novel imaging technology – provides superb detail and 3D resolution, even when imaging deep into tissues such as spinal cord and blood vessels. Using this state-of-the-art approach, Ji-Xin Cheng and his collaborators at Purdue University are looking for ways to improve diagnostics and treatments for various diseases, including multiple sclerosis and heart disease. 

Virtual Reality – Advances in Surgery Simulation: November 30, 2007
Existing surgical simulation techniques often fall short of realism. A new advance in simulation from researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will provide doctors the opportunity to learn new medical procedures and hone motor skills without risking the health and safety of their patients. Soon, surgeons will be able to more realistically practice operations in which bleeding and smoke from cauterization can impact the procedure.

New Technique May Outsmart Pancreatic Cancer: October 26, 2007
A research team from Northwestern University has developed a new technique to noninvasively track changes related to pancreatic cancer and to do so without disturbing the highly sensitive organ. This work may clear the way for new screening tools to discover the disease at its earliest stages.

Microsurgery Device Reduces Surgeon Tremor: September 27, 2007
Microsurgical procedures require precision. Involuntary movement or jerk can traumatize surrounding tissue and cause myriad complications for the patient. A research team at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a handheld device that compensates for unwanted motion and stabilizes the tip of microsurgical instruments. The device could improve the safety of microsurgery and reduce practitioner fatigue. Clinical applications include retinal surgery, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and cell biology.

Biopolymer Mesh Disappears After Healing: August 21, 2007
Tepha, Inc., has genetically engineered a strain of E. coli to produce a novel, absorbable biopolymer that is flexible, strong, and well tolerated in vivo. The FDA recently cleared surgical suture and mesh products made of the polymer for marketing, marking the first time a medical device made of a naturally derived polyester has received FDA clearance.

Of Mice and Microscopy - Promising Insights for Alzheimer’s Research: July 18, 2007
Because no biomarkers exist for Alzheimer’s disease, preclinical diagnosis is impossible and assessment of therapies that could prevent or reverse the course of the disease is inhibited. By combining mouse models, multiphoton microscopy, and unique imaging agents, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are providing important information about the mechanisms of this progressive neurodegenerative disease and techniques to test new drugs more quickly. Their work also provides a springboard for developing new approaches to image the disease in humans.

Infectious Disease Vaccines Get a Boost from Imaging Program: June 6, 2007
Bacteria that cause two common ailments, traveler’s diarrhea and the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, grab hold of humans because of tiny anchors, or pili, on the bacteria’s surface. A University of Virginia researcher has developed a novel approach to imaging these flexible filaments. Understanding the pili’s structure may help other researchers develop new vaccines to treat highly infectious diseases.

Virtual Microscopy - Turning Bystanders Into Players: May 7, 2007
Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, have developed a suite of imaging tools that enable investigators to visualize and manipulate living cells, molecules, and strands of DNA with unprecedented control. The imaging systems are providing new insights into how blood clots form and how the lungs clear mucus.

Ultrasound-Mediated Therapy - Are We There Yet?: March 27, 2007
Ultrasound creates temporary gaps in cell membranes. These gaps are large enough to allow macromolecules to enter, thus offering the potential to use this noninvasive technology to deliver drugs and genes to specific organs and tissues within the body. Understanding the mechanism by which ultrasound creates these gaps is bringing researchers one step closer to using this technology for targeted drug and gene delivery. 

NIBIB Funding Policy Supports New Investigators: February 28, 2007
Receiving an R01 grant can literally change a researcher’s life, but getting that first grant can be a daunting task. To ease the process, NIBIB has implemented a new investigator funding policy. Follow three investigators with unique stories who have successfully earned grants under the new policy and whose work is moving biomedical research forward.

Adding Feeling to Robot-Assisted Surgery: January 29, 2007
To give surgeons a sense of touch when they perform robot-assisted surgery, a Johns Hopkins University research team is developing a feedback system based on visual cues as well as force sensors that can be placed in the robot system.

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