In a significant departure from earlier models, neural engineers and neuroscientists working at Stanford University have developed a new model for the brain activity underlying arm movements. Motor neurons do not represent external-world parameters as previously thought, but rather send a few basic rhythmic patterns down the spine to drive movement. The finding has implications in prosthetics, the understanding of motor disorders and other uses yet to be discovered.
The neurons that control movement are not a predictable bunch. Scientists working to decode how such neurons convey information to muscles have been stymied when trying to establish a one-to-one relationship between a neuron

The driving bass rhythm of rap music can be harnessed to power a new type of miniature medical sensor designed to be implanted in the body.
Acoustic waves from music, particularly rap, were found to effectively recharge the pressure sensor. Such a device might ultimately help to treat people stricken with aneurisms or incontinence due to paralysis.
The heart of the sensor is a vibrating cantilever, a thin beam attached at one end like a miniature diving board. Music within a certain range of frequencies, from 200-500 hertz, causes the cantilever to vibrate, generating electricity and storing a charge in a capacitor, said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering.
‘The music reaches the correct frequency only at certain times, for example, when there is a strong bass component,’ he said. ‘The acoustic energy from the music can pass through body tissue, causing the cantilever to vibrate.’
When the frequency falls outside of the proper range, the cantilever stops vibrating, automatically sending the electrical charge to the sensor, which takes a pressure reading and transmits data as radio signals. Because the frequency is continually changing according to the rhythm of a musical composition, the sensor can be induced to repeatedly alternate intervals of storing charge and transmitting data.
‘You would only need to do this for a couple of minutes every hour or so to monitor either blood pressure or pressure of urine in the bladder,’ Ziaie said. ‘It doesn’t take long to do the measurement.’
The device is an example of a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS, and was created in the Birck Nanotechnology Center at the university’s Discovery Park. The cantilever beam is made from a ceramic material called lead zirconate titanate, or PZT, which is piezoelectric, meaning it generates electricity when compressed. The sensor is about 2 centimeters long. Researchers tested the device in a water-filled balloon.
A receiver that picks up the data from the sensor could be placed several inches from the patient. Playing tones within a certain frequency range also can be used instead of music.
‘But a plain tone is a very annoying sound,’ Ziaie said. ‘We thought it would be novel and also more aesthetically pleasing to use music.’
Researchers experimented with four types of music: rap, blues, jazz and rock.
‘Rap is the best because it contains a lot of low frequency sound, notably the bass,’ Ziaie said.
The sensor is capable of monitoring pressure in the urinary bladder and in the sack of a blood vessel damaged by an aneurism. Such a technology could be used in a system for treating incontinence in people with paralysis by checking bladder pressure and stimulating the spinal cord to close the sphincter that controls urine flow from the bladder. More immediately, it could be used to diagnose incontinence. The conventional diagnostic method now is to insert a probe with a catheter, which must be in place for several hours while the patient remains at the hospital.
‘A wireless implantable device could be inserted and left in place, allowing the patient to go home while the pressure is monitored,’ Ziaie said.
The new technology offers potential benefits over conventional implantable devices, which either use batteries or receive power through a property called inductance, which uses coils on the device and an external transmitter. Both approaches have downsides. Batteries have to be replaced periodically, and data are difficult to retrieve from devices that use inductance; coils on the implanted device and an external receiver must be lined up precisely, and they can only be about a centimeter apart. Purdue University

A cheap medical device can dramatically reduce the number of premature births in some at-risk women, according to a team of doctors in Spain. Being born before 34 weeks of pregnancy is linked to a host of health problems.
The study showed that using a ‘cervical pessary’ reduced the rate in the at-risk group. Doctors said more studies were needed before the technique was used routinely.
The authors said 13 million babies were born prematurely every year.
In the trial, doctors were looking at women who had a cervix – part of the lower section of the uterus – which was shorter than 25mm. These pregnant women are thought to be at a higher risk of an early delivery.
The cervix was measured between 18 and 22 weeks into the pregnancy by an ultrasound scan. Of the 11,875 women who took part in the trial, 726 had a cervical length less than 25mm. Half of these women had a pessary, a small ring of silicone, inserted into their cervix.
In the group of women without the pessary, 27% of babies were born prematurely. The rate was six per cent among those fitted with a pessary.
Maria Goya, one of the researchers at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, said: ‘Placement of a pessary is an affordable procedure, non-invasive, and easy to insert and remove as required.’
The study concluded the pessary was a ‘reliable alternative for prevention of preterm birth’ in a group of at-risk women.
Prof Steve Thornton of the University of Exeter, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: ‘The difference in the two groups is pretty amazing.’
He said more research was needed to prove that it worked, and to find out if it could help other women at risk of a premature birth.
‘If this is borne out it could make a big difference,’ he added. BBC

Siemens awarded large-scale service contract in Australia covering 6,000 items of medical technology equipment

In a 1.3 billion Australian Dollar partnership between the Western Australian Department of Health and the services company Serco, Siemens has been subcontracted by Serco to provide a Managed Equipment Service (MES) for the new Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, Australia. Consequently, Siemens will be providing services that will manage procurement, installation, maintenance, and regular system replacements of diagnostic and treatment equipment for the next 15 years.

The agreement involves capital investment of 100 Million Australian Dollars (app. 78 million euros) and includes around 6,000 items from CT scanners to monitoring equipment. This is the largest deal that Siemens Healthcare has ever won in Australia.

Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth, currently under construction, is a two-billion-dollar venture and one of the largest healthcare new build projects in Australia. The Western Australian Department of Health has contracted the international services company Serco as the overall facilities manager of the hospital. Serco in turn has selected Siemens to provide support in the form of a Managed Equipment Service (MES). This is a comprehensive service agreement that manages not only initial procurement, but also replacement, ongoing management, maintenance and disposal of medical equipment, as well as coordination of user trainings.

Siemens will be managing and supporting around 6,000 pieces of medical equipment for almost all departments in the hospital, ranging from diagnostic imaging, laboratory diagnostics, anesthetics, audiology and intensive care. Under the vendor-independent agreement, Siemens will manage differing equipment suppliers, with the aim of integrating them into the hospital workflow to optimize the quality of care and to ensure best technologies are available to the patients. The contract runs for a period of 15 years and includes management of planned replacement of the equipment with updated technology.

In December 2011, Siemens commenced with the first phase of the 100 million AUD capital investment program which will see the first major items being procured. These include advanced computed tomography scanners, magnetic resonance systems, and other imaging equipment.

The Fiona Stanley Hospital is scheduled to open in April 2014 and will be Western Australia

C. difficile is the most common cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospital, and it is estimated that 10% of patients who become infected in hospital will die. Researchers used The Ottawa Hospital Data Warehouse, Canada to analyse data on 136 877 admissions to The Ottawa Hospital between July 1, 2002 and March 31, 2009. A total of 1393 patients acquired C. difficile in hospital during this time, and these patients spent 34 days in hospital compared with eight days for patients who did not have C. difficile. However, the researchers also found that patients who became infected with C. difficile tended to have more serious illnesses and would have been more likely to stay longer in hospital anyway. When the researchers controlled for the level of illness using a mathematical model, they found that hospital-acquired C. difficile increased the length of stay in hospital by six days. The researchers believe that the study provides the most accurate measure yet of the impact of hospital-acquired C. difficile on length of hospital stay. C. difficile is a very serious problem for patients and for healthcare systems, however the good news is that tools such as this can provide more accurate information about C. difficile infection, helping to improve infection prevention efforts and also analyse their cost-effectiveness.