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Driven by the need to develop more effective therapies requiring less recovery time for common joint conditions such as osteoarthritis, an international team including NIBIB-funded researchers has developed an integrated two-part scaffold for implantation into damaged joints -- with cartilage scaffold made from silk, and bone scaffold made from ceramics. This combination of materials allows stem cells to successfully populate the graft and differentiate into cartilage and bone cells. The cells fill the damaged areas to reconstitute the original structure of the joint, after which the scaffold biodegrades, leaving the smooth surface required for a pain-free, functioning interface.

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NIBIB-funded researchers at Tufts University and their collaborators have successfully developed a 3-dimensional (3D) tissue-engineered model of bone marrow that can produce functional human platelets outside the body (ex vivo).

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Three unique projects focused on improving global health won the National Institutes of Health’s Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge. The winners showed exemplary initiative in designing tools for a less expensive, portable device to monitor HIV treatment, a new surgical clamp to treat drooping eyelids, and a low-cost patient monitor.

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Researchers have shown that MRI can detect the earliest signs of breast cancer recurrence and fast-growing tumors. Their approach detects micrometastases, breakaway tumor cells with the potential to develop into dangerous secondary breast cancer tumors elsewhere in the body. The approach may offer an improved way to detect early recurrence of breast cancer in women and men. The work was completed at Case Western Reserve University and was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of NIH.

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Five men with complete motor paralysis were able to voluntarily generate step-like movements thanks to a new strategy that non-invasively delivers electrical stimulation to their spinal cords, according to a new study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

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The capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a valuable tool for cancer treatment decisions and therapy monitoring. Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering are using sound waves to isolate CTCs without physical contact or damage to the cells, assuring that their original characteristics are maintained. The contact-free nature of the method offers the potential for more precise cancer treatment and monitoring.

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NIBIB-funded researchers have developed two near-infrared contrast agents that are efficiently taken up by the thyroid and parathyroid glands following intravenous injection. The contrast agents could be used to help surgeons operate on the glands with greater precision.

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A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has generated a novel system for growing cardiac tissue from undifferentiated stem cells on a culture plate. This heart on a chip is a miniature physiologic system that could be used to model early heart development and screen drugs prescribed during pregnancy. Researchers from the University of California (UC) Berkeley; the Gladstone Institutes, in San Francisco; and UC San Francisco, reported their work in the July 14, 2015, online issue of Nature Communications.

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Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering have designed a nanoparticle gene delivery system that destroys brain gliomas in a rat model, significantly extending the lives of the treated animals. The nanoparticles are filled with genes for an enzyme that converts a prodrug called ganciclovir into a potent destroyer of the glioma cells

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NIBIB-supported researchers have created tiny gel particles that can perform the same essential functions as platelets. The particles could one day be used to control excessive bleeding following traumatic injury or in individuals with impaired clotting due to an inherited condition or as a result of certain medications or chemotherapy.

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An NIBIB-funded researcher has developed a new technique that creates digital pictures of a tissue’s chemical composition using light and a computer. The technique replaces the need for dyes or stains, which can be costly and require significant time and effort to apply.

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Scientists at Georgia State University (GSU) with funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have designed an imaging technique to detect early-stage liver tumors, and have proven it successful in mice. Their study in an animal model is an essential step toward creating tools to improve liver tumor detection in human patients—whether primary liver cancer or metastatic tumors that arise in liver but have spread from other tissue.

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NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a highly sensitive imaging technique for non-invasive screening of lymph nodes for metastatic cancer. The new imaging technique – so far tested in mice – offers a rapid tool to noninvasively identify cancer’s spread at its earliest stages.

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Researchers have developed a microfluidic chip that can capture rare clusters of circulating tumor cells, which could yield important new insights into how cancer spreads. The work was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health.

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New paper and flexible polymer substrates were combined with special sensing devices for rapid and accurate detection of HIV and other pathogens for point-of-care medicine in remote areas, where there is minimal diagnostic infrastructure and a lack of trained medical technicians.

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An NIBIB grantee has developed an ultrafast camera that can acquire two-dimensional images at 100 billion frames per second, a speed capable of revealing light pulses and other phenomena previously too fast to be observed.

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A head and neck surgeon at UCSD discusses the development of new molecules that cause tumors and nerves to glow, making it easier for them to be identified during surgery.

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NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a highly effective sensor system to improve the quality of clinical breast examinations by physicians. To improve training, the device incorporates a sensor that indicates when a physician is palpating (pressing) with adequate force necessary to detect a lump in the breast.

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A new technique to create tissue-engineered bladders has been shown to decrease scarring and significantly increase tissue growth. The bladders are produced using scaffolds coated with anti-inflammatory peptides. Tissue-engineered organs such as supplemental bladders, small arteries, skin grafts, cartilage, and even a full trachea have been implanted in patients, but the procedures are still experimental, very costly, and often fail.