Tag: Medical device

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Using a Virtual Reality CAVE–Based Mindfulness Intervention to Promote Mental Well-Being in Adolescents With Anxiety Symptoms: Pre-Post Mixed Methods Pilot Study

Background: Adolescent anxiety is a growing public health concern associated with significant social and emotional impairment. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have shown promise in reducing anxiety and improving well-being; however, engagement remains challenging. Virtual reality (VR)–based delivery may enhance immersion and attention, potentially addressing barriers of traditional mindfulness formats. Evidence on VR-based mindfulness interventions for adolescents, particularly in Hong Kong, remains limited. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a VR-MBI delivered via a CAVE, an enclosed VR environment with three projected walls displaying immersive natural scenes and ambient sounds, for adolescents with mild-to-moderate anxiety symptoms in Hong Kong. Secondary aims were to explore preliminary effects on psychological outcomes and physiological stress regulation and to identify facilitators and barriers to engagement. Methods: A mixed methods, single-group pre-post study was conducted with adolescents experiencing mild-to-moderate anxiety symptoms, recruited from secondary schools and youth service organizations in Hong Kong. Participants completed an 8-week group-based VR-MBI. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed using recruitment, attendance, retention, homework practice frequency, dropouts, and adverse events. Psychological outcomes were measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale–21 and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Heart rate variability indices, including the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals and root-mean-square of successive differences, were collected at baseline and postintervention using a wearable device. Focus group interviews explored participants’ experiences. Paired-sample tests and Wilcoxon signed rank tests examined pre-post changes, and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, with findings integrated through triangulation. Results: A total of 42 participants (mean age 14.88, SD 1.90 years; 20/42, 47.6% female; 22/42, 52.4% male) enrolled and completed both assessments. Attendance was high, with 73.8% (31/42) of participants attending at least 80% (8/10) sessions, and participants engaged in regular homework practice. No dropouts or adverse events were reported. No significant pre-post changes were observed in self-reported distress, anxiety, depression, stress, or trait mindfulness (all >.05). However, significant improvements were observed in both heart rate variability indices, standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (mean difference 17.6 ms, 95% CI −33.88 to −1.32; =.04; Cohen =0.38) and root-mean-square of successive differences (mean difference 20.20 ms, 95% CI −38.76 to −1.65; =.03; Cohen =0.39), which may suggest preliminary enhancements in physiological stress regulation. Qualitative findings suggested perceived benefits in emotional regulation, stress reduction, focus, and sleep, with the immersive environment and group-based format identified as key facilitators. Conclusions: The CAVE-based VR-MBI was feasible and acceptable for adolescents with mild-to-moderate anxiety symptoms in Hong Kong. Despite no significant changes in self-reported outcomes, physiological improvements and positive qualitative feedback suggest early benefits not captured by self-report measures. These findings support further investigation of using controlled designs and longer follow-up periods.
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Nanowire Device Captures EVs for Targeted Cancer Liquid Biopsies

Researchers at Nagoya University, Japan, have developed a nanowire-based microfluidic device they say can improve the detection and analysis of cancer-associated extracellular vesicles (EVs) in blood samples. The new device uses zinc oxide nanowires modified with antibodies to selectively capture EVs linked to cancer while preserving both their surface proteins and internal microRNAs, which can then be analyzed. The findings, published in the journal Device, indicate that new device could potentially improve liquid biopsies for ovarian cancer as well as other cancers.

“In this study, we developed a nanowire microfluidic device capable of selectively capturing cancer-associated EVs with high efficiency, while suppressing nonspecific adsorption through simple chemical modification,” said senior author Takao Yasui, PhD, a professor in the graduate school of engineering at Nagoya University. “We also demonstrated that this approach maintains both EV membrane proteins and internal microRNAs intact, showing strong potential for highly sensitive analysis of cancer states.”

EVs are an emerging class of analytes because they carry molecular cargo such as messenger RNAs, microRNAs, and membrane proteins that reflect the cells from which they originate. To date, however, there have been challenges finding way to isolate EVs from complex biological fluids.

According to the researchers, techniques to isolate EVs such as ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, and polymer-based precipitation can be time-consuming, require large sample volumes, and provide limited specificity. These methods also don’t reliably distinguish between EV subtypes.

Previously, investigators in the Yasui lab had developed zinc oxide nanowire devices capable of efficiently enriching EVs through charge interactions and hydrogen bonding. Further, the researchers noted that polyketone-coated zinc oxide nanowires improved the efficiency and purity of EV isolation within a microfluidic system designed for cancer diagnostics. Those findings led the team to explore whether polyketone chemistry could provide a more controlled method of attaching antibodies to the nanowires.

To do this, the team developed a platform based on N-hydroxysuccinimide ester-functionalized polyketones, known as pKNHS. They synthesized six pKNHS variants with different chain lengths and found that pKNHS 4.2 provided the most effective combination of nanowire stability and antibody immobilization.

The technology was first evaluated using cultured breast cancer cells. Antibody-free nanowires captured approximately 65% of CD9-positive EVs, while nanowires conjugated with CD9 antibodies captured efficiency of about 90%.

Next, the platform was testing using antibodies directed against ovarian cancer-associated markers CLDN3, FOLR1, and TROP2. These modified nanowires selectively recovered EVs from ovarian cancer cells and were subsequently used to isolate EVs from blood serum samples obtained from six patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and six individuals without cancer.

Analysis of the captured EVs showed distinct microRNA patterns of the EVs collected from cancer patients compared with those from the people without cancer. In total, the team identified 126 microRNAs shared among EVs captured using all three ovarian cancer markers. They also found unique microRNA populations linked to each marker, including 40 associated with CLDN3, 37 with FOLR1, and 45 with TROP2.

The system also facilitated the analysis of both EV membrane proteins and encapsulated microRNAs, which could scientists to better understand the relationships between surface markers and the associated molecular cargo.

Future work will focus on comparing the technology with existing clinical diagnostic methods and expanding its ability to capture additional EV subpopulations. The long-term goal is to apply the approach to noninvasive liquid biopsies and early diagnosis across a range of cancer types.

The post Nanowire Device Captures EVs for Targeted Cancer Liquid Biopsies appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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Distribution of bladder afferent activity across the sacral roots in sheep shows marked individual variation: implications for neuroprosthesis design

ObjectiveImplantable sacral anterior root stimulators enable bladder emptying after spinal cord injury but do not prevent reflex incontinence. A closed-loop neuroprosthesis that detects and inhibits reflex bladder contractions could address this, but first, reliable detection of bladder fullness from the sacral roots. Further, the distribution of afferent bladder activity between sacral roots, and the relationship between efferent and afferent activity within each root, remains unclear and must be clarified to guide implant design.MethodsElectrode books were implanted on the S1–S3 extra-dural sacral roots bilaterally in six terminally anesthetized sheep. Afferent electroneurogram (ENG) was recorded concurrently from all implanted roots during filling cystometries and correlated with bladder pressure. Each root was individually electrically stimulated and the bladder pressure response recorded. Post-mortem morphometric analysis determined fiber size distribution in each root.ResultsOverall, S2 ENG activity showed the highest correlation with bladder pressure, and electrical stimulation of S2 and S3 produced the greatest increases in bladder pressure. Fiber size distribution did not correlate with either ENG activity or bladder pressure response. Significant variation was identified between individual sheep, but notably, in four of six sheep, a single sacral root had both the highest ENG correlation to bladder pressure and the greatest bladder response to stimulation.SignificanceThis study demonstrates reliable recording of bladder afferents from sacral roots using clinically applicable electrodes. It provides the first systematic recording of bladder ENG concurrently across three pairs of sacral roots in multiple animals, and the first characterization of signal distribution between roots. Significant individual variation is identified, impacting the design of future implantable sacral neuroprostheses for bladder control.
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Closed Loop Glucose Control in a Simulated ICU Setting

Conditions: Type 1 Diabetes; Type 2 Diabetes; Stress Induced Hyperglycemia

Interventions: Device: FUSION closed loop glucose control system

Sponsors: Ideal Medical Technologies; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); Emory University

Not yet recruiting
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App-Controlled “Wound Zipper” Aids Bespoke Skin Healing

A biomechanical device controlled through a smartphone can quickly close complex wounds, with preclinical research showing it can encourage healing and reduce scarring.

The multi-axis stretchable wound zipper (MSWZ) shrinks and responds like human skin to enable personalized fast and precise healing at a molecular level.

The device, outlined in Advanced Science, mechanically stretches and contracts wounds in multiple directions through a smartphone app and it was able to heal to complex wounds in rats.

The zipper supported matrix remodeling to reduce the risk of scar formation and encouraged blood flow to supply energy and nutrients for optimal healing.

Researcher Yiming Zhang, PhD, from Xinqiao Hospital in Chongqing, China, said it addressed the limitations of conventional surgical sutures or skin staples that only contract in a single direction without being able to manage the force applied.

“We believe this technology offers an innovative solution for future wound care, ultimately alleviating patient suffering and significantly accelerating the healing process,” he said.

The multi-axis wound zipper is engineered from electro-thermally driven mechanical metamaterials and is encapsulated between two layers of polyurethane dressing before use.

It is constructed from a lattice based on nickel-titanium shape-memory alloy that can freely stretch in six directions, spaced 60 degrees apart. This enables it to conform to complex wound morphologies, with precise, programmable mechanical contraction possible through the smartphone app.

A circular notch in the center of the underlying dressing allows the zipper to stick only to the wound margins and not to the center of the wound so that mechanical contraction forces do not act directly on the central wound tissue.

This “loop adhesion” design is better than traditionally uniform dressing structures, the researchers explain, as it allows the zipper to draw flat against the wound edge—like a drawstring bag—for smoother, more uniform closure.

The device also incorporates a Bluetooth-enabled microcontroller unit, which allows the patient to precisely set and dynamically regulate the wound contraction strength through a mobile app. This intelligent closure system allows contraction to be adjusted according to personal comfort and avoids the pain of over contraction.

Pre-stretched multi-axis wound zippers were better than surgical suturing for linear wounds in rats, achieving immediate and complete closure and a wound healing rate of nearly 90% on the first day.

When used for circular wounds, the wound zipper was also better than surgical suturing and had a superior wound-healing rate above 95% within eight days. It restored the epithelial barrier, reduced the width of the wound, and promoted reconstruction of the collagen matrix.

It was also able to heal the spindle- and oval-shaped wounds frequently seen in the clinic.

Maximum wound closure rates for linear, triangular, rectangular, and circular wounds were 100%, 84.85%, 81.99%, and 87.40%, respectively.

Immunohistochemistry revealed that the wound zipper promoted blood flow to deliver energy and nutrients for healing and supported matrix remodeling to reduce the formation of scar tissue.

Mechanical contraction using the device upregulated vascular regeneration-related transcription factors and speeded the restoration of local perfusion. At the same time, it promoted proliferation and migration of keratinocytes, thereby accelerating re-epithelialization.

In addition, by reducing the skin tension at the wound margin, the wound zipper inhibited the overactivation of myofibroblasts, facilitated orderly collagen matrix remodeling, and decreased the risk of scar formation.

“Collectively, these findings indicate that the MSWZ can deliver rapid, robust, and programmable multi-axis mechanical contraction suited for personalized management of diverse wound types,” the researchers concluded.

“Its conformability to skin and favorable safety profile further support its potential for future clinical translation.”

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