6 WAYS ULTRASOUND HEALS

For years ultrasound (sonic vibrations with frequencies beyond human hearing) has been used to noninvasively examine internal structures of the human body. One of the most common applications is viewing a developing baby within the womb. But ultrasound can also serve as a medical treatment, not just a diagnostic tool. Here are six examples (in no particular order) of such treatments.

1) Ultrasound has been used to break up kidney stones and gallstones into smaller, more manageable pieces.

2) Astonishing results have shown that ultrasound therapy is an effective way to improve the healing of broken bones. Treatments in Glasgow have mended injuries that doctors doubted would completely heal at all. 
 

3) Israeli scientists developed a way of using ultrasound to kill brain tumors. Sonic energy is transferred through the skull and focused on a tumor without cutting it open. This noninvasive, sonic surgery could be a great relief for both the surgeon and the patient.

4) Ultrasound can be used to enhance drug effectiveness. It makes targeted cells more receptive to absorbing chemicals that help fight disease, especially cancer.

5) Canadian researchers have invented a tiny ultrasound device for dental patients. Ultrasound applied to the jaws can cause tooth roots to regrow. This treatment is helpful for teeth that have fallen out or become loose from playing hockey or wearing braces.

6) DARPA is funding the development of a portable device that stops internal bleeding. Intended for soldiers on the battlefield, the Deep Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation (DBAC) project promises automatic detection of ruptured blood vessels using ultrasound. Once the site of bleeding has been located in 3D, the device will noninvasively cauterize the internal wound with high-intensity ultrasound.

Featured Image - Tractography

DECODING YOUR THOUGHTS

It would be amazing to record your thoughts with a computer, would it not? The continuing efforts of researchers at UC Berkeley are making that possibility more feasible every year. Their latest experiment involves reconstructing videos based on fMRI readings. First a subject is shown various movie trailers while their brain is scanned. A computer correlates patterns in the fMRI data with visual patterns in the trailers. For part two of the experiment, the subject watches movie trailers while being scanned again. This time, however, the computer analyzes millions of seconds of YouTube videos to find clips that closely match the brain scan data. The matching clips are overlapped into a single video that very roughly resembles what the subject was viewing.

So far the clarity of the reconstructed videos is extremely limited. But the scientists' work is still quite astonishing. They can create videos of what people see just by scanning their brains! In the future this should result in the ability to create videos just by imagining them and clicking record on a computer. That would create quite a stir on YouTube. Recording dreams would fulfill a longtime wish for many. Perhaps within the next few decades there will be a slim headset that one puts on before going to bed. In the morning, a nearby computer has wirelessly received the brain activity information and generated an easily watched video file. After watching your own dream with the benefit of wakefulness, you might upload it to YouTube, email it to your psychiatrist, or just file it away for later viewing.

There are still a few obstacles to get through before we can do all that. First of all, MRI machines take up most of a room, and being scanned by one is like laying in a coffin. Researchers at the University of Toronto are working on using ultrasound headsets to scan brain activity, but sonic waves are not yet as capable as magnetic ones. Another limitation is that fMRI and ultrasound collect data on blood flow in the brain, not the electric and chemical signals between neurons. This is an indirect way of scanning thoughts, and it will always mean a delay between when a thought occurs and when the equipment actually detects it. An ideal setup would be a headset that can scan for the signals between neurons instead of measuring blood flow. 

UPDATE (09-29-11): Swiss and Japanese researchers are working on cars that can read a driver's thoughts, such as knowing that a right turn is coming up.

THE LIVING CELL THAT WEARS ANY HAT

Stem cells. That is the term that brings hope for a new revolution in medicine. One day, some think, doctors will be able to grow new organs in the lab, on demand, for patients instead of waiting for donors. The concept of an organ donor might fade out of public awareness because it will no longer be needed in developed countries. Virtually any tissue damage in the body will be easily healed. Nerve damage, especially that of the spinal cord, will be mended without worry of paralysis. Collapsed lungs could be replaced with new ones. Faulty hearts could be switched with ones that have been carefully grown in controlled laboratory environments. In fact, any organ could be replaceable if we can ever fully understand and utilize stem cells. Additionally, patients will not need immunosuppressive drugs to protect their new organs. Just what are stem cells, anyway?

In the earliest stage of gestation, a baby (an embryo at this time) is made up entirely of cells that serve no function except to multiply. These are embryonic stem cells. An embryo's cells are constantly dividing so the baby can grow. At some point, the cells start to differentiate, or decide what functions they will perform in the fully formed baby's body. Some stem cells will become heart cells, some nerve cells, and still others will become bone cells. Every tissue in the body needs cells that are specialized for specific functions. This is a remarkable feat: one type of cell changes into every other type needed for the body to work.

After birth, there are some remaining stem cells that will be present into adulthood. Stem cells found throughout an adult body are called adult or somatic stem cells. These cells are naturally used by the body for producing specialized cells, developing tissues during adolescence, and healing injuries.

So, what is stopping us from using stem cells to make new organs? Harvesting them is one problem. Obtaining stem cells from an embryo means destruction of it, considered by many to be the death/murder of a baby. Adult stem cells are ethically permissible, but they are more difficult to harvest (like extracting bone marrow) and less abundant. Stem cells are present in amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood, but these are conventionally disposed of after birth. Another way to get stem cells could be reversing the differentiation process. Some scientists have been able to turn skin cells into stem cells.

Another problem is successfully utilizing stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they can differentiate into any type of cell. Many adult stem cells are merely multipotent, meaning they can only differentiate into a limited selection of cell types. Embryonic stem cells, if they come from someone other than the patient, can pose a similar risk as donor organs. A new heart is not so great if the immune system tries to destroy it. Ideally, a patient's replacement organs would be grown from his/her own stem cells. Another risk is that of tumor formation. After all, cancer is characterized by cells that stop performing their designated functions and rampantly multiply.

Once we gain mastery over stem cells, we should reap great benefits. And scientists are making significant progress. Blindness by macular degeneration is being experimentally treated with retinal cells that were grown from stem cells. Multiple gels have been developed that stimulate the body's stem cells into action for greater healing ability than is normally possible. Tracheas, or windpipes, have been grown from patients' adult stem cells and transplanted successfully in Europe. Dentistry might someday be changed, too. Mice have had new teeth grown from stem cells and transplanted. Imagine future senior citizens that, while they are chronologically quite elderly, have organs that are as biologically youthful as their grandchildren.

HUMAN PUPPETS VIA TECHNOLOGY

The University of Tokyo and Sony are working on a new gadget, called PosessedHand, that could enable people to play songs on the guitar without having to learn them. The device simply straps onto a user's forearm and is completely noninvasive. It sends electrical impulses into the arm, but the electricity is too weak to force the hand to move. A user just gets a gentle sensation of how to move the hand and fingers. Basically, this device could instruct you how to play a song that you have never learned, potentially in real time.

The PosessedHand has been met with some controversy. It could help users play better while wearing it, but they might not actually learn anything. While using it, you can just complacently follow the impulses. The brain does not need to be very active, so a player's skill might not improve at all. Musicians worry that genuine talent might suffer from the use of the device.

Another possible use for this type of gadget is for sign language. An interpreter's job would be much easier if the device told the hands what to do in real time. A computer could record speech, convert it to text, then to sign language, and the corresponding signals would be sent to the hands. What you get is real time, flawless translating from speech to sign language, and the translator does not even need to learn any signs.

So far the best application of artificially stimulating muscles is in helping victims of paralysis. As mentioned in the prosthetics post, medical science is still unable to reliably heal nerve damage. But the utilization of electrodes seems to be making better progress. A young man who was made paraplegic by a car collision has had electrodes implanted in his lower spinal chord. Within a week he could keep his balance while standing. He has also regained bladder and bowel control. The doctors are quick to advise caution, but this story is a great source of hope for anyone in similar circumstances. It shows the promise that electrode technology holds for humanity.

If you strengthened the electrical impulses from the PosessedHand, then the muscles would move involuntarily. There would be no need for the user's attention. This concept has already been employed for some physical fitness gadgets. It is easy to suppose expanding this technology for the entire body. Imagine a suit, perhaps even a tuxedo, that electrically controls a wearer's muscles with great precision and sophistication. At the touch of a button, a user can perform dance sequences, execute advanced martial arts techniques, or play musical instruments without any prior knowledge. If the suit could also detect and understand brain signals, then paralytics could use it as a noninvasive solution to their paralysis.

THEY COST AN ARM AND A LEG

Prosthetic limbs. When an arm or leg is lost—either by amputation or injury—it cannot be regenerated as some salamanders are able to do. Our ability to regrow body parts is limited to our fingertips. The only option for an amputee is to get an artificial appendage, made of plastic and metal rather than flesh and bone.

Prosthetics is an ever-advancing field of technology. Last century, hands were replaced by mechanical hooks, but nowadays you can get a sophisticated robotic hand, including an opposable thumb. Mechanisms of the past relied on physical movements of the shoulder and arm to operate, but the newest prostheses sense electrical signals generated when users simply think of using their hands.

Prostheses are no longer limited to amputees, though. People with paralysis are getting involved. Multiple patients in Austria have chosen to have their hands amputated and replaced with prosthetic ones. They had nerve damage in their arms, rendering their hands paralyzed and useless. They could have endured years of surgery and rehabilitation with little chance of success. But circuits and software are more easily and reliably manipulated than nerves and sinew. So those patients chose the option with a greater chance of success and shorter recovery time.

Artificial body parts are helping many people. A tiny camera can be placed inside or near the eye and connected to brain, some day giving sight to the blind. Carbon-fiber “feet” can enable an amputee to race with Olympic sprinters. Faulty hearts have been replaced with inorganic ones. Soon artificial kidneys might become available. But what if prostheses become better than natural parts?

In the future, prosthetic technology will continue to improve and be more widely used. Given the progress that has already been made, it is not unreasonable to speculate that someday a bionic hand will be superior to a fully functional, natural hand. Those patients in Austria made a logical choice: they exchanged useless hands for functional ones. If, some day, you are better off exchanging your properly working hand for a much more capable and versatile—albeit artificial—hand, would you? Natural appendages degrade with age, but inorganic parts can be updated and replaced with relative ease. Customization could be easy, too. Instead of a hand, you could have a tentacle, claw, multi-tool, or even scissors. How about eyes? Would you trade one or your eyes for a cybernetic one that could see infrared and ultraviolet light? Would you give an eye for an eye that could see in the dark and through walls? Maybe far in the future we will have whole prosthetic bodies available.

NANOTECH INSIDE THE BODY

Nanotechnology is becoming increasingly promising in the field of medicine. Nanoparticles, objects much smaller than a single cell, are showing various potential uses that could revolutionize medical practices. These uses range from greatly improving medical imaging to curing cancer.

A significant part of the usefulness of nanoparticles is their engineered ability to target cells and tissues within the body. For instance, gold nanoparticles can be made to target the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Once the nanoparticles have attached to the parasite cells, an external laser can be applied which excites them and kills the parasite via induced heat. This same method can be applied to cancerous tumor cells. In future application this might mean giving a patient a small injection of nanoparticles in solution, then, after a waiting period, shining a laser on the patient's body. This kills harmful cells without harming the patient. Another application is drug delivery. Drugs can be attached to nanoparticles which then go to targeted cells. This means drug doses can be drastically smaller while having the same or better results. Yet another application is for medical imaging; nanoparticles greatly improve MRI images. If the nanoparticles were made to target a tumor, then the tumor cells would light up under an MRI scan.

IBM has engineered biodegradable, plastic nanoparticles that target bacteria and shred their cell membranes. In tests involving mice, IBM's nanoparticles successfully killed the infamous MRSA bacteria, proving their effectiveness against drug-resistant germs. After a few days of killing bacteria, the nanoparticles break down and leave the body along with other bodily waste.

There are some applications that have yet to be seen, but many people remain hopeful. Nanoscale robots would be able to physically repair cellular damage and rearrange molecules. Such “nanobots” could dramatically increase control over microscopic processes within the body. Another application would be to interface the nervous system with computers. One major limitation of current neural sensors—used to connect the brains of quadriplegics and others with computers—is the size and number of electrodes. Nanoscale sensors could potentially connect with individual neurons, greatly increasing the resolution of information given to a computer.

As these technologies are refined and improved, people's lifespans should increase accordingly. How long will we be able to live in the coming decades? Drug resistance will become less of a problem. Medical imaging will improve in detail and clarity. Cancer will be an easily treatable disease. Maybe we will even cure the common cold.

OLYMPIAN STAMINA FOR THE AVERAGE JOE

Heat is a major factor in muscle fatigue. Muscles produce heat as they are used, and overheating inhibits their function. Much of the body's excess heat is expelled through the head and hands. When this is not enough, sweat is produced to facilitate evaporative cooling. If our muscles produce heat faster than sweat can remove it, then we quickly tire out. A more efficient method of cooling would obviously allow muscles to work longer.

Scientists at Stanford University have found such a method. They are developing a device, dubbed the “cool glove”, that can increase someone's workout time by as much as 100%. The glove has an air-tight seal around the wrist and applies mild suction to the hand. The lower air pressure draws more blood into the hand than is usual. The surface in contact with the palm of the hand is cooled to about sixty degrees Fahrenheit with ice water. The temperature is crucial because the blood vessels contract and reduce blood flow if exposed to anything colder. The glove cools the blood in the hand through conduction, and the cooled blood flows back to the heart. This process can effectively decrease the body's core temperature to back to normal after a period of intense exercise. Imagine a long jog that leaves you hot and exhausted. After a few minutes of using the cool glove, you feel refreshed and ready for another session. Using this technology to extend workouts, you can drastically improve your strength and endurance.

In the future people will be able exercise two or three times as long but with roughly the same amount of fatigue. Physical fitness for some could reach astounding levels without the use of steroids. This technology also has a potential application for people in hot climates. Soldiers in desert environments could last much longer as their blood is kept at healthy temperatures. Perhaps the cool glove might become an alternative to conventional air conditioners, as well as an indispensable exercise aid.

CONTROLLING YOUR CIRCADIAN RHYTHM

Many people have trouble matching a healthy sleep cycle with their daily schedule. Moving to a different time zone usually makes this problem even worse. Jet lag is one of the most notable adversities of high speed transportation. If you fly from one end of the United States to the other, then suddenly you have to shift your sleeping time by a few hours. Sleep disorders also impede much needed rest for millions of people. A drug, nicknamed “longdaysin”, has recently been discovered to slow down circadian rhythms in cells.

This intriguing effect has the potential to help countless people. With a dose of “longdaysin” your body would count seconds slower and think that a day was longer than twenty-four hours. Drugs that speed up or slow down our biological clocks will become invaluable tools for adjusting our sleep cycles. If you change shifts at work or travel to another time zone, then such drugs can make that transition easier, as far as sleep is concerned. Circadian rhythms that are too fast or slow, making people sleep too often or seldom, could be adjusted by prescribed medication to allow a normal lifestyle.

WHEN TWO KIDNEYS JUST AREN'T ENOUGH

What happens when someone's kidneys fail to function at a sustainable level? Dialysis or transplantation. For many people in developed countries, kidney dialysis involves frequent trips to hospitals and spending hours per visit connected to a machine. The dialysis machine slowly filters waste and other toxins out of a patient's blood, thus taking the job of the failed kidneys.

Kidney transplants are far from an ideal remedy as well. First of all, many people who need transplants will not get them. There are fewer donated kidneys than people who need them. Secondly, a transplanted kidney runs the risk of rejection from the patient's body. For this reason, the patient must take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of his/her life. The blood will be cleaned, but the tradeoff is a greater vulnerability to infection.

One solution to these problems would be an artificial kidney implant that replaces a failed natural kidney. Since it is manufactured, such an implant would compensate for the limited supply of donated kidneys. An implant, being inorganic, would not require drugs to compromise a patient's immune system.

A noninvasive solution would be a portable dialysis machine. A “wearable kidney” would eliminate the need for surgery, and so it would probably be much safer. The current design is worn like a belt. Such a device would have a lot of potential. If it were affordable and easy to use, then its group of users would exceed victims of kidney failure. People who just had reduced kidney function could employ this simple treatment. What about poison victims? Anyone with dangerously high levels of toxins in their blood could be easily helped.