Health Innovations: Tiny Robot Could Mend Stomach Troubles; Growing A Hip Replacement
Gene editing and a new spinal surgery guidance system also make headlines.
The Associated Press:
Having Stomach Troubles? Try Swallowing An Origami Robot
Has your child swallowed a small battery? In the future, a tiny robot made from pig gut could capture it and expel it. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are designing an ingestible robot that could be used to patch wounds, deliver medicine or dislodge a foreign object. They call their experiment an “origami robot” because the accordion-shaped gadget gets folded up and frozen into an ice capsule. (O'Brien, 7/19)
St. Louis Public Radio:
How To Grow A Hip Replacement With Your Own Stem Cells
A St. Louis orthopedic researcher has developed a way to grow a hip replacement out of stem cells found in a patient’s fat reserves, and is now testing it in animals. The discovery that made it possible happened by accident, said Farshid Guilak, who directs regenerative medicine research for St. Louis Shriner’s Hospital and Washington University. (Bouscaren, 7/18)
Stat:
Do CRISPR Enthusiasts Have Their Head In The Sand About The Safety Of Gene Editing?
While the 150 experts from industry, academia, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration were upbeat about the possibility of using genome-editing to treat and even cure sickle cell disease, leukemia, HIV/AIDS, and other blood disorders, there was a skunk at the picnic: an emerging concern that some enthusiastic CRISPR-ers are ignoring growing evidence that CRISPR might inadvertently alter regions of the genome other than the intended ones. (Begley, 7/18)
Orlando Sentinel:
Mazor Robotics Unveils New System
Mazor Robotics, a company based in Israel with U.S. headquarters in Orlando, has unveiled Mazor X, a new guidance system for spine surgery. The company recently signed a commercial co-promotion and co-development with Medtronic, which has already ordered 15 Mazor X systems. (Miller, 7/18)