MEDICA Trade Fair - International Trade Fair with forums and conferences for medical technology, medical imaging, health-IT, laboratory equipment, diagnostics and drugs. Düsseldorf.

Image: A small dark box, a mobile impedance spectrometer; Copyright: Fraunhofer ISC

Fraunhofer ISC

Innovative in vitro eye irritation test to replace standard animal testing

10.03.2023

Researchers at the Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies TLC-RT of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC want to work with partners to replace animal testing.
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Image: Photograph of the semitransparent hydrogel used in this study; Copyright: Satoshi Tanikawa, et al. 2023

Satoshi Tanikawa, et al. 2023

Healing the brain: hydrogels enable neuronal tissue growth

03.03.2023

Synthetic hydrogels were shown to provide an effective scaffold for neuronal tissue growth in areas of brain damage, providing a possible approach for brain tissue reconstruction.
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Image: Close up x-ray film of a broken finger; Copyright: Rawpixel

Rawpixel

Packaged DNA: new method to promote bone growth

17.02.2023

DNA can help to stimulate bone healing in a localised and targeted manner, for example after a complicated fracture or after severe tissue loss following surgery.
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Image: A man in a white coat and with safety goggles, Hongji Yan, holds a test tube in his hand and is looking at the camera; Copyright: Vaibhav Srivastava

Vaibhav Srivastava

Mucus-based gel improves bone graft results, promotes healing

14.02.2023

Molecules from mucus can be used to produce synthetic bone graft material and help with the healing of larger bone loss, a new study found.
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Image: A white electrospun Renacer membrane (5 x 5 cm) on a black background; Copyright: Fraunhofer ISC

Fraunhofer ISC

Bioresorbable membrane for healing internal and external wounds

10.02.2023

Fraunhofer researchers have succeeded in using the bioresorbable silica gel Renacer to produce an electrospun membrane that is neither cytotoxic to cells nor genotoxic.
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Image: Close-up of the healing process of a corneal ulcer, postoperative results in vivo; Copyright: POSTECH

POSTECH

Treating cornea ulcers with diagnostic light instead of corneal transplantation

08.02.2023

Recently, a Korean joint research team from POSTECH-KKU has developed a new tissue adhesive that restores the damaged cornea by simply filling it and exposing it to light.
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Image: An elderly man sits at an eye diagnostic device and is examined by a doctor; Copyright: Beachbumledford

Beachbumledford

Controlled manufacture, storage and freezing of artificial retinal cells

25.01.2023

Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a new method for the production and clinical application of stem-cell-based retinal implants, which could contribute towards the successful treatment of AMD.
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Image: A man with brown hair in a white coat, Ángel Serrano Aroca, smiles at the camera; Copyright: Asociación RUVID

Asociación RUVID

Biomaterial capable of regenerating bones and preventing infections

15.12.2022

Researchers from the Bioengineering and Biomaterials Laboratory of Universidad Católica de Valencia (UCV) have developed a new porous material capable of regenerating bones and preventing infections at the same time.
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Image: Nurse is caring for a surgical wound at the leg of a patient; Copyright: DegrooteStock

DegrooteStock

Wound care: healing with technology

01.12.2022

Wound care by nurses is directly about cleaning, sterile covering, and documentation. Medical and surgical interventions may also be necessary. In this context, wound care also offers potential for the use of technical aids that can help prevent complications.
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Image: Nurse is cleaning a surgical wound with two sutures between the fingers of a patient; Copyright: ARTFULLY79

ARTFULLY79

Technology in wound care: tools for better healing

01.12.2022

Wounds – both acute and chronic ones – can have many different causes. They all have in common that they require meticulous care because complications in wound healing can severely reduce both the patients’ health and quality of life. But there is more to modern wound care than just cleaning and bandaging them. Nursing staff and physicians can also access technical aids for this work.
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Image: Model of a human back with a wound above the coccyx, over which a cylinder-shaped printing head hovers; Copyright: beta-web/Roth

beta-web/Roth

Wound treatment: printing instead of grafting

01.12.2022

Currently, wound care is limited to either waiting for wounds to heal while keeping them clean and free of infection or using grafts from the patient’s own body to cover larger defects. With the ongoing development tissue engineering and bioprinting, there could be a third option in future: Will we be able to print new tissue directly in the OR to cover surgical wounds?
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Image: A woman with long blonde hair and black glasses smiles at the camera - Anna Rising, research group leader; Copyright: Lena Holm

Lena Holm

Scientists develop gel made from spider silk proteins for biomedical applications

19.08.2022

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have discovered that spider silk proteins can be fused to biologically active proteins and be converted into a gel at body temperature.
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Image: Preview picture of video

Fibers for fibers – Textile implants repair the body

08.06.2022

We are nowadays already able to weave implants out of artificial fibers that can replace tissue or heal injuries. Different materials like polymers or nitinol are used to create flexible shapes. But the materials and their uses can still be improved.
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Image: A signal receiver and a transmitter of a Cochlear implant on the palm of a person; Copyright: PantherMedia/npudov

PantherMedia/npudov

Implants: When technology makes sense – quite literally

01.12.2021

Disease, injury, or a condition you were born with – reasons why some people must live without one or several of their five senses. Fortunately, there are many modern sensory aids that help replace one sense with another, which is especially the case when it comes to vision and hearing. Given technology's advancements, can artificial or biological implants someday soon be a viable alternative?
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Image: A physician puts a bandage around the foot of a patient; Copyright: PantherMedia/Wavebreakmedia (YAYMicro)

PantherMedia/Wavebreakmedia (YAYMicro)

Chronic wounds: new, inexpensive wound dressing

29.07.2021

An MSU-led team is developing an inexpensive biopolymer dressing to heal injuries like diabetic foot ulcers that affect millions of patients all over the world.
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Image: A group of researchers is discussing a chemical structural formula in front of a whiteboard; Copyright: PantherMedia/depositedhar

Intelligent implants: when the material is the key to the solution

01.02.2021

Today we use implants to stabilize or compensate for injuries inside the body and to aid in the healing process. Implants cannot act autonomously and treat the patient if they deem it necessary. However, it is just a matter of time before this happens because research on intelligent implant materials that respond to stimuli is on the cusp of a breakthrough.
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Image: Preview picture of video

Medical products made of collagen - Biocompatible, elastic, stable

19.03.2020

Regenerative medicine often relies on implants and materials that support healing in our body. Collagen has a special significance here. It is compatible to the body and offers an excellent environment for the growing of new cells. In our video, we took a look on where collagen and collagen products for medicine come from.
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Image: Two knees of a woman next to each other, the left knee has a surgical suture; Copyright: panthermedia.net/wujekspeed

Regenerative medicine: creating a new body?

03.02.2020

Regenerative medicine aims to repair the human body after injuries, accidents or major cancer surgery. Unfortunately, we are still not at a stage where this process can achieve optimal results for every conceivable situation. Having said that, various new methods are on the cusp of breakthrough.
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Image: The shoulder of a man with a surgical suture; Copyright: panthermedia.net/JPCPROD

Regenerative medicine: helps the body healing

03.02.2020

Severe wounds heal slowly and leave scars. This is why we have been using regenerative therapies for some time now to accelerate and improve healing. They also help to avoid permanent damage. Still, complex applications like replacing organs or limbs will rather remain vision than become reality for a long time.
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Image: A half-transparent red piece of tissue in a glass filled with a yellow fluid; Copyright: United Therapeutics

rhCollagen: genetically engineered building block for regenerative medicine

03.02.2020

Collagen is the stuff that holds our bodies together and that houses our cells. In regenerative medicine, it is also the stuff that can be applied to wounds to support healing. However, collagen from animal or human sources has some drawbacks for today’s medicine. This is where rhCollagen from the Israeli company CollPlant comes into play.
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Image: Computer-generated image of an arborizing blood vessel; Copyright: panthermedia.net/Ugreen

Angiogenesis: light shows blood vessels the way

03.02.2020

Regenerative medicine aims to replace damage in the body with functional tissue and restore normal function. The first defense for large defects are implants made of hydrogels, designed to promote cell growth. They need their own blood supply, which is a problem when it comes to larger implants because you cannot regulate where and how the blood vessels grow - until now.
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Image: Man with mouthguard and laboratory glasses holding Petri dish up; Copyright: panthermedia.net/kasto

panthermedia.net/kasto

Cardiac Tissue Engineering: a heart out of the Petri dish

23.09.2019

For patients waiting for donor organs, every day can mean the difference between life and death. Making things even more complicated is the fact that not every organ is a compatible match with the patient. It would mean enormous progress if we could grow organs from the patient's own cells in the lab. That's why patients with heart disease place big hope in tissue engineering.
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Image: Marathon runner; Copyright: panthermedia.net/adamgregor

Sports medicine – keep moving to stay healthy

01.07.2019

Physical activity plays a big role in today's society. Whether you are an amateur or professional athlete – incorporating exercise into your life positively impacts your mental and physical health. Ideally, sport should be fun, pressure-free and not overburden you. But can you measure individual performance and align it with sports?
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Image: Preview picture of video

Multi-organ chips: Drug research without animal testing at vasQlab

15.05.2019

New active substances that are suitable for drugs are initially tested in animal experiments. However, the results cannot always be transferred to the human organism. At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Prof. Ute Schepers from vasQlab explains how active substances can be tested in human tissue without endangering human health.
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