Proprioception is the sense of the relative position of one’s own parts of the body and strength of effort being used in movement. Because of proprioception we are able to walk down a sidewalk without looking down on our feet, throw a ball without with our eyes closed or talk without mumbling. Proprioception lets us know how our hands and feet are moving or what our mouth is doing. But people who use prosthetic devices do not have proprioception. Now, researchers at Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland (EPFL), the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and the A. Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome, have developed new prostheses that can relay their position to the user, enabling amputees to regain a very subtle, close-to-natural sense of touch.

Related Swedish Woman Receives First Dexterous and Sentient Prosthetic Hand

“The new device allows patients to reach out for an object on a table and to ascertain an item’s consistency, shape, position and size without having to look at it. The prosthesis has been successfully tested on several patients and works by stimulating the nerves in the amputee’s stump. The nerves can then provide sensory feedback to the patients in real time – almost like they do in a natural hand,” reports EPFL.

With the currently available prostheses, patients can regain voluntary motor control of their artificial limb by exploiting residual muscle function in the forearm. But as there is no sensory feedback they have to rely heavily on visual cues. This can prevent them from feeling that their artificial limb is part of their body and make it more unnatural to use.

Several research groups recently were able to provide tactile feedback in amputees, leading to enhanced function and prosthesis embodiment. But this latest study has taken things one step further.

Related Electronic Skin for Prosthetic Hands Lets Amputees Feel Pain

“Our study shows that sensory substitution based on intraneural stimulation can deliver both position feedback and tactile feedback simultaneously and in real time,” explains Silvestro Micera, a professor of bioengineering at EPFL’School of Engineering and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies. “The brain has no problem combining this information, and patients can process both types in real time with excellent results.”

The findings of the study were published in the journal Science Robotics.

Nubia, a Shenzhen, China-based smartphone maker, unveiled its groundbreaking dual-screen smartphone, the Nubia Alpha at the MWC Barcelona. The smartphone, which combines the features of a smartphone and a smartwatch, received several “best of CES” awards at CES Las Vegas in January.

Related MWC 2019: Royole to Showcase Its Foldable Phone Along with a Full Line of Flexible Displays and Sensors

Flexible Display

The display in Nubia Alpha is the largest wearable flexible screen in the industry (up to 230% larger than standard wearable displays). Custom-engineered for brilliant visuals and durability, the panoramic, 4-inch, wrap-around screen lets you see more, control more, and experience more, said Nubia in a press release.

Phone that You Can Wear on Your Wrist

The flexible display allows you to wear it on your wrist. With Bluetooth, Wifi, and eSIM technologies, the Alpha allows you to send texts, make calls, and access the internet without the need for a separate smartphone. The phone is also equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with clever UI shortcuts.

Anodized Stainless Steel Body

The Alpha is crafted from the most premium materials and available in both black and gold colors. Constructed from anodized stainless steel, the gold variant features a band plated in real 18k gold. In regards to durability, the Alpha is water-resistant, and the flexible display is coated in heat-resistant Polyimide.

Powerful Hardware

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform, the Alpha provides a smooth day-to-day experience. Boasting 1GB of RAM + 8GB of onboard memory, it provides advanced mobile processing power, amazing connectivity, and impressive battery life.

Related MWC 2019: 1MORE Unveils True Wireless Headphone to bundle along with Nubia’s Alpha Foldable Phone

Innovative Software

An all-new, custom-made wearable OS improves ease of use with air gestures, voice commands, and convenient multi-touch control. Visually striking, our new wearable OS is a new way to interact with what you care about most.

Price and Availability

The nubia Alpha will come in two versions:

1. Bluetooth version: For global market; available in April 2019; Price 449 euros
2. eSim version (4G): For market in China; available in April 2019; Color Black; Price 549 euros, 649 euros for the 18K Gold Plated. Available in Euope in Q3 2019. Available in North America in Q4 2019

As technological advancements are creating modern cities with well-planned roads and highways, all over the world, there still remain numerous railroad crossings. In the United States, there were about 155,370 railroad crossings in 2000. According to an estimate by Angels on Track, railroad crossing accidents caused 249 deaths and 954 serious injuries in 2013.

Read more How Wearable Devices Can Help Improve Performance and Safety in a Fleet

Many railroad crossing accidents happen because drivers simply do not know the rules around railroad tracks. Operation Lifesaver, a not-for-profit in Canada unveiled its new Train to Drive program, featuring virtual-reality (VR) videos designed to test whether drivers know how to safely approach railway crossings and respond in life-or-death situations.

“Collisions at railway crossings can happen in a split second. Train to Drive allows drivers to make choices in real time around virtual railway tracks and trains, and to see the results — good and tragic — in the safety of that VR environment,” said Sarah Mayes, National Director of Operation Lifesaver Canada.

Collisions at road-rail crossings are tragically common in Canada. In 2018, there were 167 such incidents which killed 19 people and seriously injured another 42, said a press release.

“Our hope is that individuals, driver training companies, school boards and even governments will use this program, and that OL’s ‘Look. Listen. Live.’ rail safety message will resonate with drivers — new and experienced.”

Right now, the Train to Drive program includes two different training scenarios aimed at all drivers. In the first, the weather is clear, but the “driver” has to contend with congested traffic near a railway crossing. The second video features nighttime conditions, poor weather and in-vehicle distractions. Operation Lifesaver plans to expand the Train to Drive program in 2019 to include new training scenarios designed specifically for bus and truck drivers.

Read more eyeSight-Soling Collaboration Aims to Deliver Next Gen Driver Monitoring System to the Chinese Market

Anyone wishing to experience Train to Drive can do so by visiting TraintoDrive.ca. The website also provides instructions on how to view the videos on other devices such as mobile phones or tethered headsets, and offers rail safety tips to use next time you’re behind a real wheel.

When the human body rejects a transplanted organ, it receives serious injury and it is often a biopsy that reveals the rejection. Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a new screening method that uses sensor particles and a urine test to detect rejection much earlier, more comprehensively, and without a biopsy needle.

Read more Smart Microrobots Swim Through Vessels and Adapt to their Surroundings

In the new method, the nanoparticle sensors accumulate in transplanted organs and detect immune rejection. Upon detecting rejection, they release molecules that turn the urine of the recipient fluorescent. Doctors can then use a simple urine test to assess if the organ has been rejected, potentially replacing invasive biopsy needles.

“Before any organ damage can happen, T cells have to produce granzyme B, which is why this is an early detection method,” said Gabe Kwong, a co-principal investigator in the study and an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

“This is sensitive enough to possibly detect budding rejection before you see significant injury to the transplanted organ and that could help clinicians treat early to prevent damage,” said Dr. Andrew Adams, co-principal investigator and an associate professor of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine. “Right now, most tests are aimed at organ dysfunction, and sometimes they don’t signal there is a problem until organ function is below 50 percent.”

The nanoparticles consist of an iron oxide in the core. It is coated with bristles made of amino acids that stick out from the iron ball with fluorescent “reporter” molecules attached to their tips.

When T cells release a specific enzyme involved in the early stages of immune rejection in the area of a nanoparticle, it cleaves the bristles and releases the fluorescent molecules, which travel through the bloodstream and end up in the urine, reports MedGadget.

The system has been tested in mice that received small skin grafts. This test could allow clinicians to accurately adjust the dose of immunosuppressants to control the immune response.

Read more Tiny Sensors Pave Way For New Wearable Medical Diagnostic Devices

“Adjusting the dose is very difficult but very important because heavy immunosuppression increases occurrence of infections and patients who receive it also get cancer more often,” Kwong said.

The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Just a few hours from now, mobile operators and mobile industry executives from all over the world will be descending on Barcelona for the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry: The Mobile World Congress (MWC).

Just like any other tech conference, buzzwords at this year’s MWC will be Wearables, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Among the hottest innovations presented this year will be 5G and advanced foldable smartphones.

After Samsung unveiled a foldable phone, called Galaxy Fold this week, Huawei plans to launch its own version of a folding smartphone – a 5G phone called Mate X.

Related Royole’s Ultra-Thin Flexible Display Shows Promise for Foldable Smartphones of the Future

A photo posted to Twitter show workers at MWC 2019 in Barcelona installing a billboard for Huawei’s Mate X.

The Twitter photo suggests the Mate X will open up from a smartphone-size gadget to become more of a tablet-size device. But unlike the Galaxy Fold, the Mate X’s larger screen appears to wrap around the outside of the gadget, instead of being enclosed like a spread in a magazine, reports CNET.

Other companies working on foldable phones include LG, Royole (with its Flexpai), TCL and Xiaomi.

TCL’s patent image showed the company is planning on a foldable phone that can you can also wear as a smartwatch on your wrist. The image shows five different devices with flexible displays, including two tablets, two smartphones and a flexible phone that could curve into a smartwatch.

Even before most smartphone manufacturers have introduced their first 5G handsets, Qualcomm is already thinking about a second-generation modem. The company just announced its Snapdragon X55 5G modem, its follow-up to its first 5G modem, the X50. Snapdragon X55 is a 7-nanometer single-chip integrated 5G to 2G multimode modem that supports 5G NR mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum bands with up to 7 gigabits per second (Gbps) download speeds and 3 Gbps upload speeds over 5G, and Category 22 LTE with up to 2.5 Gbps LTE download speeds, according to Qualcomm.

Qualcomm will make the new modem available to its partners in the coming months.

Samsung also announced its next generation 5G mmWave chipsets. The chipsets are comprised of Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFICs) and Digital/Analog Front End (DAFE) Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) – supporting 28GHz and 39GHz bands.

Abbott Laboratories, an American healthcare company, signed a deal with the Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, to make diabetes management easier by linking technologies of the two companies. The deal will allow integration of insulin dose data from Novo Nordisk‘s pre-filled and connected pens with its FreeStyle Libre mobile app and cloud-based system.

Read more Abbott, Medtronic Driving Deep Brain Stimulation Innovation for Parkinson’s Disease

Although, neither of the companies said when this feature would be available for users, they said that they are “working hard to bring these integrated solutions to patients as soon as possible.”

“Lack of reliable information is a cause of huge frustration for many people with diabetes and their doctors,” said Anders Dyhr Toft, corporate VP of commercial innovation at Novo Nordisk, said in prepared remarks. “Together with partners like Abbott, our connected pens will give healthcare professionals a better understanding of a patient′s individual diabetes management and can help people with diabetes feel more confident in their treatment.”

Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system reads glucose levels through a sensor that can be worn on the back of the upper arm eliminating the need for routine finger pricks. Through the FreeStyle LibreLink app users can capture and view their real-time glucose levels, their eight-hour glucose history, and how their glucose is currently changing on their smartphone. Prior to the mobile app, people using Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre CGM had to use a separate device to connect data from the sensor to their phones, reports Drug Delivery.

“It is our aim at Abbott to continuously provide life-changing technology to people living with diabetes,” Jared Watkin, SVP of Abbott’s diabetes care division, added.

“Diabetes is a time intensive condition to manage. People with diabetes must make a variety of decisions every single day about their glucose monitoring, nutrition, insulin and medication intake. By enabling insulin dosing data from Novo Nordisk′s connected pens to be shared with our digital health tools, we′ll be able to help further eliminate those daily hassles for people, so they have more time to live a fuller, healthier life,” Watkin said.

In November last year, Abbott won FDA approval for a mobile app that is designed for the company’s FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system.

Royole Corporation, an America-based Chinese company known for flexible electronics, will be showcasing its full line of fully flexible display and flexible sensor technologies at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona. These advanced technologies are part of the company’s Flexible+ platform, and are ideal for numerous applications in a variety of product categories, including Consumer Electronics, Sports & Fashion, Office & Education, Smart Home, and Robotics.

Read more Nubia to Launch Foldable Phone that You Can Also Wear as a Smartwatch at MWC 2019

Among Royole’s flexible products to be demonstrated at the MWC 2019 is FlexPai, the company’s commercial foldable smartphone with a flexible display, said a press release.

Other products to be showcased at the show are a first-of-its-kind flexible display integration with high-definition fashion wearables – including a top hat and shirt, and its RoWrite Smart Writing Pad, designed to accurately create, capture, store, and share all manner of real-time, conventionally written material on standard paper for digital application.

“Royole’s Flexible+ technologies have squarely put us in a leadership position in today’s ever-evolving consumer technology industry,” stated Royole’s Senior Director of Marketing, Michael Williams. “We are currently working with over 220 business partners worldwide to implement flexible displays and sensors in a variety of products that will reshape the world of consumer technologies. The total number of improved consumer experiences is restricted only by our imaginations, and that is the very essence of the Royole Flexible+ platform.”

Royole’s patented flexible displays are thin, lightweight, and bendable, creating unique functionality and new applications. They feature high-resolution and high-color saturation for stunning image clarity and quality.

Read more Open-Mesoporous Carbon Nanofibers May Provide Power to Flexible Power Sensors

Flexible Sensor Technology

Royole has also developed and mass-produced flexible sensor technology that delivers high-precision, linearity, and sensitivity. The company is well known for its ability to provide customers with diverse products and solutions, fast turnaround time, short production cycles, large-volume production capabilities, and low costs. Royole sensors are fully compatible with flexible and traditional applications and deliver a bending radius of just 1~3mm that is operational even after 200,000 bends.

OneLife, an Illinois-based medical software/data collection company, is offering AT&T LTE-M certified medical wearable. The wearable, in the form of a smartwatch, is the first AT&T LTE-M certified medical device offered by any company. With LTE-M certification, an IoT device can connect independently to a 4G network, without needing a smartphone or other device as a gateway.

Read more Maxim’s New Wrist Worn Platform Allow Developers to Design Highly Precise Health Wearables

The OnePulse smartwatch features step tracker, heart rate monitor, activity tracker, sleep tracker, reminders, and alert technologies. Powered by AT&T wireless connectivity, the advanced wearable securely and independently transmits certain critical medical and health data to the cloud. This allows clinicians, patients and their caregivers to monitor user status and well-being, reports Nasdaq.

“Enabling AT&T connectivity for our devices is a major step in launching our ‘Hub-of-Care’ concept in becoming a leading Population Health Platform with our innovative wearable having the ability to connect patients to their caregivers, virtually in near real-time, almost anywhere in North America,” stated Robert Wagner, CEO of OneLife Technologies, Corp. “We all want the best healthcare possible – in an emergency, as we age, for our loved ones, or to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Now, that level of service is available with the AT&T-connected OnePulse medical and health smartwatch.”

OneLife’s proprietary Bluetooth protocol allows it to connect to other health and medical devices. For example, blood pressure cuff, glucometer, SPo2 monitor, weight scale, etc. can connect for collection and transmission of additional health data tracking. This provides the clinician and patient a wide-ranging view of overall health.

The benefits offered by OnePulse include:

• 24/7 monitoring with near real-time alerts for family and/or doctor
• Medication reminders and auto prescription refills
• Fall detection
• A customizable suite of services, for specialty conditions
• Fully encrypted medical records that can be accessed via a cloud-based dashboard.
• Artificial Intelligence analytics and predictive analysis
• Open API allows connection to any system including Electronic Health/Medical Record platforms

Read more Empatica-DRIVe Partnership to Develop Smartwatch That Alerts About Lung Infections Before Symptoms Appear

OneLife Technologies is a mobile medical software/data collection company with a suite of proprietary, patented, medical grade wearable tracking technologies designed to provide patients, physicians, nursing homes, and hospitals with 24/7 real-time centralized, personal, comprehensive health data.

For medical students, it’s important to have operating room (OR) access in order to learn new and updated procedural techniques from top experts. However, ORs are highly restricted areas, where only patients and doctors are normally allowed.

Related FundamentalVR Tool Combines VR with Haptic Sensors to Make VR Surgery Feel Like Real Thing

GIBLIB, is a streaming media platform with the largest library of on-demand medical lectures and surgical videos in 4K and 360-degree virtual reality. Today, the company announced the launch of the first VR app for an immersive operating room experience to enhance surgical education. Through the app, medical students and practicing physicians can enjoy the most immersive and accessible OR experience anywhere, reports GIBLIB.

The app supports GIBLIB’s direct-to-consumer offering, which requires consumers only have a subscription to the Company’s streaming media service and an Oculus Go headset or Oculus Rift System. GIBLIB exclusively partners with leading academic medical centers, Cedars-Sinai and Stanford Children’s Hospital, to provide engaging and informative content from the best surgeons and physicians in the world, which is now accessible through the VR app that connects to the Oculus Store.

Each video is filmed with studio-quality 4K resolution to be both visually descriptive and informative. GIBLIB leverages precise camera angles from the surgeon’s point of view and 360 spherical panorama, in addition to intuitive digital overlays, ensuring practicing physicians and surgeons receive the most authentic media-based OR experience. Supporting medical staff in ORs, including nurses and surgical assistants, can also gain important insights into how to best conduct themselves during procedures and use the most up-to-date surgical and robotic equipment.

Related Doctors Use HoloLens to Investigate Heart Scars in High Resolution Before Surgery

“The latest surgical techniques and procedural best practices are advancing faster than ever before, and the ability to gain access to educational content that keeps surgeons up-to-date needs to meet demand,” said Brian Conyer, CEO and Co-founder of GIBLIB. “Our goal is to bridge the gap between medical professionals and the knowledge they need in order to enhance their techniques in a way that is universally accessible and retains the authenticity of the learning experience.”

Biobeat – The medical smart monitor from Biobeat Technologies is ready to take the lead. They are the winner of the GORE Innovation Center Prize in the 10th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®. Dr. Anik Eisenkraft, the Chief Medical Officer of Biobeat Technologies is here with us to share his team’s ambition of enabling innovative healthcare for patients and doctors worldwide:

1. WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND BIOBEAT?

The patented technology behind Biobeat is based on reflective photoplethysmography (PPG). The use of several LED, wavelengths and our specialized algorithms would allow a full monitor of the blood pressure and the heart rate anytime, anywhere. This smart tool could assist both in-hospital and homestay patients. Accordingly, an alarm could be set against the warning limit. Moreover, it applies a real-time transmission system that information could be uploaded on the Cloud and shared with the medical healthcare center. Doctors can thus constantly check the patients’ conditions from afar and provide early treatment.

2. WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PRODUCT?

The Biobeat’ sensor could be integrated into any wearable devices like watches, wristlets, and patches. For instance, our company introduces a Biobeat’ s sensor watch that battery could last up to 3 days. Another version is a single-use patch with a lifespan up to 10 days.

3. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOUR COMPANY TO FULLY DEVELOP BIOBEAT?

Biobeat was founded in 2014. We started the patch project in mid-2018. By now, it has been 6 months – a very fast track!

4. WHAT’S COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

We have started selling Biobeat in Israel, USA, and Europe. The next big step would be collaborating with medical centers and research institutes, taking up pilot studies to ensure the device performance in practice and look at numerous use cases. Additionally, we want to focus more on strategic marketing to make our product available to the public.

5. DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE IOT/WT INNOVATION WORLD CUP^® JOURNEY IN A SHORT SENTENCE

It is a very big and interesting event. Perhaps tech start-up and SMEs should be more aware of it, take part in which to extend the network and to gain deeper insight into the industry.

Find out more:

The success story of Biobeat is inspiring for many techpreneurs in the wearable technologies and innovative healthcare sectors. Learn more about Biobeat and keep up with such a life-changing product.

Yours may be the next to be presented on our IWC series success stories. Do not hesitate to join in the Innovation World Cup® Series ecosystem, extend your business horizon and compete to be the winner of the next 11^th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®.

Watching a premature newborn in intensive care is heartbreaking and at the same time a helpless experience for parents. Premature babies often have poor sucking reflex, rendering them difficult to feed. Researchers at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital created a novel device called Pacifier-Activated Lullaby (PAL) to help premature babies develop sucking skills.

Read more Raybaby – World’s only AI-Powered Non-Contact Health & sleep Monitor for Babies

PAL, which is now undergoing test at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, plays lullaby recorded by the babies’ parents. The device “is empowering parents by helping their babies and strengthening the parental-infant bond when mom and dad can’t be with their child,” reports UCLA Health.

“Babies born before 34 weeks gestation often struggle to feed orally because they have not yet developed the reflex to suck, breathe and swallow,” said Shelly Frisco, RN, a nurse in the NICU at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. “With the PAL device, babies learn to feed faster and gain weight because they want to keep hearing their parents’ voices.”

Music therapists working in the neonatal intensive care unit help parents write and record a special lullaby. PAL can detect if the baby is sucking on the pacifier, so it plays a song when the baby sucks on it and stops when they stop sucking.

“Hearing their parents’ voices is an incentive to keep sucking,” said Jenna Bollard, expressive arts therapies manager at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, who conducted the research.

Read more Masimo’s Rainbow Acoustic Monitoring RAS-45 Breathing Sensor for Babies Gets FDA Clearance

According to the researchers, 70% of babies who use PAL improve their proficiency using a pacifier, a skill that’s important to feeding. This also results in shorter hospital stays, which helps to remove the parents’ stress. “Giving parents a way to be part of their babies’ treatment helps them feel more bonded with their baby and gives them a very important role in their health and development,” said Bollard.

Nanusens, a Spain-based nanodevices company, announced that its proprietary technology can significantly increase the battery life of earbuds by up to 20 percent. This can be achieved by replacing the MEMS sensors in an earbud with a much smaller (up to 10 times smaller), single multi-sensor chip, freeing up space for larger batteries. The company will be announcing this technology solution at MWC 2019.

Read more Epsilor Will Present Wearable Battery for Digital Soldiers at DVD2018

Nanusens creates its sensors on the nanoscale within the layers of its CMOS chip that also has the control electronics. As a result, the NEMS (Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) chip is only one cubic millimeter so this will create a saving of three cubic millimeters for every MEMS package that it replaces. In addition, the tiny, single chip requires far less PCB estate compared to the PCB estate needed for several MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) packages. The freed-up space is used to increase the size of the battery or add a supercapacitor to extend the battery life, said a Press Release.

Dr Josep Montanya, CEO Nanusens, explained:

“We are in a unique position of being able to provide more space inside earbuds for designers to use as they wish with our nano-sensors. While some manufacturers want more battery life by using a larger battery or a supercapacitor, others want to use some of this freed-up space for features such as memory so that songs can be stored locally on the earbud. This is another way to extend the battery life as songs would not need to streamed over Bluetooth, again giving longer audio on the go.”

The current earbud market stands at 50 million units a year and is forecasted to grow at a fast pace. The key driver is new thinner designs with more space.

Read more LG’s New Wireless Tone Series Earbuds Have Dedicated Google Assistant Button

“New smartphone sales are forecast to be 1.5 billion units a year so as more and more start to ship with a pair of earbuds, our total available market is phenomenal, which is why this is our first target market,” said Dr Montanyà.

Nanusens plans to release its first product – a 2D motion detector for earbuds – in Q4 2019. This will have features like tap and double tap for control, wake-on-movement and sleep-on-rest functions. A 3D accelerometer will be added soon after. A bone conduction sensor for noise cancellation is next to be integrated into the single chip solution.

Cellnovo, a Paris-based medical technology company, announced its insulin cartridges are now refillable, allowing people with diabetes with higher insulin requirements, including some with type 2 diabetes, to use the Cellnovo System. The Cellnovo system is composed of an insulin micro-pump communicating via Bluetooth with a locked-down Android smartphone.

Read more Valeritas’ V-Go Shows Significant Benefits Compared to Conventional Insulin Delivery in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Until now, patients using the Cellnovo System with daily insulin dose needs over 50 units were required to use more than one cartridge every 3 days, leading to higher costs and potentially limiting its use to only patients with higher insulin needs. These patients will now be able to refill the cartridge within three days of use and enjoy the benefits of a miniaturized system, without any additional costs, reports Busuness Wire.

“Enabling patients to refill their insulin cartridges allows us to offer the Cellnovo System to 100% of people with type 1 diabetes, and to some of people with type 2 diabetes. All current Cellnovo System users will have immediate access to these cartridges. This will contribute to the continuing commercial growth of the Company,” said Sophie Baratte, Chief Executive Officer of Cellnovo.

Cellnovo Group is a global medical technology company supporting the needs of people with type 1 diabetes. Cellnovo’s connected platform for diabetes management aims to make life easier for people with type 1 diabetes. Cellnovo’s insulin delivery system comprises a discreet, wearable micro-pump that communicates via Bluetooth Low Energy with a locked-down Android smartphone. This unique system allows optimal management of insulin dosing and delivery while ensuring freedom of movement and peace of mind. Thanks to the transmission of data in real time, the patient’s status can be seamlessly monitored by family members and healthcare professionals.

Read more CeQur Buys Johnson & Johnson’s Calibra insulin delivery patch

Cellnovo is currently participating in several major Artificial Pancreas projects with TypeZero, PEPPER and Diabeloop, to develop fully automated, closed-loop insulin delivery systems.

Neural Stimulation involves electrical stimulation of nerve tissues and is the basis of emerging treatments for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. One of the major problems with this technique is the need to have a cable connecting the implanted electrode to an external controller. Researchers at the University of Pittsburg (Pitt) have developed a less invasive method of neural stimulation that involves an untethered ultra-small electrode activated by light, a technique that may mitigate damage done by current methods, reports Swanson School of Engineering – University of Pittsburgh.

Read more New Method of Deep Brain Stimulation Adapts to Patient’s Changing Needs

“Typically with neural stimulation, in order to maintain the connection between mind and machine, there is a transcutaneous cable from the implanted electrode inside of the brain to a controller outside of the body,” said Takashi D. Y. Kozai, an assistant professor of bioengineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. “Movement of the brain or this tether leads to inflammation, scarring, and other negative side effects. We hope to reduce some of the damage by replacing this large cable with long wavelength light and an ultrasmall, untethered electrode.”

The researchers decided to use photoelectric effect, which is when a particle of light, or a photon, hits an object and causes a local change in the electrical potential.

The team created a carbon fiber implant that is 7-8 microns in diameter, or roughly the size of a neuron (17-27 microns). Kaylene Stocking, a senior bioengineering and computer engineering student, and first author of the paper, simulated their method on a phantom brain using a two-photon microscope. She measured the properties and analyzed the effects to see if the electrical potential from the photoelectric effect stimulated the cells in a way similar to traditional neural stimulation, according to the Swanson School of Engineering.

Read more Innovative Brain Implant Reads and Stimulates Brain to Improve Parkinson’s Treatment

“We discovered that photostimulation is effective,” said Stocking. “Temperature increases were not significant, which lowers the chance of heat damage, and activated cells were closer to the electrode than in electrical stimulation under similar conditions, which indicates increased spatial precision.”

The team has plans to advance this technology further and try to reach deeper tissue and enable wireless drug delivery.

With the approach of Summer, the smartwatch market is going to heat up with a huge selection of watches. First, tech giants like Samsung is expected to release its Galaxy Sport this month. And now Google, it seems, is adamant about launching its Pixel watch soon. A report in Nikkei Asian Review says that the tech giant plans to release a watch this year to compete with the Apple Watch. The report also mentions few other products Google is planning to release soon.

Read more Google Agrees to Buy Fossil’s Secret Smartwatch Tech for $40 Million

Other Google products mentioned by Nikkei are Google’s Pixel 3 Lite smartphone, which is expected to be priced lower than Apple’s $750 iPhone XR. Along with the Pixel 3 Lite, Nikkei also notes that Google “plans to launch a new premium phone in its Pixel range” – what we’re anticipating to the Pixel 4, reports Android Central.

“The company will also roll out an updated version of its signature smart speaker Google Home this year, as well as a new smartwatch to compete with the Apple Watch, the person familiar with the plan said,” reported Nikkei.

“One person with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei that Google plans to release a new security camera later this year after it integrated the team from Nest Labs, the tech startup it acquired in 2014,” the report added.

It should be noted that the Pixel Watch had been rumored for October of 2018, but Google shot those rumors down in an interview with Tom’s Guide.

Read more Google Wins FCC Approval for its ‘Project Soli’ Radar-Based Motion Sensor

Google will also reportedly roll out an updated version of its signature smart speaker Google Home this year.

It’s not clear about the release date of these products, but most of them are believed to be announced and launched around October of this year. Previous rumors have indicated that the Pixel 3 Lite will launch a bit sooner, but it couldn’t be confirmed as of yet.

New York City-based Woo Audio has been producing some of the most eye-catching, coolest-looking products available since it was founded in 2004. However, their latest product is somewhat unlike anything they’ve produced so far. While their previous DAC/AMP products used vacuum tube circuitry, making it a signature item for them, their new product, the WA11 Passport, is their first truly portable solid-state headphone amp.

Read more Nuheara Building Ecosystem for Hearables with its IQStream TV

“It all started when we were developing the WA8 Eclipse. We learned that in order to reduce the size greatly, it needs to be with transistors. Introducing the WA11, an ultra-compact high-performance headphone amplifier and DAC. Over the course of 3-years of intensive research and 9 working prototypes deployed in real-world applications,” says Woo Audio.

WA11 delivers an audiophile sound quality that rivals many desktop systems and with the features users dream of. Weighing at 413g and 24mm thick, the WA11 Topaz is a battery-powered, fully-balanced headphone amplifier and DAC running in a Class-A topology. It is capable of driving the most demanding full-size headphones while maintaining an ultra-low noise floor for reference in-ear monitors. There is also a 4.4mm balanced input for use with balanced sources such as a modern digital-audio-player (DAP), home CD player or DAC.

For charging and data, WA11 Topaz has two USB Type-C ports. Separating the two allows the user to listen and recharge the internal battery simultaneously. This feature extends the industry leading 7 hrs. of playtime immensely.

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“Even without the aid of tubes the WA11 ($1,400) sounds velvety-rich, powerful and refined. Instruments and vocals surely have a lot more body and substance than what I hear from my iPhone 6S’ headphone jack,” writes CNET’s Steve Guttenberg, who tried out the headphone amplifier.

“The Woo Audio WA11 Topaz demonstrates extreme high-end sound in a portable size is possible. At least for audiophiles who’ve already invested in top-quality headphones they would like to enjoy on-the-go, at home or office. Wherever you go, the WA11 will bring out the best in your headphones.”

Samsung has inadvertently revealed its own lineup of wearable devices that are presumably set to be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S10 next week. First spotted by Twitter account SamCentralTech, the leak was revealed in an update to its Galaxy Wearable app.

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The update to the Android version of the Galaxy Wearables app added three currently unannounced products compatible with the app. The products include the Galaxy Watch Active, the Galaxy Fit (and Fit e) fitness bands, and the Galaxy Buds in-ear wireless headphones. While, these products have already been revealed by other means, this was the first time an official app confirmed their existence.

First on the list is the Galaxy Watch Active. It resembles the sports-focused smartwatch that was recently leaked under the name Galaxy Sport. According to the app, the watch has a 40 mm case, and comes in at least 2 colors, reports The Verge.

There will probably be a heart rate monitor, and consumers would like to see some wellness features as well, like yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. More advanced sleep-tracking is also expected from Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch.

An ECG like the one on Apple Watch would be a good addition as well, and that would be high on Samsung’s list of priorities for its next wearable.

Next on the leaked list is the Galaxy Fit and Galaxy Fit e, two fitness trackers with rubber straps. It was last month that we first learned about the Galaxy Fit e. It was through a Bluetooth certification. Now, we are seeing how it looks like in reality.

And finally, on the list are a pair of wireless earbuds, called the Galaxy Buds.

There aren’t any price leaks yet, but the Samsung Galaxy Watch launched for $329 for the 42mm version or $349 for the 46mm model. So we’d expect the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active will cost at least that much or even more.

Location of brain tumors are hard to access and the blood-brain barrier prevents most drugs from reaching their targets, this makes treating brain tumors notoriously difficult. Now, a new device called Tumor Monorail that mimics the physical properties of the brain’s white matter to entice aggressive tumors to migrate toward the exterior of the brain, where the migrating cells can be collected and removed, has received FDA’s “breakthrough” designation, reports Duke University.

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“The tumor monorail device is a true game-changer in how we think about treating brain tumors,” said Barun Brahma, a neurosurgeon at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who has been a member of the research team since the beginning. “There are many tumors that are considered inoperable due to the location of the tumor or the frailty of the patient. This device affords clinicians the ability to surgically treat these tumors with a minimal approach.”

The device is made of polymer nanofibers with thin film and the film is made with a structure that mimics the pathway to the tumor, normally uses to invade to other places of the brain. It is connected to a cartridge containing a toxic hydrogel. This is a pied piper approach, where the tumor comes to the drug rather than the drug going to the tumor.

“This was the first demonstration that you can engineer migration inside the body and move a tumor from point A to point B by design,” said Ravi Bellamkonda, the Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, who began the research while at Georgia Tech. “It was also the first demonstration of bringing the tumor to your drug rather than your drug going into the brain and killing valuable cells.”

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With the help of the FDA, the research group now hopes to solidify their experimental plans within the next several weeks so that they can begin their next study as soon as possible. They are working toward gaining FDA approval for human trials by the end of 2019.

The US Homeland Security wants to make sure that the thousands of dogs that work for the agency stay healthy. So, the agency signed a $200,000 contract with HaloLights to prototype a sensor-equipped harness that monitors dogs’ heart rate, body temperature and other vitals. In addition to health data, the harness would also track each dog’s GPS location and monitor environmental factors like air temperature and humidity.

The data would be fed back to support staff in real-time and alert them of any irregularities, reports Nextgov.

K-9 units in Customs and Border Protection often work in tough conditions. They sniff out illegal drugs, firearms, currency and trafficked persons at ports of entry and along the border. HaloLights’ Canine Health Analytics Monitoring Platform (C.H.A.M.P.) can provide a holistic picture of each dog’s health, helping Homeland Security keep its K-9 units safe and strong, according to an official.

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“With the potential risks Customs and Border Protection canine agents face in their daily operations, there is an expressed desire for improved health monitoring tools to ensure their safety,” Don Roberts, who manages the office’s Detection Canine program, said in a statement. “In funding this project, [the Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate] is working to ensure that officer safety, human or canine, is a priority.”

Melissa Oh, the SVIP managing director, said:

“Ensuring the proactive detection and intervention of health complications will simplify the work [U.S. Border Patrol] does to keep K-9 agents in top shape.”

As of 2016, Customs and Border Protection had more than 1,400 K-9 units deployed across the country.

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Based in Orlando, FL, HaloLights produces LED dog collars. The company mentioned its partnership with the Homeland Security in its facebook page, saying:

“We’re very humbled to be working alongside the Department of Homeland Security SVIP S&T Directorate in developing smart k9 wearables that will aid in the safety and wellbeing of all working K9s.”

Huawei Watch GT will be available in the United States via Amazon starting this week. It’s been a few months since Huawei announced the Watch GT, but it was available in overseas markets. Now, folks in the U.S. can now pick up the Watch GT Sport for $199. The Watch GT Classic retails for $229.99.

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At first glance, the Watch GT will give you an impression of any Wear OS smartwatch, instead, the Watch GT is powered by Huawei’s own LiteOS – a lightweight smartwatch operating system with fitness tracking, notifications and custom watch faces, reports Android Authority.

The Watch GT Sport and Watch GT Classic share the same hardware. That includes a 1.39″ 454×454 AMOLED display, 16MB of RAM and 128MB of storage, and a sizable 420mAh battery.

HUAWEI TruSeen™ 3.0 heartrate monitoring technology provides a more efficient and accurate real-time personal measurement of your heartrate by using a self-learning algorithm and innovative sensors.

Modern GPS supports 3 Satellite Positioning Systems (GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO) worldwide to offer more accurate, faster and precise positioning.

The Watch GT provides coaching in introductory to advanced running courses to assist you in real-time while also providing guidance training and giving time-movement effect feedback.

HUAWEI TruSleep™ 2.0, a sleep monitor program for every cycle of sleep, was produced by a joint-study with Harvard Medical School CDB Centre. It identifies usual sleep related issues and provides more than 200 potential suggestions to help you get a peaceful sleep.

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Perfect for counting steps, your sedentary status and monitoring peak intense activities. Notifications of any messages, phone calls, alarms or set reminders are all organized on your wrist.

The biggest attraction in Watch GT is its battery life. According to Huawei, the watch will last up to 22 hours on a single charge with continuous exercise tracking, GPS, heart rate monitoring, and the screen turned on at all times. The battery life jumps to two weeks with heart rate monitoring and 90 minutes of exercise tracking each week. You can extend the battery life even further to 30 days if you turn off heart rate monitoring and only use the Watch GT for notifications and calls.