Mayo Clinic research in space | Streamlining cancer diagnostics | New biolab comes to Kansas
Mayo Clinic research in space
ROCHESTER, MN—Mayo Clinic research will be onboard in the next mission to space. Larry Connor, a Mayo Clinic benefactor, will pilot the first-ever all-civilian flight to the International Space Station, bringing onboard Mayo Clinic research and civilian astronauts to study senescence (biological aging) in space.
Streamlining cancer diagnostics in real time
NASHVILLE, TN—A Franklin tech startup in the health care sector is marketing a novel platform to streamline cancer diagnostics in real time. The new platform — a product from local firm, Azra AI — is the company’s software utilizing AI to consolidate and take over the manual and repetitive processes of how positive cancer diagnoses are identified and classified by primary care sites.
New tech helps people with spinal cord injuries
LOUISVILLE, KY—A new controller developed at the University of Louisville improves the home use of epidural stimulation for people with spinal cord injuries. The new tablet controller has a large touchscreen interface that helps patients more easily adjust the stimulator to regulate blood pressure and other functions.
Drug combo could prevent lung damage in babies
CINCINNATI, OH—One of the serious complications that can occur during late pregnancy is called chorioamnionitis. It happens when the amniotic sac breaks too early, which can allow bacterial infections to cause dangerous tissue inflammation around the placenta. To prevent infants from getting the infection, doctors use antibiotics aggressively, which sometimes results in lung damage in the babies. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s may have discovered a way to prevent lung damage through a combination of two drugs known to block cell signals that trigger inflammation.
Winners of the INVEST Pitch Perfect Contest
Fast Future COUNTRY—Two health tech companies in Fast Future Country were among the winners of the INVEST Pitch Perfect Contest. Saint Paul, MN’s NXgenPort Inc., which maximizes remote care in cancer patients requiring an implantable chemo-port catheter, tied in the Remote Patient Monitoring and Smart Devices category. Nashville’s Athelo Health, which offers a digital coach that provides personalized, evidence-based guidance to cancer patients, tied in the PharmaTech category.
New biolab comes to Kansas
MANHATTAN, KS—Researchers will study vaccines and treatments for highly contagious diseases that affect livestock and humans at a new biological lab. The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), will be the first biosafety level 4 lab — the highest biosafety level — in the U.S. capable of housing large livestock.