“Reuse of syringes, all too common in under-funded clinics, kills 1.3 million each year. Marc Koska clues us in to this devastating global problem with facts, photos and hidden-camera footage. He shares his solution: a low-cost syringe that can’t be used twice.“
Posts Tagged ‘TED’
Re-inventing the syringe
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Building a brain in a supercomputer
Friday, October 16th, 2009“Henry Markram says the mysteries of the mind can be solved — soon. Mental illness, memory, perception: they’re made of neurons and electric signals, and he plans to find them with a supercomputer that models all the brain’s 100,000,000,000,000 synapses.”
Adjustable liquid filled eyeglasses
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Another great talk at TED:
Josh Silver delivers his brilliantly simple solution for correcting vision at the lowest cost possible — adjustable, liquid-filled lenses. At TEDGlobal 2009, he demos his affordable eyeglasses and reveals his global plan to distribute them to a billion people in need by 2020. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, in Oxford, England. Duration: 5:34)
Next generation cure for killer infections
Friday, July 31st, 2009Another great talk at TED:
“Drug-resistant bacteria kills, even in top hospitals. But now tough infections like staph and anthrax may be in for a surprise. Nobel-winning chemist Kary Mullis, who watched a friend die when powerful antibiotics failed, unveils a radical new cure that shows extraordinary promise.”
New way to harvest bone marrow for stem cell transplant
Saturday, July 18th, 2009Bone marrow is the seat of stem cells which give rise to the cells that circulate in blood. These cells are:
Red cells (erythrocyte) – carry oxygen
White cells (leukocyte) – fight infections
Platelets (thrombocyte) – help with blood clotting
Blood Cell Lineage
Image source: Wikipedia
There are a number of diseases in which the bone marrow stem cells may die, be replaced by fibrous tissue or by cancer which then leads to decreased blood cells. This defect will then lead to fatigue, tiredness (due to decreased red cells), repeated infections (due to decreased white cells) and easy bleeding (due to decreased platelets).
The technique of harvesting stem cells from a donor bone marrow for transplant to a recipient whose marrow is not functioning is a life saving procedure. However, the technique for harvesting these cells is very old, painful and has a fair share of complications.
In this TED talk, Daniel Kraft demonstrates a new device which aims to make the whole process of bone marrow harvesting for stem cell transplant safer and simpler (Link to Video).
More information on Stem Cell Transplantation – Mayo Clinic
