By Bjorn Carey A multiple exposure shows the effect of an impact to the top of the helmet in a laboratory experiment. A head impact detection system using the instrumented mouthguard distinguishes between these head impacts and non-impact noise, such as dropping the mouthguard on the floor. The debilitating effects of repeated concussions on NFL players have been well documented. What scientists still don't clearly know is whether those injuries are the result of thousands of tiny impacts, or singular, crushing blows to the brain. A group of bioengineers at Stanford is working to understand the head trauma that footballers experience during a game, and is making steps toward developing technology that reports dangerous hits in real time. For the past few years, David Camarillo, an assistant professor of bioengineering, and his colleagues have been supplying Stanford football players with special mouthguards equipped with accelerometers that measure the impacts players sustain during a practice or game. Previous studies have suggested a correlation between the severity of brain injuries and the biomechanics associated with skull movement from an impact. Camarillo's group uses a sensor-laden mouthguard because it can directly measure skull accelerations by attaching to the top row of teeth which … Continue reading →

Monday, June 9, 2014 | 6:43 p.m. CDT; updated 4:25 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, June 10, 2014 *UPDATE: This story has been updated to include information about the search for Thompson's replacement and about why he stepped down. Dean Thompson has been the dean of the college since 1994, according to his biography page on the college's website. Prior to his current role, Thompson was the dean of engineering at the University of New Mexico. During his tenure at MU, he has overseen the expansion of engineering-based research and education programs including bioengineering, computer science and information technology, according to the college's website.Undergraduate enrollment more than doubled to 2,886 in 2014 from1,360 in 1994, according to MU's Division of Enrollment Management. "Much has changed during his leadership, and we look forward to building on the college's excellent reputation in all of its disciplines," Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said in the news release. Interim Provost Ken Deansaid Thompsonis leaving the college in a good place. "Dean Thompson leaves the College of Engineering well positioned to move to the next level in research and cutting-edge, market-responsive education programs," Dean said in the release. Harry Tyrer, an electrical and computer engineering professor, who worked … Continue reading →

Monday, June 9, 2014 | 6:43 p.m. CDT; updated 4:25 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, June 10, 2014 *UPDATE: This story has been updated to include information about the search for Thompson's replacement and about why he stepped down. Dean Thompson has been the dean of the college since 1994, according to his biography page on the college's website. Prior to his current role, Thompson was the dean of engineering at the University of New Mexico. During his tenure at MU, he has overseen the expansion of engineering-based research and education programs including bioengineering, computer science and information technology, according to the college's website.Undergraduate enrollment more than doubled to 2,886 in 2014 from1,360 in 1994, according to MU's Division of Enrollment Management. "Much has changed during his leadership, and we look forward to building on the college's excellent reputation in all of its disciplines," Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin said in the news release. Interim Provost Ken Deansaid Thompsonis leaving the college in a good place. "Dean Thompson leaves the College of Engineering well positioned to move to the next level in research and cutting-edge, market-responsive education programs," Dean said in the release. Harry Tyrer, an electrical and computer engineering professor, who worked … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, June 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've developed a blood test that can detect heart transplant rejection weeks or months earlier than previously possible. The test looks for increasing amounts of the heart donor's DNA in the blood of the transplant recipient. Unlike a biopsy, this noninvasive test does not require removal of any heart tissue, Stanford University researchers said. "This test appears to be safer, cheaper and more accurate than a heart biopsy, which is the current gold standard to detect and monitor heart-transplant rejection," study co-senior author Stephen Quake, professor of bioengineering and applied physics, said in a university news release. "We believe it's likely to be very useful in the clinic." Transplant recipients who show early signs of rejection can be given anti-rejection drugs in an effort to reduce the immune system's attack on the transplanted organ. Currently, heart transplant patients have to undergo dozens of heart biopsies in the months and years after they receive their new heart. The biopsies are uncomfortable and may cause complications such as heart rhythm problems or heart valve damage, the researchers said. The new test -- called a cell-free DNA test -- proved effective in a study … Continue reading →