Congratulations to our collaborator, Reid Harrison, and Intan Technologies, for the success of a $1 Million NIH SBIR through 2017! Intan and the Precision Biosystems Lab will be developing and testing a custom microchip amplifier for patch clamp electrophysiology recording for low-cost, highly multiplexed whole cell recordings in vitro and in vivo!
The National Institutes of Health announced investments totaling $46M to support the goals of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. More than 100 investigators in 15 states and several countries will work to develop new tools and technologies to understand neural circuit function and capture a dynamic view of the brain in action. These new tools and this deeper understanding will ultimately catalyze new treatments and cures for devastating brain disorders and diseases that are estimated by the World Health Organization to affect more than one billion people worldwide. The Woodruff School’s Dr. Craig Forest is among those who received a $1.5 Million BRAIN Initiative Award. His team will detect subtle disruptions in neuron-to-neuron communications – as occur in brain disorders – using a newly developed robot-guided technique.
A new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries.The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.
“When you give Dr. Craig Forest an inch, he takes a mile. The mild-mannered Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Georgia Tech helped set up the Invention Studio on the first floor of a nondescript engineering building at the heart of the university’s verdant campus. Founded in 2009, the 3,000 square-foot space grew and grew, eventually taking over the entire lobby and multiple workshops. The Studio, which features 3D printers, laser cutters, injection molding machines, and literally everything else a maker could want, is now a powerhouse and sponsors line up to donate cash to the free, 24-hour hacker space…” [Read More] Learn more about the Invention Studio here.
In order to minimize the size and cost of our in-vivo automated patch clamping rig, we are testing new motors, pipettes, and pipette holders. To demonstrate that the motors can apply enough axial force to advance pipettes in the in-vivo preparations, a quick in-jello test was performed (sugarfree, of course).
