technology

Pear Therapeutics, in collaboration with Novartis, has launched a study evaluating the clinical use of Pear-006, its software-based prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) product for treating depression symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). PDTs belong to a new class of treatment strategies in healthcare intended to treat diseases,…

Second in a series. Read part one.  I’m actually driving! I really can’t remember the last time I had done so. The car I’d had for years from Motability, a car and scooter program in the U.K. to help the disabled enjoy worry-free motoring (it really works, folks), had…

A new clinical application prototype that uses machine learning to help physicians predict the best treatment options for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) will be unveiled at the American Academy of Neurology’s 2019 annual meeting May 4–10, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The prototype is called PIN Population Data Platform. It has been…

A study suggests that it may be possible to create synthetic speech based on recordings of brain activity in people with irreversible speech loss due to neurological ills, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, or stroke. The system uses tiny electrodes implanted on the surface of the brain that directly records…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has recently awarded $24.4 million in grants to support 64 research projects on multiple sclerosis (MS) worldwide, including $750,000 to fund 14 high-risk, high-reward pilot projects that will test new ideas and seek answers to new and relevant questions. According to a society…

A new web portal called Talk2Me that detects early changes in language could help doctors diagnose or determine progression in neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS), the scientists who created it suggest. The open platform portal, which gathers language data through an array of cognitive tasks performed…

In February of last year, I stopped. Walking more than a few steps was suddenly impossible. I’d fought, taken every medication and supplement possible, but I’d lost. Maybe positive thinking and mindfulness would have helped, but for me, that was a step too far! Research, organization, and…

The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) announced two contests that will be featured at its Annual Meeting, May 28–June 1 in Seattle, Washington. The contests, called “Design for Rehabilitation — Take the Challenge” and “CMSC Neuroinnovator,” are aimed at creating new technologies to improve the quality of…

All of the stories in this week’s column come from the recently held Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) forum, held Feb. 28 to March 2 in Dallas, Texas. #ACTRIMS2019 – Forum Leaders Discuss: ‘Will There Be a Cure for MS?’ A reporter for…

MSCopilot, a software device designed for the self-assessment of multiple sclerosis (MS), distinguishes between patients and healthy controls, and potentially could be used in clinical practice for the monitoring of MS disability progression and patients’ response to treatment. Matthieu Lamy, from Ad Scientiam, the…

Researchers at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, U.K., are recruiting 20 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who can walk at least eight meters with a walking aid to test the effectiveness of a five-week exercise program using assistive robotic technology. A patient completes balance and strengthening exercises using the…

In the time necessary to perform a standard multiple sclerosis (MS) functional exam, gamified tests on a smartphone app provide much richer and reliable measurements of several distinct neurological functions, according to new data. These findings suggest that creatively-constructed smartphone apps may one day recreate entire neurological exams.

I received an email recently from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the U.S. promoting a searchable database of “credible doctors and resources.” A few days later, I happened to run across another online multiple sclerosis (MS) information service hosted by the HealthCare Journey website. They call it…

Treatment with PathMaker Neurosystems’ anodal trans‐spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS), a non-invasive direct nerve stimulation tool called MyoRegulator, was found to effectively ease spasticity in mice with spinal cord injury, a study reports. A link between the ability to control muscle contraction and the levels of a specific neuronal…

Novartis and the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute (BDI) have established an alliance to advance the use of medical data for spotting disease patterns and assessing patients’ responses to treatment. The initiative seeks to enable more informed clinical decision-making and improve the development of treatments for complex diseases.

WeHealth by Servier and PathMaker Neurosystems have established a new partnership to develop and commercialize the first neuromodulation technology for noninvasive treatment of spasticity, the companies announced. The agreement establishes an exclusive worldwide distribution arrangement, except for the U.S. and Japan, for PathMaker’s MyoRegulator. The MyoRegulator uses two pairs of…

Five finalists remain in the running for the $1 million prize being offered in the Mobility Unlimited Challenge, a global competition to promote the development of innovative solutions for personal mobility devices. A panel of expert judges selected the finalists from among 80 applications submitted by teams from 28 countries.

Biogen and Skyhawk Therapeutics have created a strategic partnership that will allow both companies to use Skyhawk’s SkySTAR technology platform for the discovery of new small molecule treatments for neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will be given…

The L300, made by Bioness, is a functional electronic stimulator. It’s a cuff that I wear just below my left knee. It stimulates a nerve that lifts my foot and helps keep it from dragging. When I first got my L300 in 2012, it was a blessing.

Researchers at the Ural Federal University (UrFU) in Russia have developed a neuro-electrostimulation system that has the potential to treat different types of brain disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The system allows physicians to treat patients by remotely controlling the delivered electric pulse through a smartphone or tablet. Details…

The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL) will create a new research center to investigate and advance the development of tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) scans. The center, which will be established at WUSTL’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR), is going to focus on the…

Non-viral vehicles, called niosomes, can deliver DNA to glial cells in the central nervous system, a new study shows. The findings open new avenues for gene therapy and the treatment of neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The study “Non-viral vectors based on cationic niosomes as efficient gene delivery…

Artificial intelligence can help reduce the amount of gadolinium used as a contrast agent in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, preventing the agent’s potential toxicity when accumulated in body tissue, including the brain and bones, each time it is used, researchers suggest. The finding is of particular importance for…

We’ve all been there. That “uh-oh” feeling hits and you know you’ll be in trouble if you can’t find a restroom, fast. You hope the clerk in the store with the “Restrooms for Customers Only” sign will make an exception if you tell her it’s about to run down…

The ability to track multiple sclerosis (MS) at any time, gain a more complete picture of each patient’s disease course and a better understanding of MS are among the possible benefits of the FLOODLIGHT app, according to Laura Julian, PhD, principal medical science director at Genentech. The company…

To increase the exchange of research information and goings-on with the patient community, the Accelerated Cure Project (ACP) for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has teamed with RealTalk MS, a weekly podcast for those affected by the disease. Specifically, ACP will share ongoing results of its research initiative, iConquerMS. In…

Books. Magazines. Journals. Emails. Online articles. Newsletters. Podcasts. Local and cable news. The quantity of information we take in daily is impressive — overwhelming, even. According to a 2009 report from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the average American consumed about 105,000 words per day, or…

Sorry, this story is definitely parochial and about being disabled, rather than narrowly focused on having MS. It also turns out to be somewhat celebratory — albeit starting from a criticism. Before I get to that, a bit of history. The black cab is an international symbol for London like…

I never thought I’d want a wearable internet device until I got an Apple Watch for my birthday. One of its neat apps tracks the laps that I swim, the steps that I (try to) take, and my pulse rate. The watch can even link up with some high-tech…

A couple weeks ago, I went to my neurologist’s office early for my annual MRI. It’s never a pleasant experience. Even after 14 years, it’s still as unsettling as it was the first time. It’s not the tightness of the space that gets me or the sensations and sounds.