Home > Press > Purdue professor develops devices to treat glaucoma, cancer
Abstract:
An electronic device no larger than a grain of rice could be a key factor in treating multiple diseases ranging from glaucoma to cancer.
Purdue professor develops devices to treat glaucoma, cancer
West Lafayette, IN | Posted on February 18th, 2010Babak Ziaie, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, was torn between engineering and medicine when he was deciding what to do with his life. His solution was to work in the Birck Nanotechnology Center developing small and sophisticated machines that could help provide faster and more effective health care.
Ziaie and his team are currently working on a device that will improve the way radiation therapy is applied. Patients will have a small electronic device implanted in or around the cancerous area receiving the treatment. This device will measure the amount of radiation the target area receives and relay this information to medical personnel.
"This system could greatly reduce the side effects of (radiation therapy) because the doses of radiation could be much more precise," Ziaie said. "We are the only group to be doing this kind of research."
A prototype of the device has been developed and testing is in progress. Another product from Ziaie that has been fabricated is a "plug" for the human eye.
"Sometimes, when a patient has glaucoma, pressure in the eye must be corrected with surgery," Ziaie said. "We have developed a glaucoma device that protects the eye after surgery."
The device fits into an opening in the eye and can act as a drain for excess pressure. If ignored, this pressure could damage the optic nerves that allow a person to see, possibly leading to permanent loss of vision.
The device can drain very small amounts of pressure and is biodegradable. This means that it will completely dissolve in about two weeks without harming the body.
Amani Salim is a graduate student in engineering education and a part of Ziaie's team. Salim said Ziaie encourages his team to expand on their own original concepts.
"Ziaie is dedicated to research. (He is) not a micromanager," Salim wrote in an e-mail. "It is up to (me) to think and see which ideas to pursue."
The team has many other projects and ideas, including the development of methods to deliver drugs to the brain, measure pressure in the brain and bladder, and track tumor progression throughout the body.
Trials on animals are conducted in conjunction with the Indiana University School of Medicine while all of the engineering work and fabrication takes place at Purdue.
"Seventy percent of my research is clinically based," Ziaie said. "My goal is to get products to patients for treatment."
####
For more information, please click here
Copyright © Purdue University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Possible Futures
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Academic/Education
Rice University launches Rice Synthetic Biology Institute to improve lives January 12th, 2024
Multi-institution, $4.6 million NSF grant to fund nanotechnology training September 9th, 2022
Molecular Machines
First electric nanomotor made from DNA material: Synthetic rotary motors at the nanoscale perform mechanical work July 22nd, 2022
Nanotech scientists create world's smallest origami bird March 17th, 2021
Giant nanomachine aids the immune system: Theoretical chemistry August 28th, 2020
Nanomedicine
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Nanobiotechnology
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||