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NEWSCOPE
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RESEARCH
Volume 4 | Issue 1 | January-March 2019
ISSUES
IT researchers have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based wireless system that can detect the quality and safety of food items. The system uses Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags or stickers with tiny, ultra-high frequency antennas on many food products to sense potential food contamination. The researchers feel that this is a democratic way to bring about food safety and quality in the hands of the consumers. When an RFID powers up and transmits its signal, it interacts with material in its near vicinity (i.e., inside a container) even if it is not in direct contact with that container. This interaction is called "near-field coupling," and it impacts the wireless signal transmitted by an RFID. The system, RFIQ extracts features from this signal and feeds it to a machine learning model that can classify and detect different types of adulterants in the container. An initial prototype of the system has been made and tested in two applications. The results have demonstrated the ability to identify fake alcohol with an accuracy higher than 97% and identify tainted infant formula with an accuracy higher than 96%. Source: news.mit.edu
WELL-BEING
Europe over the past five years, to help physicians detect heart attacks faster and more accurately, particularly among women who often have lower troponin levels. Due to the test’s ability to detect very low levels of troponin, the test now can be used to determine cardiac risk in people with no reported symptoms of heart disease. Using this diagnostic test during the same blood draw of a routine health exam, doctors will be able to look at what's actually happening to the heart and better determine their patients' risk of developing heart disease, such as a heart attack or other cardiac event in the future. With this added information, doctors can help ensure the correct treatment is given to people at high risk and prevent unnecessary testing, medication and costs for lower-risk patients. Since the High Sensitive Troponin-I test can be part of any routine health check-up, it is easier to fit into the existing healthcare practices.Another advantage, in addition to more accurately determining a patient's cardiac risk, this test is designed so that biotin doesn't affect test results. The vitamin biotin is growing in popularity as a supplement to improve hair, skin and nails. Biotin may interfere with some lab tests including cardiac ones, potentially leading to false positive or false negative results. Having an accurate picture of a patient's cardiac risk can help doctors ensure that each patient is getting the correct treatment. The High Sensitive Troponin-I test is now available to be used on Abbott's ARCHITECT system for cardiac risk assessment in CE marked countries and in countries where regulatory registration is not required for this product. Source: prnewswire.com
THEME
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ardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. An estimated 17.7 million people globally die annually from cardiovascular diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Of those, 7.4 million were due to coronary heart disease. This is a worrisome number and thus makes the focus shift to preventive cardiac care.Abbot’s high sensitive Troponin-I blood test is another diagnostic tool to aid such endeavour in this direction which has recently received CE mark for the prediction of chance of heart attack in apparently healthy adults potentially months to years in advance. Physicians now have a blood test that looks at a biomarker from the heart, so people can confidently take the appropriate lifestyle and medical steps needed to help prevent heart disease. Nowadays many studies are being conducted to evaluate the impact of troponin levels on cardiac health and one such study conducted by the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) found that Troponin-I levels were an indicator of an increased risk of coronary heart disease independent of cholesterol levels lowering and identified the patients who benefited most from preventive treatments with a statin. Nick Mills, MD, a cardiologist and researcher at the British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, is the author of another such study that evaluated the impact of troponin tests. Troponin-I proteins are released from the heart and can be found at elevated levels in the blood when the heart muscle has been damaged due to lack of blood flow. Abbott's ARCHITECT STAT High Sensitive Troponin-I blood test has been used in emergency rooms across
Wireless stickers to detect food quality and safety
PERSONA
First troponin test to help predict the chance of heart attack in apparently healthy adults
