BREAKTHROUGH BLOOD SAMPLE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN Biomedical engineers, Dr Marnie Winter and Professor Benjamin Thierry from the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology (CBNS), are part of a team of researchers who have isolated fetal cells from maternal blood using a tiny microfluidic device. The breakthrough will allow for improved genetic testing which would be potentially less harmful during pregnancy. From about five weeks into the pregnancy, fetal cells originating from the placenta can be found in a mother’s bloodstream. Using modern microfluidic technology, it is now possible to isolate these extremely rare cells (about one in a million) from the mother’s white blood cells and collect them for genetic analysis. The researchers say that there is significant scope to further develop the ‘lab-on-a-chip’ concept, and are collaborating with industry partners to translate this technology for routine clinical prenatal diagnostics and make it available in the future to screen low and medium-risk pregnancies. There is hope that this device could result in a new, non-invasive prenatal diagnostic test able to detect a wide range of genetic abnormalities in early pregnancy from a simple blood sample.
GETTING PEOPLE UP TO SPEED
Curtin University is leading research into how different types of sensory stimulation, electro-tactile or loud noises, can facilitate movement preparation in the brain, with potential application to stroke patients and older people. By seeking to understand the basic brain mechanisms affected by unexpected sensory stimuli, the research team, led by ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) recipient, Dr Welber Marinovic, is ultimately trying to work out which types of stimuli can help people produce more vigorous movements, with a view to helping stroke patients regain control of their movements or to improve motor function in older people. Through a phenomenon known as the StartReact Effect, the research team is exposing participants to very short bursts of highly intense white noise or brief electro- tactile stimuli to enhance their ability to move on cue. Their findings are revealing how voluntary movement preparation and the quick engagement of the arousal system by intense sensory stimuli interact in the brain, providing basic knowledge for translation into applied scenarios where movement recovery is critical for individuals’ functional independence (such as, stroke rehabilitation). Findings from the research have promising therapeutic implications. Through subsequent Discovery Projects funding, Dr Marinovic’s research team is investigating new strategies to facilitate movement and delineate movements as a potential new form of intervention for stroke patients.
Future Industries Institute researcher Dr Marnie Winter at work in the lab. Credit: University of South Australia.
IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING 72
IMPROVING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING 73
Dr Welber Marinovic conducting research to better understand psychophysiological processes in the brain. Credit: Curtin University.
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