Category: NRV science

NRV science Virginia Tech

In medicine, small is beautiful

Community Conversations by Michael Abraham 

Elliot McAlister in his lab in Blacksburg, Va.

Elliot McAllister is pushing health care to a new level. The Blacksburg scientist is using a Star Trek like technology called microfluidics that shows promise to revolutionize medical diagnostics by making testing for a variety of illnesses cheap and fast, literally done by yourself at home. Imaging diagnosing cancer in your own body within 15 minutes for $20.

Microfluidics is the study of behavior of fluids through infinitesimally small micro- channels. Fluids like blood, saliva, and urine behave differently on a microfluidic scale than under normal conditions, and thus these new ways can be tracked and analyzed to show the condition of the human body. Elliot is using innovative 3-D printers of his own design and development to create this sub-sub-sub-miniature devices, literally from his garage/workshop at his home in the Merrimac community outside Blacksburg.

The son of a professor of microbiology, Elliot has a degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters Degree in Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech. He began his career with a fledgling

Read More “In medicine, small is beautiful”

Featured
NRV science

Carilion was prepared for the worst

Community conversations by Michael Abraham

Bill Flattery, CEO of Carilion’s New River Valley Medical Center.

The plan, at first, was to be ready for a huge wave of COVID-19 patients, said Bill Flattery, CEO of Carilion’s New River Valley Medical Center. With his unique perspective on the current COVID-19 pandemic and the region’s medical community’s plans to keep us safe, Flattery is a key health leader in the region.

He began our conversation telling me why the initial response was targeted differently than hindsight would have dictated. “We planned for an influx of patients that never materialized. We increased in-patient capacity by about 40% and by 80% in our emergency department. Social distancing worked really well here; I can’t say enough good things about our citizen response. People did the things they needed to do. Read More “Carilion was prepared for the worst”

Featured
Environment NRV science Virginia Tech

Coronavirus and the scientific view

Community conversations by Michael Abraham

Prof. Margie Lee (Virginia Tech photo)

Coronavirus is here to stay, according to Dr. Margie Lee, a Professor at Virginia  Tech’s Veterinary School, and we need to continue taking precautions like wearing  masks and social distancing. 

As a leading expert in microbiology, Margie knows what she’s talking about. And she’s worried that science has become politicized. 

As we look down the road a few months from now, she says, “There’s only three scenarios: it gets worse, it gets better, or it stays the same.

“The same means that we continue to minimize infections by keeping people separated to prevent transmission. Read More “Coronavirus and the scientific view”

Featured
NRV science Virginia Tech

New River nerds help Covid response

Jacob Martin, an engineering student at Virginia Tech, drops off a half dozen blue shield frames made on his 3D printer.

By Bill Kovarik 

The call went out on April 29: Anyone with a 3-D printer in the New River Valley, please contact Prof. Alex Leonessa or students at Virginia Tech.

By Thursday May 7, over 1,500 plastic shield frames had been collected at a drop-off point at the engineering department.  More were coming in by the hour, but at least 5,000 had been requested by NRV Carilion and Montgomery Lewis Gale hospitals, according to Jacob Martin, one of the engineering school student volunteers.

The frames are an essential part of the personal protective equipment used in treating COVID-19 in area hospitals.  While it’s easy to cut a new transparent plastic shield for the front,  a frame to hold the shield in place makes it far more protective and useful.

Arnav Garg, a Blacksburg High School student, said he became involved in the project through Tech’s covid response team. Garg is working with some of the Read More “New River nerds help Covid response”