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Scientists at the University of Delaware, Newark, say that they have confirmed the presence of a magnetic field generated by electrons, which scientists had theorized existed, but had never been proven until now. This finding, they say, could help to lay the groundwork for electronics of the future. Their finding expands the potential for harnessing the "spin" or magnetic properties of electrons, which adds a fundamental new building block to the pioneering field of spintronics.

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According to a recent report from ABI Research, a market intelligence company specializing in global technology markets, while the market for disposable wireless Medical Body Area Network (MBAN) sensors within professional healthcare is in its earliest stages, the foundations to support adoption are now in place. They also report that there is a tremendous potential for adoption. So much so that by 2018, they predict that nearly 5 million disposable sensors will be shipped even though the sensors will have still barely penetrated the addressable market.

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When it comes to outsourcing many complex professional services, this type of work should not be viewed as a mere commodity, say researchers at Harvard Business School, reporting in the journal, Organization Science. Instead, they say, cultivating important person-to-person relationships with the vendor of outsourced services can improve efficiency and even the quality of services delivered, especially in health care, where outsourcing is on the rise.

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According to a report by AlixPartners, a business advisory firm, America is becoming more competitive in terms of manufacturing and will match China on the cost of manufacturing within two years. Their research reveals that, according to current trends such as wage inflation in China and exchange rates that impact total costs of bringing a product to its point-of-sale, the United States is on track to achieve cost parity with China as a base for manufacturing operations by the year 2015.

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A handheld diagnostic device that researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, first developed to diagnose cancer has been adapted to rapidly diagnose tuberculosis (TB) and other important infectious bacteria. The portable device combines microfluidic technology with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to not only diagnose these important infections but also determine the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
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The Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida, both in Tampa, have collaborated with researchers in China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany to develop a new computational method to assess lung cancer tumors using CT, PET, or MRI diagnostic technologies. The method, called single click ensemble segmentation (SCES), uses a new computer algorithm they developed to help segment and extract features of a tumor. This new approach not only improves diagnosis and prognosis assessments, but also saves time and health care dollars.
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The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has introduced a long-awaited measurement tool to help device designers, manufacturers, and customers to see eye to eye on eight dimensional and material property measurements that are key to device performance.MEMS, once considered a stepchild of the semiconductor industry, have branched out into a wide range of applications, especially in consumer electronics, and are also important components of lab-on-a-chip diagnostic systems, displays, and implantable medical devices.

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Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.  
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Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK are using the feet of tree frogs as the inspiration for a tiny robot designed to crawl inside patients’ bodies during laparoscopic surgery. The tiny device is designed to move across the internal abdominal wall of a patient, allowing surgeons to see what they are doing on a real-time video feed.

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Inspired by the tail of a seahorse, which can be compressed to half its size without damage, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, are attempting to use similar engineering to create a flexible robotic gripper arm equipped with polymer muscles that could be used in medical devices. Led by materials science professors, they say that the study of natural materials can lead to the creation of new and unique materials and structures that are stronger, tougher, lighter and more flexible.
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Scientists at Princeton University in New Jersey used silk strands and tiny gold wires bundled with graphene to create a removable tattoo that adheres to dental enamel and could eventually be used to monitor a patient’s health with unprecedented sensitivity.

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There are two parts to a blast created by an improvised explosive device: a shock wave traveling at supersonic speed, and compressed air, which travels in front of the shock wave. Both can cause considerable damage to the human body, but the exact effects are unclear. To prevent injuries to soldiers and provide better care to those who are injured, the U.S. military wants to understand how blasts impact the human body. So it is working with the Georgia Tech Research Institute to develop a system that measures the physical environment of an explosion and collects data that can be used to correlate what the soldier experienced with long-term medical outcomes, especially traumatic brain injury.

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Once implanted, coronary artery stents to prop open blood vessels usually remain in place for the rest of the patient’s life. The longer a stent is in place, the greater the risk of late-stage side effects. That's why researchers are trying to develop a bioabsorbable stent, one that will gradually and harmlessly dissolve after the blood vessel is healed. Studies have investigated iron stents, which can rust, and magnesium-based stents, which dissolve too quickly. So, researchers at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, are trying something different—zinc.

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Polymer scientists at Rice University, Houston, TX, discovered that the liquid crystal phase of silicone, which is partway between a solid and a liquid, becomes up to 90 percent stiffer when repeatedly compressed. Their research could lead to new strategies for self-healing materials or biocompatible materials that mimic human tissues, they say.
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A new 3-D motion detection system could help identify baseball pitchers who are at risk for shoulder injuries, according to a new study by scientists at the Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL. The laptop computer-based system can be used right on the field.

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The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) launched its "Coalition to Walk and Run Again," an effort to aid uninsured and under-insured victims of the April 15th Boston Marathon terror attack. The bombing killed 3 people and left more than 200 injured, several of whom lost portions of their legs as a result. Those who have or are undergoing amputations will be provided major assistance with the cost of their initial prostheses and related care, the group stated at a telephone press conference on April 30.

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MedWatcher is a mobile app available from the iTunes Store or Google Play Store that allows individuals to submit voluntary reports of serious medical device problems to the FDA using a smart phone or tablet. The app makes it easier and faster for healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers to send voluntary reports of medical device problems to the FDA, compared to the traditional reporting methods, such as mail, phone, or online.

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Surgical robots could make some types of surgery safer and more effective, but proving that the software controlling these machines works as intended is problematic. So say researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Baltimore, MD, who have demonstrated that methods for reliably detecting software bugs and ultimately verifying software safety can successfully be applied to these robots.
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A Tale of Three Patients

In the same week in late March, three friends/family of mine entered three different hospitals in three different states. Their illnesses were very different and had varied results.
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Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.
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Using hundreds of untethered grippers, each as small as a dust mote, engineers and physicians at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, say they have devised a method to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.
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Material scientists from ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), who say that they were inspired by plant components like pine cones that respond to external stimuli, have developed a new means of producing composite materials from a variety of materials that adopt a pre-programmed shape autonomously.

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A tiny, paper-thin skin patch to collect vital information, called the Bio-patch sensor, has been developed by researchers at Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology. It is inexpensive, versatile, and comfortable to wear.

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At the 245^th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, in New Orleans, scientists from the University of California, San Diego, described their advances in micromotor technology that, they say, could open the door to broad new medical uses.

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Researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Cambridge, MA, have developed an inexpensive tactile sensor for robotic hands that is sensitive enough to enable a machine to handle objects with sensitivity and dexterity. Designed by researchers in the Harvard Biorobotics Laboratory, the sensor, called TakkTile, is intended to put what would normally be a high-end technology within the grasp of commercial inventors, teachers, and robotics enthusiasts.

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