Keyword: Smart materials

Stories

R&D: Materials
The researchers used water as the solvent and developed an LCST-type thermoresponsive polymer by adding alkaline earth metal ions — which are divalent cations — to polymers and aqueous solutions.
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Briefs: Materials

It may look like a bizarre bike helmet, or a piece of equipment found in Doc Brown’s lab in Back to the Future, yet this gadget made of plastic and copper wire is a...

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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Researchers have developed three-in-one hybrid material smart skin for the next generation of artificial, electronic skin using a novel process. With 2,000 individual sensors per square millimeter,...

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R&D: Medical

Gadolinium-doped cerium oxide could be a promising alternative to certain piezoelectric materials. It is lead-free, which means that it could be employed in biocompatible medical applications. Further...

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R&D: Medical

A metasurface lens has been created that uses a piezoelectric thin film to change focal length when a small voltage is applied. Because it is extremely compact and lightweight, the new lens could be useful for...

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Global Innovations: Medical

Engineers at EPFL and ETH have developed a variable stiffness catheter made of nontoxic threads that can transition between soft and rigid states during surgery. It...

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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Totimorphic structural materials can achieve any shape.
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R&D: Materials
An international team of researchers has discovered a path that could lead to shape-shifting ceramic materials.
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R&D: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A new type of chain mail fabric is flexible like cloth but can stiffen on demand.
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R&D: Design
The cardiac pacemaker of the future could be powered by the heart itself.
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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
An artificial skin attached to a person’s knee develops a purple “bruise” when hit forcefully.
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R&D: Photonics/Optics
An optomechanical ultrasound sensor on a silicon photonic chip provides unprecedented sensitivity due to an innovative optomechanical waveguide.
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Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The wireless patches power themselves with harvested energy.
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Global Innovations: Sensors/Data Acquisition
The nanogold is implanted under the skin where it reports changes in drug concentrations by changing its color.
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Technology Leaders: Medical
Nitinol also has a unique ability to adapt to extraordinary strains and is compatible with the human body.
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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
By collecting tears, the lenses effectively measure pH and levels of biomarkers.
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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A gelatin-based hydrogel addresses the problems presented in constructing wearable pressure-sensitive sensors.
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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A new, lightweight eye mask can unobtrusively capture pulse, eye movement, and sleep signals, for example, when worn in an everyday environment.
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R&D: Medical
Researchers have developed biomaterial-based inks that respond to and quantify chemicals released from the body.
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R&D: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Researchers have developed a technology that can monitor bladder volume in real time and can effectively empty a person’s bladder.
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Global Innovations: Materials
University of Sydney Sydney,
Australia

Researchers from the University of Sydney have collaborated with Columbia University and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg to...

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R&D: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Engineers have created tiny needles that mimic parasites that attach to skin and could replace hypodermic needles.
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Features: Design
As the founder of the Soft Systems program at Flex, Yolita brings electronics, smart textiles and computation together to create new products, digital experiences and functionalities through fibers and textiles.
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R&D: Medical

Researchers have compared two copper-based SMAs of the same composition but fabricated differently. After annealing, the samples were cooled at different rates. Then both samples were heated inside...

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Briefs: Materials

The piezoelectric materials that inhabit everything from our cell phones to musical greeting cards may be getting an upgrade thanks to work discussed in the journal Nature Materials....

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R&D: Medical

Researchers have shown a way to use graphene oxide (GO) to add some backbone to hydrogel materials made from alginate, a natural material derived from seaweed that is currently...

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Technology Leaders: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Medical devices require sensors that are miniaturized, highly reliable and integrated, cost-effective, hermetic, and biocompatible. By combining thin film technology...

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R&D: Materials

An electrically conductive hydrogel that takes stretchability, self-healing, and strain sensitivity to new limits outperforms previously reported hydrogels and introduces new functionalities. Smart...

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R&D: Medical

Scientists have found a fast and simple way to make super-elastic, multi-material, high-performance fibers. Their fibers have already been used as sensors on robotic fingers and in clothing. This...

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Ask the Expert

Eric Dietsch on the Benefits of Nitinol Wire
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In collaboration with the Fort Wayne Metals Engineering team, Eric Dietsch focuses on supporting customers with material recommendations, product development, and education. Eric is available to help you and your company with any Nitinol-related questions or needs that you may have.

Inside Story

Rapid Precision Prototyping Program Speeds Medtech Product Development

Rapid prototyping technologies play an important role in supporting new product development (NPD) by companies that are working to bring novel and innovative products to market. But in advanced industries where products often make use of multiple technologies, and where meeting a part’s exacting tolerances is essential, speed without precision is rarely enough. In such advanced manufacturing—including the medical device and surgical robotics industries — the ability to produce high-precision prototypes early in the development cycle can be critical for meeting design expectations and bringing finished products to market efficiently.

Trending Stories

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Features: Packaging & Sterilization

Sterilization, Packaging, and Materials: CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS