Stories
R&D: Medical
Technology Leaders: Design
Briefs: Medical
Technology Leaders: Robotics, Automation & Control
Biologics and personalized medicine are increasingly becoming more popular — causing the biomanufacturing industry to change. Instead of sticking to large-scale production...
Technology Leaders: Manufacturing & Prototyping
As the medical device industry continues to grow rapidly, manufacturers must contend with a variety of challenges if they wish to differentiate products in a highly...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Arc welding and additive manufacturing are hugely important for creating large metal components relatively inexpensively and quickly. New research by a...
Technology Leaders: Medical
CT scanners have far greater accuracy than x-ray technology but place more demands on patients. Getting the high precision, three-dimensional images necessary for accurate diagnosis...
Briefs: Materials
By using an electrochemical etching process on a common stainless-steel alloy, researchers have created a nanotextured surface that kills bacteria while not harming...
Features: Medical
Infrared surgical lasers, e.g., CTH:YAG @ 2100 nm and TM:YAG @ 2000 nm, are wonderful tools for minimally invasive surgery such as laser vaporization of hyperplastic prostate...
Features: Medical
The definition of a disposable device can vary. At one end of the spectrum are completely disposable, single-use devices that are designed for use on one patient...
Technology Leaders: Medical
For many medical device manufacturers, the application of proprietary coatings and surface treatments can play a critical role in differentiating their products as...
Briefs: Energy
Nontoxic, edible batteries could one day power ingestible devices for diagnosing and treating disease. One team reports new progress toward that goal with their batteries made with...
Briefs: Medical
Researchers at Arizona State University have made potentially game-changing progress in the emerging realms of 3D printing and additive manufacturing — an advance that could have a...
Briefs: Medical
Chemical engineers at Stanford University discovered that a new elastomer synthesized there had too much elasticity for the testing equipment the lab possessed. In fact, the clamping machine...
R&D: Robotics, Automation & Control
New 'Box' Sterilizes Surgical Instruments
A mobile container from Rice University sterilizes surgical instruments in low-resource settings. The "Sterile Box," built into a standard 20-foot steel shipping container, houses a water system for decontamination and a solar-powered autoclave for steam sterilization.
Briefs: Medical
A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado has determined that carbon-fiber composites, which are stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum, can be easily and cost-effectively...
Briefs: Medical
Graphene, which was discovered in 2004, is 1 million times thinner than a human hair, 300 times stronger than steel, and is the best known conductor of heat and...
Applications: Medical
Heavy-duty gas springs are often used to replace or supplement human power when lifting or lowering heavy loads such as lids, hoods, and flaps in construction and...
Applications: Electronics & Computers
Technological advancements are making medical devices increasingly feature-rich and miniaturized: two performance characteristics that are inherently...
R&D: Medical
Lightweight Metal Foam Blocks Radiation
A strong, lightweight metal foam created by a North Carolina State University researcher absorbs the energy of high-impact collisions and effectively blocks X-rays, gamma rays, and neutron radiation. The device offers new shielding possibilities for use in CT scanners.
Features: Medical
Oncology nurses, compounding pharmacists, and others who handle hazardous drugs, such as chemotherapy drugs, are put at risk of exposure. This is due to the...
R&D: Medical
New Manufacturing Method Produces Low-Cost Nanofibers
Researchers at the University of Georgia have found a low-cost way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings. The nanofibers can be used to create advanced wound dressings, regenerate tissue, and deliver drugs directly to the site of an infection.
Briefs: Materials
A team of researchers at Yale University assessed the “criticality” of all 62 metals on the Periodic Table of Elements, and developed key insights into which materials might...
Technology Leaders: Medical
Comparing the cool factor of medical device components to Robert Downey Jr.’s gleaming armor in the film Iron Man 2 is…well…tough. But...
INSIDER: Materials
Sound waves passing through the air, objects that break a body of water and cause ripples, or shockwaves from earthquakes all are considered “elastic” waves. These waves travel at the...
R&D: Medical
Rewriting the Rules on Materials
A team of chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), La Jolla, CA, say that they have invented a new method to join complex organic molecules that is extraordinarily robust and can be used to make plastics, pharmaceuticals, fabrics, dyes, and other materials previously inaccessible to chemists.
Features: Tubing & Extrusion
According to Henry David Thoreau, “the path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men.” But in plastic injection molding, it leads to balanced filling patterns, more...
Technology Leaders: Medical
If your application demands a reliable, time-tested, low cost motor, then brushed DC motor technology may be what you’re looking for. The key here is simplicity. A brushed motor is...
Briefs: Medical
High-Density, Homogenous Bacterial Spore Distributions on Test Surfaces
Thus far, spore transfer had been successful from the polycarbonate membrane onto stainless steel, aluminum, and to some extent, glass. In order to image the endospores under an ESEM (environmental scanning electron microscope), the spores were transferred onto a...
Top Stories
Quiz: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Medical Devices in the Locker Room
INSIDER: Medical

AI Tool Predicts Onset of Parkinson’s Disease
INSIDER: Medical

ECG Patch Paves Way for Sustainable Wearables
INSIDER: Materials

Graphene ‘Tattoo’ Treats Cardiac Arrhythmia with Light
News: Medical

MMT Acquires Ward Automation Galway, Somex: Launches MMT Automation...
Features: Medical

Ask the Expert
Ralph Bright on the Power of Power Cords

Understanding power system components and how to connect them correctly is critical to meeting regulatory requirements and designing successful electrical products for worldwide markets. Interpower’s Ralph Bright defines these requirements and explains how to know which cord to select for your application.
Webcasts
Webinars: Medical

5 Ways to Test Wearable Devices
Webinars: Test & Measurement

Powering Medical Devices: How to Filter Noise Out While Keeping Safety In
Webinars: Materials

High-purity Silicone Adhesive Solutions for Medical Device Assembly
Podcasts: Wearables

Here's an Idea: Real-Time Remote Heart Monitoring
Tech Talks: Materials

A Look Into New Silicone Elastomers for Low-Temperature Biopharma Applications
On-Demand Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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
Features: Packaging & Sterilization

Sterilization, Packaging, and Materials: CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS