Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings for High-Wear Medical Applications

In the universe of wear resistant thin films, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have emerged as the ideal solution for demanding physical applications

Microscale Superlubricity Improves Electromechanical Devices

Superlubricity — the state of ultra-low friction and wear — holds great promise for the reduction of frictional wear in mechanical and automatic devices.

Toolholder Fit, Concentricity Key in High-Speed Machining

Machinists know that when it comes to precision machining, the importance of a toolholder cannot be overstated. The quality of the toolholder plays an even greater role when precision...

Skin-Worn Wearable Devices: Tomorrow’s Vision, Today’s Realities

In the fast-expanding world of wearable medical devices, an entrepreneurial spirit is driving dreams of a digital health future into reality. Collaboration on material...

Gaming Camera Aids MS Treatment

A device commonly found in living rooms around the world could be an inexpensive and effective means of evaluating the walking difficulties of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The Microsoft Kinect is a 3D...

Developing a New Type of Polymer

Researchers at Northwestern University’s Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology say that they have developed a polymer that might one day be used in artificial muscles or other lifelike materials;...

Making Electronics More Flexible with Self-Healing Gel

First of its kind gel repairs circuits.

A team of engineers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a novel self-healing gel that,...

Ingestible Electronics to Measure Vital Signs

Not too far in the future, doctors may be using technology invented by a team of scientists at MIT to monitor patients’ vital signs by having them swallow an electronic device that can measure...

Making Lower Limb Prosthetics More Comfortable

Diabetes is the leading cause of limb loss, accounting for more than 65,000 amputations a year nationwide. In addition, there were more than 1,500 major limb amputations from US battle injuries...

3D-Printed Personalized Scoliosis Brace

Idiopathic scoliosis is defined as a lateral or rotational curvature of the spine that initially appears in children during the prepubescent ages of 8 to 13. It currently affects nearly 7 million...

Creating More Durable Joint Implants

Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland www.empa.ch

Natural joints can wear out due to daily stress and body movement, so you would expect that...

FEM Simulation Speeds Analysis of Durability for Replacement Joints

The demand for joint replacement surgery is mushrooming and, along with it, the demand for replacement joints that endure longer with less maintenance.

Younger people...

Polymer Biomaterials Offer Possibilities for Orthopedic Implants

Since the 1950s and John Charnley’s introduction of the low friction hip prosthesis, metal-on-polyethylene bearings have remained the gold standard in terms of the long-term...

Head-Worn Video Magnifier Assists Low-Vision Individuals

Many people are familiar with the popular science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a show featuring a blind character named Geordi La Forge, whose visor-like glasses...

Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene Technology for Minimally Invasive Devices

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been used for decades as a biomaterial in joint replacements. Recently, this technology was refined to...