Generating Electricity from the Blink of an Eye

A research team has obtained electrical energy from small movements of the human body, such as the blink of an eye, by using biocompatible materials to minimize the device’s thickness....

‘Healthy’ Electric Current Produced Inside Human Body

New nanotechnology has many potential applications, including harvesting clean energy to operate devices implanted in the body through the body’s natural movements.

Nontoxic, Flexible Energy Converters Could Power Wearable Devices

Researchers report the design and fabrication of single-wall carbon nanotube thermoelectric devices on flexible polyimide substrates as a basis for wearable energy converters.

All-in-One Device Uses Microwave Power

An innovative system may provide a new option to use directed energy for biomedical applications.

3D Printed Plastics with High-Performance Electrical Circuits

Engineers have embedded high-performance electrical circuits inside 3D printed plastics, which could lead to better-performing biomedical implants. They used pulses of high-energy...

Harvesting Energy from the Human Knee

An energy harvester attached to the wearer’s knee can generate 1.6 μW of power while the wearer walks without any increase in effort. The energy is enough to power small electronics like health...

E-bandage Generates Electricity, Speeds Wound Healing

Researchers have developed a self-powered bandage that generates an electric field over an injury, dramatically reducing the healing time for skin wounds in rats. They wanted to develop a...

Custom Engineered HV Power Supplies for High- Performance Applications

High-voltage power supplies (HVPSs) are required in multiple configurations and capabilities. The dimensions, type of enclosure, weight, input and outputs, thermal and...

Low-Density Polymer Lightens the Load of Prosthetic Hand

Researchers at the University of Southampton, UK, have chosen low-density thermopolymer to create various parts of the next generation of its innovative Southampton-Remedi prosthetic...

The Power of Ultrasonic Piezo Transducers for Medical Applications

Ultrasonic piezo transducers can be used in a wide variety of applications, including medical devices. Because there is no one-size-fits-all solution, transducer...

Ultrathin Device Harvests Electricity from Human Motion

A new, ultrathin energy harvesting system has the potential to harvest electricity from human motion. Based on battery technology and made from layers of black phosphorus that are only...

New System Eliminates Need for Pacemaker Batteries

Researchers have developed a piezoelectric system that converts the heart’s vibrational energy into electricity to power pacemakers, eliminating the need for batteries. Unlike...

Tiny Solar Cells Deliver Big Power

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created microscale solar cells that could power a multitude of personal devices, including wearable medical sensors, smartwatches, and autofocusing...

New Tube-Cutting Technology Meets Next-Generation Production Needs

Stents and hypodermic tubes (hypotubes) are used in countless applications, and the demand is growing rapidly in response to the continued demand for stent applications and...

Controlling Backlash in Mammography Systems

Medical imaging equipment, water handling systems, conveyors, robotic systems, and rotary and linear actuators are among the many devices that may be fitted with electric friction brakes to hold...

Robotic Finger Moves Like Natural One

While most robotic parts in current use are rigid, have a limited range of motion, and don’t really look lifelike, a scientist from Florida Atlantic University has designed a novel robotic finger that,...

2015 Create the Future Design Contest: Honorable Mentions

Method for Treating Cartilage Defects Michael Lytinas
Ideas Foundation, Boston, MA

This invention is a method to treat cartilage defects in osteoarthritis and...

Sound-Powered Medical Implants

Engineers at Stanford University are working on a new generation of medical devices that would be planted deep inside the body to monitor illness, deliver therapies and relieve pain. But in order to do so, they...

Simple Medical Diagnostic for Developing World

A team of researchers at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, have created an inexpensive diagnostic device that, they say, can be used by health care workers in the world’s poorest areas to...

Circulatory Support Without Surgery for Heart Failure Patients

A team of life science entrepreneurs in Houston, TX, has developed the first catheter-deployed circulatory assist device intended for long-term use to treat chronic heart...

Thermally Optimized Medical Devices Improve Patient Outcomes

Today’s medical device and equipment designs are highly influenced by continuous technological advances that affect their size, power consumption, and communication capabilities....

Heart Pump with Behind-the-Ear Power Connector

Cardiac surgeons and cardiologists at the University of Maryland Heart Center are part of a multi-center clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of powering heart pumps through a skull-based...

Creating Cathodes for Air-Breathing Biobatteries

Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
http://www.ichf.edu.pl

Devices that support various functions of our bodies are being used...

Managing Post-Traumatic Pain with Ultrasound Neuromodulation

The objective of this effort was to demonstrate the feasibility of using ultrasound induced neuromodulation (UNMOD) to manage pain. Pain management for acute trauma is generally...

Electronic Access for Medical Equipment

The need for physical security in the health care industry is no longer limited to grounds, buildings, and rooms. Today, security must extend down to medical enclosures, including cabinets, dispensing...