Packaging and Processing: Life Sciences Industry Strives to Become More Sustainable

The pharmaceutical industry’s pivot toward sustainability reflects a broader movement in global business practices where environmental responsibility is not just a choice but a business imperative. Read on to learn more.

The Role of Sensors in the Big Picture of Sustainability

In the big picture of medical equipment sustainability, sensors play an important role. That’s right, something so miniature can have quite the impact on maintaining and improving sustainability — from the product design phase to use in equipment in the home. Read on to learn more.

Soft Implantable Polymer Balloon Enables Controlled and Targeted Drug Delivery

In a paper published in Biomaterials Research, a team led by researchers from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology present data on their nonbiodegradable, ultrasoft, and flexible balloon implant for drug delivery. Their findings demonstrate the balloon’s effectiveness in delivering a model drug both in the laboratory setting and in animal models. Read on to learn more.

Microneedle Patch Detects Skin Cancer

Researchers have developed a method for detecting malignant melanoma. A new type of patch equipped with microneedles can identify the biomarker tyrosinase directly in the skin.

Implant Targets Optical Stimulation

A new device platform allows for smaller wireless light sources to be placed within the human body. Research indicates that such light sources will enable novel, minimally invasive means of treating and...

Elastomer Material Flexibility Optimizes Performance

When specifying a high-performance material for a medical device application, temperature, chemical environment and compatibility, hardness, compression set resistance, and certification considerations quickly build stringent material requirements. Expert suppliers consult with OEMs to think creatively, support product development, and collaborate to find solutions that will deliver necessary results.

AI Wearable Patch Assists Speech

A team of engineers has invented a soft, thin, stretchy device measuring just over 1 sq in. that can be attached to the skin outside the throat to help people with dysfunctional vocal cords regain their voice function.

Ultrasound Sticker Senses Organ Stiffness

A small ultrasound sticker can monitor the stiffness of organs deep inside the body. The sticker, about the size of a postage stamp, can be worn on the skin and is designed to pick up on signs of disease, such as liver and kidney failure and the progression of solid tumors.

Robot-Driven Orthopedics Manufacturing

By embracing advanced robotic machine-tending automation, SpiTrex unlocked new levels of precision, capacity, utilization, and profitability. The successful deployment of robot-driven manufacturing with autonomous process control using Flexxbotics marks a transformative milestone for SpiTrex Orthopedics’ smart factory operations.

3D Printing Method Builds Structures with Two Metals

Taking a cue from the structural complexity of trees and bones, Washington State University engineers have created a way to 3D print two types of steel in the same circular layer using two welding machines. The resulting bimetallic material proved 33–42 percent stronger than either metal alone, thanks in part to pressure caused between the metals as they cool together.

UDI at 10: Moving into The Future

September 2023 marked the 10-year anniversary of the day the FDA’s Unique Device Identification (UDI) requirement first took effect. In that time, UDI went from an idea to a framework to a law; its GUDID database now uniquely identifies and holds data on more than 4 million medical devices and is the foundation for thousands of daily lookups and transactions.

Under-the-Skin Implant Could Treat Type I Diabetes

Researchers have created a new technique to treat Type 1 diabetes: implanting a device inside a pocket under the skin that can secrete insulin while avoiding the immunosuppression that...

Transparent Brain Implant

A neural implant provides information about activity deep inside the brain while sitting on its surface. The implant is made up of a thin, transparent, and flexible polymer strip that is packed with a dense array...

Novel ‘Bone Bandage’ Material for Cracked Bones

Researchers have developed a biomimetic scaffold that generates electrical signals upon the application of pressure by utilizing the unique osteogenic ability of hydroxyapatite (HAp). HAp...

Breaking Barriers: Women Engineers Transforming the Landscape of Medical Device Innovation

Women are making significant contributions in the field of medical device engineering, playing key roles in innovation, research, development, and leadership. The Women in Engineering: Rising Star Awards program will celebrate and recognize women engineers who are enhancing the engineering profession through contributions to the industry and society in six categories: Aerospace/Defense, Automotive/Transportation, Electronics, Manufacturing, Medical, and Sustainability.

Using Static Electricity to Enhance Biomedical Implants

Researchers have created electrostatic materials that function even with extremely weak ultrasound, heralding the era of permanent implantable electronic devices in biomedicine.

Squishy, Metal-Free Magnets to Power Robots and Guide Medical Implants

Creating robots from flexible materials allows them to contort in unique ways, handle delicate objects, and explore places that other robots cannot. More rigid robots would be crushed by the deep ocean’s pressure or could damage sensitive tissues in the human body, for example.

Infection-Resistant, 3D Printed Metals Developed for Implants

The work could lead to better infection control in many common surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, that are performed daily around the world. Bacterial colonization of the implants is one of the leading causes of their failure and bad outcomes after surgery.

Implantable Device for Diabetes

Researchers have developed an implantable device that could provide a long-term supply of insulin to the body. The implant was designed to shield insulin-producing, or islet, cells from damaging immune responses, while continuously generating oxygen to sustain them.

Color-Based Sensor Emulates Skin’s Sensitivity

Researchers have developed a sensor that can perceive combinations of bending, stretching, compression, and temperature changes, all using a robust system that boils down to a simple concept: color.

Conductive, Cotton-Based Fiber for Smart Textiles

A single strand of fiber has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline. The newly developed material showed good potential for wearable e-textiles. Researchers tested the fibers with a system that powered an LED light and another that sensed ammonia gas.

Materials Transform Surgical Catheters, Enable Repeatable Tests in IVD Cartridges

Medical devices are becoming smaller and smaller, and the need for advanced material solutions keeps growing. Through our deep understanding and application of fundamental chemistry, Chemours materials have emerged as effective alternatives — helping innovators in the medical industry achieve continued success across medical device design.

Collaboration to Explore Next-Generation Biomedical Implants

A new collaboration between The University of Manchester and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials could transform the field of biomedical implants.

Resorbable Scaffold Outperforms Angioplasty

Scaffold insertion also appeared to be as safe as angioplasty, in terms of procedure-related complications.

Multimodal Graphene-Based E-Textiles

Instead of using toxic chemicals or optical masks for patterning, a research team used laser direct patterning technology to form laser-induced graphene (LIG) on e-textiles and successfully manufactured graphene-based e-textiles.

Sensors Measure Uric Acid Levels

Researchers have invented sensor-based noninvasive medical devices to make the monitoring and treatment of certain physiological and psychological conditions timelier and more precise.

Piezoelectric Material Printing

A microprinter can print piezoelectric films 100 times faster for the production of MEMS for sensors, wearable, or implantable medical devices, offering the possibility to lower the mass production costs.

Bioink Enhances 3D Bioprinted Skeletal Muscle Constructs

An advancement in 3D bioprinting of native-like skeletal muscle tissues has been made by scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI).

Minimally Invasive Smart Glaucoma Implants

A minimally invasive and smart glaucoma implant has the potential to decrease the incidence of postoperative complications. The biodegradable glaucoma implant is approximately the same size as the world’s smallest medical device known to be implanted in the human body.