A plasmonic interferometry technique created by Brown University engineers has the potential to enable compact, ultra-sensitive biosensors. The method combines nanotechnology with plasmonics — the interaction between a metal's electrons and light.

University of Rochester researchers created a material that undergoes a shape change when triggered by body heat alone. The shape-memory polymer can be programmed to retain a temporary form and then revert back to its original structure.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab have developed a new imaging device that consists of a loose bundle of optical fibers; no lenses or protective housing are needed. Tight bundles of the fibers could yield endoscopes with narrower diameters.

A two-part system created by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley detects and analyzes a profile of chemicals in sweat. The flexible sensors and flexible circuit board stick to the skin and provide a health-monitoring device that continuously tracks a user's health...

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at UC Santa Barbara has developed an underwater adhesive that can be used in tissue repair applications. The technology replicates the adhesion strategy of the Sandcastle worm (Phragmatopoma californica), a segmented marine invertebrate commonly found along...

Mechanical engineers from the University of Wisconsin are building a handheld microscope to help doctors and dentists distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells. The tool captures details up to a half millimeter beneath the tissue surface, where some types of cancerous cells originate.

A team at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has characterized a fundamental origami fold, or tessellation, that could be used as a building block for medical devices. The folding pattern, known as the Miura-ori, can be packed into a flat, compact...

To prevent scar formation within blood vessels, a team from Northwestern University has created a biodegradable material with built-in vitamin A. The soft elastic material can be used to treat injured vessels or make medical devices, such as stents and prosthetic vascular grafts.