Future Medications Could Be Personalized on a 3D Printer

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first 3D-printed drug, Spritam (levetiracetam), for epilepsy. Several other manufacturers and drug companies are develop.ing their own ones. But the widespread adoption of 3D drug printing will require stringent quality control measures to ensure that people get the right medication and dosage. Read on to learn more about the subject.

Helmet with Sensors Records Brain Function

Researchers have designed a lightweight helmet with tiny LEGO-size sensors that scan the brain while a person moves. The helmet is the first of its kind to accurately record magnetic fields generated by brain activity while people are in motion.

Exploring a New Approach to Treating Collapsed Airways in Newborns

Researchers at the EPFL have achieved a breakthrough in the treatment of tracheomalacia, a condition characterized by weak tracheal cartilage and muscles that normally keep the airway open for proper breathing.

Customizable Spun-Fiber Heart Valve Grows with Children

Heart valves can be surgically replaced, but children whose bodies are still growing may need multiple, highly invasive surgeries to replace their valves with larger ones, putting them at risk. Kevin Kit Parker’s team vowed to fix this problem.

Smart Jumpsuit Monitors Infant Motor Development

A novel wearable for infants provides reliable assessment of motor abilities during early development. The smart jumpsuit, called MAIJU (Motor Assessment of Infants with a Jumpsuit), is a...

Using 3D Printing to Aid in Planning Tumor Removal

The SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital’s pediatric maxillofacial surgery team has used 3D-printing technology to successfully perform a complicated operation to resect a malignant tumor in an 11-year-old boy.

Robot Sleeves Help Kids with Cerebral Palsy

The garments will contain sealed, airtight regions that can inflate, making them temporarily rigid and providing the force for movement.

Breath-Driven Concept Could Transform Prosthetics

Researchers have developed a hand prosthesis powered and controlled by the user’s breathing. The simple, lightweight device offers an alternative to Bowden cable-driven body-powered...

Prototype Smartphone App Can Help Parents Detect Early Signs of Eye Disorders in Children

A Baylor University researcher’s prototype smartphone app — designed to help parents detect early signs of various eye diseases in their children such...

Handheld Probe Images Photoreceptors in Children

Duke University researchers have developed a handheld probe that can image individual photoreceptors in the eyes of infants. The technology, based on adaptive optics, will make it easier for...

Soft Robotic Solution Aids in Surgery for One-Sided Heart Failure

Soft robotic actuators have recently emerged as an attractive alternative to more rigid components that have conventionally been used in biomedical devices. However, researchers...

Using Artificial intelligence to Evaluate Brain Maturity of Preterm Infants

University of Helsinki Helsinki,...

Kid: A Telemedicine Solution for Retinopathy of Prematurity

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disease that affects premature infants. It is the leading cause of childhood blindness. Although effective treatments exist, many infants are...

Bionic Pancreas Passes Critical Science Hurdle

On the heels of winning $12 million in supplemental funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a major, multicenter, national clinical trial of his iLet™ bionic pancreas,...

Soft Robot Offers New Treatment Option for Heart Failure

Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital researchers have developed a customizable soft robot that fits around a heart and helps it beat, potentially opening new treatment...

Hydrogel Dressing Could Eliminate Traditional Bandages for Burns

For patients with second-degree burns, it’s not always the initial injury that hurts most. The daily, sometimes hours-long bandage changes can be the most excruciating ordeal.

From the Editor — A Cure for the U.S. Medical Innovation Ecosystem

As 2016 came to a close, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the 21st Century Cures Act by a vote of 392–26, and the Senate passed it by a vote of...

Artificial Blood Vessels Support Patients with Heart Defects

Biomedical engineers from the University of Minnesota have created artificial blood vessels. If confirmed in humans, the grafts, bioengineered in the lab and tested in young lambs,...

The Helping Hand Project: Changing Lives One Hand at a Time

Swing a baseball bat, eat with a fork and knife, steer a bike with both handles — without two hands, a child can’t do any of these ordinary activities that most children take for...

Promising Biomaterial to Build Better Bones with 3D Printing

A Northwestern University research team has developed a 3D printable ink that produces a synthetic bone implant that rapidly induces bone regeneration and growth. This hyperelastic...

New Device Could Improve Diagnosis of Ear Infections

A new device developed by researchers at MIT and a physician at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center could greatly improve doctors’ ability to accurately diagnose ear infections. That...

Soft Tissue Robotic Surgery Outperforms Standard Surgery

Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC Surgeons and scientists at the Children’s National Health System’s Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation have...

How Sensors Can Help Save Preterm Babies

“Preterm labor is related to high morbidity, high mortality, and significant cost,” said Rubin Pillay, MD, PhD, assistant dean for global health innovation at the UAB School of Medicine. “If we can...

How 3D Printing Can Aid in Brain Surgery

Physicians at Boston Children’s Hospital report that four children with life-threatening cerebrovascular malformations posing surgical challenges have benefited from surgeons having 3D-printed models...

Students Create Inexpensive Motorized Wheelchair

Creating a custom wheelchair for siblings with neuromuscular disease. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a debilitating neuromuscular disease. It involves motor nerve cells in the spinal cord,...

NIH Funding Projects to Develop Assistive Robots

New research in robotics to help with stroke rehabilitation, guide wheelchairs, and assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are some of the projects now being funded by the National...