Imaging

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, who was the biomedical pioneer who helped establish the field of radiation dosimetry, enabling safer and more precise use of medical imaging and radiation therapy devices?

Sensor Sniffs Out Pneumonia on Patient’s Breath

Engineers have developed a test to detect disease-related compounds in a patient’s breath. The new test could provide a faster way to diagnose pneumonia and other lung conditions. Rather...

Training the Future of AI-Powered Surgery

The convergence of AI, extended reality (XR), and immersive simulation is shaping the future of surgical systems.

De-Risking Medical Device Development with VA Technology Transfer

VA clinicians and researchers invent technologies grounded in patient experience and real-world care. (Courtesy of TechLink) The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates...

Making Human-Centered Robotics Work in the Real World

Learn how human-centered robotic systems are deployed at scale, with lessons from cobots in industrial environments.

The Hidden Nervous System of Surgical Robotics: Power, Data & Sensing Behind Precision Performance

Advances in interconnect density, force sensing, and system integration are shaping the future of surgical and assistive robotics.

Tiny Sensor Could Transform Head Injury Detection

A tiny sensor detects hazardous head impacts the instant they occur could reshape safety monitoring in sports, transportation and other high-risk settings. The device, developed by...

The Lee Company Opens New Innovation Center

The Lee Company has opened a new Innovation Center, a 27,500 sq ft facility built to accelerate product development and reinforce the company’s continued commitment to innovation in miniature....

Video Spotlight on Products and Services

See where the video spotlight is: Micromolding, hybrid laser systems for advanced manufacturing, web converting machines, light-cure conformal coatings, and much more.

AI Approach Takes Optical System Design from Months to Milliseconds

A team of researchers at Penn State have devised a new, streamlined approach to design metasurfaces, a class of engineered materials that can manipulate light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation with just their structures. This rapid optimization process could help manufacture advanced optical systems like camera lenses, virtual reality headsets, holographic imagers and more, the team said. Read on to learn more.

Liquid Metal Composite Material Enables Recyclable, Flexible, and Reconfigurable Electronics

Electronic waste is piling up around the world at a rate that far outpaces recycling efforts, partly because it’s so costly and time-consuming to recover useful materials from discarded gadgets. Read on to see what this conundrum inspired a team at the University of Washington to create.

New Method More Accurately Predicts Stronger, Lighter 3D Printed Parts

Engineers at the University of Maine are developing a new method to more accurately predict the strength of light-weight 3D printed objects. This research, conducted at the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, will enable designers to create more robust and reliable components by controlling strength when lightweighting virtually any plastic component. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Develop New 3D Printing Method for Tissue Engineering

Missouri S&T research team has developed a new light-based 3D printing method that could speed up and simplify the process of making organs-on-a-chip — small tissue-like devices that are used for medical research and drug testing. Read on to learn more.

Overcoming Thermal Latency: A Passive Architecture for High-Flux Imaging

By shifting from active cooling (pumps) to passive buffering (sorption), medical device engineers can close the thermal latency gap. This approach eliminates the need for forced cooldown cycles, enabling continuous duty cycles for high-flux modalities and significantly improving the return on assets for hospital operators. Read on to learn more.

Ensuring Fatigue Resistance of Polymer Welds for Medical Devices

As medical devices continue to evolve, the durability of polymer welds will remain a critical factor in product performance. Early assessment of fatigue resistance using methods like HACS analysis, combined with an understanding of materials and processes, will allow manufacturers to create more robust, reliable devices. Read on to learn more.

Case Study: RenAM 500Q Powers Mass Production of Medical Components for Permedica

For many years, the medical industry has used additive manufacturing to develop low-volume parts, such as medical prototypes, bespoke implants, and surgical implants and aids. Global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has collaborated with medical devices specialist, Permedica, to develop AM processes for the mass production of medical components in the healthcare industry. Read on to learn more.

Material Choices That Make or Break Manufacturability in Miniaturized Medical Devices

Medical devices are shrinking rapidly while becoming more complex. Sensors, processors, optics, and connectivity are now routinely packed into form factors that would have been impractical just a decade ago. While this miniaturization unlocks new clinical value, it also exposes a persistent design challenge: many of the materials still being specified were developed for an earlier era of electronics. Read on to learn more.

Improving Device Efficiency with Tunable Lasers

Tunable optical parametric oscillators (OPO) lasers can be tuned to a wide spectrum of specific wavelengths across the UV, visible, and infrared. The laser light can then be directed, or transmitted over fiber, to physically interact with matter by depositing short, intense bursts of energy into a sample. Read on to learn more about them.

From Shortages to Solutions: Engineering Strategies for Supply Stability in Medical Devices

This article explores how engineering and innovation are becoming the primary tools for building a more resilient and reliable medical device supply chain. Read on to learn more.

Videos of the Month

See the videos of the month, including one on FRESH 3D bioprinting and how it can now create fully biologic, collagen-based organ-on-chip systems with fine vascular channels, mimicking real human tissue; one on how immersive tech is reshaping care; one on how a new era in maternal-fetal care is emerging as mechanical engineering meets obstetrics; and one on MIT's Jameel Clinic, who has developed Sybil, an AI-powered tool that analyzes CT scans to predict a patient’s risk of developing lung cancer up to six years in advance.

From the Editor

In December, we asked Medical Design Briefs’ readers to cast their ballot to choose from our eight Products of the Month the technology they felt was the most significant new introduction to the design engineering community in 2025. This year, our winner reflects the industry’s need to lower costs and minimize material usage. Read on to learn the winner of the 2025 Medical Design Briefs’ Readers’ Choice Products of the Year.

Technology

What battery chemistry, introduced in the early 1970s, dramatically increased the lifespan of implantable pacemakers and helped make long-term cardiac pacing clinically practical?

Quantum Surgical Acquires NeuWave Medical, Inc.

Quantum Surgical, a company specializing in minimally invasive robotic-assisted cancer treatment, has acquired NeuWave Medical, Inc., a medical device company whose products are used by...

MGS Acquires European-Based Medical Injection Molder Knudsen Plast A/S

MGS, a global healthcare contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has acquired Knudsen Plast A/S, a premier Denmark-based injection molder with more...

Surgical & Assistive Robotics: Redefining Human Capability

Devices paired with adaptive machine learning are helping stroke and spinal cord injury patients regain movement.

Education Initiative: Student Education Initiative to Empower Next Generation of MedTech Engineers

Building on more than four decades of collaboration, Qosina and Informa Markets has launched a new Student Education Initiative designed to...