Global Innovations

Opportunities for 3D Technology in Medicine

Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, Berlin, Germanywww.fraunhofer.de/en/research-topics.html While physicians have largely been skeptical of the advantages of 3D technology, the findings of a new...

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 increasingly. Today,...

New Hydrogel Destroys Drug-Resistant Biofilms

Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Singapore www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg Researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore, in collaboration with IBM...

Improved MRI to Image Joints Being Created

Imperial College London, London, UK http://www3.imperial.ac.uk A new system to allow specialists to image difficult areas of the body, which could potentially improve the way procedures such as knee...

Laser Optics Support High-Resolution 3D Microscopy

Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria www.tuwien.ac.at/en D r. Saideh Saghafi at the Institute for Solid State Electronics at the Vienna University of Technology has developed the...

Implantable Robotic Arm Controlled by Thought

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden www.chalmers.se/en/pages/default.aspx A team of researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, say that they have...

Bacterial Resistant Polymers Identified

University of Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK www.nottingham.ac.uk Scientists at the University of Nottingham, in the UK, have discovered a new class of polymers that they say are...

Harnessing Stem Cells for Orthopedic Implants

University of Glasgow http://www.gla.ac.uk/ Researchers at the University of Glasgow’s Colleges of Science and Engineering and Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences in Scotland are working to...

Seeing the Light

Bionic Vision Australia http://www.bionicvision.org.au The main cause of inherited blindness is retinitis pigmentosa, which affects 1.5 million people worldwide and is characterized by the progressive loss of vision. To combat...

Extremely Accurate Device to Locate Brain Electrical Activity

Researchers at Aalto Uni versity in Finland have de veloped the world’s first device designed to map the human brain that combines whole-head magnetoencephalo graphy (MEG) and...

Bioactive Coating Camouflages Implants for Deep Brain Stimulation

Brain-computer interfaces are at the forefront of treating neurological and psychological disorders, in cluding Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and depression. Among the most promising...

Hypothermia Emergency Vest for Cardiac Arrest Patients

Hohenstein Institute, Bönnigheim, Germany www.hohenstein.de Scientists from the Hohenstein Institute in Bönnigheim have developed textile cooling pads to be used to prevent neurological...

Direct-to-Brain Bionic Eye

Monash Vision Group, Victoria, Australia http://www.monash.edu.au/bioniceye/index.html A brain implant developed at Monash Vision Group (MVG) — a collaboration between Monash University, Alfred Health, MiniFAB, and...

Laser Direct Writing Technique May Repair Damaged Nerves

University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom www.shef.ac.uk Injuries to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) are extremely common and affect 1 in 1000 individuals every year. Axon...

Sensor Chip for Monitoring Tumors

Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Munich, Germany www.tum.de Medical engineers at Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have developed an electronic sensor chip that could someday be implanted to determine the...

3D Printer With Nano-Precision

Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austriahttp://www.tuwien.ac.at/tuwien_home/EN Printing three-dimensional objects with incredibly fine details is now possible using “two-photon lithography.” With this...

Improving Wheelchair Ergonomics

Engineers at Empa, a Swiss interdisciplinary research and services institution, are working together with the firm «r going» to develop an ergonomic seat for electric wheelchairs that encourages the user to...

Speedy 3D X-Rays in the Operating Room

Surgeons use 3D X-rays to check the results before the patient has left the operating room. One issue with currently available 3D X-ray systems, such as C-arms, is that they interfere with the surgeon’s...

Therapeutic Textiles Seamlessly Promote Wellness

In the future, the success of drug delivery could rely on its ability to integrate with patients’ lives without too much effort. Textiles, which are already a permanent fixture in people’s...

Fast, High-Precision Eye-Surgery Robot

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Eindhoven, the Netherlands www.tue.nl A smart eye-surgery robot, developed at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands, allows eye...