Features

Tissue Paper Sensors Show Promise for Healthcare

Engineers have turned tissue paper into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye, and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible, and inexpensive,...

System Measures Nanoliter Flow Rates

A microflow measurement system can track the movement of extremely tiny amounts of liquids — as small as nanoliters. The invention is designed to fill a need in the rapidly expanding field of...

Smartphone App Recognizes FASD

With a smartphone and an app, qualified healthcare professionals can now diagnose fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in their office. A newly developed system was trained to recognize the alcohol-related...

Single Blood Test Screens for Eight Cancer Types

A single blood test screens for eight common cancer types and helps identify the location of the cancer. The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that...

Postoperative Wound Monitoring App Aims to Reduce Readmissions

A new smartphone app called WoundCare enables patients to remotely send images of their surgical wounds for monitoring by nurses.

OCE Aids Development of Therapies for Damaged Heart Tissue

Researchers have developed a new way to capture the detailed biomechanical properties of heart tissue. The high-resolution optical technique fills an important technology gap necessary...

Hydrogels Release Therapeutics in Response to Environmental Triggers

Scientists have built and tested a new biomaterial-based delivery system — known as a hydrogel — that will encase a desired cargo and dissolve to release its freight only...

From the Editor — And the Winners Are ...

In December, we asked Medical Design Briefs readers to cast their ballot to choose from our 12 Products of the Month the technology they felt was the most significant new introduction to the design...

Adapting Prototyping to Meet Rapid Advances in Medical Device Designs

Rapid prototyping has long played a vital role in the evolution of medical device technology. Effectively applied during a product's early design stages, it can generate...

Rehabilitation Robotics and Prosthetics: Trends and Intellectual Property Considerations

Beyond an ability to merely act, today's medical robotics are increasingly able to sense and “think,” providing for an ever-growing list of...

IoMT: Smarter, Seamless, Connected Medical Devices

Doctors often tell patients to “listen to your body and take note of what it is telling you.” Now, technology is being developed that will listen for us and process the signals to help...

Software: Improving Risk Management in Medical Device Manufacturing

In an industry where people's health and wellness are on the line, manufacturers can't afford to let risk go unaddressed. As the International Organization for Standardization...

New Products and Services

Integrated Sensor DunAn Sensing, San Jose, CA, has launched a new series of integrated pressure and temperature sensors. The TP series uses the company's proprietary DURAsense packaging and microelectromechanical...

Microextrusion Tubing Advances Help Push Medical Device Boundaries

Over the past five years, technological advances have enabled product applications for microextrusion to penetrate into the medical OEM arena. Simply speaking, micro now really...

Brainwave-Controlled Exoskeleton Restores Functional Grasp

École Polytechnique Fédéral de LausanneLausanne, Switzerlandhttps://actu.epfl.ch An extremely lightweight and portable hand exoskeleton may one day help the physically impaired with...

Combining Machine and Nanoparticles for Better Transplant Outcomes

A team of experts in rehabilitation robotics used a robotic system — the Tethered Pelvic Assist Device (TPAD) — to study whether or not Parkinson’s disease affects...

Biochemical, Pain-Free Skin Patch Manages Type 2 Diabetes with Microneedles

Researchers have devised an innovative biochemical formula of mineralized compounds that interacts in the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar for days at a time. In a...

Ultrasonic Sensor Allows Amputees to Control Prosthetic Fingers

Researchers have created an ultrasonic sensor that allows amputees to control each of their prosthetic fingers individually. It provides fine motor hand gestures that aren’t...

Plasmonic Biosensors Enable Development of Easy-to-Use Health Tests

A plasmonic biosensor can detect diseased exosomes even by the naked eye. Exosomes, important indicators of health conditions, are cell-derived vesicles that are present in...

Low-Cost, Battery-Powered Reader Diagnoses Jaundice

The first clinical study of a low-cost, handheld jaundice detector shows that saving newborn lives in sub-Saharan Africa is achievable. BiliSpec, a low-cost, battery-powered reader, is...

Dental Material Resists Plaque, Kills Microbes

Researchers have evaluated a new dental material tethered with an antimicrobial compound that not only kills bacteria but also resists biofilm growth. In addition, unlike some drug-infused...

3D Printed Microfibers Could Provide Structure for Artificially Grown Body Part

Much as a frame provides structural support for a house and the chassis provides strength and shape for a car, a team of engineers believe they have a way to create...

3D Printing Creates Super-Soft Structures that Replicate Brain and Lungs

Researchers have developed a new method for creating 3D structures using cryogenics (freezing) and 3D printing techniques. This builds on previous research but is the...

From the Editor – FDA Ushers in a New Era of 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

FDA is monitoring the emerging field of 3D printing and additive manufacturing, an area FDA once considered a “futuristic technology on the distant...

Force-Sensitive Resistors: Making Medical Devices Easier to Use

For many of us, life is complicated enough without having to be constantly reminded about our medical situations. Living with a disease that requires frequent doctor visits and...

Critical Cooling in Medical Devices – Part 1

Active thermal management is vital in a number of medical device applications including patient core temperature management, skin cooling, medical device cooling, and laboratory equipment cooling....

Pre-Engineered Fluid Control: The Next Breakthrough in Dental System Design

A design engineer at a dental equipment company is handed a challenging assignment. The firm’s development team must devise a suite of products that includes a new...

Highly Sensitive Optical Fiber Pressure Sensors with Potential for Cardiology and Other Medical Applications

Optical fibers. To the average person, the phrase might conjure up an image of glowing hairs twisted artistically into a beautiful...