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From the Editor: Medical
As of this writing, the midterm election was just held and, as you know, Republicans took control of the Senate while keeping control of the House of Representatives. The United States Supreme...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — FDA and Industry Finding Common Ground
At the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) conference held in Chicago in October, several FDA officials participated in panel discussions and Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, FDA Commissioner, was a plenary luncheon speaker for an in-depth discussion of how FDA policies are affecting...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Medical Tricorder Coming Closer
One of the largest design contests dollar-wise to improve healthcare in the US is focused on creating a medical diagnostic device inspired by Star Trek®. The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE is a $10 million multi-year global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Turn On, Set Up, Sync In
In the late 1960s, Timothy Leary advised people to “Turn on, tune in, drop out” by using psychedelic drugs. Fifty years later, the message might be “Turn on, sync in, stay connected 24/7”.
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Remember When?
Remember when you were a child and broke your arm and had to wear a heavy, hot plaster cast in the Summer? Your arm felt heavy and itchy, your muscles atrophied, you had to wear a plastic bag over your cast to shower, and, after a couple of weeks, the cotton padding inside stunk. The only good thing about it,...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Interesting Times, Indeed
There’s an old saying “May you live in interesting times.” While it is meant to sound like a blessing, some say that is actually an ancient curse. Ancient or not, the saying was included by the late Robert F. Kennedy in a 1966 speech to students in Cape Town, South Africa. I was reminded of his...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — But Will We Wear Them?
Speaking at a plenary panel session on Innovations Shaping the Future of Patient Care at Medical World Americas in Houston in April, Dr. Stephen N. Oesterle, Senior Vice President for Medicine and Technology at Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, predicted that implantable and wearable sensor technology will be...
From the Editor: Electronics & Computers
Transcending Disabilities to Walk and to Dance
Move over Iron Man! There’s a new engineering superhero who’s part bionic, able to change his height, and scale vertical rock and ice walls with a simple change of leg prosthetics that he designed himself. Not only that, but he designs bionic limbs for others, too.
From the Editor: Medical
It was set to be the “next big thing”. Designed to aid patients suffering from resistive hypertension who failed to respond to conventional medical therapy, the stakes were huge for catheter-based...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Thinking Warm Thoughts About Trade Shows
While most of the country is in the grip of the polar vortex, I’m thinking warm thoughts about places with palm trees—places like Anaheim, California, where I’ll be this month for MD&M West. February kicks off the first round of medical technology trade shows.
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — The Future Is Here
About a month ago, I had a chance to watch the award-winning documentary “The Incredible Bionic Man,” built entirely of prosthetic parts and implantable synthetic organs by leading scientists and roboticists, and hosted by the Smithsonian Channel. I was transported a future that was barely envisioned by...
From the Editor: Medical
The end of the year is practically upon us so let’s take a quick look back at some of the highlights of 2013. On January 1, 2013, the 2.3% Medical Device Excise Tax, which manufacturers and importers...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — These Advances Are Sweet News
November is American Diabetes Month and the American Diabetes Association offers some sobering statistics. Nearly 26 million people in the US have diabetes, and as many as one in three adults will have diabetes by 2050.
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — What Are Students Up To?
The school year has barely begun and what are students up to? Pretty amazing things, if they’re anything like the students who won grants from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Grants are also awarded to faculty who ignite a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Which Message Gets Delivered?
The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association announced in July that medical device manufacturers have now paid $1 billion to the Internal Revenue Service for the medical device excise tax. Their...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Sign of the Times or a Warning?
In mid-June, Charles “Chip” Starnes, a co-owner of Specialty Medical Supplies (SMS), Coral Gables, FL, a manufacturer of disposable medical products, visited the company’s factory in Beijing, China. He intended to personally lay off and distribute severance packages to about 30 employees of...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Made to Order … in Minutes, Not Months
Close to twenty years ago, I remember writing about the big news at that time—that Dr. Charles Vacanti of the University of Massachusetts, with the assistance of other researchers including Dr. Linda Griffith-Cima from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), had created a scaffold,...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Getting Boston Bombing Victims Back on Their ‘Feet’
The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) launched its “Coalition to Walk and Run Again,” an effort to aid uninsured and underinsured victims of the April 15th Boston Marathon terror attack. The bombing killed 3 people and left more than 200 injured,...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — A Tale of Three Patients
In the same week in late March, three friends/family of mine entered three different hospitals in three different states. Their illnesses were very different and had varied results.
From the Editor: Robotics, Automation & Control
From the Editor — It’s Showtime!
At the time of this writing I am just back from MD&M West in Anaheim. What a pleasure to meet with representatives from so many of the companies who have graced these pages and more still to come. This, coming right after BIOS/Photonics West in San Francisco, officially kicks off the medical device...
From the Editor: Medical
In The Evolution of Physics, Albert Einstein says: “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Take Heart
February is American Heart Month—a time to take stock of our heart health and endeavor to improve it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. In fact, heart disease is the number one killer...
From the Editor: Medical
From the Editor — Rapid Growth and Exciting Changes
You may have noticed that there have been some changes afoot at Medical Design Briefs. I’m very pleased to have been come aboard as the new Editor effective with the August 2012 issue. It’s an exciting time for the magazine, having just completed its first full year as a monthly, and...
Top Stories
INSIDER: Medical
Biotech Startup Turns to Space to Manufacture Artificial Retinas
INSIDER: Design
AI-Designed Shape-Shifting Microneedles Aid Diabetic Wound Healing
Blog: Medical
Why the U.S. and China Are Taking Different Paths on Pig-to-Human Organs
Features: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Where Test Plans Break: Measuring the Performance of Ultra-Miniature...
Podcasts: Medical
Why the Next Medical Breakthrough May Come from Space
Podcasts: Design
How Smart Implants and AI Robotics Could Transform Neurological Surgery
Ask the Expert
Ralph Bright on the Power of Power Cords
Understanding power system components and how to connect them correctly is critical to meeting regulatory requirements and designing successful electrical products for worldwide markets. Interpower’s Ralph Bright defines these requirements and explains how to know which cord to select for your application.
Webcasts
Editorial Webinars: Medical
Design for Miniaturization: Meeting the Demand for Smaller, Smarter, and More...
Summits: Medical
2026 Medical & Healthcare Robotics Summit (Online)
Podcasts: Medical
Making Telemedicine Work in Low-Connectivity Environments
Podcasts: Medical
Why the Next Medical Breakthrough May Come from Space
Webinars: Medical
How to Avoid Chemical Characterization Pitfalls in Medical Devices
Podcasts: Wearables
Inside Story
Inside Story: Trends in Packaging and Sterilization
Eurofins Medical Device Testing (MDT) provides a full scope of testing services. In this interview, Eurofins’ experts, Sunny Modi, PhD, Director of Package Testing; and Elizabeth Sydnor, Director of Microbiology; answer common questions on medical device packaging and sterilization.
