INSIDER

Loss of eyesight is often caused by retinal degeneration as people age. But, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Centers for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, both in Israel, and Newcastle University, OK, are developing a prosthetic...

A team of researchers at researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen, Germany, have developed load bearing, biodegradable implants that are completely degradable in the body. As a first step, they have used powder injection molding to manufacture...

More than 10 percent of babies worldwide are born prematurely, often requiring costly time spent in an incubator. According to the World Health Organization, 75 percent of deaths resulting from premature birth could be avoided if inexpensive treatments were more readily available across the globe....

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer among males, making proper diagnosis extremely important. Distinguishing between biopsied benign and malignant prostate tissue can be difficult. A new prototype device developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies und...

Researchers at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, are close to commercializing a new type of medical imaging technology that could diagnose cardiovascular disease by measuring ultrasound signals from molecules exposed to a fast-pulsing laser.

A team of researchers at the University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, are using sensor technology placed in the helmets of their football players to help measure the force of on-field hits to better understand and prevent concussions and treat them before they cause lasting damage.

Electrical engineers at the Novel Devices Lab at theUniversity of Cincinnati have created a lightweight, wearable device that can analyze sweat using a smartphone, which, they say, can gather vital medical information in almost real time, and provide more accurate health diagnostics in a way...

Each year, nearly 4,000 children go to emergency rooms after swallowing button batteries, which can cause burns that damage the esophagus, tears in the digestive tract, and in some cases, even death. To help prevent such injuries, researchers at MIT, Cambridge, MA, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Massachusetts...

Individuals in industrial associations, educational institutions, and government organizations who are interested in composite materials made from constituent materials with different physical or chemical properties now have free, 24/7 access to simulation tools through an online community with...

A team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, working with cardiologists in Madrid, Spain, say that they have developed a novel ultrasound technology that makes cardiac screening cheaper and much easier, making it possible to reach a larger number of people of all ages. They used...

Researchers from the University of Miami reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology that they have developed a fast and inexpensive way to make facial prostheses for eye cancer patients using facial scanning software and 3D printing. Their process can create...

Engineers at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, say that a new medical imaging method they are developing may help physicians detect cancer and other diseases earlier than before, speeding treatment, and reducing the need for invasive, time-consuming biopsies. Their technique uses...

A team of engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing see-through implantable medical sensor arrays, in order to help neural researchers study the brain. The technology, they say, has potential applications in neuroscience, cardiac care, and even contact lenses.

Treating those most severely affected by epilepsy traditionally meant drilling through the skull intothe hippocampus area of the brain where the seizures originate, which is invasive, dangerous, and requires a long recovery. A team of engineers at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, wanted to find a...

A team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh, along with collaborators at the University of Cincinnati, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, are developing implantable medical devices made from biodegradable metals that can dissolve within a fixed time period,...

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD, has demonstrated a laser-based imaging system that creates high-definition 3D maps of surfaces from as far away as 10.5 meters. They say that this method may be useful in diverse fields, including...

A team of engineers at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, has invented a wireless pressure sensor that can measure brain pressure in lab mice with brain injuries. But that’s not all. The technology, they say, could one day be used to create skin-like materials that can sense pressure,...

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have discovered that patterns of electric signals sent by a computer into nerves in a patient’s arm and to his brain, can give distinct sensations of touch to the patient’s...

The safe use of silver ions in antibacterial textiles has been a matter of debate worldwide, with consumers increasingly seeking a proven alternative. Sweden’s national agency for chemical inspection has ruled silver a health risk, citing possible damage to human genetic material,...

A scientist at the University of Eastern Finland has developed a new, easy-to-use electroencephalography (EEG) electrode set to measure electrical activity of the brain. The new design allows the user to attach the electrode set to the patient quickly, without any special treatment of the skin. Its design also pays...

Engineers at Oregon State University, Corvallis, have developed an implantable device using a simple pulley mechanism to improve hand function after surgery. They say that this is one of the first instruments ever created that could improve the transmission of mechanical forces and movement while implanted...

Chips that could use light, instead of electricity, to move data would consume much less power—a growing concern as chips’ transistor counts rise. Of the three chief components of optical circuits—light emitters, modulators, and detectors—emitters are the toughest to build....

Silicon is generally the material of choice in the electronics industry. Yet transistors, the switchable valves that control the flow of electrons in a circuit, cannot simply keep shrinking to meet the needs of powerful, compact devices. Physical limitations like energy consumption and heat...

A team of scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, invented a Wearable Artificial Kidney device, designed to untether patients from large dialysis machines. The device can give patients with end-stage renal failure a degree of mobility and freedom for such routine activities as...

By creating easy to snap together components, a team of scientists at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, Los Angeles, say that it is now possible to build a 3D microfluidic system quickly and cheaply. Microfluidic systems are used to precisely manipulate small volumes of...

While wearable electronic activity monitors may help users reach their fitness and health goals, choosing the right one and remaining motivated enough to wear it may be the bigger hurdle. A team of researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston took on the task of analyzing more than a dozen...

When a patient has sepsis, in which bacteria or fungi multiply too swiftly in a patient's blood for antibiotics to help, the result is often deadly. However, a new device inspired by the human spleen and developed by a team at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, MA,...

To get an accurate MRI, the patient must lie completely still for a long period in a confined space, be able to hold their breath on command, and withstand loud banging noises. That’s why it’s often very difficult to get young children to comply, even though they may need the scans for their healthcare.