INSIDER

Physicians and engineers at Johns Hopkins and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center have developed a computer platform that provides rapid, real-time feedback before and during facial transplant surgery. The achievement may someday improve face-jaw-teeth alignment between donor...

Researchers from the National University of Singapore have created an endoscopic probe that delivers adjustable-focus capabilities in a slimmer package. The miniature and solid tunable-lens technology enables compact optical zoom with autofocus capability. The device switches from a wide field-of-view...

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF SUNY) will lead a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute to secure US leadership in manufacturing integrated photonics. The new institute, announced by Vice President Biden, will focus on emerging technologies, including “needleless” tests for...

Researchers at Purdue University discovered a simple way to control a type of metal deformation known as sinuous flow. Supressing the deformation could reduce the energy required to process metals and lead to more efficient machining.

According to the FDA’s Center for Devices & Radiological Health, the agency has announced the fee rates and payment procedures for medical device user fees for fiscal year 2016, which begins October 1. The agency is raising the fees by 4.2%.

An interdisciplinary team led by Stanford electrical engineer Krishna Shenoy has developed a technique to make brain-controlled prostheses more precise. The prostheses analyze the neuron sample and instantly make dozens of corrective adjustments to the estimate of the brain's electrical pattern.

High costs have hampered the deployment of biomedical devices for health monitoring, point-of-care diagnostics, and environmental sensing. To reduce the price of the devices and allow for their high-volume delivery, scientists from the Technical University of Dresden in Germany created a lightweight and...

A sterile medical device preserved the health of a deceased donor liver and allowed the organ to repair itself. The liver was then successfully transplanted to a 43-year-old patient in Ontario. The device, which mimics human physiological functions, is part of a Phase 1 clinical trial at UHN's...

Using sound waves, researchers from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering gently culled circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples. The contact-free nature of the method assures that original cell characteristics are maintained.

The smartphone app MoveSense, developed by engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, uses analyses of a cardiopulmonary patient's walk to predict oxygen saturation levels. The health-tracking app can be used on a standard smartphone, and oxygen saturation is measured without the use of a...

Researchers at the University of Delaware have received a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to develop new nanostructures that act like a ratchet, combining the energy of two red photons of light into a single, higher-energy blue photon. The light-changing technology could improve solar...

A smart hydrogel coating from Georgia Institute of Technology creates “stick-slip” control of capillary action. By placing the material inside of glass microtubes, capillary forces are altered and draw water differently. The researchers' discovery could provide a new way to control microfluidic...

Using a "photo-doping" process, Michigan State University scientists changed the electronic properties of materials in a way that more easily allows an electrical current to pass through. By shooting an ultrafast laser pulse into the material, the properties change and appear chemically...

A team of fiber scientists at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, have created cotton fabric that, they say, can kill bacteria, conduct electricity, ward off malaria, capture harmful gas, and weave transistors into clothing. They explain that cotton, a cellulose-based material, can be controlled one atom at a...

New research from Stanford University sheds light on how neurons control muscle movement. The findings could be applied to create better brain-controlled prosthetic devices, such as robotic arms.

Using high-quality, low-cost graphene, researchers from the University of Exeter have created a transparent, flexible touch-sensor that could enable the development of artificial skin.

A new technique developed by Kansas State University students allows individuals to personalize their prosthetic with new "skins." The covers are made from flexible resins and plastics.

Using a 3D bioprinter, a group of engineers at Chalmers University of Technology have created objects made entirely by cellulose. The additive manufacturing process could be used to build patient-specific implants, new sensors, and wound dressings that communicate with healthcare workers.

A new study from Montreal's Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) found that a commonly used plasticizer known as DINCH exerts biological effects on the metabolic processes of mammals. DINCH is found in products that come into close contact with humans, such as...

The electromagnetic radiation caused by wireless technology can interfere with electronic medical equipment and lead to serious clinical consequences for patients. New research from Concordia University helps to define safety parameters for health-care workers carrying Wi-Fi...

By integrating two common imaging techniques, experts from Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital have produced a three-dimensional anatomic model of a patient’s heart. The hybrid prototype could provide better diagnostic capability and improved interventional and surgical...

Using nanowires, Purdue University researchers has created a new implantable drug-delivery system that can be wirelessly controlled. The nanowires respond to an electromagnetic field generated by a separate device, which can be used to release a pre-loaded drug. The engineering team says that...

Changchun "Chad" Zeng from Florida State University's High Performance Materials Institute (HPMI) has developed a new auxetic foam. Prosthetic socks made from the foam will help amputees adjust prosthetic devices to their specific limb shape and volume.

Using a 3D printer and detailed computer simulations, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology produced soft material with controllable surface textures that can be varied by squeezing. By creating smooth, ridged, or custom-patterned surfaces at will, the technique will allow...

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created thin, flexible electronic devices that efficiently harvest the mechanical energy from natural motions of the human body. In addition to advances in materials processing to enable fabrication of these thin film devices, accurate analytical models...

A team of scientists from the University of Twente in The Netherlands has discovered a way to 3D print structures of copper and gold, by stacking microscopically small metal droplets. These droplets are made by melting a thin metal film using a pulsed laser. They say that this technology would allow...

A robotic glove built by a team of engineers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) could assist patients suffering from loss of hand motor control.

An injectable hydrogel from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science helps skin wounds heal more quickly. An instant scaffold created by the material allows new tissue to latch on and grow within the cavities formed between linked spheres of gel.

University of Illinois engineers have created heat-activated self-destructing electronic devices. A radio-controlled trigger remotely prompts the process on demand.