Tech Briefs

Discovery Takes Pressure Off Blood Measurements

The portable blood pressure monitoring device provides data continuously to patients.

Ultrasound Helps Make 3D Printed Alloys Stronger

Researchers have used sound vibrations to shake metal alloy grains into tighter formation during 3D printing.

Researchers Develop Ultra-Thin, Ultra-Flexible Electronic Material

Nanothin flexible touchscreens could be printed like newspaper.

Hybrid Technique Aims to Produce Stronger, Corrosion-Resistant Nickel

In the process, a high-yield electrodeposition is applied on certain conductive substrates.

Using Plasma Treatments to Improve, Enhance Medical Devices

Whether attempting to improve adhesion of dissimilar materials, depositing coatings, cleaning surfaces, applying a protective coating that repels water for example or biological fluids...

Safer Helmets Reduce Potential for Traumatic Injury

“Seventy-five percent of all fatal motorcycle accidents globally involve brain injury, with rotational forces acting on the brain being the primary cause of death,” According to NHTSA. By...

Skin-Like Sensors Bring a Human Touch to Wearable Tech

University of Toronto engineering researchers have developed a super stretchy, transparent, and self-powering sensor that records the complex sensations of human skin. Dubbed artificial...

Bone Bandage Soaks Up Pro-Healing Biochemical to Accelerate Repair

Researchers at Duke University have engineered a bandage that captures and holds a pro-healing molecule at the site of a bone break to accelerate and improve the natural healing...

Ultra-Miniaturized Microendoscope Produces Higher-Quality Images

Johns Hopkins engineers have created a new lens-free, ultra-miniaturized endoscope — the width of only a few human hairs — that is capable of producing high-quality images....

Bandage Material Helps Stop Bleeding Without Adhering to Wound

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the National University of Singapore have developed a new kind of bandage that helps blood to clot and doesn’t stick to the wound. This marks the...

Diagnosing Prostate Cancer with Artificial Intelligence

Researchers at Radboud UMC have developed a “deep learning” system that is better than most pathologists at determining the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. The AI system, which uses...

Smart Photonic Contact Lens for Diabetic Diagnosis and Retinopathy Treatment

Diabetic patients need to measure their blood sugar level by drawing blood before and after a meal. It is easy to develop complications due to diabetes. Recently, a...

Electronic Skin for Haptic Interfaces Is Light, Tight, and Battery Free

A system of “electronic skin-integrated haptic interfaces” jointly developed by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and other academic institutions can help users of...

Liquid Flow Influenced by a Quantum Effect in Water

Water is the basis of all life on earth. Its structure is simple — two hydrogen atoms bound to one oxygen atom — yet its behavior is unique among liquids, and scientists still do not fully...

Active Implants Receives FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for NUsurface Meniscus Implant

FDA has granted a Breakthrough Device Designation to Active Implants’ NUsurface® Meniscus Implant. Active Implants, LLC develops orthopedic implant...

Options for Reducing Friction When Using Silicone Elastomers

Silicone has a long and proven history of use with medical devices and can provide many benefits, from flexibility to cushioning. When working with some medical devices, however,...

Injectable, Flexible Electrode Could Replace Rigid Nerve-Stimulating Implants

By electrically stimulating nerves, neuromodulation therapies can reduce epileptic seizures, soothe chronic pain, and treat depression and a host of other health...

Low-Field MRI Improves Lung, Cardiac Imaging

National Institutes of Health researchers, along with researchers at Siemens, have developed a high-performance, low-magnetic-field MRI system that vastly improves image quality of the lungs and...

Double-Sided Tape for Tissues Could Replace Surgical Sutures

Inspired by a sticky substance that spiders use to catch their prey, MIT engineers have designed a double-sided tape that can rapidly seal tissues together.

Good Design Controls Are Critical to Avoiding FDA Issues

Medical device companies recognize that having an emphasis on design controls helps to assure good design and engineering practices that yield high-quality solutions. This is critical...

New Silk Materials Can Wrinkle into Detailed Patterns, Then Unwrinkle to Be “Reprinted”

Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed silk materials that can wrinkle into highly detailed patterns — including words,...

Prototype Smartphone App Can Help Parents Detect Early Signs of Eye Disorders in Children

A Baylor University researcher’s prototype smartphone app — designed to help parents detect early signs of various eye diseases in their children such...

Implantable Cancer Traps Could Provide Earlier Diagnosis, Help Monitor Treatment

Invasive procedures to biopsy tissue from cancer-tainted organs could be replaced by simply taking samples from a tiny “decoy” implanted just beneath the skin,...

Bioelectronic Implant Could Prevent Opioid Deaths

Researchers are developing a novel, implantable device that can sense the effects of a potentially fatal level of ingested opioids and then automatically and immediately deliver a life-saving...

Novel Applications of Electrospinning Could Improve Devices

When you visit Andrew Steckl’s lab at the University of Cincinnati, you see a nondescript glass box that weaves together different fibers. He sees endless possibility.

Controlling Wheelchairs with a Wearable Brain-Machine Interface

Combining new classes of nanomembrane electrodes with flexible electronics and a deep learning algorithm could help disabled people wirelessly control an electric wheelchair,...

A Fast, Simple Sampling Method for Characterizing Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from Medical Devices

In 2018, an update on regulations for respiratory medical devices meant that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the devices...

Scientists Create Pancreas on a Chip

By combining two powerful technologies, scientists are taking diabetes research to a whole new level. In a study led by Harvard University’s Kevin Kit Parker and published in the journal Lab on a Chip,...

A Smart Artificial Hand for Amputees Merges User and Robotic Control

EPFL scientists are developing new approaches for improved control of robotic hands — in particular for amputees — that combines individual finger control and automation...