Tech Briefs

Researchers Develop Eco-Friendly Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives

Chemical engineering researchers at Oregon State University have developed a vegetable-oil-based adhesive that could provide an eco-friendly option in making items such as bandages,...

Prosthetic Arm Can Move and Feel

Keven Walgamott had a good “feeling” about picking up the egg without crushing it.

Closing the Terahertz Gap: Tiny Laser Is Important Step Toward New Sensors

In a major step toward developing portable scanners that can rapidly measure molecules in pharmaceuticals or classify tissue in patients’ skin, researchers have...

Less Training Needed for Brain-Machine Interfaces

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are rarely found outside of medical clinics, where the disabled receive hours or days of training in order to operate wheelchairs with their minds. Now the...

Smart Brain Stimulators: Next-Generation Parkinson's Disease Therapy

Researchers at the University of Houston have found neuro biomarkers for Parkinson's disease that can help create the next generation of “smart” deep brain stimulators,...

Ultraviolet Rays Quickly Bash Bacteria on Mobile Devices

Ultraviolet light has been used for more than 30 years as a source of disinfectant. A newly introduced product uses the technology to eliminate bacteria on cell phones, tablets and other...

3D Printing Process Maximizes Performance for Paek Parts

To help customers with an accelerated route to market for 3D printed polyaryletherketone (PAEK) parts, UK-based Victrex has developed differentiated 3D printing [additive manufacturing...

High-Volume Electrospinning Production Platform for Medical Devices

A newly developed platform has been designed for large-scale industrial manufacturing of reproducible and scalable fiber-based scaffolds for Class I, II and III medical...

NIST Research Sparks New Insights on Laser Welding

On its surface, the work is deceptively simple: Shoot a high-power laser beam onto a piece of metal for a fraction of a second and see what happens. But researchers say the physics of laser...

Cancer Device Determines Whether Targeted Chemotherapy Is Working

Rutgers University researchers have created a device that can determine whether targeted chemotherapy drugs are working on individual cancer patients. The portable device, which...

3D Printed Pill Samples Gut Microbiome to Aid Diagnosis and Treatment

A research team led by Tufts University engineers has developed a 3D printed pill that samples bacteria found in the gut — known as the microbiome — as it passes through...

Senior Virtual Assistant Mitigates Impact of Dementia and Delirium

An estimated 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia, resulting in more than $1 trillion each year in healthcare costs. Artificial emotional intelligence (AEI)...

Tiny Vibration-Powered Robots Can Work Together

Researchers have created a new type of tiny 3D printed robot that moves by harnessing vibration from piezoelectric actuators, ultrasound sources, or even tiny speakers. Swarms of these...

Tiny Biodegradable Circuits Release Painkillers Inside the Body

Patients fitted with an orthopedic prosthetic commonly experience a period of intense pain after surgery. In an effort to control the pain, surgeons inject painkillers into the...

How Patent Landscape Studies Can Guide Medical Device Innovation

By design, the patent system generates a wealth of technical know-how with respect to new technologies. It chronicles the technical challenges others have faced in the past and...

New Optical Endoscopy Using Ultrasound Could Replace Scopes

One day, scopes may no longer need to be inserted into the body — such as down the throat or under the skin — to reach the stomach, brain, or any other organs for examination.

Digitalizing Rehabilitation with Wearable Solutions

ExoRehab is an IoT rehabilitation solution that combines robotics, gaming, and data analysis. Digitalizing physical therapy for muscle rehabilitation enables patients to acquire therapeutic...

Engineers 3D Print Flexible Mesh for Ankle and Knee Braces

Hearing aids, dental crowns, and limb prosthetics are some of the medical devices that can now be digitally designed and customized for individual patients, thanks to 3D printing....

Four Best Practices for Software Testing

Great quality assurance is what turns great software into great product. Testing is a crucial part of any software development process, whether to ensure safety in a medical device, to minimize risk in a...

Wearable System to Sense and Stimulate the Brain

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University is starting a project to design and implement a noninvasive neural interface that can be used as a wearable device. This neural interface...

Miniature Robot Could Check Colons for Early Signs of Disease

Engineers have shown it is technically possible to guide a tiny robotic capsule inside the colon to take micro-ultrasound images. Known as a Sonopill, the device could one day...

Advanced Design Tools for Additively Manufactured Medical Devices

While the regulatory and validation burden can be high, it's not surprising that the medical device industry is one of the earliest adopters of additive manufacturing (AM, aka 3D...

Chemists Develop Nanoscale Bioabsorbable Wound Dressing

Scientists at Texas A&M University are harnessing the combined power of organic nanomaterials-based chemistry and a natural product found in crustacean exoskeletons to help bring...

Researchers Create Soft, Flexible Materials with Enhanced Properties

A team of polymer chemists and engineers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new methodology that can be used to create a class of stretchable polymer composites...

Robotics Motion Control: The Complex Relationship Between Movement and Task

As more medical companies seek robots for increasingly complex tasks such as robotic-assisted surgeries, systems developers tasked with building these robots see an...

Coached by Brainwaves, Hearing Device Singles Out Speaker in a Crowd

The next generation of hearing aids might match a listener's brainwaves with the “soundprint” of a speaker's voice, using that information to automatically turn up the...

Taking Advanced Surgical Robotics Beyond the Surgical Suite

In use for nearly 20 years, robotic surgery utilizing the da Vinci Surgical System has become a standard technique by hospitals in the United States and Europe when performing...

3D Printed Pipette Tip Lowers Cost of Common Medical Test

A desire for a simpler, cheaper way to do common laboratory tests for medical diagnoses and to avoid “washing the dishes” led University of Connecticut researchers to develop a new...

Headset Controls: Empowering Disabled People with a Software Tool Suite

NOW Technologies is a close-knit, dedicated team of professionals working to help people with disabilities to live an independent life. Based in Budapest, Hungary, and...