Tech Briefs

Flexible Organic Sensor Acts as Self-Powered Heart Monitor

Self-powered devices that can be fit directly on human skin or tissue have great potential for medical applications. They could be used as physiological sensors for the real-time...

Electronic Capsule Measures Gases in the Gut

An electronic capsule that measures gases in the gut to revolutionize the diagnosis of gut disorders could be available within four years, following an agreement between RMIT and Atmo Biosciences.

Handheld Probe Images Photoreceptors in Children

Duke University researchers have developed a handheld probe that can image individual photoreceptors in the eyes of infants. The technology, based on adaptive optics, will make it easier for...

Metal Tubing Offers Flexibility for Disposable Devices

Traditional handheld surgical tools continue to provide benefits where surgeons need instruments to be more rigid and have strong holding power to withstand complex procedures. The majority...

Ferroelectric Switching in 2D Tungsten Produces Spontaneous Electrical Polarization

The general public might think of the 21st century as an era of revolutionary technological platforms, such as smart-phones or social media. But for many...

Sugar-Powered Sensor Detects, Prevents Disease

Researchers at Washington State University have developed an implantable, biofuel-powered sensor that runs on sugar and can monitor a body's biological signals to detect, prevent and diagnose...

Negative-Stiffness Vibration Isolation Facilitates Neuronal Research into Animal Learning and Memory

Micro- and nano-level microscopy, whether used in academic laboratories or industry, is susceptible to vibrations from the environment,...

Research Collaboration Could Reshape Injection Molding

As Ralph Colby peers at the microscope image in front of him, he thinks he can make them out — “shish kebabs,” as polymer scientists call them. Nobody knows for sure what they are,...

Addressing Challenges in Personalized Medicine

Modern medicine has been able to drastically improve the quality of life of the global population. Diseases such as polio, syphilis, tuberculosis, or the plague have been almost eradicated and are...

Training Artificial Intelligence with Artificial X-Rays

Artificial intelligence (AI) holds real potential for improving both the speed and accuracy of medical diagnostics. But before clinicians can harness the power of AI to identify conditions...

Using Direct Current with Inverter Technology Reduces Costs and Improves Control

Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity....

How Second Stage Speed Influences the Molding Process

Hold speed or hold velocity? How many machines today have it, and what does it do to the process?

Biosensor Chip Detects Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Wirelessly and with Higher Sensitivity

A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a chip that can detect a type of genetic mutation known as a single nucleotide...

Wireless Pressure-Sensing Eye Implant Could Help Prevent Blindness

Researchers at Caltech have developed an implantable pressure sensor that can reside in the human eye for years at a time while wirelessly sending data about the eye’s health...

Tests Prove Immersion Method of Production of Implantable Devices is Effective

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major, yet often preventable threat to patient safety, and they can have a significant impact on the survival rate of...

New Patch Boosts Brightness in Medical Diagnostic Tests

Fluorescence-based biosensing and bioimaging technologies are widely used in research and clinical settings to detect and image various biological species of interest. While...

Scientists Create Continuously Emitting Microlasers With Nanoparticle-Coated Beads

Researchers have found a way to convert nanoparticle-coated microscopic beads into lasers smaller than red blood cells. These microlasers, which convert...

Low-Cost Plastic Sensors Could Monitor a Range of Health Conditions

An international team of researchers have developed a low-cost sensor made from semiconducting plastic that can be used to diagnose or monitor a wide range of health...

Low-Voltage Cap Could Improve DBS Devices

Treatment to control involuntary body movements characteristic of Parkinson's disease could someday be guided by brain signals recorded by electrodes inside a fashionable hat. That is a piece of a...

Bringing a Human Touch to Modern Prosthetics

Amputees often experience the sensation of a “phantom limb”—a feeling that a missing body part is still there. That sensory illusion is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a team of...

Promising Research Could Lead to New Strategies in NMR and MRI Using Diamonds and Lasers

Defects in the lattice of diamonds produce more than just beautiful coloration. A new approach developed by researchers at UC Berkeley's College of...

Engineers Design Color-Changing Compression Bandage

Compression therapy is a standard form of treatment for patients who suffer from venous ulcers and other conditions in which veins struggle to return blood from the lower extremities....

Improved 3D Printing for Patient-Specific Medical Diagnosis

What if you could hold a physical model of your own brain in your hands, accurate down to its every unique fold? That's just a normal part of life for Steven Keating, PhD, who had a...

Ultrathin Endoscope Captures Neurons Firing Deep in the Brain

Researchers have developed an endoscope as thin as a human hair that can image the activity of neurons in the brains of living mice. Because it is so thin, the endoscope can reach...

AI Prediction Method Developed for Epileptic Seizures

Epileptic seizures strike with little warning, and nearly one third of people living with epilepsy are resistant to treatment that controls these attacks. More than 250,000 Australians and...

Guide to FDA Requirements and Importance of Medical Device Calibration

Calibration of a device is carried out to minimize the uncertainty in measurements. It helps in reducing the errors and brings the measurement to an acceptable level. With...

Mobile Phone Detection of Atrial Fibrillation

Because atrial fibrillation (AF) often does not present symptoms, stroke is too often its first manifestation. For effective stroke prevention, timely diagnosis of AF is crucial. Mobile devices are...

Simple Method Developed for 3D Biofabrication Based on Bacterial Cellulose

Bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers are promising building blocks for the development of sustainable materials with the potential to outperform conventional synthetic...

Implantable Islet Cells Come with Their Own Oxygen Supply

Since the 1960s, researchers have been interested in the possibility of treating type 1 diabetes by transplanting islet cells — the pancreatic cells that are responsible for producing...