Tech Briefs

Low-Cost, Noninvasive Test Can Evaluate Muscle Health

A new, noninvasive test developed by researchers at the University of Georgia shows how exercise can help people with neurological injuries and illnesses. Until now, evaluating the muscle...

Supercapacitor Could Make Implantables Battery-Free, Longer Lasting

Researchers from UCLA and the University of Connecticut have designed a new biofriendly energy storage system called a biological supercapacitor, which operates using charged...

Orthopedic Implant Could Provide Superior Support to Damaged Bones

Purdue University researchers are developing a nontoxic, biodegradable orthopedic implant that could be safely absorbed by the body after providing adequate support to damaged...

Wearable Sweat Sensor Can Diagnose Cystic Fibrosis

A wristband-type wearable sweat sensor could transform diagnostics and drug evaluation for cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and other diseases.

Black Silicon Prevents Eye Implant from Gumming Up

A team of researchers led by Caltech's Hyuck Choo has developed an eye implant for glaucoma patients that could one day lead to more timely and effective treatment.

Flexible Glass Opens Door for Tiny Medical Devices

Brigham Young University researchers have developed glass technology that could add a new level of flexibility to the microscopic world of medical devices.

3D Printable Implants May Ease Damaged Knees

A cartilage-mimicking material created by researchers at Duke University may one day allow surgeons to 3D print replacement knee parts that are custom-shaped to each patient's anatomy.

Portable Nanofiber Device Offers Precise Control for Fabricating 3D Tissue

There are many ways to make nanofibers. These versatile materials — whose target applications include everything from tissue engineering to bulletproof vests — have...

Complex Nanoparticle Crystal Could Deliver Therapeutics

The most complex crystal designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. The work demonstrates that some...

Nanoparticle Technology Enhances Effectiveness of Radiotherapy

The nanoscale is creating a massive paradigm shift. Referring to structures of between 1 and 100 nm, the nanoscale is marked as the point where the properties of a material change...

High-Precision Surgical Robot Embeds Cochlear Implant

A team of surgeons and engineers from Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern, Switzerland, have developed a...

Paper-Based Virus Diagnostic Can Be Easily Administered

Fear of the Zika virus is spreading as images of afflicted infants fill the news. Hoping to foil Zika's rapid advance, researchers from the Wyss Institute in Boston, along with colleagues...

Microgel Composite Could Overcome Fibrin Blockade to Accelerate Healing

In regenerative medicine, the ideal repair material would offer properties that seem impossibly contradictory. It must be rigid and robust enough to be manipulated...

Bionic Pancreas Passes Critical Science Hurdle

On the heels of winning $12 million in supplemental funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a major, multicenter, national clinical trial of his iLet™ bionic pancreas,...

Knitted Stent Unravels for Complete Removal from Patient

Stents are cylindrical mesh tubes that can be placed in arteries or in the lungs to open blockages or areas that are narrow or weak. Traditional stents work well, but one disadvantage is...

Wearable Sensors Created from Biocompatible Hydrogel

Engineers and biologists at MIT have teamed up to design a new “living material” — a tough, stretchy, biocompatible sheet of hydrogel injected with live cells that are genetically...

Engineers Create Artificial Skin That ‘Feels’ Temperature Changes

A team of engineers and scientists have developed an artificial skin capable of detecting temperature changes using a mechanism similar to the one used by the organ that...

Sonic Cyber Attack Shows Security Holes in Ubiquitous Sensors

Sound waves could be used to hack into critical sensors in a broad array of technologies including medical devices, smart-phones, automobiles, and the Internet of Things, University...

Industry 4.0: Virtual Twin Controls Production

Efficient production control is a key industrial technology. The notion of building up two parallel factories instead of one may sound like nothing but doubling of effort. But what if one of the...

Living Polymerization Enables Adaptable 3D Printing

Three-dimensional printing technology makes it possible to rapidly manufacture objects by depositing layer upon layer of polymers in a precisely determined pattern. Once these objects are...

Soft Robot Offers New Treatment Option for Heart Failure

Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital researchers have developed a customizable soft robot that fits around a heart and helps it beat, potentially opening new treatment...

Researchers Use Nature's Weaving Formula to Engineer Advanced Functional Materials

For the first time, biomedical engineers have woven a “smart” fabric that mimics the sophisticated and complex properties of one of nature's ingenious...

Sound Waves Create Whirlpools to Round Up Tiny Signs of Disease

Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a tiny whirlpool that can concentrate nanoparticles using nothing but sound. The innovation could gather proteins and...

Blood-Repellent Materials: A New Approach to Medical Implants

Medical implants like stents, catheters and tubing introduce risk for blood clotting and infection — a perpetual problem for many patients.

Wearable ‘Watches’ to Monitor Your Blood Pressure

What if there were a wearable fitness device that could monitor your blood pressure continuously, 24 hours a day? Unfortunately, blood pressure measurements currently require the use of a...

New Graphene-Based System Could Help ‘See’ Electrical Signaling in Heart and Nerve Cells

Scientists have enlisted the exotic properties of graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, to function like the film of an incredibly sensitive...

‘Liquid Biopsy’ Chip Detects Metastatic Cancer Cells in a Drop of Blood

A chip developed by mechanical engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Worcester, MA, can trap and identify metastatic cancer cells in a small amount of...

Advanced Mobility Aid Addresses Failings of Current Devices

Researchers from the Medical Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (ARMC), Sheffield, UK, are developing an advanced mobility aid that could change the lives of millions of disabled...

Hydrogel Dressing Could Eliminate Traditional Bandages for Burns

For patients with second-degree burns, it’s not always the initial injury that hurts most. The daily, sometimes hours-long bandage changes can be the most excruciating ordeal.