Implants & Prosthetics

When children are born with a missing heart ventricle, doctors can perform a Fontan surgical procedure; the operation creates a passive circulation network to replace the blood pumping function. Inefficiency in circulation, however, often increases over time. A heart pump motor, using NASA Glenn Research...

Researchers at University of Toronto Engineering have developed a platform for growing realistic human heart and liver tissue outside the body. The AngioChip could help drug companies discover and prevent negative side effects.

University of Utah engineers have discovered a 2D semiconducting material that could lead to much faster electronics. The technology potentially allows medical devices, such as electronic implants, to run longer on a single battery charge.

Rice University bioengineering researchers have modified a commercial-grade CO2 laser cutter to create OpenSLS: an open-source, selective laser sintering platform that prints intricate 3D objects from powdered plastics and biomaterials.

Using a 3D printer and a “bio-ink” made of materials compatible with the human body, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have successfully created structures with living cells and biomaterials. The material and environment are engineered to enable small blood vessels, including human...

Tufts University biomedical engineers are using low-energy, ultrafast laser technology to make high-resolution, 3D structures in silk protein hydrogels. The laser-based micropatterning represents a new approach to customized engineering of tissue and biomedical implants.

Children with under-formed or missing ears can undergo surgeries to fashion a new ear from rib cartilage. Aspiring surgeons, however, lack lifelike practice models. A University of Washington otolaryngology resident and bioengineering student 3D-printed a low-cost pediatric rib cartilage model that more closely...

A team of engineers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a neuromuscular control method that reproduces normal walking patterns and effectively responds to disturbances as the leg begins to swing forward. The discovered principles may aid not only leg prostheses, but also legged robots.

Thanks to a new grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), researchers led by UC San Francisco bioengineer Shuvo Roy and Vanderbilt University nephrologist William Fissell will develop a surgically implantable artificial kidney. The Kidney...

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a synthetic, sticky hydrogel that is more than 90 percent water. The transparent, rubber-like hydrogel adheres to surfaces such as glass, silicon, ceramics, aluminum, and titanium with a toughness comparable to the bond between...

A 3D printer built by Northeastern University researchers uses magnetic fields to shape composite materials. The mixes of plastics and ceramics can be shaped into patient-​​specific products, including customized implants and catheters for premature babies.

A plastic skin-like material created by Stanford University detects pressure and delivers a Morse code-like signal directly to a living brain cell. The development could add a sense of touch to prosthetic limbs.

Cornell University researchers have developed a lightweight, stretchable material that has potential for use in prosthetic body parts, artificial organs, and soft robotics. Air and liquid can be pumped through connected pores, allowing the material to change its length by up to 300 percent.

A new surface coating developed by researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences make steel stronger, safer, and more durable. The new anti-corrosive and anti-fouling surface material, made from rough nanoporous tungsten oxide, repels any kind of liquid, even after...

Inspired by both nature and biology, a Florida Atlantic University scientist has built a lifelike robotic finger. The design required shape memory alloy (SMA), a three-dimensional CAD model of a human finger, a 3D printer, and a unique thermal training technique.

Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have built software that allows powered prosthetics to tune themselves automatically. The development lowers costs and makes the devices more functionally useful.

Researchers at the University of Southern California and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a brain prosthesis that is designed to help individuals suffering from memory loss. The prosthesis includes a small array of electrodes implanted into the brain.

VeloX, a prosthetic heart valve developed by National University of Singapore researchers, can be implanted through a small incision for the treatment of a serious heart valve disorder called mitral regurgitation. The device is particularly beneficial to patients who are of high surgical risk or are...