Implants & Prosthetics

Using electrophysiological measurements in the areas of the brain that are responsible for the planning and execution of hand movements, German Primate Center scientists predicted avariety of hand positions through the analysis of exact neural signals.

A group of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) researchers explored how the attractive physical features of zinc oxide (ZnO) materials could be more effectively used to tap into abundant mechanical energy sources to power micro devices.

New therapies are on the horizon for individuals paralyzed following spinal cord injury. The e-Dura implant developed by EPFL scientists can be applied directly to the spinal cord without causing damage and inflammation.

To address the cybersecurity challenges of wireless medical infusion pumps, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), Rockville, MD, is now inviting comments on a draft project to secure those devices. The challenges include vulnerabilities to malware or hacking and access...

While powered lower limb prosthetics can greatly improve the mobility of amputees, errors in the technology can also cause users to stumble or fall, say researchers at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are examining what happens when these...

Scientists at Brown University, Providence, RI, say that a new wireless brain-sensing system will allow them to acquire high-fidelity neural data to advance neuroscience that cannot be accomplished with current sensors that tie subjects to cabled computer connections for analysis. Their results show that...

An engineering professor at the University of Texas at Dallas applied robot control theory to enable powered prosthetics to dynamically respond to the wearer’s environment and help amputees walk. The robotic leg wearers were able to walk on a moving treadmill almost as quickly as an able-bodied...

While touch may be subtle, the information it communicates can be understood and acted upon quickly. For the first time, scientists are reporting that they have developed a stretchable “electronic skin” that can detect not just pressure, but also which direction it’s coming from....

Scientists at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have demonstrated a new technique for harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations of the environment and converting it into electricity. They explain that energy harvesters are needed, for example, in wireless self-powered sensors and medical...

Loss of eyesight is often caused by retinal degeneration as people age. But, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Centers for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, both in Israel, and Newcastle University, OK, are developing a prosthetic...

A team of researchers at researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen, Germany, have developed load bearing, biodegradable implants that are completely degradable in the body. As a first step, they have used powder injection molding to manufacture...

Researchers from the University of Miami reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology that they have developed a fast and inexpensive way to make facial prostheses for eye cancer patients using facial scanning software and 3D printing. Their process can create...

A team of engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing see-through implantable medical sensor arrays, in order to help neural researchers study the brain. The technology, they say, has potential applications in neuroscience, cardiac care, and even contact lenses.

A team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh, along with collaborators at the University of Cincinnati, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, are developing implantable medical devices made from biodegradable metals that can dissolve within a fixed time period,...

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have discovered that patterns of electric signals sent by a computer into nerves in a patient’s arm and to his brain, can give distinct sensations of touch to the patient’s...

A team of engineers at Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, has developed an innovative method of using off-the-shelf 3D printers and materials to fabricate custom medical implants that can contain antibacterial and chemotherapeutic compounds for targeted drug delivery.

Defects in the head, face, or jaw, whether from disease, injury, or birth defect, can dramatically impact a person’s appearance. A team of researchers at Texas A&M University, College Station, report that they have developed a specialized material that can expand with warm salt water to...

A team of engineers at The University of Texas at Austin has developed a tiny, low-power device that mimics a fly’s hearing mechanism, which could be used to build the next generation of hypersensitive hearing aids with intelligent microphones that could adaptively focus only on those...

The strength of barnacle cement is unbeaten when compared to anything man-made, say researchers at Newcastle University, UK. It can stick to any surface, under any conditions. But exactly how it works has been a mystery. The international team of scientists have shown for the first time that barnacle...