Optics/​Photonics

NASA has patented a new technology called the Vision Chip, an implantable device that has the potential to restore or supplement visual function in a diseased or damaged retina. This technology could benefit millions of people in the US and globally who suffer from degenerative diseases of the eye’s...

Touch feedback, or haptics technology, has been changing rapidly over the last few years with new uses in entertainment, rehabilitation, and even surgical training. Now, using ultrasound, scientists have developed virtual 3D shapes that can be seen and felt in mid-air. The researchers from the UK...

The FDA has signed a five-year collaborative research agreement with Dassault Systèmes Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, a world leader in 3D design software, for the development of testing paradigms for insertion, placement, and performance of pacemaker leads and other cardiovascular devices...

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous cancer among males, making proper diagnosis extremely important. Distinguishing between biopsied benign and malignant prostate tissue can be difficult. A new prototype device developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies und...

Researchers at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, are close to commercializing a new type of medical imaging technology that could diagnose cardiovascular disease by measuring ultrasound signals from molecules exposed to a fast-pulsing laser.

A team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego, working with cardiologists in Madrid, Spain, say that they have developed a novel ultrasound technology that makes cardiac screening cheaper and much easier, making it possible to reach a larger number of people of all ages. They used...

Engineers at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, say that a new medical imaging method they are developing may help physicians detect cancer and other diseases earlier than before, speeding treatment, and reducing the need for invasive, time-consuming biopsies. Their technique uses...

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the Radiological Society of North America, have designed and developed image-calibration technology to study the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The...

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD, has demonstrated a laser-based imaging system that creates high-definition 3D maps of surfaces from as far away as 10.5 meters. They say that this method may be useful in diverse fields, including...

To get an accurate MRI, the patient must lie completely still for a long period in a confined space, be able to hold their breath on command, and withstand loud banging noises. That’s why it’s often very difficult to get young children to comply, even though they may need the scans for their healthcare.

A team of scientists in a collaboration between the Cambridge Graphene Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK, and Plastic Logic Ltd., also in Cambridge, have created a prototype of a flexible display incorporating graphene in its pixels’ electronics, marking the first time that graphene has...

Chemists at Stanford University have developed a non-invasive technique using lasers and carbon nanotubes that visualizes blood flow in the brain, which could help provide powerful insights into strokes and possibly Alzheimer's disease. Current non-invasive technologies like CT scans or MRI visualize...

A team of engineers at The University of Texas (UT) at Austin have designed an optical device that, they say, may offer a fast, comprehensive, noninvasive, and lower-cost solution to detect melanoma and other skin cancer lesions, thereby reducing unnecessary biopsies. Their device is a probe that uses light in...

A research team at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, has pioneered a new way, called Virtual Finger, to navigate digital 3D images of tiny structures like neurons and synapses using the flat surface of their computer screens. This cost- and time-efficient technology,...