Materials & Manufacturing

Intelligent Materials Enable In-Situ Heart Valve Tissue Engineering

About 300,000 patients each year receive a heart valve replacement that is either a mechanical device or produced from animal tissue. Although these valves generally improve...

Sugar-Coated Nanomaterial Excels at Promoting Bone Growth

There hasn’t been a gold standard for how orthopedic spine surgeons promote new bone growth in patients, but now Northwestern University scientists have designed a bioactive...

Hydrogel Material Improves Success of Transplanting Islet Cells

Combining a new hydrogel material with a protein that boosts blood vessel growth could improve the success rate for transplanting insulin-producing islet cells into persons with...

Using Spider Silk, Surgeon Hits a Nerve

Christine Radtke, a Professor for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Austria’s MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital, has 21 spiders. The silk obtained from the Tanzanian golden orb-weavers offers...

New Gel Coatings May Lead to Better Catheters

A new gel-like material can be coated onto standard plastic or rubber devices, providing a softer, more slippery exterior that can significantly ease a patient’s discomfort. The coating can...

New Method Manufactures Heart Valves in Minutes

The human heart beats approximately 35 million times every year, effectively pumping blood into the circulation via four different heart valves. Unfortunately, in over four million people each...

New 3D Printing Method Promises New Era for Medical Implants

For the millions of people every year who have or need medical devices implanted, a new advancement in 3D printing technology developed at the University of Florida promises...

Disposables

The potential for environmental stress cracking is a common concern when plastics are used in medical devices. According to materials expert Jeffrey Jansen of The Madison Group, environmental stress cracking (ESC) is considered a...

New Chemical Method Could Revolutionize Graphene

Scientists have discovered a new chemical method that enables graphene to be incorporated into a wide range of applications while maintaining its ultrafast electronics. Graphene, a...

Bringing Bioprinting to Life

A team from Northwestern University created bioprosthetic ovaries that ultimately led to the restoration of hormone production and fertility in mice.

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.

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.

Reinforced Silicone Tube Options for Kink, Wear, or Burst Resistance

Its biocompatibility, flexibility, and durability have made extruded silicone the top choice for tubing in many medical devices. Of course, designing devices that will be...

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.

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...

INSIDE STORY: Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.

To find out more about how the use of LCP monofilament in catheter braiding is expected to support the development of advanced surgical procedures — in cardiology and beyond — MDB recently spoke with Zeus researchers Bruce Anneaux, PhD, corporate director of research and development, and Zahidul Wahab, PhD, senior research engineer.

3D Printing Breakthrough Could Alter the Design of Lasers

Scientists have demonstrated the synthesis of transparent glass through 3D printing, a development that could ultimately lead to altering the design and structure of lasers and other...

New Nanofabrication Method Combines Speed and Precision

Combining speed with incredible precision, a team of researchers has developed a way to print a nanoscale imaging probe onto the tip of a glass fiber as thin as a human hair,...

Fabricating Devices in the Fourth Dimension

Scientists use the term 4D printing to refer to the simple production of objects that can transform their shape at different times. Researchers have now taken this approach a major step further by...

New Material Regrows Bone

A team of researchers repaired a hole in a mouse’s skull by regrowing “quality bone,” a breakthrough that could drastically improve the care of people who suffer severe trauma to the skull or face. The work...

Top 10 Tips for Developing Implantable Medical Textiles

Medical device engineers are increasingly gravitating toward biomedical textiles to aid in implant performance, including cardiovascular applications such as structural heart implants or...

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...

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...

On-Demand Injection Molding: 3D Printed Assistive Devices for the Blind

Helping blind people gain a sense of vision — and doing so through their tongues — sounds like pure science fiction. It's now a reality, however, thanks to the...

Moldable Scaffold Shows Promise for Replacing Lost Skull Bone

A team of researchers is developing a new material that can be used to replace skull bone lost to injury, surgery, or birth defect. The bioactive foam is malleable when exposed...

3D-Printed Patch Can Help Mend a ‘Broken’ Heart

A team of biomedical engineering researchers has created a revolutionary 3D-bioprinted patch that can help heal scarred heart tissue after a heart attack. The discovery is a major step...

Silicone Maker CEO Expresses Concern Over 'Abandonment' of Free Trade

“Free trade is being abandoned, which is very worrying, said Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of silicone giant Wacker Chemical. Staudigl made the assertion at the silicone giant’s...

The 3D Printing Landscape: Then and Now

Frequently used as a design validation and prototyping tool in its early days, the 3D printer now supports a much wider range of applications, from shape-conforming electronics to the creation of printed...

Implantable Fibers Could Treat Spinal Cord Injuries

Researchers have developed a rubber-like fiber that can flex and stretch while simultaneously delivering both optical impulses, for optoelectronic stimulation, and electrical connections, for...