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A team led by physicist Christian Santangelo at the University of Massachusetts Amherst uses curved creases to give thin shells a fast, programmable snapping motion. The technique – inspired by the natural "snapping systems" like Venus flytrap leaves and hummingbird beaks – avoids the need for complicated...

Researchers from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China have developed a portable probe that uses near-infrared light to measure blood oxygen saturation in the tissue surrounding the neck's central internal jugular vein. The device allows doctors to continuously monitor a...

Here is the latest batch of news from the medical products community. Please click the link for more.

The FDA is seeking companies to take part in a pilot program that would allow medical device manufacturers to report malfunctions of certain low- and medium-risk devices on a quarterly basis. This pilot program will help the agency develop criteria for quarterly malfunction reporting...

The Emergo Group recently posted an advisory that the FDA has revised the fee charged for issuing medical device export certificates in response to higher costs and demand for these documents.

A laser created by a team at the University of Warsaw generates ultrashort pulses of light, even under extremely difficult external conditions like large temperature gradients of more than 120 degrees Celsius. The process of generating femtosecond laser pulses takes place within a specially...

By "crowdsurfing" motor proteins and using a succession of biological mechanisms, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many out-thrust filaments poised to gather or send electrical impulses. The...

This week's Question: Last month, the Canada-based company Thoth Technology received a US patent for its 12-mile space elevator design. The elevator, enclosed in a tunnel, includes a landing pad on its roof. Spacecraft would refuel and take on passengers and cargo from the pad. Some of the elements of...

A new imaging technology from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Toronto operates in both bright sunlight and darkness. A mathematical model programs the device so that the camera and its light source work together efficiently, eliminating extraneous light, or “noise,” that...

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an elastic patch that, when applied to the skin and stretched, delivers medicine. The patch releases the drugs as the elbow bends.

A University of Houston engineer has received funding to create a pediatric exoskeleton, designed to help children with spinal cord injuries and other mobility disorders. The exoskeletons will be customized to grow as the child grows.

A biosensor system developed by researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, measures heartbeat, hydration levels, sweat, temperature, and other vital signs through miniature circuitry. The system, embedded on a flexible, wearable patch, includes an antenna to...

A new technology developed at Duke University uses metamaterials and compressive sensing to determine the direction of a sound and extract it from the surrounding background noise. Once miniaturized, the device could have applications in hearing aids, cochlear implants, and ultrasound medical sensors.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a way for robots to project their next action into the 3D world and onto any moving object, such as car parts on an assembly line. The achievement will help to improve human and robot safety in manufacturing scenarios.