Tag: Materials

Plant-Based Soft Medical Robots

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed plant-based microrobots that are intended to pave the way for medical robots that can enter the body and perform tasks, such as obtaining a biopsy or performing a surgical procedure. The robots consist of a hydrogel material that is biocompatible and the composite contains cellulose (Read more...)

Stretchable E-Skin for Robotic Prostheses

Engineers at the University of British Columbia have collaborated with the Japanese automotive company Honda to develop an e-skin for robotic prostheses that allows such devices to sense their environment in significant detail. The soft skin is highly sensitive, letting robotic hands to perform tasks that require a significant degree of dexterity a (Read more...)

Magnetic Dressing Improves Diabetic Wound Healing

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a magneto-responsive hydrogel wound dressing that also contains two different regenerative cell types. The hydrogel is also embedded with magnetic particles that can be stimulated using an external magnetic field. The action of the magnetic field on the gel-encapsulated particles ca (Read more...)

Shear-Thinning Biomaterial for Embolic Applications: Interview with Upma Sharma, President and CEO of Arsenal Medical

Arsenal Medical, a medtech company based in Massachusetts, has developed Neocast, an embolic biomaterial designed for catheter-mediated embolization procedures. Conventional materials for embolization can have several limitations, including a lack of radiopacity, catheter clogging, catheter entrapment at the delivery site, solvent-mediated pain at (Read more...)

Lollipop Puts the Fun in Saliva Collection

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a technique to make saliva collection for diagnostic purposes a little less disgusting and a little more fun and pleasant. Saliva collection often acts as a less invasive alternative than throat swabs in the detection of a variety of pathogens, such as that causing streptococcal soar throat (Read more...)

Etched Nanopillars Kill Bacteria, Fungi on Titanium Implants

Researchers at RMIT in Australia have developed a drug-free approach to kill bacteria and fungi that can infect surfaces on medical implants. Such pathogens can cause serious and difficult-to-treat infections around medical implants, sometimes requiring the removal of the implant. In addition, many microbes are increasingly resistant to common anti (Read more...)

Battery Charged by Tears for Smart Contact Lenses

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a tiny, flexible battery that is intended for use in smart contact lenses. The device is as thin as the human cornea and can be charged by a saline solution, which is particularly useful in the eye, as it is full of salty tears. When the […]

Organoids Produce Tooth Enamel Proteins

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have developed a method to create stem cell-derived organoids that can produce tooth enamel proteins. The breakthrough could pave the way for lab grown enamel that can be used in dental repairs and may even allow for living fillings or completely new living teeth that can […]

Technique Creates Multilayered Tubular Cell Constructs

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a new method to create multilayered tubes from cells. The technique could be very useful for recreating multilayered tubular constructs that are found in the body, such as the intestines and blood vessels. Accurately modeling such complex structures in the lab could open new doors in terms [ (Read more...)

3D Printed Heart Muscle Beats

Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a technique that allows them to 3D print a heart ventricle, that can then go on to beat rhythmically. The technology could allow researchers to create heart models to test new cardiac drugs and may even pave the way for […]

Magnetic Tentacle Robots for Minimally Invasive Procedures

Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK have developed a magnetic tentacle robot that is intended for use in minimally invasive medical procedures, such as the treatment of tumors in the lungs. The soft tentacles are made from silicone. They are unlikely to cause tissue damage, and contain a series of magnets that […]

Light-Activated Hydrogel Thickens, Reshapes Thinning Cornea

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have developed a light-activated hydrogel treatment for corneal disease. Many of the people who suffer from corneal disease, which can include corneal thinning, are not suitable for a corneal transplant, and obtaining transplants is a challenge for those who are. This technology is intended to assist with thi (Read more...)

Semi-Automated Manufacture of E-Skin Sensors

Engineers at the Technical University of Munich in Germany have developed a system that allows them to semi automate the production of tactile sensors. Such sensors can provide robotic systems, such as robotic prostheses, with a sense of compression and tension with regard to the objects and surfaces they come in contact with. Most robotic […]