Researchers at Rice University developed a tiny neurostimulation device that can be delivered intravascularly and which does not require a battery or wired connection. At approximately the size of a grain of rice, the device can be advanced through the vasculature until it lies near a target nerve, and a clinician can then attach it […]
Tag: Materials
3D Bioprinted Constructs Change Shape Over Time
Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a method to create 3D printed cell-loaded bioink constructs that can change shape over time, just like tissues in the body do. Incorporating crosslinking molecules into the printed hydrogels, some of which are UV light-sensitive, allows the constructs to undergo shape changes after pr (Read more...)
Wearable Sensor Uses Kirigami to Improve Skin Contact
Researchers at Osaka Prefecture University in Japan developed a wearable and wireless electrocardiogram monitor that employs kirigami, an ancient art of folding and cutting paper, to ensure better skin contact, stretchability, and breathability. The kirigami design lets the researchers minimize the size of their sensor and the technology allows for (Read more...)
Implantable Biomaterial for CAR-T Cell Creation and Release
Researchers at North Carolina State University developed an implantable biomaterial scaffold that enables the creation and release of CAR-T cells, which are immune cells that have been engineered and primed to seek and destroy cancer within the body. The technique could prove to be much less expensive than conventional CAR-T cell therapy, and it ma (Read more...)
Device Makes Diffuse Ultrasound Waves for Intracranial Applications
Researchers at the University of California San Diego created an ultrasound transducer that is intended to provide safer ultrasound treatment when working inside the brain. Ultrasound has significant therapeutic potential for various ailments that originate in the brain, including epilepsy, and next-level sonogenetics involves targeting various cel (Read more...)
Acoustic Fabric Listens to Heart and Breathing, Works as Hearing Aid
Researchers at MIT have created an “acoustic fabric” that can listen to its surroundings and convert the vibrations made by sound into electrical signals, much like the human ear or a microphone. The technology consists of piezoelectric fibers that are woven into the fabric, and the resulting machine-washable material could prove useful (Read more...)
3D Printed Testicular Cells Offer Hope for Male Infertility
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a technique that lets them 3D print human testicular cells into a hollow tubular structure that mimics the seminiferous tubules found in the testicles. The printed structures are showing encouraging signs that they may be able to produce viable sperm, and the researchers are still wor (Read more...)
Lymphoid Follicle Chip Models Complex Immune Responses
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have created a microfluidic chip that contains lymphoid follicle-like structures, allowing them to model complex immune responses to various pathogens and vaccines. The breakthrough could let scientists to more comprehensively probe the complex workings of the immune system. Lymphoid follicles are found in (Read more...)
Flexible Brain-Computer Interface Array for Better Contact
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have created a brain-computer interface array featuring microneedles affixed to a flexible backing. The design allows the array to better conform to the undulating surface of the brain, permitting better contact and improved signal recording across a wide area. The technology represents an upgra (Read more...)
Modified Red Blood Cells for COVID-19 Vaccination
Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada created engineered red blood cells to act as a new COVID-19 vaccine technology. The cell membranes have been studded with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and in experiments the researchers have conducted in mice the cells can trigger an immune response with minimal side-effects. The team reports t (Read more...)
Ultrathin Conductive Films for Wearables are Flexible and Durable
Researchers at UCLA created ultrathin films that are just 10 nanometers thick, but which can maintain electrical conductivity, flexibility, and strength. The molecules within the films are held together by non-bonding van der Waals forces, making them highly pliable, and the numerous sheets within the films are able to slide over each other without (Read more...)
Artificial Neurons and Synapses from Printed Transistors
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have created artificial neurons and synapses using organic electrochemical transistors that can be printed onto plastic foil in their thousands. The printed structures can conduct both electrons and ions, helping them to mimic the action potentials generated in biological neurons. So far, the Swedi (Read more...)
Funky Helmet Enhances MRI Brain Scans
A team of engineers and radiologists at Boston University created a helmet that can dramatically improve MRI scans of the brain. The device consists of a series of magnetic metamaterial resonators that significantly boost MRI performance. This results in crisper images that can be obtained at twice the speed of a normal scan. The breakthrough [&hel (Read more...)
Lab-Designed “Fish” Could Pave the Way for Artificial Hearts
Researchers at Harvard University have created a fish-like construct from human stem cell-derived cardiac muscle. The structure can beat and swim autonomously, and is inspired by zebrafish. So far, the researchers have shown that the fish can survive and swim for over 100 days, and they hope these new structures could provide insights into cardiac (Read more...)
Surgical Duct Tape Quickly Seals Intestinal Leaks
Researchers at MIT have created a surgical tape that can seal leaks and tears in the intestine. The off-the-shelf product has been designed to replace sutures, which are difficult to sew in the gut and can cause scarring or leaking. The adhesive patch is biocompatible, and the researchers designed it so that it will biodegrade […]
Piezoelectric Scaffold Boosts Cartilage Regeneration
A team of researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a biomaterial scaffold that generates small amounts of electricity when compressed. The piezoelectric material is intended to facilitate cartilage regeneration in joints. Normal movement of a joint in which the scaffold is implanted will create repeated small bursts of electricit (Read more...)
Shape-Shifting Microbot to Repair Bones
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden and Okayama University in Japan developed a shape-shifting microrobot that can self-create a bone-like material under the right conditions. The electroactive material responds to low voltage electric current and changes its volume and shape, allowing the researchers to pre-program specific movement (Read more...)
Hairy Nanocrystals Capture Chemo Drugs
Researchers at Penn State working with collaborators have developed a nanomaterial that can ‘mop up’ chemotherapeutics in the bloodstream, helping to reduce off-target effects. The technology is intended for use in situations where a chemotherapeutic can be delivered precisely to the site of a tumor, and not in situations where it is de (Read more...)
Water Vapor Plasma Bonding for Ultrathin and Flexible Electronics
Scientists at RIKEN research institute in Japan have developed a new method to bind gold electrodes to each other within flexible electronics. The technique, which does not require adhesives or high temperatures that can damage delicate electronic components, allows for extremely thin and flexible electronics and could lead to new types of medical (Read more...)
Quantum Sensor to Detect SARS-CoV-2 More Accurately
Researchers at MIT have designed a quantum sensor to detect SARS-CoV-2. While the device is still theoretical, the researchers have used mathematical simulations to show its potential, and the data and design indicate that it may be faster, more accurate, and less expensive than the current gold-standard technique, PCR. The system is based on nanod (Read more...)