One of the potential uses for graphene – the super-material that has yet to live up to its promises – is as a capacitor for storing electrical energy. I wrote back in 2013 about Ric Kaner’s lab at UCLA being able to produce sheets of graphene flakes. They found that the material could quickly gain […]
Hacking the Brain 05/11/2017
The past several years has seen a new emphasis on medical and scientific research delving into how our minds work. As we learn more about the brain and become adept at translating the electrical impulses that characterize thought patterns, we will see more and more interfaces that use thought to manipulate computers and machines. This […]
Hydrogels in Medical Device Development 04/26/2017
I have predicted that hydrogels are going to be a significant topic in medical device development in 2017, and recent news out of Duke University supports this. Duke researchers have been able to develop a “double-network” hydrogel that combines two different hydrogel materials and can be formed to shape using a 3D printer. Significantly, the material […]
Starting a Medical Device Company 04/19/2017
Follow the highlighted link to a good article from Medical Design & Outsourcing that explains some of the critical things a start-up medical device company should be aware of. Designing, developing, and bringing a medical device to market is a complex undertaking. Both the design process and the means of production are regulated to ensure […]
Home Diagnostic Devices 04/11/2017
All kinds of medical devices are making their way from the hospital into the home. Diagnostic and monitoring devices are following that trend. A story from MedGadget reports on a portable tonometer, recently FDA approved, that patients can use in their homes or when they are traveling to monitor their intraocular pressure. I’m not sure […]
What’s Up Wtih Graphene? 04/04/2017
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on graphene. There was a lot of buzz about it earlier in the decade, but the technological breakthroughs needed to make the material viable for use in commercial applications, including in medical devices, have been slow to materialize. Is there anything new to report? Not really … but […]
Electronic Tattoo 03/29/2017
Well, not really a tattoo, but a sensor patch made to look like one. Flexible electronics have been in development for a number of years now, and their practical use in the medical field is beginning to be seen. This video is about a patch that monitors the body’s sweat production so you can stay […]
Hydrogels for Medical Applications – Continued 03/16/2017
Hydrogels seem to be all over the medical news these days. A recent advance that holds promise for a number of medical applications is detailed in a paper at Nature.com. Conventional hydrogels can be injected as a liquid solution. They form a gel as their polymer components crosslink. However they also absorb water, which causes […]
More on Hydrogels in Medical Device Design 03/08/2017
My last post was about how hydrogels will be an important medical technology that will see significant developments this year. Further evidence of that from another report at Medgadget. Researchers at University of California, San Diego are using 3D printing methods to build millimeter-scale networks that mimic vascular structures. From the Medgadget article: “The new method, […]
Hydrogels: The Most Important New Medical Technology 02/23/2017
As a package for implantable medical devices, hydrogel material holds enormous promise. The topic is showing up with increasing regularity in the research and medical development press. In 2016, the developmental focus was on flexible electronics. That is still an important technology, and advances will continue to be made. But in 2017, the focus is […]