Shichao Ding
Sweat-powered finger wrap enables continuous health monitoring
19/09/2024
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a sweat-powered finger wrap that monitors vital health biomarkers such as glucose, lactate, vitamin C, and levodopa. This wearable device utilizes sweat from the wearer’s fingertip for both power and health monitoring, making it a convenient and non-invasive tool for personalized health tracking.
MPIKG
Harnessing light to control cellular dynamics
23/05/2024
Researchers led by Rumiana Dimova at the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces have developed a technique that uses light to understand and control the inner dynamics of cells. By employing lights of different colors, they can alter the interactions within cellular components, offering a precise and non-invasive method to administer drugs directly into the cells.
HZDR / Xinne Zhao
Monitoring after pancreatic surgery through real-time diagnosis
07/05/2024
Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (UKD) have now developed a portable device that can carry out enzyme determinations continuously and in real time after pancreatic surgery. This can counteract complications such as the development of pancreatic fistulas.
Gao et al., 10.1038/s41467-024-46636-7
Bioelectronic mesh for cardiac tissue monitoring
30/04/2024
A team of engineers, led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has developed a cutting-edge bioelectronic mesh system integrated with graphene sensors to monitor both mechanical movement and electrical signals in lab-grown human cardiac tissue.
CHUM
Liver cancer treatment: Utilizing magnetic field-guided microrobots
12/04/2024
A new medical technique utilizing magnet-guided microrobots for treating liver tumors has been developed by a Canadian research team, offering a potential new approach in oncology.
feelSpace
Wearable for the visually impaired: Vibrations lead the way
14/12/2023
The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have developed a contacting process with which orientation aids - and e-textiles in general - can be produced more economically and conveniently.
Karin Kaiser / MHH
New device against sudden cardiac death
10/11/2023
Hannover Heart Rhythm Center at MHH implants Germany's first innovative defibrillator with an electrode under the sternum.
Chibelek
Funding partially autonomous surgical robotics development
09/11/2023
The research association ForNeR’s two million euro grant from the Bavarian Research Foundation's Board of Trustees integrates assistive robots for surgery through intuitive interfaces in the operating room. This not only helps patients but also supports operating room staff in performing demanding procedures.
Fraunhofer IBMT
Bidirectional control of prosthetic hands using ultrasonic sensors
13/10/2023
Researchers at Fraunhofer are working as part of an EU research project to improve control of prosthetic hands down to individual fingers.
wosunan
Microrobots: opportunities for cancer treatment and wound healing
18/09/2023
A group of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed the world’s first microrobot (“microbot”) capable of navigating within groups of cells and stimulating individual cells.
Peer Erfle/IMT
Microchips: better understand diseases like schizophrenia
15/09/2023
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the recipients of its prestigious Starting Grants. Among them is a researcher from the Technical University of Braunschweig: Dr. Thomas Winkler will receive €1.5 million for his research on modular organ-on-chip technology to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
National University of Singapore
Nature-inspired pressure sensing technology aims to transform healthcare and surgical robots
22/08/2023
NUS researchers have developed 'eAir', an innovative pressure sensor inspired by the lotus leaf effect. This sensor could revolutionize minimally invasive surgeries by providing tactile feedback to surgeons and improve patient experiences in monitoring intracranial pressure. Its unique design enhances precision and reliability, potentially transforming various medical applications.
microgen
Electrodes: 4D printing for nerve stimulation
25/07/2023
Specific nerves may be stimulated artificially, for example to treat pain. The finer the nerves, the more difficult it is to attach the required electrodes. Researchers have now developed flexible electrodes produced with 4D printing technology. On contact with moisture, they automatically fold and wrap themselves around thin nerves.
Chalmers University of Technology
Bionic hand: surgical and engineering innovations enable unprecedented control
21/07/2023
For the first time, a person with an arm amputation can manipulate each finger of a bionic hand as if it was his own. Thanks to revolutionary surgical and engineering advancements that seamlessly merge humans with machines, this breakthrough offers new hope and possibilities for people with amputations worldwide.
Joseph Puthussery
Biosensing: air monitor can detect COVID-19 variants
13/07/2023
Scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.
Fraunhofer IZM
Pregnancy: intelligent patch for remote monitoring
03/07/2023
A patch equipped with highly sensitive electronics is meant to collect and evaluate vital data. In addition, the sensors will be integrated into baby clothing in order to improve the future of medical monitoring for newborns with the highest level of data security.
joaquincorbalan
Fiber-based endo-microscope: understanding neuronal communication
28/06/2023
A new hair-thin endo-microscope, developed by an international team with the participation of Leibniz IPHT, promises extremely gentle in-depth observations.
MPI-IS
Medical robot inspired by the pangolin
26/06/2023
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a magnetically controlled soft medical robot with a unique, flexible structure inspired by the body of a pangolin. The robot is freely movable despite built-in hard metal components.
Fraunhofer IBMT
Human-machine interface stops muscle tremors
10/05/2023
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT have been working with international partners to develop a technology platform to help relieve the symptoms of muscle tremors.
Science Brush | Hassan A. Tahini
How electricity can heal wounds three times as fast
21/04/2023
Using electric stimulation, researchers in a project at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the University of Freiburg, Germany, have developed a method that speeds up the healing process, making wounds heal three times faster.
Universidad de Barcelona
Microfluidics physics-based device to predict cancer therapy response
06/04/2023
A team of experts has designed a microfluidic device called microfluidic dynamic BH3 profiling (μDBP) that predicts the effectiveness of cancer treatment quickly and automatically.
Marco Binelli / ETH Zürich
3D-printed insoles measure sole pressure directly in the shoe
24/03/2023
Researchers at ETH Zurich, Empa and EPFL are developing a 3D-printed insole with integrated sensors that allows the pressure of the sole to be measured in the shoe and thus during any activity.
Fraunhofer IPK / Larissa Klassen
New technologies for producing mRNA-based pharmaceuticals
24/03/2023
Together with partners from science and industry, Fraunhofer IPK is researching how mRNA therapeutics and other medication can be better produced and more effectively applied.
Georgia Tech
New ultrafast water disinfection method is more environmentally friendly
27/02/2023
Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have found a way to use small shocks of electricity to disinfect water, reducing energy consumption, cost, and environmental impact.
GabiStock
ENT surgery – Interventions for speech and hearing
27/02/2023
Speaking and hearing are the two most important abilities that connect humans to their environment. If they get limited through disease or injury, it is all the more important to restore them as broadly as possible. Depending on the cause for their limitation, there are different surgical treatment possibilities. We take a look at current methods in our Topic of the Month.
The Project Team / Claudia Pock
Multinational research consortium to advance nanomedicine manufacturing
15/02/2023
Gattefossé, InProcess-LSP, Knauer, Microfluidics, Skyepharma, and the University of Graz join the RCPE-led European Consortium for Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (ECCPM) to jointly develop a modular, flexible toolkit to advance industrial-scale production of lipid nanoparticles.
WILDDESIGN GmbH, Gelsenkirchen
A new generation of microimplants
09/02/2023
Miniature assistants can act as a stimulus in cases of tinnitus or digestive tract disorders or help a person’s hand to regain the ability to grip.
Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation
Contact lenses to treat dry eye syndrome
06/02/2023
A collaborative team from the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) has developed a contact lens prototype that is specifically designed to prevent contact lens-induced dry eye (CLIDE).
AG Klinische Neurotechnologie, Charité Berlin
Controlling neural exoskeletons more precisely with diamond sensors
02/02/2023
In the recently launched NeuroQ lighthouse project, the project partners develop highly sensitive diamond-based quantum sensors that will enable paralyzed people to control neural exoskeletons more precisely.
WWU - Peter Leßmann
First completely robot-supported microsurgical operations on humans
24/08/2022
A team led by Dr. Maximilian Kückelhaus and Prof. Tobias Hirsch from the Centre for Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Münster has carried out the first completely robot-supported microsurgical operations on humans.
Berthold Steinhilber
Ex vivo obesity research thanks to the adipose-on-chip system
08/07/2022
Ex vivo studies of human obesity without animal testing? The Adipose-on-Chip system offers a solution that allows scientists to gain better insights into various obesity-linked secondary diseases and comorbidities in the future.
Universitätsklinikum Bonn (UKB)/J.F. Saba
Retina chip: Implant helps with age-related macular degeneration
01/03/2022
People who suffer from partial or total loss of vision caused by illness must use assistive technology to replace their sense of sight. In recent years, implants offered hope of restoring limited functional vision. Now an innovative microchip designed to help with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is currently undergoing international testing.
PantherMedia/Meseritsch Herby
Implants for the senses – Hearing and seeing with technology
01/12/2021
We can replace certain functions of the body with implants nowadays, others we cannot. When it comes to the human senses, we are still quite at the beginning. The technologies and materials we can use are way to coarse compared to our nervous system. But implants can also help us to maintain senses.
Deep Brain Stimulation – Measuring electrodes against Parkinson's disease
23/08/2021
We cannot heal Parkinson’s disease yet, all we can do is alleviate the symptoms. One possibility to do this are implantable electrodes that stimulate part of the brain and counteract the characteristic tremor. In our video, Prof. Cordula Matthies and Prof. Jens Volkmann from the University Hospital Würzburg explain how this stimulation can be targeted better with a new electrode generation.
Vibrosonic GmbH
A contact lens for the ear
15/07/2021
Excessive noise, hearing loss, vascular constriction, old age – hearing difficulties can be caused by many factors. To help improve the quality of life of people with hearing impairment, Mannheim start-up Vibrosonic have developed a new, innovative hearing aid with an integrated loudspeaker that sits directly on the eardrum.
Autonomous medical devices: running well in your body
01/02/2021
In theory, autonomous medical technologies can be used in a diagnostic or therapeutic capacity inside the body under certain conditions. This may not sound like a new invention at first. After all, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators have monitored and fixed abnormal heart rhythm for many years.
Tumor therapy: drug delivery pump instead of injection
01/02/2021
Drugs always have undesired side effects. Cytostatics are powerful drugs used to treat cancer. They reach almost all cells in the body, killing healthy cells as well as cancer cells in the process. A targeted delivery to the specific cellular site would be a gentler treatment.
Fraunhofer IZM
Microimplants: electricity instead of pills
23/11/2020
Active implants such as pacemakers revolutionized healthcare decades ago. But they also have disadvantages: their size and relatively short life span, for example. At Fraunhofer IZM, research is therefore being conducted on durable microimplants that stimulate nerve cells electrically in a targeted manner and are even to be used to treat multiple sclerosis.
SmartLab: all-in-one automation, digitalization, and miniaturization
01/09/2020
Laboratories have to analyze and interpret an ever-increasing number of samples for research and diagnostic services, generating lots of data in the process. At the same time, labs are required to produce quality results and operate with speed. Processes that could once be managed using laboratory notebooks and isolated systems must become smart in the future to improve lab efficiency.
by UVentions
Hygiene: Smart protection against pathogens like the coronavirus
23/03/2020
Germs such as bacteria, viruses or pathogenic fungi can spread from one person to another through direct contact when we shake hands or touch objects. People touch door handles and push elevator buttons in public places and constantly move in and out of spaces. Regular manual high-level disinfection is practically impossible. UVentions GmbH has found an intelligent solution for this problem.
Multi-Organ Chips – The Patients of Tomorrow?
01/02/2019
The liver, nervous tissue or the intestines: all are important human organs that have in the past been tested for their function and compatibility using animal or in vitro test methods. In recent years, TissUse GmbH, a spin-off of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), has launched multi-organ chip platforms. But that’s not all.
Organ-on-a-chip – Organs in miniature format
01/02/2019
In vitro processes and animal tests are used to develop new medications and novel therapeutic approaches. However, animal testing raises important ethical concerns. Organ-on-a-chip models promise to be a feasible alternative. In a system the size of a smartphone, organs are connected using artificial circulation.
Marc Eisele, Universitätsklinikum Dresden
Better living thanks to telemedicine – "TelePark"- project targets patients with Parkinson’s disease
08/01/2019
Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that primarily affects movement of patients and makes their everyday lives very challenging. It also makes regular doctor appointments and treatment sessions necessary. "TelePark" - a project that collects different movement-related parameters using sensors and apps is designed to improve the quality of life for Parkinson’s patients.
A digital look inside the human eye – when algorithms diagnose Diabetes
02/01/2019
Diabetes mellitus or simply diabetes has become very common and is often described as a lifestyle disease. More and more people are suffering from this chronic metabolic disorder. Next to established diagnostic procedures, digital retinal screening has shown to be successful - a promising technique that will also play an important role in the diagnosis of other diseases in the future.