Medical Devices

While electroencephalography (EEG) can provide a lot of information on the electrical activity of an individual's brain, that person is required to wear a clumsy skull cap. Such caps could soon be replaced, however, with inkjet-printed scalp tattoos.

Left untreated, frostbite can lead to the amputation of fingers and toes. That's where a new Canadian system comes in, which will allow frostbite to be treated quickly, effectively and on location … utilizing culinary-inspired technology.

Two patients with spinal injuries have seen improvements in their ability to walk again, thanks to deep brain stimulation. Intriguingly, the therapy targets a region of the brain that normally isn’t associated with motor skills.

The body has a remarkable ability to heal injuries, but it has its limits. Now scientists have developed a way to improve on the natural process, making implants created from a patient’s own blood to regenerate injuries, even repairing bone.

People with photosensitive epilepsy could soon be able to watch TV without worry. Scientists in the UK have created glasses that can block out specific wavelengths of light known to cause seizures.

When a patient's blood flows through catheters, stents or other medical devices, there's always a risk that harmful clots may form. An experimental new bio-inspired coating could keep that from happening, without the use of blood-thinning drugs.

When someone receives an implant such as an artificial hip, there's a real risk of an infection occurring at the implant site. According to a new study, however, a covering of bacteria-frying gold nanorods could keep that from happening.

Although brain-implanted electrodes do reduce the effects of neurological disorders, implanting and activating those electrodes is a tricky process. That's why scientists are now developing an alternative, in the form of injectable magnetic discs.

Surgical stitches are good for helping wounds heal, but they can pop open with too much movement. Scientists have now turned that weakness into a strength, developing stitches that generate an electric charge when stretched and heal wounds faster.

While topically-applied medications do help alleviate various skin conditions, they'd be even more effective if they could better penetrate the skin's surface. Newly developed nanoceramic "stars" may one day help, by poking tiny holes in the skin.

While a number of groups are developing thought-controlled prosthetic hands, most of the devices require fiddly electrodes to be implanted in the amputee's body. Such is not the case with a new system, however, which works with implanted magnets.

For babies born with a certain heart defect, implantation of a "shunt" is essential to their survival. A new type of shunt can be expanded using light after it's been implanted, potentially eliminating the need for more heart surgeries down the road.

A new surgical technique for below-the-knee amputations retains a person’s ability to receive sensory feedback from remaining muscles. Having a prosthetic leg driven by an amputee’s own nervous system enables them to walk much more naturally, new research has shown.

A mussel protein could one day keep infections from occurring at the site of bone implants such as artificial hips. And while the protein does kill the microbes, it should still limit the development of antibiotic-resistant "superbacteria."

If someone is already suffering from heart failure, they certainly shouldn't have to deal with a serious infection on top of that. A new type of electrical wire, designed for powering implanted heart pumps, could help keep that from happening.