Implant

We've recently seen a number of battery-free implantable biosensors, that are activated by the handheld device that reads them. Scientists have now created another such sensor, that's smaller than any that have come before.

For a person with diabetes, monitoring blood glucose levels is an everyday hassle, usually involving finger pricks. A new prototype glucose monitor has been designed to power itself from that same glucose in bodily fluids.

Researchers from the University of Michigan have developed cancer traps that can be implanted just below the skin. In mouse tests, these traps caught biomarkers that can tell doctors if cancer is present, if it’s spreading or if it’s preparing to.

Although titanium implants are strong and light, they're subject to colonization by harmful microbes. Infections of the surrounding tissue can result. Now, however, research suggests that electrifying the titanium may provide a solution.

The Injectsense implant is designed to constantly monitor a glaucoma patient's intraocular pressure, transmitting readings to the cloud.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a new biodegradable circuit that can be implanted to deliver painkillers in the body on demand. When the device is heated up from a source outside the body, it releases a controlled dose of a drug, before safely dissolving away when it’s no longer needed.

​We've already heard how electrical pulses have been shown to help heal wounds, by promoting tissue growth. An experimental new implant uses that same principle to aid in the regeneration of cardiac tissue, potentially postponing or even eliminating the need for heart transplants.

​Over the past several years, we've heard about a number of implantable devices that regularly dispense medication within the body, doing away with the need for pills or injections. A new one takes things further, as its dosage level can be changed after it's been implanted.

​For some time now, we've been hearing about implantable scaffolding-like material that helps heal injuries to bones. Scientists have now developed a new type of that material, aimed specifically at difficult-to-treat osteochondral injuries.

Although joint replacement surgery typically goes off without a hitch, potentially-dangerous infections can occur after the operation. Scientists from New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology are addressing that problem, with a new type of highly-targeted bacteria-killing gel.

Scientists at Columbia University have developed flexible, functional, waterproof transistors. These could find use in building miniaturized medical sensors, brain-machine interfaces, or long-term implants.

​It was just last month that we heard about a brain implant which dispenses a protein to stop seizures in epileptic rats. An unrelated study now suggests that a brain implant in humans, which delivers that same protein, could be used to treat and even reverse the effects of Parkinson's disease.