Tiny, Soft Robot Flexes Its Potential as a Life Saver

A tiny, soft, flexible robot that can crawl through earthquake rubble to find trapped victims or travel inside the human body to deliver medicine may seem like science fiction, but an...

Soft, Bioelectronic Sensor Implant

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and New York’s Columbia University have embedded transistors in a soft, conformable material to create a biocompatible sensor implant that monitors...

Smallest Walking Robot Makes Microscale Measurements

Cornell researchers in physics and engineering have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move...

A Tabletop Robot May Revolutionize Physical Therapy Delivery

Mohammad Habibur (Habib) Rahman, Director of the BioRobotics Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and his team have been developing a portable, assistive robotic arm that therapists can use to assess and treat patients whether or not they are not in the same location.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a self-powered “bug” that can skim across water; a sweat-powered wearable that has the potential to make continuous, personalized health monitoring as effortless as wearing a Band-Aid; and a novel foot-pedal operated system and device to control movement of an object in three-dimensional space.

A Wearable System Continuously Monitors Factory Workers for Fatigue

A system of wearable sensors and machine learning can continuously monitor factory workers for signs of physical fatigue. Read on to learn more.

Rising Star Award Winner 2024: Medical

Oonagh Hassett, Program Manager, Symphysis Medical from Galway, Ireland, is the 2024 Rising Star Award Winner for Medical.

Rising Star Award Winner 2024: Medical

Dr. Asha Parekh, CEO and Co-Founder, Front Line Medical Technologies from Ontario, Canada, is the 2024 Rising Star Award Winner for Medical.

Empowering Health Professionals with On-the-Spot 3D-Printed Tests

McGill University researchers have made a breakthrough in diagnostic technology, inventing a ‘lab on a chip’ that can be 3D-printed in just 30 minutes. The chip has the potential to make on-the-spot testing widely accessible. Read on to learn more.

Wearable, Stretchable Sensor for Detection of Solid-State Skin Biomarkers

Detecting diseases early requires the rapid, continuous, and convenient monitoring of vital biomarkers. Researchers have developed a novel sensor that enables the continuous, real-time detection of solid-state epidermal biomarkers. Read on to learn more.

Portable COVID Test Delivers Fast, Accurate Results

A new coronavirus test can get accurate results from a saliva sample in less than 30 minutes. Many of the components of the handheld device used in this technology can be 3D printed, and the test can detect as little as one viral particle per 1-μL drop of fluid. Read on to learn more.

A Robotic Hip Exoskeleton to Help Stroke Patients Regain Stride

New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst pushes forward the bounds of stroke recovery with a unique robotic hip exoskeleton, designed as a training tool to improve walking function. This invites the possibility of new therapies that are more accessible and easier to translate from practice to daily life. Read on to learn more.

Synthetic Mini Motor with Enormous Power

Researchers have developed an artificial motor at the supramolecular level that can develop impressive power. The wind-up motor is a tiny ribbon made of special molecules. When energy is applied, the...

Butterfly-Inspired AI Technology

Professor Saptarshi Das and his team at Penn State University learned that when it comes to mating, two things matter for Heliconius butterflies: the look and the smell of their potential partner. This led them to think about how multiple sensory inputs could enable more efficient use of AI.

Wearable Sensors Detect Pathogens, Toxins

Researchers have developed a method to detect bacteria, toxins, and dangerous chemicals in the environment with a biopolymer sensor that can be printed like ink on a wide range of materials — including wearables. Read on to learn more.

Modified VR Tech to Measure Brain Activity

A research team created a noninvasive electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor that was installed in a Meta VR headset that can be worn comfortably for long periods. The EEG measures the brain’s electrical activity during the immersive VR interactions. Read on to learn more.

A Robot to Aid People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Engineers at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with clinicians, people with MCI, and their care partners have developed CARMEN, short for Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation — a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.

Scientists Create Soft Robots Mimicking Human Skin to Provide Medical Treatment

Scientists have created innovative soft robots equipped with electronic skins and artificial muscles, allowing them to sense their surroundings and adapt their...

Shape-Shifting Ultrasound Stickers to Monitor Post-Surgical Complications

When attached to an organ, the soft, tiny sticker changes in shape in response to the body’s changing pH levels, which can serve as an early warning sign for post-surgery complications such as anastomotic leaks. Clinicians then can view these shape changes in real time through ultrasound imaging.

Universal Automated Dosing Systems Could Become Reality

Researchers have created and demonstrated a method of universalizing blood-glucose detection technology as a way of rapidly and inexpensively creating sensors that can monitor the dosing of chemotherapies and other drugs in real time.

Microwave Sensing Technology Enables Versatile Imaging

Microwave sensing and imaging (MSI) technology, which has been in for many years, has now improved to the point that it may usefully supplement or even replace MRI machines and CT scanners in certain applications, including stroke detection and breast cancer detection.

Flexible Artificial Intelligence Optoelectronic Sensors for Health Monitoring

Researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) led by Associate Professor Takashi Ikuno have developed a flexible paper-based sensor that operates like the human brain. The researchers fabricated a photo-electronic artificial synapse device composed of gold electrodes on top of a 10 μm transparent film consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs).

Lab-on-a-Chip Genetic Test Device Identifies Viruses Within Three Minutes

Developed by engineers at the University of Bath, the prototype LoCKAmp device uses innovative Lab-on-a-Chip technology and has been proven to provide rapid and low-cost detection of COVID-19 from nasal swabs.

Screen-Printed Sensors Allow Earbuds to Record Brain Activity and Exercise Levels

A pair of earbuds can be turned into a tool to record the electrical activity of the brain as well as levels of lactate in the body with the addition of two flexible sensors screen-printed onto a stamp-like flexible surface.

Treating Liver Cancer with Microrobots Piloted by a Magnetic Field

The idea of injecting microscopic robots into the bloodstream to heal the human body is not new. It’s also not science fiction.

How Much Do You Know About Drug Delivery?

How much do you know about drug delivery and the systems used to deliver the drugs? Find out with this quiz.

Data Precision in Wearables: The Challenge of Accuracy

Exploring how innovations in wearables are making treatments more precise, portable, and patient-friendly than ever before.

Precision Health: Developing Medical-Grade Wearables

Exploring how AI algorithms analyze and interpret the data collected, leading to more accurate diagnostics and predictive insights.

Wearable Injectors: The Future of Drug Delivery

Exploring advancements in wearable injector technology, examining how these devices are transforming the administration of medications, improving patient adherence, and enhancing the overall effectiveness of treatment plans.