Health, Medicine, & Biotechnology

Implantable Sensors for Internal Health Monitoring

The advent of implantable sensor technologies has had a transformative impact on internal health monitoring. This episode looks into the advancements that allow for continuous, real-time data collection from within the human body, revolutionizing patient care and treatment strategies.

A Haptic Patch Can Transmit Complex Information to a Wearer’s Skin

Matthew Flavin, Ph.D., was part of a team at Northwestern University that developed a haptic patch to convey visual information to unsighted people through an array of multi-function actuators. Now, as assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering, he has started a new lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology to continue his work on bioelectronics.

The Rise of Advanced Sensor Technologies

How sensors are reshaping the landscape of medical diagnostics, enabling quicker and more accurate health assessments.

The First Non-Electric Touchpad

Researchers at Tampere University have developed the world’s first soft touchpad that can sense the force, area, and location of contact without electricity. The device utilizes pneumatic channels, enabling its use in environments such as MRI machines and other conditions that are unsuitable for electronic devices.

Controlling Prosthetic Hands More Precisely by the Power of Thought

Researchers at the German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen, have developed a novel training protocol for brain-computer interfaces in a...

First Toroidal Micro-Robot to Swim Autonomously in Viscous Liquids

A peek through an optical microscope reveals a hidden universe teeming with life. Nature has devised ingenious methods for micro-organisms to navigate their viscous...

2024 Product of the Year

Each month, our editors choose a Product of the Month that has exceptional technical merit and practical value for our design engineering readers. Those 11 products are the nominees for the 2024 Tech Briefs Readers’ Choice Product of the Year. You’re invited to cast your vote for the one product among the 11 listed in this article that you feel was the most important new product introduced to the engineering community in 2024.

Celebrating Innovation and Innovators at the 2024 Create the Future Design Contest

The Create the Future Design Contest has helped bring out the best technologies for the future throughout its 22-year run. The annual contest had the finalists in each of the seven categories pitch their ideas to a team of judges, who would then choose the Grand Prize winner. Read on to learn who won.

Researchers Develop Smallest Free-Floating Bubbles for Medical Imaging

A team of researchers from Rice University has introduced 50-nm gas-filled protein nanostructures derived from genetically engineered gas vesicles(GVs) that are referred to as 50 nmGVs. Read on to learn more.

Medical Finalist - NETrolyze: A Novel Immunotherapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Meet NETrolyze, the Medical Finalist. It consists of a small molecule loaded into a slow-release gel, designed to continuously fight off metastasis. It systematically targets only the cancerous tumor while preserving the integrity of the body’s overall immune system.

CARMEN: A Robot to Help People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Read on to learn about CARMEN — Cognitively Assistive Robot for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation — a small, tabletop robot designed to help people with mild cognitive impairment learn skills to improve memory, attention, and executive functioning at home.

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.

An Inside Look at Designing Drug-Delivery Pumps

A look at the unique drive assembly challenges that drug-delivery pumps present and how to mitigate those challenges.

Building Tiny Batteries to Power Cell-Sized Robots

A tiny battery could enable the deployment of cell-sized, autonomous robots for drug delivery within in the human body, as well as other applications.

Emerging Trends in Drug Delivery

A look at drug-delivery innovations that will shape the landscape and improve therapeutic outcomes for patients in the future.

Pens and Autoinjectors as Drug-Delivery Options

In the future of drug delivery, pens and autoinjectors will provide convenience, accuracy, and improved patient outcomes.

5Ws of the Smart Mask

Caltech engineers have developed a prototype for a high-tech paper mask that can be used to monitor a range of metabolic and respiratory conditions.

The Evolution of Precision Drug Delivery

A look at the transformative journey of drug-delivery devices, from traditional syringes to cutting-edge technologies, exploring the evolution of precision in administering medications for enhanced patient experience.

Announcing the Winners of the Rising Star Awards 2024

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the inaugural Women in Engineering: Rising Star Awards 2024! Read on to find out who won.

DNA-Based Controller to Operate Swarm Molecular Robots

Researchers have successfully developed a DNA-based molecular controller that autonomously directs the assembly and disassembly of molecular robots. This pioneering technology marks a significant step toward advanced autonomous molecular systems with potential applications in medicine and nanotechnology.

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.

Shining the Spotlight on Rising Stars: WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

The Rising Star Awards program was launched in March 2024 as an initiative by SAE Media Group to recognize women engineers who are pushing boundaries, demonstrating outstanding innovation and leadership, as well as paving the way for countless others. In its inaugural year, the Rising Star Awards program received 205 nominations from organizations across the globe. Read on to learn about the winners.

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.

New High-Performance Ultrafast Lasers That Fit on a Fingertip

In a newly published paper in the journal Science, researcher Qiushi Guo demonstrated a novel approach for creating high-performance, ultrafast lasers on nanophotonic chips. His work centers on miniaturizing mode-lock lasers. Read on to learn more.