Hasta La Gadget!

The technological advancements in medicine are often overlooked by the general public. Fact remains though that some amazing work is being done in this field. Take the new P3HT polymer for example, which can be used to create an artificial retina. It does not need any external power source like other artificial retinas for which a stimulator box is required. Other than the incident light, an artificial retina created out of P3HT polymer requires no power (other than the incoming light, which makes us wonder how well this works in low-light situations). (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Announces Collaboration With Wyss Institute For Organ-On-Chip Technology, Xerox Digital Nurse Assistant Offers Information On The Double,

Xerox is a name that we would more often than not associate with that of digital copiers and photostat machines, but here we are with a system from Xerox that is capable of keeping track of both nurses as well as the medications which have been ordered for their patients. The system’s core relies on a small digital tag which the nurse would wear, and that allows the system to recognize her whenever she enters a patient’s room. All the patient’s relevant medical information will then make an appearance on an in-room display, in addition to any specific data which requires attention.

For instance, assuming John Doe has a particular indicator such as blood pressure that requires closer monitoring, that data will then be highlighted on the display immediately. Not only that, the digital tag enables said nurse to be tracked on the Charge Nurse Overview, delivering where the nurse is at all times. Sounds cool, hopefully it will not be a burden on hospitals when it comes to implementation.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Medical Hub Edition Launched For Medial Students In South Korea, 3D Printed Skull Implant Ready For Action,

MC10 might be best known for its wearable electronics aimed at athletes, but the company also makes a medical diagnostic sticker called a biostamp. Its creator (and MC10 co-founder), John Rogers has refined that design so that it’s no longer an elastomer sticker — now he can apply the biostamp’s thin, stretchy electronics directly on human skin, and bond it with commercially available spray-on bandage material. By losing the elastomer backing of the original biostamp and applying the circuits directly to the skin, Rogers and his team at the University of Illinois were able to shave the device’s thickness to 1/30th of the (already quite thin) biostamp. That super thin profile means it conforms even better to the contours of human hide and makes it shower- and swim-proof during the two weeks it lasts before being naturally exfoliated with your skin.

For those unfamiliar with what the biostamp does, it’s a mesh of circuits and sensors that can record electrophysiological data like skin temperature and hydration state of the wearer. The new biostamp won’t be in your doctor’s tool box any time soon, however, as Rogers and his team are still refining the wireless power and communication technologies it leverages. Of course, once those problems are solved, there’s a good chance we’ll see MC10 turning it into a commercial product.

Filed under: Science

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Via: The Verge

Source: MIT Technology Review

Earlier this week, a surgical procedure saw the first-ever patient to receive a partial skull transplant using 3D-printed materials. A whopping 75% of the man’s skill was replaced with the polyetherketoneketone material. However, it’s not said what part of the skull was replaced, nor if the 75% accounts for just the top of head.

The photo above is a good representation of what the 3D-printed material looks like and how it fits on the skull. The material has specially-designed textures and holes in it to encourage the growth of cells and bone, and not result as a hindrance to the body, but rather become part of the skull just like ordinary bone. In other words, it’s more than just a simple piece of hard plastic.

Oxford Performance Materials is the company behind these 3D-printed implants, and they’re predicting that this practice will take off shortly, and it could open the door for around 500 patients per month who need bone transplants. The US Food and Drug Administration granted approval of the 3D-printed implant on February 18, and the company is now looking to spread the technology.

The company says that it can produce an implant within two weeks of obtaining 3D scans of the affected area needing transplanted, and recipients can range from injured construction workers to wounded soldiers, according to Oxford Performance Materials. There are no other details as far as further transplants with the new technology, but we should be hearing more about it sooner or later.

[via News]

Patient has 75% of skull replaced with 3D-printed implant is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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The world of 3D printing has definitely advanced to such a stage where you can even send a base file over to a 3D printing vending machine such as the Dreambox, and have it churn out your 3D printed item of choice shortly afterwards. Well, 3D printing technology will also have a role in replacing 75% of a patient’s skull after receiving the approval of U.S. regulators. It is said that the 3D-printed implant which you see above is capable of replacing the bone in people’s skulls that have been damaged by disease or trauma, at least this is what Oxford Performance Materials shared.

In fact, Oxford Performance Materials has already started to sell 3D-printed implants overseas as a contract manufacturer, although the FDA’s approval would also mean they have another huge market to jump into, as US operations can start to make use of the implants. It is said that around 300 to 500 patients in the US are able to make use of skull bone replacements each month, ranging from patients with people who have cancerous bone in their skulls, in addition to car accident victims and US military members who suffer from head trauma.

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