A Wearable Sticker that Restores the Power of Speech
Researchers have invented a device and AI model that turns muscle movements into speech for people with vocal disorders. Continue reading A Wearable Sticker that Restores the Power of Speech
Tag: Biomedical Engineering
Ultrasound speaker implant that can open a door to your brain
Scientists have developed a biodegradable ultrasound speaker that can be placed inside the brain. When activated, it makes the blood-brain barrier permeable, potentially allowing certain drugs such as brain cancer chemotherapy and antidepressants to reaching their destination more easily. Continue reading Ultrasound speaker implant that can open a door to your brain
Slow and Steady Drug Delivery Keeps Biomedical Devices Kicking
Researchers from MIT have developed a novel method to locally deliver drugs and prevent immune activity around implanted biomedical devices over several months. The method is based on the formation of crystals of immunosuppressive drugs, which can be included in devices and slowly dissolve over the course of months. While this method substantially increases the length of time tested devices can function, difficulty of crystallizing certain drugs or introducing them into specific devices may prove to be a challenge in adapting this method to other systems. Even so, for many cases, this method will likely substantially reduce the difficulty of maintaining device stability for extended periods of time. Continue reading Slow and Steady Drug Delivery Keeps Biomedical Devices Kicking
‘Pacemaker for the brain’ may help prevent seizures and treat movement disorders
Anyone who has ever been scolded for talking over someone knows that speaking and listening simultaneously is a hard thing to do. Conducting an intelligent conversation requires active listening, understanding the received knowledge, and crafting a meaningful response, which often requires blending the new information with one’s own experiences. On a microscopic scale, each neuron in the brain must do exactly this – listen to … Continue reading ‘Pacemaker for the brain’ may help prevent seizures and treat movement disorders
3D Printed Robot Plays Jingle Bells and More on the Piano
When looking for the perfect soundtrack to accompany your holiday celebrations, consider putting away the traditional albums and opting for this technologically savvy rendition of Jingle Bells instead. The performer, the latest work from Josie Hughes and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, is none other than a robot hand designed to play the piano without moving its fingers. While it may not be a … Continue reading 3D Printed Robot Plays Jingle Bells and More on the Piano
One Step Closer to Cyborgs: The development of artificial nerves
by Anqi Zhang figures by Daniel Utter Have you ever met anyone with only one leg or arm? I bet you have. An estimated 185,000 people undergo amputation procedures in the US every year, with the leading cause being vascular diseases. Thanks to the advances in medical devices, some of the functionalities of the lost limbs can be restored by artificial arms or legs, or … Continue reading One Step Closer to Cyborgs: The development of artificial nerves
From Seed to Organ: Growing a Liver
Over 17,000 Americans are currently waiting for liver transplants, with millions more living with chronic liver disease. There simply aren’t enough healthy organs to go around. So why not engineer them? Growing a liver “from scratch” by using its constituent cells could replace the need for whole organ transplants. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology generated hydrogels containing three different types of human cells, … Continue reading From Seed to Organ: Growing a Liver