News • Smart device
Dissolving pacemaker communicates with body-area sensor
Wireless bioresorbable pacemaker bypasses need to extract non-biodegradable leads, eliminating additional risk to the patient.
Implants
News • Vascular monitoring system
Implantable smart stent monitors hemodynamics
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a smart stent that can monitor hemodynamic parameters. The wireless and battery-free device can transmit the data to the outside of the body.
News • Ultrathin fuel cell
Using the body’s own sugar to power implants and sensors
Glucose is absorbed from the foods we eat and fuels every cell in our bodies. But could it also power tomorrow’s medical implants? According to a team of engineers, it might.
News • Neurology
Biodegradable implant to monitor brain chemistry
A wireless sensor could offer doctors a way to monitor changes in brain chemistry without requiring a second operation to remove the implant.
News • Inflammatory response
Drug coat on implants reduces "foreign body" reaction
An anti-inflammatory drug incorporated into the coating around an implantable electronic medical device – such as a pacemaker – can reduce the body’s "foreign body" reaction.
News • Promising approach
‘Drug factory’ implants eliminate ovarian, colorectal cancer in mice
Bioengineers have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage ovarian and colorectal cancer in mice in as little as six days with a treatment that could be ready for human clinical trials later this year.
News • In children
Treating scoliosis with vertebral body tethering
Fusion surgery has been the long-standing treatment for people with scoliosis. Now, other options have become available.
News • New bone implants
Superhero substance used to combat infection
A new kind of bone implant reduces the chance of infection, and therefore significantly decreases implant failure rates.
Article • Safe navigation
Enhanced precision with semi-automatic milling systems
Professor Dr Henning Windhagen is a great fan of semi-automatic systems that help with implants but leave the surgeon in the driver’s seat.
Sponsored • Orthopaedics
Periprosthetic joint infection: a complex issue
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) can be an enormous challenge for orthopaedists and trauma surgeons. Antibiotic-loaded bone cement is an important element in a prevention strategy.
Article • Additive manufacturing
3D printable biomaterial for personalised medicine
Evonik offers a comprehensive portfolio of 3D printable med-tech biomaterials that can be used to produce medical devices with temporary or permanent body contact. Marc Knebel, head of Medical Systems at Evonik, explains the benefits and applications of the new high-performance polymer VESTAKEEP Care M40 3DF.
News • Energy efficiency improved
One step closer to bionic eyes
A new technology solution which will provide low-power systems for use in bionic eyes, has been jointly developed by academics from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and Northumbria University.
News • Phoenix 99 Bionic Eye
Bionic eyes gives hope to the blind
A bionic eye being developed by a team of biomedical researchers has shown to be safe and stable for long-term implantation in a three-month study, paving the way towards human trials.
News • Repurposing bacteria
‘Living medicine’ could treat drug-resistant infections
Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Pulmobiotics S.L have created the first ‘living medicine’ to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing on the surfaces of medical implants. The researchers created the treatment by removing a common bacteria’s ability to cause disease and repurposing it to attack harmful microbes instead.
Sponsored • Modern cementing technology
Cemented hips help preventing infections
For decades, hip arthroplasty has been a routine procedure. In Europe, both total and partial hip replacements are the most frequent surgical interventions for patients with hip fracture or osteoarthritis. The treatment relieves pain and has good long-term outcomes. In cemented hip replacement, the artificial acetabulum and/or the femoral stem are fixed with bone cement and implant and bone bond…
News • Orthopedy
Antimicrobial coating for implants prevents infections
Customizable to individual patients and requiring less than 10 minutes to prepare and use, new surgical implant coating prevented 100% of infections in mice.
Article • Orthopaedic advances
Virtual training by hip implant simulator
Trainee trauma or orthopaedic surgeons have limited chances to practice hip replacement surgery before their first hands-on case. To change this, a team in the Dynamic HIPS project aim to improve this by creating a dynamic hip replacement simulator for future surgeons to practice the intervention and develop a reality-based feel for the procedure.
News • Titanium-alloy knee plates
3D printing simplifies high tibial osteotomy
3D metal printing technology is producing personalised medical-grade titanium-alloy plates that perfectly fit individuals suffering arthritis of the knee. Engineers at the University of Bath’s Centre for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) working with 3D Metal Printing Ltd, are using the TOKA (Tailored Osteotomy for Knee Alignment) treatment to improve the surgical procedure and fit of high-tibial…
News • Early detection and treatment of illnesses
Researchers develop implantable AI system
Artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change medicine and healthcare: Diagnostic patient data, e.g. from ECG, EEG or X-ray images, can be analyzed with the help of machine learning, so that diseases can be detected at a very early stage based on subtle changes. However, implanting AI within the human body is still a major technical challenge. TU Dresden scientists at the Chair of…
News • Orthopaedics
Iliac crest reconstruction: 15 patients recruited into GreenBRIC study
GreenBone Ortho, a company specialising in bone regeneration, announces that it has achieved its aim of recruiting 15 patients into the GreenBRIC study. GreenBRIC study is a prospective, open label, single-arm, First-in-Human clinical investigation, in male and female patients, aged between 18 and 70 years, undergoing surgery to correct bone defects using GreenBone Implant, specifically for iliac…
News • Promising approach
Shape-changing implants could help treat severe back pain
A team of engineers and clinicians has developed an ultra-thin, inflatable device that can be used to treat the most severe forms of pain without the need for invasive surgery. The device, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, uses a combination of soft robotic fabrication techniques, ultra-thin electronics and microfluidics.
News • Self-powered implant
New device to speed up bone healing
Researchers know that electricity can help speed up bone healing, but “zapping” fractures has never really caught on, since it requires surgically implanting and removing electrodes powered by an external source. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have expanded on this principle and developed a device to speed up bone healing.
News • Study on devices and implants
AI could improve speech recognition in hearing aids
In noisy environments, it is difficult for hearing aid or hearing implant users to understand their conversational partner because current audio processors still have difficulty focusing on specific sound sources. In a feasibility study, researchers from the Hearing Research Laboratory at the University of Bern and the Inselspital are now suggesting that artificial intelligence (AI) could solve…
News • Transient implant
A pacemaker that dissolves when it's no longer needed
Researchers at Northwestern and George Washington (GW) universities have developed the first-ever transient pacemaker — a wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacing device that disappears after it’s no longer needed. The thin, flexible, lightweight device could be used in patients who need temporary pacing after cardiac surgery or while waiting for a permanent pacemaker. All components…
News • Renal disease
New design improves dialysis
Interdisciplinary team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the university’s McKelvey School of Engineering finds better way to design clot-prone grafts currently used for dialysis.