Fabric electrode offers
ouchless ECGs
Photo credit: Textronics,
Inc |
Non-stick
electrode solves hairy ECG problem
WILMINGTON, DE — Your patients don't have to get
an epilating treatment along with their ECGs, thanks
to the new stick-free "textile electrode" garment by
Textronics, Inc that was approved for use February 18
in the US. The electrode-equipped chest straps and wrist
bands monitor the pulse and send it to a cardiac event
recorder via a tiny transmitter. That's pretty cool,
but here's the best part: the garment is machine washable
and reusable. JI
Geckos' sticky fingers
inspired a new bandage
Photo credit: Textronics,
Inc |
Groovy
bandage sticks better on wet surfaces
BOSTON — Geckos have their uses — other than
saving you a ton of money on car insurance, that is.
MIT scientists, inspired by the grooved, sticky surface
of the lizard's paws, have developed a surgical bandage
that grips well to wet surfaces. In clinical tests,
it proved to be twice as good as bandages with no patterns.
The bandage could be used to close surgical wounds —
especially in wet tissues, like the heart, bladder or
lung — and can be left inside the body, since it
dissolves safely. The team published their findings
in the February 18 issue of PNAS. JI
New device hopes to make
reversing a vasectomy as easy as turning on the
tube |
Aussies
invent remote control vasectomy switch
ADELAIDE — The man responsible for solving Parrondo's
Paradox (two wrongs do indeed make a right, it turns
out), biomedical engineer Derek Abbott of the University
of Adelaide, now brings us this vital invention: a remote
control "sperm tap" that functions as a vasectomy with
an on-off switch. The new technique, described in the
February issue of Smart Materials and Structures,
doesn't require the vas deferens to be cut; instead,
silicone-polymer valves are injected. Those valves can
be opened and closed with the click of a button —
just like your TV or car alarm. But don't get too excited
just yet — the researchers still have yet to flip
the switch on a single sheep or pig. SS
These scary looking microneedles
are just 0.62mm long
Photo credit: University
of Kentucky |
Patch
made of needles sounds painful, but helps
LEXINGTON, KY — American researchers have discovered
a new way to scare your patients: a drug delivery patch
made of 50 microneedles. But aichmophobes needn't fear.
Each needle is only around a half-millimeter in length.
The researchers recently demonstrated the innovation's
effectiveness by stabbing patients' arms with microneedles
and then spreading on naltrexone gel, which is typically
skin-impermeable, on them. The microneedles did their
job admirably, the drug quickly hit therapeutic levels
in the blood, the researchers wrote in a paper published
online February 4 in PNAS. SS
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