News tagged with medical implants

Squeezing polymers produces chemical energy but raises doubts about implant safety

A polymer is a mesh of chains, which slowly break over time due to the pressure from ordinary wear and tear. When a polymer is squeezed, the pressure breaks chemical bonds and produces free radicals: ions with unpaired electrons, ...

Chemistry / Polymers

created Mar 02, 2012 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Abbott cuts 700 jobs from device and testing unit

(AP) -- Medical device and drugmaker Abbott Laboratories said Wednesday it will lay off 700 employees as part of ongoing restructuring efforts.

Technology / Business

created Jan 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nanotechnology holds promise for safer breast implants

A new review published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology explores how nanotechnology may be used to develop safer breast implants as an alternative to silicone rubber, minimizing health complications.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Oct 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Study on how bacteria move could help researchers develop anti-bacterial surfaces

Jacinta Conrad, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Houston, likens her research into how bacteria move to "tracking bright spots on a dark background."

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jul 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protecting medical implants from attack

Millions of Americans have implantable medical devices, from pacemakers and defibrillators to brain stimulators and drug pumps; worldwide, 300,000 more people receive them every year. Most such devices have ...

Technology / Engineering

created Jun 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Heavenly gadgets: Spinoffs from space programmes

What do ceramic teeth braces, artificial hearts, airbags, insulin pumps and Olympics-calibre swimsuits have in common?

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created Apr 10, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 4

New class of implantable monitoring devices for heart patients

CardioMEMS, a graduate of Georgia Tech’s ATDC startup accelerator, is a rising star in the medical device industry. Pioneering a new class of monitoring devices for heart patients, the company completed ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 04, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Addicts helped by implanted devices: study

Persons addicted to heroin or prescription pain killers can get help kicking their habit by using an implanted device under the skin that delivers small doses of medication, researchers reported Tuesday.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Oct 12, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Fighting fungal infections with bacteria

A bacterial pathogen can communicate with yeast to block the development of drug-resistant yeast infections, say Irish scientists writing in the May issue of Microbiology. The research could be a step toward ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 01, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

For children with hearing loss: The earlier the better for cochlear implants

Receiving a cochlear implant before 18 months of age dramatically improves a deaf child's ability to hear, understand and, eventually, speak, according to a multicenter study led by scientists at Johns Hopkins.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Apr 20, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Stretchable electronics device holds promise for treating irregular heart rhythms

The electronics can bend, stretch and twist. No small feat. Now the flexible and stretchable electronics can map waves of electrical activity in the heart with better resolution and speed than that of conventional ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Mar 24, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

GTRI is developing protocols for testing effects of RFID systems on medical devices

Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are widely used for applications that include inventory management, package tracking, toll collection, passport identification and airport luggage security. More ...

Technology / Engineering

created Oct 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists elucidate which bacteria block artificial bile ducts

A consequence of the different cancers of the hepatobiliary system is blocked bile ducts. However, artificial catheters known as "stents" can remediate this problem. Stents are medical implants which reopen narrowed bile ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New Medtronic heart device uses 'super plastic' from NASA

A "super plastic" invented by NASA engineers for use in aeronautic and space applications is now being used in a medical device that treats people suffering from heart failure.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created May 07, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Surgical Implants Coated with One of "Nature's Antibiotics" Could Prevent Infection

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered a mimic of one of "nature's antibiotics" that can be used to coat medical devices to prevent infection and rejection.

Chemistry /

created Jan 29, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0