https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In a new study, researchers show, for the first time, that photoacoustic microscopy can image stents through skin, potentially offering a safer, easier way to monitor these life-saving devices. Each year, around 2 million people in the U.S. are implanted with a stent to improve blood flow in narrowed or blocked arteries. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-noninvasive-stent-imaging-powered.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 26 Jul 2025 05:48:31 EDT news672727706 A dangerous hospital superbug has been found to digest plastic—specifically the kind used in some sutures, stents and implants inside the human body. Microbiologists at Brunel University of London show the bacteria can feed on plastic to survive, potentially enabling these pathogens to survive longer in hospital wards and within patients. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-superbug-digest-medical-plastic-dangerous.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 07 May 2025 15:42:04 EDT news665851322 A car accident, football game, or even a bad fall can lead to a serious or fatal head injury. Annually, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) cause half a million permanent disabilities and 50,000 deaths. Monitoring pressure inside the skull is key to treating TBI and preventing long-lasting complications. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-ultra-thin-flexible-silicone-nanosensor.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:23:03 EDT news663852181 An international research team led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has achieved a breakthrough in the field of medical microrobots by developing the world's first antibiofilm liquid-bodied magnetic-controlled robot. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-liquid-bodied-robot-enables-precise.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:54:38 EDT news662738067 Researchers have created nanoscale robots which could be used to manage bleeds in the brain caused by aneurysms. The development could enable precise, relatively low-risk treatment of brain aneurysms, which cause around 500,000 deaths globally each year. The medical condition—a blood-filled bulge on a brain artery that can rupture and cause fatal bleeds—can also lead to stroke and disability. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tiny-magnetic-robots-brain.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 06 Sep 2024 09:26:04 EDT news644833561 From the biggest bridges to the smallest medical implants, sensors are everywhere, and for good reason: The ability to sense and monitor changes before they become problems can be both cost-saving and life-saving. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-self-aware-materials-foundation.html Nanomaterials Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:57:56 EDT news541778226 Narrowing of the trachea or the main bronchi due to injury or illness can end very badly. If patients get too little air,oxygen, they risk suffocating and often need medical help as quickly as possible. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-d-printed-bioresorbable-airway-stent.html Materials Science Wed, 03 Feb 2021 14:30:24 EST news531585019 Hydrogel-polymer hybrids are widely used across a variety of applications to form biomedical devices and flexible electronics. However, the technologies are presently limited to hydrogel-polymer hybrid laminates containing silicone rubbers. This can greatly limit the functionality and performance of hydrogel-polymer-based devices and machines. In a new study, Qi Ge, and a team of scientists in mechanics, mechatronic systems, flexible electronics, chemistry and advanced design in China, Singapore and Israel demonstrated a simple and versatile multi-material three-dimensional (3-D) printing approach. The method allowed the development of complex hybrid 3-D structures containing highly stretchable and high water content acrylamide—poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) abbreviated as AP hydrogels, covalently bonded with diverse ultraviolet (UV) curable polymers. The team printed the hybrid structures on a self-built digital-light processing (DLP)-based multi-material 3-D printer. They facilitated covalent bonding between the AP hydrogel and other polymers through incomplete polymerization initiated by a water-soluble photoinitiator. The team displayed a few applications based on this approach to propose a new way to realize multifunctional soft devices and machines by bonding hydrogel with diverse polymer in 3-D forms. The work is now published on Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-d-highly-stretchable-hydrogel-diverse.html Materials Science Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:30:01 EST news530273111 A variety of medical devices can be inserted into the gastrointestinal tract to treat, diagnose, or monitor GI disorders. Many of these have to be removed by endoscopic surgery once their job is done. However, MIT engineers have now come up with a way to trigger such devices to break down inside the body when they are exposed to light from an ingestible LED. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-ingestible-medical-devices-broken.html Polymers Fri, 17 Jan 2020 14:00:01 EST news498457251 A new imaging technique developed by Biwei Yin and interdisciplinary researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the U.S., provides resolution at the subcellular-level to image the heart's vascular system. As a result, heart researchers can study and diagnose human coronary artery disease with greater precision. Conventionally, cardiologists employ intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) to assess the buildup of coronary plaque, which can narrow arteries to cause coronary artery disease. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-cardiac-imaging-d-cellular-resolution.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 02 Dec 2019 09:30:01 EST news494244172 ETH researchers have recently been able to monitor the corrosion of bioresorbable magnesium alloys at the nanoscale over a time scale of a few seconds to many hours. This is an important step towards accurately predicting how fast implants are resorbed by the body to enable the development of tailored materials for temporary implant applications. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-corrosion-bioresorbable-magnesium.html Materials Science Wed, 23 Oct 2019 08:34:43 EDT news491038473 MIT engineers have designed tiny robots that can help drug-delivery nanoparticles push their way out of the bloodstream and into a tumor or another disease site. Like crafts in "Fantastic Voyage"—a 1960s science fiction film in which a submarine crew shrinks in size and roams a body to repair damaged cells—the robots swim through the bloodstream, creating a current that drags nanoparticles along with them. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-tiny-robots-powered-magnetic-fields.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 26 Apr 2019 14:00:01 EDT news475505062 Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have expansive applications in biotechnology and advanced engineering with growing interest in materials science and engineering due to their potential in emerging systems. Existing techniques have enabled applications in cell mechanobiology, high-precision mass sensing, microfluidics and in energy harvesting. Projected technical implications broadly include constructing precision-sensing MEMS, tissue scaffolds that mimic the principles of mechanobiology, and energy-harvesting applications that can operate on supported broad bandwidths. At present, devices (microsensors and MEMS) are fabricated using manufacturing methods of the semiconductor industry—specifically, two-dimensional (2-D) lithographic etching—with mechanical and electric components in planar configuration. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-d-mesostructures-mechanically-materials.html General Physics Fri, 28 Sep 2018 09:20:03 EDT news457338626 Reversible shape change is a highly desirable property for many biomedical applications, including mechanical actuators, soft robotics and artificial muscles. Some materials can change size or shape when irradiated with light, triggering mechanical deformation without direct contact offering prospects for remote control. To engineer reversible, shape changing (RSC) structures—active materials that respond to external stimuli such as light, heat or electric fields are used together with other nonactive materials. Although advanced multi-material 3-D printing has enabled the design and fabrication of RSC structures, only specific materials can be printed, restricting broad use. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-d-reversible-materials-light-based-grayscale.html Materials Science Tue, 04 Sep 2018 10:30:01 EDT news455267848 Implantation of a stent-like flow diverter can offer one option for less invasive treatment of brain aneurysms—bulges in blood vessels—but the procedure requires frequent monitoring while the vessels heal. Now, a multi-university research team has demonstrated proof-of-concept for a highly flexible and stretchable sensor that could be integrated with the flow diverter to monitor hemodynamics in a blood vessel without costly diagnostic procedures. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-sensor-brain-aneurysm-treatment.html Nanophysics Thu, 02 Aug 2018 10:23:36 EDT news452424203 Researchers at the University of Liverpool have developed a mathematical model that has the potential to improve the performance of endovascular aneurysm sealing (EVAS), which is an innovative procedure to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). https://phys.org/news/2018-04-mathematicians-response-endovascular-aneurysm.html Mathematics Mon, 09 Apr 2018 07:25:15 EDT news442477505 Medical implants like stents, catheters and tubing introduce risk for blood clotting and infection - a perpetual problem for many patients. https://phys.org/news/2017-01-blood-repellent-materials-approach-medical-implants.html Materials Science Wed, 18 Jan 2017 16:31:20 EST news403979472 Think of a traditional robot and you probably imagine something made from metal and plastic. Such "nuts-and-bolts" robots are made of hard materials. As robots take on more roles beyond the lab, such rigid systems can present safety risks to the people they interact with. For example, if an industrial robot swings into a person, there is the risk of bruises or bone damage. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-biohybrid-robots-built-tissue.html Robotics Wed, 10 Aug 2016 09:05:16 EDT news390038696 University of Utah mathematicians showed it is theoretically possible to design ideal climbing ropes to safely slow falling rock and mountain climbers like brakes decelerate a car. They hope someone develops a material to turn theory into reality. https://phys.org/news/2016-07-theoretical-climbing-rope-falls.html Mathematics Wed, 06 Jul 2016 02:33:49 EDT news386991211 Coronary heart disease accounts for 18% of deaths in the United States every year. The disease results from a blockage of one or more arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. This occurs as a result of a complex inflammatory condition called artherosclerosis, which leads to progressive buildup of fatty plaque near the surface of the arterial wall. https://phys.org/news/2013-12-math-current-therapies-coronary-heart.html Mathematics Mon, 09 Dec 2013 12:32:48 EST news305814742 Scientists and engineers have used uniform magnetic fields to drive iron-bearing nanoparticles to metal stents in injured blood vessels, where the particles deliver a drug payload that successfully prevents blockages in those vessels. In this animal study, the novel technique achieved better results at a lower dose than conventional non-magnetic stent therapy. https://phys.org/news/2010-04-magnetic-fields-drug-loaded-nanoparticles-blood.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:00:07 EDT news190815881 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Japan have designed an elastic iron-based shape metal alloy for use in applications as diverse as heart and brain surgery and buildings in earthquake-prone areas. https://phys.org/news/2010-03-superelastic-iron-alloy-heart-brain.html Materials Science Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:30:02 EDT news188547854 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT and Harvard Medical School have built targeted nanoparticles that can cling to artery walls and slowly release medicine, an advance that potentially provides an alternative to drug-releasing stents in some patients with cardiovascular disease. https://phys.org/news/2010-01-nanoburrs-arsenal-therapies-heart-disease.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:04 EST news183047997 Stents that keep weakened and flabby arteries from collapsing have been true life-savers. But after six months, those stents are no longer needed -- once the arteries are strengthened, they become unnecessary. Previously, doctors had no choice but to leave them in place. https://phys.org/news/2009-11-coating-life-biodegradable-fibers-advance.html Biotechnology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:48:28 EST news178284711 Researchers are developing technologies that use lasers to create arterial stents and longer-lasting medical implants that could be manufactured 10 times faster and also less expensively than is now possible. https://phys.org/news/2009-09-laser-artificial-joints-arterial-stents.html Engineering Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:56:49 EDT news172230934 In a cluster of rather drab buildings overlooking the Charles River, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are incubating a tiny technology that packs an enormous punch. https://phys.org/news/2009-06-niche-nanotech.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:40:02 EDT news165054131 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have been puzzled in recent years by observations that drug-releasing stents (mesh-like tubes implanted to hold patients' coronary arteries open) can increase the likelihood of blood clots and heart attacks. Now, a mathematical model developed by MIT engineers can predict whether particular types of stents are likely to cause life-threatening side effects. https://phys.org/news/2009-01-stent.html Mathematics Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:04:54 EST news150473094 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using the Canadian Light Source, a team of researchers from Quebec’s Laval University and Australia’s La Trobe University has discovered how to improve the nanometers-thick layer of polymer used to coat cardiac stents. A stent is a small, springy tube made from stainless steel that is used to open arteries to the heart, that become blocked from atherosclerosis or other forms of heart disease. The findings, published at the end of August in the journal Langmuir, could lead to fewer complications when treating blocked arteries. https://phys.org/news/2008-12-heart-stents.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:37:42 EST news148066662 Scientists have used magnetic fields and tiny iron-bearing particles to drive healthy cells to targeted sites in blood vessels. The research, done in animals, may lead to a new method of delivering cells and genes to repair injured or diseased organs in people. https://phys.org/news/2008-01-magnetism-cells-animal-arteries.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:18:43 EST news118948723 Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing unique polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine. https://phys.org/news/2008-01-shape-memory-polymers-biomedical-applications.html Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:40:47 EST news118590047