etc. Archive

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Brainwave Sofa Is Exactly What You Were Thinking

Ever wondered what a piece of furniture formed from raw data extracted from your brain would look like? But of course you have, and so did Lucas Maassen and Dries Verbruggen, the designers of the Brainwave Sofa.

Mr. Verbruggen had his brain activity measured while he closed his eyes for 3 seconds. The extracted EEG data was used to create a 3D landscape with the x-axis representing the frequency of brainwave activity in hertz, the y-axis is the percentage of activity, and the z- axis is time. The sofa was then created in its physical form by a five axis computer numerical controlled machine, which creates a three dimensional object out of foam.

The sofa will be showcased as part of the Bits n' Pieces design exhibition.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Robotic Nurse Assistant to Ferry Patients Around Hospital Wards

The Japanese are gearing up for a time when there are more elderly folks needing assistance than there are young whippersnappers available to do the choirs. The RIBA, or Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, is a 400 pound (180 kilos) device designed by engineers at the RIKEN institute and Tokai Rubber Industries to carry people up to 135 pounds (61 kilos) between hospital beds, wheelchairs, and even toilets. The device is full of tactile sensors to make carrying safe and comfortable for patients, and it can even recognize faces and be commanded via voice to perform basic tasks. The only problems, from our point of view, is the inadequacy of this robot of serving the hefty average American and the menacing demeanor of what looks like a space bear without the personality of Chewbacca.

Here's a demo video of the RIBA...

Link: Google translation of Japanese info page about the RIBA...

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Shoe Inn Automatic Shoe Cover Dispenser

Here's a simple device that needs to be a standard piece of equipment in OR locker rooms. MassDevice is reporting that staff at Boston Scientific's neurmodulation business, which manufactures spinal cord stimulation devices in ISO Class 7 clean rooms, has been using the Shoe Inn Stay automatic shoe cover dispenser and heavy-duty, non-slip, waterproof shoe covers called Super Reboots. We say: if it's good for ISO 7, it must be good for stinking Crocks.

Press release: Boston Scientific Completes Clean Room Trial of Shoe Inn Products...

Product page: Automatic shoe cover dispensers and shoe covers from Shoe Inn...

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Monday, August 3, 2009

SUDS Machine Auto Sanitizes Hospital Equipment For Less Wiping

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed and are testing a closet sized device for decontamination of common hospital equipment. The SUDS, which stands for "self-cleaning unit for the decontamination of small instruments", can work on anything from EKG cables to IV stands, providing an automatic one stop shop to sanitize hospital equipment. The investigators just released a study that assessed the effectiveness of the SUDS machine over manual wiping.

About the SUDS device from the article in Annals of Surgical Innovation and Research:

The self-cleaning unit for the decontamination of small instruments (SUDS) is a multimodal portable decontamination unit. This unit allows for primary, secondary, and tertiary decontamination mechanisms with aerosolized biocide, ultraviolet light, and dry heat, respectively. Surface and base rotation via a clockwise and counterclockwise mechanism serves to increase the exposure of equipment to the biocide by optimizing air flow directionality.
Turbulence generated at the base allows for air flow patterns that increase exposure to the undersurface of the equipment. Image distance-based techniques allow for maximum intervention in specific areas. S-shaped curvatures at the edges of the surface rotatory mechanism allow for the attachment of multiple devices to the surface rotatory mechanism. Air cleaning and filtration modes allow for the expulsion of clean air into the environment; this may be connected to the facility filtration system. Only the primary mode of decontamination (aerosolized biocide) was used in this study.

More about the study results from the Johns Hopkins press reelase:

In the study, the Johns Hopkins team showed that SUDS was able to disinfect some 90 pieces of used emergency-room equipment, placing as many as 15 items in the device and “fogging” the equipment with an aerosolized, commercially available disinfectant chemical, or biocide, called Sporicidin. None of the electronic circuitry appeared to be damaged by the decontamination process. Instruments tested were of the type that comes in direct contact with a patient’s skin, the body’s key barrier to infection.
Repeated swabbing and lab culture testing of each decontaminated instrument showed that all items remained free of so-called gram-positive bacteria for two full days after cleaning, even after the equipment was returned to the emergency department and re-used. On the bacteria-free list were such potentially dangerous superbugs as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

By contrast, testing of an equal number of similar items that were manually scrubbed down with a disinfectant solution, called Airex, showed that 25 percent of the devices had bacterial growth after two days, including growth of potentially dangerous gram-positive bacteria, such as MRSA and VRE, as well as gram-negative type bacteria, most notably, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii, plus some types of fungi.

Study: Contamination of equipment in emergency settings: An exploratory study with a targeted automated intervention Annals of Surgical Innovation and Research 2009, 3:8

Press release: BRING ON THE "SUDS": PROTOTYPE, 7-FOOT-TALL SANITIZER AUTOMATES DISINFECTION OF HARD-TO-CLEAN HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT...

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Friday, July 24, 2009

RIVA Automatic IV Preparation Robot

Intelligent Hospital Systems, a company out of Winnipeg, Canada, has developed a robotic system for precise preparation of syringes and IV bags for busy hospital pharmacies. We discovered the Robotic IV Automation (RIVA) device when we read the announcement of the firm receiving the 21st Century Achievement Award from the Computerworld Honors Program.

Product page: Robotic IV Automation...

Press release: Intelligent Hospital Systems Receives International Award for Innovative Technology Benefiting Society...

2009 Computerworld Honors...

Here's a video demonstrating the RIVA:

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TruTags Drug and Food Authentication System to Help Ensure You Get What You Pay For

Pharmaceutical counterfeiting has been growing into a serious problem over the years, and RFID (radio frequency identification) based techniques have been implemented into pill bottle caps to guarantee authenticity. The problem, of course, is that this approach doesn't identify the genuine nature of the pills themselves. Now Cellular Bioengineering, a company out of Honolulu, Hawaii, has developed a method to manufacture tiny silicon dioxide (SiO2) particles, called TruTags™, each of which can have a unique light signature when observed with a special device. Being cheaper to manufacture and safe for consumption, the company believes that TruTags may become regular practice to tag not only drugs, but also foods, and maybe even things like toothpaste and diaper creams.

From the product page:

TruTags™ are manufactured starting with high-purity silicon and completely oxidized by a high-temperature bake to form silica, also known as silicon dioxide (SiO2). Silica is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by the FDA, and has been in wide use for many years in a range of food products and pharmaceuticals. For example, it is added in small amounts to aid with the thickening of coatings or the free-flow of powders and granulations.
The TruTag™ difference is that a unique optical signature is manufactured into the tags without the use of additional additives or markers. This allows the tags to be added to coatings and applied to the exterior of edible goods, or added to ingredients such as powders and used as a forensic marker, to be read and verified as part of an investigation or inspection process by authorized security or quality assurance personnel.

Video of the TruTag particles swimming in water:

Info page: TruTags™...

Press release: BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY ENABLES EDIBLE TRUTAG™ TO PREVENT COUNTERFEIT MEDICINE

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Enovate Unveils New Medical Cart Series

EnovateIT out of Ferndale, Michigan is releasing a new line of medical laptop carts featuring a few nifty features like a keyboard light, an antibacterial coating, and a low overall weight. You can even get a Lithium-Ion powered version for a substantial battery life to run the laptop, scanner, and perhaps a couple other devices.

From the company press release, and the complete list of features of the carts:

Enovate focused on four key areas for its new cart series: ergonomics, infection control, weight and power. Cart handles are designed to be comfortable, soft to the touch and ergonomically correct. whether you are pushing, pulling, sitting, or standing. All contact surfaces, including handles, are finished or made with antimicrobial materials that deliver smooth and comfortable surfaces while complying with infection control polices. Standard powered carts on the market are large and bulky, with a starting weight around 120 lbs. and more. Enovate's powered carts have a smaller base with a contour of 12"h and a wheel base of 17"h x 16.5"h which enables it to maneuver within tight areas easily. The starting weight of the standard powered Enovate Medical cart is at 110 lbs. Contrary to standard carts on the market which typically deliver one type of power option, Enovate's Medical Carts offer multiple power options such as hot swappable Lithium-Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH), or the standard Seal Lead Acid (SLA).

Antimicrobial Contact Surfaces

Smart Dashboard
* Battery Alert * Power On/Off * LED Fuel Gauge * Remote PC Reboot Button
Keyboard Light with Auto Shut-off

Scanner Bracket

Mouse Bracket

Left/Right Mouse Tray

Comfort Wrist Rest

Comfort Grip Front Handle

Comfort Grip Height Adjustment Lever

Storage Bin

Work Surface: 17" x 17"

Cable Storage

3 port USB Hub

Internal Cable Management

Ethernet Ready

4 casters (2 locking)

Hospital Grade Spiral Cord

Keyed Lock Security

Power Management

Integrated Power Conditioning System

Internal CPU Storage: 16" w x 16" d x 2.5" h (Customization Available)

Negative-tilt Keyboard

Ethernet Ready

Weight
* Standard SLA Powered: 110lbs * Non-Powered: 65 lbs

Press release: EnovateIT Announces New Enovate Medical Cart Series

Product page: Enovate Medical Carts...

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Evacuate Babies Efficiently with BabyScatt

~~Kidnapping~~ Evacuating babies doesn't seem hard in theory, but imagine you are a lone nurse working in the newborn nursery when that code red goes off. Now, most likely you wouldn't do much considering code reds go off if you so much as wink in a fire alarm's direction. But, if you really need to get Costco amount of babies out of the building, then BabyScatt seems like a reasonable option.

From the website:

The BabyScatt is designed to Evacuate 6 babies at one time.
This cocoon like evacuation device has bumper bars on all sides to protect in case of falling debris or possible obstructions in the pathway. After reaching a place of refuge the BabyScatt continues to protect and provide a safe place for the babies to rest in the individual pockets.

Check out the product page here...

(Hat Tip: Gizmodo)

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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Redesigning The Lowly IV Pole

Goo Sung over at Core77 describes how he and a team of designers took on the challenge to improve the common IV pole that both patients and clinicians aren't particularly fond of. Working for Modo, a Beaverton, Oregon developer of clinical carts and trolleys that was contracted by Cardinal Health to come up with a fresh design, the team came up with a few interesting improvements.

To reduce the risk of cross-ward infection, we created an ID bracelet for each pole so poles from one area of the hospital could not be poached.
When we asked nurses what they wanted most in an IV pole, the answer was always the same: "I want it to be stable." At John Radcliffe Hospital, the record for the most pumps on a single pole is thirteen. We added weight to the base for greater stability and safety.

We designed a distinctive ring handle to make transport easy and comfortable and an asymmetrical base to create a larger toe envelope and to give every pump system a logical front and back. Finally, nurses could have what they wanted: an IV pole that "wouldn't trip them up." We transformed drooping hangers for IV bags into a distinctive, easy-to-reach Y-leaf, and added a white board so family and friends could exchange greetings and messages. This helped break down the social isolation created by conventional IV poles. We even added a bud vase and a shelf for small objects and belongings. We wanted to support patients as well as technology.

Read more about the project at Core77...

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

SimMan 3G Patient Simulator Gets a Serious Upgrade

Laerdal Medical (Stavanger, Norway), the maker of the original, and now famous, Resusci Anne CPR training simulator, has recently released a new, much more advanced version of the robot. The SimMan 3G can cry, bleed, convulse, go into cardiac arrest, and have all sorts of medical conditions that are better practiced at first without a human subject.

Here's a very partial list of features of the SimMan 3G:

Quality CPR Feedback Laerdal™s Q-CPR technology measures the quality of CPR providing real time feedback on compression rate, depth, release, and hands-off time as well as generating palpable pulses , blood pressure wave forms and ECG artefacts.
Convulsions
Degrees of seizures and convulsions can be created from minor effect through to a full convulsion through the Instructor Mode.

Bleeding and Wounds
Wound models can be connected to an internal blood reservoir which will bleed both from arterial and venous vessels. Connected to the simulator's physiological modelling, SimMan 3G will react appropriately according to treatment.

Wireless Monitor
Part of the complete wireless simulation solution, the wireless monitor enables you to observe the patient simulator™s vital signs while moving around freely during training.

Secretions
The new eye secretions feature has multiple scenario applications such as responsive reactions to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents.

Drug & Event Recognition
The new and advanced Drug Recognition System allows students to administer drugs simultaneously. It registers the amount, speed and type of drug automatically and applies the appropriate physiological responses, saving the instructor time and improving the overall intelligent debrief.

Eye Signs
Include pupillary responses to light, blinks at slow, normal and fast rates, winks and open, partially open and closed reactions.

Vascular Access
In addition to the standard vascular access in the right arm, the new intraosseous access via the tibia and sternum allows for procedure accuracy

Chest Decompression & Chest Drain
Students can now perform a needle Thoracentesis and insert a chest drain bi-laterally.

Here's a BBC report showing off the SimMan 3G:

Product page: SimMan 3G ...

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Read/Write Brain Electrodes Getting Smaller and Smarter

Modern deep brain stimulation techniques use electrical probes that have to be rather small for precise effect. Presently, the electrodes are still bulky because of the manufacturing limitations. Now IMEC, a nanotechnology company out of Leuven, Belgium, reports that it has developed a new process that supposedly can improve electrode resolution and sensitivity. Using the new technology, the company built a prototype probe that can simultaneously read and stimulate brain neurons, paving way for smart neurological implant systems that can quickly react to a detected stimulus.

Wolfgang Eberle, Senior Scientist and project manager at IMEC’s bioelectronics research group: “To have a more precise stimulation and recording, we need electrodes that are as small as individual brain cells (neurons). Such small electrodes can be made with semiconductor process technology, appropriate design tools, and advanced electronic signal processing. At DATE, we want to bring this message to the design community, showing the huge opportunities that the healthcare sector offers.”
IMEC’s design and modeling strategy allows developing advanced brain implants consisting of multiple electrodes enabling simultaneous stimulation and recording. This strategy was used to create prototype probes with 10 micrometer-size electrodes and various electrode topologies.

The design strategy relies on finite-element modeling of the electrical field distribution around the brain probe. This was done with the multi-physics simulation software COMSOL 3.4 and 3.5. The COMSOL tools also enabled investigating the mechanical properties of the probe during surgical insertion and the effects of temperature. The results indicate that adapting the penetration depth and field asymmetry allow steering the electrical field around the probe. This results in high-precision stimulation. Also key to the design approach is developing a mixed-signal compensation scheme enabling multi-electrode probes capable of stimulation as well as recording. This is needed to realize closed-loop systems.

These new design approaches open up possibilities for more effective stimulation with less side effects, reduced energy consumption due to focusing the stimulation current on the desired brain target, and closed-loop control adapting the stimulation based on the recorded effect.

Press release: IMEC’s design strategy for brain implants paves the way to multi-electrode deep-brain stimulation ...

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

6 min Instrument Sterilization Demonstrated

We have covered the constant struggle between medical device manufacturers and hospitals over the reuse of medical instruments. The hospitals are looking to minimize cost and waste, while the manufacturers claim that reuse is not safe because of damage to the instruments and contamination.

Germgard Lighting LLC (New Jersey) has just issued a press release claiming that through the use of ozone and ultraviolet light the company has optimized their patented technique to sterilize surgical instruments and trays to a time frame of under 6 min in an attempt to bolster the hospitals' side of the debate. And to sell some of these devices.

Sterilization of medical instruments is typically done with a hot steam sterilization process or any room-temperature, gas sterilization. These can be expensive, time consuming, and environmentally unfriendly processes. With Germgard's system, which is about the size of a shoebox, ozone and ultraviolet light break chemical bonds in the pathogen or chemical contaminant. This change in conformation of the structure leads to inactivation of the offending agent. An advantages of this process are that ozone and ultraviolet light can penetrate into smaller feature sizes on instruments that can be missed in gas sterilization processes. Also, this process is at a lower operating temperature than typical hot sterilization process so there is less thermal induced fatigue on the device itself.
While this is initially being developed for use in military field hospital settings, it has the potential in standard clinical settings to improve sterilization control and reduce overall cost associated with the process.

We think this application is interesting and has potential, but we will need to see some refereed scientific data on this before we're ready to give up "Steamy", our trusty autoclave sidekick. Also, we hope this works better than that 6 min abs setup we got for Christmas.

Press release: Germgard announces successful 6 min sterilization technique

Germgard Lighting...

Flashback: Once is Not Enough for some medgadgets

Image: Germgard's similar hand sanitizer device

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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Envision E700 Wound Surface Wins Design Award

We are not big experts in bed sheets. So when we are told that Hill-Rom Services, Inc. gets a prize in the 2009 Medical Design Excellence Awards for its 3D Envision® E700 Low-Airloss Therapy Surface, we believe that this mattress liner must be good for those who have decubitus ulcers and burns. The Envision E700 wound surface promises lower pressure, shear, and friction, as well as it supposedly provides greater patient mobility and microclimate management than those old and now useless surfaces, like 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets.

The Envision e700 surface sports these features:

PressureSmart® Sensing Technology
Senses the patient position in real time, allowing optimal pressure redistribution as the patient sleeps, turns, sits up, and gets in or out of bed.

Vertical Air Cell Technology
Multiple vertical air cells act independently, optimizing immersion and envelopment of the heel.

ShearReleif System
Multiple layers of 3-D fabric encased in a shear liner shift along with the patient, minimizing shear and friction during patient movement combined with a unique algorithm that automatically adjusts seat and back to reduce shear and friction when head of bed is raised.

Microclimate Management
A unique approach to delivering Low Air loss through multiple layers of breathable, 3-D fabric with crush resistant channels increasing air circulation and flow. Along with high moisture vapor permeable, stain resistant cover, in turn, improves the ability to manage heat and moisture directly below the patient.

Head of Bed Angle Display
Color coded graphic indicates Head of Bed angle above or below 30° so caregiver can raise or lower head to optimize pressure redistribution.

Bed Exit Alarm
Help reduce the risk of falls with bed exit alarm; choose one of two patient sensitivity levels – patient movement in & out of hospital beds. The alarm volume is adjustable, and the visual alarm can easily be seen from a distance.

Product page: Envision® E700 Low-Airloss Therapy Surface ...

2009 MDEA Winners...

Press release: 32 Innovative Products Win Medical Design Excellence Awards...

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Hospital Keyboard Helps Prevent Cross-Contamination

The Medigenic infection control keyboard from Esterline Advanced Input Systems of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho won in the General Hospital Devices and Therapeutic Products category of the 2009 Medical Design Excellence Awards. The keyboard was designed to feel like a standard desktop unit, that can withstand being cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectants. For ease of cleaning, the device also features an on/off button to prevent accidental keystrokes to go into the computer.

Sanitize in Seconds: flat keyboard design quickly wipes clean with hospital-grade disinfectants.

High-Speed Data Entry: full-size keyboard enables healthcare professionals to touch-type with conventional keyboard-like performance.

Disinfection without Disconnection: single disable key allows connectivity while keyboard is cleaned.

Audio and Visual Alerts indicator will flash and alert will sound at user-defined intervals to help monitor and promote good infection-control practices. Cleaning the keyboard turns off the indicators.

Backlit Keys*: keyboard is usable in low-light environments to accommodate data-input accuracy and reduce patient disturbance.

*Features available on the Compliance model.

The new Essential medical keyboard is a cost-effective alternative to conventional keyboards and covers. The Compliance medical keyboard—now available in 101/102-key and 104/105-key layouts—adds an alert system that reminds users to clean the keyboard at regular intervals and provides backlit keys for use in low-light areas. Upwards of 10 different keyboard variants are available to meet multiple language requirements.

Product page: Medigenic Medical Keyboards ...

2009 MDEA Winners...

Press release: 32 Innovative Products Win Medical Design Excellence Awards...

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Friday, April 3, 2009

A Tiny Lightbulb from Luxim Has Great Medical Future

The internet is buzzing with excitement about the latest LIFI bulb from Luxim, a Sunnyvale, CA firm. The tiny device has been described by TreeHugger as "almost 10 times more efficient than traditional incandescent light bulbs, twice as efficient as current high-end LEDs, and they also beat CFLs, most of which are around 50-80 lumens/watt."

Check out this video and see for yourself why we think this light bulb will boldly go invasive, when it makes its way into endoscopes, arthoscopes, hysteroscopes, thorascopes, laryngoscopes, sinuscope, and laparoscopes, of course.

Treehugger: Luxim Plasma Light Bulb Kicks Some Serious LED Butt...

Luxim press release...

Luxim...

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Zarlink Introduces Ultra-Low Power Radio Chip for Medical Devices

Making smaller and longer lasting electronic medical devices generally involves either improving batteries or making more efficient use of the electricity. Zarlink, a semiconductor company that makes radio chips for wireless medical devices, announced a new product that takes aim at the second half of this equation, device efficiency. Their newly announced chip, the ZL™70250, is 2mm by 3mm in size and consumes five times less power than competing devices. It only sucks down 2 milliamps of electricity (@ 1-2 volts), or about 2 milliwatts -- 500 times less than the average bed stand clock radio (and, just for fun, 600,000 times less than your average toaster). The chip has a range of up to a few hundred meters and is intended for devices such as continuous glucose monitors, electrocardiograms, or SpO2 monitors.

A hopeful consequence of more efficient radio chips like these is the creation of devices that would recharge themselves either by using body heat or body motion.

From the press release:

The radio chip's extremely low power characteristics also make it ideal for "green" communication systems powered by emerging energy-harvesting techniques. This includes solar powered wireless sensor networks used to monitor environmental changes, and on-body medical devices that gather power from body heat.
"Zarlink has solved the power and size challenges faced by designers when developing compact wireless devices that must support continuous monitoring," said Didier Sagan, marketing manager with Zarlink's Medical Products Group. "Zarlink is a leading provider of ultra-low power radios for the medical telemetry market. Building on this expertise, the ZL70250 chip makes wireless telemetry possible in a new generation of devices. In addition, the highly integrated chip and supporting application development kit helps simplify design complexity, reduce component count, and speed time-to-market."

Press Release: Zarlink Radio Solution Powers Miniaturization of Medical Wireless and Remote Sensor Devices

Flashback: Self Energizing MedGadgets; In the Works: Heart Powered Implanted Pacemaker

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Delivering Bright Light Where It's Most Needed

WelchAllyn lighting division has introduced a new metal-halide powered fiber optic lighting system that can deliver high intensity light at a lower cost. The system is meant to be used in a variety of medical devices, such as endoscopes, laparoscopic cameras, and other gadgets where high quality localized light is needed.

From Welch Allyn:

“They generate bright, white light that’s comparable to xenon sources but at a much lower price," said Doug Rutan, Welch Allyn marketing manager. "And when compared with halogen illuminators, LB24 products produce significantly higher-quality, brighter light, are longer life and more efficient. They’re an ideal option for applications that demand intense, white light at an affordable cost, even for sub-millimeter diameter fibers.”
LB24 fiber-optic illuminators are available in both industrial and medical-certified configurations. The medical series, LB24M, is ideal for applications such as surgical microscopy, endoscopy and surgical device illumination and includes a mandatory power supply. The LB24 industrial series is intended for OEM system integration such as lighting for borescopes, fiberscopes and microscopes and can be operated in portable applications using low-voltage battery packs.

LB24 illuminators produce over 500-lumen output, 5,000°K color temperature, 90+CRI and feature a median lamp life of 500 hours. They measure 5.8 inches x 3.5 inches x 2.8 inches and weigh just 1.2 lbs (2.2 lbs with power supply). For maximum flexibility, LB24 products are available with ACMI and other industry-standard fiber-optic couplers and have a threaded input port for custom adapters. They also feature an internal thermal cutout, double insulation, low electrical noise, full-off light attenuation and a medical-grade UV/IR optical filter. LB24 illuminators for international sale come equipped with an eight-language manual.

Press release: Welch Allyn Introduces Suite of Metal Halide Fiber-Optic Illuminators for Medical, Industrial Applications

Product page: LB24

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Micromotor to Power Intravascular Swimming Probes

Physicists at the Monash University in Australia have developed a tiny motor that would be able to power a probe swimming through blood vessels. The device is about a quarter of a millimeter wide and utilizes a dual-action piezoelectric motor to drive small fan that pushes the unit forward.

From the Institute of Physics:

As Professor James Friend, leader of the research team at Monash University, explained, motors have lagged behind in the age of technological miniaturisation and provide the key to making robots small enough for injection into the bloodstream. “If you pick up an electronics catalogue, you’ll find all sorts of sensors, LEDs, memory chips, etc that represent the latest in technology and miniaturisation. Take a look however at the motors and there are few changes from the motors available in the 1950s.”
Professor Friend and his team began their research over two years ago in the belief that piezoelectricity was the most suitable energy force for micro-motors because the engines can be scaled down while remaining forceful enough, even at the sizes necessary to enter the bloodstream, for motors to swim against the blood’s current and reach spots difficult to operate upon.

Piezoelectricity is most commonly found in quartz watches and gas stoves. It is based on the ability of some materials to generate electric potential in response to mechanical stress. In the case of a gas stove, the ignition switch on a stove triggers a spring to release a ball that smashes against a piece of piezoelectric material, often kinds of crystal, which translates the force of the ball into more than 10,000 volts of electricity which then travels down wires, reaches the gas, and starts the stove fire.

As Professor Friend explains, “Opportunities for micro-motors abound in fields as diverse as biomedicine, electronics, aeronautics and the automotive industry. Responses to this need have been just as diverse, with designs developed using electromagnetic, electrostatic, thermal and osmotic driving forces. Piezoelectric designs however have favourable scaling characteristics and, in general, are simple designs, which have provided an excellent platform for the development of micro-motors.”

The team has produced prototypes of the motors and is now working on ways to improve the assembly method and the mechanical device which moves and controls the micro-motors.

Institute of Physics press release: Microbot motors fit to swim human arteries

Image: A lab bench prototype of the new motor. Applying voltage to the piezoelectric material sets up vibrations that the stator translates into a rotation of the ball - a design that could be shrunk further to drive small robots inside the body, its creators say (IOP/Monash University)

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Sharklet Technology Bets on Antibacterial Topographies

Sharklet Technologies, LLC, an Alachua, Fla. firm, says that they have figured out a new way to control infections on artificial surfaces. After extensively studying shark's skin, the company says its proprietary Sharklet™ surface technology can control the growth of microorganisms and bacteria including Staph aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli. The most interesting thing about the Sharklet™ is that the antibacterial properties of the surface come not from the chemicals but rather from the shape and microscopic pattern alone. The company says that its surface is comprised of "billions of tiny raised bars arranged in a specific diamond pattern," and this technology can literally be embedded onto the surfaces of medical devices such as catheters or artificial hips, as well as medical care equipment such as hospital beds, or even door knobs.

More from the technology page at Sharklet Technologies:

Sharklet™ was discovered and developed by Dr. Anthony Brennan, Ph.D., at the University of Florida, who has long studied the factors that cause microorganisms to attach to surfaces, colonize, create biofilms, and begin their destructive or beneficial cycles. His work and the development of Sharklet™ as a surface technology are inspired by nature and the organism growth resistance properties of shark skin.
Upon close examination, shark skin reveals micro-topography features which are believed to contribute to its ability to violate a general rule of the ocean. Typically, slow moving animals are host to organisms such as barnacles and algae while fast moving animals are generally clean. Certain species of sharks are slow yet stay relatively clean due in part to their unique skin pattern. Sharklet™ is the first pattern inspired by shark skin and has microscopic features arranged in a unique pattern that microorganisms find inhospitable.

Dr. Anthony Brennan’s research found that microorganisms settling on a surface respond in a controlled way to chemical and physical cues. The BERI™, or Brennan Engineered Response Index, is an index that evaluates the effects on bioadhesion of systematically altering properties of a surface. Using this approach, Dr. Brennan and his researchers developed Sharklet™ and several other engineered topographies – surfaces with unique characteristics that can be tuned to evoke a specific bioresponse from organisms.

The revolutionary Sharklet™ pattern controls microorganism growth without toxic chemicals or metals. The pattern has been tested and proven effective against plant, animal and bacteria organisms. While not discernable to the naked eye or easily felt to the touch, the Sharklet™ surface technology has demonstrated in strenuous laboratory tests to be inhospitable to bacterial growth and biofilm formation as compared to smooth surfaces.

Technology brochure...

Sharklet Technologies...

Press release: Sharklet Technologies Wins 'Early-Stage Shootout' at Southeast Bio's Investor Forum...

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