Medical
10 must-see posts from September
October 1, 2012 12:28 pm | by The ECN Editors | Articles | CommentsHere’s a rundown of the most read, most popular, most awesome articles for September. They all come with a witty, engaging summary just in case you missed them the first time or want to check up on an old favorite. Keep checking out the Lead and follow us on twitter @ecnmagazine for our most up-to-date articles.
Probing the mysteries of cracks and stresses
October 1, 2012 9:01 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsDiving into a pool from a few feet up allows you to enter the water smoothly and painlessly, but jumping from a bridge can lead to a fatal impact. The water is the same in each case, so why is the effect of hitting its surface so different? This seemingly basic question is at the heart of complex research by a team
Would you use a dissolvable medical implant?
September 28, 2012 2:08 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsPart of the problem with implanted medical devices -- for example a birth control, drug delivery device like Implanon and Nexplanon -- is that eventually, they must be removed. This is proving particularly difficult with the Implanon and Nexplanon, as occasionally fibrous sheath
Enclosures are similar in size to a credit card
September 26, 2012 10:24 am | Product Releases | Comments‘POCKET-CARD’ enclosures from TEKO are similar in size to a credit card, but deep enough to accept a PCB populated with surface mount components. These enclosures have been designed for small mobile devices such as remote controls, medical devices, exposure level monitors, and identity or security
This app could save your teen driver’s life
September 25, 2012 9:26 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsWe’ve all seen it. You’re driving down the road and see someone driving erratically only to find that person is messing with the radio, yelling at their reprobate children, shaving, eating, or applying makeup. Distracted driving has taken on an entirely new meaning with the advent of texting.
App lets you monitor lung health using only a smartphone
September 19, 2012 8:43 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsPeople suffering from asthma or other chronic lung problems are typically only able to get a measure of their lung function at the doctor's office a few times a year by blowing into a specialized piece of equipment. More frequent testing at home could detect problems earlier, potentially avoiding emergency room visits and hospitalization.
Type 6 Module with high-performance integrated graphics designed for medical, gaming, and military applications
September 18, 2012 9:26 am | Product Releases | CommentsADLINK Technology presents its latest COM Express offering, the Express-HR. The Express-HR is a high performance COM.0 R2.0 Type 6 module featuring an Intel Core i7/i5 processor and supporting the latest digital graphics interfaces for future designs. With its high-level processing and graphics performance and long product life, the Express-HR is ideal for medical, gaming and military applications.
Getting (drugs) under your skin
September 17, 2012 9:06 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsUsing ultrasound waves, MIT engineers have found a way to enhance the permeability of skin to drugs, making transdermal drug delivery more efficient. This technology could pave the way for noninvasive drug delivery or needle-free vaccinations, according to the researchers.
8-bit MCU portfolio adds mid-range families targeting Full-Speed USB 2.0
September 17, 2012 8:37 am | Microchip Technology Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsMicrochip Technology Inc. expanded its certified Full-Speed USB 2.0 Device PIC microcontroller portfolio with three new Enhanced Midrange 8-bit families comprising 15 scalable MCUs ranging from 14 to 100 pins with up to 128 KB of Flash. All feature internal clock sources with
Do you have what it takes to be a Roundtable expert?
September 14, 2012 9:58 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsWe asked you for your words of wisdom for a brand-new design engineer and boy, did you guys have advice in spades. The responses we received were so good in fact, we’ve decided to open up our November Roundtables to our faithful readers in hopes that you can offer more words of wisdom. Check out the October Roundtable, here.
Design safe endoscopes and medical imaging devices with high-speed digital isolators
September 14, 2012 9:32 am | by Zhang Bin, Application Development Manager, Avago Technologies, and Harold Tisbe, Application Engineer, Avago Technologies | Articles | CommentsIn medical imaging devices, large quantities of video imaging data need to be transferred from image sensor to image processor while maintaining high levels of electrical isolation so the sensor won’t shock the patient. The high-speed digital data transmission channels between the sensor and image processor require high-levels of isolation while transferring data at up to 100Mbaud for real-time displays.
Body disposal technology widens green funeral choice
September 13, 2012 8:50 am | by Nina Chestney, Reuters | News | CommentsBurnt, buried or frozen and turned to powder are some of the options for dealing with the remains of a loved one whose last wishes include lessening death's environmental impact.Our demise can have a big environmental impact. Around three quarters of people in the United Kingdom alone are cremated after they die but cremation uses about the same amount of domestic energy as a person uses in a month.
Less wear, longer life for memory storage device
September 12, 2012 8:56 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsProbe storage devices read and write data by making nanoscale marks on a surface through physical contact. The technology may one day extend the data density limits of conventional magnetic and optical storage, but current probes have limited lifespans due to mechanical wear.
Mammoth fragments from Siberia raise cloning hopes
September 12, 2012 8:48 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsScientists have discovered well-preserved frozen woolly mammoth fragments deep in Siberia that may contain living cells, edging a tad closer to the "Jurassic Park" possibility of cloning a prehistoric animal, the mission's organizer said Tuesday.
Bike alone? You need this helmet sensor
September 11, 2012 4:12 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsAs a naturally clumsy person, I’m all about using technology to improve safety, whether it’s in a car or on a motorcycle. If there was a device that would beep before my knee collided with a desk, cubicle wall, low table, or other immovable object, I would own 12.
Cheap and cheerful: scientists find color that never fades
September 11, 2012 9:03 am | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | Comments(Reuters) - Scientists have found nature's way of creating color that never fades, a technique they say could replace pigments used in industry with natural plant extracts in products from food coloring to security features in banknotes.
10 must-see posts from August
September 6, 2012 4:23 pm | by Editors | Blogs | CommentsHere’s a rundown of the most read, most popular, most awesome articles for August. They all come with a witty, engaging summary just in case you missed them the first time or want to check up on an old favorite. Keep checking out the Lead and follow us on twitter @ecnmagazine for our most up-to-date articles.
Tough gel stretches to 21 times its length, recoils, and heals itself
September 6, 2012 8:55 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsA team of experts in mechanics, materials science, and tissue engineering at Harvard have created an extremely stretchy and tough gel that may pave the way to replacing damaged cartilage in human joints.Called a hydrogel, because its main ingredient is water, the new material is a hybrid of two weak gels
UK paraplegic woman first to take robotic suit home
September 5, 2012 8:39 am | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | CommentsA British woman paralyzed from the chest down by a horse riding accident has become the first person to take home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk. Although bionic exoskeletons have been used in hospitals and rehabilitation centers,
Integrated light engine modules produce up to 104 lumens per watt
September 4, 2012 2:14 pm | Product Releases | CommentsThomas Research Products is pleased to announce that their LED Core series of integrated light engine modules have exceeded 100 lumens per watt. The TR-SS1 series LED Core Garage Modules feature Type V DLC Compliant optics.
Molded chip scale package ideal for ultra-portable applications
September 4, 2012 10:25 am | 3M Electronics Solutions Division | Product Releases | CommentsAlpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited introduced the AOC2403 – the industry’s first Molded Chip Scale Package (MCSP) in a tiny 0.97mm x 0.97mm x 0.3mm power package. Compared to existing Chip Scale Package (CSP) solutions,
Shapeable LED backlight designed for enhanced light distribution
September 4, 2012 10:14 am | Product Releases | CommentsLumex announces the global launch of its first-in-the-industry QuantumBrite Shapeable LED Backlight. With the new shapeable LED backlight, holes can be cut into the backlight in virtually any shape (for example, to allow space for a switch or other component on the circuit board). This combination of flexible and shapeable LED backlight technology...
A millimeter-scale, wirelessly powered cardiac device
September 4, 2012 9:05 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsStanford electrical engineers overturn existing models to demonstrate the feasibility of a millimeter-sized, wirelessly powered cardiac device A team of engineers at Stanford has demonstrated the feasibility of a super-small, implantable cardiac device that gets its power not from batteries
'Magic carpet' could help prevent falls
September 4, 2012 9:04 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsPlastic optical fibres, laid on the underlay of a carpet, can bend when anyone treads on it and map, in real-time, their walking patterns.Tiny electronics at the edges act as sensors and relay signals to a computer. These signals can then be analysed to show the image of the footprin
'Not without my iPad': Young tech-savvy docs want a real life, but don't call them slackers
September 4, 2012 9:00 am | by LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsDon't call today's young doctors slackers. True, they may shun a 24/7 on-call solo practice and try to have a life outside of work. Yet they say they're just as committed to medicine as kindly Marcus Welby from 1970s TV, or even grumpy Dr. House.
