All Articles Tagged As: implants
UC Berkeley neuroscientists and UCSF surgeons recorded electrical activity in the temporal lobe -- the seat of the auditory system -- to discover how the brain encodes sound. Their model allows them to predict what a person heard based solely on temporal lobe activity. If, as studies suggest, internal "imagined" conversations activate similar areas of the temporal lobe, it may be possible to hear the internal verbalizations of people who cannot talk because of paralysis or stroke.
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 | Engineers and physicians have made a surprising discovery that offers a target for designing new materials for hip implants that are less susceptible to the joint's normal wear and tear. The team, including engineers from Northwestern University, found that graphitic carbon is a key element in a lubricating layer that forms on metal-on-metal hip implants. The lubricant is more similar to the lubrication of a combustion engine than that of a natural joint. ...> Full Article |
A new study, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of physicians and engineers from the United States and Germany, made a surprising finding about implants used in hip replacement surgery: Graphite carbon is a key element in the lubricating layer that forms on metal-on-metal hip implants. The lubricant has more in common with the lubrication of a combustion engine than that of a natural joint. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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New hip implants appear to have no advantage over traditional implants, suggests a review of the evidence published on bmj.com today.
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 | New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick to the devices. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers from North Carolina State University and Purdue University have shown that the semiconductor material gallium nitride is non-toxic and is compatible with human cells - opening the door to the material's use in a variety of biomedical implant technologies. ...> Full Article |
A new strategy to quantify the levels of titanium in the blood of patients fitted with titanium orthopedic implants is presented in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Yoana Nuevo-Ordonez and colleagues of the Sanz-Medel research group from the University of Oviedo have developed a sensitive method to determine the levels of titanium in human blood, establishing a baseline for natural levels of titanium in untreated individuals as well as measuring levels in patients with surgical implants.
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Tiny electrodes have been coated with a drug-loaded polymer in an attempt to design an implant capable of detecting a number of neurological symptoms, such as those associated with an epileptic seizure, and treating them simultaneously.
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A new chemical bonding process can add new functions to stainless steel and make it a more useful material for implanted biomedical devices. Developed by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Alberta and Canada's National Institute for Nanotechnology, this new process was developed to address some of the problems associated with the introduction of stainless steel into the human body.
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Engineers have developed a new type of microchip muscle stimulator implant that will enable people with paraplegia to exercise their paralyzed leg muscles.
It is the first time that researchers have developed a device of this kind that is small enough to be implanted into the spinal canal and incorporates the electrodes and muscle stimulator in one unit. The implant is the size of a child's fingernail.
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Two Case Western Reserve University researchers are building implants made of diamond and flexible polymer that are designed to identify chemical and electrical changes in the brain of patients suffering from neural disease, or to stimulate nerves and restore movement in the paralyzed.
The implant would last for life and, capable of both stimulating and monitoring nerves, save space.
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Today sees the presentation of a study that, for the first time, shows the results of treatment using prostheses attached to titanium implants in the bones of patients with above-the-knee amputations. It reveals that the treatment improves function and quality of life in nine out of ten patients, and is the result of research carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital that is being presented this week at the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology.
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By creating a unique system of blood vessels that is engineered to interact with the tissue surrounding an implanted device, the longevity and function of these devices may be better preserved, according to a study led by researchers in the University of Louisville/Jewish Hospital's Cardiovascular Innovation Institute.
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 | FDA Approves Implantable Miniature Telescope to improve vision in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD). ...> Full Article |
Researchers have fabricated and characterized the first large-area metamaterial structures patterned on implantable, bio-compatible silk substrates. The antenna-like devices can monitor the "fingerprints" of chemical and biological agents and might be implanted to signal changes in the body. Metamaterials are artificial electromagnetic composites whose structures respond to electromagnetic waves in ways that atoms in natural materials do not.
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 | Clusters of heated, magnetic nanoparticles targeted to cell membranes can remotely control ion channels, neurons and even animal behavior, according to a paper published by University at Buffalo physicists in Nature Nanotechnology. ...> Full Article |
Using a nanoparticle core, Jie Song, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has fashioned a new type of tissue and bone scaffolding polymer that addresses a number of long-standing limitations. Research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the development of a class of heat-activated smart materials that combine tissue-like properties and strength that are clinically safe to deploy and able to integrate with surrounding tissue.
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 | Arrhythmic hearts soon may beat in time again, with minimal surgical invasion, thanks to flexible electronics technology developed by a team of University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Northwestern University. These biocompatible silicon devices could mark the beginning of a new wave of surgical electronics. ...> Full Article |
 | A team of cardiologists, materials scientists, and bioengineers have created and tested a new type of implantable device for measuring the heart's electrical output that they say is a vast improvement over current devices. The new device represents the first use of flexible silicon technology for a medical application. The technology may herald the next generation of active, flexible, implantable devices for applications in cardiology and neurology. ...> Full Article |
 | Screws used in surgical operations are often made of titanium. They usually have to be removed after a while or replaced by new ones. A new biomaterial makes this unnecessary. It promotes bone growth and is biodegradable. ...> Full Article |
Hip replacement patients with metal-on-metal implants (both the socket and hip ball are metal) pass metal ions to their infants during pregnancy, according to a new study presented today at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
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 | A "metal foam" that has a similar elasticity to bone could mean a new generation of biomedical implants that would avoid bone rejection that often results from more rigid implant materials, such as titanium. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the metal foam, which is even lighter than solid aluminum and can be made of 100 percent steel or a combination of steel and aluminum. ...> Full Article |
 | Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a "smart coating" that helps surgical implants bond more closely with bone and ward off infection. ...> Full Article |
Children with cochlear implants in both ears appear to have difficulty controlling the loudness and pitch of their voices, but these measures improve over time, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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 | A flexible retinal implant, combined with sophisticated electronics, may provide a higher degree of vision to blind patients with retinal degeneration. The resolution is higher, and improved software highlights the edges of objects, making them more recognizable. ...> Full Article |
A new study shows that implantation of blue light-filtering intraocular lens at the time of cataract surgery increases a nutritional component of the eye, which may afford protection against the development and/or progression of age-related macular degeneration. The study, conducted by leading ophthalmology and vision researchers from the Macular Pigment Research Group at the Waterford Institute of Technology, is published in the October 2009 issue of the high impact journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
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Bacteria that manufacture hydroxyapatite could be used to make stronger, more durable bone implants. Professor Lynne Macaskie from the University of Birmingham this week presented work to the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
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