Health-related chemicals can be detected on dry skin, according to the National University of Singapore (NUS), which developed a stretchable ‘ionic-electronic bilayer hydrogel’ sensor with the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star). The chemicals are known as solid-state epidermal biomarkers. “These biomarkers, which include cholesterol and lactate, are found in the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of the ...
Tag Archives: medical
Washable stretchable electronics for medical wearables
4mm diameter elastomer fibres are a promising substrate for electronics in clothing, according to Nottingham Trent University, which is investigating washable stretchable medical wearables. To make the electronic fibre, a long thin flexible PCB is helically wound along, and bonded to, the elastomer core, with its components facing inwards. “The basic idea has been around for centuries – it’s the ...
140W ac-dc PSU handles 210W surges for 10s
Recom has announced a series of 140W single-output ac-dc mains power supplies that can handle 210W for ten seconds. The RACM140E-K series offers a choice of 12, 15, 24, 36 (136.8W rated) or 48Vdc depending on model. The input range is 80-264Vac and they measure 147 x 81.5mm – either 38mm tall for the open frame versions or 40mm enclosed ...
MEMS ultrasonic transducers key to detecting deep vein thrombosis
German research incubator Fraunhofer IPMS is working on a portable cuff that can be used to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT) using ultrasound scanning from CMUTs – capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers. “They are considered to be the next generation of medical ultrasound sensors,” according to Fraunhofer. “The low-cost mass production of CMUTs makes them widely available. Their advantages, such as ...
Sensing lactic acid with a graphene-like foam capacitor
University of Bath researchers have created a lactic acid sensor using double-layer capacitance created when a particular sensitive molecule is attached to a graphene-like porous electrode structure and immersed in a buffer solution. Creating an ac-based capacitive sensor, as opposed to dc voltage or current based sensor, sides-steps concentration and chemical consumption issues encountered in battery-like reactions. The carbon material, ...
Chip analyses human white blood cells
Imec has teamed up with Sarcura, an Austrian start-up, to build an white blood cell analyser-on-a-chip using integrated photonics. Resolution is sufficient to discriminate between lymphocytes and monocytes, “rivaling the performance of commercial cytometers”, said Imec scientific director Niels Verellen. It is a flow cytometer and is based on the scattering of a laser beam though a sample. The intensities ...
Bioelectronic sensor mesh could grow with heart tissue
A team of engineers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst set themselves the task instrumenting cardiac tissue as it is grown outside the body to study heart disease. Artists impression over photo: “Cardiac tissue is very special,” said Jun Yao of UMass Amherst’s college of engineering. “It has a mechanical activity – contractions and relaxations that pump blood through our ...
Nvidia packages inference to deliver generative AI for healthcare
Optimised packages of AI models and workflows with API have been packaged as NIMs (Nvidia Inference Microservices) which developers can use as building blocks to develop generative AI for healthcare, from drug discovery, med-tech and digital health products. Nvidia announced 25 NIMs at its developer conference, GTC 2024, offering advanced imaging, natural language and speech recognition, digital biology generation, prediction ...
Simple idea lets ultrasound sense the unsensable
An ultrasound-based sensing technique developed for medicine could have wider application. The question that inspired the technique was: how do we spot leaks from the gut after gastric surgery? Neither ultrasound, CT or MRI scanning could be used to remotely determine local chemistry around the internal wound, according to Northwestern University, which teamed up with the Washington University School of ...
Murata shrinks multi-amp mini automotive inductors
Murata has announced multi-amp miniature automotive SMD inductors that are over 30% better than their forebears. Measuring 2 x 1.6 x 1.2mm (0806 or 2016), there are two types: DFE2MCPHR33MJLLQ 0.33μH ±20%, 0.018Ω 5.1A max (6.4A typ) at 40°C rise 6.9A max (8.1A typ) at 30% inductance change DFE2MCPHR47MJLLQ 0.47μH±20%, 0.022Ω 4.4A max (5.5A typ) at 40°C rise 5.4A max ...