Biomedical engineers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created an implantable sensor that can be placed in the site of recent orthopaedic surgery to transfer data about how the body is healing. The sensor could provide a more accurate, cost effective and less invasive way to monitor and diagnose the body post-surgery.
The current way of monitoring a patient’s recovery after an orthopaedic procedure relies on X-rays and MRIs. These new sensors could give surgeons detailed, real-time information from the actual surgery site, which could help to better understand potential complications.
Neuroprosthetics (also called Neural Prosthetics) is a discipline related to neuroscience and biomedical engineering concerned with developing neural prostheses, artificial implantable devices to replace or improve the function of an impaired nervous system.Neuroprosthetics are the set of physical devices that interact with the brain or other neural tissue to augment, restore, or otherwise impact function.
Neuroprosthetics are electrical stimulation technologies that replace or assist damaged or malfunctioning neuromuscular organ systems and attempt to restore normal body processes, create or improve function, and/or reduce pain. These systems are either implanted or worn externally on the body. Such assistive devices range from intramuscular stimulation systems designed to limit limb atrophy in paralysis, to implanted bladder voiding systems and more complex implanted neuromuscular control.
The process of transitioning this technology into a clinically useful device will require two parallel paths of research. In the first path, experimental paradigms involving microelectrode array recordings in behaving animals will be developed in conjunction with signal processing techniques for studying the unknown aspects of neural coding and functional neurophysiology. These signal processing techniques will then be implemented in portable, low-power, wireless hardware.The second path, high-density array ECoG recordings in humans, provides a less invasive technique for neural interfaces however it still remains unknown how to extract BMI control signatures that are sufficiently spatially and temporally resolved. Neuroprosthetics is an area of intense scientific and clinical interest and rapid progress. The word’ prosthesis’ is derived from the Greek word for ‘addition’. A breakdown of the word includes ‘pros’ meaning ‘to’, and ‘thesis’, meaning ‘a placing’. Neuroprosthetic are in their infancy just now, but they offer two things that are truly wonderful:
1. Bypassing the body, and letting the mind interface directly with VR, for the ultimate immersive experience – the virtual body becomes as the normal functioning body
2. Augmented body parts will be able to be fitted to the body, and controlled by the brain as if you were born with them – after a little training, without conscious thought.
A helicopter expertly weaved through golden rings scattered across a virtual Northrop Mall, the pilot using only the power of the human brain.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s biomedical engineering department unveiled a method last month that allows people to control virtual 3-D objects entirely with brainwaves after more than 10 years of work.
A “thinking cap,” an apparatus resembling a shower cap that’s embedded with 64 electrodes interprets brainwaves, said Bin He, the lead researcher on the project. A brain-computer interface (BCI) then translates the signals into instructions for the simulation.
“It’s very successful and we’re very excited,” He said.
This International Conference provides a forum for presentation and discussion of the cutting edge research in Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies. It plays a vital role in providing a platform for scientists, engineers, postgraduates and young researchers to share their ideas, knowledge and experience. Papers relating to the general title of Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies are solicited especially including those in the areas of biomedical signal processing, health informatics, bioinformatics, biomedical electronics and devices. Other related themes include, but not limited to:
Researchers at Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering are in the process of developing scaffold-like materials that promises to speed up the recovery process for patients. The wound healing material has a fast curing time once inside the body.
Alyssa Panitch, an associate professor at Purdue University, heads the research team that discovered the liquid wound healing material, after numerous years of clinical testing at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. The material is being touted as a modern medicine breakthrough and promises to create an expedited process for burn victims and those that require the fastest recovery time possible.
The research is showing that the liquid material can be injected directly into a wound site and will solidify and fill any space needed. Once inside the body, the liquid spreads out and forms an almost immediate bonding for repairs of such wound treatments as mending damaged bones, spinal cord fusions, arterial reattachment, and other tissue rebuilding procedures.
