As we look back on the medtech developments of 2015 there’s definitely a sense that we’re living through revolutionary times. Nearly every day exciting and fascinating technologies are being unveiled by small and large companies, universities, and even tiny independent groups. Empowered by high-powered computers, 3D printers, and other technologies, researchers, scientists, and engineers are coming up with novel solutions to age-old medical problems. Everything from treating gunshot wounds to how fetuses inside the womb are monitored is going through change thanks to technologies developed by thousands of independent minds around the world.
Researchers say they’re designing patch-like devices to wirelessly transmit information about a person’s vital health statistics, potentially freeing patients from the wires and sticky electrodes of electroencephalograms (EEGs) and electrocardiogram (EKGs).
The devices, currently envisioned to be more like a temporary tattoo than a medical patch, could conceivably measure heart activity and brain waves, said John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who spoke about the new research at a conference this week.
“The big benefit would be the ability to continuously monitor health and wellness,” Rogers said. “There’s a lot of interest in personalized medicine and the quantified self, and hardware is key.”
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) invites applications for faculty positions at all levels in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department (www.wpi.edu/+BME). The Department delivers a growing undergraduate BME program with approximately 350 students. Over 60 graduate students enrolled in the Biomedical Engineering graduate program are pursuing MS, ME and PhD degrees. The department is conducting externally-funded research programs in the following areas: cellular and tissue engineering, biomechanics, biomaterials, bioinstrumentation, biosignal processing and physiological systems modeling.
