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.
Alternating current through the tissue creates friction on a molecular level. Increased intracellular temperature generates localized interstitial heating. At temperatures above 60°C, cellular proteins rapidly denature and coagulate, resulting in a lesion.
How it Works
The Cool-tip™ system’s generator feedback algorithm senses tissue impedance and automatically delivers the optimum amount of radiofrequency energy. Our unique patented electrode design minimizes tissue charring and allows for maximum current delivery, resulting in a larger ablation zone in less time.
The Cooling Effect
The electrode’s internal circulation of water cools the tissue adjacent to the exposed electrode, maintaining low impedance during the treatment cycle. Low impedance permits maximum energy deposition for a larger ablation volume.
The healthcare division of Siemens Ltd installed a Magnetom Aera 1.5-Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)scanner at Scans World, Chennai, on 23 December 2010. A new-generation scanner with a combination of Tim 4G and DOT (day optimizing throughput) engine, the device provides personalised patient care and improves daily productivity by 30% across the entire MRI workflow, according to the company.
Acoustic wave devices have been in commercial use for more than 60 years. The telecommunications industry is the largest consumer, accounting for ~3 billion acoustic wave filters annually, primarily in mobile cell phones and base stations.
These are typically surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, and act as bandpass filters in both the radio frequency and intermediate frequency sections of the transceiver electronics. Several of the emerging applications for acoustic wave devices as sensors may eventually equal the demand of the telecommunications market.
