<div class="page photo" style=""> <article> <header style=" background-image:url(/imageLibrary/7K0A0664_9322.JPG); "> <div class="box"> <div class="intro" style="color: #ff7f2a;"> <h1 style="color: #ff7f2a !important;">What's New</h1> <p class="summary"></p> </div> </div> </header> <div class="main"> <div class="container"> <p class="byline"> </p> <p><img src="http://beacon.by/uploads/548a3e5560b12_3056.JPG" unselectable="on"></p><h4><a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/devices/biodegradable-power-generators-could-power-medical-implants" target="_blank">Biodegradable Power Generators Could Power Medical Implants</a></h4><p>Mar 4, 2016 by Charles Q. Choi</p><p><img src="/uploads/572004a90e7c4.jpg" unselectable="on"></p><p>Photo : Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems</p><p>Biodegradable devices that generate energy from the same effect behind most static electricity could help power transient electronic implants that dissolve in the body, researchers say.</p><p><a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/webinar/simulation-of-implanted-medical-devices">Implantable electronic devices</a> now help treat everything from damaged hearts to <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/devices/military-aims-for-brain-implants-to-restore-wounded-soldiers-memories">traumatic brain injuries</a>. For example, <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/biomedical/devices/hacking-pacemakers">pacemakers</a> can help keep hearts beating properly, while brain sensors can monitor patients for potentially dangerous <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/diagnostics/wireless-technique-gives-quick-cheap-read-on-brain-injuries">swelling in the brain</a>.</p><p>However, when standard electronic implants run out of power, they need to be removed lest they eventually become sites of infection. But their surgical removal can result in potentially dangerous complications. Scientists are developing <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/biomedical/devices/siliconbased-sensors-slip-into-the-brain-then-dissolve-when-their-jobs-are-done">transient implantable electronics</a> that dissolve once they are no longer needed, but these mostly rely on external sources of power, limiting their applications.</p><p>Now researchers have developed a biodegradable power source that harnesses the phenomenon known <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/conservation/paper-origami-energy-harvesters">triboelectricity</a>, the most common cause of static electricity. When two different materials repeatedly touch and then separate, the surface of one material can steal electrons from the surface of the other. This is why rubbing feet on a carpet or a running a comb through hair can build up electric charge. The scientists detailed <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/3/e1501478">their findings</a> online in the 4 March edition of the journal <em>Science Advances</em>.</p><p><a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/devices/biodegradable-power-generators-could-power-medical-implants" target="_blank">Read more</a></p><p><img src="http://beacon.by/uploads/54ad19735dcd3_3056.jpg" unselectable="on"></p><h4></h4><h4><a href="http://this-wearable-digital-display-just-sticks-on-your-skin" target="_blank">This Wearable Digital Display Just Sticks On Your Skin</a></h4><p>posted 15 Apr 2016 by Tekla S. Perry</p><p><img src="/uploads/5720064a98734.jpg" unselectable="on"></p><p>Photo : Someya Group Organic Transistor Lab / University of Tokyo</p><p>It’s clear that smart watches and fitness bands will eventually give way to a far more comfortable, subtle wearable—a temporary tattoo that you barely notice is there because it stretches and bends with your skin. <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/biomedical/devices/stretchable-electronics-have-their-coming-out-party-at-ces">The first generation of such stickers</a> are coming out this year from L’Oreal and others.</p><p>Much work has been done on making flexible sensors that can fit unobtrusively in such devices. <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/a-temporary-tattoo-that-senses-through-your-skin">Last year I tried out</a> some of the sensors coming out of <a href="http://rogers.matse.illinois.edu/index.php">John Rogers’ research group</a> at the University of Illinois that measure blood pressure, analyze sweat, and detect muscle activity.</p><p>At this point, the commercial skin-like sensors don’t have their own displays. Instead, they communicate with a smart phone and an app on the phone presents the data. That’s not ideal for, say, runners who want to easily check their pulse rate or diabetics who are monitoring sugar levels with more comfort and accuracy than that possible with a bulky strap-on wearable.</p><p><a href="http://this-wearable-digital-display-just-sticks-on-your-skin" target="_blank">Read more</a></p> </div> </div> </article> </div><!-- /page-->