Amputees in 16th century Europe commissioned iron hands from artisans, many of whom had never made prostheses before.
Lernestål, Erik, Livrustkammaren/SHM
Pengju Li, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
Researchers designed an ultrathin pacemaker that can be implanted via minimally invasive techniques, potentially improving recovery time and reducing the risk of complications.
From breast implants to prosthetic knees, implants can trigger a foreign body response that results in your body rejecting them. Suppressing an immune cell gene could reduce this risk.
A patient’s age upon receiving a cochlear implant can influence the technology’s effectiveness.
Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images
How a veterinarian and a law professor joined a multidisciplinary team to help produce a made-in-Saskatchewan emergency-use ventilator during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An artificial respirator made by Both Equipment Ltd, Adelaide, South Australia, 1950-1959.
Belinda Christi/MAAS
During a pandemic, what would MacGyver do? He’d cobble together masks and ventilators from the things around him. Now health-care workers are doing the same. But there are risks.
Designers, engineers, makers and doctors worldwide have used 3D printing to produce products such as face shields, face masks, ventilator components, hands-free door openers and nasal swabs.
Tiny fuel cells convert sweat to electricity that can power sensors in electronic skin.
Yu et al., Sci. Robot. 5, eaaz7946 (2020)
Lightweight, flexible materials can be used to make health-monitoring wearable devices, but powering the devices is a challenge. Using fuel cells instead of batteries could make the difference.
In under 10 days, engineers from UCL and Mercedes F1 reverse-engineered a product, produced a new design, tested it, got regulatory approval and started production.
Ventilators being made by British medical supply firm OES.
Neil Hall/EPA
It’s not as simple as churning out more products, though that’s a good starting point.
Monaco and Japan have some of the highest life expectancies in the world. But calculating an individual’s life expectancy will require taking data analysis several steps further.
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Predicting life expectancy remains in the realm of science fiction, but it may soon be possible. Are we prepared for such information? And who else would benefit from this knowledge?
Hip implants and other medical devices are not always designed with women in mind.
from www.shutterstock.com
Health insurance costs are rising and the price of prostheses such as hip replacements are partly to blame. But there is a way to rein in costs – and give patients more choice and better devices.
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne