Top TechTop Tech #141: Regenerate Nerves, Swallow Sensors, Feel 3D
Important innovations in science and technology
By Paul Worthington
Tuesday’s Top Tech:
• Regenerate injured nerves with 3D printing
• Sensors you can swallow
• Enhanced interactivity: 3D objects that feel
Regenerate injured nerves with 3D printing
Injured or diseased nerves rarely regenerate well. But a new technique may improve recovery: an implanted custom silicone guide.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota first used a 3-D scanner to reverse-engineer the structure of a rat’s sciatic nerve, the school reports. Then a microextrusion 3D printer output a “guide” to promote motor and sensory nerve regeneration. It was tested on a rat’s severed nerve, which began to improve in a few weeks.
“The groundbreaking research has the potential to help more than 200,000 people annually who experience nerve injuries or disease,” the university adds.
Here is the full announcement.
Sensors you can swallow
Ingestible sensors could contain both silicon-based circuitry and biodegradable materials — and be powered by your stomach acid.
Carnegie Mellon University is working on edible electronics and ways to power them. “Imagine a “smart pill” that can sense problems in your intestines and actively release the appropriate drugs,” CMU says. The challenge: electronic materials “that pose no risk if they get stuck in our bodies. “The possible solution: minerals in a healthy diet could be used in bioelectronics. “The natural liquids within the body can be the electrolytes that move current through the device.”
Labs have already proven that electronics built using this method can disintegrate in water after 2-3 months. The chief researcher in the area says “these devices can be tested in patients within the next 5-10 years.”
Here is the full announcement.
Enhanced interactivity: 3D objects that feel
The uses for additive manufacturing continue to expand, and a new method to integrate touch and pressure sensors directly into 3D output can yield interactive printed objects that are more easily manipulated and gather data from multiple sources.
Developed at Queen’s University’s Human Media Lab in Canada, PrintPut “is a method for 3D printing that embeds interactivity directly into printed objects,” the lab says. “When developing new artifacts, designers often create prototypes to guide their design process about how an object should look, feel, and behave. PrintPut uses conductive filament to offer an assortment of sensors that an industrial designer can easily incorporate into these 3D designs, including buttons, pressure sensors, sliders, touchpads, and flex sensors.”
Here is the full announcement.
Unwind in the Mountains
It’s a good time to get out of your crowded city to enjoy the natural beauty of a private home in the Sierra Nevada — and leisurely explore nearby Yosemite National Park.
You’ll be comfortable in a large and fully-stocked house with a great view from the deck, a sunroom patio with an indoor hot tub, an outdoor pool, all on 15 acres of mountain forest.
All for less than $200 per night.
