Bio-Inspired Cilia Mix Medical Reagents At Small Scales

July 2, 2009 – 2:03 pm

The artificial cilia are flexible rubber fingers less than 1/100 of an inch long, and 1/1000 of an inch wide. The tips shown here vibrate 65 times per second. Image courtesy of the University of Washington

The artificial cilia are flexible rubber fingers less than 1/100 of an inch long, and 1/1000 of an inch wide. The tips shown here vibrate 65 times per second. Image courtesy of the University of Washington

From the wire: The equipment used for biomedical research is shrinking, but the physical properties of the fluids under investigation are not changing. This creates a problem: the reservoirs that hold the liquid are now so small that forces between molecules on the liquid’s surface dominate, and one can no longer shake the container to mix two fluids. Instead, researchers must bide their time and wait for diffusion to occur.

Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) hope to speed up biomedical reactions by filling each well with tiny beating rods that mimic cilia, the hairlike appendages that line organs such as the human windpipe, where they sweep out dirt and mucus from the lungs. The researchers created a prototype that mixes tiny volumes of fluid or creates a current to move a particle, according to research published in the journal Lab on a Chip. They used a novel underwater manufacturing technique to overcome obstacles faced by other teams that have attempted to build a similar device. Read more…

Intel and GE Healthcare Lay Foundations of Health House

July 1, 2009 – 11:41 pm

Who’s got your back? In a few years, it might be your house. Researchers from Intel and GE Healthcare are developing a so-called Health House fitted with sensor arrays to track the occupants’ habits, check vital signs and predict whether they are at risk of a fall. If a sensor detects an anomaly it will send out an alert.

One of many ambient assisted living initiatives that are springing up, the Health House is the first manifestation of a commitment made by GE and Intel to conduct telecare research. Funded with €184 million, the partnership intends to develop and market home-based health technologies that will help older people and those with chronic conditions to live more independently, reports E-Health Europe. Read more…

UK Trade Association Wants to Hear From You

July 1, 2009 – 2:08 am

Organisations, including small- and medium-sized medical device companies have been invited to give evidence to the Rowlands Growth Capital Review. The review will determine if Government intervention is needed to ensure adequate finance will be available to companies as the economy improves. Christopher Rowlands, who is leading the review, said, “We are keen to hear directly from businesses to ensure our recommendations reflect their needs in an appropriate way.” Companies need to submit their comments by 9 July 2009. Read more...

Stanford Researchers Build Comprehensive Device Development Model

June 30, 2009 – 11:42 am

Researchers at Stanford University have published the first comprehensive model representing the medical device development process. Developed to help companies execute the bench-to-bedside process of product development more effectively, the model is published with the article “Stage Gate Process for the Development of Medical Devices” in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Medical Devices.

The model was constructed based on best-practice analysis and interviews with more than 85 experts actively involved in the development, commercialisation, regulation and use of medical devices. Read more…

Thin-Walled Urethane Tubing Is Just What Surgeon Ordered

June 29, 2009 – 11:43 pm

putnam-webNew techniques in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) are placing ever-greater demands on extruders of medical tubing. Fewer but larger patient access points are challenging design engineers to produce devices with a maximum amount of inner working space. Easy unfettered articulation of the device inside the body is also on the surgeon’s spec sheet. Extruding tubing that meets this set of demands traditionally has been fraught with difficulty. Putnam Plastics (Dayville, CT, USA) reports that it has developed a technology for the production of thin-walled, large-diameter, low-durometer urethane extrusions that clears these obstacles. Read more…

Researchers Use Artificial Cells to Make Nanoparticles

June 29, 2009 – 1:34 pm

(a) Vesicles with different reactants have different fluorescent substances in their membranes. (b) Red fluorescent nanoparticles formwhen the bubbles fuse. (c) The particles can be seen as bright dots under a transmission electron microscope. Image courtesy of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

(a) Vesicles with different reactants have different fluorescent substances in their membranes. (b) Red fluorescent nanoparticles form when the bubbles fuse. (c) The particles can be seen as bright dots under a transmission electron microscope. Image courtesy of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

From the wire: In a study conducted at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, researchers created nanoparticles that can act as tiny light sources within cells. Potential applications of the nanoparticles, which were created using artificial membranes resembling cells, include display screens and optical computing.

“We used the fact that cells represent a closed reaction container as a model for the synthesis of nanoparticles,” the leader of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces membrane study group, Rumiana Dimova, explains. Membranes are the boundaries of the cells, being strong enough to contain the nucleus, cytoplasm, genes, proteins, and countless processes inside its perimeter, while at the same time remaining permissive enough to allow for the necessary substances to pass in and out of the cell, regulating its functions. Read more…

Rexam Pharma Earns ISO 15378 Certification

June 29, 2009 – 10:59 am

Rexam Pharma has announced that its facilities in Neuenburg, Germany, and La Verpillière, France, have been certified to ISO 15378:2006. The norm, which was published in August 2006, is a complete quality system that combines ISO 9001 and GMP requirements for pharmaceutical primary packaging manufacturers. Rexam Pharma specialises in rigid plastic packaging, drug delivery systems and medical devices for pharmaceutical, medical and biotechnology companies.

Rexam Pharma is engaged in a global initiative focused on patient safety, according to a press release issued today by the company. Regardless of the facility’s geographical location, each step of the process from design and manufacturing to delivery conforms with the most demanding international statutory and legal standards, according to the company.

Implant Coatings to Be Commercialised Next Year

June 29, 2009 – 2:10 am

interface-biologicsFrom the wire: Toronto-based Interface Biologics develops implant coatings designed to prevent blood clots, inhibit infection and deliver drugs. To solve these problems, the company is formulating biomaterials to perform specific tasks in the body, reports Omar El Akkad in the Globe and Mail daily newspaper. Some of its technologies can be controlled by the body’s own immune system. Read more…

Advanced Machining Know-How for Free

June 29, 2009 – 1:00 am

t4webMakino’s free online library of webinars reached 100 with it latest webinar broadcast on 4 June 2009. All 100 of these online seminars are available in the company’s online library.They cover a wide variety of machining solutions, including production machining, micromachining, EDM, die mould and automation, to help companies become more competitive. Read more...

Innovative Medical Devices and Nanotechnology

June 27, 2009 – 1:00 am

This is the title of a one-day workshop being held on 8 July 2009 at the Kroto Institute, University of Sheffield, UK. It offers a showcase of innovative medical technologies together with a description of how the application of nanotechnology and other enabling technologies is leading to the development of novel medical devices. Read more...