Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA) found a new way to give robots a sense of touch. In a paper published in the April edition of the International Journal of Robotics Research, scientists describe a robot arm that was able to 'touch' objects when used in conjunction with electronic vision.

Based on a cell phone camera, electrical and bioengineers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a technology that can capture images from a fluorescent microscope and flow cytometer. Among other applications, the new device is capable of performing medical diagnostics.

Antimicrobial copper surfaces can reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) by 58% as compared with touch surfaces that do not use copper, according to a new study. The study also found that antimicrobial copper can continuously kill 83% of bacteria that cause HAIs within two hours, including antibiotic-resistant strains.

While hydrophilic formulations are mature technologies that have been around for approximately three decades, they are still being reformulated to achieve a variety of different lubricious attributes. And while antimicrobial coatings—especially those based on the use of ionic silver—are commonly used in the medical device community, they still face a host of challenges. Meeting those challenges will be a major focus of medical device design and development efforts in the years to come.

Leading Coatings to Water

Pamela Bhatti from Georgia Tech displays cochlear implant.

Despite their importance, cochlear implants leave much to be desired.

With each passing year, combination products are growing in importance. However, because they represent a marriage between traditionally discrete technology and market sectors—the medical device and pharmaceutical industries—designing, characterizing, testing, and manufacturing combination products poses a range of unique engineering challenges.

Short of recalls, layoffs, patent suits, tax hikes, and big-ticket mergers and acquisitions, the medical device industry and its myriad products do not generally elicit much media attention—particularly on prime-time TV. But NICO Corp.

Collapsed General Hospital in Mexico City following September 1985 earthquake.

Let's face it: Earthquakes are a way of life in California.