EPFL researchers have combined virtual reality, non-invasive brain stimulation and advanced brain imaging techniques to improve spatial navigation in healthy participants. The study is a first step in addressing dementia in an aging population without medication or surgery.

Neurotechnology boosts memory without surgery

<section id="isPasted">Imagine you have a virtual copy of your own body. This digital twin, an accurate computer model, can help doctors better understand your health, personalize treatments, and intervene earlier to prevent more significant problems. What sounds like science fiction now is becoming more and more of a reality, and in the (distant) future, it could revolutionize healthcare.Source: <a href="https://www.catharinaziekenhuis.nl/actueel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Catharina Ziekenhuis Eindhoven</a> / Geert Piek</section><section tabindex="-1">A digital twin is actually a kind of digital version of yourself, based on data from your body, but also on information from many other people. This technology is already being used in sectors such as industry and urban planning, where these virtual copies can be used to predict how machines or traffic systems will behave, for example.Now, this technique is also increasingly finding its way into healthcare.<h2 id="isPasted">What does this mean for the patient of the future?</h2>Lukas Dekker, cardiologist-electrophysiologist at the Catharina Hospital and professor at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), explains: “In the future, we will be able to provide tailor-made care with the help of a digital twin.”“This means that we are better able to determine the best treatment for each patient, instead of giving everyone the same standard of care. This not only makes healthcare more personalized but also more efficient and affordable. We move away from the idea of&nbsp;one size fits all.”A digital twin is not a simple model that doctors use to try out surgeries in advance but a smart collection of data that uses real-time information to simulate and predict your health. “We combine medical scans, data on how your body moves and how it responds to treatments. This allows us to calculate, for example, how your heart functions,” says Dekker.<h3>Saving lives</h3>This opens the door to new possibilities. Let's say you've had a heart attack. With a digital twin, doctors would be able to predict who has an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias after such an attack. That can save lives.Carlijn Buck, PhD candidate in cardiovascular biomechanics, is working on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catharinaziekenhuis.nl/kan-data-voorspellen-wie-na-een-infarct-hartritmestoornissen-ontwikkelt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">the development of digital twins of heart patients within the COMBAT-VT project</a>. “It's still a long way off to make a complete digital copy of the body, but the first versions of digital twins of the heart have already been created,” she says. “The next step is for such a model to adapt as new data comes in, and then quickly predict whether something will go wrong.”This means that doctors can predict your health better and better without you having to go to the hospital constantly. “In the future, more and more devices you wear – such as smart watches or heart monitors – will pass on data to your doctor.”“They can then monitor your health remotely and intervene if necessary,” explains Dekker. “When something is measured, you don't just want the data in question to be analyzed, but also to be analyzed in a certain context. After all, one person differs significantly from another, whether that is due to age, weight, or medical history.”<h3 id="isPasted">No unnecessary burden on healthcare</h3>One of the most significant advantages of a digital twin is that it helps doctors estimate when you need what type of medical care. “Some patients may need to be checked more quickly than others. With a digital twin, we can better assess this in the future and offer tailored care,” says Dekker.This also means that the healthcare system is not unnecessarily burdened. “Not every patient needs a complicated model,” Buck explains. “For some patients, a simple risk model is sufficient, based on data such as age and weight. But if there is a high risk, we can create a more detailed model to get a better understanding.”She explains that this requires more complicated data, such as an MRI scan of the heart. This means more impact for the patient, a more labor-intensive job for the medical engineer who assembles the twin, and higher healthcare costs. “So if you don't need such a detailed model, you shouldn't do it.”<h3>Human side remains crucial</h3>Creating&nbsp;a digital twin is an intensive process in which technicians and doctors work closely together. The technician builds the twins while the doctor determines how they will be used in practice. “For example, in the case&nbsp;<a href="https://www.catharinaziekenhuis.nl/behandelingen/ablatie/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">of ablation</a>, a procedure to treat cardiac arrhythmias, the model could help determine when and how the heart can best be treated,” says Buck.But, she emphasizes, a digital twin does not replace the doctor. “The model doesn't tell you how you feel or how you view surgery. It can't take the context into account; it's only useful for what it's made for. It is, therefore, a tool for the doctor to provide the best possible care. The human side and the overall context remain crucial, and that’s why we will still need a doctor.”<h3>Enormous possibilities</h3>Although the technology is still in the early stages of development, the possibilities of digital twins are enormous. The combination of data, technology and medical expertise ensures that we can provide more and more tailor-made care in the future.The COMBAT-VT project falls under the umbrella of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/research/research-groups/eaisi/eaisi-business-operations/eindhoven-medtech-innovation-center/" target="_blank">Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center (e/MTIC),</a> a large regional partnership in the field of medical technology between TU/e, Philips, and the Catharina Hospital, Maxima Medical Center, and Kempenhaeghe. A crucial collaboration for this research is combining input from healthcare with technological developments. </section>

Lukas Dekker and Carlijn Buck in consultation with their digital twin. Photo: Catharina Ziekenhuis Eindhoven

Researchers Lukas Dekker and Carlijn Buck of TU/e and the Catharina Hospital are investigating how they can provide better-tailored care to heart patients through smart modeling, thanks to a digital twin of each patient.

Digital twins will help to tailor healthcare more in the future

<section id="isPasted">In the 2010s, at-home 3D printing become a widespread craze but as years passed the buzz has quieted. While some of the media excitement may have tempered, 3D printing applications continued to flourish in more technical industries, and the technology has become an intrinsic part of manufacturing and producing products from hearing aids, dentistry parts or surgical instruments and inhalers. As part of 3D printing’s resurgence, it is now transforming the life sciences industry and revolutionizing Medtech in unexpected ways.</section><section><h2>Using 3D Printed Microneedles to Tackle Skin Cancer</h2>Our customer <a href="https://www.imcomet.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IMcoMET Medtech</a> is a biotech startup in the field of skin cancer treatment. Immunotherapy is now turning to the use of micro-scale tools to change the way we treat skin cancer, &nbsp;IMcoMET MedTech has developed technology like the <a href="https://bmf3d.com/resource/skin-cancer-treatment-device-manufactured-with-micro-3d-printing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microneedle-Duo (M-Duo)</a> which allows the microenvironment of the tumor and all of its components to be physically removed, to then be replaced with healthy tissue.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1730078578343-imcomet-image.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><section id="isPasted">This small scale of design and alternative approach to tumor aspiration wouldn’t be possible without 3D printing technology from Boston Micro Fabrication, which printed the parts needed to assemble the device on its open-source, micro 3D printing platform. The technology used 3D printed components such as the caps/lid that hold the needles in place. BMF was able to print these high-precision pieces, bridging the gap between classic technology (SLA 3D and nano 3D printing). BMF is able to manufacture these parts due to the high-precision capabilities of its devices – with 100µm channels and spacing requirements of the part down to 20-40 µm.</section><section><h2>Shaping COVID-19 Testing with High-Resolution Molding</h2>Researchers at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UC Berkeley</a> were looking for an alternative method to produce molds for multiplex&nbsp;<a href="https://bmf3d.com/resource/3d-printing-molds-uc-berkeley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microfluidic</a> devices that can be used in the fight against COVID-19. These devices are equipped with a sensor and can be used to perform traditional antibody testing for patients who are infected. As a means to reduce the spread of viruses, there is a pressing need to detect infection at a very early stage through viral RNA analysis.Christos Adamopoulos, PhD Candidate and Asmaysinh Gharia, Researcher at UC Berkeley were very impressed with the ultra-high resolution that BMF’s technology can achieve. The accuracy and precision of these 3D printed molds is especially important as the microfluidic multiplex devices currently use 100µm channels and they wanted to make channels on an even smaller scale with a higher density.After running through tests with BMF on their 10-micron resolution <a href="https://bmf3d.com/10%CE%BCm-series-printers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microArch S140 3D</a> printer, they discovered it was possible to produce features and channels down to 50µm and still have the layers align accurately. They can now fit eight channels instead of five onto the same footprint and can scale up device complexity without increasing the production scale.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1730078636789-1730078636789.png" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h2 id="isPasted">Increasing High Quality Precision in Medtech</h2>Medical devices place extremely high demands on the reliability of their components. &nbsp;With applications including surgical power tools, ventilators, and heart pumps, precision bearings are among the critical components on which the safety of treated patients often directly depends. The need for precision and selection fitting components for the device is of the utmost importance.<a href="https://www.rndrmedical.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RNDR Medical</a> is a team of talented and experienced medical device engineers, designers, technicians and executives focused on the advancement of medical technologies. In their recent partnership with BMF, they were able to launch a <a href="https://bmf3d.com/resource/micro-3d-printing-for-disposable-medical-devices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">novel single-use scope for endourology</a> that is utilized for direct visualization and navigation to enable diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract disorders, such as kidney stones and urothelial carcinoma, as well as pyeloscopy procedures enabling therapeutic access to the renal pelvis and kidneys.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1730078665670-disposable-tip-rndr-1.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><section id="isPasted">Anthony Appling, Principal, Co-owner, and Keith Wells, Design Engineering Lead were seeking a manufacturing solution since the device requires a high degree of precision while being sealed to prevent fluid exposure. While searching for a solution to navigate the long and expensive wait times of micro molding, they came across Boston Micro Fabrication’s Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) micro 3D printing technology.By partnering with BMF, the RNDR team was able to cut production time in half. BMF’s microscale 3D printers also enabled the company’s medical device engineers to evaluate and iterate designs in a matter of days and weeks vs months. As RNDR Medical can attest, BMF 3D printers are well-suited for visualization systems, therapy and diagnostic catheters, and delivery systems across medical device markets.</section><section><h2>Enhanced efficiency in Medtech devices</h2>According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, annual US healthcare spending on medical devices is projected to reach around $300 billion to $400 billion — 5-6% of $6.8 trillion in total healthcare spend — by 2030. &nbsp;3D printing is already becoming a critical player in the production and manufacturing process as companies and research institutes continue to utilize its applications.Last year, the <a href="https://www.unict.it/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Catania</a> designed <a href="https://bmf3d.com/resource/micro-3d-printing-for-micro-optofluidics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">micro-optofluidic devices</a> suitable for an enhanced optical investigation device. Lorena Saitta, PhD in the Polymers and Composites was looking for a one-step manufacturing process that could guarantee optical transparency and tailored surface chemistry without the need for further assembly. The device also needed appropriate surface roughness to avoid flow instability and minimize the risk of fluid leakage at assembly points.Saitta turned to 3D printing to manufacture the micro-optofluidic device in one piece. Using the <a href="https://bmf3d.com/10%CE%BCm-series-printers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microArch S140,</a> team was able to print the device with integrated inlets, outlets, and insertions for micro-optical fibers. The microArch S140 was also able to manufacture the micro-optofluidic device in one piece, eliminating concerns over fluid leakage. Projection Micro Stereolithography has opened new frontiers in the manufacturing of micro-optofluidic devices” says Lorena Saitta, PhD, University of Catania.</section><section><h2>Expanding MedTech Applications</h2>Use cases are increasingly proving that 3D printing is growing to be more intertwined with the advancement of technology in healthcare and the life sciences. Beyond applications in use today, BMF is continuing to innovate through its partnership with the University of Nottingham. The Centre for Additive Manufacturing, a multidisciplinary research group at The University of Nottingham, is developing a toolkit that will act as an instruction manual to improve the pathway from research all the way through to development and clinical adoption; identifying how medical technology companies can develop personalized and tailored medical devices. This project aims to help to unlock a bottleneck that prevents the bringing of new innovative engineering to the NHS.Whether it’s by creating micro-scale tools that deliver immunotherapy and have the potential to change the way we treat skin cancer, to producing high accuracy and precision printing molds for early detection COVID-19 tests or looking away from traditional manufacturing to additive manufacturing to combat extended production times, micro 3D printing is pushing the boundaries of innovation. The benefit of utilizing 3D continues to be recognized by companies as a creative, high-quality solution and will continue to play a critical role in new innovations to come.</section></section></section>

3D printing applications continued to flourish in more technical industries, and the technology has become an intrinsic part of manufacturing and producing products from hearing aids, dentistry parts or surgical instruments and inhalers.

The top ways high precision 3D printing is changing the medical and life sciences landscape

Two new kinds of on-skin electronics allow users to build and customize them directly on the body – with potential applications in biometric sensing, medical monitoring, interactive prosthetic makeup and more.<a href="https://www.hybridbody.human.cornell.edu/#/skinlink/">SkinLink</a>, developed by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hybridbody.human.cornell.edu/">Hybrid Body Lab</a> led by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.human.cornell.edu/people/hk932">Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao</a>, assistant professor of human centered design in the College of Human Ecology, is an on-skin electronic interface that can be fabricated right on the body, providing flexibility in design depending on the intended use. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hybridbody.human.cornell.edu/#/ecskin/">ECSkin</a> is an electrochromic display interface that also can be fabricated in situ, and features modular design through tiles that can be arranged as desired.Some of the potential applications for SkinLink include vital-sign and posture monitoring, proximity sensing and body art.“Both of these projects are modular prototyping toolkits, to enable much more intricate on-skin circuitry prototyping,” Kao said. “And users are able to build the circuitry directly on the skin surface.”Doctoral student and lab member Pin-Sung Ku is lead author of “<a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3596241">SkinLink:&nbsp;On-body Construction and Prototyping of Reconfigurable Epidermal Interfaces</a>,” which was presented in early October at UbiComp/ISWC ’24, the Association for Computing Machinery’s international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing.The work earned a Distinguished Paper Award from the journal, Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, where it was originally published in June 2023.<a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3659613">ECSkin: Tessellating Electrochromic Films for Reconfigurable On-skin Displays</a>, which published May 15, 2024, in the same journal and for which Ku is also lead author, was also presented at the conference. Kao is senior author for both papers.SkinLink represents a step forward from&nbsp;<a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/11/skinkit-offers-versatile-wearable-skin-computing">SkinKit, which the lab developed</a> and presented at UbiComp in 2021. The earlier iteration featured slim and flexible printed circuit boards in temporary tattoo form, but the boards had predefined behaviors and larger surface areas, making customizability a challenge.“There were several issues we didn’t address in SkinKit, such as how to allow users to program the modules the way they want to,” Ku said. “For SkinKit, everything was pre-programmed; users had to attach things in a certain order. With SkinLink, there is more customizability of the functions they like.”With SkinKit, for example, the circuitry had to be built before applying it to the body; with SkinLink, users can put one module on the body, then another, for more customizability.&nbsp;The SkinLink toolkit consists of functional circuit modules, made of flexible printed circuit boards, and flexible, custom-designed wiring (called trace modules, or traces) that connect the sensor and actuator modules to the microcontroller board.That’s a key difference from SkinKit: Smaller circuit boards are connect via flexible wiring, allowing for greater freedom of motion without sacrificing connectivity.&nbsp; “The circuit boards are somewhat rigid,” Ku said, “but we created the traces to be elastic, stretchable and flexible, so as not to hinder body movement.”The on-body fabrication process starts with selecting and programming the circuit board and trace modules. The microcontroller board can be repeatedly programmed during this step, to fine-tune the circuit functions. The boards can be temporarily placed on the body and customized, before final placement.The researchers conducted A/B testing of SkinLink, comparing its usability with SkinKit in a 14-person study, and found that SkinLink enables a more flexible wiring process than SkinKit, along with unrestricted circuit arrangement and superior wearability. Compared to the SkinKit, the SkinLink interface has a much smaller footprint, better stretchability, easier fabricating and more seamless wear.SkinKit, Kao said, offered a “low floor” – a term coined by computer scientist Ben Shneiderman, meaning that people with little or no experience can quickly get started designing and prototyping wearable tech. SkinLink takes it a couple of steps further, she said.“Another goal is what we call ‘high ceilings and wide walls,’” she said. “High ceilings means increasing the complexity of the prototypes; wide walls refers to the vast array of things that could be designed. That’s what I think SkinLink really does.”Kao said she sees both SkinLink and ECSkin as “enabling technologies,” with a variety of potential uses. Some of the studies with SkinLink involved artists, wearable tech researchers, and psychology researchers for physiology sensing; she also envisions applications beyond humans.&nbsp;“Being able to use this as a functional technology for physiological sensing or artistic practice is one application,” she said. “Our work has focused on skin interfaces for humans, but I think there could also be potential for designing ‘skin’ interfaces for other living beings, such as animals, and sensing for agricultural purposes, even on plants. We are interested in bringing SkinLink to broader disciplines to support on-skin prototyping.”

An ECSkin on-body display, composed of modular electrochromic films, is flexible and soft, and easily conforms to complex body parts such as the wrist. Hybrid Body Lab/Provided

Two new kinds of on-skin electronics allow users to build and customize them directly on the body – with potential applications in biometric sensing, medical monitoring, interactive prosthetic makeup and more.

On-body electronics can monitor health, support creative expression

<section id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.rndrmedical.com/">RNDR Medical</a> is a team of talented and experienced medical device engineers, designers, technicians and executives focused on the advancement of medical technologies. The experts at the Louisville, Kentucky (USA) company have over 100 years of combined experience and offer a full suite of engineering services to best-in-class FDA registered clean room manufacturing. Professional accolades include the invention of multi-million-unit product lines, over 100 patents with multiple pending, dozens of successful products launched, and bringing RNDR innovation to clinical domains ranging from endoscopy, cardiology, urology, peripheral vascular, and laparoscopy.</section><section><h2>The Challenge</h2>One specific product RNDR Medical developed and will soon be launching is a novel single use scope for endourology that is utilized for direct visualization and navigation to enable diagnosis and treatment of disorders in the urinary tract, such as kidney stones and urothelial carcinoma, as well as pyeloscopy procedures enabling therapeutic access to the renal pelvis and kidneys. The ureteroscope features a digital high-definition camera and illumination that enable direct visualization of the anatomy as well as fluid irrigation for maintaining a clear image. &nbsp;A working channel allows passage of therapeutic tools through the ureteroscope, such as lithotripsy fibers and retrieval baskets, for the treatment of kidney stones.A key component of this device is the distal tip, which houses the camera chip and illumination source as well as directing fluid paths for irrigation and providing the link from the working channel to the exterior anatomical environment. &nbsp;These elements must be contained within the distal tip with a high degree of precision while being sealed to prevent fluid ingress into the device, all within a .130” diameter profile. &nbsp;Additionally, the exterior geometry of this tip component must be atraumatic to the anatomy as it is the forward facing, advancing part of the device. &nbsp;Containing all these design elements within such a small profile requires a component with complex 3D geometry, tight tolerances, and wall thickness traditionally only achievable through niche micro molding. &nbsp;Finally, mature component volumes are in the tens of thousands per year, which would result in a longer ROI for expensive micro molding.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1729490241116-rndr-bmf-parts-2.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Micro 3D printed distal tip, Micromolded distal tip<h2 id="isPasted">An Alternative to Micro Molding</h2>Anthony Appling, Principal, Co-owner and Keith Wells, Design Engineering Lead were looking for an alternative to the expense and long wait times of micro molding when they came across Boston Micro Fabrication’s Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) micro 3D printing technology. Capable of achieving resolution of 2µm~25µm and tolerance of +/- 10µm~25µm, BMF’s microArch series of micro-precision 3D printers seemed to be a potential solution.During the early phase design of the device BMF printers allowed for very quick iterative development of the distal tip component at scale. &nbsp;This greatly expedited the development schedule as traditional methods would have required the expense of micro machining to achieve the iterative development necessary for good design, followed by the investment and long lead time of micro molding – with potentially the need for multiple tools to properly test multiple optimal tip geometries in the correct material. &nbsp;The speed and flexibility of the BMF system was highly beneficial to their engineering team to hone in on an optimal design with minimal time and expense.Further, Appling and Wells realized that the BMF material held up well to their test battery for the component such that additive manufacturing became a feasible solution not just for design development but for potential initial production volumes as well. &nbsp;“BMF 3D printing technology is critical to the fast, iterative development of precision components, enabling the advantages of additive manufacturing at-scale from prototype to production,” said Appling.Finally, the volume flexibility and manufacturing scalability of the BMF system is very attractive for product development through manufacturing. &nbsp;In RNDR’s case they can yield up to 500 units of tip components from a single build cycle.In terms of measurable results, RNDR Medical credits BMF technology with cutting development time by as much as a half. BMF microscale 3D printers also enabled the company’s medical device engineers to evaluate and iterate designs in a matter of days and weeks vs months. The geometric accuracy and material integrity of these 3D printed parts inspired confidence, and the 3D printed distal tips withstood pre-clinical evaluation in a simulated use environment.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1729490280774-rndr-end-part-1.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Disposable scope tip<h2 id="isPasted">The Future</h2>As the company looks ahead, it’s envisioning using micro 3D printing as a bridge technology for initial commercialization and large-scale production. To determine suitability, an evaluation of available 3D materials will be especially important. At a time when demand for minimally invasive medicine is growing, there is also a need for highly functioning disposable catheters and scopes with feature-rich characteristics at the end of smaller-diameter catheters. As with the examples described in this case study show, multiple design features will need to be contained within smaller profiles.For medical device engineers, the challenge of packing more features into less space can quickly exceed the limits of multi-axis machining and molding, where draft and uniform wall thickness must be maintained. With microscale 3D printing, however, engineers can maximize the entire volume of a component for functionality without traditional concerns about design for manufacturing (DFM). As RNDR Medical can attest, BMF 3D printers are well-suited for visualization systems, therapy and diagnostic catheters, and delivery systems across medical device markets.</section>

RNDR Medical is set to launch a novel single-use scope for endourology, designed for direct visualization and navigation to diagnose and treat urinary tract disorders like kidney stones and urothelial carcinoma, as well as facilitating pyeloscopy procedures.

Micro 3D Printing for Disposable Medical Devices

Neural spheroids — 3D clusters of brain cells — are emerging as essential tools for understanding neural networks and studying neurological diseases in the lab. EPFL’s e-Flower, a flower-shaped 3D microelectrode array (MEA), allows researchers to monitor the electrical activity of these spheroids in a way that was previously impossible. This breakthrough, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp8054" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published in Science Advances</a>, lays the groundwork for more sophisticated research on brain organoids, which are complex, miniaturized models of brain tissues.<blockquote>Our flexible technology makes it possible to get accurate recordings without damaging the 3D neural models.<footer>Stéphanie P. Lacour</footer></blockquote>“The e-Flower lets us record neural activity from much more of the surface of neural spheroids in real-time — something that wasn’t possible with earlier tools. Our flexible technology makes it possible to get accurate recordings without damaging the 3D neural models, giving us a better understanding of how their complex circuits work,” says Stéphanie P. Lacour, lead author of the paper and head of the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces (<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lsbi/">LSBI</a>) at the Neuro X Institute.<h2>Why neural spheroids?</h2>“We focused on neural spheroids for this study because they provide a straightforward and accessible model,” says Eleonora Martinelli, one of the lead researchers on the project.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1729211190818-9f9374f8.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Eleonora Martinelli says the goal is to apply the e-Flower to brain organoids. © 2024 EPFL / Alain HerzogNeural spheroids are three-dimensional clusters of neurons that replicate some of the key functions of brain tissue. They are simpler than organoids, which contain multiple cell types and more closely mimic the brain. The LSBI team at Campus Biotech worked in collaboration with Luc Stoppini and Adrien Roux at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hesge.ch/hepia/en/group/bioengineering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tissue Engineering Laboratory</a> (HEPIA-HESGE), researchers with long-standing experience with neural spheroids electrophysiology.“Spheroids are relatively easy to produce and manipulate in the lab, which makes them ideal for early-stage testing,” Martinelli continues. “However, our goal is to eventually apply the e-Flower to brain organoids, which more accurately model brain development and disorders.”“Organoids represent an exciting interface both for neuroscience research and next-generation neurotechnology,” says Stéphanie Lacour. “They bridge the gap between simplified in vitro models and the complexities of the human brain. Our work with the e-Flower is a critical step toward being able to explore these 3D models.”<h2>The serendipity behind the innovation</h2><blockquote>What was originally a problem for one project became the solution for another.<footer>Eleonora Martinelli</footer></blockquote>Interestingly, the e-Flower was born out of an unexpected discovery. Outman Akouissi, a collaborator on the project, encountered a challenge while working on soft implants for peripheral nerves: the hydrogels he used caused his devices to curl unpredictably when exposed to water. What started as a frustration turned into a breakthrough when Akouissi and Martinelli realized this curling mechanism could be harnessed for a completely different application — wrapping around neural spheroids.“This was a perfect example of how serendipity can lead to innovation,” says Martinelli. “What was originally a problem for one project became the solution for another.”<h2>A new approach to neural electrophysiology</h2>The device consists of four flexible petals equipped with platinum electrodes, which curl around the spheroid when exposed to the liquid that supports the cell structure. This actuation is driven by the swelling of a soft hydrogel, making the device both gentle on the tissue and easy to use.Designed to be compatible with existing electrophysiological systems, the e-Flower offers a plug-and-play solution for researchers, avoiding the need for complex external actuators or harmful solvents.Once the technology is applied to organoids, the ability to record electrical activity from all sides will provide a much more comprehensive understanding of brain processes. Researchers hope this will lead to new insights into neurodevelopment, brain injury recovery, and neurological diseases.<hr>ReferencesMartinelli, E., Akouissi, O., Liebi, L., Furfaro, I., Maulà, D., Savoia, N., Remy, A., Nikles, L., Roux, A., Stoppini, L., Lacour, S.P. "The e-Flower: A Hydrogel-Actuated 3D MEA for Brain Spheroid Electrophysiology." Science Advances, 2023. DOI:<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp8054" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10.1126/sciadv.adp8054</a>

EPFL researchers have developed a novel neural recording device called the "e-Flower" that gently wraps organoids in soft petals.

e-Flower records neuronal activity with electronic petals

In this episode, we explore the versatile knee exoskeleton designed to enhance safety during lifting by using a novel design that improves the freedom of movement and safety in comparison to current state of the art.

Podcast: Wear This Exoskeleton & Save Your Knees!

In this episode, we explore the first healthcare device powered by body heat, made possible with liquid-based metals and discover how this innovative technology is paving the way for sustainable and energy-efficient medical devices, revolutionizing the future of healthcare.

Podcast: Powering Medical Devices With Body Heat

In 2023, more than 100,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses. The most effective way to save someone who has overdosed is to administer a drug called naloxone, but a first responder or bystander can’t always reach the person who has overdosed in time.Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new device that they hope will help to eliminate those delays and potentially save the lives of people who overdose. The device, about the size of a stick of gum, can be implanted under the skin, where it monitors heart rate, breathing rate, and other vital signs. When it determines that an overdose has occurred, it rapidly pumps out a dose of naloxone.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_ZObB_mONE0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe>In a study&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2024.100517" target="_blank">appearing today in the journal&nbsp;Device</a>, the researchers showed that the device can successfully reverse overdoses in animals. With further development, the researchers envision that this approach could provide a new option for helping to prevent overdose deaths in high-risk populations, such as people who have already survived an overdose.“This could really address a significant unmet need in the population that suffers from substance abuse and opiate dependency to help mitigate overdoses, with the initial focus on the high-risk population,” says Giovanni Traverso,&nbsp;an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the senior author of the study.The paper’s lead authors are Hen-Wei Huang, a former MIT visiting scientist and currently an assistant professor of electrical and electronic engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; Peter Chai, an associate professor of emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; SeungHo Lee, a research scientist at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Tom Kerssemakers and Ali Imani, former master’s students at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and Jack Chen, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at MIT.<h2>An implantable device</h2>Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, meaning that it can bind to opioid receptors and block the effects of other opioids, including heroin and fentanyl. The drug, which is given by injection or as a nasal spray, can restore normal breathing within just a few minutes of being administered.However, many people are alone when they overdose, and may not receive assistance in time to save their lives. Additionally, with a new wave of synthetic, more potent opioids sweeping the U.S., opioid overdoses can be more rapid in onset and unpredictable. To try to overcome that, some researchers are developing wearable devices that could detect an overdose and administer naloxone, but none of those have yet proven successful. The MIT/BWH team set out to design an implantable device that would be less bulky, provide direct injection of naloxone into the subcutaneous tissue, and eliminate the need for the patient to remember to wear it.The device that the researchers came up with includes sensors that can detect heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation. In an animal study, the researchers used the sensors to measure all of these signals and determine exactly how they change during an overdose of fentanyl. This resulted in a unique algorithm that increases the sensitivity of the device to accurately detect opioid overdose and distinguish it from other conditions where breathing is decreased, such as sleep apnea.This study showed that fentanyl first leads to a drop in heart rate, followed quickly by a slowdown of breathing. By measuring how these signals changed, the researchers were able to calculate the point at which naloxone administration should be triggered.“The most challenging aspect of developing an engineering solution to prevent overdose mortality is simultaneously addressing patient adherence and willingness to adopt new technology, combating stigma, minimizing false positive detections, and ensuring the rapid delivery of antidotes,” says Huang. “Our proposed solution tackles these unmet needs by developing a miniaturized robotic implant equipped with multisensing modalities, continuous monitoring capabilities, on-board decision making, and an innovative micropumping mechanism.”The device also includes a small reservoir that can carry up to 10 milligrams of naloxone. When an overdose is detected, it triggers a pump that ejects the naloxone, which is released within about 10 seconds.In their animal studies, the researchers found that this drug administration could reverse the effects of an overdose 96 percent of the time.“We created a closed-loop system that can sense the onset of the opiate overdose and then release the antidote, and then you see that recovery,” Traverso says.<h2>Preventing overdoses</h2>The researchers envision that this technology could be used to help people who are at the highest risk of overdose, beginning with people who have had a previous overdose. They now plan to investigate how to make the device as user-friendly as possible, studying factors such as the optimal location for implantation.“A key pillar of addressing the opioid epidemic is providing naloxone to individuals at key moments of risk. Our vision for this device is for it to integrate into the cascade of harm-reduction strategies to efficiently and safely deliver naloxone, preventing death from opioid overdose and providing the opportunity to support individuals with opioid use disorder,” says Chai.The researchers hope to be able to test the device in humans within the next three to five years. They are now working on miniaturizing the device further and optimizing the on-board battery, which currently can provide power for about two weeks.

A new device, which can be implanted under the skin, rapidly releases naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers, edited by MIT News

The new device, which can be implanted under the skin, rapidly releases naloxone when an overdose is detected.

An implantable sensor could reverse opioid overdoses

Growing functional human organs outside the body is a long-sought “holy grail” of organ transplantation medicine that remains elusive. New research from the <a href="https://seas.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences</a> (SEAS) and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering brings that quest one big step closer to completion.A team of scientists created a new method to 3D print vascular networks that consist of interconnected blood vessels possessing a distinct “shell” of smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells surrounding a hollow “core” through which fluid can flow, embedded inside a human cardiac tissue. This vascular architecture closely mimics that of naturally occurring blood vessels and represents significant progress toward being able to manufacture implantable human organs. The achievement is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202401528" target="_blank">Advanced Materials</a>.“In prior <a href="https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-swifter-way-towards-3d-printed-organs/" target="_blank">work,</a> we developed a new 3D bioprinting method, known as ‘sacrificial writing in functional tissue’ (<a href="https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/a-swifter-way-towards-3d-printed-organs/" target="_blank">SWIFT</a>), for patterning hollow channels within a living cellular matrix. Here, building on this method, we introduce coaxial SWIFT (co-SWIFT) that recapitulates the multilayer architecture found in native blood vessels, making it easier to form an interconnected endothelium and more robust to withstand the internal pressure of blood flow,” said first author Paul Stankey, a bioengineering Ph.D. student at SEAS in the lab of co-senior author Jennifer Lewis, Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at SEAS Wyss Core Faculty member.The key innovation developed by the team was a unique core-shell nozzle with two independently controllable fluid channels for the “inks” that make up the printed vessels: a collagen-based shell ink and a gelatin-based core ink. The interior core chamber of the nozzle extends slightly beyond the shell chamber so that the nozzle can fully puncture a previously printed vessel to create interconnected branching networks for sufficient oxygenation of human tissues and organs via&nbsp;perfusion. The size of the vessels can be varied during printing by changing either the printing speed or the ink flow rates.To confirm the new co-SWIFT method worked, the team first printed their multilayer vessels into a transparent granular hydrogel matrix. Next, they printed vessels into a recently created matrix called <a href="https://lewisgroup.seas.harvard.edu/sites/scholar.harvard.edu/files/lewis-lab/files/microporogen-structured_collagen_matrices_for_embedded_bioprinting_of_tumor_models_for_immuno-oncology.pdf" target="_blank" data-lf-fd-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true">uPOROS</a> composed of a porous collagen-based material that replicates the dense, fibrous structure of living muscle tissue. They were able to successfully print branching vascular networks in both of these cell-free matrices. After these biomimetic vessels were printed, the matrix was heated, which caused collagen in the matrix and shell ink to crosslink, and the sacrificial gelatin core ink to melt, enabling its easy removal and resulting in an open, perfusable vasculature.Moving into even more biologically relevant materials, the team repeated the printing process using a shell ink that was infused with smooth muscle cells (SMCs), which comprise the outer layer of human blood vessels. After melting out the gelatin core ink, they then perfused endothelial cells (ECs), which form the inner layer of human blood vessels, into their vasculature. After seven days of perfusion, both the SMCs and the ECs were alive and functioning as vessel walls - there was a three-fold decrease in the permeability of the vessels compared to those without ECs.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1723510112228-SWIFT_noScaleBar+and+co-SWIFT_noScaleBar+composite.png" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The original SWIFT method (left) printed hollow channels through living OBBs (green), but had no structure to contain fluid as it flowed through. Co-SWIFT (right) creates a cell-laden vessel (red) surrounding the channel, which isolates blood flow from the tissue and improves their viability. (Wyss Institute at Harvard University)Finally, they were ready to test their method inside living human tissue. They constructed hundreds of thousands of cardiac organ building blocks (OBBs) – tiny spheres of beating human heart cells, which are compressed into a dense cellular matrix. Next, using co-SWIFT, they printed a biomimetic vessel network into the cardiac tissue. Finally, they removed the sacrificial core ink and seeded the inner surface of their SMC-laden vessels with ECs via&nbsp;perfusion and evaluated their performance.Not only did these printed biomimetic vessels display the characteristic double-layer structure of human blood vessels, but after five days of perfusion with a blood-mimicking fluid, the cardiac OBBs started to beat synchronously – indicative of healthy and functional heart tissue. The tissues also responded to common cardiac drugs - isoproterenol caused them to beat faster, and blebbistatin stopped them from beating. The team even 3D-printed a model of the branching vasculature of a real patient’s left coronary artery into OBBs, demonstrating its potential for personalized medicine.“We were able to successfully 3D-print a model of the vasculature of the left coronary artery based on data from a real patient, which demonstrates the potential utility of co-SWIFT for creating patient-specific, vascularized human organs,” said Lewis.In future work, Lewis’ team plans to generate self-assembled networks of capillaries and integrate them with their 3D-printed blood vessel networks to more fully replicate the structure of human blood vessels on the microscale and enhance the function of lab-grown tissues.<hr>Additional authors of the paper include Katharina Kroll, Alexander Ainscough, Daniel Reynolds, Alexander Elamine, Ben Fichtenkort, and Sebastien Uzel. This work was supported by the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship Program sponsored by the Basic Research Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering through the Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-21-1-2958 and the National Science Foundation through CELL-MET ERC (#EEC-1647837).&nbsp;

Co-SWIFT vessels are embedded with living smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells to replicate the structure of human blood vessels in vitro. (Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

New printing method creates branching vessels in heart tissue that replicate the structure of human vasculature in vitro

3D-printed blood vessels bring artificial organs closer to reality

In the age of ever-present technology, dead batteries are a common hindrance. But for those relying on a wearable health care device to monitor glucose, reduce tremors or even track heart function, taking time to recharge can pose a big risk.For the first time, researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s <a href="https://www.meche.engineering.cmu.edu/" target="_blank">Department of Mechanical Engineering(opens in new window)</a> have shown that a health care device can be powered using body heat alone. By combining a pulse oximetry sensor with a flexible, stretchable, wearable thermoelectric energy generator composed of liquid metal, semiconductors and 3D printed rubber, the team has introduced a promising way to address battery life concerns.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nG7nwxcTPGo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe><section id="isPasted">“This is the first step toward battery-free wearable electronics,” said Mason Zadan, Ph.D. candidate and first author of the research published in&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adfm.202404861" target="_blank">Advanced Functional Materials(opens in new window)</a>.The system, designed to achieve high mechanical and thermoelectric performance with seamless materials integration, features advancements in soft-materials, TEG array design, low energy circuit board design and onboard power management.“Compared to our past research, this design improves power density by roughly 40 times or 4,000%. The liquid metal epoxy composite enhances thermal conductivity between the thermoelectric component and the device’s point of contact on the body,” explained&nbsp;<a href="https://www.meche.engineering.cmu.edu/directory/bios/majidi-carmel.html" target="_blank">Carmel Majidi(opens in new window)</a>, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the&nbsp;<a href="http://sml.me.cmu.edu/" target="_blank">Soft Machines Laboratory(opens in new window)</a>.</section><section><blockquote>"Compared to our past research, this design improves power density by roughly 40 times or 4,000%." — Carmel Majidi</blockquote></section><section>To test its voltage output, the device was worn on a participant’s chest and wrist at rest and in motion.“We saw greater output while the device was on the participant’s wrist and while they were in motion,” Zadan said. “As the participant moves, one side of the device is cooled by the increase in airflow, and the other is heated from the rise in body temperature. Walking and running created an ideal temperature differential.”Moving forward,&nbsp;<a href="https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/dinesh-patel" target="_blank">Dinesh K. Patel(opens in new window)</a>, a research scientist on the team, is eager to work on improving electrical performance and explore how to additively manufacture the device. “We want to move it from a proof-of-concept into a product people can start using.”</section>

The wearable combines a pulse oximetry sensor with a flexible, stretchable, wearable thermoelectric energy generator composed of liquid metal, semiconductors and 3D-printed rubber.

Researchers address battery-life concerns with a new material system that can power a pulse oximeter with body heat alone.

First Health Care Device Powered by Body Heat Made Possible with Liquid-based Metals

This article was discussed in our <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/3abf3abd-f178-48f1-9ff4-5e723ec91b2e?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-24="true"></iframe> The full article will continue below.<hr>In the age of technology everywhere, we are all too familiar with the inconvenience of a dead battery. But for those relying on a wearable healthcare device to monitor glucose, reduce tremors, or even track heart function, taking time to recharge can pose a big risk.For the first time, researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have shown that a healthcare device can be powered using body heat alone. By combining a pulse oximetry sensor with a flexible, stretchable, wearable thermoelectric energy generator composed of liquid metal, semiconductors, and 3D printed rubber, the team has introduced a promising way to address battery life concerns.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nG7nwxcTPGo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-gtm-yt-inspected-24="true" id="47735172" title="First healthcare device powered by body heat alone">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe>“This is the first step towards battery-free wearable electronics,” said Mason Zadan, Ph.D. candidate and first author of the research published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adfm.202404861" target="_blank">Advanced Functional Materials</a>.The system, designed to achieve high mechanical and thermoelectric performance with seamless materials integration, features advancements in soft-materials, TEG array design, low energy circuit board design, and on-board power management.“Compared to our past research, this design improves power density by roughly 40 times or 4,000%. The liquid metal epoxy composite enhances thermal conductivity between the thermoelectric component and the device’s point of contact on the body,” explained Carmel Majidi, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the <a href="http://sml.me.cmu.edu/" target="_blank">Soft Machines Laboratory</a>.<blockquote>Compared to our past research, this design improves power density by roughly 40 times or 4,000%.<cite>Carmel Majidi, Professor, Mechanical Engineering</cite></blockquote>To test its voltage output, the device was worn on a participant’s chest and wrist at rest and in motion.“We saw greater output while the device was on the participant’s wrist and while they were in motion,” Zadan said. “As the participant moves, one side of the device is cooled by the increase in airflow, and the other is heated from the rise in body temperature. Walking and running created an ideal temperature differential.”Moving forward, Dinesh K. Patel, a research scientist on the team, is eager to work on improving electrical performance and explore how to additively manufacture the device. “We want to move it from a proof-of-concept into a product people can start using.”This research was done in collaboration with Arieca Inc, The University of Washington, and Seoul National University.

The wearable combines a pulse oximetry sensor with a flexible, stretchable, wearable thermoelectric energy generator composed of liquid metal, semiconductors, and 3D printed rubber.

Researchers address battery-life concerns with a new material system that can power a pulse ox with bodyheat alone.

First healthcare device powered by body heat made possible with liquid-based metals

In this episode, we discuss how an ex-apple engineer who worked on the apple watch got inspired to create a smart patch for treating psoriasis.<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/779ab725-9c50-48f5-9e38-00be474265f5?dark=false" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe><hr><h3 id="isPasted">EPISODE NOTES</h3>(0:50) - <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/to-heal-skin-scientists-invent-living-bioelectronics" target="_blank">To Heal Skin, Scientists Invent Living Bioelectronics</a>Become a founding reader of our newsletter: <a href="http://read.thenextbyte.com/" target="_blank">http://read.thenextbyte.com/</a><hr><h2 data-attrid="title" data-local-attribute="d3bn" data-ved="2ahUKEwiBhLnmu4aAAxVmwjgGHcDWC38Q3B0oAXoECEgQEQ" id="isPasted">Transcript</h2>What's up folks, in today's episode we're talking about the future of skincare. And if you're frustrated like me with traditional skincare treatments, they feel inconsistent, you're not sure if they're working, you're not able to quickly measure like is this working or not, you're going to be really excited about this because we're talking about this ex-Apple engineer who originally helped create the Apple Watch and is now creating the super smart patch which is basically the Apple Watch for skincare that both heals and tracks your skin's health.I'm Daniel, and I'm Farbod. And this is the NextByte Podcast. Every week, we explore interesting and impactful tech and engineering content from Wevolver.com and deliver it to you in bite sized episodes that are easy to understand, regardless of your background.&nbsp;Daniel:&nbsp;What's up folks? Like we said, today we're talking all about the ex-Apple engineer who's creating the Apple watch to help everyone get clear skin. Pretty interesting story behind this one.Farbod:&nbsp;You know we love episodes with a good story.Daniel:&nbsp;We always love episodes and really the engineers and creators behind awesome technology when they've got an awesome story. And that's pretty much what compelled us to talk about this one. Dr. Simiao Niu who was troubled by psoriasis in his youth. I can relate. I've also been troubled by psoriasis.Farbod:&nbsp;It's a personal episode.Daniel:&nbsp;Yeah, it hits deep in my heart and on patches on my knees and elbows as well. But Dr. Niu has struggled with inconsistent treatments, treatment results, lack of feedback. I can understand as an engineer, right? It's really challenging to like feel like some aspects of your health are really easily quantitatively measured. Like, oh, I want to improve my blood cholesterol. Well, you can just go get another complete blood count and compare your cholesterol from the moment before and be like, oh, my cholesterol has improved. Or if you'd be like, oh, I wanna lose weight, you get on a diet routine, you work out, you lose weight, you step on the scale, bang. You can measure the product of your work. But with treating psoriasis, it's really challenging to like quantitatively measure how well to tell what it's doing, is it improving, is the treatment effective, or are the side effects not worth it? So, his goal as an engineer is to kind of create an electronic patch that treats skin blemishes like psoriasis and provides continuous feedback.Farbod: This is a goal; I think is worth saying. It kind of, it was inspired by the work he was doing in Apple.Daniel: That's what I was going to say is like, I kind of alluded to it earlier, right? He helped create the Apple watch. Yeah. He's going to create the Apple watch for, for clear skin. But it's really interesting, Dr. New worked at Apple on the Apple watch, creating electronics specifically for health monitoring and measuring to do two things, right? To one help measure health and then two improve it. That seems like a theme here. He wants to make sure that you make devices that one measure health and then to improve it. He wants to create a wearable device for skin ailments that do this two, but when he was at Apple, he was working on, I think it was the temperature sensor and the ECG sensor that are inside the Apple Watch on my wrist right now. And when he was at Apple, he was developing these wearables that again, one, help measure how health is doing and two, help you improve it. He created the ECG sensor for Apple Watch and literally got like hundreds and hundreds of thank you notes shipped to his desk from people who were thanking him for being like, oh, thank you to the engineer who helped develop this ECG sensor it helped save my life by detecting this arrhythmia or this heart attack, et cetera. And that really inspired him to be like, Whoa, we're able to do this for some types of health ailments. And granted these were life-saving ones, but can we do the same thing for this problem that's been plaguing me for my whole life on my skin? Yeah. Is there something similar we can do using similar technology? And that, that kind of is like his, his so what, or his why story motivating him to make this development.Farbod:&nbsp;Yeah. And you know, the beauty of the Apple Watch is that it gives you a lot of like holistic snapshots. Like, it gives you inside about your, the healthiness of your sleep, etc, etc. But at the core of it, it really boils down to your heart health. And that's what it's actively measuring. And the messages that you were mentioning, it was because they were able to pick up these like irregular heartbeat patterns and pick up on, I'm going to butcher saying this, Atrial Fibrillation which is like a silent killer that most folks cannot detect, but the Apple Watch does. So, hundreds of people literally got notifications of like, hey, you're at risk or there's something abnormal going on, go to the doctor. And that's what ended up saving their lives. So, it was really easy for him to make that connection of, oh, here's like one specific condition that we were monitoring for one muscle, which was the heart. How can we extract that same concept and now apply it to the psoriasis problem? I mean, let's just jump right into the, what's going on here, the solution. What do you think?Daniel:&nbsp;Yeah, I think it's the perfect part, right? So, Dr. Niu leaves Apple, goes to Rutgers University, previous background, got his PhD from Georgia Tech in both materials engineering and in electronics.Farbod:&nbsp;Jack of all trades.Daniel: I know, Jack of all trades. And so, combining these two worlds along with the world of bacteria, the world of living biology is able to combine advanced materials, advanced electronics and living cells to create this awesome patch that is designed to treat psoriasis but can also potentially help treat other skin conditions. And it's about one inch in diameter. It's really wafer thin and like I said the main aspects here is the electronic chip, the bacterial cells and then a hydrogel starch that's made from gelatin that helps hold the bacterial cells on the electronic chip.Farbod: And it's the first of its kind. I think that's also worth saying. There's a lot of bio-electronic strips and patches and whatnot, but typically the way they work that the French treats them from this is that you have the electronics embedded in some sort of a flexible polymer that you're just strapping on yourself. But what you just pointed out, that little gel, which is helping distribute the bacteria cells that are in there, that's what's giving it a living component. So, this is a first-generation living bio-electronic patch.Daniel:&nbsp;Yeah, not just bio-electronic. It's living bio-electronic. And I thought it's pretty interesting diving into the bacteria on this. I thought, you know, counterproductive to have bacteria.Farbod: Same. I was so confused.Daniel:&nbsp;How does this treat something like psoriasis? But I think it's really awesome. They targeted the specific type of bacteria called S epidermidis, which is already a part of the skin microbiome and is part of your skin's natural response to things like rashes on your skin. And it actually thrives in the oils on your skin. And one of the things that they found on trials in mice is that if they have a skin condition like psoriasis, introducing additional S epidermidis bacteria helps reduce inflammation. So, it helps reduce some of the nasty effects from psoriasis like itching, like pain, like swelling in the local area of the disease. Because these bacteria actually secrete anti-inflammatory compounds when the patch is placed on the skin. So, you basically got this awesome method of treating psoriasis. You've also got a flexible PCB that's kind of like the skeleton of the device holding it all together. This flexible circuit monitors the resistance of your skin, the temperature of your skin and the humidity of the skin, which is transmit, this data is transmitted wirely to your computer, to your cell phone, and essentially between understanding the relationship between the bacteria that are on this skin, emitting these anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as these different signals, again, skin resistance, skin temperature, skin humidity, they can start to measure how the effectiveness of the bacteria is at reducing the symptoms associated with psoriasis.Farbod:&nbsp;Yeah. And it's interesting because they started testing on rats, on rats that had psoriasis-like symptoms or conditions, and they are seeing, they're able to demonstrate that this patch does have improvements to those conditions. So now their next step is to actually move forward with human testing. It's possible that folks like you will be able to access this technology in the not-so-distant future, which is pretty promising.Daniel:&nbsp;Yeah, I'm really excited about this. And one of the things that I think is awesome is they, you know, we talk about this with a lot of technologies in a similar space, once, once you've taken a novel approach, the best thing to do is look for like, all right, did my thesis or did my hypothesis work for this? What application I wanted to did this living by electronic device help with treating psoriasis? Yes, it did. Now in this case, have we also created a platform that can help treat on a bunch of other similar skin conditions or other conditions. In this case, they have a strong hypothesis that they think so as well. So not only have they developed something to help treat psoriasis, they understand that the same epidermis bacteria secreting anti-inflammatory compounds could really help with healing of really big trauma to the skin. So, like think really, really serious wounds or maybe your wound from a surgery or something like that, you can use that similar bacteria to help promote healing. They also said it can help with skin cancer after the cancer cells have been removed, can help the localized area to heal faster. And more so than just promoting the healing, using the bacteria they said for doctors, it could be really, really interesting to get continuous feedback and real-time monitoring on how the wound is healing using this data that comes along, along with the living bio electronic patch, the electronic part of that collecting a lot of data over time can help doctors understand how wounds are healing and whether it deserves extra attention or not.Farbod:&nbsp;And I'm wondering like if they find other bacterias that could be helpful for different conditions, it seems like this platform is flexible enough to adopt those new bacteria as well.Daniel:&nbsp;Well, yeah. And it's the touching back at Dr. Nui, advanced materials education, right. This hydrogel that's made from starch and gelatin is kind of what promotes the fact that these bacteria can live in this hydrogel and then also be compatible with the skin. Like you're saying, I'm wondering if there's other living organisms that could be introduced to this bacterial cocktail essentially and promote different types of effects. Maybe you want one that's antifungal to help fight a fungal infection or maybe you want a different type of bacteria that helps combat other bacterial infections or maybe you just want a higher concentration of S epidermidis to help reduce inflammation for a different type of condition.Farbod:&nbsp;Yeah, no I agree. What do you say you wrap up this little episode?Daniel:&nbsp;Well, I will say right before we do this, I think that one of the things I want to start doing in the podcast, we kind of get like, we've gotten called out a couple of times for being like, oh, you're just tech cheerleaders. You only talk about the pros, you don't talk about the cons. So, I'm gonna be very purposeful, I think, moving forward to try and talk about some of the pros and some of the cons, summarizing the so what. Because I feel like we touch on the pros and the cons every single time, but just to like dangle that food out there for the haters a little bit, I understand. I also get frustrated if I feel like people are just tech cheerleaders, that's not what we're here to do.Farbod:&nbsp;It's tough when you're so excited about a topic like this, I'll say that.Daniel:&nbsp;We can be futurists, but we can also be measured futurists.Farbod: I hear you. I hear you.Daniel:&nbsp;So, in this case, I'm going to hang it out there for you, the haters, the pros, right? This device offers a novel approach to bioelectronics. It allows electronics to incorporate living cells, can allow patients and doctors to monitor their healing process as well using the electronic sensors. This can lead to more effective and personalized treatments. But the cons, clinical trials are needed first before this can be used on humans. It's only been tested on rats and beyond clinical trials, FDA approval is required for this type of medical device before commercialization. This could be a really lengthy process. So, for folks with psoriasis like myself, who are excited by this, maybe you got to sign up for the clinical trial to get access to it, or it could be a couple of years before we see this thing in the field, if it gets approved. So again, for you haters out there, the pros and the cons laid out perfectly for you. Just want to make sure that we're not, we're not being paid by anyone to talk about this and chill it.Farbod: We do it for the love of the game.Daniel:&nbsp;We do it for the love of the game. In this case, we're talking about the pros and the cons of the game.Farbod: Exactly. Good man. I appreciate that.Daniel:&nbsp;All right, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I'm happy to wrap up this episode, man, with a quick recap.Farbod: Let's do it.Daniel:&nbsp;This Apple engineer who helped create the Apple Watch wants to help everyone get clear skin. His goal was to create an electronic patch that treats skin blemishes like psoriasis, which I have on my knee and provide continuous feedback to patients as well to understand how their health is doing. But traditional treatments are inconsistent. They don't offer real-time monitoring and they're not easily measurable. So, he took his background from Apple, creating the Apple Watch, combined electronics with anti-inflammatory bacteria to create a tiny patch that can monitor skin conditions and heal blemishes quickly. It's like having an Apple Watch, but for skincare, that both heals and tracks the condition of your skin. And that's why this tiny microchip designed by an Apple engineer is gonna be the future of getting clear skin.Farbod: You have me at Apple Watch for skincare. That's gonna be the episode title.Daniel:&nbsp;Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.Farbod:&nbsp;All right, folks, thank you so much for listening. And as always, we'll catch you in the next one.Daniel:&nbsp;Peace.<hr id="isPasted">As always, you can find these and other interesting &amp; impactful engineering articles on Wevolver.com.To learn more about this show, please visit our<a href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" target="_blank">&nbsp;shows page</a>. By following the page, you will get automatic updates by email when a new show is published. Be sure to give us a follow and review on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-next-byte/id1548255861?l=en" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">&nbsp;Apple</a> podcasts,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6lPPsRtegnivsRUEsQ09R7?si=IPMiah7xT_apJtPjqvXMlA" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">&nbsp;Spotify</a>, and most of your favorite podcast platforms!--The Next Byte: We're two engineers on a mission to simplify complex science &amp; technology, making it easy to understand. In each episode of our show, we dive into world-changing tech (such as AI, robotics, 3D printing, IoT, &amp; much more), all while keeping it entertaining &amp; engaging along the way.

In this episode, we discuss how an ex-apple engineer who worked on the apple watch got inspired to create a smart patch for treating psoriasis.

Podcast: Ex-Apple Engineer Creates Skincare Smart Patches

<section id="isPasted">Most people, when they think about pythons, visualize the huge snake constricting and swallowing victims whole. But did you know that pythons initially hold onto their prey with their sharp, backward-curving teeth? Medical researchers have long been aware that these teeth are perfect for grasping soft tissue rather than cutting through it, but no one has yet been able to put this concept into surgical practice. Over the years, mimicking these teeth for use in surgery has been a frequent topic of discussion in the lab of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiaortho.org/profile/stavros-thomopoulos-phd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dr. Stavros Thomopoulos</a>, a professor of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiaortho.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">orthopedics</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://bme.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">biomedical engineering&nbsp;</a>at Columbia University.</section><section><h2>Biomimicry key to new study</h2>A leading researcher focused on the development and regeneration of the tendon-to-bone attachment, Thomopoulos is particularly interested in advancing tendon-to-bone repair, necessary for rotator cuff repair and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl5270" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In a paper published today</a> by Science Advances, his team reports that they have developed a python-tooth-inspired device as a supplement to current rotator cuff suture repair, and found that it nearly doubled repair strength.&nbsp;“As we grow older, more than half of us will experience a rotator cuff tear leading to shoulder pain and decreased mobility,” said Thomopoulos, who has joint appointments at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.engineering.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Columbia Engineering</a> and Columbia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vagelos.columbia.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons</a> as the Robert E. Carroll and Jane Chace Carroll Professor of Biomechanics (in Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering). “The best medical intervention is rotator cuff surgery, but a remarkably high percentage of these repairs will fail within just a couple of months. Our biomimetic approach following the design of python teeth helps to reattach tendons to bone more securely. The device not only augments the strength of the repair but can also be customized to the patient. We’re really excited about the potential of our device to improve the care of rotator cuff injuries.”</section><section><h2>Rotator cuff injuries</h2>Among the most prevalent tendon injuries, rotator cuff tears affect more than 17 million people in the United States each year. The incidence of injury increases with age: more than 40% of the population over 65 years old experience a rotator cuff tear.&nbsp;Because rotator cuff tears typically occur at the tendon-to-bone insertion site, rotator cuff repair is aimed at anatomically restoring the tendon attachment. Surgical repair is the primary treatment for restoring shoulder function, with more than 600,000 procedures performed annually in the United States at a cost of $3 billion.&nbsp;However, successfully reattaching tendon to bone remains a significant clinical challenge. High failure rates occur following surgery, with rates increasing with patient age and tear severity. These rates range from 20% in younger patients with minor tears to a staggering 94% in elderly patients with massive tears. The most common failure of rotator cuff repairs is sutures tearing through the tendon at the two or four grasping points where forces concentrate.While there have been advancements in rotator cuff repair techniques over the past 20 years, the fundamental approach of sewing two tissues together has remained largely unchanged, still relying on sutures transferring tension at high-stress grasping points. Following tendon-to-bone reattachment surgery, sutures can tear through tendons at these points of high stress, a phenomenon known as “suture pull-through” or “cheesewiring,” leading to repair-site gapping or rupturing. “We decided to see if we could develop a device that mimics the shape of python teeth, that would effectively grasp soft tissues without tearing, and help reduce the risk of tendon re-tearing after rotator cuff repair,” said Iden Kurtaliaj, the study’s lead author and a former biomedical engineering PhD student in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiaortho.org/thomopoulos-lab" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Thomopoulos’ lab</a>.</section><section><h2>The device</h2>The team’s original idea was to copy the shape of python teeth, but they went much further, using simulations, 3D printing, and&nbsp;ex vivo experiments on cadavers to explore the relationship between tooth shape and grasping vs. cutting mechanics. Kurtaliaj manufactured a range of tooth designs, optimized individual teeth, arrays of teeth, and finally a rotator cuff-specific array of teeth. The end result was a biomimetic device, made of a biocompatible resin -- an array of teeth atop a curved base -- capable of grasping, not cutting, tendon. The teeth are relatively small -- 3mm high for a human rotator cuff, about half the length of a standard staple -- so that they won’t poke through the tendon. The base can be customized via 3D printing to match the patient-specific curvature of the humeral head at the supraspinatus tendon attachment site (the most commonly torn rotator cuff tendon).“We designed it specifically so that surgeons won’t need to abandon their current approach--they can simply add the device and increase the strength of their repair,” Kurtaliaj noted.</section><section><h2>The team</h2>Kurtaliaj led the research as a PhD student under the mentorship of Drs. Stavros Thomopoulos and&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/faculty/Guy-Genin.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Guy Genin,</a> the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, with input for clinical implementation from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbiaortho.org/profile/william-n-levine-md" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dr. William Levine</a>, chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons.“Due to our laboratory's close collaboration with orthopedic surgeons, we were especially fortunate to get input from Dr. Levine, along with other surgeons at Columbia, throughout the device's design development process,” said Thomopoulos.</section><section><h2>Next steps</h2>The researchers are now working to develop a bioabsorbable version of the device that would degrade as the rotator cuff heals back to bone, further enhancing its clinical applicability. They are also preparing for a pre-submission meeting with the FDA to facilitate the transition of their device into the market.</section>

Schematic of the python tooth-inspired device interposed between tendon a bone significantly enhances standard rotator cuff repair. Credit: Iden Kurtaliaj/Columbia Engineering

Columbia University team uses biomimicry to create a device that may reduce the risk of rotator cuff re-tearing in patients.

New Device Inspired by Python Teeth Doubles Strength of Rotator Cuff Repairs

Human brain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, involve damage in more than one region of the brain, requiring technology that could precisely and flexibly address all affected regions simultaneously. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target affected neurons in the brain, creating the potential to precisely modulate selected cell types in multiple diseased brain regions.&nbsp;Hong Chen, associate professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering and of neurosurgery in the School of Medicine, and her team created AhSonogenetics, or Airy-beam holographic sonogenetics, a technique that uses a noninvasive wearable ultrasound device to alter genetically selected neurons in the brains of mice. Results of the proof-of-concept study were published in&nbsp;Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 17, 2024.&nbsp;AhSonogenetics brings together several of Chen’s group’s recent advances into one technology. In 2021, she and her team launched&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/news/2021/First-in-class-tool-for-potential-treatment-of-brain-disorders.html" target="_blank">Sonogenetics</a>, a method that uses focused ultrasound to deliver a viral construct containing ultrasound-sensitive ion channels to genetically selected neurons in the brain. They use low-intensity focused ultrasound to deliver a small burst of warmth, which opens the ion channels and activates the neurons. Chen’s team was the first to show that&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/news/2021/First-in-class-tool-for-potential-treatment-of-brain-disorders.html" target="_blank">sonogenetics could modulate the behavior of freely moving mice</a>.In 2022, she and members of her lab designed and 3D-printed a flexible and versatile tool known as an&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/news/2022/New-practical-method-of-producing-Airy-beams-could-enhance-ultrasound.html" target="_blank">Airy beam-enabled binary acoustic metasurface</a> that allowed them to manipulate ultrasound beams. She also is developing&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/news/2023/Genetic-engineering-delivered-with-ultrasound-studied-to-treat-brain-disorders.html" target="_blank">Sonogenetics 2.0</a>, which combines the advantage of ultrasound and genetic engineering to modulate defined neurons noninvasively and precisely in the brains of humans and animals. AhSonogenetics brings them together as a potential method to intervene in neurodegenerative diseases.&nbsp;“By enabling precise and flexible cell-type-specific neuromodulation without invasive procedures, AhSonogenetics provides a powerful tool for investigating intact neural circuits and offers promising interventions for neurological disorders,” Chen said.&nbsp;Sonogenetics gives researchers a way to precisely control the brains, while airy-beam technology allows researchers to bend or steer the sound waves to generate arbitrary beam patterns inside the brain with a high spatial resolution. Yaoheng (Mack) Yang, a postdoctoral research associate who earned a doctorate in biomedical engineering from McKelvey Engineering in 2022, said the technology gives the researchers three unique advantages.“Airy beam is the technology that can give us precise targeting of a smaller region than conventional technology, the flexibility to steer to the targeted brain regions, and to target multiple brain regions simultaneously,” Yang said.Chen and her team, including first authors Zhongtao Hu, a former postdoctoral research associate, and Yang, designed each Airy-beam metasurface individually as the foundation for wearable ultrasound devices that were tailored for different applications and for precise locations in the brain.Chen’s team tested the technique on a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease. With AhSonogenetics, they were able to stimulate two brain regions simultaneously in a single mouse, eliminating the need for multiple implants or interventions. This stimulation alleviated Parkinson’s-related motor deficits in the mouse model, including slow movements, difficulty walking and freezing behaviors.The team’s Airy-beam device overcomes some of the limits of sonogenetics, including tailoring the design of the device to target specific brain locations, as well as incorporating the flexibility to adjust target locations in a single brain.Hu said the device, which costs roughly $50 to make, can be tailored in size to fit various brain sizes, expanding its potential applications.&nbsp;“This technology can be used as a research platform to speed neuroscience research because of the capability to flexibly target different brain regions,” Hu said. “The affordability and ease of fabrication lower the barriers to the widespread adoption of our proposed devices by the research community for neuromodulation applications.”<hr>Hu Z, Yang Y, Gong Y, Chukwu C, Ye D, Yue Y, Yuan J, Kravitz AV, Chen H. Airy-beam holographic sonogenetics for advancing neuromodulation precision and flexibility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 17, 2024, DOI:&nbsp;<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402200121" target="_blank">10.1073/pnas.2402200121</a>.&nbsp;Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health (R01NS12846, R01MH116981, UG3MH126861, R01EB027223, R01EB030102).The design file for the Airy-beam holographic transducer is available on GitHub:&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/ChenUltrasoundLabWUSTL/AiryBeam_Lens_Design" target="_blank">https://github.com/ChenUltrasoundLabWUSTL/AiryBeam_Lens_Design</a>.

McKelvey School of Engineering researchers have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target affected neurons in the brain, creating the potential to precisely modulate selected cell types in multiple diseased brain regions. (Credit: Yaoheng Yang)

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