Medicine - Page 6

A team of researchers, led by Northwestern University and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), has developed a graphene-based cardiac implant. Similar in appearance to a temporary tattoo, the new graphene “tattoo” implant is thinner than a single strand of hair yet still functions like a classical pacemaker. But unlike current pacemakers and implanted defibrillators, which require hard, rigid materials that are mechanically incompatible with the body, the new device softly melds to the heart to simultaneously sense and treat irregular heartbeats. The implant is thin and flexible enough to conform to the heart’s delicate contours as well as stretchy and strong enough to withstand the dynamic motions of a beating heart.

After implanting the device into a rat model, the researchers demonstrated that the graphene tattoo could successfully sense irregular heart rhythms and then deliver electrical stimulation through a series of pulses without constraining or altering the heart’s natural motions. The technology also is optically transparent, allowing the researchers to use an external source of optical light to record and stimulate the heart through the device.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed graphene-enhanced biosensor technology that enables the operation of devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought control.

 The technology has significant potential in fields such as defense applications, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and healthcare. The advanced brain-computer interface was developed by Distinguished Professor Chin-Teng Lin and Professor Francesca Iacopi, from the UTS Faculty of Engineering and IT, in collaboration with the Australian Army and Defense Innovation Hub.

A team of researchers at China's Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a graphene-based intelligent, wearable artificial throat (AT) that is sensitive to human speech and vocalization-related motions. It is a wafer-like tool one centimeter square that can allow barely audible sounds, or even whispers, to be converted into speech at normal volume.

The device is about the width of plastic cling wrap. The 25-micrometer deep device may be applied to one's throat with a simple adhesive. Tiny wires connect to a microcontroller powered by a coin-sized battery.

The amount of surface oxygen in graphene materials is a key factor in how effective they could be in killing bacteria – a discovery which may help to design safer and more effective products to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Researchers from the UK's University of Birmingham, China's Shandong University of Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, NovaMechanics in Cyprus, Austria's Medical University of Innsbruck, University of Eastern Finland and Leiden University in the Netherlands have found that it is graphene oxide’s different interaction modes that lead to distinct antibacterial activity – with a ‘switch’ occurring when surface oxygen levels reach a certain threshold.

Scientists at the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton have developed health sensors using natural elements like rock salt, water and seaweed, combined with graphene.

Since they are made with ingredients found in nature, the sensors are fully biodegradable, making them more environmentally friendly than commonly used rubber and plastic-based alternatives. Their natural composition also places them within the emerging scientific field of edible electronics – electronic devices that are safe for a person to consume.

Zhejiang Textile New Material Technology, located in Zhuji, Zhejiang, China, is currently testing its new graphene-enhanced antibacterial socks. The Company explained that the socks are first manufactured in a traditional way, then treated with a graphene antibacterial multifunctional finishing agent.

The Company stated that rigorous tests are currently being performed to see if the required effects are achieved. The team explained that generally, most countries require that the antibacterial effect should reach more than 70%. Zhejiang Textile New Material Technology’s socks reportedly reach more than 90%.

SoundCell, a spin-off of TU Delft, has secured funding of €350,000 from proof-of-concept fund UNIIQ, together with Delft Enterprises. The funds will go towards facilitating the development of its graphene technology for single cell resolution antibiotic sensitivity testing.

SoundCell develops innovative technology that can measure the vibrations produced by living bacteria. This technology makes use of graphene membranes and could have significant implications for the detection and prevention of antibiotic resistance, as it would enable patients to receive effective medication against bacterial infections faster than today’s standard.

Researchers from Graphenea, Ikerbasque, BCMaterials, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE) of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU, University of Trieste and Universidade da Coruña recently reported a graphene field effect transistors (GFET) array biosensor for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, using the human membrane protein involved in the virus internalisation: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

By finely controlling the graphene functionalization, by tuning the Debye length, and by deeply characterizing the ACE2-spike protein interactions, the team managed to detect the target protein with an extremely low limit of detection (2.94 aM).

Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Pusan National University and CNRS have developed an artificial muscle that is 17 times more powerful than that of humans. The muscle made of graphene-liquid crystal elastomer-based fiber bundles will reportedly be commercialized through a Korean company.

 
The main factor that hinders the development of high-performance artificial muscles is that scientists are not able to mechanically select a certain part of the artificial muscle to contract and expand. Large and bulky artificial muscles are not accurate enough.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have used electronic tattoo (e-tattoo) technology to measure stress levels, by attaching a device to people's palms (AKA electrodermal activity or EDA sensing). The researchers created a graphene-based e-tattoo that attaches to the palm, is nearly invisible and connects to a smart watch.

In June 2022, researchers from the same universities also developed a graphene-based electronic tattoo that can be worn on the wrist for hours and deliver continuous blood pressure measurements at an accuracy level exceeding nearly all available options on the market today.