This is a combination of 7 Amazing Technological Innovations that address Health Challenges
A patients experience of the Doctors surgery and the operating theatre could be transformed by these Great Innovative Prototypes. Courtesy of Imperial college Researchers, London, United Kingdom.
1. SNP Doctor
DNA Electronics (DNAE) an Imperial spin-out company
SNP Doctor is an handheld device that analyses DNA to forecast the response of Patients to their prescribed Medication.
2. iKnife
Dr. Zoltan Takats, Department of Surgery and Cancer
iKnife is an "intelligent Knife" that is designed to tell surgeons immediately whether the tissue they are cutting is cancerous or not.
3. Digital Plaster
Toumaz Healthcare, a spin-out company from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering
The digital plaster with a registered Trademark name "The wireless sensium" digital patch can monitor a patients vital signs remotely and continously, in order to make it possible for patients to be cared for at the comfort of their Homes.
4. iSnake
Professor Guang-Zhong Yang and Professor Lord Ara Darzi, Institute for Global Health Innovation
The isnake is a robotic surgical device thats programmed to navigate independently through the body of a patient, and is controlled by the surgeon with a remote control.
5. Artificial Yeast
Imperial Researchers are working on a man-made chromosomes, the UKs contribution to the first entirely Artificial Yeast.
Researchers hope to complete the Synthetic genome by 2017, and use it to design new strains of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Yeast that can ultimately create valuable chemicals, antibiotics, Vaccines or biofuels.
Imperial is one of the World leaders in the field of synthetic biology, where researchers re-engineer cells to develop microscopic devices that can be used to address a range of global challenges.
The college is home to a new £24 million centre called SynbiCITE which aims to speed up the development of these technologies. It will be a national resource, involving researchers from a further 17 academic institutions acros the UK as well as 13 industrial partners, including the research arms of the Microsoft, Shell and GlaxoSmithKline.
6.Psychedelic Science
Two imperial studies have provided the most detsiled picture to date of how psychedelic drugs work.
In the first study, 30 healthy volunteers had psilocybin-the active ingredient in magic mushrooms-infused into their blood while they were inside magnetic resonance imagine (MRI) scanners.
The scans showed that activity decreased in hub regions of the brain-areas that are especially well-connected with other areas.
The second study found that Psilicybin enhanced volunteers recollections of personal memories. This effect could make Psilicybin useful as an adjunct to Psychotherapy, suggest study authors Professor David Nutt and Dr. Rbin Carhart-Harris, from the Department of Medicine.
7. Tackling Malaria
Staff in the Department of Life Science are breeding Mosquitoes and Analysing their intereaction with the Malaria parasite Plasmodum in the hope of finding new ways to tackle the disease.
Malaria Parasite affects well over 300 million people annually. Mosquitoes which are primarily responsible for the transmission of the disease, are bred and stored at a tropical 80 per cent humidity and 28 per cent centigrade in the Labs at Sir Alexander Flemming Building- conditions similar to those found in their natural habitats in Africa, India and Asia.
Souce: Imperial College, London
To many, 3D printing is little more than a toy. A toy that mostly prints toys. To others, its a prototyping tool good for a hands-on feel of a manifested idea but not much more.
Yet for a select few, 3D printing is the heart of innovation, and each new iteration is pumping the futures lifeblood.Here are some of the innovations 3D printing is bringing to life.
The Pulse Behind the Tech
For years, scientists have wanted to create the equivalent of Star Treksreplicator in the real world and have sought to develop the necessary technology.The 3D printer was invented in the mid-1980s, according to a report by Michael Vidikan, founder of Future in Focus. While it was a rudimentary model, as inventions are wont to be, "progress in the industry has been slow but steady."
It isnt only scientists and sci-fi fans who want to see 3D printing come to fullStar Trek replicator functionality. Industries across the board envision substantial benefits once the technology is perfected. Some see benefits now.
The 3D Pulse Quickens
Known in the manufacturing sector as "additive manufacturing," or AM, 3D printing is used heavily in prototyping already. There is also some use of it in producing machine parts, since additive manufacturing -- the layering of materials to make a product -- generally is faster and more cost effective than subtractive manufacturing -- the cutting or pressing a product out of a material, thereby producing waste."In the coming year, we are going to see 3D metal parts being flight-tested in real applications, not just trivial parts -- e.g., brackets, hinges, flanges -- attached to noncritical components," said Tim Simpson, professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State.
"Itll be done in the aerospace industry, which will then cause everyone else to fully commit to additive manufacturing. No one wants to be the first, but once someone else has done it, then no one wants to be last!" he told TechNewsWorld.
"Meanwhile, companies that dont get into the game will start to lose employees to those that are readily using AM, which will create a further divide between companies that want to do AM and those that can do AM," Simpson added. "Buying a machine is the easier part; learning how to run it well is challenging."
Expect to see a seemingly sudden uptake in 3D printing in the manufacturing sector shortly -- first in producing existing products, but quickly moving into innovation.
"The main benefits are low cost, speed, versatility and innovation," said Jorge M. Zuniga, director of the 3D Research & Innovation Laboratory at Creighton University.
"The use of 3D printing brings professionals from different areas to collaborate, and innovation is a side effect of these collaborations," he told TechNewsWorld.
However, manufacturing isnt the only industry using 3D printing to its advantage or planning to increase that use going forward.
Infusions of New 3D Printing Blood
"Industries leveraging 3D printing in a sizable way today include dental; some other medical, such as hearing aids and surgical models; some limited and specific aerospace applications; and then the widely applicable consumer space for education, design and customization of collectibles," said Michael Raphael, CEO of Direct Dimensions."I look for applications where the design is essentially consistent yet where each of them is unique for some reason," he told TechNewsWorld.
Ease of customization arguably is most appealing to the medical and dental sectors, according to Raphael.
"Dental and medical are obvious. Teeth are essentially the same, but each is different. 3D printing shines for these applications because no tooling is required, and you can make them each unique just as easy as you can make them all the same," he said.
"Following this paradigm, I look for adoption in other human body-related products. Medical devices provide a good case, such as orthotics, braces and splints. Other extractions would include protective gear, sports and performance gear, and footwear," Raphael added.
The same holds true for printing customized human body parts.
"Patients have already received 3D-printed jaws, ribs, sternum, teeth, tracheas and skulls," said Steven J. Hausman, president of Hausman Technology Presentations.
"There will be no part of the body that will not be duplicated in the future, ranging from inexpensive customized prosthetics to bioprinted organs using the patients own stem cells so that tissue rejection will not be an issue," he told TechNewsWorld.
Medicines increasingly will be 3D printed, partly driven by the need to contain healthcare costs and partly by President Obamas precision medicine initiative.
"In August 2015, the FDA approved the first 3D-printed prescription drug -- no doubt to be the first of many," said Hausman.
Mobile First Responder
Another advantage to 3D printing is its ability to serve as a supply chain in remote areas and mobile venues."A low-gravity 3D printer that is able to operate in space has been created," said Hausman. "This will permit the crew of the International Space Station to create replacement parts when needed without the necessity of awaiting a resupply mission from Earth. Similarly the ability to manufacture parts on demand has clear utility in military ships at sea."
Imagine its use in disaster areas where blood, organs, artificial limbs, blankets, life-saving equipment and even food can be produced on the spot.
"3D printing has gained traction in the food industry, wherein pasta, candy and other foods can already be printed," said Chinh Pham, who co-leads the emerging tech practice at Greenberg Traurig.
Industries in Transition
"The worldwide 3D printing industry is expected to grow from about $3 billion in revenue to close to $13 billion by 2018, and exceeding $21 billion in revenue by 2020," he told TechNewsWorld.Its impact wont be entirely benign as it will disrupt several traditional industries, including shipping, which will be affected as manufacturers and retailers begin shipping 3D printer code instead of goods. Supply chains on every front will feel the impact as well. How each is affected depends on how well it adapts to the change.
Stores such as Staples, FedEx and UPS already are moving to adapt their business models to the upheaval 3D printing is likely to bring.
Retailers too may find it hard to compete when consumers can order 3D printing codes directly from designers and manufacturers and customize that code on their home 3D printers. Notions of bulk sizing will disappear as clothing printed to each customers exact measurements replaces sizes 0 to 18 for women.
All these changes will spur additional innovations as time progresses, personalization becomes imperative, and the technology and materials improve.
source :- http://www.technewsworld.com/
