Life Sciences » Medical Devices

Found 18 technologies within Medical Devices RSS ATOM

Low-profile device for repeated intermittent or continuous drainage of urine from the bladder

20-0152 – Background Urine is produced continuously by the kidneys and then travels to the bladder where it is stored until the complex process of voiding occurs. The first step that occurs during normal voiding is a coordination between the muscles and nerves of the bladder and the central nervous system, to sense a full bladder, and then signal the simultaneous relaxation and contraction of specific... Read More

Brain Infusion System Safety Sheath

19-0045 – Convection enhanced delivery (CED) is a method for delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier to the brain and central nervous system. CED can be used to treat various disease, including brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, and is generally characterized as a minimally invasive technique. While CED has shown some promise in clinical applications, the current... Read More

Muscle Vibration Stimulator

19-0114 – This device provides vibration designed to stimulate skeletal muscle and sensory neurons during rehabilitation of orthopaedic injuries and disease (initially demonstrated in quadriceps and knees). The device is patient-portable, has a large contact area, provides localized effect, and is variably adjustable. UNC has also recently demonstrated that this device improves gait biomechanics... Read More

Biologically Targeted Photo-Crosslinkable Nano-Patch to Prevent Postsurgical Peritoneal Adhesion

18-0101 – A biologically targeted, photo-crosslinkable nanopatch (pCNP) that prevents postsurgical adhesion has been developed. Peritoneal adhesion occurs in a majority of patients following abdominal surgery and can result in significant side effects and complications. Current strategies to minimize adhesions involve the use of nontargeted anatomical barriers that are either inefficient in protecting... Read More

Assessing Lower Extremity Movement Quality

18-0003 – Clinical assessment tools can provide a simple and efficient method for identifying problems in the musculoskeletal system that may result in athletic injury. Sports medicine clinicians can often use the results of such assessment tools to develop effective intervention programs for injury prevention and rehabilitation. This innovation provides an objective and autonomous system to classify... Read More

Using phase-changing nanodroplets to dissolve blood clots with ultrasound

18-0123 – Thrombosis, or pathologic blood clot formation, causes many vascular diseases. UNC researchers have developed a new method for using ultrasound to dissolve blood clots which improves on existing thrombosis treatment practices. The technique combines ultrasound with use of nanodroplets which convert from liquid to gas when exposed to ultrasound energy. This phase change enhances the disruption... Read More

Novel Long-Acting Injectable Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery

18-0167 – Background Osteoporosis is a chronic disease associated with a decrease in bone strength and increase in bone fractures, which lead to high rates of morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide, which includes more than 40 million people over the age of 50 in the US alone, accounting for 55% of this age group. There are several... Read More

Side-car Bassinet to Improve Mother and Baby Development Post-delivery

17-0003 – A side-car bassinet particularly designed for U.S. maternity beds may improve mother-baby development post-delivery. The bassinet locks into maternity beds, when proximity to mother is warranted, but can be disengaged, and converted to a stand-alone bassinet. To promote breast-feeding in the hours after delivery, it is understood that keeping mother and baby together is important. Stand-alone... Read More

Coated filament for evaporation/condensation aerosol generation of therapeutic agents and methods

04-0113 – Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an aerosol generator device for the delivery and administration of therapeutic agents to the lungs. The technology provides a tunable delivery method capable of generating aerosols at precise particle sizes and at a wide range of flow rates.

Hinged Endoscopic Catheter for Improved Treatment of Intestinal Obstructions

18-0015 – Intestinal obstruction can result from a variety of medical problems, including gastric outlet obstruction, chronic ulcers, and cancer of the stomach or pancreas, and it leads to impaired or blocked digestion of food, numerous gastrointestinal symptoms, and malnutrition. A common solution to these cases is to bypass the obstruction by creating a connection between the stomach and the small... Read More

Carving Instrument for Dental Composites

16-0137 – New materials for dental restoration, such as resin-based composite, have gained popularity over more traditional amalgam in dental practice. However, the existing hand-held carving tools in the market are not designed for carving modern fillings in the finishing process of dental restorations, which leads to higher failure rates, recurrent cavities, and patient injury. Researchers from the... Read More

Next Generation Biomedicine Low Frequency Magnetic Nanoparticles

15-0061 – Novel polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNP-polymer complexes) have been developed that can be used in a variety of biomedical, therapeutic, and industrial applications. The iron oxide magnetic nanoparticle cores are synthesized by thermal decomposition yielding a tunable, uniform size. These unique polymer coatings have been shown to promote enhanced uptake into tumor and other cells.... Read More

Multi-stage Robot for Transoral Peripheral Lung Access

15-0106 – A robotic approach has been developed for image-guided trans-bronchoscopic lung access. The multi-stage robotic system can bring the benefits of transoral access to patients with difficult-to-access peripheral lung nodules, avoiding the drawbacks of percutaneous and transoral bronchoscopic biopsy. It offers the potential to steerably biopsy peripheral lung regions deep in the parenchyma, via... Read More

Vibration-Induced Stem Cell Chondrogenesis and Osteogenesis

14-0030 – A surgically implantable bioreactor that induces either chondrogenesis (cartilage development) or osteogenesis (formation of bone) from mesenchymal stem cells has been developed. In vitro studies in which vibratory signals were provided to both human and porcine mesenchymal stem cells demonstrated that at lower frequencies the cells differentiate into a cartilage phenotype, and will... Read More

Superhydrophobic Coatings for Anti-fouling Applications

11-0020 – A superhydrophobic xerogel coating has been developed that is easily prepared and applicable to a wide variety of surfaces. Microbial fouling of biomedical devices leads to infections that may require medical interventions, increase medical costs, and sometimes result in fatality. While superhydrophobic surfaces resist adhesion of microbial fouling agents, current methods for their production... Read More

Biodegradable Elastomers for Medical Devices and Drug Delivery

06-0047 – Amorphous, polyester-based elastomers have been developed with tunable thermal and mechanical properties for applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery. Synthetic materials for biological applications must have similar mechanical properties to those of surrounding tissue to minimize irritation. Commonly used polymers suffer from rapid loss of mechanical properties upon degradation... Read More

Individual Controllable X-ray Pixel Beam Array Design for Radiotherapy

05-0100 – This x-ray pixel beam array technology integrated with carbon nanotube micro-radiotherapy enables shaping of the radiation field electronically without moving parts. Despite its prevalence in cancer treatment, traditional x-ray radiotherapy devices can be costly and complex due to an increasing number of mechanical components. The multipixel x-ray array source has 50 individually controlled... Read More

Modification of Capsule Endsocopy for Enhanced Ability to Detect Gastrointestinal Lesions

05-0072 – An enhanced capsule endoscopy technology has been developed. In vivo experiments in mice using a near-infrared fluorescent probe activated in vivo by cathepsin B demonstrated that biochromoendoscopy (BCE) was able to precisely image adenomatous polyps and distinguish them from benign polyps and inflammatory lesions. BCE uses specific wavelength filters in combination with select activated... Read More