What are biosensors and how are they made?
a biosensor is a device that detects, records, and transmits information regarding a physiological change or the presence of various chemical or biological materials in the environment. more technically, a biosensor is a probe that integrates a biological component, such as a whole bacterium or a biological product (e.g., an enzyme or antibody) with an electronic component to yield a measurable signal. biosensors, which come in a large variety of sizes and shapes, are used to monitor changes in environmental conditions. they can detect and measure concentrations of specific bacteria or hazardous chemicals; they can measure acidity levels (pH). in short, biosensors can use bacteria and detect them, too. green fluorescent proteins(GFP) become biosensors- through insertion of gfp within another protein which is capable for signaling intracellular events through intrinsic flourescene changes, changes in sub cellular localization, and fret (flourescene resonance energy transfer. :)
What is the reason that diabetics do not use an implant or permanent needle to detect and measure their blood glucose levels, given that they have to do it frequently?
I use one nearly constantly and have for roughly 4 years. It has the largest single impact to improving diabetes care possible because you can learn your reactions to different foods, stress, and other life conditions and events. I use the Dexcom G4 CGMS (Continuous Glucose Monitoring System) which is just what you describe, a wire embedded "semi-surgically" for 7-14 days at a time before being replaced with a new one. Personally I do not use an insulin pump which is the other device you describe. It delivers insulin via a wire or needle directly into the subcutaneous fat, generally in the abdomen area, though not necessarily. These devices are widely available and generally regarded as better care options than injectable insulin. I find having multiple things "attached" to me to be cumbersome and too much of a reminder of my condition. Medtronic researched and tested an implanted insulin reservoir in (I believe) the 1980s. The item was about the size of a hockey puck and was attached directly to the pancreas rather than leaving insulin in the layer of fat under the skin, it placed the insulin in the body close to where it would be produced in a non-diabetic person. This resulted in greatly reduced consequences of care and nearly normal blood sugars in the majority of trial patients. The FDA never approved the device, and a few years ago those still using the devices in the US were forced to travel to Europe every few months to refill the reservoir.
What is the importance of biomaterials to biomedical engineering?
Really informative answers by Patrick Driscoll and Kevin SomeroBiomaterials play an integral role in medicine today—restoring function and facilitating healing for people after injury or disease.Biomaterials may be natural or synthetic and are used in medical applications to support, enhance, or replace damaged tissue or a biological function.The first historical use of biomaterials dates to antiquity, when ancient Egyptians used sutures made from animal sinew. The modern field of biomaterials combines medicine, biology, physics, and chemistry, and more recent influences from tissue engineering and materials science.Doctors, researchers, and bioengineers use biomaterials for the following broad range of applications:Medical implants, including heart valves, stents, and grafts; artificial joints, ligaments, and tendons; hearing loss implants; dental implants; and devices that stimulate nerves.Methods to promote healing of human tissues, including sutures, clips, and staples for wound closure, and dissolvable dressings.Regenerated human tissues, using a combination of biomaterial supports or scaffolds, cells, and bioactive molecules. Examples include a bone regenerating hydrogel and a lab-grown human bladder.Molecular probes and nanoparticles that break through biological barriers and aid in cancer imaging and therapy at the molecular level.Biosensors to detect the presence and amount of specific substances and to transmit that data. Examples are blood glucose monitoring devices and brain activity sensors.Drug-delivery systems that carry and/or apply drugs to a disease target. Examples include drug-coated vascular stents and implantable chemotherapy wafers for cancer patients.To summarize Biomaterials are crucial to improve the way biomedical devices interact with the human body.
What are the top 10 inventions of 2014?
It might be too late to answer this but inventions are inventionsRotimatic - A robot that makes rotis Hendo Hoverboard - developed by tech firm hendoWikipearls – Wrappers You Can Eat, Available at select Whole FoodsCopenhagen Wheel Citrus spritzer available on AmazonXstat - The XStat is a syringe filled with sponges that are covered in chitosan.Soccket - The Soccket is no normal soccer ball; in fact it is quite un-ordinary. This new invention creates energy through soccer. It works by harnessing the kinetic energy exerted when the ball gets kicked it around. Thirty minutes of play equates to three hours of power that is fed to an attachable LED light.Logbar Inc's ring -It’s an actual ring that you wear on your index finger that can recognize the motions of your finger and send texts, make payments, control the TV, lights, even curtains — basically anything that is compatible with its technologyScio - Scio you can tell which fruit is ripest, which is sweeter, and how many calories are in your favorite beverage. It's made for scanning food, medicines, plants,Google lens -houses a sensor that measures the glucose levels in tear 3 D printed everythingSource code -http://ceoworld.biz/2014/11/20/l...http://www.boredpanda.com/useful...http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/re...
I have this project to do in Language Arts, and I need to know some information about biomedical engineers. What are some important things about this occupation?
Biomedical engineer here!BMEs come in several different forms. Most of it is a mix of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering all grouped up into one. Or you could specialize in the direction you want to go in.I studied biomechanics but would prefer to go in the bioinformatics direction.However, this field can be divided into so many different specializations:Bioinformatics - uses CS and biology knowledge. For example, using coding languages such as python or R to solve human genomics problems.Biomechanics - making human prosthetics such as knee or hip implantsBiomaterials - researching new materials that are compatible with the bodyNeuroengineering - lots of human physiology involved here regarding the brain and the nervous system. Involves both stem cell experiments and a CS component to it if you are going in the direction of brain-computer interfaces.Biosensors - basically about building sensors that can answer help detect problems in the body like heart rate monitors, glucose monitors etc. Has both an ECE and a CS component to it.
What are the most promising consumer-focused medical devices under development?
The bionic pancreas, a medical device that combines insulin and glucagon delivery with glucose monitoring, might be the biggest innovation in decades for Type 1 diabetes management.Ed Damiano, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University who developed the bionic pancreas, has spun his academic research into a company called Beta Bionics. Damiano was inspired to make the device when his son David was diagnosed with diabetes as an infant.Dr. Damiano’s bionic pancreas comprises mainly three components.The first component is the continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a tool used today by Type 1 diabetes sufferers. Using an adhesive base to keep it in place, an introducer needle is used to insert a wire with a small sensor at its tip about a centimeter beneath the skin. A transmitter is clipped on the base of the sensor unit once the wire and sensor are inserted. The transmitter sends a wireless radio frequency signal to the receiver unit, which shows the user's glucose level every five minutes on a simple user interface.The second component is novel and not currently seen in standard Type 1 diabetes therapies. It is essentially a system of mathematical algorithms transcribed in software that makes automatic therapeutic decisions about how much insulin (to lower blood sugar levels) and how much glucagon (to raise blood sugar levels) to deliver every five minutes.Dr. Damiano and his team—a collaborative group from Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital—along with their industrial collaborators, created a custom hardware interface that sends the data from a micro USB port on the receiver to an app that users can access on an iPhone. The CGM and iPhone app act as a team, with new glucose levels being sent to the app every time a new reading is measured.Using the Bluetooth radio on the iPhone, the app acts as a bridge to the third and final part of the bionic pancreas, which consists of two pumps delivering two different types of hormones independently. They look like typical insulin pumps, but only one delivers insulin; the other has been repurposed to deliver glucagon. Normal pumps only provide insulin, which makes Damiano's a unique tool.Bionic Pancreas | Boston University