Device最新文献

Oral delivery systems are being developed to treat disease, including ingestible devices that implant in the gut and deliver electrical stimulation or mRNA therapeutics. The implementation of these devices raises questions about the associated ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSIs). Our scoping review examined 83 scholarly publications published between 1946 and 2024 that investigate ELSI topics around the development and use of these technologies. We highlight the characteristics of the publications, the ethics topics mentioned, and a content analysis to describe ELSI themes. Themes particularly relevant to ingestible, implantable electronics and mRNA delivery devices were data use, invasiveness, and possible impacts on patient-clinician trust. This review suggests solutions to better protect patients from ethical and clinical risks resulting from data misuse and future empirical research engaging clinicians, patients, and researchers in this field.

Sphincter dysfunction contributes to various diseases, notably in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Current GERD treatments are limited by side effects, invasive surgical implants, risk of nerve injury, and complications such as dysphagia. To overcome this challenge, we report a magnetic soft robotic valve for minimally invasive treatment of sphincter dysfunction. The valve employs soft magnetic ring-shaped lattice structures that attract each other to form a robust seal, preventing leakage under external pressures exceeding 7.5 kPa, well above typical gastric reflux pressures (3.2 kPa). On-demand valve opening is enabled via a wearable magnetic actuation system, ensuring controlled passage of food. The device withstands radial forces exceeding 3.5 N during simulated peristalsis and is validated through delivery, sealing, and solid-passage tests in esophageal phantom and ex vivo sheep models, visualized using X-ray imaging. The proposed method thus is promising for enabling early, minimally invasive intervention for gastrointestinal and other organ disorders.

Mental health disorders, including bipolar disorder, pose significant challenges worldwide, necessitating precise monitoring of lithium, a gold-standard medication for this condition. We introduce a fully-printed, wearable Organic-Electrochemical-Transistor (OECT)-based sensor for non-invasive and continuous monitoring of lithium levels in sweat. This sensor integrates inkjet and 3D printing to fabricate multilayer OECTs with an ion-selective membrane, alongside iontophoretic sweat induction and microfluidic guidance for real-time sensing. Our sensor demonstrates sensitivity of ΔI _ds /I ₀ = 0.5/decade, a 0.1 mM detection limit in artificial sweat and selectivity for lithium over common interfering ions. A complete wearable system with wireless readout enables real-time data transmission to a smartphone interface. Validation in both healthy individuals and bipolar patients confirms the device's ability to detect therapeutically significant lithium levels. This report provides a promising path for precision mental health management, presenting a first-of-its-kind wearable real-time monitoring solution for lithium-a vital medication in treating bipolar disorder.

EV-based therapies are hindered by low production efficiency and poor scalability. Conventional methods to enhance EV yield-such as hypoxia or chemical stimulation-often compromise vesicle quality and cell health. This study introduces a bioelectronic platform featuring a planar interdigitated electrode array that enables simultaneous low-voltage (±1 V), low-frequency (2 Hz) biphasic stimulation and real-time super-resolution imaging of EV biogenesis via TIRF microscopy. This bioelectrical stimulation on primary cardiac cells significantly increases EV secretion without affecting cell viability. The resulting electrically-induced EVs (e-EVs) exhibit enhanced microRNA cargo-loading capacity, preserved tissue tropism, and functional therapeutic potential. In a murine model of acute myocardial infarction, miRNA-loaded e-EVs improved cardiac function and reduced fibrosis. These results highlight the potential of bioelectronic modulation as a scalable, non- destructive strategy for improving EV yield and functional performance in translational regenerative medicine.

Focused ultrasound (FUS), when combined with circulating microbubbles (MB), enables transient blood-brain barrier opening (BBBO). Numerous trials using different devices, treatment parameters, and monitoring technologies have created a need for approaches enabling comparative evaluation and standardization of MB-enhanced FUS treatments (MB-FUS). Analyzing 972 MB-FUS sonications performed with closed-feedback loop (CFL) power control in patients with high-grade gliomas, we investigated patient-specific, operator-adjusted, and device-related variables contributing to BBBO with a transcranial multi-element device with integrated acoustic emissions (AE) detectors and image-guidance. Real-time monitoring of AE signals and CFL-controller-automated adaptive adjustment allowed for spatiotemporal power control, along with enabling a dosing paradigm for gauging MB-FUS BBBO treatments. We find that 'AE dose' is an independent, continuous, and robust predictor of BBBO. We identify a dynamic dose range where BBBO increase per unit was maximized. This work provides comprehensive technical descriptions of AE-based CFL control and dosing of transcranial, targeted MB-FUS.

Miniaturized implantable optoelectronic technologies for in vivo biomedical applications are gaining interest, but require strict thermal management for safe operation. Here, we introduce a comprehensive framework combining analytical solutions and numerical modeling to estimate and manage thermal effects of optoelectronic devices. We propose Green's functions to analytically solve temperature distributions in tissue from a point source with coupled thermal-optical power, capturing the influence of critical tissue properties and spatiotemporal parameters. Integrating the Green's function derives temperature distributions for sources with definable geometry. Numerical modeling defines scaling factors to account for variations in radiation patterns and material designs, enabling direct performance comparisons across systems. Guided by this framework, iterative optimization of a filamentary optogenetic probe for deep brain stimulation significantly reduces thermal loads while preserving typical behaviors in freely moving mice. Experimental validation through in vitro and in vivo characterization demonstrates scalable strategies to overcome thermal challenges in advanced bio-optoelectronic systems.

Acetaminophen is the most prescribed medication for the management of postpartum pain as well as infant fever. Medications taken by breastfeeding mothers are released into the breast milk at different levels, creating concern for indirect infant exposure to acetaminophen through milk. This work develops a new tool for rapid, direct, and quantitative measurement of acetaminophen in breast milk. We have developed an innovative wearable device for milk sampling and analysis by integrating microfluidic channels and flexible laser-induced graphene sensors into a lactation pad. The fabrication process for the flexible sensors has been optimized using a rotatable central composite design. The wearable sensor achieves high sensitivity to acetaminophen in a large dynamic range of 10-600 μM, providing a promising tool for preventing acetaminophen toxicity in nursing mothers and breastfed infants. This device fills a healthcare gap, advancing breast milk analysis.

Oocyte cryopreservation is a critical step of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The handling and loading of cryoprotectant currently rely on manual pipetting methods, which leads to outcome variations, high cost and limited accessibility. Here we developed a low-cost and user-friendly microfluidic device to automate the complex multistep process of oocyte CPA loading, delivering cryopreservation-ready oocytes. We utilized microfluidic transistors to create fluidic timers and logic gates, which generated time-dependent pressure signals to control the embedded valves, thereby regulating the flow conditions over the oocyte. Using constant pressure supplies, we demonstrated autonomous mouse oocyte trapping, linear loading of equilibrium solution, dehydration with vitrification solution and oocyte extraction from the device. Our work represents an important step towards autonomous IVF-on-a-chip to enhance the accessibility and affordability of IVF.

Public attitudes toward four neurotechnologies for treating three types of brain disorders (mood, motor, and memory) vary on a range of metrics such as perceived risk, invasiveness, and likelihood of use. In a survey of 1,052 U.S. participants, deep brain stimulation (DBS) was seen as the most invasive and risky among the surveyed methods, involving the greatest perceived change to the person and the least likely to be used personally. Non-surgical options like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and pills were viewed as more acceptable. Devices targeting motor symptoms were rated as more beneficial and acceptable than those for mood or memory. These findings highlight barriers to adoption and the need to address public perceptions, ensure patients are informed, and promote ethical implementation of these technologies.

Applying external pressure to a pouch cell results in improved performance, implicating systems-level design of batteries. Here, different formats and amounts of external pressure to Li-Li_xNi_0.8Mn_0.1Co_0.1O₂ (Li-NMC811) pouch cells were studied under lean electrolyte conditions. Due to the more uniform lithium plating/stripping, a constant gap fixture that retains the distance of the frame during cycling performed greater than a constant pressure fixture that retains applied pressure to the cell. In addition, the use of flexible foam in a constant gap fixture revealed enhanced cycle life at 10 psi; however, at 30 psi, the use of a rigid plate extended cycle life to over 250 cycles, while the foam severely shortened cycle life. This discrepancy with pressure was proven to be driven by stress distribution on cell components. The failure mechanisms and the effects of pressure fixture design on cell components were unveiled, shedding light on improving high-energy battery performance through at-scale fixture design.