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A person wearing a sensor on their residual limb, to calibrate their arm muscles' electrical signals for a myoelectric prosthesis
  • Health & medical
  • Software & computer science
  • Issue 100

Machine learning boosts medical devices

As AI becomes more widespread, medical devices are among the everyday technologies that could see real improvements. Stuart Nathan finds out how engineers are incorporating AI into hearing aids and prosthetic arms.

Quick read

  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch

The imaging tool that could prevent cancer surgery complications

London-based startup Hypervision Surgical is developing an advanced imaging system that can help surgeons avoid dangerous complications during operations, and may even be able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy tissue.

Quick read

  • Food & agriculture
  • Health & medical
  • How I got here

Meet the bioengineers

Today, there is an increasing variety of roles available to bioengineers. Bioengineering graduate and writer Fern Ellis spoke to a startup founder, a pharmaceutical services manager, and two academics, all working in different areas of bioengineering.

A white woman with blonde hair stand on metal steps with ventilation tubes in the background. She wears a red dress and blue blazer.
  • Civil & structural
  • Health & medical
  • Profiles
  • Issue 99

The expert looking at how air moves around buildings

When COVID-19 hit the planet, medical expertise was everywhere, but when it came to working out how the virus spreads Professor Catherine Noakes OBE FREng was one of a handful of experts in how air moves around in buildings.

Quick read

A group of seven "coasteerers" swimming around a rocky section of a coastline, all wearing red helmets and yellow lifejackets
  • Civil & structural
  • Health & medical
  • Opinion

Our wastewater infrastructure must improve to protect public health

News of contaminated waterways increasingly hits the headlines as more people take to the UK’s open water for recreation. Now, the National Engineering Policy Centre has published the first report looking at how to mitigate health risks posed to the public from human faecal pathogens.

A blue tinted close up photo of an eye with a pattern of overlaid concentric white, green, yellow and red circles on it
  • Health & medical
  • Technology & robotics
  • Issue 99

How robotics can improve retinal surgery

Engineers are working with ophthalmic surgeons to create a robotically controlled needle with a flexible tip that has the precision required to inject therapeutic materials into the tissue lining the back of the eye.

Quick read

  • Health & medical
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Innovation Watch

The water sweets helping people with dementia stay hydrated

Inspired by his late grandma Pat, design engineer Lewis Hornby wanted to find a way to make staying hydrated easier for people with dementia. With his startup Jelly Drops, he’s invented a jelly sweet that is helping thousands of people avoid complications relating to dehydration.

Bare feet on grass that has small blue flowers growing in it.
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch

Thermal scanner aims to reduce amputation risk for people with diabetes

Thousands of people with diabetes require amputations each year due to severe complications associated with the disease. Startup Raidmed specialises in medtech devices aimed at improving diabetes footcare and preventing lower limb amputations.

Dr Harrison Steele holding the Royal Academy of Engineering's Sir George MacFarlane Medal.
  • Health & medical
  • Software & computer science
  • How I got here

Q&A: Dr Harrison Steel, researcher in synthetic biology

Dr Harrison Steele credits his beginnings in engineering to smashing up an old printer, aged four, to investigate the electronic wonders within. Today, he’s an associate professor at the University of Oxford developing biotechnology-based solutions to challenges in biomedicine and the climate crisis.

Quick read

The 7 Tesla Siemens Magnet inside a room.
  • Health & medical
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 67

Improving access to the gold standard of MRI scanning

Siemens Magnet Technology (SMT), an Oxfordshire-based subsidiary of Siemens Healthcare UK, has developed the first 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet suitable for clinical applications.

Quick read

A Black woman with brown, tied up hair is wearing a black protective sports headband and a black t-shirt. Her face is tilted upwards and she is looking to the left of the camera
  • Health & medical
  • Sports & leisure
  • Innovation Watch

The headband reducing the risk of brain injury

Halos is a sports headband for concussion and sub-concussion protection, which will benefit people playing in sports where head impacts occur, such as football, rugby, and hockey.

Quick read

A demonstration of a millimetre-sized camera on a probe in a model of the cervix and uterus.
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 97

Making vital diagnostics more accessible

Delayed access to hysteroscopies in South Africa is causing patients unnecessary distress and health risks. With a new medical device, Cape Town-based startup FlexiGyn is working to make the procedure mobile, affordable and pain-free.

Quick read

A female biomedical engineer standing next to an elephant with a prosthetic foot in an elephant sanctuary, surrounded by trees.
  • Health & medical
  • How I got here

5 things I learned on my biomedical engineering journey

Kirsty Carlyle wanted a career that would make a difference. She married her love of physics and design with her interest in medicine to become a biomedical engineer, and is now doing a PhD in partial hand prosthetics. Kirsty shared five things she’s learned along the way.

Quick read

A man sitting at a table, holding a prototype of a prosthetic hand based on the classic 'split hook' style
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 95

Making prosthetics without compromise

Prosthetics for upper limb differences often involve a choice between something user-friendly and affordable, or aesthetically pleasing. University of Strathclyde-based startup Metacarpal is trying to bring all three elements together with a new body-powered prosthetic hand.

Quick read

A computer display, whose interface can guide a robotic arm with a magnetic appendage above a model of the colon.
  • Health & medical
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 94

Perfecting pain-free colonoscopies

Researchers are developing magnetically guided robotic instruments to make colonoscopies less painful for patients.

Quick read

  • Civil & structural
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch

The startup purifying water in partnership with low-income communities

Access to clean water is a fundamental human need, yet hundreds of millions worldwide go without it. Cambridge-based social enterprise Blue Tap has one solution – a low-cost device that purifies water by precisely injecting chlorine into a local water supply.

Two men stand either side of a dialysis machine
  • Health & medical
  • Profiles
  • Issue 93

The journey to portable dialysis

Professor Clive Buckberry FREng believes that successful engineering needs an injection of artistic thinking, along with a dose of physics and the ability to use pictures to make a point.

Quick read

A woman crouches, smiling, next to a portable metal fridge with "Vaccibox" written on the front.
  • Health & medical
  • Mechanical
  • Innovation Watch

Building a portable vaccine fridge for Kenyans in rural areas

In remote and off-grid areas in Kenya, a lack of suitable medical refrigeration solutions has left many children with a gap in their vaccination records. Now, a portable solar-powered fridge, the Vaccibox, can be taken to where it’s needed via bike or boat, and keeps vaccines cold even when there is no electricity supply.

Quick read

  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch

The compact incubator helping newborns thrive anywhere

Every year, more than 1 in 10 babies are born pre-term. mOm Incubators' Essential Incubator was designed to address the lack of flexible neonatal care available to support medics in challenging environments, including remote and rural births and hospitals without consistent power.

Quick read

White-painted ventilation pipework against a white ceiling.
  • Civil & structural
  • Health & medical
  • Opinion
  • Issue 90

Better buildings need a breath of fresh air

Post-COVID-19, how do we stay safe in winter without throwing open all the windows and cranking up the radiators to max?

A microscopy image of fluorescently stained cancer cells proliferating in a culture dish.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 90

Could organ-on-a-chip technology replace animal testing?

Move over, humble Petri dish. Bioengineers are taking inspiration from electronics manufacturing to make more realistic environments to test new drugs in.

Two ballet dancers dancing in DNANudge's brightly decorated pop up shop.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 90

How lab-on-a-chip tech brought rapid genetic testing to the public

A technology pivot accelerated the return of the Royal Ballet and other cultural institutions during the height of the pandemic, thanks to rapid DNA-turned-COVID-19 testing.

Quick read

  • Chemical
  • Health & medical
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 89

Wastewater epidemiology

Sampling and testing of wastewater is helping governments across the world to track COVID-19 infections on a large scale.

Quick read

  • Health & medical
  • Design & manufacturing
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 87

Lateral flow tests

During the pandemic, millions of people took lateral flow tests every week to detect COVID-19, enabling them to get a result in just 15 minutes.

A photo of a needle going into a small sealed vial containing liquid.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 85

Delivering fast-track COVID-19 vaccines

The COVID-19 pandemic has compressed timelines as groups around the world race to come up with a vaccine. Typically it can take up to a decade to develop, so what were the engineering challenges of manufacturing and supplying a COVID-19 vaccine?

Quick read

Sorin Poppa sitting on a chair at a workbench, holding the Pathfinder ePATH catheter kit which is attached to wires on his workbench.
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 84

Reducing surgeries for dialysis patients

Pathfinder Medical has invented a minimally invasive catheter guidance technology that will improve clinical outcomes for patients across the globe.

An illustration of floating circular virus particles with long spikes on the outside.
  • Mechanical
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 83

Responding to a global pandemic with ventilators and PPE

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. Rachel Jones highlights examples around ventilators and PPE to showcase the different ways the engineering community has responded to the crisis.

A robot on a CT scanner patient table, which has wires and tubing to adjust guidewires and catheters.
  • Technology & robotics
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 83

Robotic assistance in surgery operating theatres

Robotic systems are increasingly in use in hospital settings. Examples of engineers providing high-tech support to surgeons include in augmented reality, holding organs in place and robotic devices for endovascular interventions.

Quick read

A pregnant women lying down on a hospital bed, talking to a nurse. The women is wearing the Monica Novii wireless patch system on her belly
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 82

Wireless foetal monitor

The Monica Novii wireless patch system is a wearable device for women in labour that continuously monitors the baby’s heartbeat. It has won many obstetric and engineering awards, including the Campbell Mitchell Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Two medical professionals wearing scrubs looking at a transplant liver in the OrganOx machine. Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood tubing are supplying blood to the liver.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 81

Keeping transplant livers alive

The OrganOx metra® is the world’s first fully automated system for keeping a human donor liver functioning for up to 24 hours outside the body. The invention breaks with 40 years of traditional organ preservation in ice, doubling the length of time that donor organs can be preserved before transplantation.

A side-profile X-ray of a head, where wires which are post-operative electrodes have been inserted into the brain.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 80

Bioelectronic devices to treat neurological disorders

Cochlear implants and heart pacemakers have drastically improved the lives of many people. The engineering behind implantable medical devices as digital technologies and miniaturisation promise to deliver new therapies and help us understand how the nervous system works.

A person holding an Owlstone Medical device that captures breath samples.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 77

An easier way to diagnose disease

A breathalyser that can save lives and money won the 2018 MacRobert Award. Breath Biopsy®, the chemical analysis of volatile compounds in exhaled breath, lies behind this innovative approach to medical diagnosis. The technology is being used to collect and analyse breath samples on a wider scale.

Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi OBE FREng standing on a stage in front of a microphone, giving a talk, with a board saying 'Innovation is great Britain' behind him.
  • Health & medical
  • Profiles
  • Issue 77

Developing the first integrated prosthetic leg

Professor Sir Saeed Zahedi OBE RDI FREng combined his interest in mechanical engineering and medicine when biomedical engineering only had a few research groups. He is now Chief Technology Officer and Technical Director of the Blatchford Group, running a team that developed the first integrated prosthetic leg.

A patient lying under a radiotherapy machine that is being used with the AlignRT system.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 73

Accurate targeting of tumours

Radiotherapy allows doctors to shrink tumours that cannot be surgically removed but there is a risk of damage to healthy tissue if the patient moves. Vision RT accurately tracks a patient’s position before and during treatment.

A headshot of Professor Timothy Leighton FREng FRS.
  • Health & medical
  • Profiles
  • Issue 73

A talent for bursting bubbles

Creatures of all sizes, from bacteria to whales, have shaped Professor Timothy Leighton FREng FRS FMedSci' career. It started where he began to research the physics of sound in water and then an invention to clean medical devices brought him into antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance.

Quick read

A handheld case containing Arclight.
  • Health & medical
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 72

The affordable diagnostic tool saving sight in low-income countries

Arclight, a low-cost, solar-powered diagnostic eye-care tool, is being used by thousands of health workers in low-income countries to identify preventable sight loss conditions.

A male with a prosthetic leg wearing sports gear.
  • Health & medical
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Issue 68

Intelligent prosthetics

Prosthetic limbs can help many amputees regain independence and mobility. The Linx limb system, winner of the 2016 MacRobert Award, developed by Blatchford, has smart robotics that constantly monitor and adapt to movement, making walking and movement more natural for lower-leg amputees.

A computer generated model of a brain inside a person's head.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 66

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

Magnetic stimulation, especially of specific regions of the brain, has added greatly to the understanding of normal brain function and is being increasingly used to stimulate nerves for therapy. Mike Polson, Engineering Director of Magstim Company Ltd, talks about the history and potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation.

A combat boot attached to a metal leg strapped onto a metal plate.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 65

Blast mitigation and injury treatment

The Royal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies is a world-renowned research facility based at Imperial College London. Its director, Professor Anthony Bull FREng, explains how a multidisciplinary team is helping protect, treat and rehabilitate people who are exposed to explosive forces.

An illustration of a tumour attached to blood vessels.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 65

Targeting cancers with magnetism

Cambridge-based Endomag has helped treat more than 6,000 breast cancer patients across 20 countries. The MacRobert finalist uses magnetic fields to power diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Find about the challenges that surround the development and acceptance of medical innovations.

A headshot of Dr Robert Langer FREng.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 63

Engineering polymath wins major award

The 2015 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering has been awarded to the ground-breaking chemical engineer Dr Robert Langer FREng for his revolutionary advances and leadership in engineering at the interface between chemistry and medicine.

A greyscale image of a women lying on a bed, with her arm outstretched, connected to the first artificial kidney machine.
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 62

Kidney dialysis

Small haemodialysis machines have been developed that will allow more people to treat themselves at home. The SC+ system that has been developed is lighter, smaller and easier to use than existing machines.

A close-up scan of a healthy retina
  • Health & medical
  • Issue 30

A gamechanger in retinal scanning

2006 MacRobert Award winner Optos rapidly became a leading medical technology company and its scanners have taken millions of retinal images worldwide. There is even a display at the Science Museum featuring the Optos development. Alastair Atkinson, of the award-winning team, describes the personal tragedy that was the trigger for the creation of Optos.