Medical Design Briefs - January 2022 - 26

Wireless Device Monitors
Bone Health
Smartphone
Platform Gives
An ultra-thin wireless device
grows to the surface of bone and
Osseosurface electronic devices,
which attach directly to the bone,
could one day help monitor bone
health. (Credit: Gutruf Lab)
could someday help physicians
monitor bone health and healing
over long periods. The
devices, called osseosurface electronics,
could provide patients
with individualized orthopedic
care - with the goal of accelerating
rehabilitation and maximizing function after traumatic
injuries.
The device's thin structure, roughly as thick as a sheet of
paper, means it can conform to the curvature of the bone,
forming a tight interface. They also do not need a battery. This
is possible using a power casting and communication method
called near-field communication, or NFC.
A doctor could attach the device to a broken or fractured
bone to monitor the healing process. This could be particularly
helpful in patients with conditions such as osteoporosis since
they frequently suffer refractures. Knowing how quickly and
how well the bone is healing could also inform clinical treatment
decisions, such as when to remove temporary hardware
like plates, rods, or screws.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/0122/bone.
Impedance analyzer connected to
DNA biosensor that can be used
to detect genetic sequence from
SARS-CoV-2. (Credit: Lorenzo A.
Buscaglia/IFSC-USP)
Biosensor Enables Ultrafast
Detection of COVID-19
Based on nucleic acids that
detect simple complementary
DNA or RNA sequences, genosensors
are biosensors that make
possible mass testing for immediate
and sensitive testing of genetic
material. Researchers have developed
a genosensor that is efficient
in detecting SARS-CoV-2.
The device consists of a selfassembled
monolayer of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11MUA)
chemically bonded to glass electrodes containing micrometric
gold leads or surfaces containing gold nanoparticles.
This environment is able to immobilize the simple DNA or
RNA strip used as a capture probe. Hybridization with the complementary
strip, if it exists in the sample, is shown by means
of variations in physical parameters detected by electrical or
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and localized surface
plasmon resonance.
In the detection experiments, the sensitivity of the genosensors
was verified in control samples, including a negative
sequence for SARS-CoV-2 and other DNA biomarkers unrelated
to the virus. Analysis of the data showed a clear separation
between complementary DNA sequences at various concentrations
and samples containing a non-complementary sequence
or other DNA biomarkers unrelated to SARS-CoV-2.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/0122/biosensor.
26
Cov
Schematic diagram of the detection of isopropanol
in exhaled air by a smartphone fluorescence
sensor platform. (Credit: YANG Fan)
Early Warning
for Cancer
A new platform provides
visual detection
analysis for lung cancer
and ketosis/diabetes
via different testing
probes. A research team designed and prepared two highefficiency
organic ratio fluorescent nanoprobes and achieved the
detection of biomarkers in exhaled breath by combining with the
color recognizer of the smartphone. The portable smartphone
platform is based on a single-particle dual-emission ratio fluorescent
probe, which provides visual detection of isopropanol
in exhaled breath. Another fluorescent sensor platform effectively
captured acetone in blood and exhaled breath and warn
ketosis/diabetes.
Researchers developed corresponding ratio
fluorescent
probes to identify acetone and isopropanol and used the 3D
printing technology and a smartphone app (color recognizer) to
complete the semiquantitative detection of biomarkers. Through
the ratio fluorescence strategy, two different colors of fluorescence
probe are mixed at an appropriate ratio. When the biomarker
is present, one type of fluorescence is quenched while the
internal standard fluorescence remains unchanged, so that it can
present a clear color under a UV lamp irradiation.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/0122/platform.
'Weeping' Ceramics
Lead to New ShapeShifting
Material
Creating shape-shifting materials
involves a delicate tuning of the
distances between atoms by com -
positional changes. (Credit: Gu et
al./University of Minnesota/Kiel
University)
An international team of
researchers has discovered a
path that could lead to
shape-shifting ceramic ma -
terials. The researchers say
the discovery could improve
everything from medical
devices to electronics.
The researchers first tried a recipe that has worked for
the discovery of new metallic shape memory materials. That
involves a delicate tuning of the distances between atoms by
compositional changes, so that the two phases fit together
well. They implemented this recipe, but instead of improving
the deformability of the ceramic, they observed that
some specimens exploded when they passed through the
phase transformation. Others gradually fell apart into a pile
of powder, a phenomenon they termed weeping.
With another composition, they observed a reversible
transformation, easily transforming back and forth between
the phases, much like a shape memory material. The mathematical
conditions under which reversible transformation
occurs can be applied widely and provide a way forward
toward the paradoxical shape-memory ceramic.
For more information, visit www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/
roundup/0122/material.
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
ToC
Medical Design Briefs, January 2022
http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/roundup/0122/bone http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/roundup/0122/platform http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/roundup/0122/biosensor http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/roundup/0122/material http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/82317-803
Medical Design Briefs - January 2022

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