Medical devices

Photo of a Betar Gallant, wearing a mask and watching her gloved hands, blurred in the foreground, perform an experiment

A lasting — and valuable — legacy

Professor Betar Gallant approaches electrochemistry with a strong inclination, inherited from her family, to work things out independently.

September 14, 2022

Illustration of a thin, three-layer strip of paper, across which lie two wells, one covered with gray circles and green pac-man shapes, the other with gray circles and yellow pac-man shapes. At right is an illustration of an RFID tag.

MIT chemists develop a wireless electronic lateral flow assay test for biosensing

Design from the Swager Lab uses electronic polymers, rather than colored lines, to indicate a positive response, enabling quantitative monitoring of biomarkers.

August 24, 2022

Side view of an older man lying down with a mist of white particles emanating from his nose and mouth. Beside him is an android in a pensive position, looking at images behind the man. Images include a rendering of a brain in purple; the human nervous system in blue and pink; a brain in blue, yellow, and green; and the man standing up with blue waves around his body representing tremors or shakiness.

Artificial intelligence model can detect Parkinson’s from breathing patterns

An MIT-developed device with the appearance of a Wi-Fi router uses a neural network to discern the presence and severity of one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases in the world.

August 22, 2022

This illustration shows a device wirelessly transmitting signals to a chip-free patch on a person’s skin.

Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”

The device senses and wirelessly transmits signals related to pulse, sweat, and ultraviolet exposure, without bulky chips or batteries.

August 18, 2022

A network of glowing green strands against a black backround. The strands, which are scar tissue, are wavy but roughly parallel to each other.

Design prevents buildup of scar tissue around medical implants

A new device, which doesn’t rely on immunosuppressing drugs, may assist efforts to develop an artificial pancreas to treat diabetes.

August 5, 2022

Colorful abstract painting that seemingly depicts rolling hills, mountains, and sky. The lands are colored green, yellow, purple and pink, with different amounts of light. The sky is largely blue.

Why it’s a problem that pulse oximeters don’t work as well on patients of color

New research ties inaccuracies in pulse oximeter readings to racial disparities in treatment and outcomes.

August 2, 2022

adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images

MIT engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body

New stamp-sized ultrasound adhesives produce clear images of heart, lungs, and other internal organs.

July 28, 2022

Ultrathin fuel cell uses the body’s own sugar to generate electricity

Engineers have developed a glucose power source that could fuel miniature implants and sensors.

May 12, 2022

Joystick-operated robot could help surgeons treat stroke remotely

The system could provide teleoperated endovascular treatment to patients during the critical time window after a stroke begins.

April 13, 2022

Two researchers standing at a table inside of a lab showing the AI-Guide handheld device and an ultrasound display.

Handheld surgical robot can help stem fatal blood loss

The AI-Guided Ultrasound Intervention Device is a lifesaving technology that helps a range of users deliver complex medical interventions at the point of injury.

March 17, 2022