Computer & Information Technology

23 Mar 24

Elastic Patch Tech Helps Vocally Impaired Speak

Computer & Information Technology

For many, an inability to speak is a significant issue: A 2014 study of vocal disorders in the U.S. found that nearly 18 million adults had difficulty using their vocal tracts to speak, while over half of that group experienced debilitating speech issues for periods longer than a week. A…

23 Mar 24

Exosuit Muscle Control Steps Closer to Reality

Computer & Information Technology

Exosuits—worn assistive frames that help a user move their body—represent a promising technology that still has big challenges ahead. Not least of which is the fatigue problem. Specifically, exosuits that use electrical pulses to move a user’s muscles will quickly tire that user out. The fatigue problem has so far…

22 Mar 24

Pressure-Relief Eye Tech Advances Toward Approval

Computer & Information Technology

On 21 March, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its unanimous blessing to a piece of wearable technology that alleviates symptoms of the progressive eye disease glaucoma.Known as the FSYX Ocular Pressure Adjusting Pump (OPAP) system, the device is designed to ease the pressure that…

19 Mar 24

Electroadhesion Heralds New Implant And Robot Tech

Computer & Information Technology

Applying electricity for a few seconds to a soft material, such as a slice of raw tomato or chicken, can strongly bond it to a hard object, such as a graphite slab, without any tape or glue, a new study finds. This unexpected effect is also reversible—switching the direction of…

18 Mar 24

Stretchy Circuits Break Records for Flexible Electronics

Computer & Information Technology

Newly developed intrinsically stretchable circuits are thousands of times as fast as and possess 20 times as many transistors as previous intrinsically stretchable electronics. The researchers at Stanford University who developed the circuits have already demonstrated their use in a skin-like Braille-reading sensor array that they say is more sensitive…

17 Mar 24

Laser-Driven Pacemaker Guides Ailing Hearts With Light

Computer & Information Technology

When 11 University of Chicago researchers reported that they had installed and tested their laser-driven pacemaker in a live animal, their Nature paper laid claim only to “the first minimally invasive optical stimulation of an in vivo pig heart.”They appear to have achieved more than that. Together, the team designed,…

15 Mar 24

Wearable Sticker Reads Even the Smallest Finger Motions

Computer & Information Technology

Scientists in China have developed a thin, flexible sticker that can turn subtle hand, finger, and mouth motions into words or commands. The new wearable sensor, developed by researchers at the Guilin University of Electronic Technology and Beijing Normal University, could support assistive technologies for people who struggle with basic…

12 Mar 24

Injectable Microchip Tracks Animal Health

Computer & Information Technology

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore. Around the world, many pets and working animals are microchipped. It’s a simple process: A tiny transponder with an identification number is enclosed in a rice-grain-sized cylinder and injected under the skin, so that…

12 Mar 24

Tiny Laser Opens Door to Chip-Size Sensors

Computer & Information Technology

A new ultra-energy-efficient tiny laser on a chip could enable powerful medical sensors to fit within a phone, new research finds.The new device is a kind of frequency comb—a specialized laser that generates multiple wavelengths of light, each at a regular frequency interval. On a spectrogram it would look a…

28 Feb 24

Sensory Stimulation Detoxifies the Alzheimer’s Brain

Computer & Information Technology

A flicker of light and a buzz of sound may hold the key to combating Alzheimer’s disease—and a new study in mice offers insights into how this unconventional therapy might work in humans.The noninvasive brain-stimulation technology features an audiovisual disco of rhythmic 40-hertz stimuli, designed to boost brain health by…