MccormickSchoolOfEngineering
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Nanotech replaces your torn knee ligament without further pain
As Tom Brady and other athletes can attest, you really, really want to avoid tearing your knee's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It can't heal up, and the tendon graft used to reconstruct it will likely leave you with permanent pain. Victims may have a much easier time of things if Northwestern University's nanotechnology-infused ligament becomes a practical reality, though. Their remedy combines calcium nanocrystals (like those in your bones), a porous biomaterial and strong polyester fibers to replace your ACL without having to perform grafts and leave you in continued agony. Both the artificial implant and the bone integrate with each other, stabilizing the knee in a way that both lets you move more naturally and spares you from losing some muscle.
Researchers create 'rubber-band electronics' material, capable of stretching up to 200 percent (video)
One of the major issues with embedded medical devices is the lack of flexibility in existing electronics. Fortunately, researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University have developed a new material that can create electronic components capable of stretching to 200 percent of their original size. One of the major obstacles was how stretchable electronics with solid metal parts suffered substantial drops in conductivity but this solution involves a pliable three-dimensional structure made from polymers with 'pores'. These are then filled with liquid metal which can adjust to substantial size and shape changes, all while maintaining strong conductivity. We've embedded a very brief video of the new stretchable material going up against existing solutions -- it's right after the break.
