Much of Western medicine as we know it today has come from the work of dedicated biomedical engineers. Without engineering in the medical field, our healthcare professionals today would be working without the aid of imaging tools like X-rays and MRIs. Amputees would have only the most rudimentary prostheses, and the fight against cancer would long have been lost. That is because every year biomedical engineers are advancing the field of medicine.
This year is no exception. Just look at some of these astounding breakthroughs that have been made promising even greater success in the future.
Neural Engineering
Thirty years ago, neurologists were working in the dark, almost literally. Even just a decade ago, the tools doctors and scientists used to understand the brain and its diseases were rudimentary. But in just a short period of time, biomedical engineering has provided neurosciences with imaging tools that end the need to crack open the skull to unravel the secrets of our human mind.
Non-invasive technologies such as electro-sensors today can be placed strategically on the scalp to study the brain without harm to the patient. Through data collected using these tools, scientists have discovered how to apply electrical impulses to stimulate different areas of our brain and to read neural impulses the brain sends that the body fails to receive.
One example is Silent Speech, a technology that reads the brain’s inner thoughts and turns them into typed output. Mark Chevillet, a neuroscientist has been working at Facebook’s advanced-technology center, developing what could allow a “locked-in” patient to communicate at speeds of 100 words per minute, 20 times faster than previous brain-machine interfaces.
Bio-robotics
As a direct result of progress in neuroscience when combined with advancements in robotics, the field of biorobotics is increasing the ability for humans to use their minds and nervous system to animate robotic devices. Engineering hopefuls who wonder what you can do with a biomedical engineering degree are no doubt familiar with the field’s close ties to prosthetics. Today sensor-laden prosthetics can receive electrical impulses from a wearer’s brain and follow the instructions turning neural activity into complex movement whether it be in a hand, arm, or leg.
Gait Analysis
Robots are also increasingly being applied to cases of motor control rehabilitation, usually after a stroke or debilitating injury. A machine called the Lokomat is a robotic exoskeleton that assists patients to relearn how to walk and even run. Partly controlled by patients and partly by therapists, the Lokomat shows promise in helping rehabilitate patients, making them ambulatory much faster.
Biomedical engineers have made great strides in doing gait analysis to assist their work with the Lokomat and similar robotic assist devices. The Motion Analysis Laboratory established by the MORE Foundation uses eight infrared cameras to track the movement of children as they walk. Computers analyzing the cameras’ data can determine the movement of bones and the force exerted. This understanding of how individuals and populations move helps doctors better diagnose problems with gait and allows them to develop more effective treatment plans.
Wearable Tech
Patients don’t always act naturally when being supervised by doctors or physiotherapists. In such cases researchers and medical professionals need a remote way to observe a patient’s health and behavior in an environment away from the hospital or clinic. This is where biomedical engineers have come in to develop wearable health technology which can come in many different form factors.
Bracelets, shoes, brassieres and more today are being fitted with smart sensors that collect data and transmit it using Wi-Fi, smartphones, or other digital devices to health professionals for analysis. Today the public has already bought into wearable fitness trackers, but wearable medical technology will take us to the next step introducing the ability to intervene when a patient’s vital signs broadcast to a tracking system to show an impending stroke, diabetic incident, heart attack, or other debilitating and life-threatening incidents.
Tissue Engineering
Prosthetics may be a good substitute when someone loses a limb, but no manufactured appendage can ever replace the real thing. That’s why biomedical engineers are investing time and effort into the field of tissue engineering. In true science fiction fashion, this is a solution that would give medical professionals the ability to replace a damaged organ, arm, or leg, with a brand new one grown from the patient’s own tissue.
Today we are seeing the first results of this new field with tiny hearts and livers grown in laboratories using a patient’s stem cells. There remain many challenges to this nascent technology with biomedical engineers admitting they have a long way to go. One of the challenges in re-engineering complex tissues like the skin, lungs, and liver is vascularization, the growth of the many blood vessels needed to enervate these organs. Advances in our understanding of stem cells and how they can be programmed to turn into other tissue types is one of two breakthroughs. The second is the ability of engineers to create scaffolds from inert materials that provide a framework for the stem cells to grow both the desired shape and provide the functionality required. The likelihood is high that we will soon see tissue engineering applied in real-world cases in the near future.
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A report released in September by consulting firm TechSci Research predicted that global sales for “smart clothes” will reach 275 million units by 2019. Where we see smart watches and glasses dominating the wearable-technology headlines today, expect to see all kinds of wearables that more resemble the clothes you put on in the near future.
Many of us are early adopters of the latest trendy technology – think the latest iPhone, Android smartphone or video game device. But what people wear is more personal than picking the latest tablet. Wearable tech that goes beyond glasses and watches, that is, smart clothing, will not only have to look and feel good, but must serve a necessary purpose. So much of what is being proposed as wearables today may not catch on. But some will and here is what’s currently out there.
Smart Shirts
Georgia Tech University and SensaTex Inc., received initial funding from the U.S. Navy back in 1996 to create a “smart shirt” for battlefield operations. The Georgia Tech Wearable Motherboard, (GTWM) is laced with interconnected optical fibers that monitor vital body functions. Smart Shirt Sensors attach to the body and transmit abrupt changes in a wearer’s pulse rate, body temperature, and other vital signs. For a wearer struck by a bullet medical personnel can almost instantaneously detect its exact location or any other penetrating wound making treatment faster. For civilians the practical uses of GTWM include the monitoring of the elderly, premature babies, and children and adults with complex medical conditions.
Similar products like OMsignal Biometric Smartwear are being marketed to fitness buffs who want detailed reports on calories burned, breathing rates and miles walked. Additionally, Victoria’s Secret is selling a bra that monitors heart rate during high-impact workouts. And for the runner there are Sensoria Smart Socks which track speed, distance and weight distribution to help perfect technique.
RFID – The Good and The Bad
By now we are all becoming familiar with radio frequency tags. These are used to track shipments, to manage inventory in warehouses, to protect against theft in retail, and for many other applications. Known as radio-frequency identification or RFID the technology’s use is ever expanding.
For example in Michigan, New York, Washington and Vermont, RFID technology is incorporated into driver’s licenses so travelers can go back-and-forth between the U.S. and Canada without a passport. California nearly became the fifth RFID driver’s license state in 2013, but privacy groups forced the state legislature to put the plans on hold. RFID-enabled credit cards power Visa Paywave, Discover Zip, and other express payment methods that are becoming more popular everyday.
The convenience of RFID cards comes with risk. Virtual pickpockets can steal personal data using scanners and smartphone apps that detect cards when in close proximity to a person’s wallet or purse. A startup called Betabrand has teamed with anti-virus firm Symantec to launch a new clothing line called READY Jeans. These come with two pockets made from RFID-blocking fabric to keep data safe from thieves. The company also makes blazers with RFID-proof pockets. Both items will be available for purchase spring 2015.
The Superfluous Solar Jacket?
Psychologists have termed a new disorder called nomophobia, the fear of not having access to your cell phone. One poll by mobile security firm SecurEnvoy found that, in the United States, 70% of women and 61% of men are nomophobes.
Eco-chic design firm Silvrling is mining the opportunity with its GO Utility Vest, something you wear that comes with solar panels on the two front pockets so you can keep your mobile phones charged. A high-tech hoodie, the vest is thick enough to keep you warm on chilly days, and comes in a variety of colors. Is it practical? Would you have to stay outside all day to reap the benefits? And what about days when the sun doesn’t shine, or evenings? Currently priced at $600 U.S. the vest is more novelty than practical. And when you check out current battery performance on smart phones (about 8 hours of usage before a battery drains) it would seem this is more novelty than good investment.
What’s described here is just the beginning. Smart clothes are part of the present and will be a growing presence in the near future fashion marketplace. Will all this exposure to electromagnetic frequencies create future health risks? Will hackers breach smart clothing the way they have hacked into all other digital technology? We won’t have those answers right away but widespread adoption of these new technologies is sure to speed up in the coming years.
Postscript
To add to Brian’s article I relate my own personal experience with RFID theft which has led me to buy a shoulder bag containing electromagnetic shielding to deny those electronic pickpockets. The bag I bought is a deterrent to regular pickpockets as well. The exterior material is exomesh, containing a wrapper of fine steel wires. The lockable and adjustable shoulder strap is made from the same material. It is virtually knife and shears-proof. Other safety features include multiple lockable zippered compartments. Backpacks, suitcases and wearables are all incorporating exomesh into designs for security conscious travellers. You can check out the line of products at Pacsafe.
