WXTOIMG SLANTED PLUS

Posted in 3d Printer hacks, Medical Hacks Tagged 3d printing, brain implants, conductive polymer, epilepsy, hydrogel, Parkinson's disease Fire up that printer and check out this NIH-approved face shield design. This particular medical printing hack is pretty far out of reach for most of us, but not all of them are.

They also printed arrays of electrodes topped with little wells for holding neurons so they can study the neuronsРІР‚в„ў signals using the electrode net underneath. Amazingly, the electrode was able to detect the signal coming from a single neuron. In addition to printing out a sheet of micro blinky circuits, they tested out the material by printing a flexible electrode, which they implanted into a mouse.

WXTOIMG SLANTED PLUS

The team took a conductive liquid polymer (water plus nanofibers of a polystyrene sulfonate) and combined it with a solvent they made for a previous project to form a conductive, printable hydrogel. ItРІР‚в„ўs a conductive polymer thatРІР‚в„ўs been thickened into a viscous, printable paste. This new material is soft and flexible, so it hugs the wrinkles and curves. This technology has the potential to replace electrodes used for monitoring and implants that stimulate brain tissue in order to ease the effects of epilepsy, ParkinsonРІР‚в„ўs disease, and severe depression.Р”В®xisting brain implants are rigid and abrade the grey matter, which creates scar tissue over time. Now, MIT engineers have found a way to add brain implants to the list. 3D printing has opened up a world of possibilities in plastic, food, concrete, and other materials.

Wxtoimg slanted