Shape-Shifting Sensor for Internal Body Probing
July 28, 2015 | Terry Sharrer
How is it possible today to tell if an artificial hip prosthetic has become infected? Pain, redness, swelling, heat, just as physicians have always known. But with a new sensor, developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, it may become possible to use micromagnets for a diagnosis before the infection causes irreparable damage. This piece describes a microscopic sensor made of a hydrogel sandwiched between two magnets. In inflamed tissue, the sensor can detect changes in pH and alter its shape (distance between the two magnets) which scanning can reveal. MORE
Image Credit: Kelley/NIST PML