IEEE Pulse

Thirty years ago, the small molecules we now know as microRNAs (miRNAs) would have been regarded as "junk" genetic material. Today, miRNAs have been hailed as promising biomarkers for diseases including cancer, neurological disorders, heart conditions, and infections. Although progress has been made toward characterizing the role of miRNAs in different diseases, there remain challenges in bringing them into clinical use. Researchers continue to explore where miRNAs will make the most impact.

Contact lenses are ideal conduits for continuous health monitoring. They have a long safety record, and they sit on the eye, where they have access to a range of biological signals. Making the transition from vision correction to biological monitoring, however, requires advances in technological development so the lenses not only detect and report signals accurately, but retain the high level of comfort that users have come to expect.

The presence of artificial intelligence (AI) is spreading fast through almost every industry, and health care is no exception. Data-based decision-making software is becoming pervasive in all facets of modern life, and the AI-enabled chatbot ChatGPT is having a seismic impact on the public perception of AI.

Measuring just a millimeter or two in diameter, brain organoids are a far cry from a fully functioning human brain. But these miniature tissues, typically derived from stem cells, are increasingly able to mimic the structure and function of our most complex organ, unlocking exciting possibilities for neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and beyond.

Extended reality has reached a critical point in biomedicine. The technology is accelerating and excitement about potential health care benefits is mounting but bridging the gap between envisioning what could be and actually making it happen is still a work in progress. Part of the challenge is coordinating all the major players to ease the development pipeline so virtual, augmented, and mixed reality can reach their potential in everything from diagnostics and surgeries to clinician training and telemedicine...

Since the dawn of additive manufacturing technologies in the 1980s and 90s, now commonly named 3D printing, the possibility of processing raw materials into freeform designed objects with unprecedented shape complexity opened new avenues for the development of medical devices. Indeed, the geometries of nature and the human body are extremely multifaceted, with even fractal- like or multiscale levels of detail, counting with functional gradients of properties, including topology and topography optimizations, to cite some interesting features...

Microbubbles and ultrasound are no longer teaming up only as a way to enhance images. New technologies are now using the two to create physical pathways into cells for easier drug delivery, even into the cells of highly drug-resistant cancerous tumors and across the blood-brain barrier. Going further, a Texas research group has developed drug-carrying microbubbles that can complete targeted delivery themselves, and another group in Missouri has shown that two-way traffic in channels across the blood-brain barrier also allow biomarkers to flow out, which provides a new window into the brain as well as brain diseases...

The market for injectable drugs is booming, fueling both a wave of innovation in device design and a debate about the relative pros and cons of injectables versus oral medication. As regulators continue to approve injectable medications that could replace daily pill regimens, particularly long-acting drugs that could improve patient compliance, it is legitimate to ask whether injectables will one day become the norm.

Plastic has done more to revolutionize the medical industry over the past century than any other material. Syringes, intravenous bags, personal protective equipment (PPE), catheters, and test kits-plastic is ubiquitous throughout medicine. It's easy to see why. Plastic is low-cost, easy to process, and can be sterilized efficiently.

Microscopes have come a very long way since the 1600s when Henry Power, Robert Hooke, and Anton van Leeuwenhoek began publishing the first views of plant cells and bacteria. The major inventions of contrast, electron, and scanning tunneling microscopes didn't arrive until the 20th century, and the men behind them all earned Nobel Prizes in physics for their efforts. Today, innovations in microscopy are coming at a fast and furious rate with new technologies providing first-time views and information about biological structures and activity, and opening up new avenues for disease therapies...

Even for humans, it can be challenging to recognize, interpret, and respond to emotions. Can artificial intelligence (AI) do any better? Technologies often referred to as "emotion AI" detect and analyze facial expressions, voice patterns, muscle activity, and other behavioral and physiological signals associated with emotions.

Despite remarkable advances in the field of prosthetic limbs, existing products still aren't meeting the needs of patients. A 2022 survey found that 44% of upper-limb amputees abandoned their prostheses, citing discomfort, heaviness of the device, and problems with functionality [1].

While Virtual Reality (VR) is usually associated with video games or the simulated scenarios used to train airplane pilots and soldiers, new advances have brought VR technology into a whole different realm-that of mental health.

A technology company in Gaithersburg, MD, USA, has developed a three-pronged approach to help researchers analyze microbiome samples. It includes a thorough microbiome database, an algorithm to search it, and a cloud platform to return useful information.

In this issue of IEEE Pulse, we explore the human interface of the microscopic with global systems. The parallels are as a Fibonacci fractal: Human beings are a scaffolding upon which microbiomes live, much like populations that live in the varying climates and geographies of the planet. As we advance technology for humanity, it is worth considering the impact of that interface.

Bacteriophages once were a promising prospect to treat bacterial infections but fell out of favor by the mid-20th century with the advent of highly effective antibiotics. As antibiotic resistance has spiked in recent years, however, interest in phages has risen, particularly following a number of last-resort phage treatments that were able to beat severe antibiotic-resistant strains. New research is now beginning to show that phage therapy may become much more broadly used as treatments for diseases and other infections...

The production of antibodies for therapeutic use in clinical medicine has become a focus of the biotechnology industry. In 2021, four of the top six selling prescription drugs were monoclonal antibodies, leading to a reported revenue of over US $ 67 billion dollars. Thus, it is no surprise that the otherwise arcane rules around antibody patents have become increasingly important to drug companies, health care providers, and consumers alike.

The microbiome has a prominent impact on human health, but with microbiomes each comprising trillions of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi, and microbes differing from one person to another, much is left to learn. That includes everything from identifying the microbiota present to also deciphering their behavioral roles in human health and disease.

For most of the 20 years that Carol Stillman has helped companies design medical devices, sustainability has always come second to other concerns. "There was a perception that it just wasn't something that made sense for medical device companies to do, because the safety and efficacy was so important," says Stillman, a project and program manager at Battelle, the nonprofit science and technology consulting firm focused on contract research and development work. "Trying to take into account these environmental aspects was something that was a low priority by comparison...

Ions can say a lot about a baby's health. High levels of chloride in sweat can indicate cystic fibrosis (CF), a disorder that causes respiratory and digestive problems; abnormal sodium levels are signs of increased risk for seizure or muscle problems; and too-high or too-low potassium concentrations can cause heart arrhythmias or other muscle issues. These ions-commonly called electrolytes- are also important throughout life. For instance, too much or too little sodium can lead to confusion, seizures, and muscle weakness or cramping...