Nanonsheet material able to cling to irregular skin could provide a more effective treatment for burn victims. The nanosheets will be made by first spinning the biodegradable polymer poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) in a test tube of water, breaking the material down into smaller pieces. This mixture will then be poured onto a flat surface, where the pieces overlap and merge to dry into a single sheet. The unique makeup of the nanosheet will allow it to tightly cover even tiny bumps and...

A new thin-film drug-delivery technique could enable medications to be released directly into targeted locations in the body for up to 14 months--drastically altering the way we traditionally treat pain. The technique will make use of biodegradable, thin-films that have been loaded with drug molecules using a "layer-by-layer" method. This layer method will allow the drug to be released steadily and for a longer period of time than previous methods, and the amount of drug being...

According to research, each year one in three people 65 or older fall every year, and many of them do not fully recover. A protective belt will be a personal, waist-worn airbag that will expand to help protect the elderly from falls. It will be worn around the waist, where its integrated sensors will monitor the motion of the wearer's hips. If the system determines that the person is falling, the airbag will trigger and expand to cushion the fall before the person hits the ground.

The shirt will be able to detect an epileptic seizure and contact a doctor immediately, allowing for a quick response as well as a way to continuously monitor seizure patterns. It will be equipped with sensors able to monitor the wearer's heart rate and other physiological characteristics--including brain activity--in real-time. The data will be transmitted to a smartphone via Bluetooth and then uploaded to the cloud, where a designated physician will access the information and...

A new digital system that will allow the visually-impaired to 'read' graphs could provide them with more learning and employment opportunities while also making day-to-day business a bit easier. The system will provide a way for the visually-impaired to read the graphs and statistics that are so commonly used today. The device will use pattern recognition, machine learning and segmentation methods to identify blocks of texts or pictures and arrange them in the proper reading order....

The sensor will monitor your sleep patterns and bedroom environment to help ensure the best sleep possible. The system will be made up of two main components. The globe-shaped sensor will monitor the bedroom ambiance, gathering information on the room's levels of noise, light, temperature, humidity and air particulates, while another sensor will attach to your pillow to track sleep behavior. The first sensor will glow green when the environment is well-suited for sleeping, and will...

A new blood test for cancer will look for the signs of the disease by identifying white blood cells that have already sustained damage from fighting the cancer cells. The test will be based on theory that the stress caused to the white blood cells could be measured under the right circumstances. By exposing DNA to UV light and then prompting the DNA to move through an agar medium, it will be possible to determine the amount of damage the DNA has sustained by observing the length of...

An injectable, wound-filling foam could help to stabilize hard-to-tourniquet wounds for transport to a medical station. The system will be designed to staunch bleeding at the areas where the head or a limb is attached to the torso--areas notoriously difficult to tourniquet--by injecting two liquids directly and deeply into the wound. The two liquids, polyol and a diisocyanatein, will be held in separate sections within the syringe until injection into the body, whereupon they will...

The cancer-detecting bra will monitor body heat to help identify tumors at the early stages--allowing for prompt treatment and a higher survival rate. Developed to work as a supplement to conventional screening methods, the bra will be equipped with sensors to monitor heat patterns in breast tissue over a 2 to 12 hour period. This data will then be transmitted to a computer, which will analyze the patterns to determine if any early tumors are beginning to form.

New wound care material will be made of human skin, which will provide an ideal scaffold for the patient's own, healing cells. The material will be made of donor skin that will be decellularized (removed of all skin cells and traces of DNA). This process will allow the basic structure of the extracellular matrix to remain, resulting in a scaffold the patient's own cells can attach to for faster healing. The material will not need to be refrigerated or rehydrated and will be...