Bio-technology

Doctor visits are one of those things no one looks forward to. Taking time off work to get poked and prodded is never a fun experience. So what if you could take a pill that monitors all of your vital signs? Even better, what if all that data was transmitted to your doctor? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School are trying to develop self-powered capsules that can monitor your internal health.

In March 2014, West Africa suffered the largest outbreak of the Ebola virus in history. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported over 28,000 cases of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with 11,000 deaths. Since March 2016, the infection had been contained enough to warrant a downgrade in its status.

Diagnostic tests, although vastly improved in the recent years, seldom identify abnormalities in the body early enough (usually beneficial only in later phases) in order to employ appropriate treatment options and care. Apart from this major issue, challenges such as slow processing, false-negatives, high costs and side effects, pose an incredible danger to patients with life-threatening conditions, who require quick turnover periods.

3D printing has been around a lot longer than most people realize. Presently, 3D printing is celebrating nearly 30 years of manufacturing technology. In the early 1980s, the technology’s roots were set with stereolithography. Fabrication of models was done using photosensitive acrylics or resins that upon treating with UV radiation would solidify.