Monitoring a tumor for weeks or months after the biopsy, tracking its growth and how it responds to treatment, would be much more valuable, says Michael Cima, MIT professor of materials science and engineering, who has developed the first implantable device that can do just that. Cima and his colleagues recently reported that their device successfully tracked a tumor marker in mice for one month. The work is described in a paper published online in the journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics in April.

Such implants could one day provide up-to-the-minute information about what a tumor is doing -- whether it is growing or shrinking, how it's responding to treatment, and whether it has metastasized or is about to do so."What this does is basically take the lab and put it in the patient," said Cima, who is also an investigator at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

Read more: Cancer Implant Device Offers Continuous Tumor Monitoring

The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has developed a unique robotic hand that can firmly hold objects as heavy as a can of food or as delicate as a raw egg, while dexterous enough to gesture for sign language.

Named RAPHaEL (Robotic Air Powered Hand with Elastic Ligaments), the fully articulated robotic hand is powered by a compressor air tank at 60 psi and a novel accordion type tube actuator. Microcontroller commands operate the movement to coordinate the motion of the fingers.

Read more: New Air Powered Robotic Hand

UpgradeYourBody normally submits stories on the latest high tech gadgets but I thought for once I'd write about a cheap low tech device that can help many more people. Bionic legs can cost tens of thousands of dollars which puts them way out of reach for patients in the third world. Now a prosthetic knee is available for just $20 and will no doubt make a difference in many lives.

Joel Sadler and his classmates faced a daunting challenge in their Biomedical Device Design and Evaluation course. There were given a task to create a low-cost, high-performance prosthetic knee joint for amputees in the developing world. Dubbed the JaipurKnee Project, the team aimed to help rectify lives ravaged by war and diseases such as diabetes.

Read more: $20 Artificial Knee For Patients In The Developing World

Ossur who deveops prosthetic limbs announced recently that its second generation Power Knee bionic prosthesis was implanted in a patient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The power knee uses sensors and actuators, coupled with artificial intelligence to better mimic natural walking with less effort by the patient.

Read more: Next Generation of Ossur Power Knee

Jacob Rosen is developing a wearable robotic "exoskeleton" that could enable a person to lift heavy objects with little effort. It's a bit like the robotic armor that has long been a staple of futuristic battle scenes in science fiction books and movies. But what excites Rosen is the device's potential to help people disabled by stroke or degenerative diseases.

"People with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disabilities could use the exoskeleton to amplify their muscle strength, and it could also be used for rehabilitation and physical therapy," said Rosen, an associate professor of computer engineering in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Read more: Medical Robotics Expert Explores the Human Machine Interface

Another review by Dr. Cherie Stabler and colleagues from the Diabetes Research Institute and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami (Florida), evaluated the engineering of bio-hybrid devices and encapsulation technologies that may aid in the success of islet transplants. According to the researchers, the transplantation of islet cells into the portal vein of the liver has presented several challenges. Overcoming those challenges means recognizing important issues such as vascularization, mechanical protection, device design, biomaterial selection and quality control in device engineering.>

"A recent focus has been to redesign bio-hybrid devices that promote vascularization and effective nutrient delivery to prevent islet cell necrosis and at the same time minimize device volumes," said Stabler.

Read more: Engineering a Bioartificial Pancreas

Read more: Nucleus Freedom by Cochlear

Read more: SaeboFlex by Saebo

October 08 - French scientists have unveiled a working prototype of a fully artificial heart which is based on the technology of satellites and airplanes. The device beats almost exactly like the real thing using electronic sensors to regulate heart rate and blood flow.

It was developed by Carmat who are funded by the European space and defense group EADS. Carmat's chief operating officer Patrick Coulombier said "it's the same principle in the airplane as in the body." He explained that the same tiny sensors that measure air pressure and altitude in an airplane or satellite are also in the artificial heart. This should allow the device to respond immediately if the patient needs more or less blood.

Read more: Artificial Heart by Carmat

The idea of putting a bionic implant into the spine is to restore mobility to people with paraplegia or spinal cord injury. Existing bionic implants use electrodes that connect to muscles in the leg. More than a dozen people have received early prototypes. But their ability to stand and walk has been limited. Its been described as robotic and tiring.

To date these systems involve a walking frame and you press a button to extend or flex your leg.

Read more: Bionic Implant to Repair Spinal Chord