National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

When athletes are diagnosed with a concussion, they often want to know when they will recover and get back in the game, but currently, clinicians lack the tools to predict recovery time. An NIH-funded research team at The University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University Bloomington, and elsewhere are combining advanced MRI and AI techniques to develop a new concussion model that can predict which athletes will take longer to recover and benefit from earlier treatment. Learn more about the model and how it could be a gamechanger for others with concussions: https://go.nih.gov/xaUAv8i

Undergraduate engineers! Are you up for a challenge? NIBIB and VentureWell invite student teams to develop innovative technological solutions to unmet clinical needs as part of the Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) Challenge. Teams will compete for 15 prizes, totaling $190,000, that are centered on various areas of interest within health care. Submissions close on June 18. Get the details and apply here: https://go.nih.gov/SfhZLyp #MedTech #BiomedicalEngineering #DEBUT2025

NIH-funded researchers at Penn Bioengineering have found a way to get cancer drugs deeper into solid tumors by applying magnetic fields. In a recent study they used the approach to significantly slow tumor growth in a model of triple-negative breast cancer. In the future the technology could have a sweeping impact. “There are many applications where poor drug penetration is a major stumbling block, from cancer to joint disease to various lung pathologies. We envision that one day this technology could be broadly useful,” said Andrew Tsourkas. Learn more about the research: https://go.nih.gov/G77siKL Penn Engineering

Researchers at Rice University and The University of Texas Medical Branch are developing a method to access and stimulate deep brain regions without drilling into the skull. They engineered a tiny pulse generator that can be implanted in the spine following a lumbar puncture. This pulse generator is connected to a stimulating catheter, which can be guided through the cerebrospinal fluid to the surface of the brain. After preliminary experiments in human cadavers, the team successfully used the device to record and stimulate brain activity in sheep with the aid of a wireless interface. Read more here: https://go.nih.gov/CTl1JZ7 Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering

Dating back to ancient times, people have fashioned medical devices from biomaterials. Back then we carved prosthetics from wood and sutured wounds with animal tendons. These days we use both synthetic and naturally derived materials to make medical devices more biologically compatible, restore tissue function, or deliver therapeutics to targets in the body with precision. Head to our science topic page to learn more about this fascinating interdisciplinary field and some of the biomaterials research we are supporting to improve health care: https://go.nih.gov/tcsZy5w

Four teams have advanced to the final phase of the NIH RADx® Tech ACT ENDO Challenge! The finalists each propose a unique technological solution to improve diagnostics for endometriosis—a chronic condition affecting approximately 10% of reproductive-aged women worldwide. With this challenge, NIH aims to speed up diagnosis time, decrease the invasiveness of current methods, and improve accessibility, safety, convenience, and costs. Learn more about the finalists: https://go.nih.gov/bZf8XTr Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) The National Institutes of Health

#NIH graduate student Isabella Horton is investigating immune responses to injury in an #NIH_IRP lab on her way to earning her Ph.D. Learn about her work and some of NIH's other graduate students in our latest "I Am Intramural" blog post: https://go.nih.gov/Zb637HV

NIH-funded researchers are leading the way in pushing robotics forward to improve medical care. Robotic and bionic devices technologies are already helping patients walk again, partially regain the ability to see and hear, and undergo surgical procedures that are safer and more effective. In the future, these devices may do much more. Head to our science topic page to learn more about this field and some of the technologies we support: https://go.nih.gov/CvjFz6a #MedTech #BiomedicalEngineering

“The future of bioelectronics is not just creating a device and putting it on a shelf to be put into the human body later,” said Cunjiang Yu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “We’re starting to print custom technologies with living tissues that could integrate harmoniously with the body.” Yu, Y. Shrike Zhang, and colleagues are carving out a new path for bioelectronics by combining bioprinting with solar technology. In a recent study, the NIH-funded researchers printed light-sensitive cardiac tissue and demonstrated its ability to regulate heart rhythm in an animal study. This tech could one day fill the role of traditional electrical stimulation devices, such as pacemakers, while offering a more customizable and biologically friendly solution. Learn more: https://go.nih.gov/4CA2vhL #3DPrinting #BiomedicalEngineering Brigham and Women's Hospital

Researchers at Penn State University are developing an AI tool to evaluate placental photographs that could provide predictions for multiple adverse outcomes, such as infection or sepsis. With further refinement, this technology could flag individual patients for enhanced monitoring or immediate follow-up care, potentially improving infant and maternal outcomes, especially in low-income regions. Learn more about this research: https://go.nih.gov/Ss9eXlu Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology Alison Gernand, PhD MPH RD Jeffery Goldstein Northwestern Memorial Hospital Penn State College of Health and Human Development