Meetings and Events
Conference Debates the Future of RFID in Healthcare

RFID Europe 2008 in Cambridge, UK, presented an informative overview of the present and future of RFID technology in a range of sectors, including healthcare, last week. A member of the Dutch team that led a study on the safety of RFID in critical-care environments, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this summer, defended the findings on the first day of the conference at Churchill College. Another speaker acknowledged that, while RFID is no longer perceived as a “silver bullet” for healthcare applications, the technology can still have a bright future if the med-tech industry can get beyond seeing it as a high-cost alternative to bar codes. A paper presented on the second day of the conference eschewed RFID entirely and suggested that real-time location systems based on ultrasound have undeniable advantages in terms of room-level accuracy.

Florida-Based Company Looks to Sharks for Combating Hospital Infections
Sharklet Technologies has developed a material inspired by shark skin that could prevent hospital-acquired infections. Read more

Acid-Free Process Removes Oxide from NiTi Wire
Recently introduced nickel-titanium wire does not rely on Hf acid solutions, which can make the product brittle, or costly mechanical polishing for oxide removal. Read more

How Polyurethane Can Be Tailored for Your Precise Application
The versatility of polyurethane is now even greater with the availability of a technique that can design polyurethanes to have a specific set of properties. Read more

Nanotechnology: A Promising Future for the Medical Market
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Combination Products
Sensor to Provide Personalised Drug Delivery

A novel drug sensor that will “personalise” the medication of critically ill patients is being developed. Each patient’s unique combination of characteristics affect how drugs perform therapeutically in the body. If clinicians have the appropriate tools to customise a patient’s medication and achieve optimum uptake, patient care will be significantly enhanced.  Read more

Technology Trends
Austrian Subcontractor Develops Novel Multifunctional Digital Camera for Finnish Firm

A digital multifunctional camera can image the skin, inner ear, retina, and other parts of the eye. Because of its advanced imaging and relative affordability, the camera could revolutionize the diagnostic capability of hospitals and clinics in third-world countries. Read more