Lifeboat Foundation

MIT researchers have developed a battery-free, subcellular-sized device made of polymer designed to measure and modulate a neuron’s electrical and metabolic activity. When the device is activated by light, it can gently wrap around the neuron cell’s axons and dendrites without damaging the cells.

Scientists want to inject thousands of these tiny wireless devices into a patient’s central nervous system and then actuate them noninvasively using light. The light would penetrate the tissue and allow precise control of the devices, and thereby restore function in cases of neuronal degradation like multiple sclerosis (MS).

The MIT researchers developed these thin-film devices from a azobenzene, a soft polymer that readily reacts to light. Thin sheets of azobenzene roll into a cylinder when exposed to light, which enables them to wrap around cells. Researchers can control the direction and diameter of the rolling by changing the intensity and polarization of the light, producing a microtube with a diameter smaller than one micrometer.

Researchers develop nanomaterial textiles for wireless power, allowing real-time data transmission without the need for bulky batteries.

Murata is branching out from its usual ceramic components with the launch of flexible, stretchable electronics — a Stretchable Printed Circuit (SPC) platform it says is ideally positioned for wearable and medical devices.

In recent years, in the medical field, to make more accurate diagnoses, the…

Bendy, soft, stretchy devices target the wearable and medical markets.

Continue reading “Murata Goes Flexible with Its Stretchable Printed Circuit Platform” »

MIT’s new tiny wearables wrap around neurons to monitor or heal, opening new treatments for brain diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers interact with parts of our bodies to measure and learn from internal processes, such as our heart rate or sleep stages.

Now, MIT researchers have developed wearable devices that may be able to perform similar functions for individual cells inside the body.

These battery-free, subcellular-sized devices, made of a soft polymer, are designed to gently wrap around different parts of neurons, such as axons and dendrites, without damaging the cells, upon wireless actuation with light. By snugly wrapping neuronal processes, they could be used to measure or modulate a neuron’s electrical and metabolic activity at a subcellular level.

A key challenge in the effort to link brain activity with behavior is that brain activity, measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), for instance, is extraordinarily complex. That complexity can make it difficult to find recurring activity patterns across different people or within individuals.

In a new study, Yale researchers were able to take fMRI data, reduce its complexity, and in doing so, uncover stable patterns of activity shared across more than 300 different people. The findings, researchers say, are a promising step forward in uncovering biomarkers for psychiatric disorders.

The study was published Sept. 24 in the journal PLOS Biology.

This is clearly aimed at Wearable AI such as the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers and other similar devices.

I was wondering how large of a language model can you fit in a pair of sunglasses?

Meta AI researchers have unveiled MobileLLM, a new approach to creating efficient language models designed for…

Continue reading “Meta AI develops compact language model for mobile devices” »

While using the Meta AI chatbot on WhatsApp it answered my query with some great advice.

It almost felt like I had some support from a good friend.

I was kind of taken aback by the answer. Since I purchased the Ray-Ban \ Meta Wayfarers I have jokingly told people that I am wearing a large language model on my face. I came to find out that information is incorrect.

Continue reading “The Future of Wearable AI Assistants” »

Finding ways to connect the human body to technology could have broad applications in health and entertainment. A new “electric plastic” could make self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with our bodies a reality.

While there has been significant progress in the development of wearable and implantable technology in recent years, most electronic materials are hard, rigid, and feature toxic metals. A variety of approaches for creating “soft electronics” has emerged, but finding ones that are durable, power-efficient, and easy to manufacture is a significant challenge.

Continue reading “‘Electric Plastic’ Could Merge Technology With the Body in Future Wearables and Implants” »