Bionic Man | Nanotech Medical Sensors

Body-powered nanosenors could provide real-time data to patients about their health

[From the increasing use of pacemakers to keep heart beating on time to the rise of Olympian runner Oscar Pistorius (a.k.a. "Blade Runner"), a double-amputee who uses two prosthetic lower legs called "blades," the merging of human and machine continues apace. In this month's series, "Bionic Man," 13.7 takes a broad look at the history, evolution, ethics and impact of prosthetic and bionic engineering, nanotechnology, cybernetics and technological singularity.]

Thanks to a $18.5 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, North Caroline State University will be the home of the new NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST).

Researchers at the center will be developing what is being hailed as potential breakthrough in the field of medicine: body-powered biomedical sensors using nanotechnology.

These devices, meant to monitor a patient's health and the effect of the environment, would be worn somewhere on the body, or even inside the mouth. And they would be powered by body heat or motion, eliminating the need for batteries.

"Currently there are many devices out there that monitor health in different ways," said Dr. Veena Misra, the center's director and professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State. "What's unique about our technologies is the fact that they are powered by the human body, so they don’t require battery charging."