Recent Advances in Sensor Technology for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Sensor technology has become an integral part of the diagnosis, monitoring, therapeutic and surgical areas of medical science. Various sensors like glucose biosensors for diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or fluorescent sensors for gene expression and protein localization have become a common part of the biomedical field. Due to their widespread applications, various advances and improvements have taken place in medical sensor technology which has led to an increase in the ease and accuracy of diagnosis as well as treatment of diseases. This review article aims at studying various novel and innovative developments in biosensors, fibre optic sensors, sensors used for microelectromechanical systems, flexible sensors and wearable sensors. This article also explores new sensing methodologies and techniques in different medical domains like dentistry, robotic surgery and diagnosis of severe life-threatening diseases like cancer and diabetes. Various sensors and systems used for rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic have also been discussed in this article. Comparison of novel sensor-based systems for detection of various medical parameters with traditional techniques is included. Further research is necessary to develop low cost, highly accurate and easy-to-use medical devices with the help of these innovative sensor technologies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Using a Hyflex Learning Format in a Second-year Mechatronics Course

This evidence-based practice paper details a Hyflex learning format used in a second-year Mechatronics course for Mechanical Engineering majors. At York College of Pennsylvania, Mechatronics introduces second-year Mechanical Engineering students to essential aspects of electronics and instrumentation through experiential hands-on learning. Students regularly conduct laboratory exercises and work on short projects as they learn about common electronic components, basic circuit analysis and sensors, and how these components can be used to create electro-mechanical devices. The course was modified in Spring 2021 to incorporate aspects of the Hyflex course format necessary to accommodate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The course format enabled students to attend in person or remotely through Zoom video conferencing. The format expanded the use and support of asynchronous learning activities to better enable students quarantined, due to close contacts or positive Covid tests, to keep up or catch up on the course instruction. The goal of the instructors was to enable the same learning outcomes for all students, independent of personal circumstances. Online software tools (Canvas learning management system, Tinkercad and Nearpod) were used to deliver content and engage students. Conceptual topics were introduced followed by hands-on activities from Make: Electronics 2nd edition. Each student was also given a kit of electronic components, wire, a breadboard and a multimeter. Students completed and submitted assignments in a variety of digital formats, such as video reports. This paper details the Hyflex modifications made to Mechatronics. It also includes student feedback and instructor reflections. Although the Hyflex format required significant new planning and experimentation it provided a means of accommodating a mix of face-to-face and online students and also provided an opportunity to increase the long term effectiveness of the course. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Open ventilator evaluation framework: A synthesized database of regulatory requirements and technical standards for emergency use ventilators from Australia, Canada, UK, and US.

Development of emergency use ventilators has attracted significant attention and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. To facilitate mass collaboration and accelerate progress, many groups have adopted open-source development models, inspired by the long history of open-source development in software. According to the Open-source Hardware Association (OSHWA), Open-source Hardware (OSH) is a term for tangible artifacts - machines, devices, or other physical things - whose design has been released to the public in such a way that anyone can make, modify, and use them. One major obstacle to translating the growing body of work on open-source ventilators into clinical practice is compliance with regulations and conformance with mandated technical standards for effective performance and device safety. This is exacerbated by the inherent complexity of the regulatory process, which is tailored to traditional centralized development models, as well as the rapid changes and alternative pathways that have emerged during the pandemic. As a step in addressing this challenge, this paper provides developers, evaluators, and potential users of emergency ventilators with the first iteration of a pragmatic, open-source assessment framework that incorporates existing regulatory guidelines from Australia, Canada, UK and USA. We also provide an example evaluation for one open-source emergency ventilator design. The evaluation process has been divided into three levels: 1. Adequacy of open-source project documentation; 2. Clinical performance requirements, and 3. Conformance with technical standards.