LATEST  INVENTION  IN  SCIENCE

ARTIFITIAL HEART AbioCor^®

In July 2001, a group of surgeons from Louisville, Kentucky managed to implant a new-generation artificial heart in a patient. Dubbed AbioCor, the device was implanted in a man who suffered from heart failure. The artificial heart was developed by Abiomed, Inc., a company with headquarters in Danvers, MA.
Although artificial hearts have been used in humans before, AvioCor proved to be more technically advanced than all of its predecessors. It is worth mentioning that previous artificial hearts required the user to be connected to a huge console through tubes and electrical power lines that passed through the person's skin. This meant that the patient had to be bedridden.

AbioCor is completely self-contained inside the body, having no tubes or lines running through the skin. Thus patients are not tied to a console, which means that they can perform routine functions. AbioCor has its battery located in an external battery pack that the patient can wear on the belt. Read more about the device here.

2. Bio-Artificial Liver

The idea to develop a new bio-artificial liver came to Dr. Kenneth Matsumura. He decided to come up with a totally new approach in creating an artificial liver. Matsumura thought of building a device that makes use of liver cells collected from animals rather than developing an apparatus with a myriad of tools to carry out each of the liver's functions.

The device is called "bio-artificial" due to the fact that it is made of both biological and manufactured component parts. The blood of the user circulates through the device and a unique synthetic membrane parts it from the animal cells. It would be interesting to note that the membrane plays an important role in the device - it prevents the rejection of the cells, while permitting the cells to detoxify the user's blood just like a natural liver.
In 2001 TIME magazine named the device Invention of the Year. More information can be found here and here.

3. Camera Pill

With the invention of this camera pill it became possible to spot the earliest signs of caner.
The device was developed with the goal of taking quality, color images in confined spaces.
It can detect early signs of esophageal cancer, which is the fastest growing type of cancer in the United States.
According to Eric Seibel, the lead researcher at the University of Washington, the pill has a width of an adult fingernail and is twice as long.

Using the new scanning device is rather cheap due to the fact that it is small and there is no need of anesthesia and sedation. More information about the pill can be found here.

4. Bionic Contact Lens

The bionic eye is the work of researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle. They managed to mix for the first time an elastic contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit.
The invention allows the wearers to see the world by superimposing computerized pictures onto their natural view.

According to the researchers, the bionic contact lens could be used by drivers and pilots, providing routes and information on weather or the vehicle.
In addition, the lens could help monitor a person's biological conditions such as cholesterol level or the presence of viruses and bacteria. The collected data can then be sent wirelessly to a computer.
More information on bionic lens can be found here.

5. iLIMB Bionic Hand

Invented by David Gow in 2007, the device, known as the iLIMB, became the world's first artificial hand to boast 5 individually powered fingers.

Thus people who use the invention are able to grip objects of different shapes, for example coffee mug handles.
To develop the iLIMB, Gow had to overcome a large number of obstacles. He built the iLIMB with 3 separate parts: the finger, thumb and palm, with each part featuring its own motor-control system.
It would be interesting to note that the iLIMB was named by the "Popular Science" magazine one of the best innovations. More on iLIMB can be found here.

6. Robots Helping Perform Surgeries

Surgeons have been using robotic arms for some time, but in the 21st century technology made a huge step in the field of robotics and today researchers are working on robots that could autonomously carry out different operations on patients.
A group of scientists the Duke University in North Carolina managed to see surgical robots in action. They tested the machines on a dead turkey (its flesh texture is similar to humans) and noticed that robots registered a 93 percent success rate in a surgery that involved cutting into prostate tissue.
It is too early to talk about autonomous machines that will be able to perform serious surgeries. Nevertheless today we have robo-surgeons that with the help of humans carry out serious operations.
For example, in 2010 a group of surgeons at McGill University used the da Vinci robo-surgeon together with a robot anesthesiologist, dubbed ironically McSleepy, to remove a patient's prostate. It was the world's first surgery performed without direct implication of humans, with surgeons involved only in the process of controlling the robots. Additional information on this surgery can be found here.

7. Mind-Reading Device

"Mind-reading" is a term used in psychology and represents the subconscious detection and analysis of nonverbal cues, for example facial expressions and head movements. These cues allow people to spot each other's emotional states.

This invention is the brainchild of three scientists from the MIT Media Lab. The mind-reading machine scans brain signals of the user and alerts them to the emotional state of the individual they are in a conversation with.
Dubbed, the Emotional Social Intelligence Prosthetic, the invention was unveiled by Rana El Kaliouby at the 2006 Body Sensor Network Conference.
It is worth mentioning that the device could be used to help people with autism improve the degree of learning the social cues of other people. The invention is especially useful to people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), who often find it difficult to evaluate the emotions of other people on their own. More information on the device can be found here.

8. Elekta Axesse

Elekta Axesse is one of the contemporary devices used today to treat cancer. This invention was created to treat a large number of targets throughout human body, including tumors located in the spine, lung, prostate, and liver.
The device delivers a complete mix of vital tools. It can help carry out stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT) and radiosurgery (SBRS).
During the treatment doctors have the possibility to observe a 3D image of the location that is to be treated.
In addition, they obtain an ultra-conformal beam shaping, a comfortable patient positioning system, advanced treatment planning and more. More about Axesse can be found here.

9. Berkeley Bionics eLEGS Exoskeleton

Developed to help people suffering from paraplegia, the exoskeleton from Berkeley Bionics, dubbed eLEGS, is one of the most impressive inventions of the 21st century.

The exoskeleton for paraplegics is an easy to wear, artificially intelligent, bionic mechanism that could be used not only by patients in hospitals, but also at home, allowing users to stand, walk and even climb stairs.
The device can be adjusted to fit patients that are between 5'2" and 6'4" and weight maximum 220 pounds. More on eLEGS can be found here.

10. EyeWriter

This device was invented to help people bound to bed communicate. It is the brainchild of researchers from the Ebeling Group, the Not Impossible Foundation and Graffiti Research Lab.
The EyeWriter makes use of low-cost eye-tracking glasses equipped with open-source software. Thus it allows people with one of neuromuscular syndromes to communicate with others by writing or drawing on the screen by tracking their eye movement and converting it to lines on a display.
Tony "Tempt" Quan, graffiti artist from Los Angeles was the one who has come up with this invention after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2003. More on the EyeWriter available here.

INVENTIONS

Modern Inventions of 2001

• AbioCor artificial heart invented by Abiomed - the Abiocor represents groundbreaking medical miniaturization technology. Nuvaring birth control invented by Organon.
• Artificial liver invented by Dr. Kenneth Matsumura and Alin Foundation.
• Fuel cell bike invented by Aurelia.
• Self-cleaning windows invented by PPG Industries.
• On October 23, 2001 Apple Computers publicly announced their portable music digital player the iPod, created under project codename Dulcimer.
• Time Magazine Modern Inventions of the Year 2001

Modern Inventions of 2002

• Braille Glove invented by Ryan Patterson.
• Phone tooth invented by James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau.
• Nano-tex - nanotechnology wearable fabrics invented by Nano-tex LLC.
• Birth control patch invented by Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical.
• Foveon
•  Camera Chip invented by Richard Merrill.
• Date Rape Drug Spotter invented by Francisco Guerra.
• Solar Tower invented by Jorg Schlaich.
• Virtual keyboard invented by Canesta and VKB.
• ICOPOD invented by Sanford Ponder.
• Time Magazine Modern Inventions of the Year 2002

Modern Inventions of 2003

• Optical Camouflage System invented by Susumu Tachi, Masahiko Inami, and Naoki Kawakami
• Toyota's Hybrid Car
• Ice Bike invented by Dan Hanebrink
• New Toy Robots Max the robotic cat invented by Omron, LUCKY, THE ROVING ROBO-RAPTOR invented by Walt Disney Imagineering, and Sony builds Aibo a companion called Orio.
• New Fabrics, Salmon Skin Leather invented by Claudia Escobar and Skini, and Luminex a glowing fabric invented by Luminex.
• Java Log a log for your fireplace made from used coffee grinds and invented by Rod Sprules
•  used in public buildings to scan for people with a high temperature from a fever or sars invented by  and the Singapore Defense Science and Technology Agency
• The t invented by Adam Whiton and Yolita Nugent, protects the wearer by electric shocking any attackers.

Modern Inventions of 2004

• Adidas 1 are the thinking shoes with a built in microprocessor that decides how soft or firm support the wearer needs. Chosen by Popular Science magazine as the best recreation invention of 2004.
• Translucent Concrete developed by Hungarian architect Aron Losonczi and called LitraCon and is based on a matrix of parallel optical glass fibers embedded into the concrete that can transmit light and color from the outside. However, this is not the only translucent concrete out there. Inventor  has been developing another variety.
• Ka-on or are plants that play music invented by the Japanese based Let's Corporation. Flowers bouquets will act as loudspeakers when placed in a special vase that has electronics hidden in the base.
• Intel Express Chipsets - Grantsdale and Alderwood are the code names of Intel's newest chips that will provide superior and inexpensive built-in sound and video capacities for the PC including the ability to do high definition video editing without additional computer cards.
• SonoPrep invented by bioengineer Robert Langer, is a device that will deliver medication by sound waves rather than injection. According to the Sontra Medical Corporation, SonoPrep's manufacturer: The small, battery-powered device applies low-frequency ultrasonic energy to the skin for 15 seconds. The ultrasound temporarily rearranges lipids in the skin, opening channels that let fluids be delivered or extracted. After about 24 hours, the skin returns to normal.Modern Inventions of 2005

• YouTube - the online video sharing and viewing community - was invented in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim. YouTube was named Time Magazines Invention of the year in 2006.

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Modern Inventions of 2007

• Time Magazine Modern Inventions of the Year 2007
• Popular Science Best of What's New 2007

Modern Inventions of 2008

New inventions of 2008 include: smog-earing cement, high altitude flying windmills, bionic contacts, pig-urine plastic.

Modern Inventions of 2009

New inventions of 2009 include: a new computer interface called the sixth sense, and a retinal implant for the blind.

Modern Inventions of 2011

New inventions of 2011 include: fabrics made from raw milk, a new kind of photography, an electronic bloodhound, the world's smallest ink jet printer.