3D printing helps replace injured patient's skull

In a world first, researchers have successfully replaced 75 per cent of an injured patient's skull with a precision 3D-printed polymer version. In the near future, any type of damaged bone could routinely be replaced with custom-manufactured implants.

Connecticut-based Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) was founded in 2000 with a simple purpose: to exploit a highly advanced molecule known as Polyether ether ketone (PEEK). PEEK is an ultra-high performance thermoplastic with a range of applications. Its advantages include high strength and toughness, chemical resistance and low toxicity.

After years of development, OPM has now gained FDA approval for its OsteoFab Patient Specific Cranial Device (OPSCD). This is the company's brand name for 3D-printed medical implants created from the PEEK polymer. These implants are "grown" layer by layer – directly from a digital CAD file, CT scan or MRI file – without the aid of tooling and with few practical limits on what can be produced. As such, OsteoFab is ideal for unique, one-off implants that are specifically shaped to an individual patient's anatomy.

One very desirable use of patient-specific implants is the replacement of bony voids in the skull. This was demonstrated by OPM's researchers on 4th March, when they scanned the head of an unnamed patient and replaced 75% of his skull with polymer components.

Scott DeFelice, President and CEO of OPM: "It is our firm belief that the combination of PEEK and Additive Manufacturing is a highly transformative and disruptive technology platform that will substantially impact all sectors of the orthopaedic industry. We have sought our first approval within cranial implants because the need was most compelling; however, this is just the beginning. We will now move systematically throughout the body, in an effort to deliver improved outcomes at lower overall cost to the patient and healthcare provider."

Up to 500 U.S. patients could use skull bone replacements every month, according to DeFelice. Possible patients include those with cancerous bone, as well as car accident victims, and military members suffering from head trauma.

FDA clearance for OPM marks the first approval of an additively manufactured polymer implant in the USA. The company now intends to seek well-qualified partners to bring this revolutionary process to market.

Last year, a similar procedure was undertaken in the Netherlands, when surgeons used 3D printing to replace the entirelower jawbone of an 83-year old woman.

Cloud computing platform for robots launched

Researchers of five European universities have developed a cloud-computing platform for robots. The platform allows robots connected to the Internet to directly access the powerful computational, storage, and communications infrastructure of modern data centers – the giant server farms behind the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon – for robotics tasks and robot learning.

With the development of the RoboEarth Cloud Engine, the team continues their work towards creating an Internet for robots. The new platform extends earlier work on allowing robots to share knowledge with other robots via a WWW-style database, greatly speeding up robot learning and adaptation in complex tasks.

Indestructible self-healing circuits

Imagine that the chips in your smart phone or computer could repair and defend themselves on the fly, recovering in microseconds from less-than-ideal battery power or total transistor failure. It might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of engineers, for the first time ever, has developed just such a system.

The team, from the High-Speed Integrated Circuits laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), has demonstrated this self-healing capability in tiny power

Samsung introduces the Galaxy S4

Samsung this week unveiled its latest flagship smartphone – the Galaxy S4. Even lighter and thinner than its predecessor, it features a 13-megapixel back camera, and a 5-inch display with 441 ppi (1920×1080) resolution. It will be available in late April, on 327 networks and in 155 countries.

Other new features include:

• Eye-tracking: pause video and scroll through pages using eye movements alone

• Dual Camera: take simultaneous photos and videos, using both rear and front cameras, and blend them together

• Air View: hover with your fingers to preview the content of an email, S-Planner, image gallery or video without having to open it

• Air Gesture: change a music track, scroll up and down a web page, or accept a call with a wave of your hand

• Story Album: curates content, such as SNS posts, memos, location and weather

A virtual "talking head" with realistic emotions

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have demonstrated a virtual "talking head" with realistic emotions, which could lead to improvements in human-computer interactions.

Credit: University of Cambridge

The system, called Zoe, bears a striking resemblance to Holly, the ship's computer in British sci-fi comedy, Red Dwarf. It is based on a template that, in the near future, could allow people to upload their own faces and voices. Users would be able to customise and personalise their own digital assistants for a range of applications – in mobile "face messages", gaming, audio-visual books, as a means of delivering online lectures or

Hitachi reveals self-driving mobility support vehicle

Japanese electronics firm Hitachi has unveiled "ROPITS" – Robot for Personal Intelligent Transportation System.

ROPITS is designed to aid the short-distance transportation of the elderly, or those with walking difficulties. The vehicle is equipped with a "specified arbitrary point autonomous pick-up and drop-off function" which can navigate to locations specified on a tablet or mobile device. Thanks to its small size and slow speed (3.7 mph, or 5.9 km/h), it can move safely