Micro-Machines for Bionic Body Parts and Medical Devices

A team of electrical and mechanical engineers at Israel’s Tel Aviv University (TAU) has developed a way to print biocompatible components for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), making them ideal for use in medical devices, like bionic prosthetic arms. MEMS are usually fabricated from silicon using processes borrowed from the semiconductor industry. But, the unique innovation of the TAU researchers is creating a novel micro-printing process that works using a highly flexible, non-toxic organic polymer. The resulting MEMS components, they say, can be more comfortably and safely used in the human body, as well as expend less energy.