Medical

There are many different medical applications of materials research: new methods to administer vaccines, small implantable devices that monitor cancer, alloys used in hip or knee replacements, fibers that carry lasers for delicate surgeries, and more. 

Researchers

Yoel Fink

Professor of Materials Science; Joint Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Medical; Nanotechnology; Photonic Materials

News

A path to more efficient diagnoses

March 22, 2023

Through MIT’s Kavanaugh Fellowship, postdoc Diana Mojahed is miniaturizing a microscope to image disease—and exploring commercial opportunities.  

Artificial muscles made from contracting fibers

August 16, 2019

MIT researchers, including professors Polina Anikeeva, Yoel Fink, and Cem Tasan, have developed a new fiber-based system that could be used as artificial muscles for robots, prosthetic limbs, or other mechanical and biomedical applications.  

New Microfluidics Devices

October 29, 2018

Microfluidics devices are tiny systems with microscopic channels that can be used for chemical or biomedical testing and research. In a potentially game-changing advance, MIT researchers have now incorporated microfluidics systems into individual fibers, making it possible to process much larger…  

Helping blood cells regenerate after radiation therapy

October 24, 2018

Patients with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma are often treated by irradiating their bone marrow to destroy the diseased cells. After the treatment, patients are vulnerable to infection and fatigue until new blood cells grow back. MIT researchers have now devised a way to…  

Ming Dao Research on Sickle Cells

September 7, 2018

One of the most common complications of sickle-cell disease occurs when deformed red blood cells clump together, blocking tiny blood vessels and causing severe pain and swelling in the affected body parts. A new study from MIT sheds light on how these events, known as vaso-occlusive pain…  

New Neural Implants developed by Prof. Cima

June 27, 2018

New technologies such as optogenetics have allowed us to identify similar microstructures in the brain. However, these techniques rely on liquid infusions into the brain, which prepare the regions to be studied to respond to light. These infusions are done with large needles, which do not have…