A closer look at the science
behind better healthcare.
Follow a question from first principles to the clinic. Browse the science of imaging, treatment, materials, and measurement.
325 articles
Deep dives first, then reading editionsA sterilizer chamber may expose an instrument's exterior while a long, narrow lumen remains difficult to reach. Effective reprocessing depends on the device geometry, preparation, selected cycle, and evidence that the process worked.
A sensor’s reading is an inference from physical signals, not a direct window onto the body. Pulse oximetry shows how skin, motion, circulation, and training data can shape errors unequally.
Images are reconstructed from measurements gathered over time. When a body part moves while those measurements are being assembled, the resulting picture can contain blur, ghosting, or mismatched edges.
A fingertip pulse oximeter compares how red and near-infrared light pass through changing blood volume. The ratio helps estimate oxygen saturation, but skin, circulation, motion, and other factors can affect accuracy.
A material’s medical role depends on where it is used, what it touches, and what it must do. Strength, flexibility, transparency, and biological response all shape device design.
An image can look crisp yet conceal nearby structures. Resolution depends on more than pixel count: the imaging method, contrast, motion, and reconstruction all shape whether a feature can be distinguished.
Heating tissue can damage cancer cells and may make radiation or chemotherapy more effective. How heat is delivered and measured shapes the treatment, while availability, side effects and outcome evidence limit what can be concluded.
A continuous glucose monitor estimates glucose from fluid between cells using a small sensor, then sends readings to a display. Its frequent measurements reveal trends, while sensor-fluid timing and model-specific checks matter.
Cold atmospheric plasma is a partially ionized gas whose electrons can be energetic while much of the gas remains near room temperature. Its medical uses are being studied, but research findings are not blanket proof of healing benefit.
A laser’s narrow beam delivers light to a chosen place, where absorption can turn optical energy into heat. How quickly that heat arrives and spreads helps determine whether tissue is cut, destroyed, or sealed.
Additive manufacturing can tailor an implant’s geometry to a patient, but an accurate shape says little by itself about tissue response, wear, corrosion, or manufacturing consistency over time.
A pacemaker responds to electrical signals, yet a nearby magnet can alter how some implanted devices behave. The key is a designed magnetic switch, which can temporarily change a device’s operating mode.
Functional MRI maps changes linked to brain activity by measuring a blood oxygenation signal. Understanding the chain from neural demand to magnetic resonance helps clarify both what these maps show and what they leave uncertain.
A hearing aid changes sound before it reaches the inner ear, where surviving sensory cells still have to convert vibration into neural signals. Digital processing can shape amplification, but it cannot restore damaged hearing to normal.
Random assignment helps prevent participant differences from deciding which device appears to work. Its value is clearest when paired with careful outcome measurement, blinding where possible, and appropriately cautious interpretation.
Radiation treatment planning turns scans into a coordinate map, while positioning and repeat imaging help align the intended target on treatment day. The beam’s path and surrounding anatomy both matter.
Tissue scaffolds must do more than bear force: cells need access to signals, nutrients, and waste-removal pathways. Dialysis filters offer a useful comparison for how material structure can enable selective transport.
A plasma device’s timer cannot capture the full exposure delivered to a wound. Gas composition, electrical conditions, distance, and the target surface all shape what reactive particles reach tissue—and what a clinical study can establish.
