The technique of keyhole surgery minimises scarring, speeds healing and reduces the risk of infection. However, it is extremely difficult to carry out delicate surgical procedures accurately in a ...

Polymers that exhibit shape-memory effect (SME) are an important class of materials in medicine, especially for minimally invasive deployment of devices. Professor Subbu Venkatraman and his group from ...

When stretched or deformed, shape memory polymers return to their original shapes after heat or light is applied. These materials show great promise for soft robotics, smart biomedical devices and ...

Researcher Ken Gall uses this thermomechanical test frame to determine the maximum possible shape change of his team's shape-memory polymer. Shape-memory alloys and polymers are the contortionists of ...

MedShape (Atlanta, GA) has been granted a U.S. patent for a shape memory polymer-based technology used in orthopedic applications. Shape memory polymers can "remember" more than one shape and ...

A polymer that changes shape when heated can lift objects 5000 times its own weight, with potential applications in robotics. Shape-memory polymers flip between their normal state, where molecules are ...

Researchers have developed a shape memory polymer that stores almost six times more energy than previous versions. When stretched or deformed, shape memory polymers return to their original shapes ...