Researchers have uncovered shape-memory properties in a commercially available polymer that’s widely used to make fuel-cell membranes. The polymer, Nafion, can take on four different shapes in ...

A shape-memory polymer (SMP) is a type of smart material that has been widely investigated and used in aerospace deployable structures and in biomedical fields. 1, 2 ...

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 ...

Shape-memory polymers have long intrigued materials scientists because they can be bent or twisted into a new configuration, which they’ll hold until some stimulus—such as heat—reverts them to their ...

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 ...

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 ...

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing unique polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine.

A recent article published in Small Science introduces fully bioderived, four-dimensional (4D) printable shape memory polymers (SMPs) with linear tunability and remotely controlled actuation ...

Imagine a world of shape-shifters. A surgeon inserts a small lump of plastic into an anesthetized patient and, like magic, it expands into a life-saving mesh tube that keeps a formerly clogged artery ...

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 ...