The largest driver of the year-to-date growth was an 83% increase in units ordered by automotive OEMs. Other industries that saw increases include semiconductor and electronics (12%), life sciences(8%), and food and consumer goods (3%).
In Q2, North American companies ordered 8,572 robots, valued at $446 million, a growth of 19.2% in number of robots ordered, and a 0.6% boost in dollars compared to the same period in 2018.
Researchers at Texas Heart Institute and Rice University have confirmed that flexible, conductive fibers made of carbon nanotubes can bridge damaged tissue to deliver electrical signals and keep hearts beating despite congestive heart failure or dilated cardiomyopathy or after a heart attack.
Texas Heart Institute
Damaged hearts rewired with nanotube fibers
Thin, flexible fibers from carbon nanotubes can bridge damaged heart tissues and deliver electrical signals needed to keep hearts beating.
Scientists at Texas Heart Institute (THI) report they have used biocompatible fibers invented at Rice University in studies that showed sewing them directly into damaged tissue can restore electrical function to hearts.
"Instead of shocking and defibrillating, we are actually correcting diseased conduction of the largest major pumping chamber of the heart by creating a bridge to bypass and conduct over a scarred area of a damaged heart," says Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a cardiologist and director of Electrophysiology Clinical Research and Innovations at THI, who co-led the study with Rice chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali.
Rice University Professor Matteo Pasquali, left, and Dr. Mehdi Razavi of the Texas Heart Institute check a thread of carbon nanotube fiber invented in Pasquali’s Rice lab. They are collaborating on a method to use the fibers as electrical bridges to restore conductivity to damaged hearts.
"Today there is no technology that treats the underlying cause of the No. 1 cause of sudden death, ventricular arrhythmias," Razavi says. "These arrhythmias are caused by the disorganized firing of impulses from the heart's lower chambers and are challenging to treat in patients after a heart attack or with scarred heart tissue due to such other conditions as congestive heart failure or dilated cardiomyopathy."
The research springs from the pioneering 2013 invention by Pasquali's lab of a method to make conductive fibers out of carbon nanotubes. The lab's first threadlike fibers were a quarter of the width of a human hair, but contained tens of millions of microscopic nanotubes. The fibers are also being studied for electrical interfaces with the brain, for use in cochlear implants, as flexible antennas and for automotive and aerospace applications.
The experiments showed the nontoxic, polymer-coated fibers, with their ends stripped to serve as electrodes, were effective in restoring function during monthlong tests in large preclinical models as well as rodents, whether the initial conduction was slowed, severed or blocked, according to the researchers. The fibers served their purpose with or without the presence of a pacemaker, they found.
In the rodents, they wrote, conduction disappeared when the fibers were removed.
"The reestablishment of cardiac conduction with carbon nanotube fibers has the potential to revolutionize therapy for cardiac electrical disturbances, one of the most common causes of death in the United States," said co-lead author Mark McCauley, who carried out many of the experiments as a postdoctoral fellow at THI. He is now an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
"Our experiments provided the first scientific support for using a synthetic material-based treatment rather than a drug to treat the leading cause of sudden death in the U.S. and many developing countries around the world," Razavi adds.
Many questions remain before the procedure can move toward human testing, Pasquali says. The researchers must establish a way to sew the fibers in place using a minimally invasive catheter, and make sure the fibers are strong and flexible enough to serve a constantly beating heart over the long term. He said they must also determine how long and wide fibers should be, precisely how much electricity they need to carry and how they would perform in the growing hearts of young patients.
"Flexibility is important because the heart is continuously pulsating and moving, so anything that's attached to the heart's surface is going to be deformed and flexed," notes Pasquali, who has appointments at Rice's Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences.
"Good interfacial contact is also critical to pick up and deliver the electrical signal," he says. "In the past, multiple materials had to be combined to attain both electrical conductivity and effective contacts. These fibers have both properties built in by design, which greatly simplifies device construction and lowers risks of long-term failure due to delamination of multiple layers or coatings."
Razavi notes that while there are many effective antiarrhythmic drugs available, they are often contraindicated in patients after a heart attack. "What is really needed therapeutically is to increase conduction," he said. "Carbon nanotube fibers have the conductive properties of metal but are flexible enough to allow us to navigate and deliver energy to a very specific area of a delicate, damaged heart."
Rice alumna Flavia Vitale, now an assistant professor of neurology and of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania, and Stephen Yan, a graduate student at Rice, are co-lead authors of the paper.
Co-authors are Colin Young and Julia Coco of Rice; Brian Greet of THI and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center; Marco Orecchioni and Lucia Delogu of the Città della Speranza Pediatric Research Institute, Padua, Italy; Abdelmotagaly Elgalad, Mathews John, Doris Taylor and Luiz Sampaio, all of THI; and Srikanth Perike of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Pasquali is the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, a professor of materials science and nanoengineering and of chemistry.
The American Heart Association, the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Institutes of Health and Louis Magne supported the research.
Tim Horn, NC State's director of research at the Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL) and assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering, works with Ph.D. student Christopher Ledford to monitor a 3D-printed object for defects in real time.
NC State
New medical device treats scoliosis; manufacturing news; weekly highlights
3D printing at NC State; Shriners Hospitals for Children medical device treating scoliosis; Machine vision system simplified
As the news about NC States, “What began as an endeavor to explore 3D-printed medical implantshas grown into a multidisciplinary hub pushing the boundaries of everything from manufacturing to medicine to plant science.”
Tim Horn, NC State's director of research at the Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics (CAMAL) and assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
And in other news….
Digital technology & manufacturing
What is digital transformation’s impact on manufacturing? Close to $642.35 billion by 2025, according to analysis by Adroit Market Research. Technologies such as Industry 4.0, Cloud, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) are the key enabler of digital transformation (DX) in the manufacturing sector.
The report shares that on the geographical front, North America dominated the global digital transformation with almost 34.4% market share. The global market size for digital transformation in manufacturing was valued at $220.90 billion in 2018 so it’s growth to $642.35 billion by 2025 will be at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3%.
Why?
Competitive pressure in manufacturing
High emphasis on reducing cost of operations
Evolution of Industry 4.0
Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT)
Shriners Hospital and scoliosis device gets FDA approval
The Tether, a medical device for treating scoliosis, received FDA approval. Providing an alternative that both corrects the curve and maintains flexibility in the spine, the Tether uses methods and techniques developed by medical staff of Shriners Hospitals for Children – Philadelphia. It’s the first commercially available product used specifically for VBT, anterior vertebral body tethering, a surgical procedure for patients with scoliosis who meet very specific criteria.
How it works Instead of using metal rods, VBT uses a strong, flexible cord to gently pull on the outside of a scoliosis curve to straighten the spine. A screw is placed in each vertebra of the curve and then attached to the flexible cord with the spine in a straighter position. Scoliosis progression is stopped, the spine is realigned and can continue to grow, and flexibility is maintained. As the child grows, it is anticipated that curve progression will be halted and the spine will remain straight.
The Tether straightens the spine using the patient’s growth process. The pressure from the cord slows the growth on the tall side of the vertebra, so that the short side can grow and catch up. This novel technology allows for both correction and continued motion at the levels of the spine treated, unlike fusion surgeries. As an emerging treatment for a small patient population, this system is being made available through the FDA’s humanitarian device exemption (HDE) pathway.
The graph includes the 12-month moving average for the durable goods shipments and cutting tool orders. These values are calculated by taking the average of the most recent 12 months and plotting them over time.
USCTI / AMT
June US cutting tool consumption up 3.2%
With a year-to-date (YTD) total of $1.25 billion, 2019 is up 3.2% when compared with 2018.
June 2019 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $198.9 million according to the United States. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 6.8% from May's $213.4 million and down 6.3% when compared with the $212.4 million reported for June 2018. With a year-to-date (YTD) total of $1.25 billion, 2019 is up 3.2% when compared with 2018.
These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.
“With over a 6% drop in volume from both May’s report and June 2018 report, we are starting to see the market soften. While some of the softening is due to seasonality, the balance of the decrease reflects the European economies that have been slowing for a few months, while the U.S. economy shows signs of slowing slightly. These two factors combined with the overhanging cloud of potential trade wars may keep pressuring the market through the end of 2019. It is important to note that YTD 2019 remains 3.2% higher than YTD 2018 which supports the overall market strength in the 1st half of 2019,” says Phil Kurtz, president of USCTI.
According to Chris Kaiser, president and CEO of Big Kaiser Precision Tooling, “After a great start into 2019, it looks like cutting tools are on a downward trend following the lead of metal cutting machine tool orders. It’s not necessarily a surprising development, since several industry segments and markets, like oil and gas, aerospace and the automotive sector are struggling at the moment. This all seems congruent with developments in certain European countries too, like Germany. The trend for us seemed to improve going into July. I imagine we’ll go through some roller-coaster months going forward for the next 12 months. This development reminds us a little of the 2015/16 timeframe.”
The Cutting Tool Market Report is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.
The L.S. Starrett Co.
Starrett salutes made in America
Special-edition brochure with complimentary U.S.A. flag poster tributes Starrett’s tradition of American made skills, quality.
The L.S. Starrett Company released a special-edition brochure heralding the company’s history and commitment to American Made quality and innovation. The18-page brochure includes overviews of Starrett’s five U.S.A. manufacturing facilities where thousands of Starrett Precision Tools, Metrology Systems, Gages, Shop Tools and Saw Blades are made. An introduction from Douglas A. Starrett, overview of the company’s key competencies, photos of skilled employees, and a complimentary, laminated pull-out Starrett / U.S.A. flag poster are also included.
“Spanning most of our storied 139-year history, Starrett has been and still is, a global company. But the hallmark of Starrett quality and innovation is rooted in America,” said Mr. Douglas A. Starrett, President and CEO. “And so it is today, where the lion’s share of Starrett tools are manufactured. True to our tradition, we are committed to skilled, dedicated American workers and making tools in the United States of America.”
Posted by Elizabeth Engler Modic
