Nanotechnology for Health: Innovative Designs for Medical Diagnosis

Nanotechnology is used to control and manipulate nanometer-sized matter with nanometer precision. This can be atoms, molecules, or larger biological structures such as DNA or living cells. This free online course explores the potential of nanotechnology in medical applications, to create new devices that can be used to diagnose a disease or monitor a medical treatment. Explore the use and implications of nanotechnology in new medical applications In the first week of the course, we provide an introduction to nanotechnology. In each of the three following weeks, we explore a different medical application: how cantilever technology can be used to detect a disease from your breath; how lab-on-a-chip technology can be used for blood analysis at home; and how bladder cancer can be detected in a urine test at a very early stage. For each innovative application of nanotechnology in medicine we will explain: how the devices work and how nanotechnology plays a role; what technologies are used to fabricate micron and nanometer-sized devices in the laboratories and clean rooms at the University of Twente; and what the ethical and societal implications of these new technologies are. Learn with the world’s top nanotechnology research institute The course has been developed by researchers from two research institutes at the University of Twente: MESA+, one of the world’s leading nanotechnology research institutes; and MIRA, which combines fundamental and applied technology research with clinical practice.