Week of 3/10 to 3/14: Cool wearable medical devices slideshow and top 10 articles

"Wearable devices don't get much more conformable than the Biostamp. Developed by Massachusetts-based startup MC10, the Biostamp is a sensor-embedded bendable material that can be applied to the skin like a Band-Aid or temporary tattoo. It can measure body temperature, heart rate, brain activity, hydration levels, and more, and the data can be uploaded to a smartphone for analysis," Norbert wrote.

Be sure to check out the entire slideshow.

We keep hearing from the automotive industry that there is a shortage of moldmakers, a topic Senior Editor Clare Goldsberry has covered in the past. Yet, moldmakers keep wondering where all the business is? Surely, if there's a shortage of moldmakers, there must be more business out there, she wrote.

As such, Darcy King, president and CEO of Unique Tool & Gauge, along with his director of sales and program management, Al Standaert and Joe Luckino, director of new business development, sat down for a conversation with Clare about finding and capturing new business. There are five keys to finding and capturing new business that King has found works for Unique, a mold manufacturing company that specializes in large-sized aluminum molds for the automotive industry.

European Editor Karen Laird came across an interesting story regarding an innovative framework design for the Uyllander bridge in Amsterdam.

"Rather than moving the steel structure into place and then building the formwork, they turned the process around. The structure - a steel arch and steel trusses spaced 3.8 meters apart - was constructed on shore, after which a lightweight, polymer sandwich-panel formwork was installed, also on shore. It's the first time composite sandwich materials have been used in this way," she wrote.

Wonder where the next growth region for food packaging will be? Look no further than India, which is predicted to become one of the top 10 packaging consumers by 2016, with the demand set to reach $24 billion. Food packaging is expected to be a major growth driver in the near future for polymer consumption as the retail sector flourishes. I took a closer look at India's hunger for packaged food, which includes an infographic prepared by UBM Canon regarding the Asia-Pacific plastics market as a whole.

Automotive Editor Stephen Moore wrote about a new turbocharged air duct which meets the needs for better engine response as well as improved fuel economy and reduced emissions has been developed by Röchling Automotive (Mannheim, Germany) and is now in the production phase at the Tier I for utilization in the 2011 Audi Q5 2.0L TDI.

"Featuring a significant weight reduction and an optimized space-saving architecture, the duct is 100% recyclable on account of its exclusive use of thermoplastics," Stephen wrote. "The turbocharged air duct combines polyamide (PA) 6 and a thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) that can endure high temperature and pressure to achieve performance specifications. The air duct can resist up to 2.7 bar of overpressure at 125°C."

Top 10 most-clicked PlasticsToday articles 3/10-3/14

1.              Slideshow: The birth of cool wearable medical devices

2.              Seven-component toothbrush mold reportedly is a world first

3.              Medical molding: to save money, think outside the cleanroom box

4.              Is plastics the most sustainable material for packaging?

5.              German innovative strength: All foam and no beer?

6.              San Francisco passes new strict bottled water ban

7.              Heating system maintains melt uniformity, eliminates downtime

8.              Production pressures may mean suppliers will catch a break

9.              BAE Systems 3D prints jet parts for the RAF

10.          Liquid thermoplastic resins processable with thermoset composite techniques

— Heather Caliendo