Pub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104423
Selim Bozkurt
Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices (CF-LVADs) are used to support the failing left ventricle in patients with end-stage heart failure. CF-LVADs unload the left ventricle continuously and generate non-physiological blood flow in the cardiovascular system, which may cause major complications, including neurological events such as haemorrhagic strokes. Therefore, quantifying the blood velocities and analysing altered blood flow in the cerebral circulation during CF-LVAD support will help to understand the effects of mechanical circulatory support on cerebral blood flow. The aim of this study is to evaluate blood flow in the vertebrobasilar arteries in a healthy condition and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and during HeartMate 3 CF-LVAD support. Blood velocities and wall shear stresses in the vertebrobasilar arteries were evaluated using Computational Fluid Dynamics analyses for a healthy condition, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and during HeartMate 3 support. Simulation results showed that time-averaged wall shear stress and relative residence time decrease in the vertebrobasilar arteries in heart failure. HeartMate 3 support provides comparable cerebral arterial average blood flow rates, pressures, time-averaged wall shear stresses and relative residence times to healthy conditions, although wall shear stresses and blood velocities are altered.
{"title":"Evaluation of vertebrobasilar arterial blood flow during HeartMate3 support via computational fluid dynamics analyses","authors":"Selim Bozkurt","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104423","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104423","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices (CF-LVADs) are used to support the failing left ventricle in patients with end-stage heart failure. CF-LVADs unload the left ventricle continuously and generate non-physiological blood flow in the cardiovascular system, which may cause major complications, including neurological events such as haemorrhagic strokes. Therefore, quantifying the blood velocities and analysing altered blood flow in the cerebral circulation during CF-LVAD support will help to understand the effects of mechanical circulatory support on cerebral blood flow. The aim of this study is to evaluate blood flow in the vertebrobasilar arteries in a healthy condition and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and during HeartMate 3 CF-LVAD support. Blood velocities and wall shear stresses in the vertebrobasilar arteries were evaluated using Computational Fluid Dynamics analyses for a healthy condition, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and during HeartMate 3 support. Simulation results showed that time-averaged wall shear stress and relative residence time decrease in the vertebrobasilar arteries in heart failure. HeartMate 3 support provides comparable cerebral arterial average blood flow rates, pressures, time-averaged wall shear stresses and relative residence times to healthy conditions, although wall shear stresses and blood velocities are altered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104423"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144916474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104421
Alinne A. Oliveira, Mansueto Gomes-Neto, Alanne Oliveira, Filipe Malta, Gabriel Novaes, Vitor Oliveira Carvalho, Rafael Pereira
Purpose
This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of the non-invasive P2/P1 ratio, a metric derived from cranial pulsatility waveforms, in healthy young adults under both resting and physiological stress conditions.
Methods
Intracranial pulsatility waveforms were acquired from 58 healthy young adults (mean age 23.4 ± 4.0 years). The protocol involved a 5-minute baseline, 1 min of maximal isometric handgrip effort, and a 5-minute recovery period. This procedure was repeated on three separate days. Relative reliability was evaluated using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and absolute reliability was assessed with the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) and the Minimum Detectable Change (MDC).
Results
The P2/P1 ratio demonstrated good test-retest reliability across all conditions: baseline (ICC = 0.72), during maximal isometric effort (ICC = 0.74), and recovery (ICC = 0.72). Absolute reliability was high, with a small Standard Error of Measurement (SEM ≤ 0.1) and a Minimum Detectable Change (MDC95) of approximately 0.24 established during the effort.
Conclusion
The non-invasively measured P2/P1 ratio is a reliable metric in healthy young adults, maintaining its consistency even during significant cardiovascular stress. This study also establishes the MDC, providing a quantitative threshold to distinguish true physiological changes from measurement error. These findings support the use of the P2/P1 ratio for monitoring cerebrovascular dynamics and provide foundational data for future studies in clinical populations, such as critically ill patients.
{"title":"Test-retest reliability of non-invasive P2/P1 ratio and time to peak at rest and during isometric handgrip stress","authors":"Alinne A. Oliveira, Mansueto Gomes-Neto, Alanne Oliveira, Filipe Malta, Gabriel Novaes, Vitor Oliveira Carvalho, Rafael Pereira","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104421","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104421","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>This study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of the non-invasive P2/P1 ratio, a metric derived from cranial pulsatility waveforms, in healthy young adults under both resting and physiological stress conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Intracranial pulsatility waveforms were acquired from 58 healthy young adults (mean age 23.4 ± 4.0 years). The protocol involved a 5-minute baseline, 1 min of maximal isometric handgrip effort, and a 5-minute recovery period. This procedure was repeated on three separate days. Relative reliability was evaluated using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), and absolute reliability was assessed with the Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) and the Minimum Detectable Change (MDC).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The P2/P1 ratio demonstrated good test-retest reliability across all conditions: baseline (ICC = 0.72), during maximal isometric effort (ICC = 0.74), and recovery (ICC = 0.72). Absolute reliability was high, with a small Standard Error of Measurement (SEM ≤ 0.1) and a Minimum Detectable Change (MDC95) of approximately 0.24 established during the effort.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The non-invasively measured P2/P1 ratio is a reliable metric in healthy young adults, maintaining its consistency even during significant cardiovascular stress. This study also establishes the MDC, providing a quantitative threshold to distinguish true physiological changes from measurement error. These findings support the use of the P2/P1 ratio for monitoring cerebrovascular dynamics and provide foundational data for future studies in clinical populations, such as critically ill patients.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104421"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144916482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-25DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104422
Silvia Bozzi , Silvia Colombo , Federica Bisconti , Paolo Fontanili , Marco Corbelli , Filippo Consolo , Giuseppe Passoni , Alberto C.L. Redaelli
Background
Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) plays a crucial role in cardiac surgery, with the pump being a key component affecting both hemolysis and thrombosis. Centrifugal levitating pumps (CP) have demonstrated superiority over roller pumps due to reduced hemolysis, but thrombotic risk remains a concern. Nonetheless, there exists a technological gap for newborn patients, with only two approved centrifugal pumps specifically tailored for their needs. Consequently, pumps originally designed for adults are often employed as substitutes for paediatric patients. However, the mismatch between pump characteristics and paediatric physiology can lead to issues like blood dilution, increased shear stress, and suboptimal performance.
Methods
This study investigates the hemodynamics of an adult CP compared to a downscaled newborn CP featuring a 40% reduction in priming volume. Computational fluid dynamics is used to assess differences in flow characteristics, shear stresses, and stagnation zones, with implications for blood damage and thrombogenicity.
Results and conclusion
The newborn pump features notably shorter exposure times (45% lower than the adult design), reduced peak stress values, and a 20% reduction in the volume of fluid exposed to stress levels exceeding 50 Pa, suggesting a potential decrease in the risk of blood damage. Additionally, its reduced extent of stagnation zones (0.13 ml compared to 0.21 ml) indicates improved washout performance, thus lowering the risk of platelet aggregation and thrombus formation. These findings suggest that using a paediatric pump instead of an adult pump at typical flow rates for newborn patients may reduce the risk of blood damage.
{"title":"Comparing fluid dynamics of newborn and adult centrifugal pumps in cardiopulmonary bypass procedures","authors":"Silvia Bozzi , Silvia Colombo , Federica Bisconti , Paolo Fontanili , Marco Corbelli , Filippo Consolo , Giuseppe Passoni , Alberto C.L. Redaelli","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104422","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104422","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) plays a crucial role in cardiac surgery, with the pump being a key component affecting both hemolysis and thrombosis. Centrifugal levitating pumps (CP) have demonstrated superiority over roller pumps due to reduced hemolysis, but thrombotic risk remains a concern. Nonetheless, there exists a technological gap for newborn patients, with only two approved centrifugal pumps specifically tailored for their needs. Consequently, pumps originally designed for adults are often employed as substitutes for paediatric patients. However, the mismatch between pump characteristics and paediatric physiology can lead to issues like blood dilution, increased shear stress, and suboptimal performance.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study investigates the hemodynamics of an adult CP compared to a downscaled newborn CP featuring a 40% reduction in priming volume. Computational fluid dynamics is used to assess differences in flow characteristics, shear stresses, and stagnation zones, with implications for blood damage and thrombogenicity.</div></div><div><h3>Results and conclusion</h3><div>The newborn pump features notably shorter exposure times (45% lower than the adult design), reduced peak stress values, and a 20% reduction in the volume of fluid exposed to stress levels exceeding 50 Pa, suggesting a potential decrease in the risk of blood damage. Additionally, its reduced extent of stagnation zones (0.13 ml compared to 0.21 ml) indicates improved washout performance, thus lowering the risk of platelet aggregation and thrombus formation. These findings suggest that using a paediatric pump instead of an adult pump at typical flow rates for newborn patients may reduce the risk of blood damage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104422"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-22DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104418
Piyush Mahajan, Amit Kaul
Early and accurate detection of cardiac arrhythmias is crucial for preventing severe cardiovascular events. This study proposes a CNN–GNN–BiLSTM integrated framework for automated ECG arrhythmia classification, combining spatial, relational, and temporal learning to achieve enhanced predictive accuracy. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) serve as feature extractors from ECG spectrograms, while Graph Attention Networks (GATs) capture inter-beat relationships through graph-based modeling. In parallel, Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) networks refine temporal dependencies, ensuring robust sequential representation. Outputs from GAT and BiLSTM modules are concatenated to form a unified feature representation, which is passed through a fully connected classifier for final prediction. The model is evaluated on three benchmark ECG datasets—MIT-BIH, PTB, and Chapman-Shaoxing—as well as a combined 11-class dataset, demonstrating superior generalization. Results indicate significant performance improvement over conventional deep learning approaches, achieving 96.0% overall accuracy and up to 99.89% accuracy on MIT-BIH. The proposed framework effectively mitigates misclassification errors and offers a scalable, real-time solution for AI-driven cardiac monitoring systems.
{"title":"Graph-enhanced deep learning for ECG arrhythmia detection: An integration of CNN-GNN-BiLSTM approach","authors":"Piyush Mahajan, Amit Kaul","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104418","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early and accurate detection of cardiac arrhythmias is crucial for preventing severe cardiovascular events. This study proposes a CNN–GNN–BiLSTM integrated framework for automated ECG arrhythmia classification, combining spatial, relational, and temporal learning to achieve enhanced predictive accuracy. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) serve as feature extractors from ECG spectrograms, while Graph Attention Networks (GATs) capture inter-beat relationships through graph-based modeling. In parallel, Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) networks refine temporal dependencies, ensuring robust sequential representation. Outputs from GAT and BiLSTM modules are concatenated to form a unified feature representation, which is passed through a fully connected classifier for final prediction. The model is evaluated on three benchmark ECG datasets—MIT-BIH, PTB, and Chapman-Shaoxing—as well as a combined 11-class dataset, demonstrating superior generalization. Results indicate significant performance improvement over conventional deep learning approaches, achieving 96.0% overall accuracy and up to 99.89% accuracy on MIT-BIH. The proposed framework effectively mitigates misclassification errors and offers a scalable, real-time solution for AI-driven cardiac monitoring systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104418"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144896120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The study utilises the Monte Carlo Multi-Layered (MCML) simulation framework to investigate the anatomical-site-specific variation in transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements in neonates. Neonatal skin was modelled as a three-layered turbid medium, and simulations were conducted to evaluate the spectral reflectance response to varying concentrations of bilirubin, melanin, and blood across four anatomical sites: forehead, abdomen, palm, and sole. The findings reveal that spectral changes are most pronounced in chromophore-dependent spectral bands, particularly between 420–520 nm for bilirubin and 500–600 nm for haemoglobin. An inverse algorithm was proposed to calculate bilirubin concentration from light reflection and validated using both simulation-generated spectra and physical skin phantoms. Results demonstrate that the forehead consistently yields the lowest relative error in bilirubin estimation, while the abdomen exhibits significant inaccuracies. The study highlights the utility of MCML in informing algorithm development and guiding sensor placement for non-invasive neonatal monitoring. These insights provide a foundational framework for the design of clinically deployable, multi-parametric TcB devices and emphasise the need for anatomical site optimisation, algorithmic calibration, and eventual clinical validation.
{"title":"Comprehensive analysis of anatomical sites for transcutaneous bilirubin measurements in neonates using Monte Carlo multi-layered simulations","authors":"Umme Abiha , Harsh Saxena , Dip Sankar Banerjee , Saptarshi Mandal","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104417","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104417","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study utilises the Monte Carlo Multi-Layered (MCML) simulation framework to investigate the anatomical-site-specific variation in transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) measurements in neonates. Neonatal skin was modelled as a three-layered turbid medium, and simulations were conducted to evaluate the spectral reflectance response to varying concentrations of bilirubin, melanin, and blood across four anatomical sites: forehead, abdomen, palm, and sole. The findings reveal that spectral changes are most pronounced in chromophore-dependent spectral bands, particularly between 420–520 nm for bilirubin and 500–600 nm for haemoglobin. An inverse algorithm was proposed to calculate bilirubin concentration from light reflection and validated using both simulation-generated spectra and physical skin phantoms. Results demonstrate that the forehead consistently yields the lowest relative error in bilirubin estimation, while the abdomen exhibits significant inaccuracies. The study highlights the utility of MCML in informing algorithm development and guiding sensor placement for non-invasive neonatal monitoring. These insights provide a foundational framework for the design of clinically deployable, multi-parametric TcB devices and emphasise the need for anatomical site optimisation, algorithmic calibration, and eventual clinical validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104417"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144925581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104415
Abhik Chaudhuri , Tanmoy Loha , Prashanta Kr Mahato , Andrew A Amis , Bidyut Pal
This study proposes a novel uncemented short hip stem, adapted from a long stem design to reduce strain shielding and bone resorption and improve osseointegration. It consists of a central core of Ti alloy with buttresses (inner solid and outer porous) protruding radially outwards. The slots between the buttresses are filled with bone substitute material. The present study investigated the short-stem's mechanical behaviour, focusing on strain shielding and bone remodelling in short and long terms, respectively. The results were compared to those of the solid counterpart with overall same geometry. Computer Tomography (CT) based 3D FE models of an intact and reconstructed femur were used. The models were solved for two static loading cases: normal walking and stair climbing. Strain shielding was observed across all the Gruen Zones with both the stems; however, to a much lesser extent (on average) with the porous stem. Subsequent bone resorption was also predicted to be of much lesser degree (on average) with the porous stem. Furthermore, strain concentration in the bone around the porous stem tip was less prominent than the solid stem, indicating lower risk of thigh pain. The porous short stem design offers promising results, both in short and long terms.
{"title":"Preclinical analysis of a novel short hip-stem design: A finite element model-based investigation","authors":"Abhik Chaudhuri , Tanmoy Loha , Prashanta Kr Mahato , Andrew A Amis , Bidyut Pal","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study proposes a novel uncemented short hip stem, adapted from a long stem design to reduce strain shielding and bone resorption and improve osseointegration. It consists of a central core of Ti alloy with buttresses (inner solid and outer porous) protruding radially outwards. The slots between the buttresses are filled with bone substitute material. The present study investigated the short-stem's mechanical behaviour, focusing on strain shielding and bone remodelling in short and long terms, respectively. The results were compared to those of the solid counterpart with overall same geometry. Computer Tomography (CT) based 3D FE models of an intact and reconstructed femur were used. The models were solved for two static loading cases: normal walking and stair climbing. Strain shielding was observed across all the Gruen Zones with both the stems; however, to a much lesser extent (<span><math><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>44</mn><mo>%</mo><mo>,</mo><mspace></mspace></mrow></math></span>on average) with the porous stem. Subsequent bone resorption was also predicted to be of much lesser degree (<span><math><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mn>42</mn><mo>%</mo><mo>,</mo><mspace></mspace></mrow></math></span>on average) with the porous stem. Furthermore, strain concentration in the bone around the porous stem tip was less prominent than the solid stem, indicating lower risk of thigh pain. The porous short stem design offers promising results, both in short and long terms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104415"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104416
Jie Gong , Linsai Guan , Feiyao Wang , Muhammad Fayyaz ur Rehman , Jianping Zhu
Objective
To develop a dual-nanostructure coating for tracheostomy tubes to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation through combined superhydrophobic antifouling and sustained silver ion (Ag⁺) release.
Methods
Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were functionalized with octyltriethoxysilane (OTES) for superhydrophobicity (water contact angle: 162.8 ± 1°, sliding angle: 3.1 ± 0.5°) and loaded with 5–10 nm Ag₂O nanoparticles. Stability was evaluated via sandpaper abrasion tests (15 cycles, 120 g load) and short-term immersion (24 h) in pH 2–13 solutions. In vitro evaluations included quantification of bacterial adhesion (P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, S. aureus; 1 × 10⁸ CFU/mL), biofilm analysis by SEM/CLSM, and CCK-8 cytotoxicity assays with NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. In vivo, an 8-pig VAP model with hourly P. aeruginosa inoculation (1 × 10⁶ CFU/mL) was used to assess tracheal biofilm thickness, lung bacterial load, and inflammatory infiltration via H&E staining.
Results
The coating retained superhydrophobicity after challenges, reduced bacterial adhesion by ≥90.2 % vs. uncoated controls in vitro with disrupted biofilms and >95 % cell viability. In pigs, it reduced tracheal biofilm thickness by 65 % (p < 0.05), lung bacterial load by 82 % (p < 0.01), and neutrophil infiltration (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
The Ag₂O-MSNs@OTES coating effectively combats VAP via synergistic effects, with favorable short-term stability, excellent biocompatibility, and low cost (<$5/tube), supporting its potential for clinical translation. Further long-term stability tests are required to validate performance over extended clinical use.
{"title":"Synergistic dual-nanostructure antibacterial-antifouling coating for tracheostomy tubes to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia","authors":"Jie Gong , Linsai Guan , Feiyao Wang , Muhammad Fayyaz ur Rehman , Jianping Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To develop a dual-nanostructure coating for tracheostomy tubes to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation through combined superhydrophobic antifouling and sustained silver ion (Ag⁺) release.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were functionalized with octyltriethoxysilane (OTES) for superhydrophobicity (water contact angle: 162.8 ± 1°, sliding angle: 3.1 ± 0.5°) and loaded with 5–10 nm Ag₂O nanoparticles. Stability was evaluated via sandpaper abrasion tests (15 cycles, 120 g load) and short-term immersion (24 h) in pH 2–13 solutions. In vitro evaluations included quantification of bacterial adhesion (<em>P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, S. aureus</em>; 1 × 10⁸ CFU/mL), biofilm analysis by SEM/CLSM, and CCK-8 cytotoxicity assays with NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. In vivo, an 8-pig VAP model with hourly P. aeruginosa inoculation (1 × 10⁶ CFU/mL) was used to assess tracheal biofilm thickness, lung bacterial load, and inflammatory infiltration via H&E staining.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The coating retained superhydrophobicity after challenges, reduced bacterial adhesion by ≥90.2 % vs. uncoated controls in vitro with disrupted biofilms and >95 % cell viability. In pigs, it reduced tracheal biofilm thickness by 65 % (<em>p</em> < 0.05), lung bacterial load by 82 % (<em>p</em> < 0.01), and neutrophil infiltration (<em>p</em> < 0.05).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The Ag₂O-MSNs@OTES coating effectively combats VAP via synergistic effects, with favorable short-term stability, excellent biocompatibility, and low cost (<$5/tube), supporting its potential for clinical translation. Further long-term stability tests are required to validate performance over extended clinical use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104416"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104414
Aline Casarin dos Santos , Bianca Akemi Kawata , Luiz Fernando Ferreira de Oliveira , Pedro Augusto Laurindo Igreja Marrafa , Sílvia Móbille Awoyama , Adriana Barrinha Fernandes , Carlos José de Lima
The human amniotic membrane (HAM) is a biological material that is part of the placenta and contains compounds that enhance its applicability in the treatment of skin injuries, particularly concerning tissue regeneration. To utilize this membrane, it is essential to process it after collection, involving proper sterilization and storage. In this study, a dehydration technique for the amniotic membrane was developed using low pressure and incident thermal radiation. Histological analyses were performed after applying the sterilization protocol with ozonated water under hydrodynamic conditions, followed by submitting the samples to low pressure and light exposure. The results indicated that sterilization with ozonated water affected the integrity of the epithelium but did not induce significant changes in the morphology of the other components of the HAM. Additionally, exposure of this biomaterial to low pressure and thermal radiation was able to dehydrate it without altering the tissue integrity, which is extremely relevant considering its use in wound treatment. In this regard, the present study suggests that ozonation combined with exposure to low pressure and thermal radiation has the potential to be employed in the processing of HAM, thus favoring greater durability and ease of storage and transport of the biomaterial.
{"title":"Use of Ozonated water in the processing of human amniotic membrane and low pressure induced dehydration associated with thermal radiation","authors":"Aline Casarin dos Santos , Bianca Akemi Kawata , Luiz Fernando Ferreira de Oliveira , Pedro Augusto Laurindo Igreja Marrafa , Sílvia Móbille Awoyama , Adriana Barrinha Fernandes , Carlos José de Lima","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The human amniotic membrane (HAM) is a biological material that is part of the placenta and contains compounds that enhance its applicability in the treatment of skin injuries, particularly concerning tissue regeneration. To utilize this membrane, it is essential to process it after collection, involving proper sterilization and storage. In this study, a dehydration technique for the amniotic membrane was developed using low pressure and incident thermal radiation. Histological analyses were performed after applying the sterilization protocol with ozonated water under hydrodynamic conditions, followed by submitting the samples to low pressure and light exposure. The results indicated that sterilization with ozonated water affected the integrity of the epithelium but did not induce significant changes in the morphology of the other components of the HAM. Additionally, exposure of this biomaterial to low pressure and thermal radiation was able to dehydrate it without altering the tissue integrity, which is extremely relevant considering its use in wound treatment. In this regard, the present study suggests that ozonation combined with exposure to low pressure and thermal radiation has the potential to be employed in the processing of HAM, thus favoring greater durability and ease of storage and transport of the biomaterial.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104414"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144891841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-10DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104406
Ahui Li , Jun Cai
Accurate heart rate (HR) monitoring is pivotal in modern medical technology, particularly for disease prevention and health management. This study proposes a novel HR estimation framework that leverages advanced deep learning techniques to accurately extract HR information from noisy photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. The proposed model, termed DRL-Unet, integrates a Denoising Autoencoder (DAE), U-Net architecture, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. To further enhance robustness and precision, the model incorporates a Multi-Head Attention mechanism and Residual Network (ResNet) modules. Comparative experiments demonstrate that DRL-Unet outperforms conventional deep learning models, achieving a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 1.69 bpm, Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 3.05 bpm², Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 1.71 bpm, Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 1.15%, and Bias of 0.05 bpm. The model's effectiveness is validated on a public dataset from the IEEE Signal Processing Cup, confirming its superior performance under complex noise conditions. These findings highlight the potential of DRL-Unet to significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of HR estimation, thereby offering valuable advancements for early cardiovascular disease diagnosis and continuous health monitoring.
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Pub Date : 2025-08-08DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104413
Ausberto R. Velasquez Garcia , Adam J. Wentworth , Jennifer M. Oettinger , James S. Fitzsimmons , Jeffrey F. Marsh Jr. , Mark E. Morrey , Shawn W. O'Driscoll
Objective
To present a novel evaluation technique for assessing three-dimensional (3D) prosthesis alignment after radial head arthroplasty (RHA) and to identify potential measurement errors associated with this method.
Materials/Methods
Virtual surgical planning of a simulated irreparable fracture of the radial head was performed to select and place optimal implants. Of the six 3D-printed bone models, three were fitted with 3D-printed implants and three with metallic implants. After the procedure, 3D models were derived from 3D scans and dual-energy computed tomography with and without metal artifact reduction. Deviations in rotation and translation from the pre-procedure plan as well as measurement errors were assessed.
Results
The technique demonstrated the ability to accurately identify minor deviations in prosthesis alignment post-RHA. Deviations ranged from 0 to 14° in rotation and 0 to 1.3 mm in translation. The method also showed high measurement accuracy against 3D reference models, with mean rotational errors of 0.3–0.5° and translation errors of 0.1–0.3 mm.
Conclusion
This technique provides an accurate and precise method for assessing prosthesis alignment in RHA, with minimal measurement errors. Its potential as a valuable clinical tool has substantial implications in improving preoperative planning and postoperative evaluation. Further validation and advancements in reducing operator dependency are necessary for clinical adoption.
{"title":"Technique for three-dimensional assessment of prosthesis alignment after radial head arthroplasty: A technical note","authors":"Ausberto R. Velasquez Garcia , Adam J. Wentworth , Jennifer M. Oettinger , James S. Fitzsimmons , Jeffrey F. Marsh Jr. , Mark E. Morrey , Shawn W. O'Driscoll","doi":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To present a novel evaluation technique for assessing three-dimensional (3D) prosthesis alignment after radial head arthroplasty (RHA) and to identify potential measurement errors associated with this method.</div></div><div><h3>Materials/Methods</h3><div>Virtual surgical planning of a simulated irreparable fracture of the radial head was performed to select and place optimal implants. Of the six 3D-printed bone models, three were fitted with 3D-printed implants and three with metallic implants. After the procedure, 3D models were derived from 3D scans and dual-energy computed tomography with and without metal artifact reduction. Deviations in rotation and translation from the pre-procedure plan as well as measurement errors were assessed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The technique demonstrated the ability to accurately identify minor deviations in prosthesis alignment post-RHA. Deviations ranged from 0 to 14° in rotation and 0 to 1.3 mm in translation. The method also showed high measurement accuracy against 3D reference models, with mean rotational errors of 0.3–0.5° and translation errors of 0.1–0.3 mm.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This technique provides an accurate and precise method for assessing prosthesis alignment in RHA, with minimal measurement errors. Its potential as a valuable clinical tool has substantial implications in improving preoperative planning and postoperative evaluation. Further validation and advancements in reducing operator dependency are necessary for clinical adoption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49836,"journal":{"name":"Medical Engineering & Physics","volume":"146 ","pages":"Article 104413"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145099390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}