BMC biomedical engineering最新文献

This editorial accompanies the launch of BMC Biomedical Engineering, a new open access, peer-reviewed journal within the BMC series, which seeks to publish articles on all aspects of biomedical engineering. As one of the first engineering journals within the BMC series portfolio, it will support and complement existing biomedical communities, but at the same time, it will provide an open access home for engineering research. By publishing original research, methodology, database, software and review articles, BMC Biomedical Engineering will disseminate quality research, with a focus on studies that further the understanding of human disease and that contribute towards the improvement of human health.

Background: In neurology and rehabilitation the primary interest for using wearables is to supplement traditional patient assessment and monitoring in hospital settings with continuous data collection at home and in community settings. The aim of this project was to develop a novel wearable garment with integrated sensors designed for continuous monitoring of physiological and movement related variables to evaluate progression, tailor treatments and improve diagnosis in epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and stroke. In this paper the early development and evaluation of a prototype designed to monitor movements and heart rate is described. An iterative development process and evaluation of an upper body garment with integrated sensors included: identification of user needs, specification of technical and garment requirements, garment development and production as well as evaluation of garment design, functionality and usability. The project is a multidisciplinary collaboration with experts from medical, engineering, textile, and material science within the wearITmed consortium. The work was organized in regular meetings, task groups and hands-on workshops. User needs were identified using results from a mixed-methods systematic review, a focus group study and expert groups. Usability was evaluated in 19 individuals (13 controls, 6 patients with Parkinson's disease) using semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis.

Results: The garment was well accepted by the users regarding design and comfort, although the users were cautious about the technology and suggested improvements. All electronic components passed a washability test. The most robust data was obtained from accelerometer and gyroscope sensors while the electrodes for heart rate registration were sensitive to motion artefacts. The algorithm development within the wearITmed consortium has shown promising results.

Conclusions: The prototype was accepted by the users. Technical improvements are needed, but preliminary data indicate that the garment has potential to be used as a tool for diagnosis and treatment selection and could provide added value for monitoring seizures in epilepsy, fluctuations in PD and activity levels in stroke. Future work aims to improve the prototype further, develop algorithms, and evaluate the functionality and usability in targeted patient groups. The potential of incorporating blood pressure and heart-rate variability monitoring will also be explored.

Surgery of the pancreas is a relatively new field, with operative series appearing only in the last 50 years. Surgery of the pancreas is technically challenging. The entire field of general surgery changed radically in 1987 with the introduction of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Minimally Invasive surgical techniques rapidly became utilized worldwide for gallbladder surgery and were then adapted to other abdominal operations. These techniques are used regularly for surgery of the pancreas including distal pancreatectomy and pancreatoduodenectomy. The progression from open surgery to laparoscopy to robotic surgery has occurred for many operations including adrenalectomy, thyroidectomy, colon resection, prostatectomy, gastrectomy and others. Data to show a benefit to the patient are scarce for robotic surgery, although both laparoscopic and robotic surgery of the pancreas have been shown not to be inferior with regard to major operative and oncologic outcomes. While there were serious concerns when laparoscopy was first used in patients with malignancies, robotic surgery has been used in many benign and malignant conditions with no obvious deterioration of outcomes. Robotic surgery for malignancies of the pancreas is well accepted and expanding to more centers. The importance of centers of excellence, surgeon experience supported by a codified mastery-based training program and international registries is widely accepted. Robotic pancreatic surgery is associated with slightly decreased blood loss and decreased length of stay compared to open surgery. Major oncologic outcomes appear to have been preserved, with some studies showing higher rates of R0 resection and tumor-free margins. Patients with lesions of the pancreas should find a surgeon they trust and do not need to be concerned with the operative approach used for their resection. The step-wise approach that has characterized the growth in robotic surgery of the pancreas, in contradistinction to the frenzy that accompanied the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy, has allowed the identification of areas for improvement, many of which lie at the junction of engineering and medical practice. Refinements in robotic surgery depend on a partnership between engineers and clinicians.

Background: Adipose tissue is a vital tissue in mammals that functions to insulate our bodies, regulate our internal thermostat, protect our organs, store energy (and burn energy, in the case of beige and brown fat), and provide endocrine signals to other organs in the body. Tissue engineering of adipose and other soft tissues may prove essential for people who have lost this tissue from trauma or disease.

Main text: In this review, we discuss the applications of tissue-engineered adipose tissue specifically for disease modeling applications. We provide a basic background to adipose depots and describe three-dimensional (3D) in vitro adipose models for obesity, diabetes, and cancer research applications.

Conclusions: The approaches to engineering 3D adipose models are diverse in terms of scaffold type (hydrogel-based, silk-based and scaffold-free), species of origin (H. sapiens and M. musculus) and cell types used, which allows researchers to choose a model that best fits their application, whether it is optimization of adipocyte differentiation or studying the interaction of adipocytes and other cell types like endothelial cells. In vitro 3D adipose tissue models support discoveries into the mechanisms of adipose-related diseases and thus support the development of novel anti-cancer or anti-obesity/diabetes therapies.

Tendons link muscle to bone and transfer forces necessary for normal movement. Tendon injuries can be debilitating and their intrinsic healing potential is limited. These challenges have motivated the development of model systems to study the factors that regulate tendon formation and tendon injury. Recent advances in understanding of embryonic and postnatal tendon formation have inspired approaches that aimed to mimic key aspects of tendon development. Model systems have also been developed to explore factors that regulate tendon injury and healing. We highlight current model systems that explore developmentally inspired cellular, mechanical, and biochemical factors in tendon formation and tenogenic stem cell differentiation. Next, we discuss in vivo, in vitro, ex vivo, and computational models of tendon injury that examine how mechanical loading and biochemical factors contribute to tendon pathologies and healing. These tendon development and injury models show promise for identifying the factors guiding tendon formation and tendon pathologies, and will ultimately improve regenerative tissue engineering strategies and clinical outcomes.