This book presents different approaches on multi-modality imaging with a focus on biomedical applications. Medical imaging can be divided into two categories: functional (related to physiological body measurements) and anatomical (structural) imaging modalities. In particular, this book covers imaging combinations coming from the usual popular modalities (such as the anatomical modalities, e.g. X-ray, CT and MRI), and it also includes some promising and new imaging modalities that are still being developed and improved (such as infrared thermography (IRT) and photoplethysmography imaging (PPGI)), implying potential approaches for innovative biomedical applications. Moreover, this book includes a variety of tools on computer vision, imaging processing, and computer graphics, which led to the generation and visualization of 3D models, making the most recent advances in this area possible. This is an ideal book for students and biomedical engineering researchers covering the biomedical imaging field.

"Cell and Tissue Engineering" introduces the principles and new approaches in cell and tissue engineering. It includes both the fundamentals and the current trends in cell and tissue engineering, in a way useful both to a novice and an expert in the field. The book is composed of 13 chapters all of which are written by the leading experts. It is organized to gradually assemble an insight in cell and tissue function starting form a molecular nano-level, extending to a cellular micro-level and finishing at the tissue macro-level. In specific, biological, physiological, biophysical, biochemical, medical, and engineering aspects are covered from the standpoint of the development of functional substitutes of biological tissues for potential clinical use. Topics in the area of cell engineering include cell membrane biophysics, structure and function of the cytoskeleton, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, and mechanotransduction. In the area of tissue engineering the focus is on the in vitro cultivation of functional tissue equivalents based on the integrated use of isolated cells, biomaterials, and bioreactors. The book also reviews novel techniques for cell and tissue imaging and characterization, some of which are described in detail such as atomic force microscopy. Finally, mathematical modeling methods are presented as valuable and indispensable tools in cell and tissue engineering. Numerous illustrations enhance the quality and ease of use of the presented material.

This book investigates the latest developments in supramolecular assembly systems for mimicking biological structures and functions. Consisting of 14 chapters, it covers various assembly systems, such as polysaccharides, peptides, proteins, biopolymers, natural materials and various hybrid systems. Further, it focuses on different types of supramolecular systems with particular functions or structures that are relevant to living systems. A number of modern techniques used to study the supramolecular systems, such as total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and two-photon confocal microscopy, are also introduced in detail. Unlike conventional books on supramolecular assemblies, this book highlights the functions of the assembly systems, particularly their biological applications. As such, it offers a valuable resource for experienced researchers, as well as graduate students working in the field of supramolecular chemistry and biomimetic systems.

This book highlights the current state of the art in single cell analysis, an area that involves many fields of science - from clinical hematology, functional analysis and drug screening, to platelet and microparticle analysis, marine biology and fundamental cancer research. This book brings together an eclectic group of current applications, all of which have a significant impact on our current state of knowledge. The authors of these chapters are all pioneering researchers in the field of single cell analysis. The book will not only appeal to those readers more focused on clinical applications, but also those interested in highly technical aspects of the technologies. All of the technologies identified utilize unique applications of photon detection systems.

This book examines non-invasive, electrical-based methods for disease diagnosis and assessment of heart function. In particular, a formalized signal model is proposed since this offers several advantages over methods that rely on measured data alone. By using a formalized representation, the parameters of the signal model can be easily manipulated and/or modified, thus providing mechanisms that allow researchers to reproduce and control such signals. In addition, having such a formalized signal model makes it possible to develop computer tools that can be used for manipulating and understanding how signal changes result from various heart conditions, as well as for generating input signals for experimenting with and evaluating the performance of e.g. signal extraction methods. The work focuses on bioelectrical information, particularly electrical bio-impedance (EBI). Once the EBI has been measured, the corresponding signals have to be modelled for analysis. This requires a structured approach in order to move from real measured data to the model of the corresponding signals. This book proposes a generic framework for this procedure. It can be used as a guide for modelling impedance cardiography (ICG) and impedance respirography (IRG) signals, as well as for developing the corresponding bio-impedance signal simulator (BISS).

This book covers the state-of-the-art research on advanced high-resolution tomography, exploring its role in regenerative medicine. and also explores the 3D interactions between tissues, cells, and biomaterials. Various multidisciplinary paths in regenerative medicine are covered, including X-ray microtomography and its role in regenerative medicine, synchrotron radiation-based microtomography and phase contrast tomography, the challenge of the vascularization of regenerated tissues, lung and cartilage imaging, and more. This is an ideal book for biomedical engineers, biologists, physicists, clinicians, and students who want to pursue their studies in the field of regenerative medicine. This book also: Reviews in detail the algorithms and software used for the 3D exploration of regenerated tissue Covers the latest research on the use of X-ray microtomography for muscle diseases Details applications of synchrotron radiation tomography in orthopedics and dentistry

This book explains the anatomy and physiology of cartilage tissue in an integrated way. The emphasis is on how cartilage tissue functions and maintains homeostasis in a challenging mechanical environment. Supported by hundreds of references, the book posts new hypotheses explaining how cartilage adapts and achieves homeostasis in vivo, and tests them against available data. This exploratory approach creates a sense of discovery that the reader can join, or perhaps test themselves through their own research. The main benefit will be obtained by research students and professors looking to understand the deeper concepts that will further their own research, or clinicians (including health professionals and surgeons) who want to gain a deeper physiological understanding of cartilage tissue, which can then serve as a basis for more rational clinical decision-making they need to make on a daily basis. To help bridge the gap between basic science and clinically relevant joint disease, applications and interpretations of key physiological concepts are discussed in the context of osteoarthritis at the end of most chapters.

The new edition will discuss recent advances in computer modeling, including how fields generated outside the body are distributed inside and how various frequencies may interact differently with natural biological or biochemical cycles. It covers the basic biological, medical, physical, and electrical engineering principles and experimental results concerning how electric and magnetic fields affect biological systems-both as potential hazards to health and as potential tools for medical treatment and scientific research. It also briefly includes material on the relationship between the science and the regulatory processes concerning human exposure to the fields.

This book is the first to focus specifically on cancer nanotheranostics. Each of the chapters that make up this comprehensive volume is authored by a researcher, clinician, or regulatory agency member known for their expertise in this field. Theranostics, the technology to simultaneously diagnose and treat a disease, is a nascent field that is growing rapidly in this era of personalized medicine. As the need for cost-effective disease diagnosis grows, drug delivery systems that can act as multifunctional carriers for imaging contrast and therapy agents could provide unique breakthroughs in oncology. Nanotechnology has enabled the development of smart theranostic platforms that can concurrently diagnose disease, start primary treatment, monitor response and initiate secondary treatments if required. In oncology, chemotherapeutics have been routinely used. Some drugs have proven effective but all carry risks of adverse side effects. There is growing interest in using remotely triggered drug delivery systems to limit cytotoxicity in the diseased area. This book reviews the use of theranostic nanoparticles for cancer applications over the past decade. First, it briefly discusses the challenges and limitations of conventional cancer treatments, and presents an overview of the use of nanotechnology in treating cancer. These introductory chapters are followed by those exploring cancer diagnosis and a myriad of delivery methods for nanotherapeutics. The book also addresses multifunctional platforms, treatment monitoring, and regulatory considerations. As a whole, the book aims to briefly summarize the development and clinical potential of various nanotheranostics for cancer applications, and to delineate the challenges that must be overcome for successful clinical development and implementation of such cancer theranostics.

This book introduces the latest research in molecular, cellular, and tissue engineering of the vascular system. Topics covered include the roles of endothelial surface glycocalyx as a mechano-sensor and transducer for blood flow, a barrier to water and solute transport across the vascular wall and to the interaction between circulating cells and the vessel wall, the roles of nuclear envelope proteins and nuclear lamina in regulating vascular functions under blood flow-induced forces, and the roles of smooth muscle cells and extracellular components in arterial vasoconstriction. Other topics covered include non-surgical vascular interventions for coronary artery diseases, genesis and mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque microcalcifications and human abdominal aortic aneurysms, experiments and modelling for red blood cell and tumor cell movement in microcirculation, transport across the blood-brain barrier and its role in Alzheimer's disease, mathematical models for cell survival after hyperthermia, application of hypothermia in enhancing treatment for brain and spinal cord injuries, and damage of eardrums due to blast waves. This is an ideal book for biomedical engineers and researchers, medical researchers, and students in biomedical engineering and medical sciences.

This book updates and expands on various aspects of the vasculature's microenvironment and how these regulate differentiation and assembly. Discussed in this new edition are efforts to capitalize on combing engineering techniques, to study and manipulate various biophysical cues, including: endothelial cell- pericyte interactions (Davis), mechanical forces to regulate vascularization in three-dimensional constructs (Levenberg), how matrix properties and oxygen tension regulate vascular fate and assembly (Gerecht), biophysical cues in relation to vascular aging (Ferreira), 3D printing of complex vascularized tissue (Hibino), the harnessing of biophysical cues for therapeutic vasculature interfacing with the damaged brain (Segura) and finally, the infarcted heart (Grayson). This second edition of Biophysical Regulation of Vascular Differentiation and Assembly provides an interdisciplinary view of vasculature regulation thru various biophysical cues and presents recent advances in measuring and controlling such parameters. This book will be of interest to biologists, biophysicists and engineers who work with vascular differentiation and assembly.

This thesis presents a novel neuro-fuzzy modeling approach for grasp neuroprostheses. At first, it offers a detailed study of discomfort due to the application of Functional Electrical Stimulation to the upper limb. Then, it discusses briefly previous methods to model hand movements induced by FES with the purpose of introducing the new modeling approach based on intelligent systems. This approach is thoroughly described in the book, together with the proposed application to induce hand and finger movements by means of a surface FES system based on multi-field electrodes. The validation tests, carried out on both healthy and neurologically impaired subjects, demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed modeling method. All in all, the book proposes an innovative system based on fuzzy neural networks that is expected to improve the design and validation of advanced control systems for non-invasive grasp neuroprostheses.

A prevailing excitement can be discerned in the medical and public health literature and popular media concerning the apparent 'disruptive' or 'revolutionary' potential of digital health technologies. Most of the wider social implications are often ignored or glossed over in such accounts. Critical approaches from within the social sciences that take a more measured perspective are important - including those that focus on risk. The contributors to this volume examine various dimensions of risk in the context of digital health. They identify that digital health devices and software offer the ability to configure new forms of risk, in concert with novel responsibilities. The contributions emphasise the sheer volume of detail about very personal and private elements of people's lives, emotions and bodies that contemporary digital technologies can collect. They show that apps and other internet tools and forums provide opportunities for health and medical risks to be identified, publicised or managed, but also for unvalidated new therapies to be championed. Most of the authors identify the neoliberal 'soft' politics of digital health, in which lay people are encouraged ('nudged') to engage in practices of identifying and managing health risk in their own interests, and the victim-blaming that may be part of these discourses. This book was originally published as a special issue of Health, Risk and Society.

This book focuses on current applications of glial cells in neural regeneration, especially in spinal cord repair. It introduces the application of a few types of glial cells including oligodendrocyte, astrocyte, Schwann cells, and stem cell derived glial cells in neural regeneration. The latest glial cell research with biomaterials, gene modification, and electrical signals is also summarized. This is an ideal book for undergraduate and research students in tissue engineering, neurobiology, and regenerative medicine as well as researchers in the field.

This book covers multi-scale biomechanics for oncology, ranging from cells and tissues to whole organ. Topics covered include, but not limited to, biomaterials in mechano-oncology, non-invasive imaging techniques, mechanical models of cell migration, cancer cell mechanics, and platelet-based drug delivery for cancer applications. This is an ideal book for graduate students, biomedical engineers, and researchers in the field of mechanobiology and oncology. This book also: Describes how mechanical properties of cancer cells, the extracellular matrix, tumor microenvironment and immuno-editing, and fluid flow dynamics contribute to tumor progression and the metastatic process Provides the latest research on non-invasive imaging, including traction force microscopy and brillouin confocal microscopy Includes insight into NCIs' role in supporting biomechanics in oncology research Details how biomaterials in mechano-oncology can be used as a means to tune materials to study cancer

This book shows the advantages of using different perspectives and scientific backgrounds for developing support technologies that are integrated into daily life. It highlights the interaction between people and technology as a key factor for achieving this integration and discusses relevant methods, concepts, technologies, and applications suitable for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. The relationship between humans and technology has become much more inclusive and interdependent. This generates a number of technical, ethical, social, and practical issues. By gathering contributions from scholars from heterogeneous research fields, such as biomechanics, various branches of engineering, the social sciences, information science, psychology, and philosophy, this book is intended to provide answers to the main questions arising when support technologies such as assistance systems, wearable devices, augmented reality, and/or robot-based systems are constructed, implemented, interfaced and/or evaluated across different application contexts.

This book presents not only the simultaneous combination of optical methods based on holographic principles for marker-free imaging, real-time trapping, identification and tracking of micro objects, but also the application of substantial low coherent light sources and non-diffractive beams. It first provides an overview of digital holographic microscopy (DHM) and holographic optical tweezers as well as non-diffracting beam types for minimal-invasive, real-time and marker-free imaging as well as manipulation of micro and nano objects. It then investigates the design concepts for the optical layout of holographic optical tweezers (HOTs) and their optimization using optical simulations and experimental methods. In a further part, the book characterizes the corresponding system modules that allow the addition of HOTs to commercial microscopes with regard to stability and diffraction efficiency. Further, based on experiments and microfluidic applications, it demonstrates the functionality of the combined setup, and discusses several types of non-diffracting beams and their application in optical manipulation. The book shows that holographic optical tweezers, including several non-diffracting beam types like Mathieu beams, combined parabolic and Airy beams, not only open up the possibility of generating efficient multiple dynamic traps for micro and nano particles with forces in the pico and nano newton range, but also the opportunity to exert optical torque with special beams like Bessel beams, which can facilitate the movement and rotation of particles by generating microfluidic flows. The last part discusses the potential use of a slightly modified DHM-HOT-system to explore the functionality of direct laser writing based on a two photon absorption process in a negative photoresist with a continuous wave laser

This book introduces the latest research in molecular, cellular, and tissue engineering of the vascular system. Topics covered include the roles of endothelial surface glycocalyx as a mechano-sensor and transducer for blood flow, a barrier to water and solute transport across the vascular wall and to the interaction between circulating cells and the vessel wall, the roles of nuclear envelope proteins and nuclear lamina in regulating vascular functions under blood flow-induced forces, and the roles of smooth muscle cells and extracellular components in arterial vasoconstriction. Other topics covered include non-surgical vascular interventions for coronary artery diseases, genesis and mechanisms of atherosclerotic plaque microcalcifications and human abdominal aortic aneurysms, experiments and modelling for red blood cell and tumor cell movement in microcirculation, transport across the blood-brain barrier and its role in Alzheimer's disease, mathematical models for cell survival after hyperthermia, application of hypothermia in enhancing treatment for brain and spinal cord injuries, and damage of eardrums due to blast waves. This is an ideal book for biomedical engineers and researchers, medical researchers, and students in biomedical engineering and medical sciences.

This book discusses the methods synthesizing various carbon materials, like graphite, carbon blacks, carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. It also details different functionalization and modification processes used to improve the properties of these materials and composites. From a geometrical-structural point of view, it examines different properties of the composites, such as mechanical, electrical, dielectric, thermal, rheological, morphological, spectroscopic, electronic, optical, and toxic, and describes the effects of carbon types and their geometrical structure on the properties and applications of composites.

This book covers the functionalisation of silicone surfaces with polysaccharides to improve their antimicrobial and antifouling properties, thus reducing the implant-related infections. The authors describe how silicone surfaces were chosen because silicone exhibits excellent biocompatible properties and is already being used for medical implants such as catheters, breast implants, prosthetics etc. The potential of polysaccharides such as cellulose, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and other natural substances such as natural surfactants as coatings for silicones are also discussed, their effects are evaluated. With the aging of the population, the number of medical implants is growing and with it the number of infections associated with the use of implants.

This proceedings volume explores a range of sports-related topics, including sports science, exercise, sports engineering and technology, in contributions prepared by respected experts and presented at the 3rd International Colloquium on Sports Science, Exercise, Engineering and Technology (ICoSSEET2016). The goal of the conference was to bring together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to address current challenges in various sports-related areas, and to establish vital new collaborations. The topics covered can be primarily divided into (1) Sports Science and Exercise, (2) Sports Engineering and Technology Application, and (3) Sports Industry and Management.

This book investigates the microstructural and mechanical properties of titanium-tantalum (TiTa) alloy formed using selective laser melting (SLM). TiTa has potential orthopaedic biomedical applications thanks to its high strength to modulus ratio. However, because it is difficult to obtain, it is still not widely used. The book describes how SLM is utilized to form this alloy, and provides a better understanding of the SLM process in porous lattice structure fabrication and its control through statistical modelling.

Nanotechnology seeks to exploit distinct technological advances controlling the structure of nanoscale biomaterials at a nanodimensional scale approaching individual molecules and their aggregates or supramolecular structures. The term "nanomedicine" is used to describe those technologies under the umbrella of nanotechnology that have therapeutic applications in human health. This book presents recent trends and research achievements in the field of pharmaceutical nanotechnology and advanced drug delivery nanosystems, especially for theranostic purposes. The applications of drug delivery nanosystems considered carriers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) (e.g., proteins, peptides, and nucleic acids) are analyzed on the basis of technology, preparation protocols, and biomedical applications. The book also extensively reports on the principles, design protocols, and applications of nanosystems in drug delivery, imaging, and targeting of active molecules of pharmaceutical interest.

This book on cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) features three sections, Fundamental Science, Pre-Clinical and Translational Science, and Clinical Applications. In the Fundamental Science section, we will cover the spectrum of basic ECM science from ECM's role in development, biomechanical properties, cardiac ECM influence of cardiomyocyte biology, pathophysiology of ECM in heart disease, and ECM in tissue engineering. Section two, Preclinical and Translational Science, will discuss cardiac ECM technologies in the clinical pipeline including approaches to ECM as a therapeutic, animal models of cardiac research, tracking and imaging methods of cardiac ECM, and cGMP manufacturing and regulatory considerations for ECM based therapeutics. Finally, the third section, Clinical Applications, will highlight the clinical experience around cardiac ECM including therapeutic strategies targeting scar tissue in the heart, Clinical trial design and regulatory considerations, current human clinical trials in cardiovascular medicine and the role of pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the commercialization of ECM technologies for cardiovascular indications. This book provides a comprehensive review for basic and translational researchers as well as clinical practitioners and those involved in commercialization, regulatory and entrepreneurial activities.

The thesis focuses on the control of blood glucose devices and design of implantable devices, and offers valuable insights on diabetes mellitus and related physiology and treatments. Diabetes mellitus is a widespread chronic disease in the modern world that affects millions of people around the globe. In Singapore, one in ten of the population has diabetes, and the severity of the problem has prompted the country's prime minister to talk about the disease at the National Day Rally in 2017. Designing an artificial pancreas that can provide effective blood glucose control for individuals with diabetes is one of the most challenging engineering problems. The author reports on research into the development of an implantable artificial pancreas that can regulate blood glucose levels by delivering appropriate dosages of insulin when necessary. By sensing blood glucose and injecting insulin directly into the vein, the implantable device aims to remove delays that occur with subcutaneous blood glucose sensing and insulin delivery. Preliminary in-vitro and in-vivo experimental results suggest that the implantable device for blood glucose control could be a clinically viable alternative to pancreas transplant.