Circulating cell-free DNA is poised to transform cancer diagnosis and care; however, it carries technical challenges such as low abundance, fragmentation and sensitivity to biospecimen handling. Development of clinically useful assays hinges on understanding the unique technical aspects of working with cell-free DNA as a substrate. This book provides an in-depth summary of the technical issues impacting cell-free DNA purification from blood plasma and analysis in a cancer context, including design of PCR assays, sequencing library preparation and methylation analysis. Emerging fields such as extracellular vesicles and blood nucleases are also covered, as well as basic biology and considerations pertinent to biobanking.

This book covers the current research on the plant-based tropane alkaloids (TA) and TA-bearing plants. The first part includes an overview of "tropane alkaloids in context to diversity, biosynthesis and significance. The second part covers aspects of in-vitro and allied interventions in these alkaloids. TAs belong to one of the world's oldest phytomedicines with their valuable ethno-pharmacological applications. The book compiles scientific ideas, perspectives and challenges in this area. Further, the book attempts to investigate the loopholes in existing methodologies, challenges and possible solutions through well thought-out scientific discussions from various eminent research groups. This book is of high interest to students and researchers in biotechnology, plant biology and pharmacology. As the TAs are of high commercial medicinal value, this book is also a relevant collection of articles for industry experts.

3D Bioprinting and Nanotechnology in Tissue Engineering provides an in depth introduction to these two technologies and their industrial applications. Stem cells in tissue regeneration are covered, along with nanobiomaterials. Commercialization, legal and regulatory considerations are also discussed in order to help you translate nanotechnology and 3D printing-based products to the marketplace and the clinic. Dr. Zhang's and Dr. Fishers' team of expert contributors have pooled their expertise in order to provide a summary of the suitability, sustainability and limitations of each technique for each specific application. The increasing availability and decreasing costs of nanotechnologies and 3D printing technologies are driving their use to meet medical needs, and this book provides an overview of these technologies and their integration. It shows how nanotechnology can increase the clinical efficiency of prosthesis or artificial tissues made by bioprinting or biofabrication. Students and professionals will receive a balanced assessment of relevant technology with theoretical foundation, while still learning about the newest printing techniques.

Biomedical Applications of Magnetic Particles discusses fundamental magnetic nanoparticle physics and chemistry and explores important biomedical applications and future challenges. The first section presents the fundamentals of the field by explaining the theory of magnetism, describing techniques to synthesize magnetic particles, detailing methods to characterize magnetic particles, and quantitatively describing the applied magnetic forces, torques, and the resultant particle motions. The second section describes the wide range of biomedical applications, including chemical sensors, cellular actuators, drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement, and toxicity. Additional key features include: Covers both introduction to physics and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles and the state of the art in biomedical applications Authoritative reference for scientists and engineers for all new or old to the field Describes how the size of magnetic nanoparticles affects their magnetic properties, colloidal properties, and biological properties. Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book provides an up-to-date authoritative reference for scientists and engineers.

This book provides a comprehensive review of recent developments in the field of motor neuroprosthetics and brain-machine interfaces. Chapters in this book are provided by leading experts in the field and include topics such as the design and control of multidimensional prosthetics and exoskeletons, deep brain stimulation, functional electrical stimulation, deep learning for brain machine interfaces, biofeedback, and cognitive intent for adaptation of motor prostheses. This book is a great resource for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, engineers from related disciplines, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in the latest progress in the field of motor neuroprostheses.

Host Response to Biomaterials explains the various categories of biomaterials and their significance for clinical applications, with a focus on the host response to each biomaterial. It also explores the role of the immune system in host response, and covers the regulatory environment for biomaterials. The benefits of synthetic versus natural biomaterials are discussed, as is the transition from simple to complex biomaterial solutions.

Dr. Badylak and a team of expert contributors have pooled their experience in this volume, in order to contribute to the effort to make interactive biomaterials with the ability to respond to the tissue microenvironment and direct the host response. The range of fields covered is extensive; including, but not limited to, orthopaedic, surgery, dental, general surgery, neurosurgery, lower urinary tract, and regenerative medicine. This is one of the first books to connect immunology and biomaterials in regard to host response.

Author response to reviews;

I agree with the comments that were made especially regarding the intended emphasis upon the host response being the motivating concept behind the book. We really do not need another biomaterials textbook, but we do need something that interrogates and explains the host response. Much of the comments revolved around the titles of the sections/chapters and indeed that is easy enough to remedy. I am not interested in editing another book on various types of biomaterials, but obviously the various types of biomaterials will elicit a different and probably unique type of host response. This information will be important to not only practicing physicians, but also medical device companies designing next generation biomaterials, as well as students and research scientists interested in developing such materials for clinical use and regenerative medicine purposes. The key is the host response. The list of contributors will be scientists interested in the innate immune response, host-biomaterial interfaces, etc ..not classic material scientists. There are no textbooks to my knowledge with this focus in mind. One either has to go to the traditional immunology literature which is heavily slanted toward mechanisms of T-cell, B-cell, and dendritic cell biology, or to classic biomaterials literature and try to connect the two. The purpose of this textbook is to fill that void.

I do plan to change the TOC. The new table will reflect the host response emphasis of the chapters. FYI, when I prepared the draft of the TOC, I was thinking in terms of general categories of materials to which the host must respond (and the chapters that would address this). My error was in listing this with respect more to the different biomaterials rather than the host response. I will need to think of how to emphasize my intent in the chapter titles without sounding too repetitive.

There will definitely be a chapter, probably several, on combination/hybrid devices/materials. These will include the bioactive devices ie., devices functionalized with various bioactive factors. I will add this to the TOC.

I do not plan to place great emphasis on the regulatory issues regarding the materials and the host response but I will like suggest one chapter on the view of the regulatory agencies with respect to the various types of device categories
The host response to different classes of biomaterials
The impact of host response on the success or failure of a biomaterial
About regulations regarding combination devices"

Metabolic systems engineering combines the tools and approaches of systems biology, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering. This book reviews studies on metabolism, from the earliest work of Lavoisier and Buchner to current cutting-edge research in metabolic systems engineering. This technology has been used in bioengineering applications to create high-performing microbes and plants that produce important chemicals, pharmaceuticals, crops, and other natural products. Current applications include optimizing metabolic pathways to enhance degradation of biomass for biofuel production and accelerated processing of environmental waste products and contaminants. The book includes examples to illustrate the applications of this technology in the optimization of metabolic pathways to create robust industrial strains as well as in the engineering of biological processes involving health and diseases of humans, animals, and plants. Written by a seasoned computational biologist with many years of experience in genomics, bioinformatics, and systems biology, this book will appeal to anyone interested in metabolic systems analysis and metabolic pathway engineering.

Microfluidic biochips have gained prominence due to their versatile applications to biochemistry and health-care domains such as point-of-care clinical diagnosis of tropical and cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, toxicity analysis, and for the mitigation of the global HIV crisis, among others. Microfluidic Lab-on-Chips (LoCs) offer a convenient platform for emulating various fluidic operations in an automated fashion. However, because of the inherent uncertainty of fluidic operations, the outcome of biochemical experiments performed on-chip can be erroneous even if the chip is tested a priori and deemed to be defect-free. This book focuses on the issues encountered in reliable sample preparation with digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs), particularly in an error-prone environment. It presents state-of-the-art error management techniques and underlying algorithmic challenges along with their comparative discussions. Describes a comprehensive framework for designing a robust and error-tolerant biomedical system which will help in migrating from cumbersome medical laboratory tasks to small-sized LOC-based systems Presents a comparative study on current error-tolerant strategies for robust sample preparation using DMFBs and reports on efficient algorithms for error-tolerant sample dilution using these devices Illustrates how algorithmic engineering, cyber-physical tools, and software techniques are helpful in implementing fault tolerance Covers the challenges associated with design automation for biochemical sample preparation Teaches how to implement biochemical protocols using software-controlled microfluidic biochips Interdisciplinary in its coverage, this reference is written for practitioners and researchers in biochemical, biomedical, electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering, especially those involved in LOC or bio-MEMS design.

Explains the basis of Brain Computer Interface and how it can be established using different EEG signal characteristics Covers the detail classification of different types of EEG signals with respect to their physical characteristics Explains detection and diagnosis of epileptic seizures from EEG data of a subject Reviews design and development a low cost and robust EEG acquisition system Provides mathematical analysis of EEG including MATLAB codes for students to experiment with EEG data

This book covers innovative breakthroughs in additive manufacturing processes used for biomedical engineering. More and more, 3D printing is selected over traditional manufacturing processes, especially for complex designs, because of the many advantages such as fewer restrictions, better production cost savings, higher quality control, and accuracy. Current challenges and opportunities regarding material, design, cost savings, and efficiency are covered along with an outline of the most recent fabrication methods used for converting biomaterials into integrated structures that can fit best in anatomy while still obtaining the necessary architecture, mechanical reliability, biocompatibility, and anti-bacterial characteristics needed. Additional chapters will also focus on selected areas of applications such as bionics, affordable prostheses, implants, medical devices, rapid tooling, and drug delivery. Additive Manufacturing Processes in Biomedical Engineering: Advanced Fabrication Methods and Rapid Tooling Techniques acts as a first-hand reference for commercial manufacturing organizations which are mimicking tissue organs by using additive manufacturing techniques. By capturing the current trends of today's manufacturing practices this book becomes a one-stop resource for manufacturing professionals, engineers in related disciplines, and academic researchers.

This work represents an inventive attempt to apply recent advances in nanotechnology to identify and characterise novel polymer systems for drug delivery through the skin. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements of the nanoscale mechanical properties of topical, drug-containing polymeric films enabled the author to identify optimal compositions, in terms of flexibility and substantivity, for application to the skin. To elucidate the enhanced drug release from polyacrylate films incorporating medium chain triglycerides, the author combined AFM studies with the complementary technique of Raman micro-spectroscopy. This experimental strategy revealed that the significant increase in the drug released from these films is the result of a nanoscale two-phase structure. Finally, in experiments examining the microporation of skin using femtosecond laser ablation, the author demonstrated that the threshold at which the skin's barrier function is undermined can be dramatically reduced by the pre-application of ink. The approach allows thermal damage at the pore edge to be minimised, suggesting a very real potential for substantially increasing drug delivery in a minimally invasive fashion.

This book examines the most novel and state-of-the-art applications of biomaterials, with chapters that exemplify approaches with targeted drug delivery, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and cranioplasty implants. Expert contributors analyze biomaterials such as calcium phosphate, sol-gel and quenched glasses, metallic and polymer implants, bioactive glass, and polymer composites while also covering important areas such as the soft tissue replacement, apatites, bone regeneration and cell encapsulation. This book is appropriate for biomedical engineers, materials scientists, and clinicians who are seeking to implement the most advanced approaches and technologies with their patients.

Explores the use of IoT in the field of biomedical engineering Discusses current issues associated with biomedical engineering while including the fundamentals such as collaboration on usage of sensors, bio-interfaces, e-medicine, remote healthcare, etc. Throws light on IoT for healthcare monitoring as well as for remote healthcare, data communication, monitoring, and diagnosis.

This book presents an overview of how machine learning and data mining techniques are used for tracking and preventing diseases. It covers several aspects such as stress level identification of a person from his/her speech, automatic diagnosis of disease from X-ray images, intelligent diagnosis of Glaucoma from clinical eye examination data, prediction of protein-coding genes from big genome data, disease detection through microscopic analysis of blood cells, information retrieval from electronic medical record using named entity recognition approaches, and prediction of drug-target interactions. The book is suitable for computer scientists having a bachelor degree in computer science. The book is an ideal resource as a reference book for teaching a graduate course on AI for Medicine or AI for Health care. Researchers working in the multidisciplinary areas use this book to discover the current developments. Besides its use in academia, this book provides enough details about the state-of-the-art algorithms addressing various biomedical domains, so that it could be used by industry practitioners who want to implement AI techniques to analyze the diseases. Medical institutions use this book as reference material and give tutorials to medical experts on how the advanced AI and ML techniques contribute to the diagnosis and prediction of the diseases.

This book describes medical applications of photochemistry. In the first part, a general introduction to photochemistry and related phototechnologies is provided. In the second part, photochemistry-based medical applications for diagnostics (biochips and bioimaging) and therapeutics (biomaterials for artificial organs, medical adhesives, dental materials, drug-delivery systems, tissue engineering, and photodynamic therapy) are described, with examples of recent research. The year 2015 is the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies. Light plays a vital role in our daily lives and is important in many interdisciplinary scientific fields in the twenty-first century. Light-based concepts have revolutionized medicine, including areas such as oncology, molecular biology, and surgery. Although photochemistry has contributed significantly to medicine directly and through photochemical fabrication of biomaterials, a book giving a comprehensive overview of recent progress has not been published until now. The aim of this book is to highlight the contributions of photochemistry in interdisciplinary fields of chemistry and medical engineering. This book will be useful for chemists who are interested in medical applications of photochemistry and engineers who are eager to learn the principles of photochemistry to enable its use in practical applications.

White biotechnology is industrial biotechnology dealing with various biotech products through applications of microbes. The main application of white biotechnology is commercial production of various useful organic substances, such as acetic acid, citric acid, acetone, glycerine, etc., and antibiotics like penicillin, streptomycin, mitomycin, etc., and value added product through the use of microorganisms especially fungi and bacteria. The value-added products included bioactive compounds, secondary metabolites, pigments and industrially important enzymes for potential applications in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medicine and allied sectors for human welfare. In the 21st century, techniques were developed to harness fungi to protect human health (through antibiotics, antimicrobial, immunosuppressive agents, value-added products etc.), which led to industrial scale production of enzymes, alkaloids, detergents, acids, biosurfactants. The first large-scale industrial applications of modern biotechnology have been made in the areas of food and animal feed production (agricultural/green biotechnology) and pharmaceuticals (medical/red biotechnology). In contrast, the production of bio-active compounds through fermentation or enzymatic conversion is known industrial or white biotechnology. The beneficial fungal strains may play important role in agriculture, industry and the medical sectors. The beneficial fungi play a significance role in plant growth promotion, and soil fertility using both, direct (solubilization of phosphorus, potassium and zinc; production of indole acetic acid, gibberellic acid, cytokinin and siderophores) and indirect (production of hydrolytic enzymes, siderophores, ammonia, hydrogen cyanides and antibiotics) mechanisms of plant growth promotion for sustainable agriculture. The fungal strains and their products (enzymes, bio-active compounds and secondary metabolites) are very useful for industry. The discovery of antibiotics is a milestone in the development of white biotechnology. Since then, white biotechnology has steadily developed and now plays a key role in several industrial sectors, providing both high valued nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical products. The fungal strains and bio-active compounds also play important role in the environmental cleaning. This volume covers the latest research developments related to value-added products in white biotechnology through fungi.

Articulates a series of scientific and technological developments described in a didactic way Shows a broad view of biometrics in several contexts: Current cases of study in five different areas Provides experimental results in different environments (availability of data and computer code to reproduce the experiments) Includes transdisciplinary approaches and discussions for each chapter Innovation as part of the final cases of study: developments are already affecting the new businesses of the digital age and the era of the brain

Medical modelling and the principles of medical imaging, Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Rapid Prototyping (also known as Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing) are important techniques relating to various disciplines - from biomaterials engineering to surgery. Building on the success of the first edition, Medical Modelling: The application of Advanced Design and Rapid Prototyping techniques in medicine provides readers with a revised edition of the original text, along with key information on innovative imaging techniques, Rapid Prototyping technologies and case studies. Following an overview of medical imaging for Rapid Prototyping, the book goes on to discuss working with medical scan data and techniques for Rapid Prototyping. In this second edition there is an extensive section of peer-reviewed case studies, describing the practical applications of advanced design technologies in surgical, prosthetic, orthotic, dental and research applications.

Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Biological Processes covers emerging areas in fluid flow and heat transfer relevant to biosystems and medical technology. This book uses an interdisciplinary approach to provide a comprehensive prospective on biofluid mechanics and heat transfer advances and includes reviews of the most recent methods in modeling of flows in biological media, such as CFD. Written by internationally recognized researchers in the field, each chapter provides a strong introductory section that is useful to both readers currently in the field and readers interested in learning more about these areas. Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Biological Processes is an indispensable reference for professors, graduate students, professionals, and clinical researchers in the fields of biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry and medicine working on applications of fluid flow, heat transfer, and transport phenomena in biomedical technology.

This book summarizes the latest advances in nanophotonics for biomedical applications, including biomolecular sensing and imaging, additive fabrications, and biophotonics. The engineering of nanophotonics will have significant impacts on the life sciences and medicine alike. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for researchers, scientists, engineers, and graduate students in the fields of biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, materials sciences, optics, biology, and medicine.

This book provides an understanding of what is required to engineer and manufacture drug products. It bridges established concepts and provides for a new outlook by concentrating and creating new linkages in the implementation of manufacturing, quality assurance, and business practices related to drug manufacturing and healthcare products. This book fills a gap by providing a connection between drug production and regulated applications. It focuses on drug manufacturing, quality techniques in oral solid dosage, and capsule filling including equipment and critical systems, to control production and the finished products. The book offers a correlation between design strategies and a step-by-step process to ensure the reliability, safety, and efficacy of healthcare products. Fundamentals of techniques, quality by design, risk assessment, and management are covered along with a scientific method approach to continuous improvement in the usage of computerized manufacturing and dependence on information technology and control operations through data and metrics. Manufacturing and Quality Assurance of Oral Pharmaceutical Products: Processing and Safe Handling of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) is of interest to professionals and engineers in the fields of manufacturing engineering, quality assurance, reliability, business management, process, and continuous improvement, life cycle management, healthcare products manufacturing, pharmaceutical processing, and computerized manufacturing.

This book explores the potential of multi-functional carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications. It combines contributions from chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and medicine. The complete overview of the state-of-the-art addresses different synthesis and biofunctionalisation routes and shows the structural and magnetic properties of nanotubes relevant to biomedical applications. Particular emphasis is put on the interaction of carbon nanotubes with biological environments, i.e. toxicity, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, intracellular distribution, interaction with the immune system and environmental impact. The insertion of NMR-active substances allows diagnostic usage as markers and sensors, e.g. for imaging and contactless local temperature sensing. The potential of nanotubes for therapeutic applications is highlighted by studies on chemotherapeutic drug filling and release, targeting and magnetic hyperthermia studies for anti-cancer treatment at the cellular level.

Smart Nanodevices for Point-of-Care Applications examines the latest trends on the capabilities of nanomaterials for point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics and explains how these materials can help to strengthen, miniaturize, and improve the quality of diagnostic devices. A thorough explanation of all-in-one nanosmart devices is included, incorporating all of the applications and fundamentals of these smart devices. This book provides practical information on the following: novel and effective smart materials, better-quality health management, effective management of a disease, potential point-of-care devices, and mobile nanosensors. Additional Features Includes in-depth research based collation of the latest trends of smart devices Provides practical information on all-in-one nanosmart devices Explains how nanomaterials can help to strengthen and improve the quality of diagnostic devices Emphasizes the development of smart nanodevices, especially the miniaturization aspect

Are Amazon Alexa and Google Home limited to our bedrooms, or can they be used in hospitals? Do you envision a future where physicians work hand-in-hand with voice AI to revolutionize healthcare delivery? In the near future, clinical smart assistants will be able to automate many manual hospital tasks-and this will be only the beginning of the changes to come. Voice AI is the future of physician-machine interaction and this Focus book provides invaluable insight on its next frontier. It begins with a brief history and current implementations of voice-activated assistants and illustrates why clinical voice AI is at its inflection point. Next, it describes how the authors built the world's first smart surgical assistant using an off-the-shelf smart home device, outlining the implementation process in the operating room. From quantitative metrics to surgeons' feedback, the authors discuss the feasibility of this technology in the surgical setting. The book then provides an in-depth development guideline for engineers and clinicians desiring to develop their own smart surgical assistants. Lastly, the authors delve into their experiences in translating voice AI into the clinical setting and reflect on the challenges and merits of this pursuit. The world's first smart surgical assistant has not only reduced surgical time but eliminated major touch points in the operating room, resulting in positive, significant implications for patient outcomes and surgery costs. From clinicians eager for insight on the next digital health revolution to developers interested in building the next clinical voice AI, this book offers a guide for both audiences.

This book examines multi-quantum magnetic resonance imaging methods and the diagnostics of brain disorders. It consists of two Parts. The part I is initially devoted towards the basic concepts of the conventional single quantum MRI techniques. It is supplemented by the basic knowledge required to understand multi-quantum MRI. Practical illustrations are included both on recent developments in conventional MRI and the MQ-MRI. This is to illustrate the connection between theoretical concepts and their scope in the clinical applications. The Part II initially sets out the basic details about quadrupole charge distribution present in certain nuclei and their importance about the functions they perform in our brain. Some simplified final mathematical expressions are included to illustrate facts about the basic concepts of the quantum level interactions between magnetic dipole and the electric quadrupole behavior of useful nuclei present in the brain. Selected practical illustrations, from research and clinical practices are included to illustrate the newly emerging ideas and techniques. The reader should note that the two parts of the book are written with no interdependence. One can read them quite independently.