This book examines the human auditory effects of exposure to directed beams of high-power microwave pulses, which research results have shown can cause a cascade of health events when aimed at a human subject or the subject's head. The book details multidisciplinary investigations using physical theories and models, physiological events and phenomena, and computer analysis and simulation. Coverage includes brain anatomy and physiology, dosimetry of microwave power deposition, microwave auditory effect, interaction mechanisms, shock/pressure wave induction, Havana syndrome, and application in microwave thermoacoustic tomography (MTT). The book will be welcomed by scientists, academics, health professionals, government officials, and practicing biomedical engineers as an important contribution to the continuing study of the effects of microwave pulse absorption on humans.

Understanding viscoelasticity is pertinent to design applications as diverse as earplugs, gaskets, computer disks, satellite stability, medical diagnosis, injury prevention, vibration abatement, tire performance, sports, spacecraft explosions, and music. This book fits a one-semester graduate course on the properties, analysis, and uses of viscoelastic materials. Those familiar with the author's precursor book, Viscoelastic Solids, will see that this book contains many updates and expanded coverage of the materials science, causes of viscoelastic behavior, properties of materials of biological origin, and applications of viscoelastic materials. The theoretical presentation includes both transient and dynamic aspects, with emphasis on linear viscoelasticity to develop physical insight. Methods for the solution of stress analysis problems are developed and illustrated. Experimental methods for characterization of viscoelastic materials are explored in detail. Viscoelastic phenomena are described for a wide variety of materials, including viscoelastic composite materials. Applications of viscoelasticity and viscoelastic materials are illustrated with case studies.

This book collects the proceedings of the International Congress on Health Sciences and Medical Technologies (ICHSMT), held in Tlemcen, Algeria, from December 5 to 7, 2019. The proceedings present a forum for the latest projects and research in scientific and technological development with an emphasis on smart healthcare system design and future technologies. ICHSMT brings together researchers, students, and professionals from the healthcare, corporate, and academic sectors. It includes a far-reaching program supported by a variety of technical tracks that seek to promote medical technologies and innovation at a nationwide level.

This book talks about photoplethysmography (PPG) techniques based on computer-aided data processing. In particular, it presents the results of a co-operative Indo-German project on the topic between Indian Institute of Technology at Chennai and RWTH Aachen University. Measuring system design, experimental details and some preliminary results obtained so far within the framework of this project are presented here. From the investigations carried out so far using the PPG sensors in conjunction with breathing sensors, it has been possible to monitor the 0.125 to 0.15 Hz rhythms in the arterial volumetric changes and to study the influence of breathing on them. These rhythms, which according to medical experts have relevance to psychosomatic conditions e.g. stress or relaxation, can also be addressed to by ancient Indian practices like yoga and meditation. This book presents the results of studying the effects of Indian relaxation techniques like pranayama, meditation, etc. in comparison to western relaxation techniques like autogenic training. So far it has been established that the Indian techniques of relaxation like yoga and meditation are very effective in generating low frequency rhythms in the skin perfusion as monitored by optical sensors. According to medical experts, these low frequency rhythms have a very important bearing on the human physiology and have potential therapeutic implications. This book is meant to provide an overview of the current state-of-knowledge and encourage the next generation of scientists/engineers to carry this work forward, especially on the novel PPG application fields that are of growing importance like pain and stress assessment, detection of peripheral venous saturation and local arterio-venous oxygen consumption as well as contactless space resolved skin perfusion studies with modern camera based PPG technology.

Trauma Plating Systems is the first reference and systematic book in the topic of trauma plating system in view of biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical aspects. The effects of these aspects on effectiveness of trauma plating fixation are deeply reviewed, discussed, and challenged from which promising evaluation and development concepts are explored. This book is divided into five sections: Section I covers general concepts of biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical aspects. Then it provides fundamentals of trauma plating systems, principles of biomechanical evaluation methods, and biomechanics of plating fixation in Section II. Section III reviews current metallic materials with their advantages and disadvantages in plating fixation of bone fractures and new promising materials with their potential benefits to enhance the effectiveness of plating fixation. Section IV represents currently concerned biomechanical-clinical challenges of plating fixation for various bone fractures, and Section V presents current and new development concepts of this type of trauma implants. This book as an accessible and easy usable textbook for various disciplines of audiences who are dealing with trauma plating system and fixation such as orthopedic surgeons, trauma implant manufacturers, biomechanical researchers, biomaterial researchers, and all biomedical or medical students and residents in different levels of education. Author has been diligent in both engineering and research environments in terms of research, testing, analysis, validation, verification, clinical studies, and technical writing. His main interest and effort is to integrate biomechanical, material, biological, and clinical requirements of orthopedic implants for creation of novel design conception in this industry. He has developed the website http://orthoimplant-development.com/ for further communication in development of orthopedic implants.

This volume will outline how to recreate the tumor microenvironment, to culture primary tumors without the need for developmental priming factors, and to deliver targeted therapeutics in a manner that recapitulates pharmacokinetics in vivo. Much of what may be learned from this volume will aid in understanding many aspects of the enhanced study of tumor cell biology in a physiologic context, open new avenues for drug screening and biomarker development, and accelerate the preclinical evaluation of novel personalized medicine strategies for patients in real time.

Nanostructures for Novel Therapy: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications focuses on the fabrication and characterization of therapeutic nanostructures, in particular, synthesis, design, and in vitro and in vivo therapeutic evaluation. The chapters provide a cogent overview of recent therapeutic applications of nanostructured materials that includes applications of nanostructured materials for wound healing in plastic surgery and stem cell therapy. The book explores the promise for more effective therapy through the use of nanostructured materials, while also assessing the challenges their use might pose from both an economic and medicinal point of view. This innovative look at how nanostructured materials are used in therapeutics will be of great benefit to researchers, providing a greater understanding of the different ways nanomaterials could improve medical treatment, along with a discussion of the obstacles that need to be overcome in order to guarantee widespread availability.

This book describes the development of three dimensional electroactive fibres using a novel coaxial wet-spinning approach from organic conductors in combination with non-conducting hydrogel polymers. This book also presents the characterization and evaluation of multiaxial biofibres in terms of mechanical, physical, electrochemical and biological properties, and explores their use in a diverse range of applications including implantable electrodes, drug delivery systems and energy-storage systems. In the first chapter, the author highlights the significance of engineering three dimensional fibres, introduces the involved hydrogels and organic conductors with emphasis on their biomedical application, and collects some of the previously established methods for fabrication of biofibres. In the second chapter, particular attention is given to the overall experimental fabrication methods and characterization analyses conducted in the work. Chapters three to five present the main findings of this work, in which readers will discover how novel hybrid hydrogel fibres with an inner core of chitosan and alginate were prepared and characterized, how graphene was incorporated into coaxial wet-spun biofibres, and how one-dimensional triaxial fibres were developed using a novel coaxial wet-spinning fibre production method and applied as potential battery devices. In the final chapter of this work, the author summarizes the main achievements of the work and outlines some recommendations for future research.

This book discusses recent advances in hydrogels, including their generation and applications and presents a compendium of fundamental concepts. It highlights the most important hydrogel materials, including physical hydrogels, chemical hydrogels, and nanohydrogels and explores the development of hydrogel-based novel materials that respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, pressure, pH, light, biochemicals or magnetism, which represent a new class of intelligent materials. With their multiple cooperative functions, hydrogel-based materials exhibit different potential applications ranging from biomedical engineering to water purification systems. This book covers key topics including superabsorbent polymer hydrogel; intelligent hydrogels for drug delivery; hydrogels from catechol-conjugated materials; nanomaterials loaded hydrogel; electrospinning of hydrogels; biopolymers-based hydrogels; injectable hydrogels; interpenetrating-polymer-network hydrogels: radiation- and sonochemical synthesis of micro/nano/macroscopic hydrogels; DNA-based hydrogels; and multifunctional applications of hydrogels. It will prove a valuable resource for researchers working in industry and academia alike.

This book provides an introduction to the biological background of heart functioning and analyzes the various materials and technologies used for the development of microfluidic systems dedicated to cell culture, with an emphasis on cardiac cells. The authors describe the characterization of microfluidic systems for cardiac cell culture and center their discussion of the use of stem cell stimulation based on four different types: electrical, biochemical, physical, and mechanical. This book is appropriate for researchers focused on on-chip technologies and heart studies, students in bioengineering and microengineering courses, and a variety of professionals, such as biotechnologists, biomedical engineers, and clinicians working in the cardiac diseases field.

This book highlights the latest advances in the application of artificial intelligence and data science in health care and medicine. Featuring selected papers from the 2020 Health Intelligence Workshop, held as part of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Annual Conference, it offers an overview of the issues, challenges, and opportunities in the field, along with the latest research findings. Discussing a wide range of practical applications, it makes the emerging topics of digital health and explainable AI in health care and medicine accessible to a broad readership. The availability of explainable and interpretable models is a first step toward building a culture of transparency and accountability in health care. As such, this book provides information for scientists, researchers, students, industry professionals, public health agencies, and NGOs interested in the theory and practice of computational models of public and personalized health intelligence.

This book showcases new and innovative approaches to biometric data capture and analysis, focusing especially on those that are characterized by non-intrusiveness, reliable prediction algorithms, and high user acceptance. It comprises the peer-reviewed papers from the international workshop on the subject that was held in Ancona, Italy, in October 2014 and featured sessions on ICT for health care, biometric data in automotive and home applications, embedded systems for biometric data analysis, biometric data analysis: EMG and ECG, and ICT for gait analysis. The background to the book is the challenge posed by the prevention and treatment of common, widespread chronic diseases in modern, aging societies. Capture of biometric data is a cornerstone for any analysis and treatment strategy. The latest advances in sensor technology allow accurate data measurement in a non-intrusive way, and in many cases it is necessary to provide online monitoring and real-time data capturing to support a patient's prevention plans or to allow medical professionals to access the patient's current status. This book will be of value to all with an interest in this expanding field.

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.

This book marries stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and regenerative biology into a single, interdisciplinary volume. The chapters also explore embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, cardiovascular regeneration, skeletal development, inflammation, polymeric biomaterials, neural injury, cartilage regeneration, regeneration in ambystoma, models for regeneration using salamander and zebrafish, and more. The volume also discusses recent advances and their potential in developing future therapies. Innovations in Molecular Mechanisms and Tissue Engineering combines perspectives from the biomedical, bioengineering, and medical fields to present a cutting-edge, multifaceted picture of the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine fields. This installment of Springer's Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series is ideal for scientists, clinicians, and researchers in the fields of stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, and tissue engineering.

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 readers to the latest exciting advances in human motion sensing and recognition, from the theoretical development of fuzzy approaches to their applications. The topics covered include human motion recognition in 2D and 3D, hand motion analysis with contact sensors, and vision-based view-invariant motion recognition, especially from the perspective of Fuzzy Qualitative techniques. With the rapid development of technologies in microelectronics, computers, networks, and robotics over the last decade, increasing attention has been focused on human motion sensing and recognition in many emerging and active disciplines where human motions need to be automatically tracked, analyzed or understood, such as smart surveillance, intelligent human-computer interaction, robot motion learning, and interactive gaming. Current challenges mainly stem from the dynamic environment, data multi-modality, uncertain sensory information, and real-time issues. These techniques are shown to effectively address the above challenges by bridging the gap between symbolic cognitive functions and numerical sensing & control tasks in intelligent systems. The book not only serves as a valuable reference source for researchers and professionals in the fields of computer vision and robotics, but will also benefit practitioners and graduates/postgraduates seeking advanced information on fuzzy techniques and their applications in motion analysis.

Biomedical Defense Principles to Counter DNA Deep Hacking presents readers with a comprehensive look at the emerging threat of DNA hacking. Dr. Rocky Termanini goes in-depth to uncover the erupting technology being developed by a new generation of savvy bio-hackers who have skills and expertise in biomedical engineering and bioinformatics. The book covers the use of tools such as CRISPR for malicious purposes, which has led agencies such as the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence to add gene editing to its annual list of threats posed by "weapons of mass destruction and proliferation." Readers will learn about the methods and possible effects of bio-hacking attacks, and, in turn the best methods of autonomic and cognitive defense strategies to detect, capture, analyze, and neutralize DNA bio-hacking attacks, including the versatile DNA symmetrical AI Cognitive Defense System (ACDS). DNA bio-hackers plan to destroy, distort and contaminate confidential, healthy DNA records and potentially create corrupted genes for erroneous diagnosis of illnesses, disease genesis and even wrong DNA fingerprinting for criminal forensics investigations.

This book presents current laboratory, scientific and clinical aspects of nanomaterials used for medical applications in the fields of regenerative medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. It gives a broad overview of the in vitro compatibility assessment of nanostructured materials implemented in the medical field by the combination of classical biological protocols. The chapters cover all aspects of integrative medicine, such as green derived nanomaterials for biological applications; synthetic and nature-derived lipid nanoparticles and polymer nanoparticles.

This book presents a systematic overview of the most relevant nanomaterials and their respective intrinsic properties that have been highly explored by the scientific community and pharmaceutical companies in several different modalities for cancer therapy and bioimaging. The chapters explore the synergistic effects provided by the different nanostructured materials and highlight the main in vitro and in vivo therapeutic achievements on cancer. This work also provides relevant discussion about the recent progresses and future challenges that nanotechnology faces on the conception of more efficient nanoformulations against primary tumors, circulating cancer cells and metastases.

This book describes preparation techniques for well-defined, customizable poly(organo)phosphazene materials and their applications in nanomedicine, i.e. as macromolecular carriers for drug delivery, immunology, gene therapy, or tissue regeneration. This 2nd edition of Polyphosphazenes for Medical Applications has been updated and extended for researchers in the field as well as those considering using polyphosphazenes for a specific application.

This invaluable resource discusses clinical applications with effects and side-effects of applications of stem cells in liver, lung and heart regeneration. All chapters are contributed by pre-eminent scientists in the field and covers such topics as cell therapy in the treatment of cirrhosis and other liver, heart and lung diseases, characteristics of hepatic progenitor cells, future directions of the discussed therapies and much more. Liver, Lung and Heart Regeneration and the other books in the Stem Cells in Clinical Applications series will be invaluable to scientists, researchers, advanced students and clinicians working in stem cells, regenerative medicine or tissue engineering.

This informative book compiles the most up-to-date applications of nanobiosensors in fields ranging from agriculture to medicine. The introductory section describes different types of nanobiosensors and use of nanobiosensors towards a sustainable environment. The applications are divided into four broad sections for easy reading and understanding. The book discusses how manipulation, control and integration of atoms and molecules are used to form materials, structures, devices and systems in nano-scale. Chapters in the book shed light on the use of nanosensors in diagnostics and medical devices. Application in food processing as well as in cell signaling is also described. Nanobiosensors have immense use, and this book captures the most important ones.

This book focuses on the mechanobiological principles in tissue engineering with a particular emphasis on the multiscale aspects of the translation of mechanical forces from bioreactors down to the cellular level. The book contributes to a better understanding of the design and use of bioreactors for tissue engineering and the use of mechanical loading to optimize in vitro cell culture conditions. It covers experimental and computational approaches and the combination of both to show the benefits that computational modelling can bring to experimentalists when studying in vitro cell culture within a scaffold. With topics from multidisciplinary fields of the life sciences, medicine, and engineering, this work provides a novel approach to the use of engineering tools for the optimization of biological processes and its application to regenerative medicine. The volume is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students studying mechanobiology and tissue engineering. For undergraduate students it also provides deep insight into tissue engineering and its use in the design of bioreactors. The book is supplemented with extensive references for all chapters to help the reader to progress through the study of each topic.

This book investigates several non-resonant inductive harvester architectures in order to find the magnet coil arrangement that generates the largest power output. The book is useful as a step-by-step guide for readers unfamiliar with this form of energy harvesting, but who want to build their own system models to calculate the magnet motion and, from that, the power generation available for body-worn sensor systems. The detailed description of system model development will greatly facilitate experimental work with the aim of fabricating the design with the highest predicted power output. Based on the simulated optimal geometry, fabricated devices achieve an average power output of up to 43 mW during walking, an amount of power that can supply modern low-power, body-worn systems. Experiments were also carried out in industrial applications with power outputs up to 15 mW. In sum, researchers and engineers will find a step-by-step introduction to inductive harvesting and its modeling aspects for achieving optimal harvester designs in an efficient manner.

This book describes efforts to improve subject-independent automated classification techniques using a better feature extraction method and a more efficient model of classification. It evaluates three popular saliency criteria for feature selection, showing that they share common limitations, including time-consuming and subjective manual de-facto standard practice, and that existing automated efforts have been predominantly used for subject dependent setting. It then proposes a novel approach for anomaly detection, demonstrating its effectiveness and accuracy for automated classification of biomedical data, and arguing its applicability to a wider range of unsupervised machine learning applications in subject-independent settings.