Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Frontiers in Biomedical Polymers including Polymer Therapeutics: From Laboratory to Clinical Practice, held May 23-27, 1999, in Shiga, Japan. This book focuses on the progress and unique discoveries in the interdisciplinary scientific and technological area of biomedical application of polymers. The topics include polymeric materials for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, as well as polymeric materials in therapeutics.

This book covers the principles of advanced 3D fabrication techniques, stem cells and biomaterials for neural engineering. Renowned contributors cover topics such as neural tissue regeneration, peripheral and central nervous system repair, brain-machine interfaces and in vitro nervous system modeling. Within these areas, focus remains on exciting and emerging technologies such as highly developed neuroprostheses and the communication channels between the brain and prostheses, enabling technologies that are beneficial for development of therapeutic interventions, advanced fabrication techniques such as 3D bioprinting, photolithography, microfluidics, and subtractive fabrication, and the engineering of implantable neural grafts.There is a strong focus on stem cells and 3D bioprinting technologies throughout the book, including working with embryonic, fetal, neonatal, and adult stem cells and a variety of sophisticated 3D bioprinting methods for neural engineering applications. There is also a strong focus on biomaterials, including various conductive biomaterials and biomimetic nanomaterials such as carbon-based nanomaterials and engineered 3D nanofibrous scaffolds for neural tissue regeneration. Finally, two chapters on in vitro nervous system models are also included, which cover this topic in the context of studying physiology and pathology of the human nervous system, and for use in drug discovery research. This is an essential book for biomedical engineers, neuroscientists, neurophysiologists, and industry professionals.

Genetic engineering has already produced impressive results in biological research. The gene transfer and cloning methods are changing biotechnology into an innovative activity with potentially great impact on health care, on chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, on the agricultural and the natural environment. It has thus attracted a great deal of attention from the public and regulatory authorities. There is a need to reconcile technological progress with safety assurance and civic acceptance. Technologies are regulated according to the inherent risk evaluated, through criteria based upon existing scientific evidence, new rigorous information, and/or records of safe applications and good performances. This should also apply to biotechnology. The title Scientific-Technical Backgrounds for Biotechnology Regulation is only intended to indicate that regulatory provisions for biotechnological activities should be in agreement and not in open contradiction with scientific knowledge and established technological experience.

Up to 40 volumes are planned for this concise monograph series, which focuses on the implementation of various engineering principles in the conception, design, development, analysis and operation of biomedical, biotechnological and nanotechnology systems and applications. In this monograph, the authors discuss the current progress in the medical application of impedimetric biosensors, along with the key challenges in the field. First, a general overview of biosensor development, structure and function is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of impedimetric biosensors and the principles of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Next, the current state-of-the art in terms of the science and technology underpinning impedance-based biosensors is reviewed in detail. The layer-by-layer construction of impedimetric sensors is described, including the design of electrodes, their nano-modification, transducer surface functionalisation and the attachment of different bioreceptors. The current challenges of translating lab-based biosensor platforms into commercially-available devices that function with real patient samples at the POC are presented; this includes a consideration of systems integration, microfluidics and biosensor regeneration. The final section of this monograph describes case studies of successful impedance-based biosensors for the detection of a range of analytes from small molecules up to whole microorganisms. Finally, the authors put forward future perspectives for the clinical applications of impedimetric biosensors.

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.

This thesis addresses computation fluid dynamics modelling of aortic dissection (AD), in order to generate in silico diagnostic information and assess 'virtual surgery' outcomes. The thesis introduces several important advances in the modelling of aortic dissection and lays essential groundwork for further development of this technology. The work thesis represents a unique and major step forward in our understanding of AD using a patient-specific, systematic and coherent simulation approach, and is currently the most advanced work available on AD.

Respiratory motion causes an important uncertainty in radiotherapy planning of the thorax and upper abdomen. The main objective of radiation therapy is to eradicate or shrink tumor cells without damaging the surrounding tissue by delivering a high radiation dose to the tumor region and a dose as low as possible to healthy organ tissues. Meeting this demand remains a challenge especially in case of lung tumors due to breathing-induced tumor and organ motion where motion amplitudes can measure up to several centimeters. Therefore, modeling of respiratory motion has become increasingly important in radiation therapy. With 4D imaging techniques spatiotemporal image sequences can be acquired to investigate dynamic processes in the patient's body. Furthermore, image registration enables the estimation of the breathing-induced motion and the description of the temporal change in position and shape of the structures of interest by establishing the correspondence between images acquired at different phases of the breathing cycle. In radiation therapy these motion estimations are used to define accurate treatment margins, e.g. to calculate dose distributions and to develop prediction models for gated or robotic radiotherapy. In this book, the increasing role of image registration and motion estimation algorithms for the interpretation of complex 4D medical image sequences is illustrated. Different 4D CT image acquisition techniques and conceptually different motion estimation algorithms are presented. The clinical relevance is demonstrated by means of example applications which are related to the radiation therapy of thoracic and abdominal tumors. The state of the art and perspectives are shown by an insight into the current field of research. The book is addressed to biomedical engineers, medical physicists, researchers and physicians working in the fields of medical image analysis, radiology and radiation therapy.

Reviews different machine learning and deep learning techniques with a biomedical perspective Provides the relevant case studies that demonstrate applicability of different AI techniques Explain different kinds of inputs like various image modalities, biomedical signals types, etc. Covers the latest trends of AI-based biomedical domains including IoT, drug discovery, biomechanics, robotics, electronic health records, etc. Discusses the research challenges and opportunities in AI and biomedical domain

This book reviews fundamental advances in the use of metallic biomaterials to reconstruct hard tissues and blood vessels. It also covers the latest advances in representative metallic biomaterials, such as stainless steels, Co-Cr alloys, titanium and its alloys, zirconium, tantalum and niobium based alloys. In addition, the latest findings on corrosion, cytotoxic and allergic problems caused by metallic biomaterials are introduced. The book offers a valuable reference source for researchers, graduate students and clinicians working in the fields of materials, surgery, dentistry, and mechanics. Mitsuo Niinomi, PhD, D.D.Sc., is a Professor at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan. Takayuki Narushima, PhD, is a Professor at the Department of Materials Processing, Tohoku University, Japan. Masaaki Nakai, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan.

Nanoscale structures and materials have been explored in many biological applications because of their novel and impressive physical and chemical properties. Such properties allow remarkable opportunities to study and interact with complex biological processes. This book analyses the state of the art of piezoelectric nanomaterials and introduces their applications in the biomedical field. Despite their impressive potentials, piezoelectric materials have not yet received significant attention for bio-applications. This book shows that the exploitation of piezoelectric nanoparticles in nanomedicine is possible and realistic, and their impressive physical properties can be useful for several applications, ranging from sensors and transducers for the detection of biomolecules to sensible substrates for tissue engineering or cell stimulation. The book also focuses on the preparation, characterization and bio-applications of piezoelectric nanoparticles.

Bloom Filter: A Data Structure for Computer Networking, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Bioinformatics, and Beyond focuses on both the theory and practice of the most emerging areas for Bloom filter application, including Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, and Bioinformatics. Sections provide in-depth insights on structure and variants, focus on its role in computer networking, and discuss applications in various research domains, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Bioinformatics. Since its inception, the Bloom Filter has been extensively experimented with and developed to enhance system performance such as web cache. Bloom filter influences many research fields, including Bioinformatics, Internet of Things, computer security, network appliances, Big Data and Cloud Computing.

This text is an introduction to electrophysiology, following a quantitative approach. The first chapter summarizes much of the mathematics required in the following chapters. The second chapter presents a very concise overview of the general principles of electrical fields and current flow, mostly es tablished in physical science and engineering, but also applicable to biolog ical environments. The following five chapters are the core material of this text. They include descriptions of how voltages come to exist across membranes and how these are described using the Nernst and Goldman equations (Chapter 3), an examination of the time course of changes in membrane voltages that produce action potentials (Chapter 4), propagation of action potentials down fibers (Chapter 5), the response of fibers to artificial stimuli such as those used in pacemakers (Chapter 6), and the voltages and currents produced by these active processes in the surrounding extracellular space (Chapter 7). The subsequent chapters present more detailed material about the application of these principles to the study of cardiac and neural electrophysiology, and include a chapter on recent developments in mem brane biophysics. The study of electrophysiology has progressed rapidly because of the precise, delicate, and ingenious experimental studies of many investigators. The field has also made great strides by unifying the numerous experimental observations through the development of increasingly accurate theoretical concepts and mathematical descriptions. The application of these funda mental principles has in turn formed a basis for the solution of many different electrophysiological problems."

This two-volume set focuses on the interface between physiologic mechanisms and diagnostic human engineering. Today numerous biomedical sensors are commonplace in clinical practice. The registered biosignals reflect mostly vital physiologic phenomena. In order to adequately apply biomedical sensors and reasonably interpret the corresponding biosignals, a proper understanding of the involved physiologic phenomena, their influence on the registered biosignals, and the technology behind the sensors is necessary. The first volume is devoted to the interface between physiologic mechanisms and arising biosignals, whereas the second volume is focussed on the interface between biosignals and biomedical sensors. The physiologic mechanisms behind the biosignals are described from the basic cellular level up to their advanced mutual coordination level during sleep. The arising biosignals are discussed within the scope of vital physiologic phenomena to foster their understanding and comprehensive analysis.

The Most Comprehensive and Cutting-Edge Guide to Statistical Applications in Biomedical Research

With the increasing use of biotechnology in medical research and the sophisticated advances in computing, it has become essential for practitioners in the biomedical sciences to be fully educated on the role statistics plays in ensuring the accurate analysis of research findings. Statistical Advances in the Biomedical Sciences explores the growing value of statistical knowledge in the management and comprehension of medical research and, more specifically, provides an accessible introduction to the contemporary methodologies used to understand complex problems in the four major areas of modern-day biomedical science: clinical trials, epidemiology, survival analysis, and bioinformatics.

Composed of contributions from eminent researchers in the field, this volume discusses the application of statistical techniques to various aspects of modern medical research and illustrates how these methods ultimately prove to be an indispensable part of proper data collection and analysis. A structural uniformity is maintained across all chapters, each beginning with an introduction that discusses general concepts and the biomedical problem under focus and is followed by specific details on the associated methods, algorithms, and applications. In addition, each chapter provides a summary of the main ideas and offers a concluding remarks section that presents novel ideas, approaches, and challenges for future research.

Complete with detailed references and insight on the future directions of biomedical research, Statistical Advances in the Biomedical Sciences provides vital statistical guidance to practitioners in the biomedical sciences while also introducing statisticians to new, multidisciplinary frontiers of application. This text is an excellent reference for graduate- and PhD-level courses in various areas of biostatistics and the medical sciences and also serves as a valuable tool for medical researchers, statisticians, public health professionals, and biostatisticians.

This book reports on multidisciplinary research focusing on the analysis, synthesis and design of bionanomaterials. It merges the biophysicists', the biochemists' and bioengineers' perspectives, covering the study of the basic properties of materials and their interaction with biological systems, the development of new devices for medical purposes such as implantable systems, and new algorithms and methods for modeling the mechanical, physical or biological properties of biomaterials. The different chapters, which are based on selected contributions presented at the second edition of BIONAM, held on October 4-7, 2016, in Salerno, Italy, cover both basic and applied research. This includes novel synthetic strategies for nanomaterials, as well as the implementation of bio- and smart materials for pharmacological and medical purposes (e.g. drug delivery, implantable systems), environmental applications, and many others. The book provides a broad audience of academic and professionals with a comprehensive, timely snapshot of the field of biomaterials. Besides offering a set of innovative theories together with the necessary practical tools for their implementation, it also highlights current challenges in the field, thus fostering new discussions and possible future collaborations between groups with different backgrounds.

This volume describes the state-of-knowledge in the study of the relationships between mechanical loading states in tissues and common pathophysiologies related to increase in mass of adipose tissues and/or hyperglycemia which eventually lead to obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, metabolic inflammations, certain types of cancer and other related diseases. There appears to be an interaction between the loading states in tissues and cells and these chronic conditions, as well as with factors such as age, gender and genetics of the individual. Bioengineering has made key contributions to this research field in providing technologies for cell biomechanics experimentation, microscopy and image processing, tissue engineering and multi-scale, multi-physics computational modeling. Topics at the frontier of this field of study include: the continuous monitoring of cell growth, proliferation and differentiation in response to mechanical factors such as stiffness of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and mechanical loads transferred through the ECM; mechanically-activated signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms; effects of different loading regimes and mechanical environments on differentiation fates of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into myogenic and osteogenic versus adipogenic lineages; the interactions between nutrition and mechanotransduction; cell morphology, focal adhesion patterns and cytoskeletal remodeling changes in adipogenesis; activation of receptors related to diabetes by mechanical forces; brown and white adipose plasticity and its regulation by mechanical factors.

This book highlights recent advances in the field of biomaterials design and the state of the art in biomaterials applications for biomedicine. Addressing key aspects of biomaterials, the book explores technological advances at multi-scale levels (macro, micro, and nano), which are used in applications related to cell and tissue regeneration. The book also discusses the future scope of bio-integrated systems. The contents are supplemented by illustrated examples, and schematics of molecular and cellular interactions with biomaterials/scaffolds are included to promote a better understanding of the complex biological mechanisms involved in material-to-biomolecule interactions. The book also covers factors that govern cell growth, differentiation, and regeneration in connection with the treatment and recovery of native biological systems. Tissue engineering, drug screening and delivery, and electrolyte complexes for biomedical applications are also covered in detail. This book offers a comprehensive reference guide for multi-disciplinary communities working in the area of biomaterials, and will benefit researchers and graduate students alike.

This book describes the use of modern micro- and nanofabrication technologies to develop improved tools for stimulating and recording electrical activity in neuronal networks. It provides an overview of the different ways in which the "nano-world" can be beneficial for neuroscientists, including improvement of mechanical adhesion of cells on electrodes, tight-sealed extracellular recordings or intracellular approaches with strongly reduced invasiveness and tools for localized electrical or optical stimulation in optogenetics experiments. Specific discussion of fabrication strategies is included, to provide a comprehensive guide to develop micro and nanostructured tools for biological applications. A perspective on integrating these devices with state-of-the-art technologies for large-scale in vitro and in vivo experiments completes the picture of neuronal interfacing with micro- and nanostructures.

This book focuses on important interfacial phenomena, such as interfacial potential and interfacial multi-functionality, responsible for determining the fate of nanoparticles inside the biological milieu. Additionally, this book explores the role of surface defects in photocatalytic nanoparticles in defining the nanoparticle interaction to biological membrane and cytotoxic propensity.The authors describe the interfacial assembly of peptide/protein on conformational/functional dynamics of the peptide/protein, which may be adopted as an approach to moderate the protein misfolding diseases.

Automata Theory and Formal Languages: Concepts and Practices presents the difficult concepts of automata theory in a straightforward manner, including discussions on diverse concepts and tools that play major roles in developing computing machines, algorithms and code. Automata theory includes numerous concepts such as finite automata, regular grammar, formal languages, context free and context sensitive grammar, push down automata, Turing machine, and decidability, which constitute the backbone of computing machines. This book enables readers to gain sufficient knowledge and experience to construct and solve complex machines. Each chapter begins with key concepts followed by a number of important examples that demonstrate the solution. The book explains concepts and simultaneously helps readers develop an understanding of their application with real-world examples, including application of Context Free Grammars in programming languages and Artificial Intelligence, and cellular automata in biomedical problems.

"Smart Hydrogel Functional Materials" comprehensively and systematically describes our current understanding of smart or intelligent hydrogel functional materials with environmental stimuli-responsive functions. The contents range from hydrogels (including hydrogel-functionalized membranes) to microgels (including hydrogel-functionalized microcapsules) with various response properties, such as thermo-response, pH-response, pH-/thermo-dual-response, glucose-response, ethanol-response, ion-recognition, molecular-recognition, and so on. Most of the contents in this book represent the fresh achievements of the authors' group on smart hydrogel functional materials. While all chapters can be read as stand-alone papers, together they clearly describe the design concepts, fabrication strategies and methods, microstructures and performances of smart hydrogel functional materials. Vivid schematics and illustrations throughout the book enhance the accessibility of the theory and technologies involved.

This is an ideal reference book for a broad general readership including chemists, materials researchers, chemical engineers, pharmaceutical scientists and biomedical researchers, who are interested in designing and fabricating smart hydrogel functional materials for various application purposes.

Dr. Liang-Yin Chu is a professor at the School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, China. He is a Distinguished Young Scholar of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and a Distinguished Professor of the "Chang Jiang Scholars Program" of the Ministry of Education of China.

This book presents advances in biomedical imaging analysis and processing techniques using time dependent medical image datasets for computer aided diagnosis. The analysis of time-series images is one of the most widely appearing problems in science, engineering, and business. In recent years this problem has gained importance due to the increasing availability of more sensitive sensors in science and engineering and due to the wide-spread use of computers in corporations which have increased the amount of time-series data collected by many magnitudes. An important feature of this book is the exploration of different approaches to handle and identify time dependent biomedical images. Biomedical imaging analysis and processing techniques deal with the interaction between all forms of radiation and biological molecules, cells or tissues, to visualize small particles and opaque objects, and to achieve the recognition of biomedical patterns. These are topics of great importance to biomedical science, biology, and medicine. Biomedical imaging analysis techniques can be applied in many different areas to solve existing problems. The various requirements arising from the process of resolving practical problems motivate and expedite the development of biomedical imaging analysis. This is a major reason for the fast growth of the discipline.

This handbook provides insights into becoming a better and more evolved athlete. It offers aspiring athletes, regardless of skill level, a better understanding of their bodies and how to unlock the unlimited potential of muscles without injury. It focuses on the "superhero" muscle: the iliopsoas, and also sheds light on Diamond-Corporation's new technology and elite athleticism, and how these can contribute to a healthier life. Lastly, the authors explore the mindset of success and provide exercises for remaining calm under pressure. This stand-alone book is the sequel to Paradigm Shift for Future Tennis and Enhancing Performance and Reducing Stress in Sport (2014, Springer). This book is written by scientists, whose expertise collectively spans the fields of biomechanics, clinical surgery, current and former elite athleticism, engineering and naturopath doctoral work. Together, they aim to inspire and educate athletes on how to improve their sports performance by using new technologies, world class biomechanics knowledge and ancient herbal medicines.

This book discusses the design of neural stimulator systems which are used for the treatment of a wide variety of brain disorders such as Parkinson's, depression and tinnitus. Whereas many existing books treating neural stimulation focus on one particular design aspect, such as the electrical design of the stimulator, this book uses a multidisciplinary approach: by combining the fields of neuroscience, electrophysiology and electrical engineering a thorough understanding of the complete neural stimulation chain is created (from the stimulation IC down to the neural cell). This multidisciplinary approach enables readers to gain new insights into stimulator design, while context is provided by presenting innovative design examples.