This book constitutes the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems, Living Machines 2022, held as virtual event, in July 19-22, 2022. The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 crisis. The 30 full papers and 8 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions. They deal with research on novel life-like technologies inspired by the scientific investigation of biological systems; biomimetics; and research that seeks to interface biological and artificial systems to create biohybrid systems.

Interest in the therapeutic value of embryonic, fetal and adult stem cell types is rapidly expanding throughout the scientific community. The first half of this century should see an explosion of therapeutic applications of stem cells which will grow from the cells and techniques described in this book. Stem Cell Culture provides a comprehensive resource for researchers in the fields of embryonic, fetal and adult stem cell biology to find methods for the purification, culture, and differentiation of these cell types, with the main emphasis on the maintenance of the stem cell phenotype in vitro. This volume will be the first to broadly cover multiple types of stem cell culture from different ages, organs and species. Chapters focus on the practical do's and don'ts of isolating and culturing these cell types, and use illustrative data or diagrams that allow the reader to confidently apply techniques and make this a standard reference.
*Compares and contrasts a broad range of species and stem cell types.
*Describes techniques in stem cell research, and goes beyond just protocols by presenting methods within perspective of recent literature reviews.
*Delineates critical steps and potential pitfalls for each method, provided by at-the-bench authors for expert information.
*Covers specific procedures in dealing with Human Embryonic Stem Cells, but also emphasizes other sources of potentially therapeutic stem cells such as amniotic fluid, adult muscle and adipose tissue, and umbilical cord.

This two-volume set of LNICST 414 and 415 constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on IoT and Big Data Technologies for Health Care, IoTCARE 2021, which took place in October 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 79 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 165 submissions. The papers are arranged thematically as follows: Integrating healthcare with IoT; Information fusion for the devices of IoT; AI-based internet of medical things.

This book highlights the analytics and optimization issues in healthcare systems, proposes new approaches, and presents applications of innovative approaches in real facilities. In the past few decades, there has been an exponential rise in the application of swarm intelligence techniques for solving complex and intricate problems arising in healthcare. The versatility of these techniques has made them a favorite among scientists and researchers working in diverse areas. The primary objective of this book is to bring forward thorough, in-depth, and well-focused developments of hybrid variants of swarm intelligence algorithms and their applications in healthcare systems.

Design Engineering and Science teaches the theory and practice of axiomatic design (AD). It explains the basics of how to conceive and deliver solutions to a variety of design problems. The text shows how a logical framework and scientific basis for design can generate creative solutions in many fields, including engineering, materials, organizations, and a variety of large systems. Learning to apply the systematic methods advocated by AD, a student can construct designs that lead to better environmental sustainability and to increased quality of life for the end-user at the same time reducing the overall cost of the product development process. Examples of previous innovations that take advantage of AD methods include: * on-line electric vehicle design for electric buses with wireless power supply; * mobile harbors that allow unloading of large ships in shallow waters; * microcellular plastics with enhanced toughness and lower weight; and * organizational changes in companies and universities resulting in more efficient and competitive ways of working. The book is divided into two parts. Part I provides detailed and thorough instruction in the fundamentals of design, discussing why design is so important. It explains the relationship between and the selection of functional requirements, design parameters and process variables, and the representation of design outputs. Part II presents multiple applications of AD, including examples from manufacturing, healthcare, and materials processing. Following a course based on this text students learn to create new products and design bespoke manufacturing systems. They will gain insight into how to create imaginative design solutions that satisfy customer needs and learn to avoid introducing undue complexity into their designs. This informative text provides practical and academic insight for engineering design students and will help instructors teach the subject in a novel and more rigorous fashion. Their knowledge of AD will stand former students in good stead in the workplace as these methods are both taught and used in many leading industrial concerns.

This unique book comprehensively reviews how information technology is changing cardiovascular medical practice. Chapters include a wide range of topics from specific technologies and virtual care education to large system implementation. Extensive illustrative material and specific case studies are included throughout to reinforce key concepts and enable the reader to develop an understanding of how information technology is impacting medical practice. Health equity, medicolegal ethics, and regulatory considerations are also covered. Healthcare Information Technology for Cardiovascular Medicine: Telemedicine & Digital Health provides a foundation for better understanding how these technologies impact cardiovascular care delivery. Its comprehensive analysis enables healthcare providers and other stakeholders to enhance clinical practice through digital health implementation.

This two-volume set of LNICST 414 and 415 constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on IoT and Big Data Technologies for Health Care, IoTCARE 2021, which took place in October 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 79 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 165 submissions. The papers are arranged thematically as follows: Integrating healthcare with IoT; Information fusion for the devices of IoT; AI-based internet of medical things.

This book provides a practically applicable guide to designing evidence-based medical apps and mHealth interventions. It features detailed guidance and case studies where applicable on the best practices and available techniques from both technological (platform technologies, toolkits, sensors) and research perspectives. This approach enables the reader to develop a deep understanding of how to collect the appropriate data and work with users to build a user friendly app for their target audience. Information on how researchers and designers can communicate their intentions with a variety of stakeholders including medical practitioners, developers and researchers to ensure the best possible decisions are made during the development process to produce an app of optimal quality that also considers usability. Developing Medical Apps and mHealth Interventions comprehensively covers the development of medical and health apps for researchers, informaticians and physicians, and is a valuable resource for the experienced professional and trainee seeking a text on how to develop user friendly medical apps.

Over the past decade, there has been rapid growth in bioengineering applications in the field of spine implants. This book explains the technical foundation for understanding and expanding the field of spine implants, reviews the major established technologies related to spine implants, and provides reference material for developing and commercializing new spine implants. The editors, who have a track record of collaboration and editing technical books, provide a unified approach to this topic in the most comprehensive and useful book to date.
-Related website provides the latest information on spine technology including articles and research papers on the latest technology and development.
-Major technologies reviewed include devices used for fusion (screws, plates, rods, and cages), disc repair and augmentation, total disc replacement, and vertebral body repair and augmentation.
-Technology landscape, review of published/public domain data currently available, and safety and efficacy of technology discussed in detail.

This book focuses on recent advances and different research areas in multi-modal data fusion under healthcare informatics and seeks out theoretical, methodological, well-established and validated empirical work dealing with these different topics. This book brings together the latest industrial and academic progress, research, and development efforts within the rapidly maturing health informatics ecosystem. Contributions highlight emerging data fusion topics that support prospective healthcare applications. The book also presents various technologies and concerns regarding energy aware and secure sensors and how they can reduce energy consumption in health care applications. It also discusses the life cycle of sensor devices and protocols with the help of energy-aware design, production, and utilization, as well as the Internet of Things technologies such as tags, sensors, sensing networks, and Internet technologies. In a nutshell, this book gives a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art theories and techniques for massive data handling and access in medical data and smart health in IoT, and provides useful guidelines for the design of massive Internet of Medical Things.

This book presents innovative solutions utilising informatics to deal with various issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak. The book offers a collection of contemporary research and development on the management of Covid-19 using health data analytics, information exchange, knowledge sharing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the Internet of Everything (IoE)-based solutions. The book also analyses the implementation, assessment, adoption, and management of these healthcare informatics solutions to manage the pandemic and future epidemics. The book is relevant to researchers, professors, students, and professionals in informatics and related topics.

As individuals increasingly seek ways of accessing, understanding and sharing data about their own bodies, this book offers a critique of the popular claim that 'more information' equates to 'better health'. In a study that redefines the public, academic and policy related debates around health, bodies, information and data, the authors consider the ways in which the phenomenon of self-diagnosis has created alternative worlds of knowledge and practises which are often at odds with professional medical advice. With a focus on data that concerns significant life changes, this book explores the potential challenges related to people's changing relationships with traditional health systems as access to, and control over, data shifts.

Polymeric materials offer a high level of versatility due to the range of applications possible within the biomedical and clinical fields - including wound closure - particularly in comparison to metals or ceramics. These specialised materials also allow for a diverse array of therapeutic effects. Although there have been advances in improving polymeric materials for surgical sutures, there is little information available regarding improving the therapeutic value of sutures, and advanced technologies used to implement this improvement. Advanced Technologies and Polymer Materials for Surgical Sutures provides thorough coverage on suture materials with improved mechanical and therapeutic properties that can improve quality of life; chapter topics include drug-releasing kinetics of sutures, shape memory polymer sutures and future trends. This book is a useful resource for academics and researchers in the materials science and biomedical engineering fields, as well as professionals in biomaterials and biotextiles development and clinicians looking to learn more about suture material properties and suture/body interactions.

This book includes selected peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Conference on Trends in Electronics and Health Informatics (TEHI 2021), organized by Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Pranveer Singh Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, during 16-17 December 2021. The book is broadly divided into five sections-artificial intelligence and soft computing, healthcare informatics, Internet of things and data analytics, electronics, and communications.

The Handbook of Electrogastrography is the first textbook dedicated to reviewing the physiology of gastric myelectrical activity and the measurement of this electrical activity with electrodes placed on the abdominal surface - the electrogastrogram. The Handbook is divided into three major sections. The first section (Chapters 1-3) focuses on the history of electrogastrography, electrical activity of the interstitial cells of Cajal, the cells from which gastric electrical rhythmicity emanates. The cellular level of gastric electrical rhythmicity provides an understanding of the physiological basis of the electrogastrogram signal.

The second major section of the book (Chapters 4-6) incorporates the practical aspects of recording a high quality electrogastrogram and approaches to the analysis of the electrogastrogram using visual inspection and computer techniques. This section focuses on the authors' combined experience of examining EGG recordings for more than sixty years. From this rich research and clinical experience, the clinical application of EGG recordings in an approach to patients with unexplained nausea and vomiting is described. Neuromuscular disorders of the stomach involving gastric dysrhythmias are reviewed.

The third major section of the book (Chapters 7-9) comprises many examples of gastric dysrythmias ranging from bradygastrias to tachygastrias and mixed dysrythmias. Current understanding of the mechanisms of gastric dysrhythmias is reviewed. Artifacts in the EGG signal, which may be confused with gastric dysrhythmias, are also presented.

The Handbook of Electrogastrography will be a valuable reference for physicians interested in recording gastric electrical activity in clinical practices or in clinical research. Gastroenterologists, internists, psychologists and others with an interest in gastric myoelectrical events will also find extensive and relevant information for recording and interpreting EGGs in the Handbook.

The first comprehensive guide to the integration of Design for Six Sigma principles in the medical devices development cycle Medical Device Design for Six Sigma: A Road Map for Safety and Effectiveness presents the complete body of knowledge for Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), as outlined by American Society for Quality, and details how to integrate appropriate design methodologies up front in the design process. DFSS helps companies shorten lead times, cut development and manufacturing costs, lower total life-cycle cost, and improve the quality of the medical devices. Comprehensive and complete with real-world examples, this guide:* Integrates concept and design methods such as Pugh Controlled Convergence approach, QFD methodology, parameter optimization techniques like Design of Experiment (DOE), Taguchi Robust Design method, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Design for X, Multi-Level Hierarchical Design methodology, and Response Surface methodology* Covers contemporary and emerging design methods, including Axiomatic Design Principles, Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), and Tolerance Design* Provides a detailed, step-by-step implementation process for each DFSS tool included* Covers the structural, organizational, and technical deployment of DFSS within the medical device industry* Includes a DFSS case study describing the development of a new device* Presents a global prospective of medical device regulations Providing both a road map and a toolbox, this is a hands-on reference for medical device product development practitioners, product/service development engineers and architects, DFSS and Six Sigma trainees and trainers, middle management, engineering team leaders, quality engineers and quality consultants, and graduate students in biomedical engineering.

This book constitutes selected papers presented at the First International Conference on ICT for Health, Accessibility and Wellbeing, IHAW 2021, held in Larnaca, Cyprus, in November 2021. The 12 full papers and 7 short papers were thoroughly reviewed and selected from 36 submissions. One invited paper was also included in this volume. The papers are organized in topical sections on active aging; assistive devices and systems; brain functions support and mHealth; brain functions support and oncology; ICT and wellbeing.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from two VLDB workshops: The International Workshop on Polystore Systems for Heterogeneous Data in Multiple Databases with Privacy and Security Assurances, Poly 2021, and the 7th International Workshop on Data Management and Analytics for Medicine and Healthcare, DMAH 2021, which were held virtually on August 2021. For Poly 2021, 7 full and 2 short papers were accepted from 10 submissions; and for DMAH 2021, 4 full papers together with 2 invited papers were accepted from a total of 7 submissions. The papers were organized in topical sections as follows: distributed information systems in enterprises, enterprise access to data constructed from a variety of programming models, data management, data integration, data curation, privacy, and security innovative data management and analytics technologies highlighting end-to-end applications, systems, and methods to address problems in healthcare.

This significantly revised 5th edition provides nurses with a practical guide to the fundamental concepts of digital health from a nursing perspective. Nursing informatics has never been more important as contemporary healthcare continues to experience tremendous technological advances. The nursing profession is ideally positioned as a key enabler for the design and adoption of emerging eHealth models of care and quality outcomes. The book also features real world examples to illustrate the theory and encourages readers to think critically about their current practices and how they can potentially integrate relevant theories and techniques into their future practice to advance integrated care. Introduction to Nursing Informatics is designed for use as a primer for practicing nurses and students in undergraduate programs of study and includes contributions from leading international experts who have practiced in the field over a number of years. The information is presented and integrated in a purposeful manner to encourage readers to explore the key concepts of nursing practice, digital health, health information management and its relationship to informatics.

The ongoing process of bio-evolution has produced materials which are perfectly adapted to fulfil a specific functional role. The natural world provides us with a multitude of examples of materials with durability, strength, mechanisms of programmed self-assembly and biodegradability.

The materials industry has sought to observe and appreciate the relationship between structure, properties and function of these biological materials. A multidisciplinary approach, building on recent advances at the forefront of physics, chemistry and molecular biology, has been successful in producing many synthetic structures with interesting and useful properties.

"Structural Biological Materials: Design and Structure-Property Relationships" represents an invaluable reference in the field of biological materials science and provides an incisive view into this rapidly developing and increasingly important topic within materials science.

This book focuses on the study of three sub-groups of structural biological materials:

Hard tissue engineering, focussing on cortical bone
Soft tissue engineering
Fibrous materials, particularly engineering with silk fibers.

The fundamental relationship between structure and properties, and certain aspects of design and engineering, are explored in each of the sub-groups. The importance of these materials, both in their intrinsic properties and specific functions, are illustrated with relevant examples. These depict the successful integration of material properties, architecture and shape, providing a wide range of optimised designs, tailored to specific functions.

Edited by Manuel Elices of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain, this book is Volume 4 in the Pergamon Material Series.

"

This book explores the pivotal role played by technology over the past decade in advancing global public health and health care. At present, the global community faces unprecedented healthcare challenges fueled by an aging population, rising rates of chronic disease, and persistent health disparities. New technologies and advancements have the potential to extend the reach of health professionals while improving quality and efficiency of service delivery and reducing costs within the public and the private health systems. The chapters highlight the barriers faced by the global healthcare workforce in using technology to promote health and human rights of communities: Role of Digital Health, mHealth, and Low-Cost Technologies in Advancing Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies Telehealth and Homecare Agencies Technology and the Practice of Health Education in Conflict Zones The Worldwide Digital Divide and Access to Healthcare Technology Technology for Creating Better Professional Teams to Strengthen Healthcare Systems Global Public Health Disaster Management and Technology As a resource on the evolution of technology as a valuable and integral component in the promotion and practice of public health and health care, with a focus on SDG 3 targets, Technology and Global Public Health should engage students, instructors, practitioners, and other professionals interested in public health, universal health care, health technology, digital health, and health equity. Dr. Murthy has been a respected leader and mentor on scientific health-related matters within the UN system for many years. Her book develops a theoretical system connecting concepts that have coined global public health with the rapid development of technology, all with the focus to achieve Sustainable Development Goal number three, within the time frame set by World Leaders. - Henry L. Mac-Donald, Former Permanent Representative of Suriname to the United Nations

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the technique and clinical applications of magnetic brain stimulation. It begins with an account of the invention of the technique and considers the technical aspects of how magnetic stimulators work. The anatomy and physiology of cortical motor areas are covered in sufficient detail to interpret the findings. There then follows a discussion of the effects of magnetic brain stimulation in healthy subjects, covering the visual and motor systems, and the effects of repetitive transcranial stimulation. A chapter on the practical aspects of the technique's use in a clinical setting is followed by coverage of specific clinical applications in patients with demyelinating diseases, motoneurone diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, degenerative neurological diseases, movement disorders, spinal cord and peripheral nerve diseases. The final chapters deal with the use of brain stimulation in neurosurgical monitoring and discuss potential developments of the technique in investigating neural plasticity and in treatment of psychiatric conditions. Kerry Mills is an authority, pioneer and active worker in the field; he is uniquely positioned to review the technique, from its invention through to the very latest clinical applications.

Healthcare has recently seen numerous exciting applications of artificial intelligence, industrial engineering, and operations research. This book, designed to be accessible to a diverse audience, provides an overview of interdisciplinary research partnerships that leverage AI, IE, and OR to tackle societal and operational problems in healthcare. The topics are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from optimizing the location of AEDs for cardiac arrests to data mining for facilitating patient flow through a hospital. These applications highlight how engineering has contributed to medical knowledge, health system operations, and behavioral health. Chapter authors include medical doctors, policy-makers, social scientists, and engineers. Each chapter begins with a summary of the health care problem and engineering method. In these examples, researchers in public health, medicine, and social science as well as engineers will find a path to start interdisciplinary collaborations in health applications of AI/IE/OR.

This new book explores the rapidly expanding applications of spatial analysis, GIS and remote sensing in the health sciences, and medical geography.

3D Bioprinting and Nanotechnology in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Second Edition provides an in-depth introduction to bioprinting and nanotechnology and their industrial applications. Sections cover 4D Printing Smart Multi-responsive Structure, Cells for Bioprinting, 4D Printing Biomaterials, 3D/4D printing functional biomedical devices, 3D Printing for Cardiac and Heart Regeneration, Integrating 3D printing with Ultrasound for Musculoskeletal Regeneration, 3D Printing for Liver Regeneration, 3D Printing for Cancer Studies, 4D Printing Soft Bio-robots, Clinical Translation and Future Directions. The book's 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. This book provides an overview of these technologies and their integration.