This volume comprises the latest developments in both fundamental science and patient-specific applications, discussing topics such as: cellular mechanics; injury biomechanics; biomechanics of heart and vascular system; medical image analysis; and both patient-specific fluid dynamics and solid mechanics simulations. With contributions from researchers world-wide, the Computational Biomechanics for Medicine series of titles provides an opportunity for specialists in computational biomechanics to present their latest methodologies and advancements.

This book discusses the design and implementation of energy harvesting systems targeting wearable devices. The authors describe in detail the different energy harvesting sources that can be utilized for powering low-power devices in general, focusing on the best candidates for wearable applications. Coverage also includes state-of-the-art interface circuits, which can be used to accept energy from harvesters and deliver it to a device in the most efficient way. Finally, the authors present power management circuits for using multiple energy harvesting sources at the same time to power devices and to enhance efficiency of the system.

This book gathers the best papers presented at the Third Italian National Conference on Sensors, held in Rome, Italy, from 23 to 25 February 2016. The book represents an invaluable and up-to-the-minute tool, providing an essential overview of recent findings, strategies and new directions in the area of sensor research. Further, it addresses various aspects based on the development of new chemical, physical or biological sensors, assembling and characterization, signal treatment and data handling. Lastly, the book applies electrochemical, optical and other detection strategies to relevant issues in the food and clinical environmental areas, as well as industry-oriented applications.

Carbon nanomaterials have gained relevance in chem/bio sensing applications owing to their unique chemical, mechanical, electrical, and thermal characteristics. Written by leading experts in the field, this book discusses selected, state-of-the art carbon-based nanomaterials, including nanodiamonds, graphene nanodots, carbon nanopores, and nanocellulose. It presents examples of chem/bio sensing applications ranging from biomedical studies, such as DNA sequencing and neurotransmitter sensing, to heavy-metal detection in environmental monitoring scenarios, and reviews the unique properties of carbon-based nanomaterials with respect to targeted sensing applications. Further, it highlights exciting future applications. Providing comprehensive information for practitioners and scientists working in the field of carbon nanomaterial technologies and their application, it is also a valuable resource for advanced students of analytical chemistry, biochemistry, electrochemistry, materials science, and micro-/nanotechnology and -sensing.

This book contains the full papers presented at ICCEBS 2013 - the 1st International Conference on Computational and Experimental Biomedical Sciences, which was organized in Azores, in October 2013. The included papers present and discuss new trends in those fields, using several methods and techniques, including active shape models, constitutive models, isogeometric elements, genetic algorithms, level sets, material models, neural networks, optimization and the finite element method, in order to address more efficiently different and timely applications involving biofluids, computer simulation, computational biomechanics, image based diagnosis, image processing and analysis, image segmentation, image registration, scaffolds, simulation and surgical planning. The main audience for this book consists of researchers, Ph.D students and graduate students with multidisciplinary interests related to the areas of artificial intelligence, bioengineering, biology, biomechanics, computational fluid dynamics, computational mechanics, computational vision, histology, human motion, imagiology, applied mathematics, medical image, medicine, orthopaedics, rehabilitation, speech production and tissue engineering.

Stem cells hold great promise for cell therapy, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications. This book highlights the potency of stem cells, their property of self-renewal and their ability to differentiate into different cell lineages. It further describes the different markers to identify stem cells, sources, methods of isolation, culture including 2D, 3D and beyond and their cryopreservation. This is among the first books to discuss glycosylation and sialylation in stem cells. Chapters describe application of stem cells in regenerative medicine and therapy, and highlight their application in cancer therapy and spinal cord injury. The book talks about the important patents on stem cells. The book also highlights the plant stem cells, discussing their pluoripotent nature, role in organ regeneration after injury, specific stem cell niches, that signals to block differentiation studied in plants shoot, root, and vascular meristems, differentiation of plant stem cell, transcriptional regulation and epigenetic modification of plant stem cells. This book is exciting and cutting edge. It will be of great interest to doctors, students and researchers in the field of regenerative medicine, cancer , biotechnology and plant sciences.

Bioinspired Materials for Medical Applications examines the inspiration of natural materials and their interpretation as modern biomaterials. With a strong focus on therapeutic and diagnostic applications, the book also examines the development and manipulation of bioinspired materials in regenerative medicine. The first set of chapters is heavily focused on bioinspired solutions for the delivery of drugs and therapeutics that also offer information on the fundamentals of these materials. Chapters in part two concentrate on bioinspired materials for diagnosis applications with a wide coverage of sensor and imaging systems With a broad coverage of the applications of bioinspired biomaterials, this book is a valuable resource for biomaterials researchers, clinicians, and scientists in academia and industry, and all those who wish to broaden their knowledge in the allied field.

As the biomedical engineering field expands throughout the world, clinical engineers play an evermore-important role as translators between the medical, engineering, and business professions. They influence procedure and policy at research facilities, universities, as well as private and government agencies including the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization. The profession of clinical engineering continues to seek its place amidst the myriad of professionals that comprise the health care field.
The Clinical Engineering Handbook meets a long felt need for a comprehensive book on all aspects of clinical engineering that is a suitable reference in hospitals, classrooms, workshops, and governmental and non-governmental organization. The Handbook's thirteen sections address the following areas: Clinical Engineering; Models of Clinical Engineering Practice; Technology Management; Safety Education and Training; Design, Manufacture, and Evaluation and Control of Medical Devices; Utilization and Service of Medical Devices; Information Technology; and Professionalism and Ethics. The Clinical Engineering Handbook provides the reader with prospects for the future of clinical engineering as well as guidelines and standards for best practice around the world. From telemedicine and IT issues, to sanitation and disaster planning, it brings together all the important aspects of clinical engineering.
* Clinical Engineers are the safety and quality faciltators in all medical facilities.
* The most definitive, comprehensive, and up-to-date book available on the subject of clinical engineering.
* Over 170 contributions by leaders in the field of clinical engineering.

This contributed volume is the first of a series that introduces safe, feasible, and practical decellularization and recellularization techniques for tissue and organ reconstruction. We have put special emphasis on the research areas most likely to develop well-engineered scaffolds for tissue and organ engineering, while presenting easily applicable bench-to-bedside approaches highlighting the latest technical innovations in the field. This book includes both a fundamental discussion for a broad understanding of the basis of tissue repair and substitution, as well as chapters written by world renowned specialists from 20 countries providing deeper discussions and analysis of related sub disciplines. Within these pages, the reader will find state-of-the-art protocols and current clinical challenges in cell and tissue biology, including accurate and comprehensive information on extracellular matrices, natural biomaterials, tissue dynamics, morphogenesis, stem cells, cellular fate progressions, cell and tissue properties for in-vitro and in-vivo applications. This comprehensive and carefully organized treatise provides a clear framework for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers new to the field, but also for researchers and practitioners looking to expand their knowledge on tissue and organ reconstruction.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. The chapter "Polymeric Nanoparticle-Mediated Gene Delivery for Lung Cancer Treatment" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book presents regenerative strategies for the treatment of knee joint disabilities. The book is composed of four main sections totaling 19 chapters which review the current knowledge on the clinical management and preclinical regenerative strategies. It examines the role of different natural-based biomaterials as scaffolds and implants for addressing different tissue lesions in the knee joint. Section one provides an updated and comprehensive discussion on articular cartilage tissue regeneration. Section two focuses on the important contributions for bone and osteochondral tissue engineering. Section three overview the recent advances on meniscus repair/regeneration strategies. Finally, section four further discusses the current strategies for treatment of ligament lesions. Each chapter is prepared by world know expert on their fields, so we do firmly believe that the proposed book will be a reference in the area of biomaterials for regenerative medicine.

This book offers a succinct but comprehensive description of the mechanics of muscle contraction and legged terrestrial locomotion. It describes on the one hand how the fundamental properties of muscle tissue affect the mechanics of locomotion, and on the other, how the mechanics of locomotion modify the mechanism of muscle operation under different conditions. Further, the book reports on the design and results of experiments conducted with two goals. The first was to describe the physiological function of muscle tissue (which may be considered as the "motor") contracting at a constant length, during shortening, during lengthening, and under a condition that occurs most frequently in the back-and-forth movement of the limbs during locomotion, namely the stretch-shortening cycle of the active muscle. The second objective was to analyze the interaction between the motor and the "machine" (the skeletal lever system) during walking and running in different scenarios with respect to speed, step frequency, body mass, gravity, age, and pathological gait. The book will be of considerable interest to physiology, biology and physics students, and provides researchers with stimuli for further experimental and analytical work.

This book offers comprehensive, easy to understand guidance for medical device technology innovators on how to work through the United States FDA regulatory review process, while also providing insight on the various intellectual property concerns that many medical device innovators face. In the first portion of this book, readers are introduced to important concepts concerning FDA compliance for medical devices, as well as strategies for successfully navigating the FDA regulatory review process. Specifically, the first portion discusses the expansive range of medical devices and then walks through the most common routes to market: the PMA and 510(k) application processes. In the second portion of this book, readers are introduced to the various types of intellectual property rights that are available for medical device technology inventions and innovations, and can explore ways to overcome unique intellectual property challenges faced by many medical device technology innovators. In the third portion of the book, specific strategies are discussed to navigate the interface between the FDA regulatory process and the process of obtaining intellectual property protection. This book also includes a number of descriptive examples, case studies and scenarios to illustrate the topics discussed, and is intended for use by medical device designers, developers and innovators.

This textbook summarizes the basic knowledge of atomic, nuclear, and radiation physics that professionals working in medical physics and biomedical engineering need for efficient and safe use of ionizing radiation in medicine. Concentrating on the underlying principles of radiation physics, the textbook covers the prerequisite knowledge for medical physics courses on the graduate and post-graduate levels in radiotherapy physics, radiation dosimetry, imaging physics, and health physics, thus providing the link between elementary undergraduate physics and the intricacies of four medical physics specialties: diagnostic radiology physics, nuclear medicine physics, radiation oncology physics, and health physics. To recognize the importance of radiation dosimetry to medical physics three new chapters have been added to the 14 chapters of the previous edition. Chapter 15 provides a general introduction to radiation dosimetry. Chapter 16 deals with absolute radiation dosimetry systems that establish absorbed dose or some other dose related quantity directly from the signal measured by the dosimeter. Three absolute dosimetry techniques are known and described in detail: (i) calorimetric; (ii) chemical (Fricke), and (iii) ionometric. Chapter 17 deals with relative radiation dosimetry systems that rely on a previous dosimeter calibration in a known radiation field. Many relative radiation dosimetry systems have been developed to date and four most important categories used routinely in medicine and radiation protection are described in this chapter: (i) Ionometric dosimetry; (ii) Luminescence dosimetry; (iii) Semiconductor dosimetry; and (iv) Film dosimetry. The book is intended as a textbook for a radiation physics course in academic medical physics graduate programs as well as a reference book for candidates preparing for certification examinations in medical physics sub-specialties. It may also be of interest to many professionals, not only physicists, who in their daily occupations deal with various aspects of medical physics or radiation physics and have a need or desire to improve their understanding of radiation physics.

Presenting a state-of-the-art overview of theoretical and computational models that link characteristic biomechanical phenomena, this book provides guidelines and examples for creating multiscale models in representative systems and organisms. It develops the reader's understanding of and intuition for multiscale phenomena in biomechanics and mechanobiology, and introduces a mathematical framework and computational techniques paramount to creating predictive multiscale models. Biomechanics involves the study of the interactions of physical forces with biological systems at all scales - including molecular, cellular, tissue and organ scales. The emerging field of mechanobiology focuses on the way that cells produce and respond to mechanical forces - bridging the science of mechanics with the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology. Linking disparate spatial and temporal scales using computational techniques is emerging as a key concept in investigating some of the complex problems underlying these disciplines. Providing an invaluable field manual for graduate students and researchers of theoretical and computational modelling in biology, this book is also intended for readers interested in biomedical engineering, applied mechanics and mathematical biology.

The question whether molecular primitives can prove to be real alternatives to contemporary semiconductor means or effective supplements extending greatly possibilities of information technologies is addressed. Molecular primitives and circuitry for information processing devices are also discussed. Investigations in molecular based computing devices were initiated in the early 1970s in the hopes for an increase in the integration level and processing speed. Real progress proved unfeasible into the 1980 s. However, recently, important and promising results were achieved. The elaboration of operational 160-kilobit molecular electronic memory patterned 1011 bits per square centimeter in the end of 90?'s were the first timid steps of information processing further development. Subsequent advances beyond these developments are presented and discussed. This work provides useful knowledge to anyone working in molecular based information processing.

This book presents techniques necessary to predict cardiac arrhythmias, long before they occur, based on minimal ECG data. The authors describe the key information needed for automated ECG signal processing, including ECG signal pre-processing, feature extraction and classification. The adaptive and novel ECG processing techniques introduced in this book are highly effective and suitable for real-time implementation on ASICs.

This book introduces readers to the current trends in using deep learners and deep learner descriptors for medical applications. It reviews the recent literature and presents a variety of medical image and sound applications to illustrate the five major ways deep learners can be utilized: 1) by training a deep learner from scratch (chapters provide tips for handling imbalances and other problems with the medical data); 2) by implementing transfer learning from a pre-trained deep learner and extracting deep features for different CNN layers that can be fed into simpler classifiers, such as the support vector machine; 3) by fine-tuning one or more pre-trained deep learners on an unrelated dataset so that they are able to identify novel medical datasets; 4) by fusing different deep learner architectures; and 5) by combining the above methods to generate a variety of more elaborate ensembles. This book is a value resource for anyone involved in engineering deep learners for medical applications as well as to those interested in learning more about the current techniques in this exciting field. A number of chapters provide source code that can be used to investigate topics further or to kick-start new projects.

This book discusses a novel and high-rate-capable micro pattern gaseous detector of the Micromegas (MICRO-MEsh GAS detector) type. It provides a detailed characterization of the performance of Micromegas detectors on the basis of measurements and simulations, along with an in-depth examination of analysis and reconstruction methods. The accurate and efficient detection of minimum ionizing particles in high-rate background environments is demonstrated. The excellent performance determined here for these lightweight detectors will make possible the live medical imaging of a patient during ion-beam treatment.

This book presents some of the latest achievements in nanotechnology and nanomaterials from leading researchers in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. It features selected peer-reviewed contributions from participants in the 5th International Science and Practice Conference Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials (NANO2017) held in Chernivtsi, Ukraine on August 23-26, 2017. The International Conference was organized jointly by the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Turin (Italy), and Pierre and Marie Curie University (France). Internationally recognized experts from a wide range of universities and research institutions share their knowledge and key results on topics ranging from energy storage to biomedical applications. This book's companion volume also addresses nanooptics, nanoplasmonics, and interface studies.

This book compiles the latest applications of the cutting-edge gene editing tool CRISPR/Cas in the area of crop improvement. It begins with an introduction to the technique and its application in crop plants. Next, it gives an updated overview of available delivery methods, design tools and resources in CRISPR/Cas. The book subsequently reviews the applications of CRISPR/Cas in connection with e.g. insect stress, disease stress, abiotic stress, nutritional and yield improvement in crop plants, etc. It also discusses the various regulatory, ethical and social aspects of the technique that must be kept in mind when designing experiments. In closing, the book summarizes the status quo and outlines future prospects for the tool in crop improvement and food security. Given its scope, the book will especially benefit students and researchers in food science, biotechnology, agriculture and the plant sciences.

Current pharmaceutical and clinical approaches to the treatment of disease suffer from the inherent limitations in the specialization of drugs introduced to physiological systems. The interface of clinical and material sciences has allowed for a broad spectrum of creative approaches with the potential to alleviate these shortcomings. However, the synergy of these disciplines also presents problems in which nascent technology lacks the necessary evaluation within its intended clinical environment. Given the growing potential for materials science to address a number of unanswered therapeutic needs, it remains even more pressing to validate emerging drug delivery technologies in actual clinical environments. Drug Delivery: Materials Design and Clinical Perspective addresses the core fundamentals of drug delivery using material science and engineering principles, and then applies this knowledge using prominent examples from both the scientific literature and clinical practice. Each chapter focuses on a specific drug delivery technology, such as controlled-release materials, thin-film materials, or smart materials. Within each chapter, an initial section on "Engineering Concepts" reviews the relevant fundamental principles that guide rational design. The following section on "Materials Design" discusses how the design process applies engineering concepts for use in physiological systems. A third section on "Implementation" discusses current approaches in the literature which have demonstrated effective drug delivery in controlled environments. Finally, each chapter contains several sections on "Clinical Applications" which describe the validity of materials approaches from a clinical perspective; these sections review the safety and efficacy of drug delivery systems for specific, compelling medical applications. The book thereby bridges materials science with clinical medicine, and provides the reader with a bench-to-bedside view of novel drug delivery systems. * Provides a comprehensive description of drug delivery systems from a materials perspective * Includes a wide-ranging discussion of clinical applications of drug delivery systems * Presents separate chapters on controlled release materials, thin film materials, self-microemulsifying materials, smart materials, etc. * Covers fundamental engineering principles, rational materials design, implementation testing, and clinical applications for each material type

This book explores critical principles and new concepts in bioengineering, integrating the biological, physical and chemical laws and principles that provide a foundation for the field. Both biological and engineering perspectives are included, with key topics such as the physical-chemical properties of cells, tissues and organs; principles of molecules; composition and interplay in physiological scenarios; and the complex physiological functions of heart, neuronal cells, muscle cells and tissues. Chapters evaluate the emerging fields of nanotechnology, drug delivery concepts, biomaterials, and regenerative therapy. The leading individuals and events are introduced along with their critical research. Bioengineering: A Conceptual Approach is a valuable resource for professionals or researchers interested in understanding the central elements of bioengineering. Advanced-level students in biomedical engineering and computer science will also find this book valuable as a secondary textbook or reference.

This authored monograph supplies empirical evidence for the Bayesian brain hypothesis by modeling event-related potentials (ERP) of the human electroencephalogram (EEG) during successive trials in cognitive tasks. The employed observer models are useful to compute probability distributions over observable events and hidden states, depending on which are present in the respective tasks. Bayesian model selection is then used to choose the model which best explains the ERP amplitude fluctuations. Thus, this book constitutes a decisive step towards a better understanding of the neural coding and computing of probabilities following Bayesian rules. The target audience primarily comprises research experts in the field of computational neurosciences, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students who want to specialize in this field.

The book presents an integrative review of paleoneurology, the study of endocranial morphology in fossil species. The main focus is on showing how computed methods can be used to support advances in evolutionary neuroanatomy, paleoanthropology and archaeology and how they have contributed to creating a completely new perspective in cognitive neuroscience. Moreover, thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, the book addresses students and researchers approaching human paleoneurology from different angles and for different purposes, such as biologists, physicians, anthropologists, archaeologists and computer scientists. The individual chapters, written by international experts, represent authoritative reviews of the most important topics in the field. All the concepts are presented in an easy-to-understand style, making them accessible to university students, newcomers and also to anyone interested in understanding how methods like biomedical imaging, digital anatomy and computed and multivariate morphometrics can be used for analyzing ontogenetic and phylogenetic changes according to the principles of functional morphology, morphological integration and modularity.