From bandage to the bioreactor, this book looks at five different device technologies from inception to healthcare practice, drawing on medical sociology, science and technology studies and political science. It examines "evidence," regulation and governance processes, and diverse stakeholders in innovating the technologies that shape health care.

This book highlights the responsibility of medical device designers and engineers to eliminate sites of failure and to test devices to demonstrate their ultimate safety and efficacy. It also evaluates biomaterials and their properties as related to the design and reliability of medical devices. The principles that are described are readily applicable to the biomaterial scaffolds used for generating tissue-engineered constructs.

The promise and prospects for mobile technologies in healthcare service delivery-particularly as experienced by patients and other users-are the focus of this forward-looking volume. Its detailed sociotechnical perspective takes in factors influencing patient and provider adoption of technological advances, in addition to the well-known cost and accessibility advantages. Enlightening reports show mobile health technologies in multiple contexts as an impetus for behavioral change, a means of monitoring health changes, a growing trend in service delivery, and an emerging health frontier worldwide. Together, these chapters point to the continued expansion-and global reach-of mobile technology in the next stage of healthcare services. Included in the coverage: Behavior change techniques used in mobile applications targeting physical activity: a systematic review Mobile health integration in pregnancy Unintended users, uses, and consequences of mobile weight loss apps: using eating disorders as a case study Intention vs. perception: understanding the differences in physicians' attitudes towards mobile health applications HealthGuide: a personalized mobile patient guidance system Adoption of sensors in mobile health Current and Emerging mHealth Technologies is salient reading for researchers interested in mobile health development and implementation as well as technology adoption, and mobile health system developers and managers who are interested in the implications of mobile health use by patients and/or healthcare professionals. It can also be used for courses in technology adoption and health technologies.

This book contains a wealth of practical guidance about what doing research actually involves for the often hard-pressed and isolated researcher. It bridges the gap and provides 'real-life' insight into undertaking research in nursing. It focuses on the practicality of research and identifies the pitfalls that can so easily undermine even the most carefully planned project.Practical check lists Case studies Latest information on searching on the Web Include good clinical practice for ethical research - to educate nurses on research - so that they will speak up for patients. Latest information on R & D strategy in the NHS The chapter on a career in research will be expanded and given priority.

This book explores various applications of deep learning-oriented diagnosis leading to decision support, while also outlining the future face of medical decision support systems. Artificial intelligence has now become a ubiquitous aspect of modern life, and especially machine learning enjoysgreat popularity, since it offers techniques that are capable of learning from samples to solve newly encountered cases. Today, a recent form of machine learning, deep learning, is being widely used with large, complex quantities of data, because today's problems require detailed analyses of more data. This is critical, especially in fields such as medicine. Accordingly, the objective of this book is to provide the essentials of and highlight recent applications of deep learning architectures for medical decision support systems. The target audience includes scientists, experts, MSc and PhD students, postdocs, and any readers interested in the subjectsdiscussed. The book canbe used as a reference work to support courses on artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning, medical and biomedicaleducation.

Antimicrobial Activity of Nanoparticles: Applications in Wound Healing and Infection Treatment presents the state of the art among nanotechnological approaches used in the treatment of infections. This field has gained a large amount of interest over the past few years, in response to the increasing resistance of pathogens to antibiotics. Leading researchers from around the world discuss the synthesis routes of nanobiomaterials, characterization, and their applications as antimicrobial agents. The book covers various aspects: from antiviral and antibacterial nanoparticles, to the functionalization of nanoparticles and their toxicity to human cells. This book offers an advanced reference text for biomedical engineers, materials scientists, clinicians, and biochemists, with an interest in nanomedicine and infection control.

The term "muscular dystrophy" (MD) describes a group of primary genetic disorders of muscle that often have a distinctive and recognizable clinical p- notype, accompanied by characteristic, but frequently not pathognomonic, pathological features. Research into the molecular basis of the MDs by a c- bination of positional cloning and candidate gene analysis has provided the basis for a reclassification of these disorders, with genetic and protein data augmenting traditional clinically based nomenclature. These findings have brought insights into the molecular pathogenesis of MD, with an increasing number of potential pathways involved in arriving at a dystrophic phenotype. Some common themes can be recognized, however, including the involvement of five members of the dystrophin-associated complex (dystrophin and four sarcoglycans) in different types of MD, and the involvement of two nuclear envelope proteins in producing an Emery-Dreifuss MD phenotype. Other d- ease-associated genes appear to cause MD in a completely unrelated way, such as the involvement of calpain 3 in a form of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. Section 1 of Muscular Dystrophy: Methods and Protocols reviews tra- tional strategies used to identify MDs. Meantime, techniques developed as a result of the research strategies described previously have become an integral part of the management of many patients with MD and their families, and these techniques are addressed in Sections 2 (DNA-based tests) and 3 (p- tein-based analyses). The continued effort to translate this enhanced und- standing into a molecular cure or treatment for MD is reviewed in Section 4.

This book explores potentially disruptive and transformative healthcare-specific use cases made possible by the latest developments in Internet of Things (IoT) technology and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Healthcare data can be subjected to a range of different investigations in order to extract highly useful and usable intelligence for the automation of traditionally manual tasks. In addition, next-generation healthcare applications can be enhanced by integrating the latest knowledge discovery and dissemination tools. These sophisticated, smart healthcare applications are possible thanks to a growing ecosystem of healthcare sensors and actuators, new ad hoc and application-specific sensor and actuator networks, and advances in data capture, processing, storage, and mining. Such applications also take advantage of state-of-the-art machine and deep learning algorithms, major strides in artificial and ambient intelligence, and rapid improvements in the stability and maturity of mobile, social, and edge computing models.

Recent years have seen an upsurge of significant interest in cell-based technologies. A range of productive and lively debate have taken place relating to tissue engineering, namely the construction of tissues and whole organs using molecularly-designed resorbable biomaterials to create tissue de novo, the potential use of human embryonic stem cells for transplantation and regenerative medicine, with similar potential for adult-derived stem cells, and gene therapy, in relation to cell transplantation. New findings in biomimetic materials, cell signalling pathways, extracellular matrix receptors and ligands, growth factors, and the human genome project, all present particularly motivating sources for the development of research in the evergrowing biomedical field. The purpose of this book is to stimulate further the work in biomedicine and to make the issues of related scientific disciplines accessible to a wider readership by characterising the current state of research in the biomedical field. The lectures and a selection of the presentations from BlOMED 200- th The 9 International Symposium on Biomedical Science and Technology, held in September 2002 in Turkey- constitute the basis for the volume. Tissue engineering, stem cells, cell and gene therapies were the major topics presented and discussed in the symposium. This book is intended to serve as an up-to-date synopsis of the major developments of our area through the work reflected in BlOMED 2002, though not covering all aspects of the topics, due to the natural restrictions within a volume of this kind.

The aim of volume 7 of Human Cell Culture is to provide clear and precise methods for growing primary cultures of adult stem cells from various human tissues and describe culture conditions in which these adult stem cells differentiate along their respective lineages. The book will be of value to biomedical scientists and of special interest to stem cell biologists and tissue engineers. Each chapter is written by experts actively involved in growing human adult stem cells.

Although cell fusion is an omnipresent process in life, to date considerably less is still known about the mechanisms and the molecules being involved in this biological phenomenon in higher organisms. In Cell Fusion in Health and Disease Vol 1 & Vol 2 leading experts will present up-to-date overviews about cell fusion in physiological and patho-physiological processes, which further covers the current knowledge about cell fusion-mediating molecules. Volume 1 deals with Cell Fusion in Health and will cover aspects of cell fusion in fertilization, placentation, in C. elegans, in skeletal muscle development and tissue repair, and the use of cell fusion for cellular reprogramming and cancer vaccine development. Volume 2 focuses on Cell Fusion in Disease with a particular emphasis on the role of cell fusion in cancer development and progression. Thus, Cell Fusion in Health and Disease Vol 1 & Vol 2 represents a state-of-the-art work for researchers, physicians or professionals being interested in the biological phenomenon of cell fusion and beyond.

Phototherapy exemplifies scientific medicine. The major advances have resulted from effective collaborations between basic researchers and clinicians. This book is directed to clinicians and basic researchers who are interested in current and emerging implementations of phototherapy. It can serve as an introductory reference and a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in medical physics and biomedical engineering. The emphasis is on the science underlying the various phototherapy procedures, which encompasses aspects of classical and molecular photophysics, biological photochemistry, photobiology and biophotonics. Topics that do not usually appear in other general sources include the theory and applications of tissue optics, Monte Carlo simulation, light dosimetry, and analytical modeling of laser surgery. Many illustrative problems with answers are provided to exemplify the more quantitative aspects of each topic.

PDE Modeling of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine: Computer Analysis in R presents the formulation and computer implementation of mathematical models for the forefront research areas of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The mathematical model discussed in this book consists of a system of eight partial differential equations (PDEs) with dependent variables. The computer-based example models are presented through routines coded in R-a quality, open-source scientific computing system that is readily available from the Internet. Formal mathematics is minimized, e.g., no theorems and proofs. Includes detailed examples that the reader can execute on modest computers.

In this book, leading authors in the field discuss developments of Ambient Assisted Living. The contributions have been chosen and invited at the 8th AAL Congress, Frankfurt/M. The meeting presents new technological developments which support the autonomy and independence of individuals with special needs. The 8th AAL Congress focusses its attention on technical assistance systems and their applications in homecare, health and care.

Here in a single source is a complete spectrum of ideas on the development of new anticancer drugs. Containing concise reviews of multidisciplinary fields of research, this book offers a wealth of ideas on current and future molecular targets for drug design, including signal transduction, the cell division cycle, and programmed cell death. Detailed descriptions of sources for new drugs and methods for testing and clinical trial design are also provided.
KEY FEATURES:
* One work that can be consulted for all aspects of anticancer drug development
* Concise reviews of research fields, combined with practical scientific detail, written by internationally respected experts
* A wealth of ideas on current and future molecular targets for drug design, including signal transduction, the cell division cycle, and programmed cell death
* Detailed descriptions of the sources of new anticancer drugs, including combinatorial chemistry, phage display, and natural products
* Discussion of how new drugs can be tested in preclinical systems, including the latest technology of robotic assay systems, cell culture, and experimental animal techniques
* Hundreds of references that allow the reader to access relevant scientific and medical literature
* Clear illustrations, some in color, that provide both understanding of the field and material for teaching

This volume gathers the leading research on antibody-drug conjugates and immunotoxins. Following a rigorous overview, the volume delves into focused sections on all aspects of ADCs and ITs from clinical development through to targeted therapeutic applications and the latest technologies.

Ever since President George W. Bush limited federal funding for stem cell research, the topic has been top of mind for many, including the organized patient population representing every major disease now afflicting approximately 100 million Americans. In May 2005, the president vowed to veto a compromise that 50 Republicans and 188 Democrats in the House of Representatives supported. The compromise, if matched by a Senate measure, would have repealed the 2001 limits on funding. Action at the federal level remains stalled, but states have stepped into the void to do what they can to support stem cell research. Only six states have reinforced the federal ban, and 60 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of independents, and 36 percent of Republicans support lessening or eliminating the federal restrictions on funding. As long as such restrictions remain in place, the issue promises to be one of the most divisive in any campaign season. How did scientific and medical research on something smaller than a period at the end of a sentence come to such prominence in American political life? Embryonic stem cells are a cluster of about 150 cells that form after the joining of an egg and a sperm. The stem cells at the center of the cluster have the potential to become specialized cells that could one day benefit millions of Americans. Few areas of public policy have such far-reaching implications. This fact alone accounts for the remarkable level of information and sophistication by the broad general public. Confounding the traditional polarized politics of the country previously dominated by anti-abortion and pro-choice politics, the politics of stem cell research may be redrawing the contours ofpublic life. New political partnerships have been formed across party and ideological lines. Unusual and remarkable collaborations between scientists and patients have created a deeply informed constituency as advocates for the research. Rarely has a so-called cultural or value issue broken through the reflexive ideologies of left and right, conservative and liberal, as has the politics of stem cell research.

Analytical chemists and materials scientists will find this a useful addition to their armory. The contributors have sought to highlight the present state of affairs in the validation and quality assurance of fluorescence measurements, as well as the need for future standards. Methods included range from steady-state fluorometry and microfluorometry, microscopy, and micro-array technology, to time-resolved fluorescence and fluorescence depolarization imaging techniques.

Contemporary developments in the biosciences associated with new biological possibilities have generated considerable interest among the social sciences, primarily because they challenge our understanding of the relationship between the body, nature, and identity. Regenerative medicine is such a field, and has attracted major commercial, clinical, political and popular interest. It has, however, been subject to very limited social science analysis. This book explores the hype and promise associated with the field, the uneven and often failed commercial exploitation we have seen, and the political, legal and bioethical challenges that developments in the regenerative medicine field produce. It does this at a global level, including analysis of what we are seeing in the US, Europe, China and Australia. The book establishes the meaning, boundaries and likely future development we will see, and asks whether regenerative medicine heralds a new paradigm for medicine itself.

This book covers the molecular and cellular aspects of cancer metastasis, and discusses the clinical aspect of micro- and macro-metastases, which result in the death of the majority of patients with cancer. The current edition attempts to examine the current status of the basic scientific and clinical research in the area, and is a very useful reference for clinicians, oncologists, and biologists. It is intended for undergraduates as well as postgraduates in the area of medicine, oncology, and cancer biology.

Clostridium difficile, a major nosocomial pathogen shown to be a primary cause of antibiotic-associated disease, has emerged as a highly transmissible and frequently antibiotic-resistant organism, causing a considerable burden on health care systems worldwide. In Clostridium difficile: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers bring together the most recently developed methods for studying the organism, including techniques involving isolation, molecular typing, genomics, genetic manipulation, and the use of animal models. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include brief introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes highlighting tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Clostridium difficile: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide for scientists now in a position to gain an in-depth understanding of how this organism is transmitted and how it causes disease.

In the past decades, interdisciplinary investigations overlapping biology, medicine, information science, and engineering have formed a very exciting and active field that attracts scientists, medical doctors, and engineers with knowledge in different domains. A few examples of such investigations include neural prosthetic implants that aim to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from neurologic disease and injury; brain machine interfaces that sense, analyze, and translate electrical signals from the brain to build closed-loop, biofeedback systems; and fundamental studies of intelligence, cognitive functions, and psychological behaviors correlated to their neurological basis. Although this interdisciplinary area is still in its infancy, it can potentially create some of the most significant impact: treating diseases that are considered untreatable, interpretation and communication of neuron ensembles, or even a revolutionary perception and understanding of life different from philosophical or immaterial approaches. Fortunately, several academic societies recognize the value and impact of this growing field, firmly supporting related research. Such support will drive a booming future in the next twenty or thirty years.

Research in this areais frequently project-driven, and the generated knowledge has been scattered in different fields of neuroscience, computation, material and technology, circuits and system, clinical reports, and psychology the scope considerably across the boundary of traditionally defined disciplines. "Neural Computation, Neural Devices, and Neural Prosthesis" is intended to assemble such knowledge, from there suggesting a systematic approach guiding future educational and research activities. The targeted audience includes both students and researchers.
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This book introduces the reader to drug delivery with specific emphasis on the use of nanoparticles. It covers properties, characterization, and preparation of different types of nanoparticles and discusses recent advances in their structural design and biomedical application, as well as the issues and challenges associated with their design and use. Some of the topics covered include the potential application of nanoparticles in biomedical fields, hazards associated with use of nanoparticles for drug delivery, size-dependent factors in drug delivery applications, different organic, inorganic and their hybrid systems used in drug delivery, etc. It also highlights use of nanoparticles in controlled and targeted drug delivery, and their application in stimuli-responsive, especially pH-responsive, drug release. Additionally, it also focuses on biomimetic nanoparticles, challenges faced in the designing of nanoparticles for drug delivery in cancer, viral and bacterial diseases. The contents of this volume will be useful to researchers and professionals working on advances in targeted drug delivery systems.

Medical Informatics and biomedical computing have grown in quantum measure over the past decade. An abundance of advances have come to the foreground in this field with the vast amounts of biomedical and genomic data, the Internet, and the wide application of computer use in all aspects of medical, biological, and health care research and practice. MEDICAL INFORMATICS: Knowledge Management and Data Mining in Biomedicine covers the basic foundations of the area while extending the foundational material to include the recent leading-edge research in the field. The newer concepts, techniques, and practices of biomedical knowledge management and data mining are introduced and examined in detail. It is the research and applications in these areas that are raising the technical horizons and expanding the utility of informatics to an increasing number of biomedical professionals and researchers.

The book is divided into three major topical sections.

Section I presents the foundational information and knowledge management material and includes topics such as: bioinformatics challenges and standards, security and privacy, ethical and social issues, and biomedical knowledge mapping.

Section II discusses the topics which are relevant to knowledge representations & access and includes topics such as: representations of medical concepts and relationships, genomic information retrieval, 3D medical informatics, public access to anatomic images, and creating and maintaining biomedical ontologies.

Section III examines the emerging application research in data mining, biomedical textual mining, and knowledge discovery research and includes topics such as: semantic parsing and analysisfor patient records, biological relationships, gene pathways, and metabolic networks, exploratory genomic data analysis, joint learning using data and text mining, and disease informatics and outbreak detection.

The book is a comprehensive presentation of the foundations and leading application research in medical informatics/biomedicine. These concepts and techniques are illustrated with detailed case studies.

The authors are widely recognized professors and researchers in Schools of Medicine and Information Systems from the University of Arizona, University of Washington, Columbia University, and Oregon Health & Science University. In addition, individual expert contributing authors have been commissioned to write chapters for the book on their respective topical expertise.