Computer-aided reverse engineering of the human musculoskeletal system

The objective of this study is to extend the applications of reverse engineering technology from manufacturing industries to the biomedical industry. By obtaining nearly exact geometric data of human tissues, such as bones, tendons, and ligaments, in a high-speed and inexpensive manner, potentially groundbreaking research becomes possible for applications in injury rehabilitation, injury prevention and strengthening. Previous applications of reverse engineering technologies in the biomedical community have dealt largely with prosthetic design and plastic surgery. This study expands this research to include muscular and skeletal applications. The primary advantage provided by scanning technologies is an improved quality of data. Secondly, the time investment for the medical researcher is greatly reduced. And finally, the use of a scanning technology will occasionally provide a less expensive alternative to the medical imaging counterparts. The goal of the research is to develop guidelines and methodologies for reverse engineering human structures.     

Visible Light-Induced 3D Bioprinting Technologies and Corresponding Bioink Materials for Tissue Engineering: A Review

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting based on traditional 3D printing is an emerging technology that is used to precisely assemble biocompatible materials and cells or bioactive factors into advanced tissue engineering solutions. Similar technology, particularly photo-cured bioprinting strategies, plays an important role in the field of tissue engineering research. The successful implementation of 3D bioprinting is based on the properties of photopolymerized materials. Photocrosslinkable hydrogel is an attractive biomaterial that is polymerized rapidly and enables process control in space and time. Photopolymerization is frequently initiated by ultraviolet (UV) or visible light. However, UV light may cause cell damage and thereby, affect cell viability. Thus, visible light is considered to be more biocompatible than UV light for bioprinting. In this review, we provide an overview of photo curing-based bioprinting technologies, and describe a visible light crosslinkable bioink, including its crosslinking mechanisms, types of visible light initiator, and biomedical applications. We also discuss existing challenges and prospects of visible light-induced 3D bioprinting devices and hydrogels in biomedical areas.     

生物机械工程研究进展

论述了生物机械工程的重要意义、研究现状、发展趋势、存在问题及对策，旨在推动我国生物机械工程的研究和学术地位的确立，推动生物医学工程学的进步，提高人民的健康水平。     

ZnO tetrapod materials for functional applications

In the last 15?years, more than 50,000 papers with zinc oxide (ZnO) in the title are listed within ISI database. The outstanding popularity of ZnO has many reasons; the most important one appears to be its multi-functionality, resulting in applications in physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, material science, energy, textile, rubber, additive manufacturing, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical or medicine, as well as the ease to grow all kinds of nano- and microstructures. A key structure is the tetrapod-shaped ZnO (T-ZnO), which we want to focus on in this mini-review to demonstrate the remarkable properties and multifunctionality of ZnO and motivate why even much more research and applications are likely to come in near future. As T-ZnO came into focus again mainly during the last 10?years, the big data problem in T-ZnO is not as severe as in ZnO; nevertheless, a complete overview is impossible. However, this brief T-ZnO overview attempts to cover the scopes toward advanced technologies; nanoelectronics/optoelectronics sensing devices; multifunctional composites/coatings; novel biomedical engineering materials; versatile energy harvesting candidates; and unique structures for applications in chemistry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture, engineering technologies, and many others. The 3D nanotechnology is a current mainstream in materials science/nanotechnology research, and T-ZnO contributes to this field by its simple synthesis of porous networks as sacrificial templates for any desired new cellular materials.     

Optimal Reactivity and Improved Self‐Healing Capability of Structurally Dynamic Polymers Grafted on Janus Nanoparticles Governed by Chain Stiffness and Spatial Organization

Structurally dynamic polymers are recognized as a key potential to revolutionize technologies ranging from design of self‐healing materials to numerous biomedical applications. Despite intense research in this area, optimizing reactivity and thereby improving self‐healing ability at the most fundamental level pose urgent issue for wider applications of such emerging materials. Here, the authors report the first mechanistic investigation of the fundamental principle for the dependence of reactivity and self‐healing capabilities on the properties inherent to dynamic polymers by combining large‐scale computer simulation, theoretical analysis, and experimental discussion. The results allow to reveal how chain stiffness and spatial organization regulate reactivity of dynamic polymers grafted on Janus nanoparticles and mechanically mediated reaction in their reverse chemistry, and, particularly, identify that semiflexible dynamic polymers possess the optimal reactivity and self‐healing ability. The authors also develop an analytical model of blob theory of polymer chains to complement the simulation results and reveal essential scaling laws for optimal reactivity. The findings offer new insights into the physical mechanism in various systems involving reverse/dynamic chemistry. These studies highlight molecular engineering of polymer architecture and intrinsic property as a versatile strategy in control over the structural responses and functionalities of emerging materials with optimized self‐healing capabilities.     

太赫兹成像技术在肿瘤检测中的应用

太赫兹(THz)波是频率位于0.1 THz^10 THz的电磁波。因其具有非电离性,以及可与多数生物分子产生共振响应等特性,在生物医学领域有着巨大应用潜力,尤其在肿瘤检测方面。太赫兹成像技术作为生物医学领域一种新的成像技术,吸引国内外多个研究小组对其开展深入研究。本文列举分析了多种太赫兹成像技术在肿瘤检测的应用,其中可分为太赫兹扫描成像、太赫兹层析成像、太赫兹全息成像以及太赫兹近场成像,介绍了这些成像方式的基本原理以及国内外研究现状,最后对太赫兹成像技术在生物领域的未来做出展望。     

Recent development of polymer nanofibers for biomedical and biotechnological applications

Research in polymer nanofibers has undergone significant progress in the last one decade. One of the main driving forces for this progress is the increasing use of these polymer nanofibers for biomedical and biotechnological applications. This article presents a review on the latest research advancement made in the use of polymer nanofibers for applications such as tissue engineering, controlled drug release, wound dressings, medical implants, nanocomposites for dental restoration, molecular separation, biosensors, and preservation of bioactive agents.     

高分子基功能复合材料的熔融沉积成型研究进展

3D打印又称增材制造技术,是基于材料、机械控制、计算机软件等多学科交叉的先进制造技术,可得到传统加工不能制备的形状复杂制件。熔融沉积成型(FDM)是目前最通用的3D打印技术之一,具有设备简单、成本低、操作便捷等特点,广泛应用于航空航天、医疗、汽车工业等领域。本文介绍了国内外3D打印技术的整体布局、发展和规划,总结了常见3D打印技术的特点和分类。系统地介绍了FDM加工技术的原理和优势,阐明了 FDM加工对高分子材料的基本要求,介绍了碳基高分子复合材料在FDM加工中的应用。此外,详细综述了国内外基于FDM打印技术制造功能化高分子复合材料及器件的最新研究进展,其中包括FDM打印制造导电高分子复合材料、导热高分子复合材料及生物医用高分子复合材料等,以期为FDM制造高性能多功能高分子复合材料的研究及应用提供借鉴。并对FDM加工面临的挑战及需要解决的关键问题提出了思考并做出展望。      

生物医用材料的3D打印技术与发展

近年来,由于3D打印技术的迅猛发展,有关3D打印技术的应用受到科学界广泛关注,特别是生物医学领域。3D打印材料的瓶颈制约着3D打印技术的发展,特别是用于生物医学领域的打印材料,只有非常局限的几种,但是研究可打印生物医用材料意义重大,经济效益显著。简述了3D打印技术在生物医学工程上的应用。重点综述了用于3D打印的生物医用材料,主要涉及金属、陶瓷、高聚物、复合材料以及生物墨水等,并且阐述了3D打印材料的发展前景。     

Emerging biomedical sensing technologies and their applications

Recent progress in biomedical sensing technologies has resulted in the development of several novel sensor products and new applications. Modern biomedical sensors developed with advanced microfabrication and signal processing techniques are becoming inexpensive, accurate, and reliable. A broad range of sensing mechanisms has significantly increased the number of possible target measurands that can be detected. The miniaturization of classical "bulky" measurement techniques has led to the realization of complex analytical systems, including such sensors as the BioChemLab-on-a-Chip. This rapid progress in miniature devices and instrumentation development will significantly impact the practice of medical care as well as future advances in the biomedical industry. Currently, electrochemical, optical, and acoustic wave sensing technologies have emerged as some of the most promising biomedical sensor technologies. In this paper, important features of these technologies, along with new developments and some of the applications, are presented.     

The future of biomedical materials

The purpose of this communication is to present the author’s perspectives on the future of biomedical materials that were presented at the Larry L. Hench Retirement Symposium held at Imperial College, London, in late September 2005. The author has taken a broad view of the future of biomedical materials and has presented key ideas, concepts, and perspectives necessary for the future research and development of biomedical polymers and their future role as an enabling technology for the continuing progress of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, prostheses, and medical devices. This communication, based on the oral presentation, is meant to be provocative and generate discussion. In addition, it is targeted for students and young scientists who will play an ever-increasing role in the future of biomedical materials.     

Electrospun multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds

Tissue engineering holds great promises in providing successful treat- ments of human body tissue loss that current methods are unable to treat or unable to achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes. In scaffold-based tissue engineering, a high- performance scaffold underpins the success of a tissue engineering strategy and a major direction in the field is to create multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds for enhanced biological performance and for regenerating complex body tissues. Electrospinning can produce nanofibrous scaffolds that are highly desirable for tissue engineering. The enormous interest in electrospinning and electrospun fibrous structures by the science, engineering and medical communities has led to various developments of the electrospinning technology and wide investigations of eiectrospun products in many industries, including biomedical engineering, over the past two decades. It is now possible to create novel, multicomponent tissue engineering scaffolds with multiple functions. This article provides a concise review of recant advances in the R ＆ D of electrospun multifunctional tissue engineering scaffolds. It also presents our philosophy and research in the designing and fabrication of electrospun multicomponent scaffolds with multiple functions.     

Toxicity and biocompatibility of carbon nanoparticles

A review is presented of the literature data concerning the effects induced by carbon nanoparticles on the biological environment and the importance of these effects in human and animal health. The discovery in 1985 of fullerenes, a novel carbon allotrope with a polygonal structure made up solely by 60 carbon atoms, and in 1991 of carbon nanotubes, thin carbon filaments (1-3 microm in length and 1-3 nm in diameter) with extraordinary mechanical properties, opened a wide field of activity in carbon research. During the last few years, practical applications of fullerenes as biological as well as pharmacological agents have been investigated. Various fullerene-based compounds were tested for biological activity, including antiviral, antioxidant, and chemiotactic activities. Nanotubes consist of carbon atoms arranged spirally to form concentric cylinders, that are perfect crystals and thinner than graphite whiskers. They are stronger than steel but very flexible and lightweight and transfer heat better than any other known material. These characteristics make them suitable for various potential applications such as super strong cables and tips for scanning probe microscopes, as well as biomedical devices for drug delivery, medical diagnostic, and therapeutic applications. The effects induced by these nanostructures on rat lung tissues, as well as on human skin and human macrophage and keratinocyte cells are presented.     

Modification of nanostructured materials for biomedical applications

Adaptation (or incorporation) of nanostructured materials into biomedical devices and systems has been of great interest in recent years. Through the modification of existing nanostructured materials one can control and tailor the properties of such materials in a predictable manner, and impart them with biological properties and functionalities to better suit their integration with biomedical systems. These modified nanostructured materials can bring new and unique capabilities to a variety of biomedical applications ranging from implant engineering and modulated drug delivery, to clinical biosensors and diagnostics. This review describes recent advances of nanostructured materials for biomedical applications. The methods and technologies used to modify nanostructured materials are summarized briefly, while several current interests in biomedical applications for modified and functionalized nanostructured materials are emphasized.     

Augmented body surveillance: Human microchip implantations and the omnipresent threat of function creep

Implanted microchips can store users' medical, financial, and other personal information, and provide users with easy and quick access to various locations and items. While adopted for their convenience outside of the healthcare sector, these invasive, semi-permanent implantable devices create augmented bodies that can be subject to ubiquitous surveillance. Situating human microchip implantations within surveillance literature, we draw from neoliberal perspectives of surveillance to examine augmented bodies, particularly as sources for market activity and as subjects of social control and sorting when these bodies are used as access control mechanisms, payment methods, and tracking means in employment, residential, commercial, and transportation sectors. History has demonstrated time and time again how unfettered technology applications and uses have led to real and/or perceived misuse by private and public sectors. Through the lens of function creep, we identify a pattern of expansion of applications and uses of technology beyond those originally intended across new technologies, such as DNA genetic genealogy databases, IoT wearables, and COVID-19 contact tracing apps, and provide illustrative examples of function creep, particularly the use of these technologies in criminal investigations and prosecutions despite not being intended or marketed for such use. By demonstrating the lack of clearly defined boundaries in the applications and uses of various new technologies and their associated data, and the ways they were misused, we demonstrate how human microchip implantations are headed on a similar path. The current and potential future uses of this technology raise concerns about the absence of regulation, law, and policy barring or limiting its application and use in specific sectors, and the impact of this technology on users’ security, data protection, and privacy. Undeniably, the present and potential future functions, applications, uses, and extensions of human microchip implantations in various sectors warrant a proactive examination of their security, privacy, and data protection consequences and the implementation of proactive policies to regulate new and currently unregulated uses of this technology and its associated data within these sectors.     

Beschichtungen für Life Science

Coatings for Life Science Thin film technologies being well known from semiconductor industry and corresponding technologies for microstructures are successfully used in Life Science (medical technology, pharmaceutical research or biology). These technologies are the base of the complex and miniaturized life science products. Life Science is a strongly growing part of microsystems technology enabling innovations like the cochlear implant replacing the human ear or new products like the retina implant, the latter being shortly before market entrance. Since 1960 the use of plastic material in this field grew rapidly and still today it is a growing market for plastic material manufacturers. The reasons are cheap production and easy way to sterilize plastic material disposables.Unfortunately in many cases plastic materials do not possess the desired surface properties. But an additional (functional) coating may lead to the necessary properties. Low pressure vacuum technology as a sub group of vacuum coating technology is well suited for this surface modification. Normally process temperatures are only between 20 °C – 60 °C. Ceramic and metal based products in Life Science can be modified, too. There is a wide range of coating applications e.g. diamond like coatings on stents leading to decreased thrombus formation. In this overview basics of vacuum coating technology and plasma technology are described and examplarily some aspects and applications in Life Science are shown.     

生物医学工程研究生培养新模式探索

生物医学工程是一门整合物理、数学、工程技术、生物医学科技与临床应用的跨领域工程科学,培养能够适应生物医学工程发展需要、熟悉国际规则和惯例、对生物医学产业发展具有影响力的国际化研究型、具有实践能力和创新精神的高素质复合型人才不仅符合生物医学工程专业的特点,对于满足就业市场的需求也具有十分重要的意义。研究以东北大学生物医学工程专业为例,通过生物医学工程专业研究生培养新模式的探索,找出优化的研究生培养规律和教育教学模式,在此过程中,揭示创新型人才培养的机制、方法,从而提高研究生教育的理论水平,提高教学质量和人才培养质量。     

Manipulations of atoms and molecules by scanning probe microscopy

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM), including scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), has become a powerful tool in building nanoscale structures required by modern industry. In this article, the use of SPM for the manipulation of atoms and molecules for patterning nanostructures for opt-electronic and biomedical applications is reviewed. The principles and procedures of manipulation using STM and AFM-based technologies are presented with an emphasis on their ability to create a wide variety of nanostructures for different applications. The interaction among the atoms/molecules, surface, and tip are discussed. The approaches for positioning the atom/molecule from and to the desired locations and for precisely controlling its movement are elaborated for each specific manipulation technique. As an AFM-based technique, the dip-pen nanolithography is also included. Finally, concluding remarks on technological improvement and future research is provided.     

Ion sputtering and its biomedical applications. Theoretical concepts and practical consequences. Clinical implications and potential use

It is the purpose of the paper to promote the ion beam sputtering technique and its biomedical applications among not only ion beam users but also other research workers, and especially, among biologists and medical doctors. The objectives of this article are threefold. Firstly, it supplies a conceptual background for discussing the main question of this work, i.e. biomedical applications of sputtering. Secondly, the title issue and some related problems, important in the biomedical use, are widely presented and discussed. Finally, clinical implication and potential applications are shown.     

Mechanical and failure behaviour of hybrid polymer–metal staked joints

Structural applications that use multi-material structures in the transportation industry have increased in recent years. Weight reduction in order to avoid excessive emissions is the driving force of this trend. The current joining technologies for such complex structures have potential for engineering and performance improvement. This preliminary study shows an alternative joining method for hybrid structures, the so-called Injection Clinching Joining (ICJ) [Abibe et al., J Thermoplast Compos 2011;24(2): 233–49], based on the principles of staking, injection moulding, and mechanical fastening. The main objectives of the paper are to exploit the mechanical behaviour of overlap joints produced by this proposed method and assess its potential as an applicable technology. The measurements used in this research are optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computer microtomography, lap-shear strength testing and in situ strain distribution. Different failure modes were found, depending on the joining conditions. Net tension failure had a brittle and catastrophic nature, while rivet pull-out presented a more desirable slow ductile failure mode. The joint strengths were good, ranging from 35.9% to 88.5% of the base material’s experimental ultimate tensile stress. Although there is a lack of studies on structural staking applications, this paper shows potential for these joining techniques and introduces ICJ as a potential focus of future research.