Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering - Volume 26, issue 3-4

Authors: Nakagawa, Hideto | Sato, Yuji | Toshimori, Hirotaka | Fujimoto, Shouichi

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The use of a new bio-impedance spectroscopy device (Body Composition Monitor, BCM) in the field of dialysis became possible in Japan. However, it is unknown whether the data obtained using this apparatus are indicative for Japanese dialysis patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare individual fluid status in healthy Japanese using the BCM device with the data obtained from healthy Caucasians. METHODS: A total of 219 volunteers (female vs. male, 150 vs. 69; mean age, 68.8 ± 8.4 years; mean BMI, 22.6 ± 2.9 kg/m2 ) were enrolled. The measurement was performed by the end of the morning before exercise. …RESULTS: Mean over-hydration (OH) level was 0.7 ± 0.8 L. Nearly 80% of subjects had values equivalent to the standard values of healthy Caucasians (−1.1∼1.1 L). Age had a weak positive correlation to OH. The fat tissue index levels were slightly lower in Japanese than in Caucasians. On the other hand, the levels of lean tissue index and ECW/ICW (E/I) ratio did not differ between Japanese and Caucasians. E/I ratio showed a good correlation with OH level. CONCLUSION: Fluid status of healthy Japanese was equivalent to the standard value of Caucasians. Although validity of using parameters from healthy Caucasians in healthy Japanese population was considered to be confirmed, validity of use in Japanese dialysis patients should be evaluated further using the parameters from healthy Caucasians. Show more

Keywords: Body composition, bio-impedance method, dialysis patient, extracellular water (ECW), over-hydration

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151553

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 97-102, 2015

Authors: Eddhahak, Anissa | Zidi, Mustapha

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The present research is involved in the framework of the biotherapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here, MSC encapsulation in a hydrogel based on hyaluronic acid (HA) is investigated to optimize the composition of the biomaterial. METHODS: Several formulations candidates of the hydrogel (9 in total) are postulated as a scaffold for the 3D MSC culture in order to investigate their potential to mimic the in vivo cellular environment. Rheological measurements in oscillation mode of complex modulus and complex viscosity are performed on the different hydrogels. Biological tests are carried out for the measurement of the …cell viability of MSC encapsulated in the hydrogels. RESULTS: Rheological and biological findings are correlated together in order to establish relationships between the viscoelastic properties of the hydrogel and the cellular viability of MSC. CONCLUSIONS: In the light of the viability results, the composition of the hydrogel was related to the MSC proliferation. Thus, such relations are useful tools for scientists offering them more flexibility in the design of their hydrogels while ensuring an acceptable level of MSC viability. Show more

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), hydrogel based on hyaluronic acid, rheology, cellular viability

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151557

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 103-114, 2015

Authors: Singh, Harpal | Morita, Takahiro | Suzuki, Yuma | Shimojima, Masayuki | Le Van, An | Sugamata, Masami | Yang, Ming

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are considered the gold standard in the demonstration of various immunological reactions with an application in the detection of infectious diseases such as during outbreaks or in patient care. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to produce an ELISA-based diagnostic with an increased sensitivity of detection compared to the standard 96-well method in the immunologic diagnosis of infectious diseases. METHODS: A ‘3DStack ’ was developed using readily available, low cost fabrication technologies namely nanoimprinting and press stamping with an increased surface area of 4 to 6 times more compared to 96-well plates. This …was achieved by stacking multiple nanoimprinted polymer sheets. The flow of analytes between the sheets was enhanced by rotating the 3DStack and confirmed by Finite-Element (FE) simulation. An Immunoglobulin G (IgG) ELISA for the detection of antibodies in human serum raised against Rubella virus was performed for validation. RESULTS: An improved sensitivity of up to 1.9 folds higher was observed using the 3DStack compared to the standard method. CONCLUSIONS: The increased surface area of the 3DStack developed using nanoimprinting and press stamping technologies, and the flow pattern between sheets generated by rotating the 3DStack were potential contributors to a more sensitive ELISA-based diagnostic device. Show more

Keywords: High surface-to-volume ratio diagnostics, nano-imprinting, press-stamping, surface plasma treatment, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), microfluidics

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151561

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 115-127, 2015

Authors: Qi, Guo | Fei, Shi | Shu-ting, Shen

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: A method is presented in this paper for medical image enhancement based on II curvelet. After the wavelet decomposition of medical image, we continue to break down the high-frequency sub-images, in order to get more detailed information. We have also designed the corresponding gain weight function for the edge enhancement of low-frequency sub-images, using II curvelet to extract the edge information, which has advantages over the normal curvelet transform. This method has overcome the disadvantages of the present medical image enhancement algorithm based on wavelet theory, for instance, (1) most of the present methods only decompose the low-frequency sub-images to …get detailed information; (2) they can not well extract the tumors or other large areas of edge information of medical images. In simulation experiments, we enhanced the mammography X-ray images of breast provided by Heilongjiang Provincial Tumor Hospital, and compared our algorithm with several traditional image enhancement methods. The results shows that with our enhancement algorithm based on II curvelet, the textures and edges of the image can be reflected clearly, and the calcifications in the image are independent, at the same time, this method has the superiority when enhancing the images which have been added noise to. Show more

Keywords: Image enhancement, high frequency sub-image decomposition, wavelet transform, gain weight, II curvelet transform

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151559

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 129-138, 2015

Authors: Ozeki, K. | Goto, T. | Aoki, H. | Masuzawa, T.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Hydroxyapatite (HA) was coated onto titanium substrates using radio frequency sputtering, and the sputtered films were crystallized using a hydrothermal treatment at 120°C and 170°C to evaluate the influence of the crystallinity of the HA film on its osteocompatibility. The crystallite size and surface morphology of the films were observed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) expression, osteocalin (OCN) expression and bone formation of osteoblast cells on the films were measured to evaluate the osteocompatibility of the film. The crystallite size increased as the hydrothermal temperature increased, and the crystallite sizes …of the film treated at 120°C and 170°C were 82.2 ± 12.3   nm and 124.7 ± 13.3   nm , respectively. Globular particles were observed in the hydrothermally treated film using SEM. The size of the particles on the film increased as the hydrothermal temperature increased, and the width of the particles on the film treated at 120°C and 170°C were approximately 120–190 nm and 300–500 nm, respectively. In the osteoblast cell culture experiments, the ALP expression, OCN expression and bone formation area on the films treated at 120°C were higher than those treated for films treated at 170°C. Show more

Keywords: Hydroxyapatite, crystallinity, sputtering, osteoblast cell

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151560

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 139-147, 2015

Authors: Meng, HongMei | Sun, ZhiGuang | Jiang, RiWen | Zhang, CongXiao

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the abilities of the DCB and the NTP test for measuring adherence of an adhesive joint between a resin and a metal interface. METHODS: Two-hundred stainless steel metal beams (diam. 50 × 5 × 2   mm ) were cast and treated by the following methods: (1) sandblasting with aluminum oxide, followed by treatment with (2) the Rocatec system or (3) the Alloy primer. Superbond and Panavia F 2.0 were used as adhesives. The fracture energy (G 1 C ) and fracture toughness (K 1 C …) of two adhesives were compared by two-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: With the DCB test, Superbond was more effective than Panavia, regardless of the surface treatment and conditions of crack propagation. The overall effectiveness of the treatments was in the following order: sandblasting + Rocatec > sandblasting alone > sandblasting + Alloy primer. The adherence energy in an aqueous medium was lower than that in air. With the NTP test, similar performances were obtained with three surface treatments. However, the potential of Rocatec seemed slightly higher. CONCLUSIONS: The DCB and NTP tests provide independent measures of the inherent value of an adhesive. Rocatec appeared to provide greater resistance of the bonded joints in an aqueous environment. Show more

Keywords: Adherence energy, adhesive, DCB, NTP

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151562

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 149-160, 2015

Authors: Hsu, Wei-Yen

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Single-trial electroencephalogram (EEG) data are analyzed with similarity measure. Time–frequency representation is constructed from EEG signals. It is then weighted with t -statistics. Finally, the test data are discriminated with similarity measure. Compared with non-weighted version, the experimental results indicate that the proposed method obtains better results in classification accuracy.

Keywords: Electroencephalography (EEG), similarity measure, time–frequency representation, brain–computer interface (BCI)

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151554

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 161-168, 2015

Authors: Bédouin, Y. | Pellen Mussi, P. | Tricot-Doleux, S. | Chauvel-Lebret, D. | Auroy, P. | Ravalec, X. | Oudadesse, H. | Pérez, F.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This study reports the in vitro biocompatibility of a composite biomaterial composed of 46S6 bioactive glass in association with chitosan (CH) by using 3D osteoblast culture of SaOS2 . The 46S6 and CH composite (46S6–CH) forms small hydroxyapatite crystals on its surface after only three days immersion in the simulated body fluid. For 2D osteoblast culture, a significant increase in cell proliferation was observed after three days of contact with 46S6 or 46S6–CH-immersed media. After six days, 46S6–CH led to a significant increase in cell proliferation (128%) compared with pure 46S6 (113%) and pure CH (122%). For 3D osteoblast …culture, after six days of culture, there was an increase in gene expression of markers of the early osteoblastic differentiation (RUNX2, ALP, COL1A1). Geometric structures corresponding to small apatite clusters were observed by SEM on the surface of the spheroids cultivated with 46S6 or 46S6–CH-immersed media. We showed different cellular responses depending on the 2D and 3D cell culture model. The induction of osteoblast differentiation in the 3D cell culture explained the differences of cell proliferation in contact with 46S6, CH or 46S6–CH-immersed media. This study confirmed that the 3D cell culture model is a very promising tool for in vitro biological evaluation of bone substitutes’ properties. Show more

Keywords: Spheroids, biocompatibility, bioactive glass, chitosan

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151555

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 169-181, 2015

Authors: Shimojo, Andréa Arruda Martins | de Souza Brissac, Isabela Cambraia | Pina, Lucas Martins | Lambert, Carlos Salles | Santana, Maria Helena Andrade

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This work evaluated the effects of UV irradiation, plasma radiation, steam and 70% ethanol treatments on the sterilization and integrity of auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA-ACP) scaffolds structured in microparticles and sponges aiming in vivo applications for regenerative medicine of bone tissue. The integrity of the microparticles was characterized by rheological behavior, while for the sponges, it was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The effectiveness of the sterilization treatment was verified by the number of microorganism colonies in the samples after the treatments. In conclusion, plasma radiation was the best treatment for …the sponges, while steam sterilization in the autoclave at 126°C (1.5 kgf/cm2 ) for 5 min was the best treatment for the microparticles. Show more

Keywords: Auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid, ethanol treatment, plasma radiation, steam, sterilization, UV irradiation

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151558

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 183-191, 2015

Authors: Lourenço, J. | Simões, F.M.F. | Rego, P.A.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: In this study, three-dimensional finite element models based on the specific anatomy of a patient presenting a femoroacetabular impingement of the “cam” type were developed. The finite element meshes were obtained from arthrographic magnetic resonance images captured before and after hip arthroscopy. All soft tissues were considered linear elastic and isotropic and the bones were assumed as rigid. Physiological loads and rotational motions were applied. Stresses and contact pressures were evaluated in these patient specific models in order to better interpret the mechanism of aggression of the cartilages and of the labrum and to evaluate the effectiveness of the surgery. …The results of the analyses are presented and discussed. The values obtained for the stresses and contact pressures in the pathological hip were similar to those reported by other models based on idealised geometries or similar reconstruction methodologies and were larger than the ones obtained in the same hip after the surgical treatment. The surgical treatment effectively reduces the intra-articular pressures and stresses approaching the values of a normal hip. Thus, early surgical treatment may help to prevent, or delay, the joint degeneration. Show more

Keywords: Hip joint, femoroacetabular impingement, osteoarthritis, finite element method, geometric modelling

DOI: 10.3233/BME-151556

Citation: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 193-206, 2015