Special report: biomedical imaging research opportunities workshop III. A summary of findings and recommendations.
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Biomedical Engineering↗
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Biomedical policy. Shrugging off doubters, NIH launches a new institute.
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Advisory Committees↗
The research career of Richard B. Stein (1940-).
This report reviews the research and mentoring career of Richard B. Stein (1940-). In 1962, he completed a B.S. degree in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, and thereafter an M.A. (1964), Ph.D. (1966), and postdoctoral training (1966-68) at the University of Oxford, UK. He subsequently assumed a faculty position at the University of Alberta (Canada), where he is currently an active researcher and mentor. To this point in 2004, Stein has trained and collaborated closely with over 160 scientists, largely neuroscientists and biomedical engineers, from 27 countries. He and his former trainees and collaborators have made important contributions on topics that span the cellular-to-behavioral spectrum of movement and rehabilitation-prosthetics neuroscience. His mentors, trainees, and collaborators include scientists whose countries of origin are: Australia, 2; Austria, 1; Belgium, 1; Bulgaria, 1; Canada, 64; China, 6; Denmark, 1; Germany, 1; Great Britain, 16; Hong Kong, 4; India, 5; Iraq, 2; Italy, 2; Japan, 10; Kenya, 1; New Zealand, 4; Pakistan, 1; Palestine, 1; Poland, 1; Romania, 1; South Africa, 1; Sri Lanka, 1; The Netherlands, 1; Turkey, 1; Uruguay, 1; USA, 21; and Yugoslavia, 6. In all instances, Stein's research collaborations and mentoring have advanced the careers of his trainees and junior collaborators, a well-deserved and important compliment to a stellar movement neuroscientist.
Animals↗
Fundamentals of impact biomechanics: Part 2--Biomechanics of the abdomen, pelvis, and lower extremities.
This is the second of two chapters (the first chapter appeared in the Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2000, 2:55-81) dealing with some 60 years of accumulated knowledge in the field of impact biomechanics. The regions covered in the first chapter were the head, neck, and thorax. In this chapter, the abdomen, pelvis, and lower extremities are discussed. The thoracolumbar spine is not covered because of length limitations and the low frequency of injury to this area from automotive accidents. Again, in the cited results, the reader needs to be keenly aware of the wide variation in human response and tolerance. This is due primarily to the large biological variations among humans and to the effects of aging. Average values that are useful in design cannot be applied to individuals.
Abdomen↗
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and NIH grant process: an overview.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) comprise the largest single source of funding in the world for the support of biomedical research. Much of the work of the NIH focuses on the elucidation of fundamental biophysical, biochemical, and biologic aspects of the molecular, cellular, and tissue processes underlying both healthy and diseased states of biologic systems and on the development of cures for the latter. In 2000, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) was created with a somewhat different focus: Rather than concentration on a specific organ system or category of disease, the primary objective of the NIBIB is the advancement of technologies and tools that contribute to all aspects of biomedical research and health care delivery, especially in the imaging sciences and bioengineering. This article provides an overview of the ways in which NIH funds research, with an emphasis on NIBIB support of biomedical imaging. It is intended for radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and other readers of this journal, especially those with limited experience in the complex process of obtaining NIH grant support.
Academies and Institutes↗
Formative assessment in physiology teaching using a wireless classroom communication system.
Systems physiology, studied by biomedical engineers, is an analytical way to approach the homeostatic foundations of basic physiology. In many systems physiology courses, students attend lectures and are given homework and reading assignments to complete outside of class. The effectiveness of this traditional approach was compared with an approach in which a wireless classroom communication system was used to provide instant feedback on in-class learning activities and reading assignment quizzes. Homework was eliminated in this approach. The feedback system used stimulated 100% participation in class and facilitated rapid formative assessment. The results of this study indicate that learning of systems physiology concepts including physiology is at least, as if not more, effective when in-class quizzes and activities with instant feedback are used in place of traditional learning activities including homework. When results of this study are interpreted in light of possible effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on student learning in the test group, it appears that the modified instruction may be more effective than the traditional instruction.
Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
Teaching from classic papers: Hill's model of muscle contraction.
A. V. Hill's 1938 paper "The heat of shortening and the dynamic constants of muscle" is an enduring classic, presenting detailed methods, meticulous experiments, and the model of muscle contraction that now bears Hill's name. Pairing a simulation based on Hill's model with a reading of his paper allows students to follow his thought process to discover key principles of muscle physiology and gain insight into how to develop quantitative models of physiological processes. In this article, the experience of the author using this approach in a graduate biomedical engineering course is outlined, along with suggestions for adapting this approach to other audiences.
History, 20th Century↗
[Development of software for three-dimensional reconstruction and automatic quantification of intravascular ultrasound images. Initial experience].
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Quantification of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) images is essential in ischemic heart disease and interventional cardiology. Manual analysis is very slow and expensive. We describe an automated computerized method of analysis that requires only minimal initial input from a specialist. METHODS: This study was carried out by interventional cardiologists and biomedical engineers working in close collaboration. We developed software in which it was necessary only to identify the media-adventitia boundary in a few images taken from the whole sequence. A three-dimensional reconstruction was then generated from each sequence, from which measurements of areas and volumes could be derived automatically. In total, 2300 randomly selected images from video sequences of 11 patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Results obtained using the proposed method differed only minimally from those obtained with the manual method: for vessel area measurements, the variability was 0.08 (0.07) (mean absolute error [standard deviation] normalized to the actual value; this corresponds to an error of 0.08 mm(2) per mm(2) of vessel area); for lumen area, 0.11 (0.11) (normalized), and for plaque volume, 0.5 (0.3) (normalized). Regions with severe lesions (<4 mm(2)) were correctly identified in more than 90% of cases. Specialist time needed for each reconstruction was 10 (8) minutes (vs 60 [10] minutes for manual analysis; P< .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The computerized method used dramatically reduced the time and effort needed for IVUS sequence analysis, and the automated measurements obtained were very promising.
Coronary Artery Disease↗
Technological problems of spinal cord stimulation systems: a clinical perspective.
Technological problems of spinal cord stimulation, from the clinician's standpoint are the topics of this review of a round table discussion. Surgical aspects of spinal cord stimulation system implant procedures are reviewed. Safety and reliability of the methods and systems are discussed. Problems with durability and fixation of epidural electrodes are reported, and solutions are sought from the continued interaction of clinicians and biomedical engineers in the future development of methods and systems.
Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
Comparative cell culture effects of shape memory metal (Nitinol), nickel and titanium: a biocompatibility estimation.
Nitinol is an equiatomic alloy of nickel and titanium which has been attracting increasing interest in the field of biomedical engineering. To quantify toxicity as a preliminary evaluation of biocompatibility, inhibition of mitosis in human fibroblasts in tissue cultures exposed to test materials is an accepted screening method, although a dose-effect relationship had never been investigated. In this experiment, the effect of an increasing dose exposure to Nitinol, nickel or titanium on human fibroblasts in cell cultures was tested in subgroups in comparison with a control group. The results showed that nickel induces a significant (p < or = 0.05) inhibition of mitosis in human fibroblasts, whereas no significant effects of this kind were found for titanium or Nitinol. According to the results of these studies, Nitinol is to be considered in this respect biocompatible and comparable to titanium, which would seem to justify application as a surgical implant.
Alloys↗
The analysis of the EEG.
The quantitative analysis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) relies heavily on methods of time series analysis. A quantitative approach seems indispensable for research (be it clinical or basic neurophysical research), but it can also be a useful information for purely clinical purposes. Apart from the ongoing spontaneous EEG, evoked potentials (EPs) also play an important role. They can be elicited by simple sensory stimuli or more complex stimuli. Their analysis requires methods which are different from those for the spontaneous EEG. Those methods operate usually in the time domain and offer many challenging problems to statisticians. Methods for analysing the spontaneous EEG usually work in the frequency domain in terms of spectra and coherences. Biomedical engineers who take care of the equipment are usually also trained in time series analysis. Thus, they have contributed much more to methodological progress for analysing EEGs and EPs, compared with statisticians. However, the availability of a sample of subjects, and the associated problems in modelling followed by an inferential analysis could make a larger influence from the statistical side quite profitable. This paper tries to give an overview of a fascinating area. In doing so we treat more extensively problems with some statistical appeal. This leads inevitably to some overlap with our own work.
Artifacts↗
An update on functional electrical stimulation after spinal cord injury.
Recent advances in biomedical engineering as applied to neurologic rehabilitation have finally borne clinically relevant fruit. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of functional electrical stimulation (FES). This article highlights the remarkable clinical progress that has been made in the use of electrical stimulation for restoring movement and function in individuals with spinal cord injury. Specific attention is given to respiratory-assist devices, hand-grasp systems, standing and walking, and bladder control. This review article features discussion of eight devices that have gone through the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory approval process.
Animals↗
The role of neuroengineering in neurological research and in neurological practice.
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Biomedical Engineering↗
Dataset of manually measured QT intervals in the electrocardiogram.
BACKGROUND: The QT interval and the QT dispersion are currently a subject of considerable interest. Cardiac repolarization delay is known to favor the development of arrhythmias. The QT dispersion, defined as the difference between the longest and the shortest QT intervals or as the standard deviation of the QT duration in the 12-lead ECG is assumed to be reliable predictor of cardiovascular mortality. The seventh annual PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge, 2006 addresses a question of high clinical interest: Can the QT interval be measured by fully automated methods with accuracy acceptable for clinical evaluations? METHOD: The PTB Diagnostic ECG Database was given to 4 cardiologists and 1 biomedical engineer for manual marking of QRS onsets and T-wave ends in 458 recordings. Each recording consisted of one selected beat in lead II, chosen visually to have minimum baseline shift, noise, and artifact.In cases where no T wave could be observed or its amplitude was very small, the referees were instructed to mark a 'group-T-wave end' taking into consideration leads with better manifested T wave.A modified Delphi approach was used, which included up to three rounds of measurements to obtain results closer to the median. RESULTS: A total amount of 2*5*548 Q-onsets and T-wave ends were manually marked during round 1. To obtain closer to the median results, 8.58 % of Q-onsets and 3.21 % of the T-wave ends had to be reviewed during round 2, and 1.50 % Q-onsets and 1.17 % T-wave ends in round 3. The mean and standard deviation of the differences between the values of the referees and the median after round 3 were 2.43 +/- 0.96 ms for the Q-onset, and 7.43 +/- 3.44 ms for the T-wave end. CONCLUSION: A fully accessible, on the Internet, dataset of manually measured Q-onsets and T-wave ends was created and presented in additional file: 1 (Table 4) with this article. Thus, an available standard can be used for the development of automated methods for the detection of Q-onsets, T-wave ends and for QT interval measurements.
Algorithms↗
Biotechnology apprenticeship for secondary-level students: teaching advanced cell culture techniques for research.
The purpose of this article is to discuss small-group apprenticeships (SGAs) as a method to instruct cell culture techniques to high school participants. The study aimed to teach cell culture practices and to introduce advanced imaging techniques to solve various biomedical engineering problems. Participants designed and completed experiments using both flow cytometry and laser scanning cytometry during the 1-month summer apprenticeship. In addition to effectively and efficiently teaching cell biology laboratory techniques, this course design provided an opportunity for research training, career exploration, and mentoring. Students participated in active research projects, working with a skilled interdisciplinary team of researchers in a large research institution with access to state-of-the-art instrumentation. The instructors, composed of graduate students, laboratory managers, and principal investigators, worked well together to present a real and worthwhile research experience. The students enjoyed learning cell culture techniques while contributing to active research projects. The institution's researchers were equally enthusiastic to instruct and serve as mentors. In this article, we clarify and illuminate the value of small-group laboratory apprenticeships to the institution and the students by presenting the results and experiences of seven middle and high school participants and their instructors.
Animals↗
Nonparametric Methods in Reliability.
Probabilistic and statistical models for the occurrence of a recurrent event over time are described. These models have applicability in the reliability, engineering, biomedical and other areas where a series of events occurs for an experimental unit as time progresses. Nonparametric inference methods, in particular, the estimation of a relevant distribution function, are described.
Journal Article↗
Comparative two- and three-dimensional finite element modelling techniques for tibial fractures.
Often the choice of a two-dimensional modelling approach over a three-dimensional approach is made on the basis of available resources, and not on task appropriateness. In the case of simulating the mechanical behaviour of irregular anatomical structures in biomedical engineering, the authenticity of two-dimensional model behaviour and the interpretation of model solutions is of particular concern since little comparable two-dimensional and three-dimensional data have been published. As part of a research programme, a comparison was made between two-dimensional and three-dimensional finite element models (FEMs) that examine the stress-strain environment of a clinical bone fracture and callus. In comparison with the three-dimensional model, the two-dimensional model substantially underestimated peak compressive principal stresses in the callus tissue and peak equivalent strains. This was a consequence of geometrical and structural asymmetry in a plane perpendicular to the two-dimensional model. However, the two-dimensional model predicted similar patterns of stress and strain distribution to the corresponding mid-longitudinal plane of the three-dimensional model, and underestimates of peak stress and strain were much reduced. This confirmed that despite the irregular geometry and structure of the subject, the two-dimensional model provided a valid mechanical simulation in the plane of the fracture that it represented.
Biomechanical Phenomena↗
A test procedure for artificial finger joints.
This paper highlights the lack of an agreed testing standard for artificial finger joints. It reviews the anatomy, pathology and biomechanics of finger joints as well as the various designs of finger prostheses and the machines used to test them. While pre-implantation testing should be fundamental, increasing regulation of the biomedical engineering industry will further demand testing of prostheses to pre-agreed standards. Standards relating to the testing of other artificial joints are reviewed before possible parameters for testing finger prostheses are offered.
Equipment Failure Analysis↗