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Barbruni GL, Rodino F, Ros PM, Demarchi D, Ghezzi D, Carrara S. A Wearable Real-Time System for Simultaneous Wireless Power and Data Transmission to Cortical Visual Prosthesis. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2024; PP:1-12. [PMID: 38261488 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2024.3357626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Wireless, miniaturised and distributed neural interfaces are emerging neurotechnologies. Although extensive research efforts contribute to their technological advancement, the need for real-time systems enabling simultaneous wireless information and power transfer toward distributed neural implants remains crucial. Here we present a complete wearable system including a software for real-time image capturing, processing and digital data transfer; an hardware for high radiofrequency generation and modulation via amplitude shift keying; and a 3-coil inductive link adapt to operate with multiple miniaturised receivers. The system operates in real-time with a maximum frame rate of 20 Hz, reconstructing each frame with a matrix of 32 × 32 pixels. The device generates a carrier frequency of 433.92 MHz. It transmits the highest power of 32 dBm with a data rate of 6 Mbps and a variable modulation index as low as 8 %, thus potentially enabling wireless communication with 1024 miniaturised and distributed intracortical microstimulators. The system is primarily conceived as an external wearable device for distributed cortical visual prosthesis covering a visual field of 20 °. At the same time, it is modular and versatile, being suitable for multiple applications requiring simultaneous wireless information and power transfer to large-scale neural interfaces.
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Valerio A, Hajzeraj A, Talebi OV, Belcastro M, Tedesco S, Demarchi D, O'Flynn B. Development of a PPG-based hardware and software system deployable on elbow and thumb for real-time estimation of pulse transit time. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2023; 2023:1-5. [PMID: 38083024 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10340784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Blood pressure (BP) is a vital parameter used by clinicians to diagnose issues in the human cardiovascular system. Cuff-based BP devices are currently the standard method for on-the-spot and ambulatory BP measurements. However, cuff-based devices are not comfortable and are not suitable for long-term BP monitoring. Many studies have reported a significant correlation between pulse transit time (PTT) with blood pressure. However, this relation is impacted by many internal and external factors which might lower the accuracy of the PTT method. In this paper, we present a novel hardware system consisting of two custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors designed particularly for the estimation of PTT. In addition, a software interface and algorithms have been implemented to perform a real-time assessment of the PTT and other features of interest from signals gathered between the brachial artery and the thumb. A preclinical study has been conducted to validate the system. Five healthy volunteer subjects were tested and the results were then compared with those gathered using a reference device. The analysis reports a mean difference among subjects equal to -3.75±7.28 ms. Moreover, the standard deviation values obtained for each individual showed comparable results with the reference device, proving to be a valuable tool to investigate the factors impacting the BP-PTT relationship.Clinical Relevance- The proposed system proved to be a feasible solution to detect blood volume changes providing good quality signals to be used in the study of BP-PTT relationship.
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Terracciano R, Mascolo A, Venturo L, Guidi F, Vaira M, Eandi CM, Demarchi D. Kinetic Perimetry on Virtual Reality Headset. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2023; 17:413-419. [PMID: 37027637 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2023.3249045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We present a portable automatic kinetic perimeter based on a virtual reality (VR) headset device as an innovative and alternative solution for the screening of clinical visual fields. We compared the performances of our solution with a gold standard perimeter, validating the test on healthy subjects. METHODS The system is composed of an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset with a clicker for participant response feedback. An Android app was designed in Unity to generate moving stimuli along vectors, following a standard Goldmann kinetic perimetry approach. Sensitivity thresholds are obtained by moving centripetally three different targets (V/4e, IV/1e, III/1e) along 24 or 12 vectors from an area of non-seeing to an area of seeing and then transmitted wirelessly to a PC. A Python real-time algorithm processes the incoming kinetic results and displays the hill of vision in a two-dimensional map (isopter). We involved 21 subjects (5 males and 16 females, age range 22-73 years) for a total of 42 eyes tested with our proposed solution, and results were compared with a Humphrey visual field analyzer to test reproducibility and efficacy. RESULTS isopters generated with the Oculus headset were in good agreement with those acquired with a commercial device (Pearson's correlation values r > 0.83 for each target). CONCLUSIONS we demonstrate the feasibility of VR kinetic perimetry by comparing performances between our system and a clinically used perimeter in healthy subjects. SIGNIFICANCE proposed device leads the way for a portable and more accessible visual field test, overcoming challenges in current kinetic perimetry practices.
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Serioli L, Gruzinskyte L, Zappalà G, Hwu ET, Laksafoss TZ, Jensen PL, Demarchi D, Müllertz A, Boisen A, Zór K. Moving perfusion culture and live-cell imaging from lab to disc: proof of concept toxicity assay with AI-based image analysis. Lab Chip 2023; 23:1603-1612. [PMID: 36790123 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00984f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In vitro, cell-based assays are essential in diagnostics and drug development. There are ongoing efforts to establish new technologies that enable real-time detection of cell-drug interaction during culture under flow conditions. Our compact (10 × 10 × 8.5 cm) cell culture and microscope on disc (CMoD) platform aims to decrease the application barriers of existing lab-on-a-chip (LoC) approaches. For the first time in a centrifugal device, (i) cells were cultured for up to six days while a spindle motor facilitated culture medium perfusion, and (ii) an onboard microscope enabled live bright-field imaging of cells while the data wirelessly transmitted to a computer. The quantification of cells from the acquired images was done using artificial intelligence (AI) software. After optimization, the obtained cell viability data from the AI-based image analysis proved to correlate well with data collected from commonly used image analysis software. The CMoD was also suitable for conducting a proof-of-concept toxicity assay with HeLa cells under continuous flow. The half-maximal inhibitory time (IT50) for various concentrations of doxorubicin (DOX) in the case of HeLa cells in flow, was shown to be lower than the IT50 obtained from a static cytotoxicity assay, indicating a faster onset of cell death in flow. The CMoD proved to be easy to handle, enabled cell culture and monitoring without assistance, and is a promising tool for examining the dynamic processes of cells in real-time assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Serioli
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
- BioInnovation Institute Foundation, Copenhagen N 2800, Denmark
| | - Lina Gruzinskyte
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
| | - Giulia Zappalà
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
| | - En Te Hwu
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
| | - Trygvi Zachariassen Laksafoss
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
| | | | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
| | - Anette Müllertz
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
| | - Anja Boisen
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
- BioInnovation Institute Foundation, Copenhagen N 2800, Denmark
| | - Kinga Zór
- The Danish National Research Foundation and Villum Foundation's Center for Intelligent Drug Delivery and Sensing Using Microcontainers and Nanomechanics (IDUN), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
- BioInnovation Institute Foundation, Copenhagen N 2800, Denmark
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Marasco I, Niro G, Demir SM, Marzano L, Fachechi L, Rizzi F, Demarchi D, Motto Ros P, D’Orazio A, Grande M, De Vittorio M. Wearable Heart Rate Monitoring Device Communicating in 5G ISM Band for IoHT. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:bioengineering10010113. [PMID: 36671685 PMCID: PMC9854547 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Advances in wearable device technology pave the way for wireless health monitoring for medical and non-medical applications. In this work, we present a wearable heart rate monitoring platform communicating in the sub-6GHz 5G ISM band. The proposed device is composed of an Aluminium Nitride (AlN) piezoelectric sensor, a patch antenna, and a custom printed circuit board (PCB) for data acquisition and transmission. The experimental results show that the presented system can acquire heart rate together with diastolic and systolic duration, which are related to heart relaxation and contraction, respectively, from the posterior tibial artery. The overall system dimension is 20 mm by 40 mm, and the total weight is 20 g, making this device suitable for daily utilization. Furthermore, the system allows the simultaneous monitoring of multiple subjects, or a single patient from multiple body locations by using only one reader. The promising results demonstrate that the proposed system is applicable to the Internet of Healthcare Things (IoHT), and particularly Integrated Clinical Environment (ICE) applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Marasco
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Politecnico di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Giovanni Niro
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Politecnico di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
| | - Suleyman Mahircan Demir
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Marzano
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
- Department of Engineering and Innovation, Università del Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Luca Fachechi
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
| | - Francesco Rizzi
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Paolo Motto Ros
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Antonella D’Orazio
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Politecnico di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Grande
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Politecnico di Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Massimo De Vittorio
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, 73010 Arnesano, Italy
- Department of Engineering and Innovation, Università del Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
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Mongardi A, Rossi F, Prestia A, Ros PM, Roch MR, Martina M, Demarchi D. Hand Gestures Recognition for Human-Machine Interfaces: A Low-Power Bio-Inspired Armband. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2022; 16:1348-1365. [PMID: 36191108 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2022.3211424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Hand gesture recognition has recently increased its popularity as Human-Machine Interface (HMI) in the biomedical field. Indeed, it can be performed involving many different non-invasive techniques, e.g., surface ElectroMyoGraphy (sEMG) or PhotoPlethysmoGraphy (PPG). In the last few years, the interest demonstrated by both academia and industry brought to a continuous spawning of commercial and custom wearable devices, which tried to address different challenges in many application fields, from tele-rehabilitation to sign language recognition. In this work, we propose a novel 7-channel sEMG armband, which can be employed as HMI for both serious gaming control and rehabilitation support. In particular, we designed the prototype focusing on the capability of our device to compute the Average Threshold Crossing (ATC) parameter, which is evaluated by counting how many times the sEMG signal crosses a threshold during a fixed time duration (i.e., 130 ms), directly on the wearable device. Exploiting the event-driven characteristic of the ATC, our armband is able to accomplish the on-board prediction of common hand gestures requiring less power w.r.t. state of the art devices. At the end of an acquisition campaign that involved the participation of 26 people, we obtained an average classifier accuracy of 91.9% when aiming to recognize in real time 8 active hand gestures plus the idle state. Furthermore, with 2.92 mA of current absorption during active functioning and 1.34 ms prediction latency, this prototype confirmed our expectations and can be an appealing solution for long-term (up to 60 h) medical and consumer applications.
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Terracciano R, Carcamo-Bahena Y, Royal ALR, Messina L, Delk J, Butler EB, Demarchi D, Grattoni A, Wang Z, Cristini V, Dogra P, Filgueira CS. Zonal Intratumoral Delivery of Nanoparticles Guided by Surface Functionalization. Langmuir 2022; 38:13983-13994. [PMID: 36318182 PMCID: PMC9671122 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c02319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Delivery of small molecules and anticancer agents to malignant cells or specific regions within a tumor is limited by penetration depth and poor spatial drug distribution, hindering anticancer efficacy. Herein, we demonstrate control over gold nanoparticle (GNP) penetration and spatial distribution across solid tumors by administering GNPs with different surface chemistries at a constant injection rate via syringe pump. A key finding in this study is the discovery of different zone-specific accumulation patterns of intratumorally injected nanoparticles dependent on surface functionalization. Computed tomography (CT) imaging performed in vivo of C57BL/6 mice harboring Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumors on their flank and gross visualization of excised tumors consistently revealed that intratumorally administered citrate-GNPs accumulate in particle clusters in central areas of the tumor, while GNPs functionalized with thiolated phosphothioethanol (PTE-GNPs) and thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG-GNPs) regularly accumulate in the tumor periphery. Further, PEG functionalization resulted in larger tumoral surface coverage than PTE, reaching beyond the outer zone of the tumor mass and into the surrounding stroma. To understand the dissimilarities in spatiotemporal evolution across the different GNP surface chemistries, we modeled their intratumoral transport with reaction-diffusion equations. Our results suggest that GNP surface passivation affects nanoparticle reactivity with the tumor microenvironment, leading to differential transport behavior across tumor zones. The present study provides a mechanistic understanding of the factors affecting spatiotemporal distribution of nanoparticles in the tumor. Our proof of concept of zonal delivery within the tumor may prove useful for directing anticancer therapies to regions of biomarker overexpression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Terracciano
- Department
of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Department
of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico
di Torino, Torino10129, Italy
| | - Yareli Carcamo-Bahena
- Department
of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
| | - Amber Lee R. Royal
- Department
of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
| | - Luca Messina
- Univestià
degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples80138, Italy
| | - Jack Delk
- Texas
A&M University, College
Station, Texas77843, United States
| | - E. Brian Butler
- Department
of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist
Research Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department
of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico
di Torino, Torino10129, Italy
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department
of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Department
of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist
Research Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Department
of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
| | - Zhihui Wang
- Mathematics
in Medicine Program, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United
States
- Department
of Imaging Physics, University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Department
of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell
Medical College, New York, New York10022, United States
| | - Vittorio Cristini
- Mathematics
in Medicine Program, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United
States
- Department
of Imaging Physics, University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Physiology,
Biophysics, and Systems Biology Program, Graduate School of Medical
Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York10022, United States
| | - Prashant Dogra
- Mathematics
in Medicine Program, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United
States
- Department
of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell
Medical College, New York, New York10022, United States
| | - Carly S. Filgueira
- Department
of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research
Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
- Department
of Cardiovascular Surgery, Houston Methodist
Research Institute, Houston, Texas77030, United States
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Motto Ros P, Demarchi D, Carrara S. Editorial: Smart dust: Micro and nano scale devices for highly-integrated localized and distributed smart systems for precision and personalized medicine. Front Neurorobot 2022; 16:1051124. [DOI: 10.3389/fnbot.2022.1051124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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9
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Di Trani N, Racca N, Demarchi D, Grattoni A. Comprehensive Analysis of Electrostatic Gating in Nanofluidic Systems. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:35400-35408. [PMID: 35905377 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c08809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Molecular transport in nanofluidic systems exhibits properties that are unique to the nanoscale. Here, the electrostatic and steric interactions between particle and surfaces become dominant in determining particle transport. At the solid-liquid interface of charged surfaces an electric double layer (EDL) forms due to electrostatic interactions between surfaces and charged particles. In these systems, tunable charge-selective nanochannels can be generated by manipulating electrostatic gating via co-ions exclusion and counterions enrichment of the EDL at the solid-liquid interface. In this context, electrostatic gating has been used to modulate the selectivity of nanofluidic membranes for drug delivery, nanofluidic transistors, and FlowFET, among other applications. While an extensive body of literature investigating nanofluidic systems exists, there is a lack of a comprehensive analysis accounting for all major parameters involved in these systems. Here we performed an all-encompassing modeling investigation corroborated by experimental analysis to assess the influence of nanochannel size, electrolyte properties, surface chemistry, gate voltage, dielectric properties, and molecular charge and size on the exclusion and enrichment of charged analytes in nanochannels. We found that the leakage current in electrostatic gating, often overlooked, plays a dominant role in molecular exclusion. Importantly, by independently considering all ionic species, we found that counterions compete for EDL formation at the surface proximity, resulting in concentration distributions that are nearly impossible to predict with analytical models. Achieving a deeper understanding of these nanofluidic phenomena will help the development of innovative miniaturized systems for both medical and industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Di Trani
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
| | - Nevio Racca
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas 77030, United States
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Tetsuka H, Pirrami L, Wang T, Demarchi D, Shin SR. Wirelessly Powered 3D Printed Hierarchical Biohybrid Robots with Multiscale Mechanical Properties. Adv Funct Mater 2022; 32:2202674. [PMID: 36313126 PMCID: PMC9603592 DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202202674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The integration of flexible and stretchable electronics into biohybrid soft robotics can spur the development of new approaches to fabricate biohybrid soft machines, thus enabling a wide variety of innovative applications. Inspired by flexible and stretchable wireless-based bioelectronic devices, we have developed untethered biohybrid soft robots that can execute swimming motions, which are remotely controllable by the wireless transmission of electrical power into a cell simulator. To this end, wirelessly-powered, stretchable, and lightweight cell stimulators were designed to be integrated into muscle bodies without impeding the robots' underwater swimming abilities. The cell stimulators function by generating controlled monophasic pulses of up to ∼9 V in biological environments. By differentiating induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) directly on the cell stimulators using an accordion-inspired, three-dimensional (3D) printing construct, we have replicated the native myofiber architecture with comparable robustness and enhanced contractibility. Wirelessly modulated electrical frequencies enabled us to control the speed and direction of the biohybrid soft robots. A maximum locomotion speed of ∼580 μm/s was achieved in robots possessing a large body size by adjusting the pacing frequency. This innovative approach will provide a platform for building untethered and biohybrid systems for various biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroyuki Tetsuka
- Division of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Lansdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 USA
- Future Mobility Research Department, Toyota Research Institute of North America, Toyota Motor North America, 1555 Woodridge Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105 USA
| | - Lorenzo Pirrami
- iPrint Institute, HEIA-FR, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg-1700, Switzerland
| | - Ting Wang
- Division of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Lansdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 USA
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin 10129, Italy
| | - Su Ryon Shin
- Division of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Lansdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 USA
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Prestia A, Rossi F, Mongardi A, Demarchi D, Ros PM. Raspberry Pi based Modular System for Multichannel Event-Driven Functional Electrical Stimulation Control. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2022; 2022:2592-2597. [PMID: 36086552 DOI: 10.1109/embc48229.2022.9871852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This paper describes the implementation and testing of a modular software for multichannel control of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). Moving towards an embedded scenario, the core of the system is a Raspberry Pi, whose different models (with different computing powers) best suit two different system use-cases: user-supervised and stand-alone. Given the need for real-time and reliable FES applications, software processing timings were analyzed for multiple configurations, along with hardware resources utilization. Among the results, the simultaneous use of eight channels has been functionally achieved (0% lost packets) while minimizing system timing failures (excessive processing latency). Further investigations included stressing the system using more constraining acquisition parameters, eventually limiting the usable channels (only for the stand-alone use-case).
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Terracciano R, Carcamo-Bahena Y, Royal ALR, Demarchi D, Labis JS, Harris JD, Weiner BK, Gupta N, Filgueira CS. Quantitative high-resolution 7T MRI to assess longitudinal changes in articular cartilage after anterior cruciate ligament injury in a rabbit model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open 2022; 4:100259. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2022.100259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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13
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Prestia A, Rossi F, Mongardi A, Ros PM, Roch MR, Martina M, Demarchi D. Motion Analysis for Experimental Evaluation of an Event-Driven FES System. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2022; 16:3-14. [PMID: 34932485 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2021.3137027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work, a system for controlling Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) has been experimentally evaluated. The peculiarity of the system is to use an event-driven approach to modulate stimulation intensity, instead of the typical feature extraction of surface ElectroMyoGraphic (sEMG) signal. To validate our methodology, the system capability to control FES was tested on a population of 17 subjects, reproducing 6 different movements. Limbs trajectories were acquired using a gold standard motion tracking tool. The implemented segmentation algorithm has been detailed, together with the designed experimental protocol. A motion analysis was performed through a multi-parametric evaluation, including the extraction of features such as the trajectory area and the movement velocity. The obtained results show a median cross-correlation coefficient of 0.910 and a median delay of 800 ms, between each couple of voluntary and stimulated exercise, making our system comparable w.r.t. state-of-the-art works. Furthermore, a 97.39% successful rate on movement replication demonstrates the feasibility of the system for rehabilitation purposes.
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Rossi F, Savi F, Prestia A, Mongardi A, Demarchi D, Buccino G. Combining Action Observation Treatment with a Brain-Computer Interface System: Perspectives on Neurorehabilitation. Sensors (Basel) 2021; 21:s21248504. [PMID: 34960597 PMCID: PMC8707407 DOI: 10.3390/s21248504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Action observation treatment (AOT) exploits a neurophysiological mechanism, matching an observed action on the neural substrates where that action is motorically represented. This mechanism is also known as mirror mechanism. In a typical AOT session, one can distinguish an observation phase and an execution phase. During the observation phase, the patient observes a daily action and soon after, during the execution phase, he/she is asked to perform the observed action at the best of his/her ability. Indeed, the execution phase may sometimes be difficult for those patients where motor impairment is severe. Although, in the current practice, the physiotherapist does not intervene on the quality of the execution phase, here, we propose a stimulation system based on neurophysiological parameters. This perspective article focuses on the possibility to combine AOT with a brain–computer interface system (BCI) that stimulates upper limb muscles, thus facilitating the execution of actions during a rehabilitation session. Combining a rehabilitation tool that is well-grounded in neurophysiology with a stimulation system, such as the one proposed, may improve the efficacy of AOT in the treatment of severe neurological patients, including stroke patients, Parkinson’s disease patients, and children with cerebral palsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Rossi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (F.R.); (A.P.); (A.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Federica Savi
- Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Piazzale dei Servi 3, 43100 Parma, Italy;
| | - Andrea Prestia
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (F.R.); (A.P.); (A.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Andrea Mongardi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (F.R.); (A.P.); (A.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy; (F.R.); (A.P.); (A.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-02-91751596
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Leone D, Buraioli I, Mingrone G, Lena D, Sanginario A, Vallelonga F, Tosello F, Avenatti E, Cesareo M, Astarita A, Airale L, Sabia L, Veglio F, Demarchi D, Milan A. Accuracy of a new instrument for noninvasive evaluation of pulse wave velocity: the Arterial sTiffness faitHful tOol aSsessment project. J Hypertens 2021; 39:2164-2172. [PMID: 34261956 DOI: 10.1097/hjh.0000000000002925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Large artery stiffness, assessed by carotid--femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), is a major risk factor for cardiovascular events, commonly used for risk stratification. Currently, the reference device for noninvasive cfPWV is SphygmoCor but its cost and technically challenging use limit its diffusion in clinical practice. AIM To validate a new device for noninvasive assessment of cfPWV, ATHOS (Arterial sTiffness faitHful tOol aSsessment), designed in collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino, against the reference noninvasive method represented by SphygmoCor. METHODS Ninety healthy volunteers were recruited. In each volunteer, we assessed cfPWV, using SphygmoCor (PWVSphygmoCor) and ATHOS (PWVATHOS) devices in an alternate fashion, following the ARTERY Society guidelines. The accuracy was assessed by Bland--Altman plot, and reproducibility was assessed by interoperator correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS Mean PWVATHOS and mean PWVSphygmoCor were 7.88 ± 1.96 and 7.72 ± 1.95 m/s, respectively. Mean difference between devices was 0.15 ± 0.56 m/s, with a high correlation between measurements (r = 0.959, P < 0.001). Considering only PWV values at least 8 m/s (n = 30), mean difference was 0.1 ± 0.63 m/s. The ICC was 97.7% with ATHOS. CONCLUSION ATHOS showed an excellent level of agreement with SphygmoCor, even at high PWV values, with a good reproducibility. Its simplicity of use could help increase clinical application of PWV assessment, improving patients' cardiovascular risk stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Leone
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Irene Buraioli
- Department of Electronics and Telecomunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin
| | - Giulia Mingrone
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | | | | | - Fabrizio Vallelonga
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Francesco Tosello
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Eleonora Avenatti
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Marco Cesareo
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Anna Astarita
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Lorenzo Airale
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Luca Sabia
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Franco Veglio
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecomunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin
| | - Alberto Milan
- Department of Medical Sciences, Division of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, AO Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino
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Tringali D, Haci D, Mazza F, Nikolic K, Demarchi D, Constandinou TG. Eye Accommodation Sensing for Adaptive Focus Adjustment. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2021; 2021:7460-7464. [PMID: 34892819 DOI: 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9629844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Over 2 billion people across the world are affected by some visual impairment - mostly related to optical issues, and this number is estimated to grow. Often, particularly in the elderly, more than one condition can affect the eyes at the same time, e.g., myopia and presbyopia. Bifocal or multifocal lenses can be used, these however may become uncomfortable or disturbing and are not adapted to the user. There is therefore a need and opportunity for a new type of glasses able to adaptively change the lenses' focus. This paper explores the feasibility of recording the eye accommodation process in a non-invasive way using a wearable device. This can provide a way to measure eye convergence in real-time to determine what a person's eye is focused on. In this study, Electro-oculography (EoG) is used to observe eye muscle activity and estimate eye movement. To assess this, a group of 11 participants we each asked to switch their gaze from a near to far target and vice versa, whilst their EoG was measured. This revealed two distinct waveforms: one for the transition from a far to near target, and one for the transition from a near to far target. This informed the design of a correlation-based classifier to detect which signals are related to a far to near, or near to far transition. This achieved a classification accuracy of 97.9±1.37% across the experimental results gathered from our 11 participants. This pilot data provides a basic starting point to justify future device development.
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Del Bono F, Rapeaux A, Demarchi D, Constandinou TG. Translating node of Ranvier currents to extraneural electrical fields: a flexible FEM modeling approach. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2021; 2021:4268-4272. [PMID: 34892165 DOI: 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9629677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Simulations of electroneurogram recording could help find the optimal set of electrodes and algorithms for selective neural recording. However, no flexible methods are established for selective neural recording as for neural stimulation. This paper proposes a method to couple a compartmental and a FEM nerve model, implemented in NEURON and COMSOL, respectively, to translate Node of Ranvier currents into extraneural electric fields. The study simulate ex-vivo experimental conditions, and the method allows flexibility in electrode geometries and nerve topologies. This model has been made available in a public repository4. So far, the model behavior complies with available experimental results and expectations from literature. There is good agreement in terms of signal amplitude and waveform, and computational times are acceptable, leaving room for flexible simulation studies complementary to animal tests.
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Terracciano R, Carcamo-Bahena Y, Butler EB, Demarchi D, Grattoni A, Filgueira CS. Hyaluronate-Thiol Passivation Enhances Gold Nanoparticle Peritumoral Distribution When Administered Intratumorally in Lung Cancer. Biomedicines 2021; 9:1561. [PMID: 34829790 PMCID: PMC8615404 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9111561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biofouling is the unwanted adsorption of cells, proteins, or intracellular and extracellular biomolecules that can spontaneously occur on the surface of metal nanocomplexes. It represents a major issue in bioinorganic chemistry because it leads to the creation of a protein corona, which can destabilize a colloidal solution and result in undesired macrophage-driven clearance, consequently causing failed delivery of a targeted drug cargo. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a bioactive, natural mucopolysaccharide with excellent antifouling properties, arising from its hydrophilic and polyanionic characteristics in physiological environments which prevent opsonization. In this study, hyaluronate-thiol (HA-SH) (MW 10 kDa) was used to surface-passivate gold nanoparticles (GNPs) synthesized using a citrate reduction method. HA functionalized GNP complexes (HA-GNPs) were characterized using absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, zeta potential, and dynamic light scattering. GNP cellular uptake and potential dose-dependent cytotoxic effects due to treatment were evaluated in vitro in HeLa cells using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and trypan blue and MTT assays. Further, we quantified the in vivo biodistribution of intratumorally injected HA functionalized GNPs in Lewis Lung carcinoma (LLC) solid tumors grown on the flank of C57BL/6 mice and compared localization and retention with nascent particles. Our results reveal that HA-GNPs show overall greater peritumoral distribution (** p < 0.005, 3 days post-intratumoral injection) than citrate-GNPs with reduced biodistribution in off-target organs. This property represents an advantageous step forward in localized delivery of metal nano-complexes to the infiltrative region of a tumor, which may improve the application of nanomedicine in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Terracciano
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (Y.C.-B.); (A.G.)
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy;
| | - Yareli Carcamo-Bahena
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (Y.C.-B.); (A.G.)
| | - E. Brian Butler
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy;
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (Y.C.-B.); (A.G.)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Carly S. Filgueira
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (Y.C.-B.); (A.G.)
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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19
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Bar-On L, Garlando U, Sophocleous M, Jog A, Motto Ros P, Sade N, Avni A, Shacham-Diamand Y, Demarchi D. Electrical Modelling of In-Vivo Impedance Spectroscopy of Nicotiana tabacum Plants. Front Electron 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/felec.2021.753145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrical impedance spectroscopy has been suggested as a sensing method for plants. Here, a theoretical approach for electrical conduction via the plant stem is presented and validated, linking its living electrical characteristics to its internal structure. An electrical model for the alternating current conduction and the associated impedance in a live plant stem is presented. The model accounts for biological and geometrical attributes. It uses the electrically prevalent coupled transmission line model approach for a simplified description of the complicated vessel structure. It considers the electrode coupling to the plant stem (either Galvanic or Faradic), and accounts for the different interactions of the setup. Then the model is simplified using the lumped element approach. The model is then validated using a four-point probe impedance spectroscopy method, where the probes are galvanically coupled to the stem of Nicotiana tabacum plants. The electrical impedance data was collected continuously and the results exhibit an excellent fitting to the theoretical model, with a fitting error of less than 1.5% for data collected on various days and plants. A parametric evaluation of the fitting corresponds to the proposed physically based model, therefore providing a baseline for future plant sensor design.
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20
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Silvestri A, Di Trani N, Canavese G, Motto Ros P, Iannucci L, Grassini S, Wang Y, Liu X, Demarchi D, Grattoni A. Silicon Carbide-Gated Nanofluidic Membrane for Active Control of Electrokinetic Ionic Transport. Membranes (Basel) 2021; 11:535. [PMID: 34357186 PMCID: PMC8303522 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11070535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Manipulation of ions and molecules by external control at the nanoscale is highly relevant to biomedical applications. We report a biocompatible electrode-embedded nanofluidic channel membrane designed for electrofluidic applications such as ionic field-effect transistors for implantable drug-delivery systems. Our nanofluidic membrane includes a polysilicon electrode electrically isolated by amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC). The nanochannel gating performance was experimentally investigated based on the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, leakage current, and power consumption in potassium chloride (KCl) electrolyte. We observed significant modulation of ionic diffusive transport of both positively and negatively charged ions under physical confinement of nanochannels, with low power consumption. To study the physical mechanism associated with the gating performance, we performed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the flat band voltage and density of states were significantly low. In light of its remarkable performance in terms of ionic modulation and low power consumption, this new biocompatible nanofluidic membrane could lead to a new class of silicon implantable nanofluidic systems for tunable drug delivery and personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Silvestri
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (A.S.); (P.M.R.); (D.D.)
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Nicola Di Trani
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Giancarlo Canavese
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (G.C.); (L.I.); (S.G.)
| | - Paolo Motto Ros
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (A.S.); (P.M.R.); (D.D.)
| | - Leonardo Iannucci
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (G.C.); (L.I.); (S.G.)
| | - Sabrina Grassini
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (G.C.); (L.I.); (S.G.)
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Xuewu Liu
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy; (A.S.); (P.M.R.); (D.D.)
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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21
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Tuoheti A, Aiassa S, Criscuolo F, Stradolini F, Tzouvadaki I, Carrara S, Demarchi D. New Approach for Making Standard the Development of Biosensing Devices by a Modular Multi-Purpose Design. IEEE Trans Nanobioscience 2021; 19:339-346. [PMID: 32603293 DOI: 10.1109/tnb.2020.2995230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The fast widening of biosensing applications, such as healthcare, drug delivery, food, and military industries, is increasing the need for generality and compatibility among different sensors. To address this challenge, we present here an innovative approach for the fast development of new electronic biosensing systems, linking a custom-designed front-end with a multi-purpose system. We envision an open tool to help designers to focus on the target molecule and related detection method instead of designing each time a dedicated electronic device. The architecture of the proposed system is based on a modular approach, where only the front-end and the software need to be custom re-designed according to the application. Considering current research and applying a rigorous definition of the technical requirements, the core of the system is designed to fit the highest number of biosensing methods. The flexibility of this approach is successfully demonstrated with three different types of biosensors, i.e., amperometric, ion-sensitive, and memristive.
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22
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Terracciano R, Butler BE, Demarchi D, Grattoni A, Filgueira CS. Abstract 2800: The effect of surface protein adsorption on gold nanoparticle-intratumoral distribution and retention in a pre-clinical model of non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Res 2021. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2021-2800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Nanomedicine's inability to penetrate throughout an entire tumor volume, resulting from heterogeneous distribution within the tumor mass, remains a crucial limiting factor for a vast range of theranostic applications. Despite innumerable studies conducted on the topic that have shown efficacy and biocompatibility of colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNPs), the biological effects of GNPs in the tumor microenvironment, including particle-protein interactions and consequent impacts on cellular pathways and contrast enhancement, remain unclear. For this reason, we aim to evaluate the influence of protein surface adsorption on GNP biodistribution in Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) tumor-bearing mice using high resolution Computed Tomography (CT) preclinical imaging. We chose LLC as it is the only reproducible syngeneic model for lung cancer to date. We hypothesize that by controlling the adsorption of proteins on the GNP surface, we can influence the intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. GNPs are synthesized, surface passivated with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and characterized with standard methods. Modulation of BSA adsorption on the GNPs is observed by tuning the pH of the immobilization medium from acidic to alkaline, which we quantify using Langmuir isotherms. CT phantom imaging is used to determine X-ray attenuation as a function of GNP concentration and surface functionalization. In vitro studies evaluating the uptake of GNPs by Lewis Lung Carcinoma cells highlighted a difference in internalization depending on the surface functionalization. The in vivo study is performed by injecting concentrated GNPs intratumorally into LLC solid tumors grown on the right flank of 6-week old female C57BL/6 mice. Follow-up assessments with CT attenuation quantification based on bioimaging analysis for each time point is conducted. In vivo results show significant heterogeneity in the intratumoral biodistribution of GNPs dependent on surface passivation. CT and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) results both confirm that particles remain in the tumor 9 days post-injection (n=8 mice per group). Significant difference is highlighted between citrate-GNPs and BSA-GNPs groups (**p < 0.005, Tukey's multiple comparisons test), confirming the protein corona of GNPs as a modifier factor for intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. No significant traces of gold are found in other organs after 9 days (spleen, kidneys, liver, and lung). In conclusion, our investigations have shown that surface passivation of GNPs is able to influence the mechanism of cellular uptake in vitro and their in vivo intratumoral diffusion highlighting the spatial heterogeneity of the solid tumor.
Citation Format: Rossana Terracciano, Brian E. Butler, Danilo Demarchi, Alessandro Grattoni, Carly S. Filgueira. The effect of surface protein adsorption on gold nanoparticle-intratumoral distribution and retention in a pre-clinical model of non-small cell lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2800.
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Zoppo G, Marrone F, Pittarello M, Farina M, Uberti A, Demarchi D, Secco J, Corinto F, Ricci E. AI technology for remote clinical assessment and monitoring. J Wound Care 2021; 29:692-706. [PMID: 33320742 DOI: 10.12968/jowc.2020.29.12.692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To report the clinical validation of an innovative, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, portable and non-invasive medical device called Wound Viewer. The AI medical device uses dedicated sensors and AI algorithms to remotely collect objective and precise clinical data, including three-dimensional (3D) wound measurements, tissue composition and wound classification through the internationally recognised Wound Bed Preparation (WBP) protocol; this data can then be shared through a secure General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)- and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant data transfer system. This trial aims to test the reliability and precision of the AI medical device and its ability to aid health professionals in clinically evaluating wounds as efficiently remotely as at the bedside. METHOD This non-randomised comparative clinical trial was conducted in the Clinica San Luca (Turin, Italy). Patients were divided into three groups: (i) patients with venous and arterial ulcers in the lower limbs; (ii) patients with diabetes and presenting with diabetic foot syndrome; and (iii) patients with pressure ulcers. Each wound was evaluated for area, depth, volume and WBP wound classification. Each patient was examined once and the results, analysed by the AI medical device, were compared against data obtained following visual evaluation by the physician and research team. The area and depth were compared with a Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variations in the obtained distribution (expected p-value>0.1 for both tests). The WBP classification and tissue segmentation were analysed by directly comparing the classification obtained by the AI medical device against that of the testing physician. RESULTS A total of 150 patients took part in the trial. The results demonstrated that the AI medical device's AI algorithm could acquire objective clinical parameters in a completely automated manner. The AI medical device reached 97% accuracy against the WBP classification and tissue segmentation analysis compared with that performed in person by the physician. Moreover, data regarding the measurements of the wounds, as analysed through the Kruskal-Wallis technique, showed that the data distribution proved comparable with the other methods of measurement previously clinically validated in the literature (p=0.9). CONCLUSION These findings indicate that remote wound assessment undertaken by physicians is as effective through the AI medical device as bedside examination, and that the device was able to assess wounds and provide a precise WBP wound classification. Furthermore, there was no need for manual data entry, thereby reducing the risk of human error while preserving high-quality clinical diagnostic data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Zoppo
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Francesco Marrone
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Monica Pittarello
- Department of Surgery 2, Clinica San Luca, Strada della Vetta 3, 10020, Torino, Italy
| | - Marco Farina
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Alberto Uberti
- Department of Management Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Jacopo Secco
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Fernando Corinto
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Elia Ricci
- Department of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
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Terracciano R, Demarchi D, Ruo Roch M, Aiassa S, Pagana G. Nanomaterials to Fight Cancer: An Overview on Their Multifunctional Exploitability. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 2021; 21:2760-2777. [PMID: 33653442 DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2021.19061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In recent years the worldwide research community has highlighted innumerable benefits of nanomaterials in cancer detection and therapy. Nevertheless, the development of cancer nanomedicines and other bionanotechnology requires a huge amount of considerations about the interactions of nanomaterials and biological systems, since long-term effects are not yet fully known. Open issues remain the determination of the nanoparticles distributions patterns and the internalization rate into the tumor while avoiding their accumulation in internal organs or other healthy tissues. The purpose of this work is to provide a standard overview of the most recent advances in nanomaterials to fight cancer and to collect trends and future directions to follow according to some critical aspects still present in this field. Complementary to the very recent review of Wolfram and Ferrari which discusses and classifies successful clinically-approved cancer nanodrugs as well as promising candidates in the pipeline, this work embraces part of their proposed classification system based on the exploitation of multifunctionality and extends the review to peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last 3 years identified through international databases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Terracciano
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Italy
| | - Massimo Ruo Roch
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Italy
| | - Simone Aiassa
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Italy
| | - Guido Pagana
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino, 10129, Italy
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Aiassa S, Ros PM, Hanitra MIN, Tunzi D, Martina M, Carrara S, Demarchi D. Smart Portable Pen for Continuous Monitoring of Anaesthetics in Human Serum With Machine Learning. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2021; 15:294-302. [PMID: 33739925 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2021.3067388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Continuous monitoring of anaesthetics infusion is demanded by anaesthesiologists to help in defining personalized dose, hence reducing risks and side effects. We propose the first piece of technology tailored explicitly to close the loop between anaesthesiologist and patient with continuous drug monitoring. Direct detection of drugs is achieved with electrochemical techniques, and several options are present in literature to measure propofol (widely used anaesthetics). Still, the sensors proposed do not enable in-situ detection, they do not provide this information continuously, and they are based on bulky and costly lab equipment. In this paper, we present a novel smart pen-shaped electronic system for continuous monitoring of propofol in human serum. The system consists of a needle-shaped sensor, a quasi digital front-end, a smart machine learning data processing, in a single wireless battery-operated embedded device featuring Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication. The system has been tested and characterized in real, undiluted human serum, at 37 °C. The device features a limit of detection of 3.8 μM, meeting the requirement of the target application, with an electronics system 59% smaller and 81% less power consuming w.r.t. the state-of-the-art, using a smart machine learning classification for data processing, which guarantees up to twenty continuous measure.
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26
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Terracciano R, Zhang A, Butler EB, Demarchi D, Hafner JH, Grattoni A, Filgueira CS. Effects of Surface Protein Adsorption on the Distribution and Retention of Intratumorally Administered Gold Nanoparticles. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:216. [PMID: 33562434 PMCID: PMC7914653 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13020216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The heterogeneous distribution of delivery or treatment modalities within the tumor mass is a crucial limiting factor for a vast range of theranostic applications. Understanding the interactions between a nanomaterial and the tumor microenvironment will help to overcome challenges associated with tumor heterogeneity, as well as the clinical translation of nanotheranostic materials. This study aims to evaluate the influence of protein surface adsorption on gold nanoparticle (GNP) biodistribution using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) preclinical imaging in C57BL/6 mice harboring Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumors. LLC provides a valuable model for study due to its highly heterogenous nature, which makes drug delivery to the tumor challenging. By controlling the adsorption of proteins on the GNP surface, we hypothesize that we can influence the intratumoral distribution pattern and particle retention. We performed an in vitro study to evaluate the uptake of GNPs by LLC cells and an in vivo study to assess and quantify the GNP biodistribution by injecting concentrated GNPs citrate-stabilized or passivated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) intratumorally into LLC solid tumors. Quantitative CT and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) results both confirm the presence of particles in the tumor 9 days post-injection (n = 8 mice/group). A significant difference is highlighted between citrate-GNP and BSA-GNP groups (** p < 0.005, Tukey's multiple comparisons test), confirming that the protein corona of GNPs modifies intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. In conclusion, our investigations show that the surface passivation of GNPs influences the mechanism of cellular uptake and intratumoral distribution in vivo, highlighting the spatial heterogeneity of the solid tumor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Terracciano
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (A.G.)
- Department of Electronics, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy;
| | - Aobo Zhang
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA; (A.Z.); (J.H.H.)
| | - E. Brian Butler
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy;
| | - Jason H. Hafner
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA; (A.Z.); (J.H.H.)
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (A.G.)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Carly S. Filgueira
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (R.T.); (A.G.)
- Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Buraioli I, Lena D, Sanginario A, Leone D, Mingrone G, Milan A, Demarchi D. A New Noninvasive System for Clinical Pulse Wave Velocity Assessment: The Athos Device. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2021; 15:133-142. [PMID: 33560991 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2021.3058010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents a low cost, noninvasive, clinical-grade Pulse Wave Velocity evaluation device. The proposed system relies on a simultaneous acquisition of femoral and carotid pulse waves to improve estimation accuracy and correctness. The sensors used are two high precision MEMS force sensors, encapsulated in two ergonomic probes, and connected to the main unit. Data are then wirelessly transmitted to a standard laptop, where a dedicated graphical user interface (GUI) runs for analysis and recording. Besides the interface, the Athos system provides a Matlab algorithm to process the signals quickly and achieve a reliable PWV assessment. To better compare the results at the end of each analysis, a detailed report is generated, including all the relevant examination information (subject data, mean PTT, and obtained PWV). A pre-clinical study was conducted to validate the system by realizing several Pulse Wave Velocity measurements on ten heterogeneous healthy subjects of different ages. The collected results were then compared with those measured by a well-established and largely more expensive clinical device (SphygmoCor).
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Barbruni GL, Ros PM, Demarchi D, Carrara S, Ghezzi D. Miniaturised Wireless Power Transfer Systems for Neurostimulation: A Review. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2020; 14:1160-1178. [PMID: 33201828 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2020.3038599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In neurostimulation, wireless power transfer is an efficient technology to overcome several limitations affecting medical devices currently used in clinical practice. Several methods were developed over the years for wireless power transfer. In this review article, we report and discuss the three most relevant methodologies for extremely miniaturised implantable neurostimulators: ultrasound coupling, inductive coupling and capacitive coupling. For each powering method, the discussion starts describing the physical working principle. In particular, we focus on the challenges given by the miniaturisation of the implanted integrated circuits and the related ad-hoc solutions for wireless power transfer. Then, we present recent developments and progresses in wireless power transfer for biomedical applications. Last, we compare each technique based on key performance indicators to highlight the most relevant and innovative solutions suitable for neurostimulation, with the gaze turned towards miniaturisation.
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Terracciano R, Ricchetti S, Butler EB, Demarchi D, Grattoni A, Filgueira CS. Abstract PO-058: Intratumoral distribution and retention of gold nanoparticles characterized by computed tomography in a non-small cell lung cancer model. Cancer Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.tumhet2020-po-058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Lung cancer produces the highest number of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Currently, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) accounts for more than 85% of those cases. To date, achieving an early and precise diagnosis of NSCLC remains challenging due to extensive intratumor heterogeneity, which concerns not only to tumor epithelial cells but also the diverse microenvironment with which the tumor cells interact. In addition, genetic and phenotypic tumor heterogeneity and consequent non-uniform spatial drug distribution can lead to therapy resistance in cancer treatment. Therefore, visualization of the tumor microenvironment using morphological imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) can better clarify structure, vasculature, and biodistribution, making possible optimization of applications in the fields of diagnostics as well as individualized treatment. In this study, we aim to evaluate the intratumoral distribution of Gold Nanoparticles (GNPs) in Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) tumor-bearing mice using high resolution CT preclinical imaging. We hypothesize that by exploiting the adsorption of molecules on the GNP surface, we can influence the intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. In fact, GNPs exhibit high X-Ray attenuation and optimal biocompatibility, compared to the common side effects associated with the administration of standard contrast agents. GNPs approximately 34 nm in diameter are synthesized and surface passivated with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) to reduce opsonization and improve colloidal stability. CT phantom imaging is used to determine X-ray attenuation as a function of GNP concentration and surface functionalization. Particle uptake in vitro within the LLC cells was dependent on surface passivation. An in vivo study is performed by injecting intratumorally, concentrated GNPs into LLC-solid tumors grown on the right flank of 6-week old female C57BL/6 mice. Ten days post-injection, follow-up assessments with CT imaging and quantifications show the intratumoral distribution and retention of the particles. In vivo results show significant heterogeneity in the intratumoral biodistribution of GNPs dependent on surface passivation. BSA-GNPs perfuse predominately along the tumor periphery, allowing the visualization of the tumor boundaries, with few depositions throughout the entire tumor volume over time. This response suggests perfusion rather than permeability as the limiting factor for tumor accumulation of the GNPs.
Citation Format: Rossana Terracciano, Sara Ricchetti, E. Brian Butler, Danilo Demarchi, Alessandro Grattoni, Carly S. Filgueira. Intratumoral distribution and retention of gold nanoparticles characterized by computed tomography in a non-small cell lung cancer model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Tumor Heterogeneity: From Single Cells to Clinical Impact; 2020 Sep 17-18. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(21 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-058.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rossana Terracciano
- 1Houston Methodist Research Institute, Department of Nanomedicine, Houston, TX,
| | - Sara Ricchetti
- 1Houston Methodist Research Institute, Department of Nanomedicine, Houston, TX,
| | - E. Brian Butler
- 2Houston Methodist Research Institute, Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston, TX,
| | | | - Alessandro Grattoni
- 1Houston Methodist Research Institute, Department of Nanomedicine, Houston, TX,
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Capra M, Sapienza S, Motto Ros P, Serrani A, Martina M, Puiatti A, Bonato P, Demarchi D. Assessing the Feasibility of Augmenting Fall Detection Systems by Relying on UWB-Based Position Tracking and a Home Robot. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 20:s20185361. [PMID: 32962142 PMCID: PMC7570467 DOI: 10.3390/s20185361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Falls in the home environment are a primary cause of injury in older adults. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, one in four adults 65 years of age and older reports experiencing a fall. A variety of different technologies have been proposed to detect fall events. However, the need to detect all fall instances (i.e., to avoid false negatives) has led to the development of systems marked by high sensitivity and hence a significant number of false alarms. The occurrence of false alarms causes frequent and unnecessary calls to emergency response centers, which are critical resources that should be utilized only when necessary. Besides, false alarms decrease the level of confidence of end-users in the fall detection system with a negative impact on their compliance with using the system (e.g., wearing the sensor enabling the detection of fall events). Herein, we present a novel approach aimed to augment traditional fall detection systems that rely on wearable sensors and fall detection algorithms. The proposed approach utilizes a UWB-based tracking system and a home robot. When the fall detection system generates an alarm, the alarm is relayed to a base station that utilizes a UWB-based tracking system to identify where the older adult and the robot are so as to enable navigating the environment using the robot and reaching the older adult to check if he/she experienced a fall. This approach prevents unnecessary calls to emergency response centers while enabling a tele-presence using the robot when appropriate. In this paper, we report the results of a novel fall detection algorithm, the characteristics of the alarm notification system, and the accuracy of the UWB-based tracking system that we implemented. The fall detection algorithm displayed a sensitivity of 99.0% and a specificity of 97.8%. The alarm notification system relayed all simulated alarm notification instances with a maximum delay of 106 ms. The UWB-based tracking system was found to be suitable to locate radio tags both in line-of-sight and in no-line-of-sight conditions. This result was obtained by using a machine learning-based algorithm that we developed to detect and compensate for the multipath effect in no-line-of-sight conditions. When using this algorithm, the error affecting the estimated position of the radio tags was smaller than 0.2 m, which is satisfactory for the application at hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Capra
- Department of Electrical, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino TO, Italy; (P.M.R.); (A.S.); (M.M.); (D.D.)
- Correspondence: (M.C.); (S.S.)
| | - Stefano Sapienza
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA;
- Correspondence: (M.C.); (S.S.)
| | - Paolo Motto Ros
- Department of Electrical, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino TO, Italy; (P.M.R.); (A.S.); (M.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Alessio Serrani
- Department of Electrical, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino TO, Italy; (P.M.R.); (A.S.); (M.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Maurizio Martina
- Department of Electrical, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino TO, Italy; (P.M.R.); (A.S.); (M.M.); (D.D.)
| | - Alessandro Puiatti
- Institute for Information Systems and Networking, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland;
| | - Paolo Bonato
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA;
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electrical, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino TO, Italy; (P.M.R.); (A.S.); (M.M.); (D.D.)
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31
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Adans-Dester CP, Bamberg S, Bertacchi FP, Caulfield B, Chappie K, Demarchi D, Erb MK, Estrada J, Fabara EE, Freni M, Friedl KE, Ghaffari R, Gill G, Greenberg MS, Hoyt RW, Jovanov E, Kanzler CM, Katabi D, Kernan M, Kigin C, Lee SI, Leonhardt S, Lovell NH, Mantilla J, McCoy TH, Luo NM, Miller GA, Moore J, O'Keeffe D, Palmer J, Parisi F, Patel S, Po J, Pugliese BL, Quatieri T, Rahman T, Ramasarma N, Rogers JA, Ruiz-Esparza GU, Sapienza S, Schiurring G, Schwamm L, Shafiee H, Kelly Silacci S, Sims NM, Talkar T, Tharion WJ, Toombs JA, Uschnig C, Vergara-Diaz GP, Wacnik P, Wang MD, Welch J, Williamson L, Zafonte R, Zai A, Zhang YT, Tearney GJ, Ahmad R, Walt DR, Bonato P. Can mHealth Technology Help Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic? IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol 2020; 1:243-248. [PMID: 34192282 PMCID: PMC8023427 DOI: 10.1109/ojemb.2020.3015141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Goal: The aim of the study herein reported was to review mobile health (mHealth) technologies and explore their use to monitor and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A Task Force was assembled by recruiting individuals with expertise in electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO), wearable sensors, and digital contact tracing technologies. Its members collected and discussed available information and summarized it in a series of reports. Results: The Task Force identified technologies that could be deployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and would likely be suitable for future pandemics. Criteria for their evaluation were agreed upon and applied to these systems. Conclusions: mHealth technologies are viable options to monitor COVID-19 patients and be used to predict symptom escalation for earlier intervention. These technologies could also be utilized to monitor individuals who are presumed non-infected and enable prediction of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, thus facilitating the prioritization of diagnostic testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine P Adans-Dester
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Stacy Bamberg
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Francesco P Bertacchi
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Brian Caulfield
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Kara Chappie
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - M Kelley Erb
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Juan Estrada
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Eric E Fabara
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Michael Freni
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Karl E Friedl
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Roozbeh Ghaffari
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Geoffrey Gill
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Mark S Greenberg
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Reed W Hoyt
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Emil Jovanov
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Christoph M Kanzler
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Dina Katabi
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Meredith Kernan
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Colleen Kigin
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Sunghoon I Lee
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Steffen Leonhardt
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Nigel H Lovell
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Jose Mantilla
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Thomas H McCoy
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Nell Meosky Luo
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Glenn A Miller
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - John Moore
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Derek O'Keeffe
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Jeffrey Palmer
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Federico Parisi
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Shyamal Patel
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Jack Po
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Benito L Pugliese
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Thomas Quatieri
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Tauhidur Rahman
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Nathan Ramasarma
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - John A Rogers
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Guillermo U Ruiz-Esparza
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Stefano Sapienza
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Gregory Schiurring
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Lee Schwamm
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Hadi Shafiee
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Sara Kelly Silacci
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Nathaniel M Sims
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Tanya Talkar
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - William J Tharion
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - James A Toombs
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Christopher Uschnig
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Gloria P Vergara-Diaz
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Paul Wacnik
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - May D Wang
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - James Welch
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Lina Williamson
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Ross Zafonte
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Adrian Zai
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Yuan-Ting Zhang
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Guillermo J Tearney
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Rushdy Ahmad
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - David R Walt
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
| | - Paolo Bonato
- Paolo Bonato is with the Department of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationHarvard Medical School at Spaulding Rehabilitation HospitalBostonMA02129USA.,Wyss InstituteHarvard UniversityCambridgeMA02138USA
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Di Trani N, Silvestri A, Wang Y, Demarchi D, Liu X, Grattoni A. Silicon Nanofluidic Membrane for Electrostatic Control of Drugs and Analytes Elution. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:E679. [PMID: 32707665 PMCID: PMC7407659 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12070679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Individualized long-term management of chronic pathologies remains an elusive goal despite recent progress in drug formulation and implantable devices. The lack of advanced systems for therapeutic administration that can be controlled and tailored based on patient needs precludes optimal management of pathologies, such as diabetes, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis. Several triggered systems for drug delivery have been demonstrated. However, they mostly rely on continuous external stimuli, which hinder their application for long-term treatments. In this work, we investigated a silicon nanofluidic technology that incorporates a gate electrode and examined its ability to achieve reproducible control of drug release. Silicon carbide (SiC) was used to coat the membrane surface, including nanochannels, ensuring biocompatibility and chemical inertness for long-term stability for in vivo deployment. With the application of a small voltage (≤ 3 V DC) to the buried polysilicon electrode, we showed in vitro repeatable modulation of membrane permeability of two model analytes-methotrexate and quantum dots. Methotrexate is a first-line therapeutic approach for rheumatoid arthritis; quantum dots represent multi-functional nanoparticles with broad applicability from bio-labeling to targeted drug delivery. Importantly, SiC coating demonstrated optimal properties as a gate dielectric, which rendered our membrane relevant for multiple applications beyond drug delivery, such as lab on a chip and micro total analysis systems (µTAS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Di Trani
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (A.S.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Science (UCAS), Shijingshan, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Antonia Silvestri
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (A.S.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy;
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (A.S.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, Italy;
| | - Xuewu Liu
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (A.S.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (N.D.T.); (A.S.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Di Trani N, Silvestri A, Sizovs A, Wang Y, Erm DR, Demarchi D, Liu X, Grattoni A. Electrostatically gated nanofluidic membrane for ultra-low power controlled drug delivery. Lab Chip 2020; 20:1562-1576. [PMID: 32249279 PMCID: PMC7249613 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00121j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Patient-centered therapeutic management for chronic medical conditions is a desired but unmet need, largely attributable to the lack of adequate technologies for tailored drug administration. While triggered devices that control the delivery of therapeutics exist, they often rely on impractical continuous external activation. As such, next generation continuously tunable drug delivery systems independent of sustained external activation remain an elusive goal. Here we present the development and demonstration of a silicon carbide (SiC)-coated nanofluidic membrane that achieves reproducible and tunable control of drug release via electrostatic gating. By applying a low-intensity voltage to a buried electrode, we showed repeatable and reproducible in vitro release modulation of three model analytes. A small fluorophore (Alexa Fluor 647), a large polymer poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) and a medically relevant agent (DNA), were selected as representatives of small molecule therapeutics, polymeric drug carriers, and biological therapeutics, respectively. Unlike other drug delivery systems, our technology performed consistently over numerous cycles of voltage modulation, for over 11 days. Importantly, low power consumption and minimal leakage currents were achieved during the study. Further, the SiC coating maintained integrity and chemical inertness, shielding the membrane from degradation under simulated physiological and accelerated conditions for over 4 months. Through leveraging the flexibility offered by electrostatic gating control, our technology provides a valuable strategy for tunable delivery, setting the foundation for the next generation of drug delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Di Trani
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA. and University of Chinese Academy of Science (UCAS), Shijingshan, 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Antonia Silvestri
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA. and Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Antons Sizovs
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Donald R Erm
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Polytechnic of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Xuewu Liu
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA. and Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA and Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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Rossi F, Motto Ros P, Rosales RM, Demarchi D. Embedded Bio-Mimetic System for Functional Electrical Stimulation Controlled by Event-Driven sEMG. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 20:s20051535. [PMID: 32164356 PMCID: PMC7085782 DOI: 10.3390/s20051535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of the surface ElectroMyoGraphic (sEMG) signal for controlling the Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) therapy is being widely accepted as an active rehabilitation technique for the restoration of neuro-muscular disorders. Portability and real-time functionalities are major concerns, and, among others, two correlated challenges are the development of an embedded system and the implementation of lightweight signal processing approaches. In this respect, the event-driven nature of the Average Threshold Crossing (ATC) technique, considering its high correlation with the muscle force and the sparsity of its representation, could be an optimal solution. In this paper we present an embedded ATC-FES control system equipped with a multi-platform software featuring an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface (GUI). The system has been first characterized and validated by analyzing CPU and memory usage in different operating conditions, as well as measuring the system latency (fulfilling the real-time requirements with a 140 ms FES definition process). We also confirmed system effectiveness, testing it on 11 healthy subjects: The similarity between the voluntary movement and the stimulate one has been evaluated, computing the cross-correlation coefficient between the angular signals acquired during the limbs motion. We obtained high correlation values of 0.87 ± 0.07 and 0.93 ± 0.02 for the elbow flexion and knee extension exercises, respectively, proving good stimulation application in real therapy-scenarios.
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Tentor F, Siccardi G, Sacco P, Demarchi D, Marsich E, Almdal K, Bose Goswami S, Boisen A. Long lasting mucoadhesive membrane based on alginate and chitosan for intravaginal drug delivery. J Mater Sci Mater Med 2020; 31:25. [PMID: 32060634 DOI: 10.1007/s10856-020-6359-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The intravaginal route of administration can be exploited to treat local diseases and for systemic delivery. In this work, we developed an alginate/chitosan membrane sufficiently stable in a simulated vaginal fluid and able to dissolve over time at a very slow and linear rate. The membrane demonstrated good mechanical properties both in its swollen and dry form. As a study case, we evaluated the viability of this potential drug delivery system for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, a common disease affecting women in their reproductive age. Metronidazole was effectively included in the alginate/chitosan membrane and its bactericide effect was demonstrated against Staphylococcus aureus and Gardnerella vaginalis, simultaneously showing good biocompatibility with a cervix epithelial cell line. Since this alginate/chitosan membrane is stable in a simulated vaginal environment, is easy to fabricate and can be used for the controlled release of a model drug, it represents a promising drug delivery system for local intravaginal applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Tentor
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads 345C, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Giorgia Siccardi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Pasquale Sacco
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via L. Giorgieri 5, I-34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
| | - Eleonora Marsich
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, University of Trieste, Piazza dell'Ospitale 1, I-34129, Trieste, Italy
| | - Kristoffer Almdal
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet 207, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sanjukta Bose Goswami
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads 345C, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Anja Boisen
- Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads 345C, 2800 Kgs., Lyngby, Denmark
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Terracciano R, Sanginario A, Barbero S, Putignano D, Canavese L, Demarchi D. Pattern-Reversal Visual Evoked Potential on Smart Glasses. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2020; 24:226-234. [PMID: 30794193 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2019.2899774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This paper presents an integrated device, based on smart glasses, for the pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PR-VEP) clinical test. METHODS Smart glasses are used to generate the checkerboard changing pattern, with its related red fixation point through an Android application. Electroencephalographic signals, for monitoring the stimulus generated by PR-VEP, were amplified close to the scalp and then transmitted wirelessly to a PC. A MATLAB real-time algorithm processed the incoming signals to extract the final PR-VEP signal. METHODS In total, 40 eyes (from 20 subjects, 12 males and 8 females between 24 and 28 years old) were tested and results were compared, with a commercial device for VEP clinical exam, to test the reproducibility and the efficacy of the proposed solution. RESULTS PR-VEPs generated by smart glasses showed typical triphasic waveforms: We observed promising results and components in moderate agreement with those obtained using commercial PR-VEP recorder, with potential for improvements after further refinement works. SIGNIFICANCE The proposed device leads the way for a portable and low-cost solution.
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37
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D'Angelo P, Marasso SL, Verna A, Ballesio A, Parmeggiani M, Sanginario A, Tarabella G, Demarchi D, Pirri CF, Cocuzza M, Iannotta S. Scaling Organic Electrochemical Transistors Down to Nanosized Channels. Small 2019; 15:e1902332. [PMID: 31441219 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201902332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The perspective of downscaling organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) in the nanorange is approached by depositing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on electrodes with a nanogap designed and fabricated by electromigration induced break junction (EIBJ) technique. The electrical response of the fabricated devices is obtained by acquiring transfer characteristics in order to clarify the specific main characteristics of OECTs with sub-micrometer-sized active channels (nanogap-OECTs). On the basis of their electrical response to different scan times, the nanogap-OECT shows a maximum transconductance unaffected upon changing scan times in the time window from 1 s to 100 µs, meaning that fast varying signals can be easily acquired with unchanged amplifying performance. Hence, the scaling down of the channel size to the nanometer scale leads to a geometrical paradigm that minimizes effects on device response due to the cationic diffusion into the polymeric channel. A comprehensive study of these features is carried out by an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study, complemented by a quantitative analysis made by equivalent circuits. The propagation of a redox front into the polymer bulk due to ionic diffusion also known as the "intercalation pseudocapacitance" is identified as a limiting factor for the transduction dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasquale D'Angelo
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica ed il Magnetismo (IMEM), P.co Area delle Scienze 37/A, Parma, 43124, Italy
| | - Simone L Marasso
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica ed il Magnetismo (IMEM), P.co Area delle Scienze 37/A, Parma, 43124, Italy
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
| | - Alessio Verna
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
| | - Alberto Ballesio
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
| | - Matteo Parmeggiani
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
- Center for Sustainable Future Technologies, Italian Institute of Technology, Turin, 10129, Italy
| | - Alessandro Sanginario
- Electronic and Telecommunication Department, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
| | | | - Danilo Demarchi
- Electronic and Telecommunication Department, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
| | - Candido F Pirri
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
- Center for Sustainable Future Technologies, Italian Institute of Technology, Turin, 10129, Italy
| | - Matteo Cocuzza
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica ed il Magnetismo (IMEM), P.co Area delle Scienze 37/A, Parma, 43124, Italy
- Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (Turin), 10034, Italy
| | - Salvatore Iannotta
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica ed il Magnetismo (IMEM), P.co Area delle Scienze 37/A, Parma, 43124, Italy
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Di Trani N, Silvestri A, Bruno G, Geninatti T, Chua CYX, Gilbert A, Rizzo G, Filgueira CS, Demarchi D, Grattoni A. Remotely controlled nanofluidic implantable platform for tunable drug delivery. Lab Chip 2019; 19:2192-2204. [PMID: 31169840 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc00394k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Chronic diseases such as hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis are persistent ailments that require personalized lifelong therapeutic management. However, the difficulty of adherence to strict dosing schedule compromises therapeutic efficacy and safety. Moreover, the conventional one-size-fits-all treatment approach is increasingly challenged due to the intricacies of inter- and intra-individual variabilities. While accelerated technological advances have led to sophisticated implantable drug delivery devices, flexibility in dosage and timing modulation to tailor precise treatment to individual needs remains an elusive goal. Here we describe the development of a subcutaneously implantable remote-controlled nanofluidic device capable of sustained drug release with adjustable dosing and timing. By leveraging a low intensity electric field to modify the concentration driven diffusion across a nanofluidic membrane, the rate of drug administration can be increased, decreased or stopped via Bluetooth remote command. We demonstrate in vitro the release modulation of enalapril and methotrexate, first-line therapeutics for treatment of hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. Further, we show reliable remote communication and device biocompatibility via in vivo studies. Unlike a pulsatile release regimen typical of some conventional controlled delivery systems, our implant offers a continuous drug administration that avoids abrupt fluctuations, which could affect response and tolerability. Our system could set the foundation for an on-demand delivery platform technology for long term management of chronic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Di Trani
- Nanomedicine Department, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
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Rinoldi C, Fallahi A, Yazdi IK, Campos Paras J, Kijeńska-Gawrońska E, Trujillo-de Santiago G, Tuoheti A, Demarchi D, Annabi N, Khademhosseini A, Swieszkowski W, Tamayol A. Mechanical and Biochemical Stimulation of 3D Multilayered Scaffolds for Tendon Tissue Engineering. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2019; 5:2953-2964. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b01647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Rinoldi
- Materials Design Division, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 141 Woloska Street, Warsaw 02-507, Poland
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Afsoon Fallahi
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Iman K. Yazdi
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Jessica Campos Paras
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnologico, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico
| | - Ewa Kijeńska-Gawrońska
- Materials Design Division, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 141 Woloska Street, Warsaw 02-507, Poland
| | - Grissel Trujillo-de Santiago
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur Col. Tecnologico, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico
| | - Abuduwaili Tuoheti
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 24 Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, Turin 10129, Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 24 Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, Turin 10129, Italy
| | - Nasim Annabi
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Ali Khademhosseini
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Center of Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21569, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, and Department of Radiology, California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), University of California, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Wojciech Swieszkowski
- Materials Design Division, Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 141 Woloska Street, Warsaw 02-507, Poland
| | - Ali Tamayol
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska, 900 N. 16th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States
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Golabchi FN, Sapienza S, Severini G, Reaston P, Tomecek F, Demarchi D, Reaston M, Bonato P. Assessing aberrant muscle activity patterns via the analysis of surface EMG data collected during a functional evaluation. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2019; 20:13. [PMID: 30611235 PMCID: PMC6320612 DOI: 10.1186/s12891-018-2350-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Surface electromyographic (EMG) recordings collected during the performance of functional evaluations allow clinicians to assess aberrant patterns of muscle activity associated with musculoskeletal disorders. This assessment is typically achieved via visual inspection of the surface EMG data. This approach is time-consuming and leads to accurate results only when the assessment is carried out by an EMG expert. Methods A set of algorithms was developed to automatically evaluate aberrant patterns of muscle activity. EMG recordings collected during the performance of functional evaluations in 62 subjects (22 to 61 years old) were used to develop and characterize the algorithms. Clinical scores were generated via visual inspection by an EMG expert using an ordinal scale capturing the severity of aberrant patterns of muscle activity. The algorithms were used in a case study (i.e. the evaluation of a subject with persistent back pain following instrumented lumbar fusion who underwent lumbar hardware removal) to assess the clinical suitability of the proposed technique. Results The EMG-based algorithms produced accurate estimates of the clinical scores. Results were primarily obtained using a linear regression approach. However, when the results were not satisfactory, a regression implementation of a Random Forest was utilized, and the results compared with those obtained using a linear regression approach. The root-mean-square error of the clinical score estimates produced by the algorithms was a small fraction of the ordinal scale used to rate the severity of the aberrant patterns of muscle activity. Regression coefficients and associated 95% confidence intervals showed that the EMG-based estimates fit well the clinical scores generated by the EMG expert. When applied to the clinical case study, the algorithms appeared to capture the characteristics of the muscle activity patterns associated with persistent back pain following instrumented lumbar fusion. Conclusions The proposed approach relies on EMG-based measures to generate accurate estimates of the severity of aberrant patterns of muscle activity. The results obtained in the case study suggest that the proposed technique is suitable to derive clinically-relevant information from EMG data collected during functional evaluations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Noushin Golabchi
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 300 First Ave, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Stefano Sapienza
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 300 First Ave, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Giacomo Severini
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 300 First Ave, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.,School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | | | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Paolo Bonato
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, 300 First Ave, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
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41
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Morelli L, Centorbi FA, Ilchenko O, Jendresen CB, Demarchi D, Nielsen AT, Zór K, Boisen A. Simultaneous quantification of multiple bacterial metabolites using surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Analyst 2019; 144:1600-1607. [DOI: 10.1039/c8an02128g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
We combine liquid–liquid extraction, SERS detection and partial least squares analysis for simultaneous quantification of bacterial metabolites in E. coli supernatant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Morelli
- Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology
- Technical University of Denmark
- Denmark
| | | | - Oleksii Ilchenko
- Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology
- Technical University of Denmark
- Denmark
| | | | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications
- 10129 Torino
- Italy
| | - Alex Toftgaard Nielsen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability
- Technical University of Denmark
- Denmark
| | - Kinga Zór
- Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology
- Technical University of Denmark
- Denmark
| | - Anja Boisen
- Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology
- Technical University of Denmark
- Denmark
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42
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Aldinucci M, Bagnasco S, Concas M, Lusso S, Rabellino S, Demarchi D, Vallero S. Managing a heterogeneous scientific computing cluster with cloud-like tools: ideas and experience. EPJ Web Conf 2019. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/201921407030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Obtaining CPU cycles on an HPC cluster is nowadays relatively simple and sometimes even cheap for academic institutions. However, in most of the cases providers of HPC services would not allow changes on the configuration, implementation of special features or a lower-level control on the computing infrastructure, for example for testing experimental configurations. The variety of use cases proposed by several departments of the University of Torino, including ones from solid-state chemistry, computational biology, genomics and many others, called for different and sometimes conflicting configurations; furthermore, several R&D activities in the field of scientific computing, with topics ranging from GPU acceleration to Cloud Computing technologies, needed a platform to be carried out on. The Open Computing Cluster for Advanced data Manipulation (OCCAM) is a multi-purpose flexible HPC cluster designed and operated by a collaboration between the University of Torino and the Torino branch of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare. It is aimed at providing a flexible and reconfigurable infrastructure to cater to a wide range of different scientific computing needs, as well as a platform for R&D activities on computational technologies themselves. We describe some of the use cases that prompted the design and construction of the system, its architecture and a first characterisation of its performance by some synthetic benchmark tools and a few realistic use-case tests.
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43
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Stradolini F, Tuoheti A, Kilic T, Ntella SL, Tamburrano N, Huang Z, De Micheli G, Demarchi D, Carrara S. An IoT Solution for Online Monitoring of Anesthetics in Human Serum Based on an Integrated Fluidic Bioelectronic System. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2018; 12:1056-1064. [PMID: 30072339 DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2018.2855048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we present the design, the implementation and the validation of a novel Internet of Things (IoT) drug monitoring system for the online continuous and simultaneous detection of two main anesthetics, e.g., propofol and paracetamol, in undiluted human serum. The described full system consists of a custom-built electronic Raspberry Pi (RPi) based Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that drives and reads out the signal from an electrochemical sensing platform integrated into a fluidic system. Thanks to the Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fluidic device, the analyzed sample is automatically fluxed on the sensing site. The IoT network is supported by a Cloud system, which allows the doctor to control and share all the patient's data through a dedicated Android application and a smart watch. The validation closes with the first ever demonstration that our system successfully works for the simultaneous monitoring of propofol and paracetamol in undiluted human serum by measuring the concentration trends of these two drugs in fluxing conditions over time.
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44
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Bruno G, Di Trani N, Hood RL, Zabre E, Filgueira CS, Canavese G, Jain P, Smith Z, Demarchi D, Hosali S, Pimpinelli A, Ferrari M, Grattoni A. Unexpected behaviors in molecular transport through size-controlled nanochannels down to the ultra-nanoscale. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1682. [PMID: 29703954 PMCID: PMC5923292 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04133-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Ionic transport through nanofluidic systems is a problem of fundamental interest in transport physics and has broad relevance in desalination, fuel cells, batteries, filtration, and drug delivery. When the dimension of the fluidic system approaches the size of molecules in solution, fluid properties are not homogeneous and a departure in behavior is observed with respect to continuum-based theories. Here we present a systematic study of the transport of charged and neutral small molecules in an ideal nanofluidic platform with precise channels from the sub-microscale to the ultra-nanoscale (<5 nm). Surprisingly, we find that diffusive transport of nano-confined neutral molecules matches that of charged molecules, as though the former carry an effective charge. Further, approaching the ultra-nanoscale molecular diffusivities suddenly drop by up to an order of magnitude for all molecules, irrespective of their electric charge. New theoretical investigations will be required to shed light onto these intriguing results. Transport through nanochannels is usually dominated by electrostatic interactions and depends on the charge of diffusing molecules. Here the authors show that for channel heights between 2 and 4 nanometers, transport is insensitive to molecule charge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Bruno
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10024, Turin, Italy
| | - Nicola Di Trani
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10024, Turin, Italy
| | - R Lyle Hood
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Erika Zabre
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Carly Sue Filgueira
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Giancarlo Canavese
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 10024, Turin, Italy
| | - Priya Jain
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Zachary Smith
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, 10024, Turin, Italy
| | | | - Alberto Pimpinelli
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.,Smalley-Curl Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.,Department of Material Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77005, USA
| | - Mauro Ferrari
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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45
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Morelli L, Serioli L, Centorbi FA, Jendresen CB, Matteucci M, Ilchenko O, Demarchi D, Nielsen AT, Zór K, Boisen A. Injection molded lab-on-a-disc platform for screening of genetically modified E. coli using liquid-liquid extraction and surface enhanced Raman scattering. Lab Chip 2018; 18:869-877. [PMID: 29450440 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc01217a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
We present the development of an automated centrifugal microfluidic platform with integrated sample pre-treatment (filtration and liquid-liquid extraction) and detection (SERS-based sensing). The platform consists of eight calibration and four assay modules, fabricated with polypropylene using injection molding and bonded with ultrasonic welding. The platform was used for detection of a secondary bacterial metabolite (p-coumaric acid) from bacterial supernatant. The obtained extraction efficiency was comparable to values obtained in batch experiments and the SERS-based sensing showed a good correlation with HPLC analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Morelli
- Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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46
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Shin SR, Migliori B, Miccoli B, Li YC, Mostafalu P, Seo J, Mandla S, Enrico A, Antona S, Sabarish R, Zheng T, Pirrami L, Zhang K, Zhang YS, Wan KT, Demarchi D, Dokmeci MR, Khademhosseini A. Electrically Driven Microengineered Bioinspired Soft Robots. Adv Mater 2018; 30:10.1002/adma.201704189. [PMID: 29323433 PMCID: PMC6082116 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201704189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
To create life-like movements, living muscle actuator technologies have borrowed inspiration from biomimetic concepts in developing bioinspired robots. Here, the development of a bioinspired soft robotics system, with integrated self-actuating cardiac muscles on a hierarchically structured scaffold with flexible gold microelectrodes is reported. Inspired by the movement of living organisms, a batoid-fish-shaped substrate is designed and reported, which is composed of two micropatterned hydrogel layers. The first layer is a poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel substrate, which provides a mechanically stable structure for the robot, followed by a layer of gelatin methacryloyl embedded with carbon nanotubes, which serves as a cell culture substrate, to create the actuation component for the soft body robot. In addition, flexible Au microelectrodes are embedded into the biomimetic scaffold, which not only enhance the mechanical integrity of the device, but also increase its electrical conductivity. After culturing and maturation of cardiomyocytes on the biomimetic scaffold, they show excellent myofiber organization and provide self-actuating motions aligned with the direction of the contractile force of the cells. The Au microelectrodes placed below the cell layer further provide localized electrical stimulation and control of the beating behavior of the bioinspired soft robot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Ryon Shin
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Bianca Migliori
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Beatrice Miccoli
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Yi-Chen Li
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Pooria Mostafalu
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Jungmok Seo
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Center for Biomaterials, Biomedical Research Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, 02792, Korea
| | - Serena Mandla
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alessandro Enrico
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Department of Micro and Nanosystems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Silvia Antona
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ram Sabarish
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ting Zheng
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Lorenzo Pirrami
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, 10129, Italy
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Institute for Printing, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 1705, Switzerland
| | - Kaizhen Zhang
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Yu Shrike Zhang
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Kai-Tak Wan
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunication, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, 10129, Italy
| | - Mehmet R Dokmeci
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ali Khademhosseini
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
- Center for Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21569, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Bioindustrial Technologies, College of Animal Bioscience and Technology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea
- Department of Bioengineering, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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47
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Corradetti B, Taraballi F, Giretti I, Bauza G, Pistillo RS, Banche Niclot F, Pandolfi L, Demarchi D, Tasciotti E. Corrigendum: Heparan Sulfate: A Potential Candidate for the Development of Biomimetic Immunomodulatory Membranes. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2018; 5:86. [PMID: 29406539 PMCID: PMC5797665 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bruna Corradetti
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesca Taraballi
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, The Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Ilaria Giretti
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Guillermo Bauza
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Center for NanoHealth, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University Bay, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Rossella S Pistillo
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Federica Banche Niclot
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Laura Pandolfi
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Ennio Tasciotti
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, The Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States.,Center for NanoHealth, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University Bay, Wales, United Kingdom
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48
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Corradetti B, Taraballi F, Giretti I, Bauza G, Pistillo RS, Banche Niclot F, Pandolfi L, Demarchi D, Tasciotti E. Heparan Sulfate: A Potential Candidate for the Development of Biomimetic Immunomodulatory Membranes. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2017; 5:54. [PMID: 28983481 PMCID: PMC5613095 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Clinical trials have demonstrated that heparan sulfate (HS) could be used as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Its anti-inflammatory effect makes it suitable for the development of biomimetic innovative strategies aiming at modulating stem cells behavior toward a pro-regenerative phenotype in case of injury or inflammation. Here, we propose collagen type I meshes fabricated by solvent casting and further crosslinked with HS (HS-Col) to create a biomimetic environment resembling the extracellular matrix of soft tissue. HS-Col meshes were tested for their capability to provide physical support to stem cells’ growth, maintain their phenotypes and immunosuppressive potential following inflammation. HS-Col effect on stem cells was investigated in standard conditions as well as in an inflammatory environment recapitulated in vitro through a mix of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-gamma; 20 ng/ml). A significant increase in the production of molecules associated with immunosuppression was demonstrated in response to the material and when cells were grown in presence of pro-inflammatory stimuli, compared to bare collagen membranes (Col), leading to a greater inhibitory potential when mesenchymal stem cells were exposed to stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our data suggest that the presence of HS is able to activate the molecular machinery responsible for the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines, potentially leading to a faster resolution of inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruna Corradetti
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesca Taraballi
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, The Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Ilaria Giretti
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Guillermo Bauza
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Center for NanoHealth, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University Bay, Swansea, United Kingdom
| | - Rossella S Pistillo
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
| | - Federica Banche Niclot
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Laura Pandolfi
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States
| | | | - Ennio Tasciotti
- Center for Biomimetic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, United States.,Department of Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, The Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, United States.,Center for NanoHealth, Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University Bay, Swansea, United Kingdom
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49
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Farina M, Ballerini A, Fraga DW, Nicolov E, Hogan M, Demarchi D, Scaglione F, Sabek OM, Horner P, Thekkedath U, Gaber OA, Grattoni A. 3D Printed Vascularized Device for Subcutaneous Transplantation of Human Islets. Biotechnol J 2017; 12. [PMID: 28734022 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Transplantation of pancreatic islets or stem cell derived insulin secreting cells is an attractive treatment strategy for diabetes. However, islet transplantation is associated with several challenges including function-loss associated with dispersion and limited vascularization as well as the need for continuous immunosuppression. To overcome these limitations, here we present a novel 3D printed and functionalized encapsulation system for subcutaneous engraftment of islets or islet like cells. The devices were 3D printed with polylactic acid and the surfaces treated and patterned to increase the hydrophilicity, cell attachment, and proliferation. Surface treated encapsulation systems were implanted with growth factor enriched platelet gel, which helped to create a vascularized environment before loading human islets. The device protected the encapsulated islets from acute hypoxia and kept them functional. The adaptability of the encapsulation system was demonstrated by refilling some of the experimental groups transcutaneously with additional islets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Farina
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Andrea Ballerini
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Oncology and Onco-Hematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniel W Fraga
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Eugenia Nicolov
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Matthew Hogan
- Center for Neuroregeneration, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Francesco Scaglione
- Department of Oncology and Onco-Hematology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Omaima M Sabek
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Philip Horner
- Center for Neuroregeneration, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Usha Thekkedath
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Osama A Gaber
- Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Alessandro Grattoni
- Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA
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50
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Sadeghi AH, Shin SR, Deddens JC, Fratta G, Mandla S, Yazdi IK, Prakash G, Antona S, Demarchi D, Buijsrogge MP, Sluijter JPG, Hjortnaes J, Khademhosseini A. Tissue Engineering: Engineered 3D Cardiac Fibrotic Tissue to Study Fibrotic Remodeling (Adv. Healthcare Mater. 11/2017). Adv Healthc Mater 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201770054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amir Hossein Sadeghi
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Department of Cardiology; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX The Netherlands
| | - Su Ryon Shin
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; Harvard University; Boston MA 02115 USA
| | - Janine C. Deddens
- Department of Cardiology; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
- Netherlands Heart Institute (ICIN); 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Fratta
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications; Politecnico di Torino; 10129 Torino Italy
| | - Serena Mandla
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Iman K. Yazdi
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; Harvard University; Boston MA 02115 USA
| | - Gyan Prakash
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
| | - Silvia Antona
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications; Politecnico di Torino; 10129 Torino Italy
| | - Danilo Demarchi
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications; Politecnico di Torino; 10129 Torino Italy
| | - Marc P. Buijsrogge
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX The Netherlands
| | - Joost P. G. Sluijter
- Department of Cardiology; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
- Netherlands Heart Institute (ICIN); 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
- UMC Utrecht Regenerative Medicine Center; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Jesper Hjortnaes
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX The Netherlands
- UMC Utrecht Regenerative Medicine Center; University Medical Center Utrecht; 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Ali Khademhosseini
- Biomaterials Innovation Research Center; Division of Engineering in Medicine; Department of Medicine; Brigham and Women's Hospital; Harvard Medical School; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 65 Landsdowne Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; Harvard University; Boston MA 02115 USA
- Department of Physics; King Abdulaziz University; Jeddah 21569 Saudi Arabia
- Department of Bioindustrial Technologies; College of Animal Bioscience and Technology; Konkuk University; 130-701 Hwayang-dong, Kwangjin-gu Seoul Republic of Korea
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