Augmented reality for personalized nanomedicines

Current Application of Navigation Systems in Robotic-Assisted and Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy: Focus on the Improvement of Surgical Performance and Outcomes

Kidney cancer represents the third most prevalent malignancy among all types of genitourinary cancer worldwide. Currently, there is a growing trend of employing partial nephrectomy for the management of large and complex tumors. Surgical outcomes are associated with some amendable surgical factors, including warm ischemic time, pedicle clamping, preserved volume of renal parenchyma, appropriate surgical strategy, and precise resection of the tumor. Improving surgical performance is pivotal for achieving favorable surgical outcomes. Due to advancements in imaging visualization technology and the shift of the medical paradigm toward precision medicine, an increasing number of navigation systems have been implemented in partial nephrectomy procedures. The navigation system can assist surgeons in formulating optimal surgical strategies and enhance the safety, precision, and feasibility of resecting complex renal tumors. In this review, we provide an overview of currently available navigation systems and their feasible applications, with a focus on how they contribute to the improvement of surgical performance and outcomes during robotic-assisted and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Telehealth of cardiac devices for CVD treatment

This review covers currently available cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) as well as updated progress in real-time monitoring techniques for CIEDs. A variety of implantable and wearable devices that can diagnose and monitor patients with cardiovascular diseases are summarized, and various working mechanisms and principles of monitoring techniques for Telehealth and mHealth are discussed. In addition, future research directions are presented based on the rapidly evolving research landscape including Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Remote evaluation of augmented reality interaction with personal health information

This article discusses novel research methods used to examine how Augmented Reality (AR) can be utilized to present “omic” (i.e., genomes, microbiomes, pathogens, allergens) information to non-expert users. While existing research shows the potential of AR as a tool for personal health, methodological challenges pose a barrier to the ways in which AR research can be conducted. There is a growing need for new evaluation methods for AR systems, especially as remote testing becomes increasingly popular. In this article, we present two AR studies adapted for remote research environments in the context of personal health. The first study (n = 355) is a non-moderated remote study conducted using an AR web application to explore the effect of layering abstracted pathogens and mitigative behaviors on a user, on perceived risk perceptions, negative affect, and behavioral intentions. This study introduces methods that address participant precursor requirements, diversity of platforms for delivering the AR intervention, unsupervised setups, and verification of participation as instructed. The second study (n = 9) presents the design and moderated remote evaluation of a technology probe, a prototype of a novel AR tool that overlays simulated timely and actionable environmental omic data in participants' living environment, which helps users to contextualize and make sense of the data. Overall, the two studies contribute to the understanding of investigating AR as a tool for health behavior and interventions for remote, at-home, empirical studies.

Cardiovascular Stents: A Review of Past, Current, and Emerging Devices

One of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide is coronary artery disease, a condition characterized by the narrowing of the artery due to plaque deposits. The standard of care for treating this disease is the introduction of a stent at the lesion site. This life-saving tubular device ensures vessel support, keeping the blood-flow path open so that the cardiac muscle receives its vital nutrients and oxygen supply. Several generations of stents have been iteratively developed towards improving patient outcomes and diminishing adverse side effects following the implanting procedure. Moving from bare-metal stents to drug-eluting stents, and recently reaching bioresorbable stents, this research field is under continuous development. To keep up with how stent technology has advanced in the past few decades, this paper reviews the evolution of these devices, focusing on how they can be further optimized towards creating an ideal vascular scaffold.

Parametric Optimization of 3D Printed Hydrogel-Based Cardiovascular Stent

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop personalized biodegradable stent (BDS) for the treatment of coronary heart disease. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has offered easy and fast fabrication of BDS with enhanced reproducibility and efficacy.

METHODS

A variety of BDS were printed with 3 types of hydrogel (~5 ml) resources (10%w/v sodium alginate (SA), 10%w/v cysteine-sodium alginate (SA-CYS), and 10%w/v cysteine-sodium alginate with 0.4%w/v PLA-nanofibers (SA-CYS-NF)) dispersed from an 22G print head nozzle attached to the BD-syringe. The printability of hydrogels into 3D structures was examined based on such variables as hydrogel's viscosity, printing distance, printing speed and the nozzle size.

RESULTS

It was demonstrated that alginate composition (10%w/v) offered BDS with sufficient viscosity that defined the thickness and swelling ratio of the stent struts. The thickness of the strut was found to be 338.7 ± 29.3 μm, 262.5 ± 14.7 μm and 237.1 ± 14.7 μm for stents made of SA, SA-CYS and SA-CYS-NF, respectively. SA-CYS-NF stent displayed the highest swelling ratio of 38.8 ± 2.9% at the initial 30 min, whereas stents made of SA and SA-CYS had 23.1 ± 2.4% and 22.0 ± 2.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The printed stents had sufficient mechanical strength and were stable against pseudo-physiological wall shear stress. An addition of nanofibers to alginate hydrogel significantly enhanced the biodegradation rates of the stents. In vitro cell culture studies revealed that stents had no cytotoxic effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and Raw 264.7 cells (i.e., Monocyte/macrophage-like cells), supporting that stents are biocompatible and can be explored for future clinical applications.

A Data-Mining Approach for the Quantitative Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Molecular Compounds in the Skin Flux

This paper aimed to provide an insight into the mechanism of transdermal penetration of drug molecules with respect to their physicochemical properties, such as solubility (S), the presence of enantiomer (ET) and logarithm of octanol-water partition coefficient (log P), molecular weight (MW), and melting point (MP). Propionic acid derivatives were evaluated for their flux through full-thickness skin excised from hairless mice upon being delivered from silicone-based pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) matrices in the presence or absence of various enhancers. The skin fluxes of model compounds were calculated based on the data obtained using the method engaged with the diffusion cell system. The statistical design of experiments (DoE) based on the factorial approach was used to find variables that have a significant impact on the outcomes. For the prediction of skin flux, a quantitative equation was derived using the data-mining approach on the relationship between skin permeation of model compounds (~125 mg/ml) and involved physicochemical variables. The most influential variables for the skin flux of propionic acid derivatives were the melting point (0.97) followed by the presence of enantiomer (0.95), molecular mass (0.93), log P values (0.86), and aqueous solubility (0.80). It was concluded that the skin flux of molecular compounds can be predicted based on the relationship between their physicochemical properties and the interaction with cofactors including additives and enhancers in the vehicles.

A systematic review of emerging information technologies for sustainable data-centric health-care

BACKGROUND

Of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the third presents the opportunity for a predictive universal digital healthcare ecosystem, capable of informing early warning, assisting in risk reduction and guiding management of national and global health risks. However, in reality, the existing technology infrastructure of digital healthcare systems is insufficient, failing to satisfy current and future data needs.

OBJECTIVE

This paper systematically reviews emerging information technologies for data modelling and analytics that have potential to achieve Data-Centric Health-Care (DCHC) for the envisioned objective of sustainable healthcare. The goal of this review is to: 1) identify emerging information technologies with potential for data modelling and analytics, and 2) explore recent research of these technologies in DCHC.

FINDINGS

A total of 1619 relevant papers have been identified and analysed in this review. Of these, 69 were probed deeply. Our analysis found that the extant research focused on elder care, rehabilitation, chronic diseases, and healthcare service delivery. Use-cases of the emerging information technologies included providing assistance, monitoring, self-care and self-management, diagnosis, risk prediction, well-being awareness, personalized healthcare, and qualitative and/or quantitative service enhancement. Limitations identified in the studies included vendor hardware specificity, issues with user interface and usability, inadequate features, interoperability, scalability, and compatibility, unjustifiable costs and insufficient evaluation in terms of validation.

CONCLUSION

Achievement of a predictive universal digital healthcare ecosystem in the current context is a challenge. State-of-the-art technologies demand user centric design, data privacy and protection measures, transparency, interoperability, scalability, and compatibility to achieve the SDG objective of sustainable healthcare by 2030.

Tracking Osteoarthritis Progress through Cationic Nanoprobe-Enhanced Photoacoustic Imaging of Cartilage

A major obstacle in osteoarthritis (OA) theranostics is the lack of a timely and accurate monitoring method. It is hypothesized that the loss of anionic glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in articular cartilage reflects the progression of OA. Thus, this study investigated the feasibility of photoacoustic imaging (PAI) applied for monitoring the in vivo course of OA progression via GAG-targeted cationic nanoprobes. The nanoprobes were synthesized through electrostatic attraction between poly-l-Lysine and melanin (PLL-MNPs). Cartilage explants with different concentrations of GAGs incubated with PLL-MNPs to test the relationship between GAGs content and PA signal intensity. GAG activity was then evaluated in vivo in destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgically-induced mouse model. To track OA progression over time, mice were imaged consistently for 10 weeks after OA-inducing surgery. X-ray was used to verify the superiority of PAI in detecting OA. The correlation between PAI data and histologic results was also analyzed. In vitro study demonstrated the ability of PLL-MNPs in sensitively detecting different GAGs concentrations. In vivo PAI exhibited significantly lower signal intensity from OA knees compared to normal knees. More importantly, PA signal intensity showed serial reduction over the course of OA, while X-ray showed visible joint destruction until 6 weeks. A decrease in GAGs content was confirmed by histologic examinations; moreover, histologic findings were well correlated with PAI results. Therefore, using cationic nanoprobe-enhanced PAI to detect the changes in GAG contents provides sensitive and consistent visualization of OA development. This approach will further facilitate OA theranostics and clinical translation. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The study of in vivo monitoring osteoarthritis (OA) is of high significance to tracking the trajectory of OA development and therapeutic monitoring. Here, we developed a cartilage-targeted cationic nanoprobe, poly-l-Lysine-melanin nanoparticles (PLL-MNPs), enhancing photoacoustic imaging (PAI) to monitor the progression of OA. The in vitro study demonstrated the ability of PLL-MNPs to detect different concentrations of GAGs with high sensitivity. We found that the contents of GAGs in vivo steadily decreased from the development of OA initial-stage to the end-point of our investigation via PAI; it reflected the course of OA in living subjects with high sensitivity. These results allow for further development in various aspects of OA research. It has potential for clinical translation and has a great impact on personalized medicine.

Extended Reality in Patient Care and Pharmacy Practice: A Viewpoint

The evolution of technology has given practitioners and educators more tools to better treat, manage, and educate both patients and future pharmacists. The objective of this viewpoint publication is to describe the current use of extended reality (XR) in pharmacy and propose ways in which pharmacy practice and education may benefit from incorporation of this technology. While these tools have been used for decades by many other professions, pharmacy is starting to adopt XR in professional and educational practice. XR (virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality) is being used in various aspects of pharmacy care and education, such as pain management, diabetes self-care, cross-checking of prescriptions, treatments for addiction, and (in limited ways) patient and pharmacy education. There is great potential for further integration of XR into pharmacy practice and pharmacy education to ultimately improve patient care and education as well as pharmacy education.

Deep Learning in Personalization of Cardiovascular Stents

Deep learning (DL) application has demonstrated its enormous potential in accomplishing biomedical tasks, such as vessel segmentation, brain visualization, and speech recognition. This review article has mainly covered recent advances in the principles of DL algorithms, existing DL software, and designing strategies of DL models. Latest progresses in cardiovascular devices, especially DL-based cardiovascular stent used for angioplasty, differential and advanced diagnostic means, and the treatment outcomes involved with coronary artery disease (CAD), are discussed. Also presented is DL-based discovery of new materials and future medical technologies that will facilitate the development of tailored and personalized treatment strategies by identifying and forecasting individual impending risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Extended Reality in Patient Care and Pharmacy Practice: A Viewpoint

The evolution of technology has given practitioners and educators more tools to better treat, manage, and educate both patients and future pharmacists. The objective of this viewpoint publication is to describe the current use of extended reality (XR) in pharmacy and propose ways in which pharmacy practice and education may benefit from incorporation of this technology. While these tools have been used for decades by many other professions, pharmacy is starting to adopt XR in professional and educational practice. XR (virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality) is being used in various aspects of pharmacy care and education, such as pain management, diabetes self-care, cross-checking of prescriptions, treatments for addiction, and (in limited ways) patient and pharmacy education. There is great potential for further integration of XR into pharmacy practice and pharmacy education to ultimately improve patient care and education as well as pharmacy education.

Regulatory interfaces surrounding the growing field of additive manufacturing of medical devices and biologic products

Rapidly advancing technology often pulls the regulatory field along as it evolves to incorporate new concepts, better tools, and more finely honed equipment. When the area impacted by the technological advancement is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a gap develops between the technology and the guidelines that govern its application. Subsequently, there are challenges in determining appropriate regulatory pathways for evolving products at the initial research and developmental stages. Myriad factors necessitate several rounds of iterative review and the involvement of multiple divisions within the FDA. To better understand the regulatory science issues roiling around the area of additive manufacturing of medical products, a group of experts, led by a Clinical and Translational Science Award working group, convened the Regulatory Science to Advance Precision Medicine at the Fall Forum to discuss some of the current regulatory science roadblocks.

Augmented reality goggles selection by using neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the augmented reality (AR) eyeglass selection problem based on Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method which is a very new multi-objective method.

Design/methodology/approach

The author evaluates five AR goggles according to six different criteria. Criteria have different weights and determined by analytic hierarchy process. The author used neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method in order to evaluate AR eyeglasses.

Findings

Five different AR eyeglasses were evaluated and the best one was selected according to six different criteria (benefit and non-benefit). According to Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method, Sony AR eyeglass is selected as the best one. Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method uses simple computational equations and it handles multi-objective decision making problems effectively.

Originality/value

Evaluating AR goggles by using the Neutrosophic MULTIMOORA method for the first time is the originality of this paper.