Tuesday, December 1, 2009

6th world Congress on Biomechanics



ANNOUNCEMENT
I have just recieved this e-mail:

Come join the 6th World Congress on Biomechanics 2010 in Singapore!

Since 1990, the World Congress on Biomechanics has been held once every four years. The venue revolves around North America, Europe and Asia. The 6th World Congress on Biomechanics (WCB) 2010 will be held in Singapore from 1 to 6 August 2010 at the Suntec Convention Centre. Check out the website: www.wcb2010.net

Call for Abstracts

Please submit your abstracts here:
http://www.wcb2010.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2:abstracts-submission&catid=3:abstracts&Itemid=114

Deadline for submission of abstracts; 01 March 2010

Friday, November 20, 2009

Summer School on Biomechanics July 2010


This summer school on "Modelling in Biomechanics and Mechanobiology at Different Length Scales" is organised by Prof. Holzapfel in Graz, Austria, in the period July 5-9, 2010.

This course is addressed to PhD students but may also be accessible to some undergraduate students with relevant background.

More details of the Summer School can be found at the website:
www.biomech.tugraz.at/summerschool-2010

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

PhD Studentship at the University of Southampton, UK

There is a PhD position available on Development of a Mechanistic Wear Model for Analysing the Performance of Total Knee

Replacemen at the University of Southampton, UK. You can find more information on the position here.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Dr. Georges Limbert, Bioengineering Sciences

Research Group & National Centre for Advanced Tribology (nCATS), SES, University of Southampton, Tel:

+44-(0)23-8059-2381. Email: g.limbert@soton.ac.uk

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Magnetic Resonnance Force Microscopy


I was reading a press release from IBM about a technique called Magnetic Resonnance Force Microscopy(MRFM). Through this technique, one could acheive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a volume resolution 100 million times finer than conventional MRI which is really impressive. Moreover, the technique could be extremely usefull for 3D imaging of small viruses or proteins. The image shows the set up of the apparatus.

The magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM) is a novel scanned probe instrument which combines the three-dimensional imaging capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging with the high sensitivity and resolution of atomic force microscopy. It will enable non-destructive, chemical-specific, high-resolution microscopic studies and imaging of subsurface properties of a broad range of materials. This technology holds clear potential for atomic-scale resolution.
( reference)

Here is a recent journal article published in ' proceedings of the national academy of sciences' where you can find more detailed and scientific explanations about the technique:
Degen et al., ''nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging'', the article is in the presse( published already online),

There is a video on youtube that explains simply how the system works:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AAA4FGKCBik

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

2009 Bioengineering conference(SBC2009)



2009 Summer Bioengineering Conference

Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe, CA

June 17-21, 2009

This is a very interesting conference organised by ASME, I have participated in the one in 2007 and I appreciated a lot the organisation and scientific program.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

New Inhaled Tuberculosis Vaccination Developed


Here you can find an article written by Ms. Susan Jacob* as a guest blogger.

University of North Carolina (UNC) and Harvard scientists have recently teamed up to develop an inhaled tuberculosis vaccine. This vaccine is a godsend for developing countries, as it won't require refrigeration and medical-grade water like the typical vaccine.

Professor Tony Hickey, who teaches at the School of Pharmacy at UNC, tells The Kansas City Star, “This is arguably the first step towards future potential vaccines that elicit greater immunity to tuberculosis." Indeed, third-world countries are still being ravaged by the respiratory illness, which reportedly kills millions of people a year in developing areas.

This new inhalant was created by taking the regular tuberculosis vaccine and changing it into fine powder. Experts from both UNC and Harvard collaborated on this project in the laboratory of David Edwards. Edwards is a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard. The development of the new vaccine was made possible by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Though the inhalant has yet to be tested on human subjects, guinea pigs have responded well thus far. Scientists have administered the drug to the animals, then exposed them to tuberculosis. Not only did the vaccine work well, it appeared to be even more effective than the regular vaccine injections.

The new vaccine will be administered with a plastic tube, which is reportedly similar to a drinking straw. The inhalant is taken orally, which can pose problems with young children. To combat this issue, a special pacifier may be designed for babies to that the inhalant will be blown into the back of their mouths.

The next step to getting the drug on the market is to begin human clinical trials. Hopefully, the vaccination could be used in South Africa as soon as 2009.


*Susan Jacobs is a teacher, a freelance writer as well as a regular contributor for NOEDb, a site helping students obtain an online nursing degree. Susan invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address susan.jacobs45@gmail.com .

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Bioengineering symposium announcement


Bioengineering 08 ,Imperial College, London, Thursday 18 September-Friday 19 September

If you are interested to attend to this symposium or get more information, click here.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Bravo® Catheter–free pH Monitoring System


Use of wireless systems in medical devices brings in most of cases more comfort and less damage to the patient. As an example one can name the Bravo pH monitoring system of Medtronics.

The catheter-free Bravo pH Monitoring System is a pH testing with a capsule that collects pH data and transmits it via radio frequency telemetry to a small external pager-sized receiver worn by the patient.

The ambulatory pH test has long been referred to as the "gold standard" for diagnosing reflux disease. This test provides information about the duration, pattern and symptom correlation of distal esophageal acid exposure from gastro-esophageal reflux(GER).

compared to conventional methods associated with using catheter pH systems, this method:

  • Allows patients to maintain regular diet and activities
  • Minimizes throat and nasal discomfort
  • Allows physicians to extend pH data collection to 48 hours — 24 hours beyond the recording capability of conventional catheter systems
more information: click here

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A New Fluorescent collagen probe to use on fresh tissue


Collagen is one the important load-bearing components in the body and the collagen structure has a distinct role in mechanical properties of the tissue. One of the challenges today is to visualize the collagen structure in live tissues or fresh tissues without fixing the tissue. It's clear that fixing methods are invasive and may alter the tissue structure. As an example, in tissue engineering experiments, visualization of changes in collagen three dimensional structure is essential for the understanding of collagen fibrils formation and remodeling.

Fluorescent CNA35 collagen probe developed in the laboratory of macromolecular and organic chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, shows much specificity to collagen compared to other existing fluorescent techniques currently used for collagen visualization in live tissues and shows improved details compared to SHG ( second harmonic generation microscopy). However, in my opinion, the tissue should be relatively thin to let the prob perfuse all over the tissue.

The figure shows a mouse carotid artery, (Up) SHG signal of collagen (green), (down) fluorescence signal of collagen probe (green, CNA35-OG488) in a mouse carotid artery recorded at the same focal position obtained with two-photon laser scanning microscopy (15 μm deep)

reference:
High resolution imaging of collagen organisation and synthesis using a versatile collagen specific probe, Journal of Structural Biology
Volume 159, Issue 3, September 2007, Pages 392-399

Friday, December 14, 2007

FP7 Collaborations in the Manufacturing Sector,17-18 th Jan 2008

International Partnering Meeting & Successful R&D Project Preparation for the Second Call for Proposals in the Nanotechnology, Materials and New Production Technologies Programme

Initiate your collaborative project or become a partner in an EU-project
The general aim of the international partnering meeting is to facilitate transnational R&D-collaboration between industry, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and research organisations active in the field of manufacturing and in particular to setup Framework Programme 7 (FP7) projects.

Targeted Audience: European and Swiss representatives from manufacturing industry and related academia; etc.

Deadline to send 5 min presentations: 11 Jan 2008

more detailed information: click here!