Articles

Review on Patents for Mechanical Stimulation of Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering, 2008, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 1-12
Corrinus C. van Donkelaar, and Ronny M. Schulz
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


A New Light Device For Wound Healing, 2008, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 13-17
Rachel Lubart, Zvi Landau, Anat Lipovsky and Yeshayahu Nitzan
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Polymeric Nanocarriers: New Endeavors for the Optimization of the Technological Aspects of Drugs, 2008, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 43-59
Alejandro Sosnik, Ángel M. Carcaboso and Diego A. Chiappetta
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Review on Patents for Potent Anticoagulant Antithrombin-Heparin Covalent Complexes that Control Thrombosis In Vivo, 2008, Vol: 1(2) Pp. 82-91
Leslie R. Berry and Anthony K. C. Chan
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]


Use of Core/Shell Structured Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications, 2008, Vol: 1(1) Pp. 34-42
Nagarajan Sounderya and Yong Zhang
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Recent Progress on the Development of Porous Bioactive Calcium Phosphate for Biomedical Applications, 2008, Vol: 1(3) Pp. 213-229
Iis Sopyan and Toibah A. Rahim
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]


A Review on Recent Patents in Digital Processing for Cardiac Electric Signals (I): From Basic Systems to Arrhythmia Analysis, 2009, Vol: 2(1) Pp. 22-31
Rebeca Goya-Esteban, Óscar Barquero-Pérez, Felipe Alonso-Atienza, Estrella Everss, Jesús Requena-Carrión, Arcadi García-Alberola and José L. Rojo-Álvarez
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]


Recent Patents on Polymeric Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering, 2009, Vol: 2(1) Pp. 65-72
Xiaoming Li, Xi Liu, Yixuan Yu, Xuanhui Qu, Qingling Feng, Fuzhai Cui and Fumio Watari
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]


Mobile Phone Based Health Care Technology, 2009, Vol: 2(1) Pp. 15-21
Hao Wang and Jing Liu
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]


Review on Patents about Magnetic Localisation Systems for in vivo Catheterizations, 2009, Vol: 2(1) Pp. 58-64
Giuseppe Placidi, Danilo Franchi, Alfredo Maurizi and Antonello Sotgiu
[Abstract] [Purchase Article]




Abstracts


[Back to top] [Full Text Article]
Review on Patents for Mechanical Stimulation of Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering, 2008, Vol: 1(1)
Corrinus C. van Donkelaar, and Ronny M. Schulz

To repair articular cartilage defects in osteoarthritic patients with three-dimensional tissue engineered chondrocyte grafts, requires the formation of new cartilage with sufficient mechanical properties. The premise is that mechanical stimulation during the culturing process is necessary to reach this aim. Therefore, mechanical stimulation systems have been integrated in aseptic bioreactors for in vitro cultivation of tissue engineered cartilage. These vary from simple unconfined compression systems to advanced bioreactors in which deformation and loading are fully controlled. Fluid handling in these devices is another decisive parameter for the success of cartilage tissue engineering.

Over the last decades bioreactor developments have resulted in the filing of many patents. The aim of this paper is to review these patents, categorize them according to their possibilities for mechanical stimulation and fluid handling systems and finally to discuss them in the context of the demands of a functional tissue engineered cartilage from a mechanical perspective.


[Back to top] [Full Text Article]
A New Light Device For Wound Healing, 2008, Vol: 1(1)
Rachel Lubart, Zvi Landau, Anat Lipovsky and Yeshayahu Nitzan

Phototherapy, the use of light for healing, has in recent years been a field of advanced multidisciplinary research. This modality has been shown to be beneficial in a wide and diverse range of maladies, including the healing of chronic and acute wounds as demonstrated by the use of laser light and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) technology. Lasers are handy tools in the laboratory. However, the specific characteristics of laser light, such as coherency and polarization, have not been proven to be relevant for the light-tissue interaction. We therefore studied the effect of broadband visible light on various cell cultures at appropriate energy doses, and proved that it can mimic lasers and LEDs.

The present article presents a patented (US6379376) broadband (400-800 nm) light device which was invented by the first author and which is especially useful for wound healing. Its ability to irradiate large areas is very important for wound healing, in contradistinction to laser or LED beams which can only irradiate a small area. Another advantage of the broadband visible light device is its low cost, which will enable patients to purchase it for home use. The same device when operated at high intensity was shown to have bactericidal effects.

This article describes the general principles of the visible light-tissue interaction and reports use of the broadband visible light device for treatment of patients with chronic ulcers which were not cured by conventional treatments. The bactericidal effect of the new device is also demonstrated.


[Back to top] [Full Text Article]
Polymeric Nanocarriers: New Endeavors for the Optimization of the Technological Aspects of Drugs, 2008, Vol: 1(1)
Alejandro Sosnik, Ángel M. Carcaboso and Diego A. Chiappetta

Drug low solubility and stability in physiological environment constitutes a main hurdle in attaining the appropriate bioavailability. Several polymer-based nanotechnologies are being intended in order to optimize the technological (e.g., solubility, stability, bioavailability, etc.) aspects of drugs. Among them, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, polymeric micelles and polymersomes appear as the most attractive and promising. Concomitant with efforts in the academic arena that aim at overcoming these drawbacks and, strongly motivated by a constant search for innovative therapeutic strategies, a very rich intellectual property has been produced in the last years. This phenomenon has been moved forward by the fact that aiming at registering off-patent or about to be off patent products, pharmaceutical companies develop new formulations of old products. Another ambit of research is the design of more sophisticated drug delivery devices (e.g., targeting, localized delivery) in order to minimize adverse effects that make the administration of certain drugs risky or to enhance the patient compliance. A recent report by Cientifica Ltd. foresees a critical expansion in the nano-based drug delivery market from its current $3.4B (about 10% of the total drug delivery market) to about $26B by 2012, being this only a promising beginning for the $220B forecasted by 2015. Given the present circumstances, we are probably witnessing a new revolution in therapeutics that will take treatment to a different dimension. The goal of the present review is to provide a comprehensive and updated patent compilation of the most recent inventions relying on polymer-based nanoparticulated carriers (polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, polymeric micellles and polymersomes) for the optimization of the technological aspects of therapeutic agents. This article also includes a thorough review of the patents made public in recent years (2003-2007).


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
Review on Patents for Potent Anticoagulant Antithrombin-Heparin Covalent Complexes that Control Thrombosis In Vivo, 2008, Vol: 1(2)
Leslie R. Berry and Anthony K. C. Chan

Fractionated and low molecular weight heparins comprise the main class of anticoagulants used to prevent and treat thrombosis in patients through catalysis of enzyme inhibition by plasma antithrombin. However, clinical application of heparin suffers several limitations including: reduced venous half-life, uncontrolled anticoagulant effects, hemorrhagic complications and biophysical problems. A novel covalent antithrombin-heparin (ATH) complex has recently been created that overcomes heparin’s deficiencies. Historical patent literature and prior art reveal a progression of earlier attempts to link heparin to antithrombin that yielded products with various degrees of functionality. Relative to heparin, the present ATH invention of matter has a vastly increased bioavailability of circulating complex, significantly increased antithrombotic activity and superior ability to neutralize clot-bound coagulation enzymes. Recently issued ATH patents describe ATH-coatings on surfaces of devices that come into contact with blood. These ATH-covered products are vastly improved in prevention of device malfunction due to thrombus formation. There is a large market related to the biomaterial coatings industry that may benefit from development of blood-contacting products containing surface-bound ATH.


[Back to top] [Full Text Article]
Use of Core/Shell Structured Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications, 2008, Vol: 1(1)
Nagarajan Sounderya and Yong Zhang

Nanoparticles have found wide spread application in varied fields of engineering. Recently, core/shell nanostructures have been found to have improved properties when compared to their other alternatives are patented. These core/shell structures also interest researchers in the field of biomedical engineering and some potential applications have been identified. The classification of core/shell nanoparticles, the synthesis of these structures and their applications in the field of biomedical engineering are discussed in this article. The future work points at the possibilities of improvement and the material that might be preferred for specific applications.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
Recent Progress on the Development of Porous Bioactive Calcium Phosphate for Biomedical Applications, 2008, Vol: 1(3)
Iis Sopyan and Toibah A. Rahim

Hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate are two members of the calcium phosphate compounds which have been used clinically for many years. Their good biocompatibility is attributed by its similar chemical composition to that of bone material. Porous calcium phosphate ceramics have found enormous use in biomedical applications including bone tissue regeneration, cell proliferation, and drug delivery. In bone tissue engineering it has been applied as filling material for bone defects and augmentation, artificial bone graft material, and prosthesis revision surgery. Their high surface area leads to excellent osteoconductivity and resorbability providing fast bone ingrowth. Many efforts on the development of porous calcium phosphates can be observed from a considerable numbers of patents which have been filled recently on various methods for preparing porous calcium phosphate for applications of bone implant, chromatography and so on. Porous calcium phosphate can be produced by a variety of methods including conversion of natural bones, ceramic foaming technique, polymeric sponge method, gel casting of foams, solvent casting/ salt leaching method, selective laser sintering, precision extrusion deposition, starch consolidation, microwave processing, slip casting, and electrophoretic deposition technique. Some of these methods have been combined to fabricate porous calcium phosphate with improved properties. These combination methods have yielded some promising results. This paper discusses briefly the fundamental aspects of porous calcium phosphate for biomedical applications as well as the various techniques used to prepare porous calcium phosphate.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
A Review on Recent Patents in Digital Processing for Cardiac Electric Signals (I): From Basic Systems to Arrhythmia Analysis, 2009, Vol: 2(1)
Rebeca Goya-Esteban, Óscar Barquero-Pérez, Felipe Alonso-Atienza, Estrella Everss, Jesús Requena-Carrión, Arcadi García-Alberola and José L. Rojo-Álvarez

Cardiac electric signals are currently the most informative source about the heart rhythm and its disorders, and hence, the use of adequate digital signal processing techniques is necessary to yield reliable diagnostic parameters, either to the clinician or to automatic monitoring systems. A number of systems have been patented during the last years, which are grouped in this review according to their application scope. In this first part, techniques for electrocardiogram and intracardiac electrogram filtering, and for feature extraction, are first examined, then patents on arrhythmia analysis are then summarized. The wide number of basic systems for cardiac signal processing analysis that have been disclosed indicates that this field represents a main scenario in the near and middle future of cardiac health.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
Recent Patents on Polymeric Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering, 2009, Vol: 2(1)
Xiaoming Li, Xi Liu, Yixuan Yu, Xuanhui Qu, Qingling Feng, Fuzhai Cui and Fumio Watari

The past several decades have seen explosive growth in the reports of tissue engineering for tissue repair. All scaffolds of tissue engineering are made of special materials, known as biomaterials, which have been defined as “materials intended to interface with biological systems to evaluate, treat, augment or replace any tissue, organ, or function of the body” [D.F. Williams, The Williams Dictionary of Biomaterials, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 1999]. The present article discusses the useful patents in the field of the polymeric biomaterials that are currently developed as scaffolds with their intrinsic physicochemical and dimensional properties for the application towards recent therapeutic strategies for tissue engineering including soft and hard tissue engineering.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
Mobile Phone Based Health Care Technology, 2009, Vol: 2(1)
Hao Wang and Jing Liu

According to the World Health Organization reports, chronic diseases are by far the leading cause of mortality in the world, which places an ever enormous strain on the world’s healthcare industry. At the same time, mobile phones have been gradually adopted for solving some tough health care issues which are hard to tackle otherwise from conventional medical strategies. Since mobile phone is a most easily available electronic device which supports a variety of technical functions for human daily activities, efforts are being made to dig out its roles in the delivery of healthcare services and the promotion of personal health. At the present stage, application of mobile phone in health care is a combination of sensor and communicating technology. In this article, some most typical technical approaches leading to several patented health care mobile phone are outlined and digested. They include but are not limited to mobile phones combined or integrated with sensors, modified with additional functions, such as stethoscope, etc. Future prospects along this direction will be discussed.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article]
Review on Patents about Magnetic Localisation Systems for in vivo Catheterizations
Giuseppe Placidi, Danilo Franchi, Alfredo Maurizi and Antonello Sotgiu

in vivo Catheterizations are usually performed by physicians using X-Ray fluoroscopic guide and contrast-media. The X-Ray exposure both of the patient and of the operators can induce collateral effects. The present review describes the status of the art on recent patents about magnetic position/orientation indicators capable to drive the probe during in-vivo medical diagnostic or interventional procedures. They are based on the magnetic field produced by sources and revealed by sensors. Possible solutions are: the modulated magnetic field produced by a set of coils positioned externally to the patient is measured by sensors installed on the intra-body probe; the magnetic field produced by a thin permanent magnet installed on the intra-body probe is measured by magnetic field sensors positioned outside the patient body. In either cases, position and orientation of the probe are calculated in real time: this allows the elimination of repetitive X-Ray scans used to monitor the probe. The aim of the proposed systems is to drive the catheter inside the patient vascular tree with a reduction of the X-Ray exposure both of the patient and of the personnel involved in the intervention. The present paper intends also to highlight advantages/disadvantages of the presented solutions.