Paraganglioma of the Neck: A Rare Case With Spinal Metastasis.

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors that arise from the paraganglia, which are clusters of neuroendocrine cells associated with the autonomic nervous system. These tumors are commonly found in the adrenal medulla but can also occur in other locations outside the adrenal gland. Here, we present a case report of a slow-growing paraganglioma in the left neck with spinal metastasis in a 60-year-old man. This case highlights the importance of considering paraganglion tumors in the differential diagnosis of neck masses and the need for early diagnosis and management to prevent potential complications. Importantly, both the clinical picture and anatomical location of these tumors is important when determining treatment plans.

Bionanotechnology and bioMEMS (BNM): state-of-the-art applications, opportunities, and challenges.

The development of micro- and nanotechnology for biomedical applications has defined the cutting edge of medical technology for over three decades, as advancements in fabrication technology developed originally in the semiconductor industry have been applied to solving ever-more complex problems in medicine and biology. These technologies are ideally suited to interfacing with life sciences, since they are on the scale lengths as cells (microns) and biomacromolecules (nanometers). In this paper, we review the state of the art in bionanotechnology and bioMEMS (collectively BNM), including developments and challenges in the areas of BNM, such as microfluidic organ-on-chip devices, oral drug delivery, emerging technologies for managing infectious diseases, 3D printed microfluidic devices, AC electrokinetics, flexible MEMS devices, implantable microdevices, paper-based microfluidic platforms for cellular analysis, and wearable sensors for point-of-care testing.

Retrolaminar chiasmal migration of intraocular silicone oil masquerading as subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT head.

Silicone oil is used as a long-term treatment agent for intraocular tamponade to repair retinal detachments following vitrectomy. Retrolaminar migration of oil into the optic nerve is a rare complication, with migration into the optic chiasm being even more rare. Following imaging, this entity can be misdiagnosed as acute hemorrhage, aneurysm, or neoplasm on imaging possibly leading to delay of care or unnecessary interventions. We will discuss a case where the imaging findings were thought to represent a small acute subarachnoid hemorrhage possibly related to an aneurysm involving the distal right internal carotid artery.

Solitary Plasmacytoma of the Breast: A Case of an Uncommon Breast Neoplasm.

Plasmacytoma is a rare cancer that originates from a single plasma cell and is characterized by the abnormal proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells. It is typically localized in a single area of the body, most commonly in the bone or soft tissue. Solitary plasmacytoma can be further classified as either solitary plasmacytoma of bone (SPB) or solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma (SEP or EMP). Diagnosis may be delayed in symptomatically silent plasmacytomas, but early diagnosis and prompt treatment are crucial for the management of this disease. The mean age for patients with plasmacytoma varies depending on the specific type of plasmacytoma, but generally, it is more common in older adults. Soft tissue plasmacytomas are uncommon, and plasmacytomas manifesting within the breast are extremely rare, especially when they are not a manifestation of multiple myeloma (MM). This report presents a case of SEP of the breast in a 79-year-old female patient. This rare disease needs to be studied further in terms of long-term survival and disease progression to MM. By raising awareness and understanding of plasmacytoma, we aim to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients affected by this disease.

Surfaces with Adjustable Features-Effective and Durable Materials for Water Desalination.

Materials based on PVDF with desirable and controllable features were successfully developed. The chemistry and roughness were adjusted to produce membranes with improved transport and separation properties. Membranes were activated using the novel piranha approach to generate OH-rich surfaces, and finally furnished with epoxy and long-alkyl moieties via stable covalent attachment. The comprehensive materials characterization provided a broad spectrum of data, including morphology, textural, thermal properties, and wettability features. The defined materials were tested in the air-gap membrane distillation process for desalination, and improvement compared with pristine PVDF was observed. An outstanding behavior was found for the PVDF sample equipped with long-alkyl chains. The generated membrane showed an enhancement in the transport of 58-62% compared to pristine. A relatively high contact angle of 148° was achieved with a 560 nm roughness, producing a highly hydrophobic material. On the other hand, it was possible to tone the hydrophobicity and significantly reduce adhesion work. All materials were highly stable during the long-lasting separation process and were characterized by excellent effectiveness in water desalination.

Investigation of Bifurcation Effect on Various Microfluidic Designs for Blood Separation.

In this project, a microfluidic device for blood separation will be designed and tested in order to separate plasma from whole blood for diagnostic purposes. The design will be based on previously implemented designs that will be further discussed in the next sections. When designing microfluidic devices, it is essential to consider the different physical phenomena that arise from switching from the macro scale to the micro scale. Parameters such as the Reynolds number and the forces affecting the fluid must be studied in order to produce a suitable and effective design. Finite element methods have been implemented prior to the production of the microfluidic devices. Various geometries/designs have been tested using Fluent ANSYS software. Later on, the successful design was fabricated using micromachining on an acrylic substrate and was tested using simulated blood through of a syringe pump.

Sensitivity Enhancement of Point-of-Care for Cardiac Markers Detection using Micro-Impedimetric Immunosensor Arrays.

This paper describes the development and characterisation of a novel, electrical impedance spectroscopy-based (EIS) immunosensor array for point-of-care applications. EIS is a highly sensitive, label-free, real time technique suitable for single use, point-of-care cardiac marker detection devices. However, the underlying source of the observed change in EIS immunoassay response has not been well characterised or understood. A full understanding of the relationship between target binding and impedance response would significantly advance biosensor design and most probably increase detection limit sensitivity. The development of micro-/nano- structured electrodes for multi-frequency EIS procedure propose substantial benefits over classical macro-structured systems.Countless manipulations of electrode features and inter-electrode spacing will enhance the electrode surface area, increase the charge-transfer resistance and reduce the double-layer capacitance. These in turn give rise to improved signal-to-noise ratios, therefore affording greater sensitivity, lower detection limits and faster detection times.The sensor sensitivity range was within that required for human myoglobin determination, following acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). Real-time MyAb-MyAg interaction monitoring, permitted the determination of the binding events in less than one minute.

Detection of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) Hormone using Digital Lateral Flow Immunoassay.

The main goal of this work was to establish a hybrid device incorporating an electrochemical-based transducer on a conventional lateral flow assay strip in order to perform an on-chip fast testing method for the detection of various bio-analyses. In this context, the expected development of the digital lateral-flow immunoassay to be considered a reliable low-cost instrument improves the future of the very simple and flexible approach oflateral-flow assays. It is anticipated to achieve a digital quantitative lateral-flow immunoassay by exploring the electrochemical transducers alongwith recognition elements for digitization of commercially available rapid tests. As a preliminary step, the described technique will be validated using two standard electrochemical measurements (amperometric and impedimetric) across two electrodes fixed onto the surface of LFA strip. The LFA strips were prepared at the factory for pregnancy tests and modified by adding two parallel copper electrodes at the lab. These strips were proven by in-vitro experiments to be reusable lasting for 20-30 multiple days. Further on, the detection of hCG Ab-Ag interaction using these strips was performed. Two different types of measurements, namely amperometric and impedimetric, were used which yielded similar results to those reported in literature with screen-printed micro-electrodes. In addition, different concentrations of NaCl and hCG Ag solution were investigated. However, the expected linear concentration response was obtained. A promising proof-of-concept have been achieved through this study. Further studies are needed to complete the development of fully printed disposable electrochemical devices that are able to either display a digital result directly or transmit data to a mobile phone using RFID/NFC.

Advanced Material-Ordered Nanotubular Ceramic Membranes Covalently Capped with Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes.

Advanced ceramic materials with a well-defined nano-architecture of their surfaces were formed by applying a two-step procedure. Firstly, a primary amine was docked on the ordered nanotubular ceramic surface via a silanization process. Subsequently, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were covalently grafted onto the surface via an amide building block. Physicochemical (e.g., hydrophobicity, and surface free energy (SFE)), mechanical, and tribological properties of the developed membranes were improved significantly. The design, preparation, and extended characterization of the developed membranes are presented. Tools such as high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), single-area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis, microscopy, tribology, nano-indentation, and Raman spectroscopy, among other techniques, were utilized in the characterization of the developed membranes. As an effect of hydrophobization, the contact angles (CAs) changed from 38° to 110° and from 51° to 95° for the silanization of ceramic membranes 20 (CM20) and CM100, respectively. SWCNT functionalization reduced the CAs to 72° and 66° for ceramic membranes carbon nanotubes 20 (CM-CNT-20) and CM-CNT-100, respectively. The mechanical properties of the developed membranes improved significantly. From the nanotribological study, Young’s modulus increased from 3 to 39 GPa for CM-CNT-20 and from 43 to 48 GPa for pristine CM-CNT-100. Furthermore, the nanohardness increased by about 80% after the attachment of CNTs for both types of ceramics. The proposed protocol within this work for the development of functionalized ceramic membranes is both simple and efficient.

A Brain Machine Interface for command based control of a wheelchair using conditioning of oscillatory brain activity.

In this research a new method of wheelchair control using a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is proposed, in an attempt to bridge the gap between in-lab and real life applications, we believe it would provide a high level control over the BCI instead of the normal low level commands. It is anticipated to emphasis on mu rhythm to provide the control signals. The wheelchair is equipped with a mapping system, which scans the area and provides a map containing information about the user's current location and next possible destinations, then provides an optimized list of possible trajectories to reach the destination. The paradigm allows users to control the interface using motor imagery and issue commands to switch between possible trajectories and then confirm the choice. Commands trigger the motion of the wheelchair to the intended destination using a user selected path with speed up to 0.5 m/s. The interface also allows the user to interact with different robots through a common robotic system. Evaluation results indicate that this paradigm is indeed usable and could lead to promising outcomes.

LEGO Mindstorms NXT for elderly and visually impaired people in need: A platform.

This paper presents the employment of LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics as core component of low cost multidisciplinary platform for assisting elderly and visually impaired people. LEGO Mindstorms system offers a plug-and-play programmable robotics toolkit, incorporating construction guides, microcontrollers and sensors, all connected via a comprehensive programming language. It facilitates, without special training and at low cost, the use of such device for interpersonal communication and for handling multiple tasks required for elderly and visually impaired people in-need. The research project provides a model for larger-scale implementation, tackling the issues of creating additional functions in order to assist people in-need. The new functions were built and programmed using MATLAB through a user friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI). Power consumption problem, besides the integration of WiFi connection has been resolved, incorporating GPS application on smart phones enhanced the guiding and tracking functions. We believe that developing and expanding the system to encompass a range of applications beyond the initial design schematics to ease conducting a limited number of pre-described protocols. However, the beneficiaries for the proposed research would be limited to elderly people who require assistance within their household as assistive-robot to facilitate a low-cost solution for a highly demanding health circumstance.

A fall prediction methodology for elderly based on a depth camera.

With the aging of society population, efficient tracking of elderly activities of daily living (ADLs) has gained interest. Advancements of assisting computing and sensor technologies have made it possible to support elderly people to perform real-time acquisition and monitoring for emergency and medical care. In an earlier study, we proposed an anatomical-plane-based human activity representation for elderly fall detection, namely, motion-pose geometric descriptor (MPGD). In this paper, we present a prediction framework that utilizes the MPGD to construct an accumulated histograms-based representation of an ongoing human activity. The accumulated histograms of MPGDs are then used to train a set of support-vector-machine classifiers with a probabilistic output to predict fall in an ongoing human activity. Evaluation results of the proposed framework, using real case scenarios, demonstrate the efficacy of the framework in providing a feasible approach towards accurately predicting elderly falls.