Progress in Biomedical Engineering

After 10 years of progress and innovation, optical coherence elastography (OCE) based on the propagation of mechanical waves has become one of the major and the most studied OCE branches, producing a fundamental impact in the quantitative and nondestructive biomechanical characterization of tissues. Preceding previous progress made in ultrasound and magnetic resonance elastography; wave-based OCE has pushed to the limit the advance of three major pillars: (1) implementation of novel wave excitation methods in tissues, (2) understanding new types of mechanical waves in complex boundary conditions by proposing advance analytical and numerical models, and (3) the development of novel estimators capable of retrieving quantitative 2D/3D biomechanical information of tissues. This remarkable progress promoted a major advance in answering basic science questions and the improvement of medical disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring in several types of tissues leading, ultimately, to the first attempts of clinical trials and translational research aiming to have wave-based OCE working in clinical environments. This paper summarizes the fundamental up-to-date principles and categories of wave-based OCE, revises the timeline and the state-of-the-art techniques and applications lying in those categories, and concludes with a discussion on the current challenges and future directions, including clinical translation research.

Fernando Zvietcovich

Kirill V Larin

Prog. Biomed. Eng.

Wave-based optical coherence elastography: the 10-year perspective

基于波的光学相干弹性成像：十年展望

Abstract Facial muscles play an important role in a vast range of physiological functions, ranging from mastication to communication. Any disruption in their normal function may lead to serious negative effects on human well-being. A very wide range of medical disorders and conditions in psychology, neurology, psychiatry, and cosmetic surgery are related to facial muscles, and scientific explorations spanning over decades exposed many fascinating phenomena. For example, expansive evidence implicates facial muscle activation with the expression of emotions. Yet, the exact manner by which emotions are expressed is still debated: whether facial expressions are universal, how gender and cultural differences shape facial expressions and if and how facial muscle activation shape the internal emotional state. Surface electromyography (EMG) is one of the best tools for direct investigation of facial muscle activity and can be applied for medical and research purposes. The use of surface EMG has been so far restricted, owing to limited resolution and cumbersome setups. Current technologies are inconvenient, interfere with the subject normal behavior, and require know-how in proper electrode placement. High density electrode arrays based on soft skin technology is a recent development in the realm of surface EMG. It opens the door to perform facial EMG (fEMG) with high signal quality, while maintaining significantly more natural environmental conditions and higher data resolution. Signal analysis of multi-electrode recordings can also reduce crosstalk to achieve single muscle resolution. This perspective paper presents and discusses new opportunities in mapping facial muscle activation, brought about by this technological advancement. The paper briefly reviews some of the main applications of fEMG and presents how these applications can benefit from a more precise and less intrusive technology.

Bara Levit

Shira Klorfeld-Auslender

Yael Hanein

Wearable facial electromyography: in the face of new opportunities

可穿戴面部肌电图：面对新机遇

Three-dimensional (3D) models, such as tumor spheroids and organoids, are increasingly developed by integrating tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and personalized therapy strategies. These advanced 3D in-vitro models are not merely endpoint-driven but also offer the flexibility to be customized or modulated according to specific disease parameters. Unlike traditional 2D monolayer cultures, which inadequately capture the complexities of solid tumors, 3D co-culture systems provide a more accurate representation of the tumor microenvironment. This includes critical interactions with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which significantly modulate cancer cell behavior and therapeutic responses. Most of the findings from the co-culture of MCF7 breast cancer cells and MSC showed the formation of monolayers. Although changes in the plasticity of MSCs and iPSCs caused by other cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) have been extensively researched, the effect of MSCs on cancer stem cell aggressiveness is still controversial and contradictory among different research communities. Some researchers have argued that cancer stem cells proliferate more, while others have proposed that cancer spread occurs through dormancy. This highlights the need for further investigation into how these interactions shape cancer aggressiveness. The objective of this review is to explore changes in cancer cell behavior within a 3D microenvironment enriched with MSCs, iPSCs, and ECM components. By describing various MSC and iPSC-derived 3D breast cancer models that replicate tumor biology, we aim to elucidate potential therapeutic targets for breast cancer. A particular focus of this review is the Transwell system, which facilitates understanding how MSCs and iPSCs affect critical processes such as migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. The gradient formed between the two chambers is based on diffusion, as seen in the human body. Once optimized, this Transwell model can serve as a high-throughput screening platform for evaluating various anticancer agents. In the future, primary cell-based and patient-derived 3D organoid models hold promise for advancing personalized medicine and accelerating drug development processes.

Sharmila Nakka Roy

Mamta Kumari

Kamare Alam

Anamitra Bhattacharya

Santanu Kaity

Kulwinder Kaur

Velayutham Ravichandiran

Subhadeep Roy

Development of bioengineered 3D patient derived tumor organoid model focusing dynamic Fibroblast–Stem Cell reciprocity

生物工程化三维患者来源肿瘤类器官模型的开发：聚焦成纤维细胞-干细胞动态互作

Abstract Laser surgery is recognized as a highly effective method for managing retinal diseases. However, the thermal effects of the laser on different eye tissues are not entirely understood yet. In this context, computational modeling can be a useful tool to predict therapy outcomes. Accurate optical and thermal parameters of ocular tissues are crucial to correctly modeling the laser-tissue interactions. The present work aims to provide an easily accessible list of optical and thermal parameters for developing computational models involving ocular tissues. An extensive literature review was conducted to gather data on these parameters. The sources of data and the methodology used to calculate these parameters are analyzed in detail to ensure the reliability of the proposed values. In particular, this review focuses on density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, refractive index, and absorption coefficient, with optical properties referring to the 577 nm wavelength. The review underscores a common tendency to rely on pre-existing values when developing new computational models, often lacking clarity regarding selection criteria and data sources. This emphasizes the necessity for new experimental studies to improve the accuracy of ocular tissue properties.

Giacomo Zanellati

Davide Allegrini

Ferdinando Auricchio

Mario R. Romano

Alberto Cattenone

Gianluca Alaimo

Stefania Marconi

A review of optical and thermal eye tissue parameters for improved computational models in retinal laser therapy

视网膜激光治疗中用于改进计算模型的眼组织光学和热学参数综述

Abstract Since the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) was first coined by Tang and co-workers, AIE-active luminogens (AIEgens) have drawn widespread attention among chemists and biologists due to their unique advantages such as high fluorescence efficiency, large Stokes shift, good photostability, low background noise, and high biological visualization capabilities in the aggregated state, surpassing conventional fluorophores. A growing number of AIEgens have been engineered to possess multifunctional properties, including near-infrared emission, two-photon absorption, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and photothermal conversion, making them suitable for deep-tissue imaging and phototherapy. AIEgens show great potential in biomedical applications in vitro and in vivo. However, despite the favorable photophysical stability and ROS/heat generation capability in the aggregated state, limitations including uncontrolled size, low targeting efficiency, and unexpected dispersion in physiological environments have hindered their biomedical applications. The combination of AIEgens with lipids offers a simple, promising, and widely adopted solution to these challenges. This review article provides an overview of the synthesis methods of AIEgen-lipid nanostructures and their applications in the biomedical engineering field, aiming to serve as a guideline for developing these AIEgens-lipid nanostructures with promising biological applications.

Meng Suo

Tianfu Zhang

Xing-Jie Liang

Biomedical applications of the engineered AIEgen-Lipid nanostructure <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>

工程化AIEgen-脂质纳米结构在体外和体内的生物医学应用

Abstract Mechanical stimuli have multiple effects on cell behavior, affecting a number of cellular processes including orientation, proliferation or apoptosis, migration and invasion, the production of extracellular matrix proteins, the activation and translocation of transcription factors, the expression of different genes such as those involved in inflammation and the reprogramming of cell fate. The recent development of cell stretching devices has paved the way for the study of cell reactions to stretching stimuli in-vitro, reproducing physiological situations that are experienced by cells in many tissues and related to functions such as breathing, heart beating and digestion. In this work, we review the highly-relevant contributions cell stretching devices can provide in the field of mechanobiology. We then provide the details for the in-house construction and operation of these devices, starting from the systems that we already developed and tested. We also review some examples where cell stretchers can supply meaningful insights into mechanobiology topics and we introduce new results from our exploitation of these devices.

Beatrice Bighi

Gregorio Ragazzini

Alessia Gallerani

Andrea Mescola

Chiara Scagliarini

Chiara Zannini

Martina Marcuzzi

Elena Olivi

Claudia Cavallini

Riccardo Tassinari

Michele Bianchi

Lorenzo Corsi

Carlo Ventura

Andrea Alessandrini

Cell stretching devices integrated with live cell imaging: a powerful approach to study how cells react to mechanical cues

集成活细胞成像的细胞拉伸装置：研究细胞如何响应机械刺激的强大方法

Abstract The role of bioelectricity in regulating various physiological processes has attracted increasing scientific interest in implementing exogenous electrical stimulations as a therapeutic approach. In particular, electrical stimuli are used clinically in pre-/post-surgery patient care for the musculoskeletal tissues. The reported potential of electric fields to regulate bone cell homeostasis and kinetics in vitro has further provoked more studies in this field of research. Various customised apparatuses have been developed, and a range of parameters for the applied electric fields have been investigated in vitro with bone cells or mesenchymal stem cells. Additionally, biomaterials with conductive or piezo-electric properties have been designed to complement the enhancing effects of the electric field on bone regeneration. Despite much research, there remained a significant gap in knowledge due to the diverse range of electric field parameters available. Mathematical models are built to facilitate further understanding and zero in on an effective range of electric field parameters in silico. However, the diverse range of electric field parameters, experimental conditions, and reported analytical output of different works of literature were reported to possess significant variance, making it challenging to accurately model the field in silico. This review categorises the existing experimental approaches and the parameters used to distinguish the potential variables that apply to mathematical modelling. Furthermore, we will discuss existing modelling approaches and models available in the literature. With this, we will concisely highlight the need to categorise electric field parameters, osteogenic differentiation initiators and research output.

Poh Soo Lee

Kiran K Sriperumbudur

Jonathan Edward Dawson

Ursula van Rienen

Revathi Appali

Mathematical models on bone cell homeostasis and kinetics in the presence of electric fields: A review

电场作用下骨细胞稳态与动力学的数学模型综述

短名	Prog. Biomed. Eng.
Journal Impact	4.90
国际分区	ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL(Q1)

ISSN	2516-1091
h-index	15

出版信息	出版商: IOP Publishing Ltd.，出版周期: ，期刊类型: journal，开源期刊: 否
基本数据	创刊年份: 2019，原创研究文献占比: ，自引率:， Gold OA占比:

Progress in Biomedical Engineering

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Wave-based optical coherence elastography: the 10-year perspective

Wearable facial electromyography: in the face of new opportunities

Development of bioengineered 3D patient derived tumor organoid model focusing dynamic Fibroblast–Stem Cell reciprocity

A review of optical and thermal eye tissue parameters for improved computational models in retinal laser therapy

Biomedical applications of the engineered AIEgen-Lipid nanostructure in vitro and in vivo

Development of bioengineered 3D patient derived tumor organoid model focusing dynamic Fibroblast–Stem Cell reciprocity

A review of optical and thermal eye tissue parameters for improved computational models in retinal laser therapy

Biomedical applications of the engineered AIEgen-Lipid nanostructure in vitro and in vivo

Cell stretching devices integrated with live cell imaging: a powerful approach to study how cells react to mechanical cues

Mathematical models on bone cell homeostasis and kinetics in the presence of electric fields: A review