Vol 49, No 6 (2016)

A patient-specific auricular prosthesis made of biocompatible non-biodegradable polyurethane with biomimetic mechanical properties was developed and printed using a 3D printer. A three-point bending study of the mechanical properties of printed samples of this material showed that the printed prosthesis is similar in its material properties to natural human aural cartilage. After subcutaneous implantation into mice the auricular prosthesis maintained its initial shape and size. Thus, 3D printing enables creation of a patient-specific biocompatible auricular prosthesis with biomimetic material properties and the ability to maintain the original shape and size after in vivo implantation.

The article presents the results of development and experimental studies of artificial ventricles used for modeling the cardiovascular system. The ventricle is divided into two hemispheres separated by a membrane, ensuring the necessary level of contractility of the artificial ventricle and separating its hydraulic and pneumatic components. The study considered two versions of the ventricle, with mechanical check valves (Vesta Trading, Shcherbinka, Moscow, Russia) and bicuspid artificial valves (ZAO NPP MedEng, Penza, Russia) as aortic and mitral valves. The designed ventricles were compared with a reference, which was represented by a Medos VAD membranous artificial ventricle (Medos Medizintechnik AG, Stolberg, Germany).

The article considers the production of radionuclides in nuclear reactors and proton accelerators for three main generators, ⁹⁹Mo/ ^99mTc, ⁸²Sr/ ⁸²Rb and ⁶⁸Ge/ ⁶⁸Ga, and shows the advantages of using radionuclide generators for production of radiopharmaceuticals. Germanium-68 is manufactured using cyclotrons with an energy of 23-30 MeV. Linear proton accelerators or cyclotrons with an energy of 70-160 MeV are used for production of Rubidium-82.

Several circuit designs and hardware implementations of probe current sources for broadband electrical impedance measurements were compared. The basic parameters of the circuits were studied by numerical methods. Various hardware implementations were experimentally tested. Printed circuit board topologies providing parameters close to those obtained by model estimation were suggested.

The results of development of a monitoring system for a medical exoskeleton are presented. A subsystem of sensors consisting of a MEMS sensor and a group of magnetic inclinometers is described. The problem of the interface between the sensor subsystem and the exoskeleton control system is discussed. The characteristics of the developed system for exoskeleton monitoring are analyzed. The system is shown to hold promise for application in medical rehabilitation systems.

The results of research into the mechanism of the effect of shock waves on the surface structures of biological tissues are presented. Shock waves were applied to the surface structures to provide their destruction under exposure to laser radiation. The laser radiation parameters were selected so as to reduce its absorption by biological tissues. Fine particles of activated carbon with a high proportion of mesopores filled with unbound water were used to activate the shock-wave decomposition of biological tissues with minimal thermal damage. Particles were deposited on the surface of the biological tissue exposed to laser radiation. The results of histological studies of the shock-wave effect on porcine vulva skin are presented. The results obtained under otherwise identical parameters of laser radiation, but in the absence of a water suspension of fine laser-absorbing particles on the skin surface, are presented for comparison.

The article reviews optimization of spaces of informative features and synthesis of rules for forecasting, diagnosis, and control of the state of health of a person using the theory of measurement of latent variables based on Rasch statistical models.

Risks inherent in the use of portable artificial kidney apparatuses in the out-of-hospital environment are analyzed. Technical solutions for increasing the reliability of the portable equipment are discussed.

The results of measurement of depolarization of light scattered in water dispersions of nanospheres and nanorods are presented. The influence of the nanoparticle shape on the degree of depolarization of the scattered light is demonstrated.