Adipose tissue contains a heterogeneous population of stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells that work synergistically with resident cell types to enhance tissue healing. Ease of access and processing paired with therapeutic promise make SVF cells an attractive option for autologous applications in regenerative medicine. However, inherent variability in SVF cell therapeutic potential from one patient to another hinders prognosis determination for any one person.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissue Eng Part C Methods
December 2010
Recently, hydrogels (alginate, agarose, polyethylene glycol, etc.) have been investigated as promising cartilage-healing materials. To further improve cell-material interactions or mechanical properties of such hydrogel scaffolds, many materials (such as ceramics or carbon nanotubes) have been added to produce composites with tailored properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to demonstrate the sensitivity of virtual reality (VR)/motion tracking to detect global functional gait impairment resulting from an emulated knee disability as a prelude to describing mobility changes following lower limb injury/treatment. Participants walked in a figure-8 around two virtual posts placed 6m apart while viewing the computer-generated environment in a helmet-mounted display. Three-dimensional position and orientation of the participant's head were tracked and used to update the virtual scenes, measure walking path and speed, and control task parameters with real-time feedback.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA major problem with transcutaneous osseointegrated implants is infection, mainly due to improper closure of the implant-skin interface. Therefore, the design of transcutaneous osseointegrated devices that better promote skin growth around these exit sites needs to be examined and, if successful, would clearly limit infection. Due to the success already demonstrated for orthopedic implants, developing surfaces with biologically inspired nanometer features is a design criterion that needs to be investigated for transcutaneous devices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoarthritis Cartilage
October 2009
Objective: The hypothesis of this study is that changes in fluid dynamics in subchondral bone bear a functional relationship to bone remodeling and cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis (OA). We have utilized dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to extract kinetic parameters of bone perfusion at various stages in the development of OA in the Dunkin-Hartley guinea pig.
Design: Animals of four different ages (6, 9, 12 and 15 months), representing various stages in the development of OA, were studied.