Left atrial appendage occlusion: On the need of a numerical model to simulate the implant procedure.

Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a percutaneous procedure to prevent thromboembolism in patients affected by atrial fibrillation. Despite its demonstrated efficacy, the LAA morphological complexity hinders the procedure, resulting in postprocedural drawbacks (device-related thrombus and peri-device leakage). Local anatomical features may cause difficulties in the device's positioning and affect the effectiveness of the device's implant.

On the need of a scale-dependent material characterization to describe the mechanical behavior of 3D printed Ti6Al4V custom prostheses using finite element models.

Additive manufacturing is widely used in the orthopaedic industry for the high freedom and flexibility in the design and production of personalized custom implants made of Ti6Al4V. Within this context, finite element modeling of 3D printed prostheses is a robust tool both to guide the design phase and to support clinical evaluations, possibly virtually describing the in-vivo behavior of the implant. Given realistic scenarios, a suitable description of the overall implant's mechanical behavior is unavoidable.

Left atrial appendage occlusion device: Development and validation of a finite element model.

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common disease that significantly increases the risk of strokes. Oral anticoagulants represent the standard preventive treatment, but they involve severe drawbacks, including intracerebral bleedings. Since in patients affected by nonvalvular AF, the Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) is the primary source of thromboembolism, percutaneous closure of the LAA is a viable option for people unsuitable for long-term anticoagulant therapy.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies for the female breast.

The complexity of mammary tissue and the variety of cells involved make tissue regeneration an ambitious goal. This review, supported by both detailed macro and micro anatomy, illustrates the potential of regenerative medicine in terms of mammary gland reconstruction to restore breast physiology and morphology, damaged by mastectomy. Despite the widespread use of conventional therapies, many critical issues have been solved using the potential of stem cells resident in adipose tissue, leading to commercial products.