Investigating Flow-Induced Corrosion of Magnesium in Ophthalmological Milieu.

Although the impact of local fluid dynamics in the biodegradation of magnesium is well known, currently no studies in the literature address the degradation effects of ocular vitreous on bioresorbable devices made of magnesium, which could be developed as drug delivery carriers. The aim of this study was to investigate the flow-induced corrosion mechanism of magnesium in an ophthalmological environment for future applications in ophthalmic drug delivery. To achieve this, experimental and computational methods were combined.

A Cutting Force and Hole Geometry Study for Precision Deep-Hole Microdrilling of Magnesium.

Size effects, high thrust forces, limited heat dissipation, and tool deterioration are just some of the challenges that deep microdrilling poses, underscoring the importance of effective process control to ensure quality. In this paper, an investigation performed on a microdrilling process on pure magnesium using a 0.138 mm diameter microdrill to achieve an aspect ratio equal to 36 is proposed.

A novel low-cost uterine balloon tamponade kit to tackle maternal mortality in low-resource settings.

The 3.1 target of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. The last updates on this target show a significant stagnation in the data, thus reducing the chance of meeting it.

Analysis of the Mechanical Characteristics of Human Pancreas through Indentation: Preliminary In Vitro Results on Surgical Samples.

Pancreatic surgery is extremely challenging and demands an extended learning curve to be executed with a low incidence of post-operative complications. The soft consistency of the human pancreas poses a primary challenge for pancreatic surgeons. This study aimed to analyze the preliminary mechanical characteristics of the human pancreas to develop a realistic synthetic phantom for surgical simulations in the near future.

Improving maternal safety: Usability and performance assessment of a new medical device for the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage.

Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is an obstetric emergency causing nearly one-quarter of maternal deaths worldwide, 99% of these in low-resource settings (LRSs). Uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) devices are a non-surgical treatment to stop PPH. In LRSs, low-cost versions of UBT devices are based on the condom balloon tamponade (CBT) technique, but their effectiveness is limited.

The Choice of the Most Appropriate Suture Threads for Pancreatic Anastomoses on the Basis of Their Mechanical Characteristics.

The choice of the most appropriate suture threads for pancreatic anastomoses may play an important role in reducing the incidence of post-operative pancreatic fistula (POPF). The literature on this topic is still not conclusive. The aim of this study was to analyze the mechanical characteristics of suture materials to find the best suture threads for pancreatic anastomoses.

Investigating the hemodynamics of Berlin Heart EXCOR support in Norwood patients across diverse clinical scenarios with computational modeling.

Background: Infants with single-ventricle (SV) physiology undergo the 3-stage Fontan surgery. Norwood patients, who have completed the first stage, face the highest interstage mortality. The Berlin Heart EXCOR (BH), a pediatric pulsatile ventricular assist device, has shown promise in supporting these patients.

A Deep-Hole Microdrilling Study of Pure Magnesium for Biomedical Applications.

The mechanisms of deep-hole microdrilling of pure Mg material were experimentally studied in order to find a suitable setup for a novel intraocular drug delivery device prototyping. Microdrilling tests were performed with 0.20 mm and 0.

The Use of Anterior-Segment Optical-Coherence Tomography for the Assessment of the Iridocorneal Angle and Its Alterations: Update and Current Evidence.

The introduction of anterior-segment optical-coherence tomography (AS-OCT) has led to improved assessments of the anatomy of the iridocorneal-angle and diagnoses of several mechanisms of angle closure which often result in raised intraocular pressure (IOP). Continuous advancements in AS-OCT technology and software, along with an extensive research in the field, have resulted in a wide range of possible parameters that may be used to diagnose and follow up on patients with this spectrum of diseases. However, the clinical relevance of such variables needs to be explored thoroughly.

Evaluation of the ocular fluid dynamic effects on intraocular magnesium-based device: A comparison between CFD and FSI approaches.

Magnesium is an essential element for the ocular functions and used for the realization of medical devices due to its low corrosion resistance, bioresorbable nature and biocompatibility. Wet age-related macular degeneration is one of the main causes of blindness with patients treated by intravitreal injections of inhibitor drugs. According to the need to reduce the number of injections, the development of new drug delivery devices able to extend the therapeutical outcomes is mandatory and magnesium can be considered as a promising candidate.

Correction: Design, development, testing at ISO standards and in vivo feasibility study of a novel polymeric heart valve prosthesis.

Correction for 'Design, development, testing at ISO standards and in vivo feasibility study of a novel polymeric heart valve prosthesis' by Joanna R. Stasiak et al., Biomater.

A drug delivery analysis of large molecules in ocular vitreous chamber: Dependency on saccadic movements after intravitreal injection.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of vitreous sloshing induced by saccades on the intravitreal delivery of large molecule drugs. The vitreous body was considered in its age-related liquefaction condition. Fluid dynamics and large molecule distribution were described by the coupling of mass conservation's and Fick's laws with continuity and momentum equations for a Newtonian incompressible fluid in a 3D unsteady analysis.

Design, development, testing at ISO standards and in vivo feasibility study of a novel polymeric heart valve prosthesis.

Clinically available prosthetic heart valves are life-saving, but imperfect: mechanical valves requiring anticoagulation therapy, whilst bioprosthetic valves have limited durability. Polymer valves offer the prospect of good durability without the need for anticoagulation. We report the design and development of a polymeric heart valve, its bench-testing at ISO standards, and preliminary extra-vivo and in vivo short-term feasibility.

A numerical investigation to evaluate the washout of blood compartments in a total artificial heart.

Total artificial heart (TAH) represents the only valid alternative to heart transplantation, whose number is continuously increasing in recent years. The TAH used in this work, is a biventricular pulsatile, electrically powered, hydraulically actuated flow pump with all components embodied in a single device. One of the major issues for TAHs is the washout capability of the device, strictly correlated with the presence of blood stagnation sites.

Evaluation of an aortic valve prosthesis: Fluid-structure interaction or structural simulation?

Bio-inspired polymeric heart valves (PHVs) are excellent candidates to mimic the structural and the fluid dynamic features of the native valve. PHVs can be implanted as prosthetic alternative to currently clinically used mechanical and biological valves or as potential candidate for a minimally invasive treatment, like the transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Nevertheless, PHVs are not currently used for clinical applications due to their lack of reliability.

Fluid dynamic characterization of a polymeric heart valve prototype (Poli-Valve) tested under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions.

Purpose: Only mechanical and biological heart valve prostheses are currently commercially available. The former show longer durability but require anticoagulant therapy; the latter display better fluid dynamic behavior but do not have adequate durability. New Polymeric Heart Valves (PHVs) could potentially combine the hemodynamic properties of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves.

A Newly Developed Tri-Leaflet Polymeric Heart Valve Prosthesis.

The potential of polymeric heart valves (PHV) prostheses is to combine the hemodynamic performances of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves. The aim of this work is to design and develop a new tri-leaflet prosthetic heart valve (HV) made from styrenic block copolymers. A computational finite element model was implemented to optimize the thickness of the leaflets, to improve PHV mechanical and hydrodynamic performances.

A bio-inspired microstructure induced by slow injection moulding of cylindrical block copolymers.

It is well known that block copolymers with cylindrical morphology show alignment with shear, resulting in anisotropic mechanical properties. Here we show that well-ordered bi-directional orientation can be achieved in such materials by slow injection moulding. This results in a microstructure, and anisotropic mechanical properties, similar to many natural tissues, making this method attractive for engineering prosthetic fibrous tissues.

Visual performance of 2 aspheric toric intraocular lenses: comparative study.

Purpose: To compare the visual and aberrometric outcomes of 2 aspheric toric intraocular lenses (IOLs).

Setting: Fatebenefratelli e Oftalmico Hospital, Milan, Italy.

Design: Prospective randomized comparative study.