Do Combined Oculomotor and Bimanual Coordination Exercises Instantly Stabilize Balance in Athletes?

Purpose: This study examined the immediate effects of oculomotor and bimanual coordination exercises, as well as a combination of the two, on stability of balance in athletes.

Patients And Methods: Changes in center-of-gravity sway were measured in 30 college student athletes before and after the following three exercise conditions: 1) oculomotor exercises, 2) bimanual coordination exercises, and 3) a combination of oculomotor and bimanual coordination exercises (1+2). The order of these exercises was counterbalanced.

Development of a three-dimensional bioprinter: construction of cell supporting structures using hydrogel and state-of-the-art inkjet technology.

We have developed a new technology for producing three-dimensional (3D) biological structures composed of living cells and hydrogel in vitro, via the direct and accurate printing of cells with an inkjet printing system. Various hydrogel structures were constructed with our custom-made inkjet printer, which we termed 3D bioprinter. In the present study, we used an alginate hydrogel that was obtained through the reaction of a sodium alginate solution with a calcium chloride solution.

Development of mechanical circulatory support devices at the University of Tokyo.

The development of mechanical circulatory support devices at the University of Tokyo has focused on developing a small total artificial heart (TAH) since achieving 532 days of survival of an animal with a paracorporial pneumatically driven TAH. The undulation pump was invented to meet this purpose. The undulation pump total artificial heart (UPTAH) is an implantable TAH that uses an undulation pump.

Development of a novel intrafascicular nerve electrode.

Artificial organs could be controlled using autonomic neural signals, because they exhibit rapid responses to physical needs similar to those of natural organs. A nerve electrode must satisfy many requirements to measure autonomous neural signals such as a long lifetime, high signal-to-noise ratio, multichannel recording, simple installation into a nerve fascicle, and good manufacturing productivity. The purpose of our study is to propose and evaluate a novel nerve electrode that satisfies these conditions, which to date has not been developed.

Microcirculation of the bulbar conjunctiva in the goat implanted with a total artificial heart: effects of pulsatile and nonpulsatile flow.

A new system to observe the microcirculation on the bulbar conjunctiva was developed using a digital high definition microscope to investigate the influence of the flow patterns on the microcirculation in a goat with a total artificial heart (TAH). The undulation pump TAH was implanted into the goat. When the whole body condition became stable, the flow pattern was modulated between the pulsatile and the nonpulsatile mode, and the changes in the microcirculation were observed.