Cold Storage of Human Femoral Arteries for Twelve Months: Impact on Mechanical Properties.

Objective: This biomechanical pre-clinical study aimed to assess the consequences on mechanical properties of long term cold storage (+2 to +8 °C) of arterial allografts.

Methods: Femoropopliteal arterial segments were collected from multiorgan donors and stored at +2 to +8 °C for twelve months in saline solution with added antibiotics. Mechanical characterisation was carried out using two different tests, with the aim of defining the physiological modulus and the maximum stress and strain borne by the sample before rupture.

Design Optimization of Printed Multi-Layered Electroactive Actuators Used for Steerable Guidewire in Micro-Invasive Surgery.

To treat cardiovascular diseases (i.e., a major cause of mortality after cancers), endovascular-technique-based guidewire has been employed for intra-arterial navigation.

The environmental impact of small-bowel capsule endoscopy.

Introduction:  The environmental impact of endoscopy, including small-bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE), is a topic of growing attention and concern. This study aimed to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (kgCO) generated by an SBCE procedure.

Methods:  Life cycle assessment methodology (ISO 14040) was used to evaluate three brands of SBCE device and included emissions generated by patient travel, bowel preparation, capsule examination, and video recording.

Haptic Feedback Device Using 3D-Printed Flexible, Multilayered Piezoelectric Coating for In-Car Touchscreen Interface.

This study focuses on the development of a piezoelectric device capable of generating feedback vibrations to the user who manipulates it. The objective here is to explore the possibility of developing a haptic system that can replace physical buttons on the tactile screen of in-car systems. The interaction between the user and the developed device allows completing the feedback loop, where the user's action generates an input signal that is translated and outputted by the device, and then detected and interpreted by the user's haptic sensors and brain.

Development and Optimization of 3D-Printed Flexible Electronic Coatings: A New Generation of Smart Heating Fabrics for Automobile Applications.

Textile-based Joule heaters in combination with multifunctional materials, fabrication tactics, and optimized designs have changed the paradigm of futuristic intelligent clothing systems, particularly in the automobile field. In the design of heating systems integrated into a car seat, conductive coatings via 3D printing are expected to have further benefits over conventional rigid electrical elements such as a tailored shape and increased comfort, feasibility, stretchability, and compactness. In this regard, we report on a novel heating technique for car seat fabrics based on the use of smart conductive coatings.

Design Rules of Bidirectional Smart Sensor Coating for Condition Monitoring of Bearings.

This paper reports a novel monitoring technique of bearings' bidirectional load (axial and radial) based on a smart sensor coating, which is screen printed onto the surface of a cross-shaped steel substrate. To ensure the accuracy and stability of measurement as well as the durability of the printed coating, the developed prototype is built according to design rules commonly used in electronic circuits. The finite element model (FEM) is used to predict the mechanical property of the tested substrate under either unidirectional or bidirectional loads.

Molten-State Dielectrophoretic Alignment of EVA/BaTiO Thermoplastic Composites: Enhancement of Piezo-Smart Sensor for Medical Application.

Dielectrophoresis has recently been used for developing high performance elastomer-based structured piezoelectric composites. However, no study has yet focused on the development of aligned thermoplastic-based piezocomposites. In this work, highly anisotropic thermoplastic composites, with high piezoelectric sensitivity, are created.

Extrusion-Based 3D Printing of Stretchable Electronic Coating for Condition Monitoring of Suction Cups.

Suction cups (SCs) are used extensively by the industrial sector, particularly for a wide variety of automated material-handling applications. To enhance productivity and reduce maintenance costs, an online supervision system is essential to check the status of SCs. This paper thus proposes an innovative method for condition monitoring of SCs coated with printed electronics whose electrical resistance is supposed to be correlated with the mechanical strain.

Carbon footprint of atrial fibrillation catheter ablation.

Aims: Climate change represents the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Health care system is itself a large contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In cardiology, atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation is an increasing activity using numerous non-reusable materials that could contribute to GHG emission.

Optimization Strategies Used for Boosting Piezoelectric Response of Biosensor Based on Flexible Micro-ZnO Composites.

Piezoelectric ZnO-based composites have been explored as a flexible and compact sensor for the implantable biomedical systems used in cardio surgery. In this work, a progressive development route was investigated to enhance the performance of piezoelectric composites incorporated with different shape, concentration and connectivity of ZnO fillers. ZnO microrods (MRs) have been successfully synthesized homogeneously in aqueous solution using a novel process-based on chemical bath deposition (CBD) method.

Accurate Electroadhesion Force Measurements of Electrostrictive Polymers: The Case of High Performance Plasticized Terpolymers.

Electroadhesion is a phenomenon ruled by many characteristic intrinsic parameters. To achieve a good adhesion, efficient and durable, a particular attention must be provided to the adhesion forces between the involved parts. In addition to the size and geometry of electrodes, parameters of materials such as dielectric constant, breakdown electric field, and Young's modulus are key factors in the evaluation of electroadhesion efficiency for electrostrictive polymers and electroactive devices.

Eco-audit of conventional heart surgery procedures.

Objectives: Healthcare systems have a significant environmental impact and, thus, indirectly affect public health. In order to improve current practices, a better understanding of the actual environmental impact generated by surgical procedures is necessary.

Methods: An eco-audit methodology was carried out to assess the greenhouse gas emissions arising from conventional isolated cardiac surgery procedures.

Dielectrophoresis Structurization of PZT/PDMS Micro-Composite for Elastronic Function: Towards Dielectric and Piezoelectric Enhancement.

Piezoelectric materials have been used for decades in the field of sensors as transducers and energy harvesters. Among these, piezoelectric composites are emerging being extremely advantageous in terms of production, costs, and versatility. However, the piezoelectric performances of a composite with randomly dispersed filler are not comparable with bulk ferroelectric ceramics and electroactive polymers.

Characterizing and Optimizing Piezoelectric Response of ZnO Nanowire/PMMA Composite-Based Sensor.

Due to the outstanding coupling between piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of zinc oxide nanowires, ZnO NW-based structures have been demonstrating promising potential with respect to their applicability in piezoelectric, piezotronic and piezo-phototronic devices. Particularly considering their biocompatibility and biosafety for applications regarding implantable medical detection, this paper proposed a new concept of piezoelectric composite, i.e.

Effect of beta-based sterilization on P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer for medical applications.

Electroactive polymers (EAP) are one of the latest generations of flexible actuators, enabling new approaches to propulsion and maneuverability. Among them, poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene/chlorotrifluoroethylene), abbreviated terpolymer, with its multifunctional sensing and actuating abilities as well as its impressive electrostrictive behavior, especially when being doped with an plasticizer, has been demonstrated to be a good candidate for the development of low-cost flexible guidewire tip for endovascular surgery. To minimize the possibility of bacterial, fungal, or viral disease transmission, all medical instruments (especially components made from polymers) must be sterilized before introduction into the patient.

Enhancing the Low-Frequency Induction Heating Effect of Magnetic Composites for Medical Applications.

This study aims to enhance the low-frequency induction heating (LFIH) effect in a thermoplastic polymer doped with iron oxide magnetic particles, which are promising candidates for several medical applications thanks to their confirmed biocompatibility. Two main approaches were proposed to successfully boost the heating ability; i.e.

Reducing leakage current and dielectric losses of electroactive polymers through electro-annealing for high-voltage actuation.

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) such as P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) are very promising in the field of flexible sensors and actuators. Their advantages in smart electrical devices are due to their low cost, elastic properties, low density, and ability to be manufactured into various shapes and thicknesses. In earlier years, terpolymer P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) attracted a lot of research due to its relaxor-ferroelectric property that exhibits high electrostriction phenomena.