Wireless bioresorbable electronic system enables sustained nonpharmacological neuroregenerative therapy.

Peripheral nerve injuries represent a significant problem in public health, constituting 2-5% of all trauma cases. For severe nerve injuries, even advanced forms of clinical intervention often lead to incomplete and unsatisfactory motor and/or sensory function. Numerous studies report the potential of pharmacological approaches (for example, growth factors, immunosuppressants) to accelerate and enhance nerve regeneration in rodent models.

Electrical Stimulation and Bone Healing: A Review of Current Technology and Clinical Applications.

Pseudarthrosis is an exceedingly common, costly, and morbid complication in the treatment of long bone fractures and after spinal fusion surgery. Electrical bone growth stimulation (EBGS) presents a unique approach to accelerate healing and promote fusion success rates. Over the past three decades, increased experience and widespread use of EBGS devices has led to significant improvements in stimulation paradigms and clinical outcomes.

Therapeutic electrical stimulation of injured peripheral nerve tissue using implantable thin-film wireless nerve stimulators.

Objective: Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerve tissue has been shown to accelerate axonal regeneration. Yet existing methods of applying electrical stimulation to injured peripheral nerves have presented significant barriers to clinical translation. In this study, the authors examined the use of a novel implantable wireless nerve stimulator capable of simultaneously delivering therapeutic electrical stimulation of injured peripheral nerve tissue and providing postoperative serial assessment of functional recovery.

Radiation Reduction in the Pediatric Catheterization Laboratory Using a Novel Imaging System.

Objectives: Radiation dose was compared between two modern imaging systems with different x-ray tube technology (Megalix vs Gigalix) and detector type (amorphous vs crystalline silicon) at the same institution.

Background: Further reduction in radiation dose than currently reported may be achievable with advances in x-ray tube and detector technology.

Methods: Radiation dose (air kerma, dose-area product [DAP]) was retrospectively compared for post-transplant pediatric patients undergoing right heart catheterization/biopsy (fluoroscopy only) or "annual" catheterization with coronary angiography in one of two imaging systems between January 2014 and December 2016.

Serial assessment of functional recovery following nerve injury using implantable thin-film wireless nerve stimulators.

Introduction: Comprehensive assessment of the time course of functional recovery following peripheral nerve repair is critical for surgical management of peripheral nerve injuries. This study describes the design and implementation of a novel implantable wireless nerve stimulator capable of repeatedly interfacing peripheral nerve tissue and providing serial evaluation of functional recovery postoperatively.

Methods: Thin-film wireless implants were fabricated and subcutaneously implanted into Lewis rats.

Syncope with Swallowing.

Swallowing can be a trigger for syncope and can cause significant morbidity and mortality if not recognized. A 13-year-old presented with clusters of transient complete atrioventricular block after repair of a sinus venosus atrial septal defect. Pacemaker implantation was successful in treating these symptoms.

Bioresorbable silicon electronic sensors for the brain.

Many procedures in modern clinical medicine rely on the use of electronic implants in treating conditions that range from acute coronary events to traumatic injury. However, standard permanent electronic hardware acts as a nidus for infection: bacteria form biofilms along percutaneous wires, or seed haematogenously, with the potential to migrate within the body and to provoke immune-mediated pathological tissue reactions. The associated surgical retrieval procedures, meanwhile, subject patients to the distress associated with re-operation and expose them to additional complications.