Cooperative dry-electrode sensors for multi-lead biopotential and bioimpedance monitoring.

Cooperative sensors is a novel measurement architecture that allows the acquiring of biopotential signals on patients in a comfortable and easy-to-integrate manner. The novel sensors are defined as cooperative in the sense that at least two of them work in concert to measure a target physiological signal, such as a multi-lead electrocardiogram or a thoracic bioimpedance.This paper starts by analysing the state-of-the-art methods to simultaneously measure biopotential and bioimpedance signals, and justifies why currently (1) passive electrodes require the use of shielded or double-shielded cables, and (2) active electrodes require the use of multi-wired cabled technologies, when aiming at high quality physiological measurements.

Comparison of human olfactory and skeletal MSCs using osteogenic nanotopography to demonstrate bone-specific bioactivity of the surfaces.

Recently we identified a novel population of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from human olfactory mucosa (OM-MSCs), a tissue which promotes neurogenesis throughout life, and demonstrated that they promoted CNS myelination to a greater extent than bone marrow-derived (BM)-MSCs. Previous data demonstrated that nanotopographies with a degree of disorder induce BM-MSC osteogenic differentiation. Thus, using biomaterials as non-chemical tools, we investigated if MSCs from a completely different cellular niche could be induced to differentiate similarly to nanoscale cues alone.

Increased plasticity of the stiffness of melanoma cells correlates with their acquisition of metastatic properties.

Unlabelled: The stiffness of tumor cells varies during cancer progression. In particular, metastatic carcinoma cells analyzed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) appear softer than non-invasive and normal cells. Here we examined by AFM how the stiffness of melanoma cells varies during progression from non-invasive Radial Growth Phase (RGP) to invasive Vertical Growth Phase (VGP) and to metastatic tumors.

Description of the modes governing the optical transmission through metal gratings.

An analytical model based on a modal expansion method is developed to investigate the optical transmission through metal gratings. This model gives analytical expressions for the transmission as well as for the dispersion relations of the modes responsible for high transmission. These expressions are accurate even for real metals used in the visible - near-infrared wavelength range, where surface plasmon polaritons (SPP's) are excited.

The quantification of single cell adhesion on functionalized surfaces for cell sheet engineering.

The use of force spectroscopy to measure and quantify the forces involved in the adhesion of 3T3 fibroblasts to different chemically functionalized surfaces has been investigated. Cells were grown on glass surfaces as well as on surfaces used for cell sheet engineering: surfaces coated with polyelectrolyte multilayers (poly-L-lysine and hyaluronic acid) and thermally-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) brushes. Individual adherent cells were detached from their culture substrate using an AFM cantilever coated with fibronectin.

Observation of enhanced transmission for s-polarized light through a subwavelength slit.

Enhanced optical transmission (EOT) through a single aperture is usually achieved by exciting surface plasmon polaritons with periodic grooves. Surface plasmon polaritons are only excited by p-polarized incident light, i.e.

Measuring cell adhesion forces during the cell cycle by force spectroscopy.

Force spectroscopy has been used to measure the adhesion of Saos-2 cells to a glass surface at different phases of the cell cycle. The cells were synchronized in three phases of the cell cycle: G(1), S, and G(2)M. Cells in these phases were compared with unsynchronized and native mitotic cells.

Use of force spectroscopy to investigate the adhesion of living adherent cells.

The use of force spectroscopy to study the adhesion of living fibroblasts to their culture substrate was investigated. Both primary fibroblasts (PEMF) and a continuous cell line (3T3) were studied on quartz surfaces. Using a fibronectin-coated AFM cantilever, it was possible to detach a large proportion of the 3T3 cells from the quartz surfaces.

System-on-chip solutions for portable medical devices.

A dedicated system-on-chip (SoC) integrates as much functionality as possible in a single chip and thereby allows miniaturisation of portable medical systems, while optimising performance and power consumption. Today's feature-rich semiconductor process technology platforms Smean that SoC based solutions also optimise the cost and reliability of the overall system by reducing the number of components that are employed.

Scattering of light by a single layer of randomly packed dielectric microspheres giving color effects in transmission.

Strong scattering properties are obtained for a monolayer of randomly packed polystyrene microspheres. This gives rise to structural colors in transmission. For a sphere diameter between 0.