Tissue engineering is a relatively new area of research that combines medical, biological, and engineering fundamentals to create tissue-engineered constructs that regenerate, preserve, or slightly increase the functions of tissues. To create mature tissue, the extracellular matrix should be imitated by engineered structures, allow for oxygen and nutrient transmission, and release toxins during tissue repair. Numerous recent studies have been devoted to developing three-dimensional nanostructures for tissue engineering. One of the most effective of these methods is electrospinning. Numerous nanofibrous scaffolds have been constructed over the last few decades for tissue repair and restoration. The current review gives an overview of attempts to construct nanofibrous meshes as tissue-engineered scaffolds for various tissues such as bone, cartilage, cardiovascular, and skin tissues. Also, the current article addresses the recent improvements and difficulties in tissue regeneration using electrospinning.

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Artificial finger joint design has been developed through different stages through the past. PIP (proximal interphalangeal) and MCP (metacarpophalangeal) artificial finger joints have come to replace the amputation and arthrodesis options; although, these artificial joints are still facing challenges related to reactive tissues, reduced range of motion, and flexion and extension deficits. Swanson silicone artificial finger joints are still common due to the physician’s preferability of silicone with the dorsal approach during operation. Nevertheless, other artificial finger joints such as the pyrocarbon implant arthroplasty have also drawn the interests of practitioners. Artificial finger joint has been classified under three major categories which are constrained, unconstrained, and linked design. There are also challenges such as concerns of infections and articular cartilage necrosis associated with attempted retention of vascularity. In addition, one of the main challenges facing the silicone artificial finger joints is the fracture occurring at the distal stem with the hinge. The aim of this paper is to review the different artificial finger joints in one paper as there are few old review papers about them. Further studies need to be done to develop the design and materials of the pyrocarbon and silicone implants to increase the range of motion associated with them and the fatigue life of the silicone implants.

Implantable devices have successfully proven their reliability and efficiency in the medical field due to their immense support in a variety of aspects concerning the monitoring of patients and treatment in many ways. Moreover, they assist the medical field in disease diagnosis and prevention. However, the devices’ power sources rely on batteries, and with this reliance, comes certain complications. For example, their depletion may lead to surgical interference or leakage into the human body. Implicit studies have found ways to reduce the battery size or in some cases to eliminate its use entirely; these studies suggest the use of biocompatible harvesters that can support the device consumption by generating power. Harvesting mechanisms can be executed using a variety of biocompatible materials, namely, piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators, biofuel cells, and environmental sources. As with all methods for implementing biocompatible harvesters, some of them are low in terms of power consumption and some are dependent on the device and the place of implantation. In this review, we discuss the application of harvesters into implantable devices and evaluate the different materials and methods and examine how new and improved circuits will help in assisting the generators to sustain the function of medical devices.

This paper proposes an electronic prototype of the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT), which is normally used to test the presence of hand dexterity. The prototype imitates the geometrical dimensions of an on-the-market GPT device, but it is electronic, not manual like the one available now for users. The suggested electronic GPT device makes automated time calculation between placing the first and the last peg in their designated locations, instead of manually observing a stopwatch normally used during the GPT. The electronic GPT prototype consists of a fabricated wooden box, electronics (switches and microcontroller), and liquid crystal display (LCD). A set of 40 normal volunteers, 20 females and 20 males, tested the designed prototype. A set of six volunteers with chronic medical conditions also participated in evaluating the proposed model. The results on normal volunteers showed that the proposed electronic GPT device yielded time calculations that match the population mean value of similar calculations by the GPT device. The one-sample t-test showed no significant difference in calculations between the new electronic GPT and the manual GPT device. The p-value was much higher than 0.05, indicating the possible use of the suggested electronic GPT device.

Purpose The daily life management of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) constitutes a significant and rapidly expanding health-care responsibility. In this study, an innovative prototype of a wireless-sensing smart wearable medical device (SWMD) is proposed as a multi-functions solution for Alzheimer patients. The SWMD is aimed to assemble three main biomedical engineering advances: 1) use of a Wi-Fi microcontroller, 2) simultaneous monitoring of a set of vital biomarkers, and 3) cautions of fall down conditions, in addition to GPS location indicator. Methods The SWMD employs a Wi-Fi controller that is incorporated with electronic circuits to monitor three vital signals (temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation), fall down conditions in three directions (X, Y, and Z axis), and GPS location. The SWMD was connected to the Firebase Service (database hosted on the Internet Cloud). The proposed device was tested on 13 normal volunteers. The left side, right side, forward, and backward fall down conditions were assessed. The prototype’s functions during daily activity such as rising hand, sitting down or standing up, and walking conditions were also assessed. Results The three assembled functions were all successfully incorporated to build the SWDM device as a suggested solution offering real-time alerts during daily activity to AD patients. The Bland-Altman statistical test showed no significant difference (p-value >0.05) between the SWMD biomarkers’ acquisition and the reference methods. The gyro/accelerator sensor yielded 93% sensitivity in fall down detection and 95% specificity during daily activities. The GPS yielded correct positioning of the SWDM holder, while the internet cloud allowed saving and managing all vital biomarkers daily. Conclusion The SWMD is a possible solution for daily life support for AD patients. It incorporates three functions in one single device, GPS location indicator, monitoring set of biomarkers, and fall down alert, which are all controlled via a Wi-Fi micro controller on-line connected to Internet Cloud. It successfully would allow the management of the daily records as well as the real-time alerts to remote persons.

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Electrospinning enables simple and cost-effective production of polymer nanofibers from different polymer materials. Drug delivery systems are capable of achieving maximum drug treatment benefits by significantly reducing adverse complications. Electrospun nanofibers have recently attracted considerable attention owing to their distinctive properties, including flexibility and biocompatibility. The implementation of functional constituents within nanostructure fibers blends is an effective technique for the administration of a variety of drugs in animal research, broadening the nanofiber capability and reliability. The nanofibrous mesh and its various application purposes are discussed in terms of a summary of recent research, emphasizing the ease of streaming and a large number of combinations of this approach, which could lead to a breakthrough in targeted therapy.