Real-World Industry Collaboration within a Mechatronics Class

This paper describes the implementation and assessment of an innovative senior/graduate level mechatronics (robotics) module that integrated structured and unstructured learning experiences, in collaboration with an industry partner. With real-world constraints and expectations, students designed and delivered a product as the final project. In fall 2007, the corporate partner provided state-of-the-art, programmable robotic kits with a user-friendly programming environment. The assigned project was to design a biomedical robot to work in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) to perform tasks such as transporting supplies or delivering paperwork. Students with diverse skills and majors were grouped in ten teams, two to three students each. Student learning activities included designing a robot from a box of FisherTechnik materials, without the aid of instruction manuals; writing program code using the PCS environment; and integrating hardware and software. After four weeks of building, training, and testing, each team’s robot was unique. In the final competition, each robot was assigned to a particular room in the ICU to perform a specific task. Overall, the results indicated that the students gained hands-on experience with the state-of-art technology and effectively applied the conceptual course content to a real application

A Case Study of Chinese Bound Feet: Application of Footprint Analysis

Foot print patterns of the bound feet of a 90-year-old Chinese female were made to obtain insight into the ergonomic consequences of a Chinese custom that caused significant disabilities for many women throughout history. Pressure patterns were evaluated using the techniques applied to standard thumb print analsyis. A digital summary of the pressure patterns were compared to the patterns obtained from a normal subject. The outcomes indicated that the bound foot produced greater plantar tissue pressures than the non-bound foot. These observations help explain the discomfort, gait abnormalities, and disabilities exhibited by many older women with bound feet living in China today. Although foot-binding is no longer practiced, this study offers an ergonomic perspective on a custom practiced in China for centuries

Breast cancer in patients with Li–Fraumeni syndrome – a case-series study and review of literature

Amara G Nandikolla, Sangeetha Venugopal, Jesus Anampa Department of Oncology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Bronx, NY, USA Background: Li–Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is a rare disease with autosomal dominant inheritance linked to germline mutations of tumor suppressor gene TP53. These patients are predisposed to malignancies such as sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, and other malignancies. Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in adult patients with LFS, has an early-onset presentation and is usually treated as per the guidelines for the general population due to the limited literature about breast cancer in LFS. We aimed to describe our institutional experience treating patients with breast cancer and LFS to contribute to literature about this entity. Design: Retrospective single-institution case-series study. We searched for cases with LFS and breast cancer from 01/01/2000 to 12/31/2015 with treatment received at our institution. Results: We identified 4 cases (2 African Americans, 1 Indian, and 1 Hispanic) in 4 different families, who were diagnosed with LFS after presenting with breast cancer. Three cases were triple-negative disease and 1 case was ER+, HER2 positive disease. They were treated with mastectomy and a third-generation breast chemotherapy regimen and/or trastuzumab-containing regimen. Radiation therapy was used in 2 patients. Breast cancer recurrence was seen in 1 patient, while three other malignancies were identified after breast cancer treatment (1 breast sarcoma, 1 leiomyosarcoma, and 1 myelodysplastic syndrome). A patient, who underwent surveillance with a positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan, was found to have a stage I leiomyosarcoma and was treated with surgical resection, but then developed metastatic disease requiring cytotoxic chemotherapy. Conclusion: Breast cancer among patients with LFS needs a multidisciplinary treatment approach. Surgical management follows the guidelines for the general population. Risk–benefit assessment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy needs to be performed carefully in a case-by-case approach. Patients should undergo multimodality cancer surveillance, preferably in the context of a clinical trial. Keywords: breast cancer, Li–Fraumeni syndrome, hereditary breast cancer, TP5

Breast cancer in patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome - a case-series study and review of literature

Background: Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is a rare disease with autosomal dominant inheritance linked to germline mutations of tumor suppressor gene TP53. These patients are predisposed to malignancies such as sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, and other malignancies. Breast cancer, the most common malignancy in adult patients with LFS, has an early-onset presentation and is usually treated as per the guidelines for the general population due to the limited literature about breast cancer in LFS. We aimed to describe our institutional experience treating patients with breast cancer and LFS to contribute to literature about this entity. Design: Retrospective single-institution case-series study. We searched for cases with LFS and breast cancer from 01/01/2000 to 12/31/2015 with treatment received at our institution. Results: We identified 4 cases (2 African Americans, 1 Indian, and 1 Hispanic) in 4 different families, who were diagnosed with LFS after presenting with breast cancer. Three cases were triple-negative disease and 1 case was ER+, HER2 positive disease. They were treated with mastectomy and a third-generation breast chemotherapy regimen and/or trastuzumab-containing regimen. Radiation therapy was used in 2 patients. Breast cancer recurrence was seen in 1 patient, while three other malignancies were identified after breast cancer treatment (1 breast sarcoma, 1 leiomyosarcoma, and 1 myelodysplastic syndrome). A patient, who underwent surveillance with a positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan, was found to have a stage I leiomyosarcoma and was treated with surgical resection, but then developed metastatic disease requiring cytotoxic chemotherapy. Conclusion: Breast cancer among patients with LFS needs a multidisciplinary treatment approach. Surgical management follows the guidelines for the general population. Risk-benefit assessment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy needs to be performed carefully in a case-bycase approach. Patients should undergo multimodality cancer surveillance, preferably in the context of a clinical trial

Bone microenvironment-targeted manipulations for the treatment of osteoblastic metastasis in castration-resistant prostate cancer

Introduction: Most patients with advanced prostate cancer will develop incurable bone metastasis. Although prostate cancer is the quintessential androgen-dependent neoplastic disease in males, the tumor will ultimately become refractory to androgen ablation treatment. Understanding the complex dialog between prostate cancer and the bone microenvironment has allowed the development of promising treatment strategies. Areas covered: The present review summarizes the pathophysiology of prostate cancer bone metastasis and provides a concise update on bone microenvironment-targeted therapies for prostate cancer. The current and future prospects and challenges of these strategies are also discussed. Expert opinion: A wide variety of signaling pathways, bone turnover homeostatic mechanisms and immunoregulatory networks are potential targets for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Anti-survival factor therapy can enhance the efficacy of existing treatment regimens for mCRPC by exploiting the interaction between the bone microenvironment and androgen signaling networks. In addition, many novel bone microenvironment-targeted strategies have produced promising objective clinical responses. Further elucidation of the complex interactions between prostate cancer cells and the bone stroma will open up new avenues for treatment interventions that can produce sustained cancer suppression. © Informa UK, Ltd

Active Foot Pressure Control for Diabetic Neuropathy During Walking

Diabetic Mellitus is a disease caused either due to insufficient insulin produced by the pancreas or the body cells are unable to use the existing insulin. One of the main complications associated with diabetics is neuropathy, which is caused due to complete or partial loss of sensation in the feet and legs that lead to problems like inadequate delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the foot, which will cause healing impairment. In diabetic neuropathic subject, the hardness of foot sole soft tissue gives rise to plantar ulcer development. In this work, a biomechanical model is used to study the plantar distribution of forces in the foot. The dynamic foot pressure distribution during walking is used to carry out a stress analysis. This includes the motion of heel strike, mid-stance, and push off section of the feet during walking. A control strategy is proposed to mitigate the high stress concentration occurring during the walking phase. The control strategy includes a synergy of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference controller and for comparison an optimal controller. The actuation is simulated through an external shoe insert. The three-dimensional multi-segment biomechanical model is used in conjunction with experimental data gathered from various literatures for simulation purposes of the proposed control strategy. The proposed intelligent controller focuses on stresses generated by the foot pressure distribution during walking and compares these with stress levels of healthy subjects. The insert changes its shape accordingly to redistribute the pressure levels at various regions so to achieve a pressure distribution equivalent to a healthy subject. It is assumed that the insert can actuate and measure the pressure distribution simultaneously. This could be achieved using smart materials for the shoe insert. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms and approach