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Introduction: Although numerous studies have reported outcomes with various conservative approaches for the iliopsoas impingement after total hip arthroplasty (THA), reports on the use of locoregional autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections for the iliopsoas impingement after THA are lacking. This phase 1 study therefore aimed to investigate the safety and feasibility of locoregional PRP injection for iliopsoas impingement after THA. Materials and methods: Patients diagnosed with iliopsoas impingement after THA who met the criteria for participation (symptoms persisting for more than 3 months, aged 20 years or older, and unable to receive non-steroidal analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs) were eligible to participate in this clinical study. The primary endpoint was observed adverse events including procedure-related pain, and the secondary endpoints included pain and functionality of the hip joint, that were assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, Japanese Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire, and Forgotten Joint Score-12. Results: Three patients were screened for eligibility, and 3 patients were finally included in this study. Two participants (patients 1 and 2; aged 66 and 65 years, respectively) were female. The third participant (patient 3; age 73 years) was male. All patients experienced adverse events; however, none were found to be serious. None of the patients experienced any infections, or intra- or post-operative symptoms of nerve damage, or subcutaneous haemorrhage owing to the administration of locoregional PRP. Although patient 2 showed almost complete resolution of the symptom, patient 1 and 3 demonstrated persistent groin pain after the injection. Conclusion: We demonstrated the results of preliminary phase 1 prospective observational clinical study that administration of locoregional PRP injections for iliopsoas impingement following THA is both, safe and feasible.

Background: The prevalence of hay fever, a multifactorial allergic disease, is increasing. Identifying individual characteristics and associated factors of hay fever is essential for predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory (P4) medicine. This study aimed to identify individual characteristics and associated factors of hay fever using an iPhone application AllerSearch. Methods: This large-scale mobile health-based cross-sectional study was conducted between February 2018 and May 2020. Individuals who downloaded AllerSearch in Japan and provided a comprehensive self-assessment (general characteristics, medical history, lifestyle habits, and hay fever symptoms [score range 0–36]) were included. Associated factors of hay fever (vs. non-hay fever) and severe hay fever symptoms were identified using multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses, respectively. Results: Of the included 11,284 individuals, 9041 had hay fever. Factors associated with hay fever (odds ratio) included age (0.98), female sex (1.33), atopic dermatitis (1.40), history of dry eye diagnosis (1.36), discontinuation of contact lens use during hay fever season (3.34), frequent bowel movements (1.03), and less sleep duration (0.91). The factors associated with severe hay fever symptoms among individuals with hay fever (coefficient) included age (−0.104), female sex (1.329), history of respiratory disease (1.539), history of dry eye diagnosis (0.824), tomato allergy (1.346), discontinuation of contact lens use during hay fever season (1.479), smoking habit (0.614), and having a pet (0.303). Conclusions: Our large-scale mobile health-based study using AllerSearch elucidated distinct hay fever presentation patterns, characteristics, and factors associated with hay fever. Our study establishes the groundwork for effective individualized interventions for P4 medicine.

Introduction: Along with the accumulating reports of autologous concentrated bone marrow (CBM) grafting for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), the related medical device, a “point-of-care device” has also been recently developed. However, no study has confirmed the feasibility, safety, and efficiency of CBM grafting using a specific point-of-care device. Materials and methods: We designed this phase I, prospective clinical study to evaluate the feasibility and safety of autologous CBM grafting processed using a point-of-care device, the BioCUE system, in patients with ONFH. The primary outcomes were the safety and adverse event (AE), the secondary outcomes included pain score; hip function score; ONFH stage using X-ray; and the volume of the osteonecrotic area on 3T MRI. Besides, safety quality tests on the final product of concentrated bone marrow were performed. Results: Two patients (a 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman; three hips) with systemic lupus erythematosus were included. The incidence of AEs was 100% such as pain or transient fever after the operation, but all AEs were nonserious. No peri-operative complications were observed. Pain and hip function score remained unchanged from the preoperative to the postoperative observational periods. Safety quality test demonstrated were all negative or under the threshold. Conclusion: The feasibility and safety of grafting of concentrated autologous CBM in patients with ONFH using a point-of-care device were confirmed. A further clinical study aiming for the authorization of this procedure should be conducted in the future.

It is known that linear motion errors for linear guides can be measured by the autocollimation method. In this case, it is necessary to install a mirror on the measurement target. On the other hand, if a light with a wavelength sufficiently longer than that of the surface roughness of the measurement target is used, the need for a mirror is eliminated. We have proposed an autocollimation method using a mid-infrared laser. In the original prototype of mid-infrared autocollimator, the angle of laser irradiation is 45° to the measurement target. However, this method does not allow us to obtain a long measurement range. Therefore, we construct a system in which the laser irradiation angle is set to 0° by controlling the polarization of light. By using this method, autocollimation is applied to a sample with a root mean square roughness Rq of 0.2 μm, and an angular resolution of 1.1 arc-second is obtained.