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Ultrasound technology can provide high-resolution imaging of blood flow following spinal cord injury (SCI). Blood flow imaging may improve critical care management of SCI, yet its duration is limited clinically by the amount of contrast agent injection required for high-resolution, continuous monitoring. In this study, we aim to establish non-contrast ultrasound as a clinically translatable imaging technique for spinal cord blood flow via comparison to contrast-based methods and by measuring the spatial distribution of blood flow after SCI. A rodent model of contusion SCI at the T12 spinal level was carried out using three different impact forces. We compared images of spinal cord blood flow taken using both non-contrast and contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Subsequently, we processed the images as a function of distance from injury, yielding the distribution of blood flow through space after SCI, and found the following. (1) Both non-contrast and contrast-enhanced imaging methods resulted in similar blood flow distributions (Spearman's ρ = 0.55, p < 0.0001). (2) We found an area of decreased flow at the injury epicenter, or umbra (p < 0.0001). Unexpectedly, we found increased flow at the periphery, or penumbra (rostral, p < 0.05; caudal, p < 0.01), following SCI. However, distal flow remained unchanged, in what is presumably unaffected tissue. (3) Finally, tracking blood flow in the injury zones over time revealed interesting dynamic changes. After an initial decrease, blood flow in the penumbra increased during the first 10 min after injury, while blood flow in the umbra and distal tissue remained constant over time. These results demonstrate the viability of non-contrast ultrasound as a clinical monitoring tool. Furthermore, our surprising observations of increased flow in the injury periphery pose interesting new questions about how the spinal cord vasculature reacts to SCI, with potentially increased significance of the penumbra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A year-long design project is a typical requirement for an undergraduate engineering degree. However, the abbreviated, two-semester format limits most projects from reaching appropriate maturity for obtaining intellectual property (IP) protection, external funding, and/or peer-reviewed publications. The traditional model may be associated with some dissatisfaction with the abrupt ending of the work, as projects are often just completing their initial proof-of-concept testing after 1 year. This study reports the results of a pilot experiment that allowed such design projects to extend through a second year. We investigated three different mechanisms for continuation: research credits, a second-year curricular course (Advanced Design Teams), and extracurricular support. Students in this program continued to engage with an advisory board of clinicians, engineers, and other professionals, many of whom had assisted with the project during the first year. We investigated whether continuing the projects in a curricular fashion may provide a better avenue for productivity than extracurricular mechanisms. Based on the results of this pilot study, our department has formalized a curriculum to support teams beyond the first year, in which continuing students from the first-year teams can apply to continue their projects for credit toward their degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work has yielded a method for automatic labeling of vertebrae in intraoperative radiographs as an assistant to manual level counting. The method, called LevelCheck, previously demonstrated promise in phantom studies and retrospective studies. This study aims to: (#1) Analyze the effect of LevelCheck on accuracy and confidence of localization in two modes: (a) Independent Check (labels displayed after the surgeon’s decision) and (b) Active Assistant (labels presented before the surgeon’s decision). (#2) Assess the feasibility and utility of LevelCheck in the operating room. Two studies were conducted: a laboratory study investigating these two workflow implementations in a simulated operating environment with 5 surgeons, reviewing 62 cases selected from a dataset of radiographs exhibiting a challenge to vertebral localization; and a clinical study involving 20 patients undergoing spine surgery. In Study #1, the median localization error without assistance was 30.4% (IQR = 5.2%) due to the challenging nature of the cases. LevelCheck reduced the median error to 2.4% for both the Independent Check and Active Assistant modes (p < 0.01). Surgeons found LevelCheck to increase confidence in 91% of cases. Study #2 demonstrated accuracy in all cases. The algorithm runtime varied from 17 to 72 s in its current implementation. The algorithm was shown to be feasible, accurate, and to improve confidence during surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the footprints of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, there has been a misconception that students are better off quitting their studies to bring to life their ideas, create jobs and monetize their inventions. Having historically transitioned from manpower to mind power, we live in one of the most rapidly changing times in human history. As a result, academic institutions that are supposed to be pioneers and educators of the next generations have started to realize that they need to adapt to a new system, and change their policies to be more flexible towards patent ownership and commercialization. There is an infrastructure being developed towards students starting their own businesses while continuing with their studies. This paper aims to provide an overview of the existing landscape, the exciting rewards as well as risks awaiting a student entrepreneur, the challenges of the present ecosystem, and questions to consider prior to embarking on such a journey. Various entities influencing the start-up environment are considered, specifically for the medical technology sector. These parties include but are not limited to: scientists, clinicians, investors, academic institutions and governments. A special focus will be set on the seemingly unbridgeable gap between founding a company and a scientific career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, microfluidic devices containing microwells that enabled cell docking were investigated. We theoretically assessed the effect of geometry on recirculation areas and wall shear stress patterns within microwells and studied the relationship between the computational predictions and experimental cell docking. We used microchannels with 150 μm diameter microwells that had either 20 or 80 μm thickness. Flow within 80 μm deep microwells was subject to extensive recirculation areas and low shear stresses (<0.5 mPa) near the well base; whilst these were only presented within a 10 μm peripheral ring in 20 μm thick microwells. We also experimentally demonstrated that cell docking was significantly higher ( p < 0.01) in 80 μm thick microwells as compared to 20 μm thick microwells. Finally, a computational tool which correlated physical and geometrical parameters of microwells with their fluid dynamic environment was developed and was also experimentally confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This erratum is to add author Nicholas J. Durr as a co-corresponding author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]