Applications to Biophysics and Medical Physics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Physics General".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2021) | Viewed by 10356

Special Issue Editors

Lecturer in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Rd, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
Interests: metamaterials; metasurfaces; near-zero index materials; sensors; medical diagnostics; electromagnetics; sound waves; heat waves; fluid dynamics; classical mechanics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Some recent advances in the field of biophysics and medical physics are deeply changing our life and our knowledge of physiological and pathological phenomena involving living cells and tissues. For example, the latest achievements in the field of liquid biopsy and medical imaging are enabling the development of new paradigms in the field of personalized oncology that significantly increase the survival expectations of cancer patients. Such advancements along with the development of engineered smart materials, will lead traditional biophysics and medical devices, not only to enhance existing performances (i.e., increase the efficiency, autonomy, and lifespan), but also to perform new functions that would not have been considered achievable before. Smart materials are artificial structures, showing unprecedented properties due to their unique interaction with waves of different nature such as electromagnetics, thermodynamics, mechanics, acoustics, and fluid dynamics. Specifically, they have unique abilities to manipulate waves, such as blocking, absorbing, concentrating, dispersing, or guiding waves at will; surpassing the traditional capabilities of natural composites.

Thanks to smart materials, a wide range of groundbreaking innovations are emerging and can be envisioned in several research areas of biophysics and medical physics, including the molecular basis of neurodegenerative pathologies and cancer, neuro-imaging, single-molecule and cellular biophysics, biomedical imaging, ionizing and non-ionizing dosimetry, photon/electron/particle therapy, thermal therapies, and ultrasound ablation.

The Special Issue will provide a forum for the latest research activities and novel trends in smart devices for biophysics and medical physics. We invite authors to submit theoretical and experimental papers (original research, review, communication, feature articles) in, though not limited to, the aforementioned areas.

As the Sub-session of the conference: 1st International Electronic Conference on Applied Sciences, you can find some more detailed information with the following link:

https://sciforum.net/conference/ASEC2020

Dr. Francesco Dell’Olio
Dr. Luigi La Spada
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Imaging
  • biophysics
  • dosimetry
  • microscopy
  • nano-tweezers
  • nanomanipulation
  • multi-functional materials
  • electromagnetics
  • thermodynamics
  • classical mechanics
  • acoustics and fluid dynamics

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1151 KiB  
Article
Dosimetric Evaluation in Micro-CT Studies Used in Preclinical Molecular Imaging
by Alexis N. Rueda, César Ruiz-Trejo, Eduardo López-Pineda, Mario E. Romero-Piña and Luis A. Medina
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(17), 7930; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11177930 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1585
Abstract
In microCT imaging, there is a close relationship between the dose of radiation absorbed by animals and the image quality, or spatial resolution. Although the radiation levels used in these systems are generally non-lethal, they can induce cellular or molecular alterations that affect [...] Read more.
In microCT imaging, there is a close relationship between the dose of radiation absorbed by animals and the image quality, or spatial resolution. Although the radiation levels used in these systems are generally non-lethal, they can induce cellular or molecular alterations that affect the experimental results. Here, we describe a dosimetric characterization of the different image acquisition modalities used by the microCT unit of the Albira microPET/SPECT/CT scanner, which is a widely used multimodal imaging system in preclinical research. The imparted dose at the animal surface (IDS) was estimated based on Boone’s polynomial interpolation method and experimental measurements using an ionization chamber and thermoluminescent dosimeters. The results indicated that the imparted dose at surface level delivered to the mice was in the 30 to 300 mGy range. For any combination of current (0.2 or 0.4 mA) and voltage (35 or 45 kV), in the Standard, Good, and Best image acquisition modalities, the dose imparted at surface level in rodents was below its threshold of deterministic effects (250 mGy); however, the High Res modality was above that threshold. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications to Biophysics and Medical Physics)
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11 pages, 10043 KiB  
Article
Investigation of an Optical Imaging Platform Integrated with an Ultrasound Application System for In Vitro Verification of Ultrasound-Mediated Drug Delivery
by Jong-ryul Choi and Juyoung Park
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2846; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062846 - 22 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1685
Abstract
Techniques that increase the permeability of the cell membrane and transfer drugs or genes to cells have been actively developed as effective therapeutic modalities. Also, in line with the development of these drug delivery techniques, the establishment of tools to verify the techniques [...] Read more.
Techniques that increase the permeability of the cell membrane and transfer drugs or genes to cells have been actively developed as effective therapeutic modalities. Also, in line with the development of these drug delivery techniques, the establishment of tools to verify the techniques at the cellular level is strongly required. In this study, we demonstrated an optical imaging platform integrated with an ultrasound application system to verify the feasibility of safe and efficient drug delivery through the cell membrane using ultrasound-microbubble cavitation. To examine the potential of the platform, fluorescence images of both Fura-2 AM and propidium iodide (PI) to measure calcium flux changes and intracellular PI delivery, respectively, during and after the ultrasound-microbubble cavitation in the cervical cancer cell were acquired. Using the optical imaging platform, we determined that calcium flux increased immediately after the ultrasound-microbubble cavitation and were restored to normal levels, and fluorescence signals from intracellular PI increased gradually after the cavitation. The results acquired by the platform indicated that ultrasound-microbubble cavitation can deliver PI into the cervical cancer cell without irreversible damage of the cell membrane. The application of an additional fluorescent imaging module and high-speed imaging modalities can provide further improvement of the performance of this platform. Also, as additional studies in ultrasound instrumentations to measure real-time cavitation signals progress, we believe that the ultrasound-microbubble cavitation-based sonoporation can be employed for safe and efficient drug and gene delivery to various cancer cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications to Biophysics and Medical Physics)
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11 pages, 1706 KiB  
Article
Low Radiation Dose Implications in Obese Abdominal Computed Tomography Imaging
by Abdulaziz A. Qurashi, Louise A. Rainford, Fahad H. Alhazmi, Khalid M. Alshamrani, Abdelmoneim Sulieman, Walaa M. Alsharif, Sultan A. Alshoabi, Moawia B. Gameraddin, Khalid M. Aloufi, Shrooq T. Aldahery and Shane J. Foley
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2456; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062456 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2757
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the implications of low radiation dose in abdominal computed tomography (CT) when combined with noise reduction filters and to see if this approach can overcome the challenges that arise while scanning obese patients. Anthropomorphic phantoms [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the implications of low radiation dose in abdominal computed tomography (CT) when combined with noise reduction filters and to see if this approach can overcome the challenges that arise while scanning obese patients. Anthropomorphic phantoms layered with and without 3-cm-thick circumferential animal fat packs to simulate different sized patients were scanned using a 128-slice multidetector CT (MDCT) scanner. Abdominal protocols (n = 12) were applied using various tube currents (150, 200, 250, and 300 mA) and tube voltages (100, 120, and 140 kVp). MOSFET dosimeters measured the internal organ dose. All images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) and different iterative reconstruction (IR) strengths (SAFIRE 3, SAFIRE 4, and SAFIRE 5) techniques and objective noise was measured within three regions of interests (ROIs) at the level of L4–L5. Organ doses varied from 0.34–56.2 mGy; the colon received the highest doses for both phantom sizes. Compared to the normal-weighted phantom, the obese phantom was associated with an approximately 20% decrease in effective dose. The 100 kVp procedure resulted in a 40% lower effective dose (p < 0.05) compared to at 120 kVp and the associated noise increase was improved by increasing the IR (5) use, which resulted in a 60% noise reduction compared to when using FBP (p < 0.05). When combined with iterative reconstruction, the low-kVp approach is feasible for obese patients in order to optimize radiation dose and maintain objective image quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications to Biophysics and Medical Physics)
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19 pages, 6677 KiB  
Article
Hypersensitized Metamaterials Based on a Corona-Shaped Resonator for Efficient Detection of Glucose
by Yadgar I. Abdulkarim, Fahmi F. Muhammadsharif, Mehmet Bakır, Halgurd N. Awl, Muharrem Karaaslan, Lianwen Deng and Shengxiang Huang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(1), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010103 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2756
Abstract
In this work, a new design for a real-time noninvasive metamaterial sensor, based on a corona-shaped resonator, is proposed. The sensor was designed numerically and fabricated experimentally in order to be utilized for efficient detection of glucose in aqueous solutions such as water [...] Read more.
In this work, a new design for a real-time noninvasive metamaterial sensor, based on a corona-shaped resonator, is proposed. The sensor was designed numerically and fabricated experimentally in order to be utilized for efficient detection of glucose in aqueous solutions such as water and blood. The sensor was inspired by a corona in-plane-shaped design with the presumption that its circular structure might produce a broader interaction of the electromagnetic waves with the glucose samples. A clear shift in the resonance frequency was observed for various glucose samples, which implies that the proposed sensor has a good sensitivity and can be easily utilized to distinguish any glucose concentration, even though their dielectric coefficients are close. Results showed a superior performance in terms of resonance frequency shift (1.51 GHz) and quality factor (246) compared to those reported in the literature. The transmission variation level |S21| was investigated for glucose concentration in both water and blood. The sensing mechanism was elaborated through the surface current, electric field and magnetic field distributions on the corona resonator. The proposed metamaterials sensor is considered to be a promising candidate for biosensor and medicine applications in human glycaemia monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications to Biophysics and Medical Physics)
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