Special-purpose hand-held radio- transceiver units have been proposed as means of short-range radio powering and interrogation of surgically implanted microelectromechanical sensors and actuators. These units are based partly on the same principles as those of the units described in “Printed...

ASelf-propagating high-temperature combustion synthesis (SHS) is the basis of a method of making components of porous tricalcium phosphate [Ca3(PO4)2] and related compounds in net sizes and shapes for use as surgical implants that are compatible with bone. Ca3(PO4)2-based materials...

A method of growing bioengineered tissues includes, as a major component, the use of mammalian cells that have been transfected with genes for secretion of regulator and growth-factor substances. In a typical application, one either seeds the cells onto an artificial matrix made of a...

In an ongoing development project, microscopic bubbles in extravascular tissue in a human body will be detected by use of an enhanced version of the apparatus described in "Ultrasonic Bubble- Sizing Instrument" (MSC-22980), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol.24, No.10 (October 2000), page 62. To...

Two finite-element methods have been developed for mathematical modeling of the time-dependent behaviors of deformable objects and, more specifically, the mechanical responses of soft tissues and organs in contact with surgical tools. These methods may afford the computational efficiency...

A class of miniature probes has been proposed to supplant the fiber-optic probes used heretofore in some Raman and fluorescence spectroscopic systems. A probe according to the proposal would include a capillary tube coated with metal on its inside to make it reflective. A microlens would be...