Bionic Human Review PDF

“Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.” What is the best way to provide aid to an under-developed nations healthcare system? Improving infrastructure both politically and technologic...

“Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.” What is the best way to provide aid to an under-developed nations healthcare system? Improving infrastructure both politically and technologically by providing equipment, training and education. Correlation vs. Causation Correlation: there is a statistical association between variables Causation: a change in one variable causes a change in another variable Scientific Vocabulary: Hypothesis: A testable, falsifiable and verifiable explanation of some phenomenon based on limited observations and data, that is meant as a starting point for further investigation. Theory: a well-sustained explanation of some phenomenon that has been repeatedly confirmed through experimentation. Represents the best knowledge of the field at that time. Law: Description (often mathematical) of some phenomenon. Doesn’t necessarily explain the how and why Science vs. Pseudoscience: Positive evidence- evidence that supports your hypothesis without trying to disprove it. Science seeks to disconfirm whereas pseudoscience seeks to confirm A scientific hypothesis must be testable, falsifiable and verifiable. Description: Researchers want to investigate whether taking aspirin regularly reduces the risk of heart attack. Four hundred men between the ages of 50 and 84 are recruited as participants. The men are divided randomly into two groups: one group will take aspirin, and the other group will take a placebo. Each man takes one pill each day for three years but does not know whether he is taking aspirin or the placebo. At the end of the study, researchers count the number of men in each group who have had heart attacks. Identify the following values for this study: Population: Men aged 50 to 84 (the population we are trying to generalize to) Sample: the 400 men who participated (The total participants in the study) Cases: the individual men in the study (The specific participants in the study; individualized) Explanatory variable: oral medication (x variable) Treatments: aspirin and the placebo (What is being applied to the sample) Outcome variable: whether a subject had a heart attack (What we are hoping to prove correlation to) Four Levels of Measurement: N O I R (acronym) Nominal: numbers in place of categories (Jersey number) Ordinal: indicate more of less of an attribute but not how far apart cases are (Likert pain scale or Places in a race) Interval: indicates if cases are same/di\erent and have more/less of attribute; contains arbitrary zero point (Temperature C & F) Ratio: same attributes as interval but have real zero point (Bank account) Bioethics Autonomy, Justice, Beneficence, Non-maleficence Autonomy: patient should be informed of all risks and benefits and be able to make their own decisions Justice: Equal distribution and fairness of treatment all groups Beneficence: Do good to/for patients Non-maleficence: Do no harm to patient or society Genetic Engineering and Gene Therapy Genetic engineering: the deliberate modification of an organism by editing its genetic material Gene Therapy: The transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing/defective genes to current genetic disorders Stem Cells Germline cells: involved in reproduction such as sperm and egg and undergoes special type of cell division called meiosis that allows them to divide their DNA in preparation for passing it on. Somatic cells: All other types of cells in the body Defining characteristics of stem cells § self-renewal § di\erentiation into any cell type Materials and Tissue Engineering In vitro vs. In vivo In vitro: In vivo: Extracellular matrix and cells Properties of sca\olding o collagen composition o structural support o instructional information Cells are to bricks as the extracellular matrix is to mortar (add more information for this from slides) Elastic Region: region 1 Non elastic region: region 2 – failure point Yield point: right between 1 and 2 Elastics Region: material can retain its shape following imposed stress/stain Non-elastic region: material no longer retains its original shape Yield point: The point at which the material begins to undergo permanent deformation and does not retain its shape (i.e. material goes from beings’ elastic to more plastic) Human Enhancement Anabolic steroids Growth hormones  EPO/Blood Doping Beta 2 Agonists “Exoskeletons is an external device which may be able to replace OR enhance function by taking load o\ the muscles.” Goal of Implants The implant must be able to mimic the specific tissue/system it is replacing o Bones o Organs o Muscles o Skin etc. Need to consider physical/dimensional/material properties Requirements of a Patent What determines patentability of idea of device? Novel: invention does not exist and no current or prior patents on the invention Useful: have a specific, substantial and credible use Non-obvious: di\erences between invention and prior art would not be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Pre-Clinical Trials What/who do we typically study drugs on before they make it to a human subjects’ clinical trials? Reduce: minimize number of animals Replace: use ‘lowest’ specifies Refine: minimize pain and su\ering Pharmacology “A drug is a molecule that interact with specific molecular components of an organism to cause biochemical and physiologic changes within that organism.” Pharmacodynamics How drugs e\ect the body Question: What does it mean that Drug A has a lower Kd than Drug B (Use Formula) LR = ligand (drug) + receptor complex R0 = total number of receptors [LR]/[R0] = fraction of bound receptors Kd = concentration of ligand at which 50% of receptors are bound Answer: Since Drug A has a lower Kd the drug binds tighter therefore reducing the concentration of drug needed for saturation. Lower Kd = tighter the bonds Therapeutic Window ED50 = median e\ective dose TD50 – median toxic dose Using these pieces of information what can we obtain? Therapeutic Index: TI = TD50/ED50 *Higher TI = bigger therapeutic window Pharmacokinetics The ADME Principles Absorption: how drug is taken into body Distribution: how drug is moved around its body to reach its target Metabolism: how drug is changed by the body and how that a\ects drug function Excretion: how drug is eliminated from the body Absorption The ability of a drug to reach systemic circulation Bioavailability: fraction of dose that reaches the blood stream Distribution Getting from circulation into the target organ/tissue Volume of Distribution (Vd) Vd = total amount of drug in the body (dose) / concentration of drug in circulation Helps quantify amount of drug in the body compared to amount of drug in circulation High Vd = drug was taken up into body compartments