Medicine & Healthcare Surgery

Aiming to reduce fracture recovery times, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led research group is focusing on plasma irradiation as a treatment method

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University assess why post-operative symptoms such as pins and needles, sudden cold, burning, itching, and numbness in the limbs remain in patients suffering from cervical spondylotic myelopathy, even after surgery. The researchers also evaluated the patients’ satisfaction with postoperative treatment. They found that it was lower for those who still had paresthesia in their hands and feet, regardless of whether their motor symptoms had improved or not.

Elucidating why some patients with specific joint deformities are symptomatic while others are not

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine conducted an interoperative comparison of lateral disc meniscus injuries of young patients (aged 15 or less), that were treated with plastic sutures or subtotal resection, to see if there was a difference in postoperative cartilage degeneration. The research group observed that sub-total meniscectomies were more likely to show cartilage degeneration, being worst in lateral disc meniscus injuries. In addition, they found that even with higher levels of meniscus damage, preserving the meniscus with sutures was more effective in protecting the cartilage in young patients.

Osaka Metropolitan University scientists delved into the relationship between gait function and knee extension velocity after total knee arthroplasty and compared the effects of various factors on walking. The results reveal that knee extension velocity, measured while seated, on the operated side was the most important determinant of gait function. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of new rehabilitation programs for efficient gait function improvement.

The ability to see what’s happening inside the body in real-time and at a high resolution is a capability that ultrasound grants orthopedists at a low cost to patients. Ultrasound-guided diagnosis, however, remains relatively new in the field. Dr. Yuko Nakashima is here to change that for Japan with the help of her fellow “e-girls.”

-Microrobots disintegrate in the body after delivering stem cells to the target point, and the delivered stem cells are verified to be capable of normal proliferation and differentiation. -Expected to contribute to increasing the efficiency of regenerative medicine such as stem cell delivery.

A collaborative project between the Osaka City University Graduate Schools of Medicine and BioMedical Engineering Center (BMEC) revealed new bone formation in critical bone defects of animal model with an exposure to a pencil-type non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma at surgery.

Through a follow-up analysis of d-ROM values taken pre- and post-cardiopulmonary exercise tests, researchers have found that heart failure patients with increased oxidative stress during exercise have a poorer prognosis - leading to potential design of exercise routines around individual patients.

Researchers analyze bone marrow-derived and peripheral blood-derived fibrin clots showing that the former contains more growth factors. They then show that bone marrow-derived fibrin clots can be used for meniscus suturing, even in the inner-most avascular regions, and with a 2-year post-operative follow-up, they show bone marrow-derived fibrin clots support healing better than their peripheral blood counterparts.

Collecting liver tissue from 22 postoperative patients with long-term post-Fontan surgery, researchers have found a specific liver fibrosis to develop from the sinusoidal region which is difficult to accurately assess by conventional examination methods (ultrasound elastography and blood tests).

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has succeeded in generating bipotential self-renewing iVPCs by direct lineage conversion.

A research team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) established an advanced direct conversion strategy to generate iMNs from human fibroblasts in large-scale with high purity, thereby providing a cell source for treatment of SCI.

Osaka City University detects cancer cells in 2ml blood samples and connects them back to their origin tumor – creating a new diagnostic tool that may aid in quicker and more accurate anti-cancer measures.

An international team has developed an attachable guidewire that can move and steer towards a desired direction inside complicated blood vessels. The technology will contribute to increasing the success rate of heart disease treatment with a shorter cardiovascular disease surgery time and higher accuracy.

This book presents the general neurosurgery problem-based learning that combines case studies and pathology illustration in a simple and easy to understand way. The book is currently published in Mandarin and is hoped to be translated to other languages in the near future.

Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a novel surgical robotic system that provides tactile feedback and is capable of single-incision and natural orifice (incision-free) robotic surgery. The system minimizes surgical trauma and is safer than currently available robotic systems.