The human face is the main organ of expression, capable of transmitting emotions that are almost instantly recognised by fellow beings. In this paper, we describe the development of a lifelike facial display based on the principles of biomimetic engineering. A number of paradigms that can be used for developing believable emotional displays, borrowing from elements of anthropomorphic mechanics and control, and materials science, are outlined. These are used to lay down the technological and philosophical premises necessary to construct a man-machine interface for expressing emotions through a biomimetic mechanical head. Applications in therapy to enhance social skills and understanding emotion in people with autism are discussed.

Giovanni Pioggia

Arti Ahluwalia

Federico Carpi

Andrea Marchetti

Marcello Ferro

Walter Rocchia

Danilo De Rossi

FACE: Facial Automaton for Conveying Emotions

The development of the multiple-channel bionic ear for hearing and speech understanding in profoundly deaf people is the result of integrating biological and physical sciences with engineering. It is the first clinically successful restoration of sensory and brain function, and brings electronic technology into a direct functional relationship with human consciousness. It presently transmits essential place and coarse temporal information for the coding of frequency, but the fine temporal and place excitation of groups of nerve fibres is inadequate for high-fidelity sound. This is required for adequate musical appreciation and hearing in noise. Research has demonstrated that nerve growth factors preserve the peripheral processes of the auditory nerves so that an electrode array placed close to these fibres could produce this fine temporal and spatial coding. The nerve growth factors can be incorporated into inherently conducting polymers that are part of the array so the peripheral processes can be preserved at the same time as they are electrically stimulated.

Graeme M. Clark

Gordon Wallace

Bionic Ears: Their Development and Future Advances Using Neurotrophins and Inherently Conducting Polymers

This paper gives a brief description of some of the key ongoing product developments in Europe for medical implants. A range of medical systems that are currently being developed under European-funded programmes are briefly described. The first is an implant that helps people with &#x2018;dropped foot&#x2019; improve their walking. Further research on body-worn inertial measuring systems (IMUs) and microsystems will extend the capabilities to other lower-limb and upper-limb applications in the future. Other medical systems being developed with the use of microsystems and nanotechnology include a system to aid deaf and blind people.

Diana Hodgins

Artificial Means for Improving Human Motion

This research studies the upper and lower limb bones of elderly persons. The measurements of compressive, tensile and bending forces were performed on 147 specimens: 72 in a compression trial, 21 in a tensile trial and 54 in a bending trial. Bones were extracted from 38 cadavers (60&#x2013;70-years-old at the time of death). Experimental protocols were developed to minimise the possible errors in obtaining the data. All results were statistically processed. There was a significant difference between the results of both the tensile and bending trials and the compression trial (p = 0.08). Significant differences were observed between the results of the compression test in proximal versus distal ends of the bones (femur, tibia and humerus). After the removal of outlying results, an F-test analysis was performed on all remaining values, establishing different correlation levels between the groups of results. These results were compared with those published by other researchers.

Doina Dr&#x0103;gulescu

Lucian Rusu

Vlad Morcovescu

Cris Precup

Comparative Study of Mechanical Stresses in Human Limb Bones

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at an annual rate of 120 000 in the USA, and many need reconstructive surgery. We report successful results at 1&#x2013;13 months following implantation of bioengineered ACL (bACL) in goats. A bACL has been developed using autologous ACL cells, a collagen matrix and bone plugs. The extremities of the bACL were fully integrated into the femur and tibia of the host. Vascularisation of the grafts was extensive 1 month post-surgery and improved with time. At 6 months post-grafting, histological and ultrastructural observations demonstrated a highly organised ligamentous structure, rich in type I collagen fibres and fibroblasts. At the implants' insertion sites, characteristic fibrocartilage was observed having well aligned chondrocytes and collagen fibrils. After a year, mechanical rupture of the grafts demonstrated a major gain in strength. Eventual applications of this new technology in humans include multiple uses in orthopaedic, dental and reconstructive surgeries.

Francine Goulet

Denis Rancourt

R&#xe9;jean Cloutier

Pierrot Tremblay

Anne-Marie Belzil

Jean Lamontagne

Marc Bouchard

Julie Tremblay

Louis-Mathieu Stevens

Julie Labrosse

Eve Langelier

Marc D. McKee

Torn ACL: A New Bioengineered Substitute Brought from the Laboratory to the Knee Joint

Five decades of histological, electrophysiological, pharmacological and biochemical investigations exist, but relatively little is known regarding the ionic mechanisms underlying the action potential variations in the ventricle associated with healthy and disease conditions. The computational modelling in murine ventricular myocytes can complement our knowledge of the experimental data and provide us with more quantitative descriptions in understanding different conditions related to normal and disease conditions. This paper initially reviews the theoretical modelling for cardiac ventricular action potentials of various species and the related experimental work. It then focuses on the progress of computational modelling of cardiac ventricular cells for normal, diabetic and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Also presented is the recent modelling efforts of the action potential in mouse ventricular cells. The computational insights gained into the ionic mechanisms in rodents will enhance our understanding of the heart and provide us with new knowledge for future studies to treat cardiac diseases in children and adults.

Semahat S. Demir

The Significance of Computational Modelling in Murine Cardiac Ventricular Cells

In this study, we have tried to understand why the left ventricle (LV) is not a homogeneous sphere. An experimental model of a spherical ventricle was developed. The chamber was configured as a mathematical model, and the wall properties were represented by isolated cardiac muscles. The stroke work of the spherical LV when modelling different types of inhomogeneity in the wall structure was investigated. It was found that the emergence of even slight inhomogeneity in a spherical ventricle inevitably results in a diminution of pump function. It was concluded that at a given level of the myocardial contractility, a homogeneous spherical LV would not have any functional reserve, ie no ability to maintain pump function in case of additional load. Functional reserve can be achieved only with a certain degree of inhomogeneity. Thus, inhomogeneity in the normal left ventricular wall structure constitutes a strategic functional reserve that is absent in a homogeneous spherical ventricle.

Felix A. Blyakhman

Tatyana F. Shklyar

Ivan A. Pavlov

Sergey Yu Sokolov

Alexey A. Grinko

Why the Left Ventricle Is Not a Sphere

About this journal

Applied Bionics and Biomechanics publishes original research articles as well as review articles that seek to understand the mechanics of biological systems, or that use the functions of living organisms as inspiration for the design of new devices.

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Chief Editor, Professor Qiguo Rong, is the Vice Chair of the Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science at Peking University, China. His research focuses on the biomechanical behaviors of musculoskeletal systems.

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Applied Bionics and Biomechanics - Table of contents 2004

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Applied Bionics and Biomechanics publishes original research articles as well as review articles that seek to understand the mechanics of biological systems, or that use the functions of living organisms as inspiration for the design of new devices.

Applied Bionics and Biomechanics