Critical reviews in biomedical engineering
-
Systems biology has primarily focused on studying genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics and their dynamic interactions. These, however, represent only the potential for a biological outcome since the ultimate phenotype at the level of the eventually produced metabolites is not taken into consideration. The emerging field of metabolomics provides complementary guidance toward an integrated approach to this problem: It allows global profiling of the metabolites of a cell, tissue, or host and presents information on the actual end points of a response. ⋯ The great amount and complexity of data that are collected require multivariate analysis techniques, but the increasing amount of work in this field has made easy-to-use analysis programs readily available. Metabolomics has already shown great potential in drug toxicity studies, disease modeling, and diagnostics and may be integrated with genomic and proteomic data in the future to provide in-depth understanding of systems, pathways, and their functionally dynamic interactions. In this review we discuss the current state of the art of metabolomics, its applications, and future potential.
-
Crit Rev Biomed Eng · Jan 2013
ReviewFunctional electrical stimulation on improving foot drop gait in poststroke rehabilitation: a review of its technology and clinical efficacy.
This article presents technical developments in and clinical applications of functional electrical stimulation (FES) in the recovery of gait and motor function in poststroke rehabilitation. We review stroke incidence, stimulator design, brain-computer interface-based FES systems, and clinical applications of FES. Developments in different types of foot drop stimulators are reviewed, including hard-wired and microprocessor-based surface stimulator systems. ⋯ On the basis of our review, we recommend using FES therapy along with a conventional rehabilitation program in the poststroke rehabilitation process. In summary, this article describes the need for rigorous technological development, clinical studies, and collaboration between clinicians and engineers for FES systems. Future research would facilitate the design of costeffective FES systems as well as analysis of FES applications in stroke patients to optimize the rehabilitation process.
-
Crit Rev Biomed Eng · Jan 2013
ReviewA review of lower extremity assistive robotic exoskeletons in rehabilitation therapy.
The rapid advancement of robotics technology in recent years has pushed the development of a distinctive field of robotic applications, namely robotic exoskeletons. Because of the aging population, more people are suffering from neurological disorders such as stroke, central nervous system disorder, and spinal cord injury. As manual therapy seems to be physically demanding for both the patient and therapist, robotic exoskeletons have been developed to increase the efficiency of rehabilitation therapy. ⋯ Analyses of their mechanical designs, actuation systems, and integrated control strategies are given priority because the interactions between these components are crucial for the optimal performance of the rehabilitation robot. The review also discusses the limitations of current exoskeletons and technical challenges faced in exoskeleton development. A general perspective of the future development of more effective robot exoskeletons, specifically real-time biological synergy-based exoskeletons, could help promote brain plasticity among neurologically impaired patients and allow them to regain normal walking ability.