Keiji Iramina

Affiliation:

Department of Informatics Graduate School of Information Sciences and Electrical Engineering Kyushu University 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
TEL / FAX : +81-92-802-3581
E-mail: iramina@inf.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is the application of a brief magnetic pulse or a train of pulses to the skull, which results in an induction of local electric current in the underlying surface of the brain, thereby producing a localized axonal depolarization. As a non-invasive and effective method to make reversible lesions in the human brain, TMS has a long and successful history. Now it has become a major tool of cognitive neuroscience and a treatment method for various neurobehavioral disorders. TMS can be used to stimulate the cortex to produce visual percepts or movements. It is more suitable to provide reversible disruption of activity in the cortex with millisecond accuracy. Because TMS has high temporal and spatial resolutions, it can investigate not only the spatial localization but also the time course of mental processes.
TMS is noninvasive and less painful than direct electric stimulation through surface electrodes placed on the head. It is useful not only for measurement and diagnosis but also, for the treatment or potential cure for mental illnesses and central nervous system diseases such as depression and Parkinson’s disease.
In this lecture, I will give the overview of the TMS, such as history, principle, characteristics and application to the cognitive study which performed our laboratory.

We applied TMS to investigate temporal aspect of the functional processing of the visual attention. Although it has been known that right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has a role in certain visual search tasks, there is little knowledge about temporal aspect of this area.
Visual search is a type of perceptual task requiring attention. Visual search involves an active scan of the visual environment for a particular object or feature (the target) among other objects or features (the distracters). The involvement of the large areas of the visual field, the right parietal cortex, right superior temporal gyrus and the right posterior parietal cortex have been known already. In contrast with the knowledge of the location of particular cortex areas involved in the visual search, the study of temporal aspect of cortex areas is not sufficient. To investigate the temporal aspect of the posterior parietal cortex involved in the visual search, we applied different stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) and measured the reaction times of the visual search. The relationship between the SOA and the reaction time was investigated.
We also focused on the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on neuronal excitability. As an active approach of brain function, rTMS can make artificial excitatory or inhibitory activation in a pinpoint region of the brain. Thus the function of this region can be clarified with the minimum influence of other related activity. We investigated the rTMS effect over the right SPL in the perceptual reversal of ambiguous figures.

Biography:

Dr. Iramina was graduated from the Department of Electronics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, in 1986. He received the MS and PhD degrees in electronic engineering in 1988 and 1991, respectively, from Kyushu University. From 1991 to 1995, he worked at the Department of Electronics, Kyushu University. In 1996, he moved to the University of Tokyo, Japan and he has been an associate professor of Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the University of Tokyo. In 2005, he moved o Kyushu University as a professor of Graduate School of Information Science an Electrical Engineering. He has been also a professor of Graduate School of Systems Life Sciences in Kyushu University.

His current research interests include functional brain imaging with multimodalities, for example, EEG (Electroencephalography), MEG (Magnetoencephalography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), NIRS (Near-Infrared Spectroscope) and TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), and the development of measurement technology and the simulation of brain activation.

Dr. Iramina performed editors of many academic journals, IEEJ?MSJ and JBMS. He is Councilor of the Japan Society of Medical Electronics and Biological Engineering. He is also a board member of the Japan Biomagnetism and Bioelectromagnetics Society.

¹ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, National University of Singapore, Singapore;
² Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Scaffolds in an engineered tissue need to play the role of the extracellular matrix in natural tissues. This requires the scaffolds to possess not only adequate mechanical properties, but also to deliver necessary chemical and biological signals to the resident cells. A precise interplay between the cells, the scaffold and growth factors is essential to successfully engineer a new functional tissue. Traditionally, scaffolds were designed to mainly cater to the physical and mechanical needs of the target tissue. Achieving biomimicry of the natural ECM with synthetic scaffolds requires the scaffolds not only to mimic the ECM structure but also in function. This has resulted in a recent shift in focus from the macrostructural domain to the micro/nanostructural domain and from the structural to the functional domain. Furthermore, to ensure that the scaffold can achieve its desired aims, the biomaterial component should be biocompatible, support cell viability, proliferation and differentiation (if stem cells have been used). In addition, the biomaterial should possess adequate mechanical properties and be biodegradable, so that it is ultimately replaced by the new tissue. Synthetic polymers like PLGA, PLLA and PCL have been widely used because of their good biological compatibility, biodegradability and ease of processing and fabrication. However, synthetic polymers have several drawbacks like poor cell attachment on their surfaces and non-uniform in vivo degradation rates resulting in mechanically unstable tissues. This has led to a shift in interest in biological polymers such as collagen, alginate, chitosan and silk. Silk from the silkworm, Bombyx mori, has been used as surgical suture material for centuries. In recent years, silk has been increasingly studied as the scaffold for ligament tissue engineering. The silk fibers can be woven into a “wire-rope” scaffold, which has mechanical properties similar to the native ligament. The knitted silk mesh is another important silk-based scaffold for its excellent mechanical properties and good nutrients transport. To prevent cells from leaking out of scaffold after seeding, electrospun nanofibers or freeze-dried silk microsponges were incorporated into the macro pores of knitted scaffold. While the knitted structure held the micro pores or nanofibers together and provided the structural strength, the microporous or nanofibers structure could mimic the ligament extracellular matrix to promote cell proliferation, function, and differentiation. In vitro culture demonstrated that MSCs on scaffolds proliferated vigorously and produced abundant collagen. The transcription levels of ligament-specific genes (collagen I, collagen III, and tenascin-C) also increased significantly with time. Such scaffolds can biomimic the native ECM environment and enhance cell viability, proliferation, differentiation

Bibliography of Professor James Goh

Professor James GOH obtained his PhD in Bioengineering in 1982 from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. He is currently the Research Director in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, YLL School of Medicine, NUS. He also holds a joint appointment, as Deputy Head (Admin), Division of Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, NUS and Interim Program Leader, Tissue Engineering Program, Life Sciences Institute, NUS. Prof Goh is on a number of national committees, including the Medical Technology Standards Council, SPRING Singapore. He is the President of the Biomedical Engineering Society (Singapore) and an Elected Member of the Administrative Council, International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering. He is also a member of the World Council of Biomechanics and the Secretary General, Asia-Pacific Association for Biomechanics. He is a member of the Executive Council, World Association for Chinese Biomedical Engineers. Prof Goh has been actively involved in organizing international conferences. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Organising Committee
of the 13th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering, Dec 3 – 6, 2008, Singapore and the 6th World Congress of Biomechanics, August 1 -6, 2010, Singapore Prof Goh has an active research interest in orthopaedic biomechanics and functional tissue engineering. He has published well over 100 peer review journal papers and given numerous invited talks.

Selected Publications
1. Ouyang, HW, JCH Goh, A Thambyah, SH Teoh and EH Lee, Use of knitted PLGA scaffold
loaded with bone marrow stromal cells in repair and regeneration of rabbit Achilles tendon.
Tissue Engineering, 9, 3 (2003): 431-439. (United States).
2. Shao XX, JCH Goh, DW. Hutmacher, EH Lee. Repair of large osteochondral defect using
hybrid scaffolds seeded with bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue
Engineering 12(6) (2006):1539-51 (United States)
3. Thambyah A, A Nather, JCH Goh. Physical Characteristics of the Articular Cartilage beneath
the Meniscus. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 14 (6) (2006):580-588 (United States)
4. Chong KS, Ang AD, Goh J, Hui J, Lim AYT, Lee EH, Lim BH. Bone marrow derived
mesenchymal stem cells influence early tendon healing in a rabbit Achilles tendon model.
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Am) 2007;89:74-81
5. Ge Z, Fang F, Goh JCH, Ramakrishna S, Lee EH. Biomaterials and scaffolds for ligament
tissue engineering. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A. 2006 Jun;77(3):639-52
6. Sahoo S, JCH Goh, SL Toh. Development of Hybrid Polymer Scaffolds for Potential
Applications in Ligament and Tendon Tissue Engineering. Biomed. Mater. 2 (2007) 169-173
(United States)
7. Liu HF, HB Fan, SL Toh, JCH Goh. The interaction between a combined knitted silk scaffold
and microporous silk sponge with human mesenchymal stem cells for ligament tissue
engineering. Biomaterials 29 (2008) 662–674 (United Sates)
8. Fan HB, HF Liu, SL Toh, JCH Goh. Enhanced differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells cocultured
with ligament fibroblasts on gelatin/silk fibroin hybrid scaffold. Biomaterials 29
(2008): 1017–1027 (United Sates)
9. Liu HF, HB Fan, SL Toh, JCH Goh. A comparison of rabbit mesenchymal stem cells and
anterior cruciate ligament fibroblasts responses on combined silk scaffolds. Biomaterials
29(2008): 1443-1453(United Sates)
10. Yeow CH, CH Cheong, KS Ng, PVS Lee, JCH Goh. Anterior cruciate ligament failure and
cartilage damage during knee joint compression: a porcine study. American Journal of Sports
Medicine 2008; 36: 934-942 (United Sates)

Assistant Professor ANG Wei Tech

Title: Robotic Technology for Biomedical Micromanipulation Applications

Abstract:

Humans have intrinsic limitations in manual micromanipulation tasks. These limitations are consequences of small involuntary movements that are inherent in normal hand motion, e.g. physiological tremor, myoclonic jerk, etc. In microsurgery and in several biomedical cell micromanipulation applications, this manual imprecision complicates many delicate procedures, and hampers the viability of certain treatments and researches. This talk presents two research projects that use micro-robotic technology to enhance manual micromanipulation accuracy and efficiency in biomedical applications: (i) An intelligent handheld microsurgical instrument that detects its own motion, distinguishes between involuntary and intend motion, and deflects its tip in real-time for active compensation of the erroneous component of the movement; (ii) A microscope based vision guided micro-robotic system that is capable of performing cell micromanipulation tasks that require micro- and nano-level precision.

Biosketch:

Wei Tech Ang has been an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore since 2004. He received Ph.D. degree in Robotics from the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA., USA in 2004 and the B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in 1997 and 1999 respectively. Dr. Ang leads the multidisciplinary BioRobotics Group at the Robotics Research Centre of NTU. His research focuses on robotics technologies in Biomedical applications, which include robot assisted microsurgery, robotic cell micromanipulation, assistive and rehabilitation applications, etc. Dr. Ang is the Principal Investigator of several research projects funded by the Agency for Science, Technology And Research (A*STAR), National Medical Research Council (NMRC), and Ministry of Education of Singapore. Prof Ang has close collaborations with many academic, research and medical institutions in Singapore and internationally.  

Assoc. Prof. Dr. PANOTE THAVARUNGKUL

Panote Thavarungkul, D.Phil.

Dr Panote Thavarungkul received her degrees from University of Waikato, New Zealand under the Colombo Plan Scholarships. She obtained her B.Sc. in Physics in 1978, M.Sc. in Biophysics with first class honours in 1980 and D.Phil. in 1985.  She then joined the Department of Physics, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.  She is now an Associate Professor and leads the biosensor research section of the Trace Analysis and Biosensor Research Center, Prince of Songkla University. She is also the leader of one of the Biophysics Research units, Department of Physics.  Her research areas of interest are biocurrents and biosensors.  She is the principal investigator of several projects funded by National and International agencies. Some of these researches are investigated in collaboration with researchers in other National and International Institutes.

LABEL-FREE AFFINITY BIOSENSORS WITH MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

P. Thavarungkul1,2,3*, P. Kanatharana1,2,4, P. Asawatrerattanakul1,5, B. Wongkittisuksa1,7,

C. Limsakul1,7, W. Limbut1,2,6, A. Numnuam1,2,4, S. Suwansa-ard1,2,4

1Trace Analysis and Biosensor Research Center, 2Center for Innovation in Chemistry,

3Department of Physics, 4Department of Chemistry, 5Department of Biochemistry,

6Department of General Science, Faculty of Science

7Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering

Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90112, Thailand

1.Abstract

Affinity biosensors are based on the detection of interaction between immobilized biological sensing molecules and their affinity binding pairs. In a label-free system the change in mass, optical or electrical properties causes by the binding is detected. This presentation will describe two label-free systems that have been investigated in our research center.  One is the highly sensitive capacitive system that was applied for the detection of a tumor marker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and for residue nucleic acids, a possible impurity in biopharmaceutical products.  The other system is based on the detection of the change of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) angle shift caused by the affinity binding. This biosensor was applied to detect another tumor marker, cancer antigen 125 (CA 125). These label-free affinity biosensors can provide very low detection limit.  The immobilized sensing molecules can be regenerated and reused at least 40 times.  When applied to analyze real samples, the results agreed well with those obtained from conventional methods. These systems can be applied as an alternative sensitive technique for clinical analysis.

SELECTED REFERENCES

[1]W. Limbut, P. Kanatharana, B. Mattiasson, P. Asawatreratanakul, P. Thavarungkul, Analytica Chimica Acta, 561 (2006) 55-61.

[2]A. Numnuam, P. Kanatharana, B. Mattiasson, P. Asawatreratanakul, B. Wongkittisuksa, C. Limsakul, P. Thavarungkul, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 24 (2009) 2559-2565.

[3]S. Suwansa-ard, P. Kanatharana, P. Asawatreratanakul, B. Wongkittisuksa, C. Limsakul, P. Thavarungkul, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 24 (2009) 3436-3441.

Personal Details
Date and Place of Birth 6 December, 1978, Nan, Thailand
Nationality Thai
Marital Status Single
Office Address Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience
Bunsenstr. 10
D-37073 Goettingen, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 551-5176-502
Fax: +49 (0) 551-5176-449
Email/URL poramate.manoonpong@gmail.com, poramate@nld.ds.mpg.de
http://www.nld.ds.mpg.de/~poramate/

Brief Biography

P. Manoonpong was born in Nan, Thailand, in 1978. He received a B.Eng. degree in mechanical engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand, in 2000, a M.Sc. degree in mechatronics from Fachhochschule Ravensburg- Weingarten, Germany, in 2002, and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Siegen, Germany, in 2006. As a Ph.D. student, he worked in the areas of robotics, mechatronic systems, biologically inspired walking machines, evolutionary robotics and artificial neural networks at Fraunhofer institute for Autonomous Intelligent Systems (AIS), Sankt Augustin, Germany. He is currently a researcher at Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) oettingen,
Germany. His research interests include neural locomotion control of walking machines, dynamics of recurrent neural networks, embodied cognitive systems, Biomechanics.

From Human Walking to Human-like Walking:

Adaptive, fast, dynamic walking in a biped robot under neural control and learning

Poramate Manoonpong
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

Human walking is a dynamic, partly self-stabilizing processes relying on the interaction of
biomechanics with neural control. The coordination of this process is a very difficult problem and
it has been suggested that this involves a hierarchy of levels, where the lower ones, e.g.;
interactions between muscles and the spinal cord, are largely autonomous and higher level
control (e.g. cortical) arises only pointwise, as needed. From this point of view, in my talk, I will
briefly present the mechanisms underlying human walking and then show how we apply this
biological principle to develop our biped robot “RunBot” in order to achieve human-like walking.
RunBot (see Fig. 1a) has been designed based on a multiple-level nested loop structure [1]. This
nested loop structure is consisted of three hierarchical levels (see Fig. 1b): Biomechanical, Spinal
reflex and Postural reflex. The biomechanical level concerns an appropriate biomechanical
design of RunBot which utilizes some principles of passive walkers to ensure stability. The spinal
reflex level contains reflexive neural networks which control body posture, generate dynamically
stable gaits as well as fast motions with some degree of self-stabilization to guarantee basic
robustness. In the postural reflex level, we simulate a neural learning mechanism for synaptic
plasticity which allows RunBot to adapt its locomotion to different terrains. As a consequence,
through the tight coupling of these three levels, RunBot can autonomously walk with a high speed
(> 3.0 leg length/s), self-adapting to minor disturbances, and reacting in a robust way to abruptly
induced gait changes. At the same time, it can learn walking on different terrains, e.g., level floor
versus up a ramp, requiring only few learning experiences. The results of the real robot walking
experiments can be seen as video clips at http://www.nld.ds.mpg.de/~poramate/Runbot.html.
Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the neural control method can efficiently address
dynamic sensor-motor coordination problems, suggesting that it may be transferable to adaptive
prosthetic legs helping the amputee to effectively walk on different terrains.

Reference:
[1] P. Manoonpong, T. Geng, T. Kulvicius, B. Porr, F.Woergoetter, Adaptive, fast walking in a biped robot under neuronal control and learning, PLoS Computational Biology 3 (7) (2007) e134.

IEEE Thailand Section

National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Thailand

International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE)

Technical Committee of Medical and Biological Engineering, Society of Electronics, Information andSystems, The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ)