PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Edited by Adriano O. Andrade, Adriano Alves Pereira, Eduardo L. M. Naves and Alcimar B. Soares Practical Applications in Biomedical Engineering http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/3331 Edited by Adriano O. Andrade, Adriano Alves Pereira, Eduardo L. M. Naves and Alcimar B. Soares Contributors Adriano O. Andrade, Adriano Alves Pereira, Maria Fernanda Soares de Almeida, Guilherme Lopes Cavalheiro, Ana Paula Souza Paixão, Sheila Bernardino Fenelon, Valdeci Carlos Dionisio, Walid A. Zgallai, Vasilios Papaioannou, Ioannis Pneumatikos, Geovani Rodrigo Scolaro, Fernando Mendes de Azevedo, Christine Fredel Boos, Roger Walz, Erika G. Meraz, Homer Nazeran, Carlos Ramos, Liza Rodriguez, Lidia Rascón Madrigal, Nelly Gordillo Castillo, Ajay Sonar, James Carroll, Suélia de S. Rodrigues Fleury Rosa, Adson Ferreira da Rocha, José Conceição Carvalho, Natalya S. Petrova, Marina A. Zenkova, Elena L. Chernolovskaya, Thayza Christina Montenegro Stamford, Thatiana Montenegro Stamford-Arnaud, Horacinna Maria de Medeiros Cavalcante, Rui Oliveira Macedo, Galba Maria de Campos-Takaki, Raquel Diniz Rufino, Juliana Moura de Luna, Leonie Asfora Sarubbo, Lígia Raquel Marona Rodrigues, José Antônio C. Teixeira , Juraj Kronek, Ema Paulovičová, Lucia Paulovičová, Zuzana Kroneková, Jozef Lustoň, T. Vasilieva, Thai-Hoa Tran, Thanh-Dinh Nguyen, Christakis Constantinides, Venketesh N. Dubey, Neil Vaughan, Michael Y. K. Wee, Richard Isaacs Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. 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Publishing Process Manager Masa Vidovic Typesetting InTech Prepress, Novi Sad Cover InTech Design Team First published December, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Practical Applications in Biomedical Engineering, Edited by Adriano O. Andrade, Adriano Alves Pereira, Eduardo L. M. Naves and Alcimar B. Soares p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0924-2 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling 1 Chapter 1 Human Tremor: Origins, Detection and Quantification 3 Adriano O. Andrade, Adriano Alves Pereira, Maria Fernanda Soares de Almeida, Guilherme Lopes Cavalheiro, Ana Paula Souza Paixão, Sheila Bernardino Fenelon and Valdeci Carlos Dionisio Chapter 2 Second- and Third-Order Statistical Characterization of Non-Linearity and Non-Gaussianity of Adult and Fetal ECG Signals and Noise 25 Walid A. Zgallai Chapter 3 Fractal Physiology, Breath-to-Breath Variability and Respiratory Diseases: An Introduction to Complex Systems Theory Application in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine 55 Vasilios Papaioannou and Ioannis Pneumatikos Chapter 4 Wavelet Filter to Attenuate the Background Activity and High Frequencies in EEG Signals Applied in the Automatic Identification of Epileptiform Events 81 Geovani Rodrigo Scolaro, Fernando Mendes de Azevedo, Christine Fredel Boos and Roger Walz Chapter 5 Impulse Oscillometric Features and Respiratory System Models Track Small Airway Function in Children 103 Erika G. Meraz, Homer Nazeran, Carlos Ramos, Liza Rodriguez, Lidia Rascón Madrigal and Nelly Gordillo Castillo Chapter 6 Simulation of Subject Specific Bone Remodeling 141 Ajay Sonar and James Carroll VI Contents Section 2 Biomaterials and Prosthetic Devices 167 Chapter 7 Prosthesis for Flow Control in the Esophagus as a New Technique for the Treatment of Obesity 169 Suélia de S. Rodrigues Fleury Rosa, Adson Ferreira da Rocha and José Conceição Carvalho Chapter 8 Structure - Functions Relations in Small Interfering RNAs 187 Natalya S. Petrova, Marina A. Zenkova and Elena L. Chernolovskaya Chapter 9 Microbiological Chitosan: Potential Application as Anticariogenic Agent 229 Thayza Christina Montenegro Stamford, Thatiana Montenegro Stamford-Arnaud, Horacinna Maria de Medeiros Cavalcante, Rui Oliveira Macedo and Galba Maria de Campos-Takaki Chapter 10 Antimicrobial and Anti-Adhesive Potential of a Biosurfactants Produced by Candida Species 245 Raquel Diniz Rufino, Juliana Moura de Luna, Leonie Asfora Sarubbo, Lígia Raquel Marona Rodrigues, José Antônio C. Teixeira and Galba Maria de Campos-Takaki Chapter 11 Biocompatibility and Immunocompatibility Assessment of Poly(2-Oxazolines) 257 Juraj Kronek, Ema Paulovičová, Lucia Paulovičová, Zuzana Kroneková and Jozef Lustoň Chapter 12 Bio-Medical Applications of the Electron-Beam Plasma 285 T. Vasilieva Chapter 13 Functional Inorganic Nanohybrids for Biomedical Diagnosis 311 Thai-Hoa Tran and Thanh-Dinh Nguyen Section 3 Biomedical Image Processing 341 Chapter 14 Study of the Murine Cardiac Mechanical Function Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: The Current Status, Challenges, and Future Perspectives 343 Christakis Constantinides Chapter 15 Biomedical Engineering in Epidural Anaesthesia Research 387 Venketesh N. Dubey, Neil Vaughan, Michael Y. K. Wee and Richard Isaacs Preface Biomedical Engineering is an interdisciplinary and emergent area that combines engineering with life sciences. The idea of this book is to provide the reader with recent advances and applications in Biomedical Engineering in three particular fields of interest: Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling, Biomaterials and Prosthetic Devices, and Biomedical Image Processing. The book is a collection of self-contained papers describing specific applications and reviews in these fields. Each paper was properly peer-reviewed by experts before final acceptance and inclusion in the book. Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling refers to the use of digital signal processing tools and mathematical models for the characterization and representation of biological systems. In many cases the information available from the system is a time-series related to its current state, hence the role of signal processing is to extract features from time-series that are able to quantify and characterize the state of the biological system. The use and implementation of models is of paramount relevance in life sciences and engineering, mainly when considering ethical and economic issues. However, there is a trade-off between model complexity and accuracy in the representation of the reality. Therefore, modelling biological systems is always a challenging task. The first six chapters of the book are dedicated to this exciting field. The study of these chapters can provide the reader with valuable practical examples of the use of signal processing and modelling. The ideas and methods employed can be easily extended to the reader’s own research. Biomaterials are substances that have been engineered to take a form which is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the progress therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. In the past decade, there has been a great advance in this area allowing the improvement of medical treatment and diagnosis. Currently, nanostructures can be used as biomaterials capable of targeting specific living tissues, aiding the process of detection and monitoring of non-communicable diseases such as cancer that is one of the leading global killers. It is expected that in a near future biomaterials can be used in clinical routine as therapy to a number of diseases. Chapters from 7 to 13 illustrate the use of biomaterials in distinct contexts. In addition, some of these chapters also discuss implantable prosthetic devices, which can be seen as a type of biomaterial engineered for providing artificial extension of a X Preface body part. Prosthetic devices can be used for replacing missing body parts, and also to extend the body function. Biomedical Image Processing concerns the use of image processing techniques for image analysis, compression and transmission. It is by itself an interdisciplinary research field attracting expertise from applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, statistics, physics, biology and medicine. Computer-assisted image analysis has already become part of clinical routine. However, the new development of high technologies and use of distinct types of imaging modalities have produced new challenges to the field. For instance, how to deal with the increasing volume of data without losing significant information that could be used for diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, techniques of image analysis can be combined in virtual reality environments in a number of situations, e.g., surgery planning and execution, and also in training. The book brings two chapters (14 and 15) dedicated to this area. It is hoped that the information provided in these chapters can motivate the reader to further explore the field of Biomedical Image Processing. Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues Dr. Adriano Alves Pereira, Dr. Eduardo Lázaro and Dr. Alcimar B. Soares, of the Postgraduate Program on Biomedical Engineering of the Federal University of Uberlândia in Brazil, for helping me with the task of reviewing the chapters of this book. I do hope the material we have organized can contribute to your knowledge and research. Have a good reading! Prof. Dr. Adriano O. Andrade Biomedical Engineering Laboratory (BioLab), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of Uberlandia, Brazil . applications in Biomedical Engineering in three particular fields of interest: Biomedical Signal Processing and Modelling, Biomaterials and Prosthetic Devices, and Biomedical Image Processing. The. free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Practical Applications in Biomedical Engineering, Edited. Biomedical Engineering is an interdisciplinary and emergent area that combines engineering with life sciences. The idea of this book is to provide the reader with recent advances and applications