Plasma is often found in the universe (stars) where high temperatures and pressures are very common. However, scientists have found a way to generate weakly ionized plasma at near-room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Such plasma is called cold atmospheric plasma and is safe to be applied directly to the cells and tissues. In the last decades, cold plasma has found numerous medically relevant uses, from wound healing and disinfection to cancer treatment. Despite its promise, plasma is facing different clinical limitations. Currently, there are two plasma treatment modalities: direct treatment and plasma-treated liquids. In direct treatment, the treatment target is directly exposed to a source of plasma, which is not very convenient for the treatment of internal tumors as it would require surgery. On the other hand, plasma-treated liquids can be injected to treat internal tumors in a non-invasive manner. However, liquids may be quickly diluted and washed away by the body liquids. Hydrogels may allow to combine plasma technology with tissue-engineering or drug delivery to broaden and improve clinical utility of plasma technology in the future.

La ingeniería biomédica combina los criterios de diseño en ingeniería y las herramientas de análisis provenientes de las matemáticas, la física y la química persiguiendo la resolución de problemas en áreas como la medicina, biología, biotecnología y farmacia. Podría definirse, brevemente, como la aplicación de los principios de la ingeniería a las ciencias de la vida. En este artículo se recoge la trayectoria del Dr. Pere Caminal Magrans, uno de los pioneros e impulsores de la ingeniería biomédica en España y sin el cuál, no habríamos llegado hasta el momento actual. 

Arm2U és un equip universitari fundat el 2018 a Barcelona, actualment situat al Campus ETSEIB de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). L'equip consisteix en un grup multidisciplinari d'estudiants d'Enginyeria de postgrau i de grau que comparteixen l'ambició d'empènyer els límits de la indústria protètica. L'equip se centra en el disseny i construcció d'una pròtesi mioelèctrica de l'extremitat superior del cos humà. Aquesta pròtesi està enfocada en complir els requisits de Cybathlon i en adaptar-se en els diferents pilots que col·laboren amb el projecte. Així i tot, l'equip no cerca únicament obtenir una pròtesi per a satisfer les bases de la competició i superar les seves proves de manera satisfactòria, sinó que es consideren també els diferents aspectes de la rutina dels possibles usuaris, perquè l'artefacte es pugui adaptar i arribar a ser realment funcional en l'ús diari.

CREB researchers have made a critical assessment of the recent progress made in the application of 3D printing technologies for bone regeneration, focusing especially on the design of personalized bone grafts. They highlight the possibility to incorporate pharmaceutics into the bone grafts and the analyze the advances in the translation of the 3D printing technology to the biomedical industry and the clinics. Upcoming advances in commercial 3D-printed bone grafts are expected following recent research advances, aiming at mimicking better and better the natural bone at different levels. Another field of improvement is related to biological performance. Although most current 3D-printed ceramic grafts present excellent biocompatibility, they are still far from the performance of natural bone.

Understanding better how movement is produced, can help us to find new treatments, to define novel rehabilitation plans or to design personalised assistive devices to improve the mobility of people with skeletal and neuro-muscular disorders. This can be done through motion simulation using mathematical models that represent the human neuro-musculoskeletal system. At the Biomechanical Engineering Lab, they developed an optimal control problem formulation capable of predicting different patterns of crutch-assisted walking. Then, they investigated whether the use of a computational approach to personalise pre-defined knee actuation parameters for an active knee-ankle-foot orthosis would be a better choice than the current trial-and-error approach. They explored different optimal control problem formulations that allowed to simulate different pre-defined assistive knee angle trajectories, so that the best walking pattern for a specific individual with spinal cord injury could be identified.