<p dir="ltr">High-frequency ultrasound is an excellent non-invasive imaging technique that we utilized in both the quantification of intervertebral disc strain and microrobots for targeted drug delivery systems due to its ability to provide real-time, high-resolution images of soft tissues without the need for invasive procedures. In the intervertebral disc study, it allows us to capture detailed strain measurements across time during dynamic loading, offering insights into tissue deformation under physiological conditions. Similarly, in the microrobot study, high-frequency ultrasound enables precise visualization and tracking of the microrobots within the tissue environment, ensuring accurate navigation and monitoring during targeted drug delivery.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Understanding the mechanics of intervertebral disc injury and validating computational models requires accurate measurement of internal disc strain. While noninvasive imaging and advanced image processing have enabled strain quantification, these methods often depend on visual markers that may alter tissue behavior. Furthermore, they are typically limited to static testing, which does not fully capture physiological loading conditions. This study aims to utilize high-frequency ultrasound combined with texture correlation techniques to quantify strain within intervertebral discs during dynamic axial loading. This study demonstrates that high-frequency ultrasound is an effective tool for measuring disc strain under dynamic loading conditions.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Common treatments for IBD, such as oral and injectable medications, are selected based on disease severity but present significant challenges. These include systemic toxicity, non-specific drug targeting, and degradation of the therapeutic agents in the upper gastrointestinal tract, which reduces treatment effectiveness before reaching the colon. The goal of this research is to develop and test microrobots for targeted drug delivery to inflamed regions of the colon in IBD patients. The microrobots are guided by external magnetic torque and aim to overcome the limitations of traditional IBD treatments by delivering smaller, more effective drug payloads directly to the site of inflammation. The study demonstrates that microrobots, guided by magnetic torque, can effectively deliver targeted drug payloads to inflamed regions of the colon. This method allows for a smaller drug payload compared to traditional treatments, offering a more precise and efficient approach for treating IBD.</p>

The second most common lumbosacral diagnosis in the United States is a herniation or prolapse of the intervertebral disc. Individuals with herniated discs can have a wide variety of clinical presentations, ranging from asymptomatic to severe spinal cord compression and pain. Studies suggest that an individual’s pre-existing perception of a condition is likely to influence their course of recovery. Currently, perceptions the general public holds regarding the consequences of disc herniation is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess current views regarding disc herniations in the general population with their reported prevalence and clinical outcome. This was determined via an electronic Qualtrics survey. This survey included demographic questions, medical history questions, disk herniation perception questions, and coping/resilience questions. Upon conclusion of survey administration, data analysis was performed via JASP. A key finding of this study was that resilience levels play a major role in participant’s views on herniated intervertebral discs (p=0.040). Participants with greater resilience levels had views on disc herniations that were more consistent with the findings in the literature (p=0.018). This may implicate low resilience levels in negative catastrophizing, which can impair the recovery process for patients. Due to this, healthcare providers should further consider a patient’s mental characteristics such as resilience and coping style when administering treatment. By further educating patients on their specific prognosis for a disc herniation, providers may be able to improve their overall perception of herniated discs, leading to a possible improvement in outcome.

Object: postoperative treatment of herniated intervertebral disc with stability exercises. Problem: degeneration of the intervertebral disc from a combination of factors can result in herniation. Disk herniation is the protrusion of the gelatinous material of the disk (nucleus pulposus) through the annulus fibrosus (Fardon & Milette, 2001). The presence of pain, radiculopathy and other symptoms depends on the site and degree of herniation. Many treatment modalities have been suggested for lumbar disc herniation, but studies often provide conflicting results (Humphreys & Eck, 1999). Postoperative treatment is very important. Doctor B.Spakauskas with co-authors (2002) says that after operative treatment condition of patient is getting worse. Hypothesis: back stability exercises applied in postoperative herniated disc period using stabilizer should improve endurance of lumbar spine muscles more than applying traditional exercises. The aim of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of back stability exercises in postoperative herniated intervertebral disc period. The tasks: to evaluate static endurance of trunk muscles, strength of hip, calf and foot muscles and low back pain before and after applying back stability exercises; to evaluate static endurance of trunk muscles, strength of hip, calf and foot muscles and low back pain before and after applying traditional (stretching, strengthening) exercise program; to determine which exercise program had better effect on... [to full text]