3D printing ‘bioprinter’ produces bone, muscle, and cartilage

A new method of 3D printing can produce human-sized bone, muscle, and cartilage templates that survive when implanted into animals, researchers report.

“It has been challenging to produce human scale tissues with 3D printing because larger tissues require additional nutrition,” Dr. Anthony Atala from Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina told Reuters Health by email.

His team developed a process they call “the integrated tissue and organ printing system,” or ITOP for short. ITOP produces a network of tiny channels that allows the printed tissue to be nourished after being implanted into a living animal.

The researchers used 3D printing to produce three types of tissue – bone, cartilage, and muscle – and transplanted it into rats and mice.
3D printing Model of Human Foot BonesFive months after implantation, the bone tissue looked similar to normal bone, complete with blood vessels and with no dead areas, the research team reported in Nature Biotechnology.

Human-sized ear implants looked like normal cartilage under the microscope, with blood vessels supplying the outer regions and no circulation in the inner regions (as in native cartilage). The fact that there were viable cells in the inner regions suggested that they had received adequate nutrition.

Results with 3D printing skeletal muscle were equally impressive. Not only did the implants look like normal muscle when examined two weeks after implantation, but the implants also contracted like immature, developing muscle when stimulated.

“It is often frustrating for physicians to have patients receive a plastic or metal part during surgery knowing that the best replacement would have been the patient’s own tissue,” Dr. Atala said. “The results of this study bring us closer to the reality of using 3D printing to repair defects using the patient’s own engineered tissue.”

“We are also using similar strategies to print solid organs,” he added.

Dr. Lobat Tayebi from Marquette University School of Dentistry, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who has also done 3D printing bioprinting research, told Reuters Health by email, “There are numerous difficulties in bioprinting tissues in terms of robustness, integrity, and (blood vessel supply) of the end product. What is the most admirable about this study is the serious effort to overcome these problems by introducing an integrated tissue-organ printer (ITOP). This is a big step toward 3D printing robust bioprosthetic tissues of any size and shape.”

“I believe this approach, although it has lots of difficulty, can eventually be applied for producing reliable and robust bioprinted tissues,” she said. “Actual personalized medicine, especially in the 3D printing tissue regeneration field, is on its way.”

Snapfon ezTWO3G with sosPlus Saves Choking Woman

Mary describes her mother, Mable as a strong-willed mother of seven children, who has always fought her way through challenges, including multiple mini-strokes over the last 8 years.

Now almost 90-years-old, Mable occasionally experiences a loss of consciousness due to a a lack of blood flow to the brain. Mable experienced one of these episodes while she was eating and began to choke, unable to breath.

Mary was with her mother at the time, but couldn’t help but panic. “I pressed Mom’s sos button on her Snapfon ezTWO and the sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service responded faster than I even imagined. ‘Please!’ I said, ‘I need assistance! My mother’s not breathing!’ I remember the operator calmly saying, ‘Help is on the way.’ She stayed with me until she heard the voices of the policemen.”

sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service Operator, April remembers that call well. “When I answered the call I could hear the woman crying. She was so concerned about her mother. I so wanted to help her. I knew the urgency of the situation and made sure paramedics understood right away what was happening.”

Thinking back to that day, Mary is in awe of how things happened so fast. One of the policemen dislodged the food and Mable was quickly transported by ambulance to the hospital.

“I just can’t say enough about what everyone did for my mother. Everyone worked together and they saved Mom’s life. I thank God for that Snapfon ezTWO with sosPlus ® and for such a quick response. It was wonderful.”

We extend our thanks to Snapfon as well as April, a dedicated sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service team member, for 8 years.

Carbon films give microchips energy storage capability

After more than half a decade of speculation, fabrication, modeling and testing, an international team of researchers led by Drexel University’s Dr. Yury Gogotsi and Dr. Patrice Simon, of Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France, have confirmed that their process for making carbon films and micro-supercapacitors will allow microchips and their power sources to become one and the same.

The discovery, which was reported in the Feb. 12 edition of the journal Science, is the culmination of years of collaborative research by the team who initially created the carbide-derived carbon film material for microsupercapacitors and published the concept paper in Science in 2010. Since then, their goal has been to show that it’s possible to physically couple the processing center of an electronic device — the microchip — with its energy source.

carbon-films-on-silicon-chips“This has taken us quite some time, but we set a lofty goal of not just making an energy storage device as small as a microchip — but actually making an energy storage device that is part of the microchip and to do it in a way that is easily integrated into current silicon chip manufacturing processes,” said Simon, who led the research under the aegis of the French research network on electrochemical energy storage (RS2E). “With this achievement, the future is now wide open for chip and personal electronics manufacturers.”

It confirms a belief that the group has held since the materials were first fabricated — that these films are versatile enough to be seamlessly integrated into the systems that power silicon-based microchips that run devices from your laptop to your smart watch.

The challenges that the group faced in the development of the material were questions about its compatibility, its mechanical stability and durability for use on flexible substrates. With these answered, it opens up a myriad of possibilities for carbon films to work their way into silicon chips — including building microscale batteries on a chip.

“The place where most people will eventually notice the impact of this development is in the size of their personal electronic devices, their smart phones, fitbits and watches,” said Gogotsi, Distinguished University and Trustee Chair Professor in the Department of Materials Science Engineering who directs the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute in Drexel’s College of Engineering. “Even more importantly,” Gogotsi adds, “on-chip energy storage is needed to create the Internet of Things — the network of all kinds of physical objects ranging from vehicles and buildings to our clothes embedded with electronics, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. This work is an important step toward that future.”

The researchers’ method for depositing carbon onto a silicon wafer is consistent with microchip fabrication procedures currently in use, thus easing the challenges of integration of energy storage devices into electronic device architecture. As part of the research, the group showed how it could deposit the carbon films on silicon wafers in a variety of shapes and configurations to create dozens of supercapacitors on a single silicon wafer.

Supercapacitors have been desirable devices to use in microelectronics because they can store a great deal of energy for their size, they can be charged and discharged their energy extremely quickly and their lifespan is nearly limitless. With this discovery, the path is clear for microchip manufacturers to take a big step forward in the way they design their products.

Beyond the energy storage applications, these carbon films offer good prospects for the development of elastic coatings with a low coefficient of friction that can be used in lubricant-free sliding parts, such as dynamic seals. They may also be used in production of membranes for gas filtration, water desalination or purification, because their pore size is in the range of single molecules. The carbon films produced by this method are quite versatile and may find applications in many areas.

Severe Asthma Attack Averted with sosPlus!

It was a late morning in September when Jean began having difficulty breathing. Although she hadn’t used her Snapfon ezTWO with sosPlus ® for some time, she knew she needed help fast and quickly pressed her button. Jean was having a severe asthma attack.

sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service Central Station Operator, Brenna, was on the line in seconds, assessed the situation and immediately dispatched the paramedics.

“The operator called me by name and was so nice,” recalled Jean. “It seemed like the paramedics were there in just a few minutes! She stayed on the line with me till help came. It was really comforting.”

Recalling that day with Jean, sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service Operator, Brenna added, “It’s really rewarding to be there for every customer whenever they need us. I’m always happy to talk to them. They express such sincere gratitude. When people panic, I have to keep my composure. The paramedics arrive on site and I say to myself, I actually helped someone today. It’s the best feeling ever.”

Although Jean is much better now, she was in the hospital for five days and is still under a doctor’s watchful care.

“That young lady was so nice, that I had to call back and thank her.” Jean continued, “It meant a lot to me that someone knew my name. It’s just so good to know that I have this button to push. I know it won’t take long to get help if I need it.”

Congratulations to sosPlus ® Mobile Monitoring Service Team Member, Brenna for her great work and also to the providor of Jean’s Snapfon ezTWO with sosPlus ® for providing Jean the independence and comfort that comes from knowing help is always just a few seconds away.

Top 10 Advantages of Snapfon sosPlus Mobile Monitoring Service

There for you 24/7: sosPlus® connects you to a 24/7 response agent who has access to the medical information and emergency contacts provided through your Snapfon User Account.

With the information below, our agents can better assist your loved ones, and can dispatch emergency services or alert your family or friends – something 911 simply cannot do.

Our sosPlus® Agents can conference in emergency services, family and friends, and will stay on the line with you until your situation is resolved.

Medications: List all medications, including OTC or custom compounded pharmaceuticals. This is very important because the medications you take can drastically influence your course of treatment.

Allergies: Whether shellfish or peanuts, penicillin or other medications, the more our agents know, the better they can inform emergency responders.

Medical Conditions: List all of your medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart conditions, multiple sclerosis, etc.

Emergency Contacts: List your family, friends, or neighbors.

Your Doctor: List your doctor, and their contact information.

Past Surgical History: Depending on the nature and time-frame of the surgery, this may be important for emergency responders and doctors to know.

Home-Bound or Non-Responsive: Let us know if your loved one is home-bound, and what to do in case they are non-responsive in the case of an emergency.

Christmas Gifts For Dad Who Is A Senior Citizen

Christmas is a time for gift-giving. A gift does not need to be expensive, but something very personal and useful. You have to consider the hobbies and also the lifestyle of a person whom you are going to give a gift to.

It may be permissible to recycle gifts, but you lose the special thought that comes with giving a present. It is better if you personally select the gift that you feel is suitable to give to your family members.

If you are planning to purchase Christmas Gifts for dad who’s in his senior year, it is best to choose something that would be good for his health, as well. Senior citizens are very vulnerable to illnesses, so be very thoughtful around the type of gifts that you will surprise your dad this Christmas.

Listed below are some suggestions on what to give:

1) Golf videos – In case your father is really a golf aficionado, gift him with a golf video that he can watch. He has plenty of time to watch interesting videos. In this way, his interest in golf won’t wane and he can still continue to remain active by permitting him to watch videos of his favorite sport.

2) Golf apparels – One of the greatest Christmas Gifts for dad who is a golf aficionado is golf wear. They are classics in fashion and could be worn even outside the course. Choose a material that is lighter so he would not perspire easily.

3) Sun protection products – There are a variety of sun-protection items like sunscreen lotion, glasses, and sun visors. These are extremely important specifically for senior citizens who are very prone to sunburn and dehydration. If he’s still active in golf, you can also provide him a golf umbrella to safeguard him from the harsh sun.

4) Vitamins – One of the Christmas Gifts for dad you could consider is a bottle of multivitamins. It is a good way of showing him that you’re concerned about his well-being.

5) Reading materials – You can buy him a one year subscription of his favorite magazine. By doing so, you help him keep his mind active. You can also buy him interesting novels or autobiographies. If his favorite sport is golf, go buy him a book about his favorite golfer.

6) Vacation package – Surprise your dad having a holiday package in his favorite resort. It’s a very relaxing treat for him that he would forever cherish. You may want to take a look at travel packages at courses.

7) Fruit baskets – One of the greatest Christmas Gifts for dad is a basket filled with healthy fruits and snacks. Senior citizens have many diet restrictions, and by giving him something that is good for his health, you convey to him in a subtle method in which you would like him to remain healthy and live more years.

8) Indoor putting green – An indoor putting green is an extremely ideal gift. It is among the Christmas Gifts for dad that you can determine that you’ve got no budget restriction. He is able to utilize it anytime during the day. It will make him active because he can practice his golf abilities at the comfort of their own home.

It’s got lots of benefits health-wise for any senior. Moreover, he can invite his friends over to his house and play golf among themselves. It is good for his physical health and social and emotional well-being, as well.

These are some of the suggestions as Christmas Gifts for dad who’s a senior citizen. Always choose something that would strengthen his health physically along with a gift that will encourage socialization which is also an essential aspect of a healthy body.

Buying Christmas Gifts For Dad can be simple if you know the right place to go to. And today, there are actually a lot of online websites that can help you with Golf Gifts For Men.

Cell Phones Designed for Seniors

The main objective of designed phone for senior to improve their quality of life, from the ease and simplicity of use. These mobile devices must use technological advances to provide services to older people to enable them to communicate with your partner, family and emergency services. But this is not always so. Inusphoneplans.com we will highlight some of the features that should have these phones, and we present some of those currently on the market.

Ultimate Guide to the Best Cell Phones for Seniors

When we talk about all smartphones directly but believe it or not many people in need, for example Senior, or because they simply do not like touch screens still choose basic phones or feature phones.
cell phones for seniors should not be easy, so we decided to make an entry comparing the best phones for senior and so older people also have the option of having a mobile.

Snapfon ezTWO Senior Cell Phone, SIMPLE and Easy to Use, Hearing Aid Compatible, SOS Button , UNLOCKED GSM

Snapfon ezTWO Let’s start with one of the most-simple terminals we can now find the market, Snapfon ezTWO. That is extremely easy to use the phone; the functions are very small and in fact has neither camera, which makes it ideal for the user profile that you only want the phone to call.
Keys have a very large size, very high sound, charging base and back as usual in mobile targeting senior has an emergency button .

Snapfōn® cell phones for seniors!

Snapfōn® provides the nation’s favorite cell phones for seniors. With today’s advances, senior citizens live more independent lives. A senior-friendly cell phone is an invaluable and necessary tool for extending independence and safeguarding yourself or your loved one. The Snapfōn® ezTWO3G senior cell phone combines the reliability of a standard cell phone with big buttons, a bright screen, large fonts, enhanced rings and sound, and a simple to navigate menu. Combining these easy to use features with Snapfōn®’s unique SOS button (available with our optional sosPlus® Mobile Monitoring Service), ensures that help is only a button press away.

The Snapfōn® cell phone for seniors is easy to see, easy to hear, and easy to use. Let us help keep you or your loved one safe and healthy.

Cell phone plans and services designed for seniors

Creating the best cell phones for seniors isn’t our only priority. Our cell phone service plans feature no contracts, are tailored to how seniors use cell phones, and are powered by America’s most reliable nationwide GSM network.

Our Casual Plan is only $19.95 and provides 300 monthly minutes. Additional minutes can be added at any time if needed.

If you don’t want to worry about limitations, choose the Unlimited Plan, which features unlimited talk and text, for only $29.95 per month. If you would like the added protection of our new sosPlus® Mobile Monitoring Service, add sosPlus® to any plan for only an additional $15.00 a month.

All of our service plans include our ezProtection Handset Replacement Program. Whatever your needs, you will find that Snapfōn® has the perfect cell phone plan to fit you and your budget.

Why Choose Snapfōn® cell phone for seniors?

At Snapfōn® we always have seniors in mind. We have designed the industry leading ezTWO3G senior cell phones and our affordable cell phone plans for seniors that fit the individual needs of senior citizens. We are a cell phone company that gets YOU.

All of us at Snapfōn® know that learning to use technology can be challenging for anyone. We kept that in mind when designing the ezTWO3G senior cell phone. Instead of focusing on smaller, faster, and more complicated devices, the Snapfōn® ezTWO3G cell phone for seniors was designed with ease of use in mind. Big buttons, enhanced sound, easy to navigate menus, Bluetooth, hearing aid compatibility, and our exclusive SOS button transforms this simple phone into a life changing device for senior citizens.

What’s This Talk About Snapfon? Check It In A Minute

You might have heard or read about the buzz around Snapfon seniors cell phones in both the online and offline world. Many people are talking about how the company has revolutionized the meaning of useful technology for seniors.

But what exactly do they mean? Well, you better read the following testimonies to find out.

Lower Costs

One of the commonly given praises for Snapfon is that ezOne and ezTwo, their products, are relatively affordable. Based on what their users are saying, these products prove that a useful technology does not have to be costly. Take this product testimony from Evert Smith for example:

“…I had a basic land line that was charging me 4 times as much as my plan I have with Snapfon. I have not only saved a bundle of money on my monthly service plan, and have excellent service as well…”

Try computing how much you are currently paying for your service plan. Now, check out the company’s page and see how much money you can save if you choose to shift services. You are looking at a considerable amount, right?

Easy to Set Up

Logically, a truly useful technology has to be easy to set up. By this judgment, then perhaps ezOne and ezTwo will get five stars when it comes to usability. Just read this product testimony and you will see how happy people are about how easy these phones could be set up:

“I bought this phone for my mother, who was really having trouble using a cell phone of any kind. I set this up for her in about 10 minutes, showed her how to use it and she was off and running.”

Just 10 minutes to set up a cell phone? That is almost impossible with today’s smart phones, isn’t? But definitely not with ezOne and ezTwo!

 

Improved Safety

 

Snapfon takes pride in how they were able to integrate senior safety in a product that is as simple as a cell phone and come up with an all new useful technology. And they definitely should be. A lot of users are talking about how they felt more relieved for having a direct communication line with their elderly loved ones. ezTwo’s SOS button is being discussed in many forums for its unparalleled functionality. Here is a product testimony from someone who has recently purchased ezTwo for his wife:

“My wife is both visually and hearing impaired. We needed a phone that would help us feel safe when I was not around. We found it with the Snapfon ezTwo…”

-Duane

 

What Do the Elderly have to Say?

 

Seniors love Snapfon, to say the least. This point does not need a lot of explaining. Simply read this product testimony and you will surely get the idea:

“I have bought two Snapfon ezTWO to give to two of my dearest friends. One is 68 and the other one 85. Both of them are delighted because they can see the screen perfectly well without having to look for their glasses and they also found it very easy to use. They live in Colombia, South America and it works better than other well known brands. Now all of my friends want one too. I’ll have to start saving.”

-Clara E Cendales

Well if these great reviews are no indication of how awesome Snapfon’s products are, then we would not know what else could be. So, do you think Snapfon deserve all the good talks they are getting? Why not see their products’ real worth for yourself?

Reference:

https://www.snapfon.com/customer-testimonials/

Snapfon Cellular Phones: Shaping The Seniors Primary Needs

Cellphone units have shifted from being a “want” to becoming a “need”. More than 90 percent of Americans own a cellphone, and a growing share of such statistics is composed of the elders: grandparents, senior friends, great aunts and uncles, parents, and more. Service providers like Snapfon have taken notice of senior citizens need, which is why they have created cell phone plans for seniors that are targeted to address these people.

The Reason for a Cell Phone

There are many reasons why even the seniors needed technology. Many experts believe that what the elders fear the most about growing old is the inability to live on their own. Now, Snapfon addressed this fear by manufacturing phones that senior citizens need. After all, helping ensure one’s independence is among the great benefits of having a cell phone.

Sad to say, while many baby boomers are adapting to technological changes, Snapfon still see that not everyone can operate gears and gizmos with ease. Some may be intimidated about handling a new device for fear that they won’t be able to figure out its proper use. So designing cellphones that are specially geared towards what senior citizens need the most is a breath of fresh air for the baby boomers.

Ease of Communication

Cellular phones offer several benefits than the ability to chat. It is now considered as a needed technology among people of this generation because of the safety it brings. For example, if a senior is lost in some place then the phone can offer a lifeline for help. In case of calamities and natural disasters, a cell phone like Snapfon can offer a means of communication to seek for assistance.

Emotional and Mental Benefits

Senior citizens need Snapfon because it provides mental benefits, too. Knowledge of technology can cultivate mental alertness. Tweaking the phone and checking out its features can improve cognitive functions that tend to decline as a person gets older. Also, cell phones are a much needed technology as it trains better eye and hand coordination.

Emotional benefit is another advantage that Snapfon provides. It would be easy for seniors to uplift their spirit knowing that they can easily communicate among friends and family members. Along with this, the phone can enhance self-esteem and individuality. Communicating with people further gives the seniors with a more cheerful outlook towards life. They learn to interact with others and the phone somehow creates a happier life for them to feel young again. Indeed, emotional gratification is among what the senior citizens needand it is definitely supported by Snapfon.

Allows for Consistent Connection 

Cellular phones further build strong relationship among family members, including their grandchildren. A lot of seniors feel that they can no longer cope up with the new generation because they are unaware of the needed technology that they should learn to catch up with their grandchildren. With phone knowledge, they will be able to catch up with the world and help foster better relationships among people around. Family members including their grandchildren will have a common activity that they can both enjoy.

Indeed, owning a Snapfon is among the list of what senior citizens need. In today’s generation, it is safe to assume that everyone needed technology in order to grow and function well.  Truly, cellular phones are not limited to offering a means of communication because it can offer so much more than the eyes can see.

References:

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/cell-phone-important-senior-citizen

http://senior-care-assisted-living.knoji.com/the-benefits-of-internet-on-the-life-of-senior-citizens-or-elderly/

http://seniors.lovetoknow.com/Wireless_Phones_for_Seniors

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/money-nerd/retirement/cellphone-plan-senior-citizens/