2^nd Annual Summit on Advanced Bionics October 27-28, 2022 Rome, Italy

Biomechanics, in science, the study of biological systems, particularly their structure and function, using methods derived from mechanics, which is concerned with the effects that forces have on the movement of bodies. Ideas and research relating to biomechanics date back at least to the Renaissance. Contemporary biomechanics is a multidisciplinary field that combines physical and technical expertise with knowledge from the biological and medical sciences. There are several specialty areas in biomechanics, such as cardiovascular biomechanics, cellular biomechanics, biomechanics of human movement (orthopedic biomechanics), occupational biomechanics, and sports biomechanics. Biomechanical research has fueled a wide range of advances, many of which affect daily human life. The development of work biomechanics, for example, has focused on increasing worker efficiency without sacrificing job safety. This has resulted in the design of new tools, furniture and other elements of a work environment that minimize the load on the worker's body. Another development has been clinical biomechanics, which uses mechanical facts, methodologies, and mathematics to interpret and analyze typical and atypical human anatomy and physiology.

A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, which combines a biological component with a physico-chemical detector. The sensitive biological element, e.g. Biologically sensitive elements can also be created by biological engineering. The transducer or the detector element, which transforms one signal into another, works in a physico-chemical way: optical, piezoelectric, electrochemical, electrochemiluminescence etc., resulting from the interaction of the analyte with the biological element, to measure and quantify easily. The biosensor reader device connects to associated electronics or signal processors that are primarily responsible for displaying results in a user-friendly manner. This is sometimes the most expensive part of the detection device; however, it is possible to generate a user-friendly display that includes a transducer and a sensing element (holographic sensor). Readers are usually custom designed and manufactured to accommodate different biosensor operating principles.

Robotics involves the creation of robots to perform tasks without further intervention, while AI is how systems emulate the human mind to make decisions and “learn”. While you can have robotics with an element of AI (and vice versa), the two can, and usually do, exist independently of each other. For most robots, designed to perform simple and repetitive tasks, there is no need for advanced AI because the tasks are simple, predictable, and pre-programmed. But many of these non-AI robotic systems were created with the past limitations of artificial intelligence in mind, and as the technology continues to advance by leaps and bounds each year, robotics makers may feel more confident to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through marriage. both disciplines. The cited examples of AI in manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, and agriculture highlighted above can certainly give us confidence that the future is bright for robotics and artificial intelligence.

Biomimetics is the study of nature and natural phenomena to understand the principles of underlying mechanisms, to obtain insights from nature, and to apply concepts that can benefit science, engineering, and medicine. Examples of biomimetic studies include fluid drag reduction swimsuits inspired by the structure of sharkskin, smudge-inspired Velcro fasteners, the shape of airplanes developed from the appearance of birds, and the structures of stable construction copied from the backbone of turban shells.

A triboelectric nanogenerator is an energy harvesting device that converts external mechanical energy into electricity through a conjunction of triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction. This new type of nanogenerator was first demonstrated in Professor Zhong Lin Wang's group at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2012. As for this power generation unit, in the internal circuit, a potential is created by the triboelectric effect due to charge transfer between two organic/inorganic thin films which have opposite triobolary; in the external circuit, the electrons are caused to flow between two electrodes attached to the back of the films in order to balance the potential. Since the most useful materials for TENG are organic, it is also called organic nanogenerator, which is the first to use organic materials to harvest mechanical energy.

Prosthetic legs, or prosthetics, can help people with leg amputees move around more easily. Sometimes, the appearance of a Prosthetic leg looks real. Some people still need a cane, walker, or crutches to walk with a prosthetic leg, while others can walk freely.

There are four main types of dentures. They are:

i) Trans-radial prosthesis

ii) Transhumeral prosthesis

iii) Transtibial prosthesis

iv) Femoral prosthesis

Body-powered prostheses are widely used, but electronic options are becoming increasingly popular. Advances in technology have made electronic prostheses easier to use and they more closely mimic the natural movements of the body. With electronic prosthetic arms, electrical signals are transmitted from the person's brain to the muscles in their arms, which tell the device how to move. Currently, most electronic hands can handle basic opening and closing movements, while those with individual finger movements are under development. Leg prostheses generally rely on a single motor that controls the movement of the knee through electrodes implanted in the thigh. Electronic prostheses have advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest advantages is that these prostheses require less muscle strength to function. They also tend to be more comfortable and have a more realistic look, especially those covered with a latex "skin". One of the main disadvantages of these prostheses is their cost. They are significantly more expensive than prostheses that you control manually. You will need to make sure to charge the batteries daily and they require regular maintenance. If the battery runs out, you cannot use the device. You cannot use them around water as there is a risk of damaging the battery. Electronic prostheses also weigh more than body-powered limbs.

Biogenic materials are often formed at the nanoscale by various metabolic activities and by passive surface reactions with cell walls or extracellular structures. Harnessing the processes used by microorganisms to digest nutrients for their growth may be a viable method for the formation of a wide range of so-called biogenic materials. These have eccentric mechanical and physical properties that are not produced by abiotic processes. Such living materials can be considered bionic materials because they benefit from both the biological world, which can self-organize, and non-living materials, which add new features such as electronic transport, optical properties, etc. will explore these living factors and address the analysis, design and synthesis of hybrid living materials.

Modern robotic bionic parts like arms or legs are cultured but still not ideal for use. These robotic bionic parts that do not embed AI, use few muscular signals to control movements. And bionic parts may sometimes miss capturing these signals. Thus, it becomes difficult for users to tell bionic parts what to do. But now AI technology can help overcome this challenge.

AI algorithms can monitor and analyze data, and then make predictions based on the analyzed data. Researchers are using this ability of AI to help bionic parts operate more naturally. With different learning algorithms of machine learning, it can help bionic parts to track human motion patterns and self-learn from those patterns.

The bionic eye consists of an external camera and transmitter and an internal microchip. The camera is mounted on a pair of glasses, where it serves to organize visual stimuli from the environment before emitting high-frequency radio waves. The pacemaker's microchip consists of an array of electrodes that is surgically implanted into the retina. Further research could increase the level of acuity provided by the bionic eye, and different materials, such as diamond, are being tested for their effectiveness in the implant. The long-term effects of implanting a bionic eye remain unknown.

Researchers are working on three main artificial pancreas systems:

1) Closed-loop artificial pancreas

Closed-loop insulin delivery system, also referred to as a closed-loop artificial pancreas.It consists of an externally worn insulin pump that communicates wirelessly with a CGM worn as a patch on the skin. The CGM measures blood sugar and the result is transmitted to a small computer that calculate amount of insulin (if any) that needs to be delivered by the insulin pump.

2) Bionic pancreas

A bionic pancreas is an external device or system of devices that mimic the glucose regulating function of a healthy pancreas. Such systems monitor glucose levels and automatically deliver insulin, and potentially other blood sugar-stabilizing hormones, to the body.

3) Implanted artificial pancreas

An artificial pancreas is an artificial device designed to release insulin in response to changes in blood sugar similar to a human pancreas. Artificial pancreas systems are being investigated as a possible treatment option for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Electronic Tongue ​​(ET) have been developed and widely used in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical fields, but their sensitivity and specificity are limited. In recent years, bioelectronic tongues incorporating biological materials and various types of transducers have been proposed to bridge the gap between the ET system and biological taste. In this work, an in vitro bionic cell based BioET is developed for the detection of bitter and umami, using for the first-time rat cardiomyocytes as the primary taste sensing element and microelectrode arrays (MEA) as secondary transducer. Primary cardiomyocytes from Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, which endogenously express bitter taste and umami receptors, were cultured on MEAs. Cells attached and grew well on the sensor surface, and syncytium formed for potential conduction and mechanical beating, indicating good biocompatibility of the surface coating. The specificity of this BioET was verified by testing different aromas and bitter compounds. The results show that BioET responds to bitter and umami compounds specifically among five basic flavors.

The electronic nose roughly mimics human scent sensors and their communication with the human brain. The human olfactory system is by far the most complex and contains thousands of receptors that bind to odor molecules and can detect certain odors at parts per trillion levels and includes between 10 and 100 million receptors. Apparently, some of the olfactory mucus receptors can bind to more than one odor molecule, and in some cases, an odor molecule can bind to more than one receptor. A result is a bewildering number of combinations that send unique signals to the human brain. The brain then interprets these signals and makes a judgment and/or classification to identify the substance consumed, based in part on previous experiences or recognition of neural network patterns.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that allows a person with moderate to profound sensorineural hearing loss to perceive sound. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants can provide better speech understanding in both quiet and noisy environments.

The implant revives the hearing nerve and delivers sound signals directly to the brain.

The implant doesn't replace normal hearing. After the operation, the person will need the training to learn how to recognize sounds, which may have changed.