We present a novel device to efficiently harvest bone marrow in bone marrow transplantation using newly proposed passive flexible drilling unit and suction mechanism. The device is aimed at less invasive bone marrow harvesting by collecting stem cells from the iliac bone with minimal punctures, less operation time. The device consists of Stem Cell Harvesting Device with Passive Flexible Drilling Unit. The device is inserted into the medullary space from the iliac crest and aspirates the bone marrow while an end-mill on the tip of the Passive Flexible Drilling Unit drills through the cancellous bone to create a curved path. We found, from in vitro and in vivo pig study, that the device can be inserted into the medullary space of the pig iliac bone 131m by 32.1mm/min and harvests bone marrow about 6 times as many per puncture as the conventional Aspiration Method. The device, when applied in clinical study, will enable less invasiveness to donors by harvesting graft from wider area of the iliac bone than conventional aspiration method.

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The purpose of this study is to apply 3-dimensional image to mandibular movement data, and to discuss the clinical utility of this information. The subject was a 26-year-old female of volunteer who has no missing teeth and no morbid findings in clinical examinations. Prior to taking the computerized tomography (CT), mandibular movements were measured using POLARIS, an optical position measurement device. The skull, mandibular and clutches were reconstructed into a 3-dimensional image from the obtained CT data. The relationship markers and anatomic structures were computed on CT imaging. The movements in each region of the anatomic structures were calculated using the data from the CT and POLARIS. The 3-dimensional imaging on the computer monitor was synchronized with the human movement by a real-time imaging system. The following fundamental jaw movements were mainly investigated: opening and closing motions, border jaw movements in the sagittal plane and lateral excursion movements. In intercuspal position and all sorts of mandibular movements, we could observe various condyle movements including the relationship of the position between the condyle and the temporal bone. Therefore this information can be applied to predict the regions of guide and loading in each movement. There is a possibility that it uncovers unprecedented movements and relationships between movements and anatomic structures in patients with osteoarthritis. By using this system, we could acquire much more information than by previous analysis of mandibular movements. It was suggested that 4-dimensional analysis would be useful in studying the pathogenesis of disease and convalescence in Temporomandibular disorders.

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The concept of “Surgery Recording System ” (SRS) for laparoscopy was proposed and the first prototype was developed. The concepts of the system are: the coordination for present surgical environment, non-obstructive sensor equipments' layout of surgeon's operations, the record of total surgical information on time scale. First of all, the surgery recording forceps was developed with which a 6-DOF magnetic position sensor and a 6-axis force/torque sensor, efficiently small and light weight, were equipped. Position, orientation, force, torque informations of the forceps are recorded into a PC (hard disk drive) through the operation by a skillful surgeon. The laparoscopic view image and the expert's comments are also recorded into a digital video tape. SRS was tested preliminary at in vivo pig experiment and was able to record the above-mentioned significant surgical data to the liver by an expert on laparoscopy.

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