Bioinspired engineering

Introduction

• Biological materials represent the elegant strategies by which they satisfy a variety of not only
mechanical but also functional needs. They are generally simple in composition but efficient in
performance unlike most engineering materials that usually depend on complex chemicals or
expensive manufacturing, and therefore often confront a trade-off between properties (e.g.,
increasing weight to increase strength).
• Thus, biological materials have been an endless source of inspiration for developing novel
materials and structures in recent decades.

Bioinspired materials

• Bioinspired materials can be categorized into 2 categories- functional and structural.

Bioinspired functional materials
• Superhydrophobicity for example is observed in many plants- where various nano/micro
topographies are present. For example, the leaves of the Salvinia molesta plant behave as
a superhydrophobic surface, even though the components on the leaf surface are hydrophilic
(which is known as the “Salvinia effect”). This is due to the long-term air retention and
effective stabilization of the air-water interface caused by the hierarchical structures on the leaf
surface.
• Artificial neural network is based on functioning of nervous system

Bioinspired structural materials

• Many biological materials show superior mechanical properties by being light-weight and
strong, in spite of their limited, weak chemical constituents (i.e., polymers and minerals). This
provides invaluable inspiration for developing advanced composite materials for various
modern industries, such as aviation, aerospace, marine, and land transportation.
• Cellular structural materials, such as honeycomb is a typical lightweight material with
favourable strength.

Bioinspired engineering based on Human physiology

Circulatory system

Human circulatory system involves following components

• Arteries transport blood under high pressure to the tissues. For this reason, the arteries have
strong vascular walls, and blood flows at a high velocity in the arteries. Arteries usually carry
oxygenated blood from heart to organs.
• The function of the capillaries is to exchange fluid, nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, and other
substances between the blood and the interstitial fluid. To serve this role, the capillary walls
are very thin and have numerous minute capillary pores permeable to water and other small
molecular substances.
• The veins function transport of blood from the organs back to the heart; equally important, they
serve as a major reservoir of extra blood. Because the pressure in the venous system is very
low, the venous walls are thin.
• The heart is composed of three major types of cardiac muscle: atrial muscle, ventricular muscle,
and specialized excitatory and conductive muscle fibers. The atrial and ventricular types of
muscle contract in much the same way as skeletal muscle, except that the duration of
contraction is much longer. Conversely, the specialized excitatory and conductive fibers
contract only feebly instead, they exhibit either automatic rhythmical electrical discharge in the
form of action potentials or conduction of the action potentials through the heart, providing an
excitatory system that controls

The cardiac cycle

• The cardiac events that occur from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next
are called the cardiac cycle.
• The cardiac cycle consists of a period of relaxation called diastole, during which the heart fills
with blood, followed by a period of contraction called systole.
• The heart is a muscular organ which pumps blood through blood vessels to different organs of
the body. Heart has 4 chambers – 2 atria and 2 ventricles.
• Upper part of the heart has thin-walled blood receiving chambers called atria and lower part of
the heart has thick-walled blood pumping chambers called ventricles.
• Deoxygenated blood from different organs is brought to heart by 2 veins – superior venacava
and inferior venacava. These veins drain blood to the right atrium.
• From right atrium blood is transported to the right ventricle through tricuspid valve which
prevents the backflow of blood.
 • When the right ventricles contract, the blood is pumped to the lungs via pulmonary artery.
This is the only instance in which an artery is carrying deoxygenated blood. The blood vessel
is guarded by semilunar valves.
• After getting oxygenated in the lungs the blood is brought back to the left atrium by
pulmonary veins (Only vein that carries oxygenated blood).
• Blood is passed on to left ventricle through bicuspid valve. Left ventricle has the thickest wall
of all the four chambers as it has to pump blood through out the body.
• Blood is transported to different parts of the body through an artery i.e., aorta

Electrical system of the heart

• The muscle fibers of heart are self-excitable. Pumping action of the heart is due to the electrical
signals generated by these muscles.
• The electrical signals are generated at Sinoatrial node (SA node) present just above right
atrium. These signals pass through a defined path running from right atrium immediately to
left atrium, and later to right ventricle as well as left ventricle.
• This generates the required pumping action. Two atrium contracts first in response to signal
leading to transport of blood to ventricles. Then the ventricles contract leading to pumping of
blood to either lungs or different parts of the body.

• The electrical activity of the heart can be measured using electrocardiogram.

• Depolarized state leads to the contraction of the heart cell.
• Then right after the heart cell contracts it needs to relax. This is referred to as repolarization.
• Atrial repolarization is so small in magnitude that it generally is not visible in the ECG.
Artificial heart

• The first artificial heart to be successfully implanted in a human was the Jarvik-7 in 1982 and
now marketed as the Syncardia TAH
• An artificial heart is used temporarily during heart transplant or permanently if the transplant
is impossible.
• A total artificial heart (TAH) is a mechanical device that replaces the lower chambers
(ventricles) of the heart. Once in place, the artificial heart takes over pumping blood throughout
your body, restoring healthy circulation. The artificial heart is a temporary solution designed
to keep you healthy enough to receive a heart transplant.
• The CardioWest TAH (SynCardia Systems, Inc., Tucson, AZ) is currently the only
commercially available TAH in the United States approved by the FDA as a bridge to heart
transplantation
• The CardioWest TAH consists of two polyurethane ventricles each with a stroke volume of 70
mL and occupies a volume of 400 cc within the chest. Given the size of the device, an anterior-
posterior chest diameter of at least 10 cm is required by computed tomography (CT). Each
chamber contains 2 mechanical single leaflet tilting disc to regulate direction of flow.

• Artificial heart consists of centrally placed membrane, when air is pumped through this
chamber using an external console the blood is pumped out of chamber.
 • The human heart is an electrical powerhouse that can pump thousands of gallons of
blood through our bodies per day. Replacing it with a plastic or metal model has been especially
difficult, since the artificial heart needs to work flawlessly, non-stop, and needs a lot of power
to do it. Artificial hearts are powered by external batteries or are plugged into the wall.

Pacemaker

• A pacemaker is a small, battery-operated device. This device senses when the heart is beating
irregularly or too slowly. It sends a signal to your heart that makes your heart beat at the correct
pace.

• Heart has its own electrical system, which tells your heart’s chambers when it’s their turn to
squeeze. When your heart’s electrical system malfunctions, your heart’s chambers may squeeze
in the wrong order or squeeze too weakly to provide enough blood to your body. Pacemakers
use electrical impulses to correct these kinds of malfunctions.

• pacemakers weigh as little as 28 grams. Most pacemakers have 2 parts:

• The generator contains the battery and the information to control the heartbeat. (Sensing
circuit, Logic circuit, Output circuit)

• lead (or leads) is an insulated wire that is connected to the pulse generator on one end,
with the other end placed inside one of the heart's chambers. The lead is almost always
placed so that it runs through a large vein in the chest leading directly to the heart. The
electrode on the end of a lead touches the heart wall. The lead delivers the electrical
impulses to the heart. It also senses the heart's electrical activity and relays this
information back to the pulse generator. The lead is usually alloy of nickel, cobalt,
chromium, molybdenum- resist corrosion

• Lead less pace maker- This device is attached to an inner wall of your heart, which means
it doesn’t need to use any wires.
 • If the heart's rate is slower than the programmed limit, an electrical impulse is sent through the
lead to the electrode and causes the heart to beat at a faster rate.

Stents

• If a fatty substance called plaque builds up inside an artery, it can reduce blood flow to your
heart. This is called coronary heart disease and it can cause chest pain.
• The plaque can also cause a blood clot that blocks blood flowing to your heart, which may lead
to a heart attack.
• Stents can lower the risk of heart attack by keeping the artery open

Types of stents

1. Bare Metal Stents (BMS) – First generation stents Nitinol and cobalt chromium alloy

2. Drug Eluting Stent (DES) – Second generation – To prevent tissue damage

3. Biodegradable Stent (BDS) – Third- Iron, Fe-Mn alloy

The nervous system

• 2 parts of nervous system – central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
• Central nervous system consists of brain and spinal cord. These are involved in processing of
the information.
• Peripheral nervous system consists of afferent neurons and efferent neurons which are present
as a bundle known as nerves.
Region of brain and its functions

Region of Part of brain Function

brain

Forebrain Cerebrum Voluntary muscular movement, sensory input analysis,

learning, reasoning, memory, judgement, intelligence.

Limbic system smell

Thalamus sort information from four of the senses—sight, hearing,

taste, and touch—and relay it to the cerebral cortex. Pain,
temperature, Pressure are also relayed.

Hypothalamus Endocrine, Heart beat, Peristalsis, Hunger, Thirst

Midbrain Midbrain Auditory and visual reflexes, movements of the eyeball,

pupil, and lens

Hind brain Pons Regulate breathing, sense equilibrium

Cerebellum Posture, Balance, Timing and precision of movement/

coordinated movement.

Medulla breathing, coughing, swallowing

oblongata
Generation of action potential

• Action potential is the way by which electrical signals are generated and transported in the
nervous system.
• Action potential is a brief reversal of membrane potential in which the membrane potential
changes from -70mV to +30mV
• The action potential has three main stages: depolarization, repolarization, and
hyperpolarization.
• Depolarization is caused when positively charged sodium ions rush into a neuron with the
opening of voltage-gated sodium channels.
• Repolarization is caused by the closing of sodium ion channels and the opening of potassium
ion channels.
• Hyperpolarization occurs due to an excess of open potassium channels and potassium efflux
from the cell.
• Hyperpolarisation makes sure that the signal is transported only in one way.

Artificial neural network

• The term "Artificial neural network" refers to a biologically inspired sub-field of artificial
intelligence modelled after the brain.
• An Artificial neural network is usually a computational network based on biological neural
networks that construct the structure of the human brain.
• The computations of the brain are done by a highly interconnected network of neurons, which
communicate by sending electric pulses through the neural wiring consisting of axons,
synapses and dendrites.
• Similar to a human brain that has neurons interconnected to each other, artificial neural
networks also have neurons that are linked to each other in various layers of the networks.
These neurons are known as nodes.
• An artificial neural network can be created by simulating a network of model neurons in a
computer. By applying algorithms that mimic the processes of real neurons, we can make the
network ‘learn’ to solve many types of problems.
• It receives input from a number of other units or external sources, weighs each input and adds
them up. If the total input is above a threshold, the output of the unit is one; otherwise, it is
zero. Therefore, the output changes from 0 to 1 when the total weighted sum of inputs is equal
to the threshold.
• Simulation of learning by a computer involves making small changes in the weights and the
threshold each time a new example is presented in such a way that the classification. In other
words, training an artificial neural network involves choosing from allowed models for which
there are several associated algorithms
• Dendrites from Biological Neural Network represent inputs in Artificial Neural Networks, cell
nucleus represents Nodes, synapse represents Weights, and Axon represents Output.

Structure of artificial neural network

 • Artificial neural networks have been applied to problems ranging from speech recognition to
prediction of protein secondary structure, classification of cancers and gene prediction.
• Artificial neurons, which are termed units arranged in a sequence of layers.
• Artificial Neural Network primarily consists of three layers:
• Input Layer: As the name suggests, it accepts inputs in several different formats
provided by the programmer.
• Hidden Layer: The hidden layer presents in-between input and output layers. It performs
all the calculations to find hidden features and patterns.
• Output Layer: The input goes through a series of transformations using the hidden layer,
which finally results in output that is conveyed using this layer.
• The artificial neural network takes input and computes the weighted sum of the inputs and
includes a bias. This computation is represented in the form of a transfer function.
• An additional set of learning rules makes use of backpropagation, a process through which
the ANN can adjust its output results by taking errors into account. Through backpropagation,
each time the output is labelled as an error during the supervised training phase, the information
is sent backward. Each weight is updated proportionally to how much they were responsible
for the error.
• the error is used to recalibrate the weight of the ANN’s unit connections to take into account
the difference between the desired outcome and the actual one. In due time, the ANN will
“learn” how to minimize the chance for errors and unwanted results.

Advantages of Artificial Neural Network (ANN).

• Parallel processing capability: Artificial neural networks have a numerical value that can
perform more than one task simultaneously.
 • Capability to work with incomplete knowledge: After ANN training, the information may
produce output even with inadequate data. The loss of performance here relies upon the
significance of missing data.
• Having a memory distribution: For ANN is to be able to adapt, it is important to determine the
examples and to encourage the network according to the desired output by demonstrating these
examples to the network. The succession of the network is directly proportional to the chosen
instances, and if the event can't appear to the network in all its aspects, it can produce false
output.
• Having fault tolerance: Extortion of one or more cells of ANN does not prohibit it from
generating output, and this feature makes the network fault-tolerance.

Disadvantages of Artificial Neural Network:

• Assurance of proper network structure: There is no particular guideline for determining the
structure of artificial neural networks. The appropriate network structure is accomplished
through experience, trial, and error.
• Unrecognized behavior of the network: It is the most significant issue of ANN. When ANN
produces a testing solution, it does not provide insight concerning why and how. It decreases
trust in the network.
• Hardware dependence: Artificial neural networks need processors with parallel processing
power, as per their structure. Therefore, the realization of the equipment is dependent.
• Difficulty of showing the issue to the network: ANNs can work with numerical data. Problems
must be converted into numerical values before being introduced to ANN. The presentation
mechanism to be resolved here will directly impact the performance of the network. It relies
on the user's abilities.
• The duration of the network is unknown: The network is reduced to a specific value of the
error, and this value does not give us optimum results.

Sensory system

• Sensory organs enable animals to gather information for perception and to have ability for
lives, such as conducting skilled movements and seeking protection from hazardous situations.
Sensory organs consist of stimuli-sensitive cells such as photoreceptors for vision,
chemoreceptors for olfaction and gustation, and mechanoreceptors for audition, all of which
have synapse-like connections to afferent neurons.
Electronic nose

• The electronic nose is an intelligent sensing device that uses an array of gas sensors which are
overlapping selectively along with a pattern reorganization component. Electronic nose can
detect even hazardous or poisonous gas which is not possible to human beings.
• The smells are composed of molecules, which has a specific size and shape. Each of these
molecules has a corresponding sized and shaped receptor in the human nose. When a specific
receptor receives a molecule it sends a signal to the brain and brain identifies the smell
associated with the particular molecule.
• The electronic noses work in a similar manner of human. The electronic nose uses sensors as
the receptor. When a specific sensor receives the molecules, it transmits the signal to a program
for processing, rather than to the brain.
• The electronic nose consists of three major parts which are detecting system, computing
system, sample delivery system.
• The sample delivery system: The sample delivery system enables the generation of
headspace of sample or volatile compounds which is a fraction analyzed. The system
then sends this head space into the detection system of the electronic nose.
• The detection system: The detection system which consists of a group of sensors is the
reactive part of the instrument. When in contact with volatile compounds at that time the
sensors react causing changes in electrical characteristics.
• The Computing system: In most electronic noses each sensor is sensitive to all molecules
in their specific way. However, in bioelectric noses the receptor proteins which respond
to specific smell molecules are used. Most of electronic noses use sensor arrays that react
to volatile compounds. Whenever the sensors sense any smell, a specific response is
recorded that signal is transmitted into the digital value
Electronic tongue

• The electronic tongue is an analytical instrument comprising an array of nonspecific, low-

selective, chemical sensors with high stability and cross-sensitivity to different species in
solution and an appropriate method of data processing.
• was inspired by biological recognition in which information is gathered with the use of arrays
of non-specific sensors in the nose or tongue and the data is subsequently processed in the
brain. Electronic tongues use chemometric methods and artificial intelligence to achieve a
similar goal, i.e., discriminate, identify or quantify the sample

Visual prosthesis/Bionic eye

• prosthesis is a device designed to replace a missing part of the body or to make a part of the
body work better. Diseased or missing eyes, arms, hands, legs, or joints are commonly
replaced by prosthetic devices.
• Bionic eye, electrical prosthesis surgically implanted into a human eye in order to allow for
the transduction of light (the change of light from the environment into impulses the brain can
process) in people who have sustained severe damage to the retina.
 • The retina is a light-sensitive tissue layer found within the inner eye that transforms images
obtained from the outside world into neural impulses, which are then passed along the optic
nerve to the thalamus and ultimately to the primary visual cortex (the visual processing centre).
• The bionic eye comprises an external camera and transmitter and an internal microchip.
• The camera is mounted on a pair of eyeglasses, where it serves to organize the visual stimuli
of the environment before emitting high-frequency radio waves.
• The stimulator microchip consists of an electrode array that is surgically implanted into the
retina. That functions as an electrical relay in place of degenerated retinal cells. The radio
waves that are emitted by the external camera and transmitter are received by the stimulator,
which then fires electrical impulses. The impulses are relayed by the few remaining retinal
cells and are transduced as normal to the optic nerve pathway, resulting in vision.
• Further research could raise the level of sharpness that the bionic eye provides, and different
materials, such as diamond, are being tested for their effectiveness in the implant. Long-term
effects of the implantation of a bionic eye remain unknown.

Cochlear implant/ Auditory prosthesis

• Cochlear implant provides sense of hearing by creating its own impulses.

• A cochlear implant has the following parts
1. Microphone with speech processor
2. Receiver/Stimulator
 3. Electrode array
• Microphone catches the sound which is converted into electrical signals. The transmitter
receiver assembly transmits these signals to the electrode array. The electrode array is
implanted in cochlea of the ear. The electrode array sends the signals directly to the auditory
nerve. The brain then processes these signals.
• Since the signals generated by electrode array is quite different from the signals that will be
naturally generated. Hence the brain has to be trained to identify and process these signals.
• Rigorous therapy sessions are necessary so that a person can hear normally through cochlear
implant.

Artificial respiration

• Two types
1. Invasive- Endotracheal tubes
2. Non invasive – Facial or Nasal masks
• Box diagram below represents the working of artificial respiration by endotracheal tubes
• Air-O2 Blender- mixes specified amounts of oxygen and normal air.
• Control Unit - adjusts the system parameters, displays information, and, depending on the
existence of automatic controls in the blender, it changes the air–oxygen ratio.
• Inspiratory and Expiratory Valve: Valves are responsible for ensuring that gas flow only goes
in one direction
• Humidifier
• Y Connector: The Y-connector is used to join the inspiratory tube with the expiratory tube
• Endotracheal Tube (ETT): It is a tube placed between the vocal cords through the trachea
enabling oxygen delivery to the lungs.