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We follow a formal homogenization approach to investigate the effects of mechanical deformations in electrophysiology models relying on a bidomain description of ionic motion at the microscopic level. To that purpose, we extend these microscopic equations to take into account the mechanical deformations, and proceed by recasting the problem in the framework of classical two-scale homogenization in periodic media, and identifying the equations satisfied by the first coefficients in the formal expansions. The homogenized equations reveal some interesting effects related to the microstructure — and associated with a specific cell problem to be solved to obtain the macroscopic conductivity tensors — in which mechanical deformations play a nontrivial role, i.e. they do not simply lead to a standard bidomain problem posed in the deformed configuration. We then present detailed numerical illustrations of the homogenized model with coupled cardiac electrical–mechanical simulations — all the way to ECG simulations — albeit without taking into account the abundantly-investigated effect of mechanical deformations in ionic models, in order to focus here on other effects. And in fact our numerical results indicate that these other effects are numerically of a comparable order, and therefore cannot be disregarded.

A central concern in simulation studies is the adequation, or inadequation, of a designed model with respect to its intended goal. Models of cardiac electrical activity may differ in complexity, level of description and representation. Depending on the events to be be simulated, analytical, cellular automatas and qualitative models can be used. Their advantages and shortcomings can be put forth by comparing the space and time complexities, and if factors clinically relevant for studying arrhythmias and ischemias are taken into account in the respective models. In this paper, the factors under scrutiny are those characterizing impulse formation and conduction. If and how they are represented and computed constitutes a means of comparison between the models. The simplifying assumptions built into each can thus be put forth. Through illustrative examples, we then show that qualitative models can assume the explanatory and a predictive role usually devolved to numerical models. Such models can be used as a primer to quantification in a multi-stage process. A possibly useful development would be to integrate the analytical, cellular and qualitative models within a single computational framework. Central to this task is qualification. All piece of knowledge that is implicit in the mathematical or procedural representations has to be made explicit. Semantic links can thereafter be established between the models. This knowledge could be the starting point of a system emulating the reasoning of a theoretician working at different levels of detail. Its role would be to help researchers select, instantiate and interpret results of their most detailed cellular automata and/or analytical models.

The article is about Ambu and its business in Malaysia.

National University Health System Gets New Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive

Additional Honor Further Advances Professor Ian Frazer's Cervical Cancer Research

Newly-Formed Asia-Pacific Heart Association Headed by Eminent Chinese Cardiologist

Mundipharma and Helsinn Group Expand Exclusive Licensing and Distribution Agreements for Leading Anti-emetic Products in Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Indonesia.

Leading Regional Medical Technology Trade Associations Reinforce their Commitment to Evidence-based Healthcare.

Lonza Expands Airway Disease Portfolio with Addition of IPF Airway Cells.

Boston Scientific Launches Interventional Cardiology Online Education Portal for Physicians.

Pfizer Presented Data from PALOMA-2 Phase 3 Study Demonstrating Clinical Benefit of IBRANCE^® (palbociclib) in Asian Women with ER+, HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Global Healthcare Systems at Pivotal Point as Technology Offers Solutions to Industry Challenges – The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Cellectricon and Censo Biotechnologies Introduce a Joint Technology Access Program Utilizing High-Quality Human iPSC-based Discovery Services for CNS and Pain Research.

Mab-Venture Biopharma & Thermo Fisher Establish Asia Pacific’s First “SmartFactory” for Antibody Drugs.

Venus Medtech’s TAVR Device Is Approved By CFDA, Creating A New Era of Interventional Cardiology in China.

Key Diabetes Receptor Structure Determined by International Collaboration.

China Sets Up National Lab Developing Brain-Like AI Technology.

Chinese Scientists Realize On-site Drug Detection.

Scientists Map Single-Copy HIV-1 Provirus Loci in Human Chromosomes in Live Host Cells.

Gene Variant Explains Differences in Blood Fatty Acid Levels.

Scientists Illustrate How Host Cell Responds to Zika Virus Infection.

Hong Kong News – Uni-Bio Science Launches Best-in-Class Oral Anti-Diabetic Drug Mitiglinide Branded “博康泰^®”(Bokangtai).

Chinese Researchers Develop 3D Super-Resolution Imaging at Unprecedented Depth.

Scientists Advance Photosynthesis Using Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles.

Bayer Partners with Chinese Academy of Sciences to Study Photosynthetic Efficiency.

Scientists Reveal How G protein-coupled Receptor Kinases Recognize and Phosphorylate G protein-coupled Receptors.

China Fights Academic Paper Fraud After Peer Review Scandal.

Beijing 4P Health Research Institute Initiates China’s “100K Wellness Pioneer Project” Using UniteGen and Sapientia™ Integrated Platform.

SGS Expands Extractables and Leachables Testing Capabilities at its Shanghai Facility.

DeltaHealth Cooperates with Cardiologists & Partners for Better Patient Care.

Scientists Demonstrate RNAi as an Antiviral Immunity in Mammals.

Nanodiamonds Mediate Oral Delivery of Proteins for Stem Cell Activation and Intestinal Remodeling in DrosophilaShare.

The following topics are under this section:

• Making an Appointment with MyDoc
• Improving Access to Mental Health Treatment with Technology
• Enhancing the knowledge and technical skills of healthcare practitioners within the interventional cardiology community (AICT-AsiaPCR)

The following topics are under this section:

• On the edge of an AI revolution: unlocking its full potential and maintaining regulatory balance
• How Artificial Intelligence (AI) will shape the future of precision diagnosis
• New Artificial Intelligence (AI) based system predicts risks of major cardiac events for clinical triage

The following topics are under this section:

• Asia-Pacific — Early treatment of vision and hearing problems can contribute to enhancing health for older adults
• Asia-Pacific — Study finds association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder various biomarkers and health conditions
• Asia-Pacific — Japanese scientists discover new species of non-blooming orchids on Japanese subtropical islands
• Asia-Pacific — Improving sleep quality through short mindfulness training programmes
• Asia-Pacific — Breakthrough research in genetic engineering for precision agriculture boosts microbial manufacturing
• Asia-Pacific — Alteration of intrinsic properties of non-magnetized metals using light
• Asia-Pacific — Wireless manipulation of brain cells to help in neurological disease management
• Asia-Pacific — Relieving bottleneck in photosynthesis may have a major impact on food crops
• Asia-Pacific — Cardiac regeneration through novel dual stem cell therapy
• Rest of the World — American Heart Association advices prescription of omega-3 fatty acid medications to lower triglyceride levels
• Rest of the World — Evasion of immunodeficiency viruses by our ancestors
• Rest of the World — Detection of unreported cases of Zika virus during 2017 outbreak
• Rest of the World — How scorpion toxin is helping researchers solve the mystery of chronic pain

The following topics are under this section:

• Empowering the Consumer in Heart Health Management
• Game Changers – Triple-Threat Start-up Technology to shake up both Food and Biomedical industries
• The Lab report - Researchers from National University of Singapore looking to discover novel metal-based anticancer drugs with reduced toxicity.

The following topics are under this section:

• Providing emotional support for patients with Type 2 Diabetes
• Netherlands-based speciality chemicals and food ingredients distributor opens its doors to Asia Pacific
• First of its kind Human Heart-in-a-Jar Model for therapeutic solutions
• More than one million dollars of grants awarded to HIV-related community-led projects in Asia
• Impact of chronic stress-related conditions on health expenditure
• Addressing needs of Asia’s Agri-Food production ecosystem
• Health Sciences Authority in Singapore approves world-first medical AI Software
• Using artificial intelligence for greater cost transparency in healthcare expenditure
• Official launch of NSG BioLabs first co-working laboratory and office space in Singapore
• Creating cell-based solutions to meet global protein demands

For the month of October 2020, our editorial theme focuses on artificial intelligence technologies. An overview of how artificial intelligence is helping in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is covered by an article contribution in the Features section. Discover how artificial intelligence is enhancing the drug discovery process. In the Spotlights section, explore new research and discoveries on one of our vital organs, the Heart. Gain insights to what it takes to develop a COVID-19 vaccine during this pandemic.

For the month of May 2021, APBN discovers how the used of digital technology and innovative new methods can help treatment, prevention and management of diseases. In the Columns section, we have a contribution by Son Pham, Country Manager for GE Healthcare Vietnam and the CEO for GE Vietnam on how technology has helped healthcare systems in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Spotlights section, read about a research study by the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) and its international partners affirm the use of intravenous iron to help heart failure patients improve health outcomes.

In this issue, APBN looks at the technology that have improved our understanding of the human body and paved the way for future treatments and therapies.

First off, we learn about pneumococcal vaccination and how it offers protection against bacterial pneumonia with Dr Chew Huck Chin, respiratory physician and intensivist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital. Then, we hear from Yutaka Shimokawa, Founder and CEO of KINS, about how gut microbes can improve women's hormonal health.

In Spotlights, we bring you the highlights from the recent Asia Summit on Global Health as well as an interview with Dr Tan Hong Chang, Senior Consultant at the Singapore General Hospital, and Associate Professor Liu Yu-Chi, Clinician Scientist at the Singapore National Eye Centre, on how a cholesterol drug was repurposed as a new treatment for diabetic corneal neuropathy.

In Columns, Dr Jane Leong, Vice President, Medical Affairs Asia Pacific for Moderna, shares how recent developments in mRNA technology could change the way we approach cancer other diseases.

Virtual reality (VR) has applications in cardiology to create enhancement, thereby improving the quality of associated planning, treatment and surgery. The need is to study different applications of this technology in the field of cardiology. We have studied research papers on VR and its applications in cardiology through a detailed bibliometric analysis. The study identified five significant steps for proper implementation of this technology in cardiology. Some challenges are to be undertaken by using this technology, and they can provide some benefits; thus, authors contemplate extensive research and development. This study also identifies 10 major VR technology applications in cardiology and provided a brief description. This innovative technology helps a heart surgeon to perform complex heart surgery effectively. Thus, VR applications have the potential for improving decision-making, which helps save human life. VR plays a significant role in the development of a surgical procedure. This technology undertakes 3D heart model information in full colour, which helps to analyze the overall heart vane, blockage and blood flow. With the help of this digital technology, a surgeon can improve the accuracy of heart surgery, and he can simulate the surgery. A surgeon can undertake surgery in a virtual environment on a virtual patient. The unique purpose of this technology is to practice pre-operatively on the specific circumstance. A cardiologist can also check the proper status of inner and outer heart wall layer. Thus, by using this 3D information, the surgeon can now interact with heart data/information without any physical touch. This technology opens a new opportunity to improve the heart surgery and development in cardiovascular treatment to improve patient outcome.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a non-invasive technique used in the visualization and analysis of the distribution of radioactive counts, for instance within the myocardium and surrounding structures. In the last two decades, a number of techniques have been developed to aid in the classification of the SPECT images. The strength and availability of these quantitative tools have in many ways provided a competitive advantage to nuclear cardiology, compared with other higher-resolution non-invasive imaging modalities for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD). The first efforts in this area involved the quantification of planar images of patients with low probability of CAD. It allowed the construction of normality databases and the definition of mean and variance limits for normal patients. With the definition of these values, objective abnormality thresholds were defined. These tools were continuously expanded providing LV perfusion and function parameters in 2D, 3D and 4D. Some of them were incorporated and commercially offered with the scanners available nowadays. In such scenario, the comparison of the different techniques is a difficult task due to the diversity of approaches, image acquisition protocol and the lack of a “gold standard” to compare the results. Therefore, the search for robust methods to analyze automatically the complete series of images is yet an open study area.