A new multifunctional compliant instrument has been designed for use in minimally invasive surgery. The instrument combines scissors and forceps into a single multifunctional device. The main advantage of using multifunctional instruments for minimally invasive surgery is that instrument exchanges can be reduced, thus reducing procedure time and risk of inadvertent tissue injury during instrument exchanges. In this paper, the length, width, and thickness of the multifunctional compliant mechanism tool tip is optimized to maximize the jaw opening and the grasping force. The optimized design is then modeled to simulate the stresses encountered in the scissors mode. A 5.0 mm diameter stainless steel prototype is fabricated using electro-discharge machining and is shown to grasp and cut successfully.

Exercise benefits the musculoskeletal system and reduces the effects of cancer. The effects of exercise are multifactorial, where metabolic changes and tissue adaptation influence outcomes. Mechanical signals, a principal component of exercise, are anabolic to the musculoskeletal system and restrict cancer progression. We examined the mechanisms through which cancer cells sense and respond to low-magnitude mechanical signals introduced in the form of vibration. Low-magnitude, high-frequency vibration was applied to human breast cancer cells in the form of low-intensity vibration (LIV). LIV decreased matrix invasion and impaired secretion of osteolytic factors PTHLH, IL-11, and RANKL. Furthermore, paracrine signals from mechanically stimulated cancer cells, reduced osteoclast differentiation and resorptive capacity. Disconnecting the nucleus by knockdown of SUN1 and SUN2 impaired LIV-mediated suppression of invasion and osteolytic factor secretion. LIV increased cell stiffness; an effect dependent on the LINC complex. These data show that mechanical vibration reduces the metastatic potential of human breast cancer cells, where the nucleus serves as a mechanosensory apparatus to alter cell structure and intercellular signaling.

No abstract