Introduction: 

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Medical devices and biomaterials including coronary stents, left ventricular assist device, biological valves, etc. have saved the lives and improved the quality of life for numerous patients. To address the unmet need in treating cardiovascular diseases, future devices and materials are expected to be smarter, in aspects including but not limited to sensing and adapting to in vivo environment, promoting tissue regeneration, supporting personalized drug screening and device design, and being traceable and programmable after implantation. In addition, employment of artificial intelligence in material design, fabrication, evaluation, and lifecycle management is generating exciting opportunities. In this issue, we aim to introduce state-of-art progresses, new concepts and opinions in smart materials for treating cardiovascular diseases, and stimulate discussion in this important field.

Introduction：

This special issue focuses on the application of various imaging techniques in the field of biomedicine. It covers the use of advanced imaging modalities that allow for the visualization of multiple anatomical and functional aspects of biological systems. The articles in the special issue discuss the integration of different imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and optical imaging techniques for better diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of various diseases. The authors highlight the advantages of multimodal imaging, including increased spatial resolution, higher sensitivity and specificity, and improved temporal resolution. The special issue also highlights the potential of multimodal imaging in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diseases and in developing novel therapeutic approaches. The articles in the special issue provide examples of the use of multimodal imaging in various biomedical applications, such as neuroimaging, cancer imaging, and cardiovascular imaging. In conclusion, this special issue provides an overview of the latest advances in the field of multimodal imaging and their applications in biomedicine. It highlights the potential of these imaging techniques in improving the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.

Introduction:  

This special issue gathers applications and research advances of different energy ablations in tumor therapy. It includes commonly used physical ablations (cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, multimodal abalation, irreversible electroporation, high-frequency ultrasound focused therapy systems and photodynamic therapy, among others) and chemical ablations. The content of the special issue will not only cover the technological updates and innovations of different energy ablations, but will also include the results of the clinical application of these therapies, including the current status of their application in tumors of various systems of the body, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma, bone tumors and metastatic tumors. This special issue will also pay special attention to the research progress of different energy ablation combined with immunotherapy and other systemic integrative therapies, focusing on the potential application of different energy ablation in systemic integrative therapies. In conclusion, this special issue provides an overview of recent advances in the treatment of systemic solid tumors with different energy ablations.

Introduction

In recent years, there has been a significant surge of interest in the development and application of electromagnetics theory and techniques for medical applications. These techniques have shown new possibilities for non-invasive diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment in the field of healthcare. This Special Issue aims to gather original research works and comprehensive reviews that highlight the recent breakthroughs, advancements, and challenges related to utilizing electromagnetics, radio frequency signals, and microwaves/millimeter-waves in medicine. The manuscripts should emphasize theoretical features and/or practical aspects in electromagnetics-oriented device fabrication and system integration, hardware and software, experiments and simulations, mathematics and physics for biomedicine. Pre-clinical and clinical application papers enabled by novel methods utilizing electromagnetics are particularly encouraged.
Potential topics for submission include, but are not limited to:

• Electromagnetic medical imaging and sensing;
• Electromagnetic remote or noninvasive health monitoring;
• Electromagnetic portable, wearable, and implantable diagnostic and therapeutic systems;
• Body sensor networks and wireless power transfer for medical applications;
• Pathological and physiological studies utilizing electromagnetic waves;
• Electromagnetic safety studies and regulatory compliance;
• Interaction of electromagnetic fields with biological materials at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels.

Introduction: Fluorescent proteins allow live cell visualization with high spatiotemporal resolutions, which advances our in-depth understanding of life science. Protein engineering has also led to numerous tools for the control of cellular functions. This special issue focuses on the technologies of live cell imaging and manipulation in the field of biology and bioengineering. It covers the use of genetically encodable fluorescent biosensors that allow for the visualization of molecular activities and interactions in live cells, and the integration with chemical and physical approaches for signaling manipulation. The articles in the special issue discuss the development of different imaging tools such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), split fluorescent proteins, CRISPR/dCas9-based fluorescence labeling, circularly permuted fluorescent proteins (CPFP), and other fluorescent protein-based imaging techniques for monitoring dynamic molecular events in single cell. Meanwhile, the articles also discuss the chemical/physical approaches such as chemical inducible dimerization system, light-inducible system, ultrasound-inducible system and other inducible techniques for genetic and epigenetic manipulation. The authors highlight the advantages of current live cell imaging technologies, including increased dynamic range, higher sensitivity and specificity, and improved signal-to-noise ratio. The special issue also highlights the potential of visible manipulation in understanding the molecular and cellular function and in developing novel therapeutic approaches. In conclusion, this special issue provides an overview of the latest advances in the field of live cell imaging and manipulation in biology and bioengineering. It highlights the potential of these imaging and manipulation techniques in improving the accuracy of the measurement of kinase activities, genetic and epigenetic activities, ultimately leading to better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and targets for therapeutics.

Introduction:  The practice of human health care may be on the cusp of a revolution, driven by an unprecedented level of personalization enabled by advances in technology, specifically, the emerging soft bioelectronic devices that could provide qualitative physiological information and clinical-grade data for physicians.

Soft bioelectronics is a fast-growing interdisciplinary research field that takes advantage of soft materials and electronic devices for the applications at the interface of biology and electronics. It could hold flexible/wearable/implantable/stretchable features, sensing/therapy/ energy/capabilities, and self-healable/ biodegradable/bioabsorbable properties. The soft bioelectronics community covers a variety of research domains including healthcare devices, on-body energy storage/harvesting technologies, biocompatible interfaces, wireless communications, and body area network. The soft bioelectronics is believed to enable the change of current reactive & disease-centric healthcare system to a personalized model with a focus on disease prevention & health promotion. In this special issue, we will systematically introduce various soft bioelectronic devices based on both applied physics and analytical chemistry for human healthcare.