Department of Human Information and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Gifu University
1-1 Yanagido Gifu, 501-1193, Japan.
Fax=+81-58-293-2491( Department office)
| Introduction of our Biomechanics Laboratory. |
| Our research activity is based on a multidisciplinary approach, with relevant
aspects of mechanics, cell biology, biochemistry, basic medical science,
materials science, bioengineering, clinical dentistry and medicine. The
laboratory has some associated companies to facilitate technology transfer in
the development of medical equipment, control systems, advanced actuator system,
and new biological measurement techniques. We are also hoping to have
collaboration research activities in these areas with you and yours, companies. |
| Current research activities |
(Dr. Fumio Nogata)
● To establish measurement system of mechanical strength on in vivo human bone.
● To develop 3-D visualization system for in vivo trabecular architecture
using ultrasound technique.
● To develop new control system for electric devices at home and industry,
human computer interface, and robot, using human biosignals; such as MACTOS
by Technos Japan, which has been developed with my old lab belonged in
Himeji.
(Dr.Hirohisa Tamagawa)
Our research is aimed at designing a gel artificial muscle. Since the discovery of phase transition of partially hydrolyzed acrylamide gel by Toyoichi Tanaka MIT, the intensive effort to clarify gel properties and to produce gel applications have been made. Among the gel applications, the realization of gel artificial muscle had been a quite attractive theme for the polymer scientists. However, it turned out to be so difficult task, and indeed some scientists left this research field due to the disappointing research results. Of course, still many scientists focus on this kind of gel work and so many articles are continuously published, but the real breakthrough has yet to come.
I (Tamagawa) had worked on the gel in my bachelor and master days in Tokyo Institute of Technology. I resumed the gel work in my posdoc days at University of Washington after 3 years blank of my Ph.D days in Tokyo Institute of Technology. While I was in U.S.A, I got acquainted with an outstanding scientist Professor Gerald Pollack (Dept. of Bioengineering, Univ. of Washington), who advocates his own muscle contraction theory totally different from
Huxley's conventional theory.＜1＞ After I attended his class and seminar
and discussed with him, I came to know that the modern biology concept
has not necessarily been established and developed on the stable base.
There may be so tragic misunderstanding in our knowledge of biology. Through
him, I got acquainted with Dr.Gilbert Ling. He used be a professor of a certain University in U.S.A and now is a
researcher in Fonar Corp (New York, U.S.A). He is a cell physiologist. His best contribution is advocating his own
cell physiology concept, Association-Induction Hypothesis (AI Hypothesis).＜2＞
Membrane pump theory is now widely known to the biologists, medical doctors, physiologists, … , which is believed to explain the cell metabolic activity. AI Hypothesis is the concept to explain the mechanism of the cell metabolic activity and absolutely conflicts with the membrane pump theory. I don't have enough ability to explain AI Hypothesis perfectly. But after I read his book, homepage, papers, and kind emails to me, I came to be convinced of the importance of AI Hypothesis and I doubt the rightness of the membrane pump theory. Ultimate goal of our research is proving the AI Hypothesis and disproving the membrane pump theory through the research on gels. And I believe that Dr.Gilbert Ling will become a historical figure in the whole science history such as Edison, Einstein, Bohr, von Neumann, Fleming, Pauling, Crick
＜1＞ Gerald H. Pollack, Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion. Ebner & Sons, Seattle, 1990.
＜2＞ Gilbert N. Ling, A Revolution in the Physiology of the Living Cell,
Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 1992.
Related links
[1] On Association-Induction Hypothesis (http://bioparadigma.narod.ru/ling.htm)
Suggested readings
[1] Gilbert N. Ling, Life at the Cell and Below-Cell Level: The Hidden
History of a Fundamental Revolution in Biology, The Pacific Press, New
York, 2001. (http://www.pacificpressnewyork.com/)
[2] Gerald H. Pollack, Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life: A New, Unifying
Approach to Cell Function Ebner & Sons, Seattle, 2001. (http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/news/2001archive/04-01archive/k042501.html)
・Researchers in this field and related fields
| |
・Dr. Gilbert Ling
(partly from Life at the Cell and Below-Cell Level: The Hidden History of a Fundamental
Revolution in Biology authored by Gilbert N. Ling, The Pacific Press, New York, 2001.)
Born in Nanking, he grew up and received his early schooling in Beijing
and his Bachelor degree in Biology from the National Central University
in Chungking in war-torn China. Shortly after college graduation, he took
part in a nation-wide competitive examination and won the biology slot
to continue education in the US. In early 1946 he began his graduate study
in the Department of Physiology at the University of Chicago under the
world-famous Professor Ralph W. Gerard. After the completion of hid Ph.D
in 1948, he started his research career at Professor Gerard Lab as a postdoctoral
fellow. Since then, he has been finding a number of quite fundamental phenomena
and creating a number of principles to be the bases of biology. His highly
productive and scientifically influential career culminated in creating
his own theory, Association-Induction Hypothesis in 1962. I believe this
is not only a masterpiece among his numerous contributions but also a masterpiece
among whole science. But even after this great event of his creating Association-Induction
Hypothesis, his energetic effort to find an answer against the question
'what is life ?' did not halt. In early 1960s, he found a new place where
he could continue to pursue his research goal. It was Pennsylvania Hospital.
He had continued another 27-year-research there with his talented colleagues,
and which brought him and his colleagues prominent career and important
research findings. However, suddenly tragedy fell on him, in 1988 his Lab
was forced to close by the incomprehensible reasons. In such a critical
situation, an outstanding scientist Dr. Raymond Damadian, the inventor
of MRI and the president of the MRI manufacturing company called Fonar
rescued him. Thanks to the great effort by Dr. Damadian, Dr. Ling could
move whole his Lab to the company Fonar and he has been continuing his
research in this company up until today.
・Professor Gerald Pollack
(partly from his homepage in the web of University of Washington and Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life: A New, Unifying Approach to Cell Function authored by Gerald H. Pollack, Ebner & Sons, Seattle, 2001.)
I can remember quite vividly when I first met him. When I was a post doctoral fellow of Professor Taya's group of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington, I was doing an investigation on the gels. At that time our research goal was producing an artificial gel muscle. Professor Taya is a well-known professor in the field of micromechanics. He is a theoretician everyday grappling with the highly complicated mathematics and has made greatly important contributions in this field. But he was shifting his research interest gradually from his field to the material science. One day Professor Taya invited me to the lunch, and Professor Pollack was supposed to join us. Professor Pollack is an expert on the muscle motion mechanism, and we wanted to consult with him on our research problems. When I saw him, my first impression on him was 'a very tall gentleman'. We sat on the chairs and started talking. He started explaining his research. Soon after that, what he mentioned truly astonished me. Right before I listened to him, I had thought that the investigation on muscle motion mechanism was in a sense obsolete and there was almost nothing to be investigated. I had believed that muscle motion was fully explained by Huxley's theory. Indeed one day, one physician mentioned to me 'Huxley's theory settled all the issues on the muscle motion mechanism'. But Professor Pollack mentioned then that Huxley's theory could not fully explain it, but it could be well explained in terms of the swelling and the contraction of muscle cells like gels exhibit. I was completely intrigued by his idea. Later I attended his seminar and course, and they were full of surprisingly new concepts of biology. He was not just saying 'This is right, this is wrong' nor 'This is good, this is bad'. If I may say, he said like 'This concept has a shortcoming on this point, and the alternative idea to make up for it is …'. Namely, he explains why it is right or wrong and why it is better or worse. I want to ask the people how many people on earth can challenge Huxley's theory with such a strong confidence. Nowadays Huxley's theory is pervasive, but Professor Pollack keeps on making great effort to conquer this uphill difficulty to reach the ground truth of cell biology.
・Dr. Raymond Damadian
(partly from http://www.invent.org/book/book-text/28.html and Life at the Cell and Below-Cell Level: The Hidden History of a Fundamental
Revolution in Biology authored by Gilbert N. Ling, The Pacific Press, New York, 2001.)
Born in Forest Hills, New York, Damadian attended the Juilliard School of Music for eight years, studying violin. He received his B.S. in mathematics in 1956 from the University of Wisconsin and an M.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1960. Damadian later served as a fellow in nephrology at Washington University School of Medicine and as a fellow in biophysics at Harvard University, where he completed academic work in physics, physical chemistry, and mathematics. He studied physiological chemistry at the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. After serving in the Air Force, Damadian joined the faculty of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in 1967. His training in medicine and physics led him to develop a new theory of the living cell, his Ion Exchanger Resin Theory. He is an inventor of magnetic resonance imaging known as MRI. This invention is deeply rooted in Dr. Ling's original biological concept Association-Induction Hypothesis. Indeed he acknowledges it. His research prominence was rewarded with the National Technological Award from President Ronald Reagan in 1988 and the induction into the National Inventors' Hall of Fame in 1989. |
(Ms. Yoko Tsubata)
● To develope new technique for estimating in vivo bone mineral density
(BMD) and its mechanical reliability using ultrasonics. |
| Recent selected papers |
● Fumio Nogata, Biological strain/stress sensing power in plants and modelling mechanisms,
Strain (Journal of the British Society for strain measurement),Vol.36,
2000,pp.3-8.
● Fumio Nogata, et al., Estimation of in vivo bone mineral density (BMD) and shape characterization for diagnosing osteoporosis by ultrasonic inspection, Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, Transaction of ASME,Vol.121,1999,pp.298-303.
● Fumio Nogata, Intelligent modelling mechanisms and design concepts of FGMs in natural
composites, Materials Science Forum, Vols.308-311,1999,pp.331-337.
● Fumio Nogata, Chapter 2: Lessons from nature in Functionally Graded Materials: Design,
Processing and Applications,eds. Y.Miyamoto, W.A. Kaysser, B.H.Rabin, A.Kawasaki,
and R.G.Ford, Kluwer Academic Publishers,1999,pp.7-27.
● Fumio Nogata, Innovative design concepts for materials can be learned from biological
structures, Materials Technology,Vo.12,1997,104-106.
● Effect of the Pore formation on the Solution Flow through Acrylamide Gel, H.Tamagawa, S.Popovic and M.Taya, accepted in 1999 MRS FALL MEETING, Boston, MA (1999).
● Pores and diffusion characteristics of porous gels, H.Tamagawa, S.Popovic and M.Taya, Polymer, 41, 7201-7207 (2000).
● Phase transition behavior of an amphoteric polymer gel, H.Tamagawa, S.Popovic and M.Taya, SPIE's6th Annual International Symposium on Smart
Structures and Materials, Newport Beach, CA, 3669, 254-263 (1999). |
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