Tiny Samples Provide New Understanding
A microdialysis probe (the size of a 0.5 mm pencil lead) is used to withdraw a tiny sample of extracellular fluid at the site where the implant and the body's tissues meet. Analysis of the sample can detect the presence and amount of a variety of chemical markers called cytokines that may indicate early signs of responses to an implant such as infection or rejection. "If you can understand the chemical communication that is going on at the implantation site, you can ultimately bioengineer the site to make it do what is appropriate for the device," says Stenken. "The tools to measure these chemical reactions are just starting to become available to us." Stenken is collaborating with Albany Medical Center co-investigators Daniel Loegering and Michelle Lennartz.
The NIBIB coordinates with the biomedical imaging and bioengineering programs of other agencies and the National Institutes of Health to support imaging and engineering research with potential medical applications.
Stenken's microdialysis project is part of Rensselaer's focal effort to advance biotechnology discoveries for the benefit of public health, the environment, homeland security, bioterrorism, and for positive economic development locally and globally.
About Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's oldest technological university. The school offers degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve students and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty members are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of research centers characterized by strong industry partnerships. The Institute is especially well known for its success transferring technology from the laboratory to the marketplace allowing new discoveries and inventions to benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.