Biomedical Advancements in Injury Recovery, Performance Enhancement, and Mechanical Assistance Applied to Athletics

5 Introduction.6 Background/Literature.8 Injury Repair Mechanisms and Methodologies.10 Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Injection.10 Frequency Specific Microcurrent.14 Biodegradable Silk Matrix for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). 16 Performance Enhancement Mechanisms and Methodologies.18 Erythropoietin Gene Therapy.19 Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) Gene Therapy.20 PPAR-Delta and GW1516 Metabolic Rate Accelerator.22 Mechanical Assistance Technology.23 Össur Flex-Foot Cheetah.24 Ottobock Genium.26 Design.28 Running the Program.28 Java Swing.29 Main.java. 29 MainFrame.java. 30 MainView.java. 30 Conclusion.33 BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 3 Program Code.33 Main.java. 33 MainFrame.java. 34 MainView.java. 34 References.40 Appendices.44 Appendix I.44 Appendix II.45 Appendix III.46 Appendix IV.47 Appendix V.48 Appendix VI.49 Appendix VII.50 BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 4 List of Figures Figure 1.11 Figure 2.12 Figure 3.13 Figure 4.16 Figure 5.18 Figure 6.21 Figure 7.23 Figure 8.25 Figure 9.26 Figure 10.27 BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 5 Abstract Athletics is constantly changing, and athletes are continually getting bigger, faster, andAthletics is constantly changing, and athletes are continually getting bigger, faster, and stronger. At the same time, biomedical technology and innovation is rapidly developing. New methods of injury recovery, genetic enhancement, and prosthetic assistance are being assimilated into the athletic world. The up and coming athlete needs to be aware of all of the usable information around them. This project is an accumulation of some of the cutting edge advancements in those fields. Platelet Rich Plasma Injections, Frequency Specific Microcurrent Treatment, and Silk Polymer Anterior Cruciate Ligament Replacement are innovative new ways to treat common sports injuries. Performance enhancement has increased to new feats of gene doping Erythropoietin hormone, Insulinlike Growth Factor 1 hormone, and orally consuming PPAR-delta modulator compound. The Ossur Flex-Foot Cheetah and Ottobock Genium prosthetics have allowed athletes to compete at the highest level possible despite traumatic injury or birth defects. The design aspect of this project is a prototype for a website in the form of a local program, created in Java, with a graphical user interface. This prototype allows the user to make selections of their sport of interest and their desired field of study, and then outputs the information of the newest innovation applicable. BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 6 Biomedical Advancements in Injury Recovery, Performance Enhancement, and Mechanical Assistance Applied to Athletics Introduction The entirety of athletics has rapidly evolved over the years. Within the last century athletes have progressed physically at an alarming rate. The 100 meter dash record has changed from 10.8 seconds in 1891 to 9.58 seconds in 2009 (100M Men, 2012). In Major League Baseball, the career homerun record has increased from 714 by Babe Ruth in 1935, to 755 by Hank Aaron in 1976, and then to 762 by Barry Bonds in 2007 (Overall Baseball Leaders, 2011). In the recent summer Olympic Games of 2012, Oscar Pistorius of South Africa was the first Paralympic athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. The world watched a man, who at a previous time would have never dreamed to compete for Olympic gold, run with prosthetic assistance on the biggest stage of his life. So, not only has the physiological limitations of athletes changed, but the technological assistance of athletes has changed as well. With the continuing advancements in technology and biomedical breakthroughs, it is hard to determine where the limitations of future athletes will end up. In a world where athletics and technology is consistently changing and advancing, how does the athlete of the future stay up to date about the advantages at his or her disposal? Furthermore, how does the future athlete stay informed about the pitfalls of illegal enhancement surrounding them? Barry Bonds, Alex Rodrigues, Shawne Merriman, Bill Romanowski, Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Fernando Vargas, and Shane Mosley are all known for breaking records and pushing the limits of their respective sport, however; they are also known for their illegal use of performance enhancing BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 7 methodologies. Whether it is for rapid injury recovery or just to get a leg up on the competition, performance enhancement and medicinal recovery can be dangerous and it is up to the athlete to become informed on legality and safety. Information is power when the injured athlete is searching for the fastest recovery mechanism during a fasted paced season. And amidst the wreckage of technological controversy in sports, where does the athlete in need of prosthetic assistance go to find help? An information hub for athletes is in desperate need. Athletes need to be informed about the biomedical technology at their fingertips, and they need to be warned about the possible dangers it can have on their careers. In order to inform the future athlete about the latest recovery techniques available, the possibly illegal enhancements on the horizon, and the newest mechanical breakthrough in prosthetic assistance; a one stop, easy access database needs to be created. This system needs to be designed to conform to the specific details of each individual sport and desires of each individual athlete. The design also needs to incorporate the media driven technological standards of the athletic environment. The future athlete should be equipped with the knowledge to make positive decisions for their athletic endeavors after using said system. The intent of this project is to design a prototype of a website in the form of a graphical user interfaced local program for the future athlete. This program will incorporate a screening process designed to bring the athlete information detailed to their unique sporting specifics. With a few tailored questions and a few clicks, future athletes will have information about the latest cutting edge bioengineering repair methods for injuries, informative guidance about the future of genetically engineered enhancements, BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS 8 and details about advanced prosthetics for the athlete looking to continue their sporting endeavors. Through the use of Java, this program will contain information about the latest technology in prosthetic design, the newest developments in genetic and stem cell physical enhancement, and some of the injury recovery mechanisms and methods new to public use. In theory, this site would allow the injured athlete easy access to information about the possibly fastest recovery mechanism. This site would also inform the up and coming athlete about the newest enhancement techniques in order to avoid ignorant pitfalls in their athletic career. Lastly, this site would bring hope to the athlete looking for biomedical help to continue competing. This report will discuss research on three categories of biomedical engineering and technology. These categories include injury repair mechanisms and methodologies, genetic enhancement through gene doping, and mechanical assistant via prosthetic design. The design of the Java program will be disc