The work has been aimed to create an overview of available and used methods and ways to determine the concentration of glucose in body fluids, especially from a technical point of view. It also provides an overview of the clinical features of these methods. The survey found that today's market offers a large number of options and approaches to the issue. There are accurate reference laboratory methods, self-monitoring methods for measuring glucose levels using glucometers, or continuous methods for daily monitoring of blood glucose trends and for insulin pump control. However, it must not be forgotten that the development of full closure of feedback is still not complete today. Individual methods cannot always be compared with each other, precisely because of the focus and the use of these methods. Choosing the right method of blood glucose levels in the body measuring can help patients to manage their diabetes mellitus. The methods listed in the overview are divided in terms of measurement continuity and further according to the invasiveness of the method. Finally, the issues of accuracy in the detection of glycaemia variability and the possibility of further development of these methods are discussed, as it is clear from the survey that the development is focused mainly on continuous methods improving that get to the forefront and also on developing a biosensor that is purely non-invasive and continuous.

Polluted air and the presence of numerous airborne pathogens affect our daily lives. The sensitive and fast detection of pollutants and pathogens is crucial for environmental monitoring and effective medical diagnostics. Compared to conventional detection methods (PCR, ELISA, metabolic tests, etc.), biosensors bring a very attractive possibility to detect chemicals and organic particles with the mentioned reliability and sensitivity in real time. Moreover, by integrating nanomaterials into the biosensor structure, it is possible to increase the sensitivity and specificity of the device significantly. However, air quality monitoring could be more problematic even with such devices. The greatest challenge with conservative and sensing methods for detecting organic matter such as bacteria is the need to use liquid samples, which slows down the detection procedure and makes it more difficult. In this work, we present the development of a polyacrylonitrile nanofiber bioreceptor functionalized with antibodies against bacterial antigens for the specific interception of bacterial cells directly from the air. We tested the presented novel nanofiber bioreceptor using a unique air filtration system we had previously created. The prepared antibody-functionalized nanofiber membranes for air filtration and pathogen detection (with model organisms E. coli and S. aureus) show a statistically significant increase in bacterial interception compared to unmodified nanofibers. Creating such a bioreceptor could lead to the development of an inexpensive, fast, sensitive, and incredibly selective bionanosensor for detecting bacterial polluted air in commercial premises or medical facilities.

Noninvasive techniques are routinely used for assessment of tissue effects of lung ventilation. However, comprehensive studies of the response time of the methods are scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the response time of noninvasive methods for monitoring of gas exchange to sudden changes in the composition of the inspired gas. A prospective experimental study with 16 healthy volunteers was conducted. A ventilation circuit was designed that enabled a fast change in the composition of the inspiratory gas mixture while allowing spontaneous breathing. The volunteers inhaled a hypoxic mixture, then a hypercapnic mixture, a hyperoxic mixture and finally a 0.3% CO mixture. The parameters with the fastest response to the sudden change of O₂ in inhaled gas were peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO₂) and regional tissue oxygenation (rSO₂). Transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure (tcpO₂) had almost the same time of reaction, but its time of relaxation was 2–3 times longer. End-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO₂) response time to change of CO₂ concentration in inhaled gas was less than half in comparison with transcutaneous carbon dioxide partial pressure (tcpCO₂). All the examined parameters and devices reacted adequately to changes in gas concentration in the inspiratory gas mixture.

Background: The current generation of neonatal ventilators enables periodic storage of set, measured, and calculated ventilatory parameters. Design: Retrospective observational study. Objectives: To evaluate and identify the ventilatory, demographic, and clinical pre‐extubation variables that are significant for estimating extubation readiness. Methods: Eligible subjects included premature infants 24 h. A total of 16 relevant ventilator variables, each calculated from 288 data points over 24 h, together with eight demographic and three clinical pre‐extubation variables, were used to create the generalized linear model (GLM) for a binary outcome and the Cox proportional hazards model for time‐to‐event analysis. The achievement of a 120‐h period without reintubation was defined as a successful extubation attempt (EA) within the binary outcome. Results: We evaluated 149 EAs in 81 infants with a median (interquartile range) gestational age of 25 ⁺² (24 ⁺³ –26 ⁺¹ ) weeks. Of this, 90 EAs (60%) were successful while 59 (40%) failed. GLM identified dynamic compliance per kilogram, percentage of spontaneous minute ventilation, and postmenstrual age as significant independent positive variables. Conversely, dynamic compliance variability emerged as a significant independent negative variable for extubation success. This model enabled the creation of a probability estimator for extubation success with a good proportion of sensitivity and specificity (80% and 73% for a cut‐off of 60%, respectively). Conclusions: Ventilator variables reflecting lung mechanical properties and the ability to spontaneously breathe during MV contribute to better prediction of extubation readiness in extremely premature infants with chronic lung disease.

This paper presents a newly-designed and realized Invasive Blood Pressure (IBP) device for the simulation on patient’s monitors. This device shows improvements and presents extended features with respect to a first prototype presented by the authors and similar systems available in the state-of-the-art. A peculiarity of the presented device is that all implemented features can be customized from the developer and from the point of view of the end user. The realized device has been tested, and its performances in terms of accuracy and of the back-loop measurement of the output for the blood pressure regulation utilization have been described. In particular, an accuracy of ±1 mmHg at 25 °C, on a range from −30 to 300 mmHg, was evaluated under different test conditions. The designed device is an ideal tool for testing IBP modules, for zero setting, and for calibrations. The implemented extended features, like the generation of custom waveforms and the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity, allow use of this device in a wide range of applications, from research to equipment maintenance in clinical environments to educational purposes. Moreover, the presented device represents an innovation, both in terms of technology and methodologies: It allows quick and efficient tests to verify the proper functioning of IBP module of patients’ monitors. With this innovative device, tests can be performed directly in the field and faster procedures can be implemented by the clinical maintenance personnel. This device is an open source project and all materials, hardware, and software are fully available for interested developers or researchers.