From genetics to rehabilitation: healthcare developments presented at the Moscow Urban Forum in Gostiny Dvor

Attendees of the Moscow Urban Forum held at Gostiny Dvor can find out their biological age, see medical phantoms and a 3D bioprinter that has been in space, and take a virtual walk through a real laboratory wearing VR glasses. The innovations presented are not only being currently developed but are also being tested in the capital's healthcare system.

Read the mos.ru article to find out why doctors need phantoms, what omics technologies are, how to determine your biological age and state of mental health, and how long it takes to print an endoprosthesis using a 3D printer.

Training doctors and setting up equipment

Medical phantoms (products simulating organs and tissues of the human body) help doctors to hone their skills, and scientists and developers to set up diagnostic medical devices. They are in demand in all areas with minimally invasive procedures (operations without incisions: through blood vessels, small punctures or natural ostia).

“Initially, we created phantoms for our scientific work (testing ultrasonic equipment). These developments turned out to be more effective than the solutions already available on the market. We are now producing phantoms to train doctors,” said Yuri Vasilyev, a chief invited expert in radiography and instrumental diagnostics at the Moscow Healthcare Department, and Director of the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine.

Residents, interns and doctors who improve their skills or change their specialty are trained using phantoms. For example, with the help of a phantom, a surgeon who specializes in mammology can hone their skills.

The breast phantom presented at the exhibition is used for a biopsy training. The procedure is complex: the doctor must be able to simultaneously do ultrasonography and take material for test, holding a sensor in one hand and a syringe in the other. The phantom is made of a silicone-like substance and filled with various components resembling a cyst, fibroadenoma and other neoplasms. The physician must find them using ultrasound and take the material. Today, doctors can be trained using human organ models. The new technologies have made this process safer for patients.

The thyroid phantom is designed to train the puncture procedure. It simulates the structure of the entire human neck with vessels, lymph nodes and even bones.

“Our phantoms are anatomically precise. Everything else that is on the market today has a more approximate structure. We simulate an accurate ultrasound picture of the human body. This is the essence of phantoms,” Yuri Vasilyev explains.

In addition, the stand features samples for training in anesthesia, nerve block anesthesia, transcranial ultrasound examination of cerebral vessels.

Phantoms for other areas are expected to be introduced. The developers expect that over time they will be able to develop phantoms that simulate all the organs and tissues in the human body.

A phantom is usually used for one training session (300-400 procedures). The sample can then be returned to the center for reprocessing.

Sergei Sobyanin: Moscow scientists developed a training phantom simulating human vessels and nervesNeural network to help doctors simultaneously identify up to 10 pathologies using CT scans

Genetic predisposition and aging rate

Several stands at the Moscow Urban Forum are dedicated to the developments of residents of the Moscow Center for Healthcare Innovations (Medtech). The Laboratory site is seeing a line of attendees.

As part of the Russ-Age project, they can be quickly examined and they can find out how quickly their body is aging, determine the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, and then get medical advice in case of disorders.

“Omics technologies are among the innovative areas where Moscow is at the forefront of science and ahead of other cities of the world. They help specialists to make early diagnosis with high accuracy and offer timely treatment for people suffering from depression, heart attack, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Medical teams from leading city clinics, together with researchers from Russian research centers, are developing new technologies, as part of the Moscow Mayor grant program supported by Medtech. In this area, we have advanced considerably: developments can soon be globally presented. Moreover, we are already piloting these projects in Moscow healthcare institutions,” says Vyacheslav Shulenin, the head of Medtech.

Express testing is carried out using a special device to measure the amount of glycation residues. To do the test, patients just put their hand on it. The test determines the aging rate and the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. High-risk patients have an additional examination to measure vascular stiffness.

In addition, right at the stand, forum attendees can apply to participate in a full-fledged study to determine the biological age of the body and receive personal recommendations for comfortable and active longevity.

The technology has been developed by a team of scientists from the Russian Gerontological Research and Clinical Center at Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University and Consultative and Diagnostic Polyclinic No. 121 under the grant program of Moscow Mayor supported by Medtech.

Another important quality of life project presented at the Laboratory stand is the diagnostics of mental health using omics technologies.

“Supported by Medtech, specialists have developed the world's first technology to diagnose mental disorders by a blood test. Until now, diagnoses such as major depressive disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were based on clinical interviews. Our scientists have developed a technology to diagnose these diseases, as well as the risk of their development, with high accuracy,” notes Vyacheslav Shulenin.

Doctors of Alekseev Psychiatric Clinical Hospital No. 1 and NeurOmix (Skoltech) are working on the project as part of the Moscow Mayor grant program.

VR users to feel age-related changes at Moscow Urban Forum

3D-printed organs

Another stand features 3D-printed endoprosthesis models based on individual parameters. The process takes several hours.

Iconlab uses an innovative material called rekost, which was developed by its employees. Titanium is usually used for such operations; however, rekost has a number of advantages: its survival rate is higher and it makes patients feel more comfortable since the endoprosthesis is as close as possible in density to human bone. During all days of the forum, various implants will be printed using a 3D printer for real patients both in Moscow and in other Russian regions.

Another innovation presented at Gostiny Dvor is tissues and organs printed using the first Russian 3D bioprinter. Developers from 3D Bioprinting Solutions, in collaboration with the National University of Science and Technology (MISiS), are going to meet the demands for organ and tissue transplantation.

Using a bioprinter, they have already created a thyroid gland construct for a mouse. The animal has undergone successful transplantation, the gland is producing hormones, and the mouse is doing well.

In addition, the company has conducted the world's first bioprinting experiments in space. Ahead of foreign competitors, a Russian startup has printed human cartilage tissue in zero gravity state. Such experiments help understand the mechanisms of organ and tissue formation since under these conditions, cells fuse with each other more actively.

Organs are made of a special collagen-based gel using patient cells, which means they will be less susceptible to rejection, unlike donor ones. However, we have to conduct clinical trials and resolve a number of legal issues to start printing human organs.

The presented innovative developments are just part of all the innovations of the capital's medicine, which continues to improve every year. Scientists create new inventions and present ambitious projects.

“We are interested in everything that is useful for Moscow healthcare and its quality. Genetic technologies, artificial intelligence in medical diagnosis and big data are the most promising project areas. These are the areas that the whole world is developing today. We have curious developments in all of these areas, most of them are already being tested by Moscow doctors in clinical practice,” notes Vyacheslav Shulenin.

Additionally, all forum attendees can take a virtual tour of the Diagnostic Center for Laboratory Research of the Moscow Healthcare Department using VR glasses. The program trains new employees without distracting staff from work in real laboratories and reduces the number of incidents at work if an inexperienced laboratory assistant drops or breaks some equipment.