Abstract
Gravity is omnipresent for all objects on Earth. However, in an environment of different gravitational stress (e.g., microgravity or partial gravity), cells and organs show different biological responses. So, researchers have attempted to achieve micro- or partial gravity on Earth through various approaches, such as parabolic flight or free fall. However, the duration of such ground experiments is highly limited, making it very difficult to conduct time-consuming tasks, such as cell culture. Thus, a three-dimensional (3D) clinostat is utilized as an alternative for experiments on the International Space Station. It provides time-averaged simulated micro- and partial gravity by using mechanical frames with two rotating actuators. This study proposes novel control algorithms for simulating micro- and partial gravity and validates them by applying it to the control of a manufactured 3D clinostat. First, the novel algorithm for time-averaged simulated microgravity (taSMG) provided a more uniformly distributed gravity field by reducing two poles the gravity-concentrated areas. The taSMG with reduced poles provides isotropic gravitational patterns, from which it is possible to minimize the unnecessary effect due to nonuniformity of the gravity vector direction. Second, the other suggested novel algorithm for time-averaged simulated partial gravity (taSPG) controls the pole sizes asymmetrically to generate the intended size of partial gravity. The suggested algorithms are based on mathematical models rather than totally randomized motions. Therefore, the convergence of gravity values, in the rotating frame over time, can be analytically predicted with improved accuracy compared with previously reported algorithms. The developed 3D clinostat hardware and algorithms will effectively provide well-validated taSMG and taSPG for cell growth experiments in future studies for space medicine.
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Recommended by Guest Editors Doo Yong Lee (KAIST) and Jaesoon Choi (Asan Medical Center). This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korea government (NRF-2018M1A3A3A02065779).
Yoon Jae Kim received his B.S. degree in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and his Ph.D. degree in Interdisciplinary Program for Bioengineering from Seoul National University (SNU), in 2014 and 2018, respectively. He is a post-doctoral researcher with the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, SNU since Nov. 2018. His research interests include medical robot, machine learning, and biosignal processing.
Min Hyuk Lim received his B.S. degree in Physics, M.D. in medicine, and M.S. degree in medicine (Biomedical Engineering) from Seoul National University (SNU), in 2007, 2011, and 2016, respectively. He is a Ph.D. student in medicine (Biomedical Engineering) of SNU and a medical doctor in Department of Biomedical Engineering in Seoul National University Hospital. His research interests are optimization and control theory combined with machine learning for biomedical fields.
Byoungjun Jeon received his B.S. degree in Biophysics from University of Washington in 2014. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in the Interdisciplinary Program for Bioengineering from Seoul National University. His research interests include medical robot, biological physics, microfluidics.
Dong Hyun Choi received his M.D. and B.S. degrees in medicine from Seoul National University, Seoul Korea in 2016. He is currently pursuing an M.S. degree in medicine from Seoul National University.
Haeri Lee received her B.S. degree in Biochemistry and Cell biology from The State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2011. She is a Ph.D. student in Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences from Seoul National University College of Medicine. Her research interests include cancer, tumor microenvironment and immune-oncology.
Ae Jin Jeong received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Bioscience from Dong-A University, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. She is a Ph.D. student in Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences from Seoul National University College of Medicine. Her research interests include immuneoncology, cancer and NK therapy.
Min Jung Kim received her M.D. and B.S degree in medicine from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea in 2007, and an M.S. degree in medicine from SNU in 2014. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in medicine from Seoul National University and a clinical assistant professor with the Department of Surgery in Seoul National University Hospital since 2018. Prior to joining to the Seoul National University Hospital, she worked as a staff surgeon at National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Ji Won Park received his M.D. and B.S degrees in medicine from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea in 2001, and his M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in medicine from Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea, in 2008 and 2019, respectively. He has been a clinical associate professor at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital since 2013. Prior to joining to the Seoul National University Hospital, he worked as a staff surgeon at National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Ja-Lok Ku received his B.S, M.S., Ph.D. degrees in veterinary medicine from Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul, Korea, in 1992, 1994, and 1998, respectively. He is a professor with the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Laboratory of Cell Biology, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine since 2001. He is also a principal investigator for Korean Cell Line Bank (KCLB), Seoul, Korea.
Seung-Yong Jeong received his M.D. and B.S. degrees in medicine from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in 1989, and his M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in medicine from Seoul National University, in 1999 and 2001, respectively. He has been a professor at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine since 2013. Prior to joining to the Seoul National University, he worked as a Head of Center for Colorectal Cancer and a Director of Research Institute for Colorectal Cancer in National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Sang-Kyu Ye received his B.S degree in Molecularbiology and M.S. degree in Microbiology (Kwang Ho Lee Lab. Molecular Immunology) from Kon-kuk University, Korea in 1994 and 1996, and his Ph.D. degree in Medical Science (Tasuku Honjo Lab. Immunology) from Kyoto University, Japan in 2001. After working as a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Virus Research Kyoto University (Koich Ikuta Lab, JSPS fellowship, Japan), he was appointed as an assistant professor of Department of Pharmacology, Seoul National University College of Medicine in 2002. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2011. Dr. Ye’s laboratory, Cancer Stem Cells & Tumor Microenvironment, has been studying roles of STAT3 in cancer cells, especially their oncogenic and metastatic activity.
Youdan Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in aeronautical engineering from Seoul National University, Korea, and his Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University, in 1983, 1985, and 1990, respectively. He joined the faculty of the Seoul National University in 1992, where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His current research interests include the control system design for aircraft and spacecraft, aerial robot system, and medical robot system.
Sungwan Kim received his B.S degree in Electronics Engineering and M.S. degree in Control & Instrumentation Engineering from Seoul National University (SNU), Seoul, Korea, in 1985 and 1987, and his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of California at Los Angeles in 1993, respectively. He is a professor with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, SNU College of Medicine since 2010. Prior to joining to the SNU, he worked as a Senior Aerospace Engineer at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA and a Senior Member of the IEEE.
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Kim, Y.J., Lim, M.H., Jeon, B. et al. Manufacturing and Control of a Robotic Device for Time-averaged Simulated Micro and Partial Gravity of a Cell Culture Environment. Int. J. Control Autom. Syst. 18, 53–64 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-019-0238-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12555-019-0238-7