[BTSS Roster]

Applications reviewed by the Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences Scientific Review Group integrate physical, chemical, or mathematical sciences and engineering principles to study physiology, medicine, behavior, or health.  These applications exhibit a systematic, quantitative, and integrative way of thinking about and approaching the solution of problems important to physiology and clinical medicine.  They advance fundamental and applied concepts, creating knowledge for enhancing the function and recovery of organ systems; or they develop innovative medical instruments, materials, processes, implants, devices, and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of disease.  Surgical science applies biomedical devices and instruments to the diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury.  Pre-clinical studies involving the application of devices and instrumentation are also included.

Specific areas covered by BTSS:

• Development of advanced tools and techniques that permit tissue engineering.
  
  
• Development of cellular and tissue-engineered constructs, including: design, construction, and pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of function.
  
  
• Development of therapeutic devices and systems (such as artificial organs and cardiovascular devices), implantable medical devices (such as stents, grafts, and valves), and devices for the delivery of bio-molecules and drugs.
  
  
• Application of biomedical technology to diagnosis, measurement and instrument-development.
  
  
• Design, development and evaluation of medical devices, using animal models and pre-clinical human studies.
  
  
• Design and development of endosurgical procedures, catheter-based surgery, minimally invasive surgery, microsurgical procedures, monitoring devices, and robotics.
  
  
• Vertically integrated development of medical devices from bench to bedside, including: pre-clinical human studies, translational development, and clinical validation.
  
  
• Fluid mechanics studies of circulation, microcirculation, and transport systems.
  
  
• Development and evaluation of surgical systems and technologies using animal models and pre-clinical human studies.
  
  
• Biomechanics, including: tissue and organ mechanics and the mechanics of injury. 

BTSS has the following shared interests within the SBIB IRG:

• With Biomedical Imaging Technology [BMIT]: Studies of the development of new technology, system design, detector methods or image acquisition systems would be referred to BMIT; applications
  that emphasize the integration of physical, chemical, mathematical or engineering principles in the study of physiology or medicine would be referred to BTSS.
  
  
• With Biomedical Computing and Health Informatics [BCHI]: Grant applications that focus on informatics would be referred to BCHI; while those that develop or use informatics in the context of developing medical devices or instrumentation would be referred to BTSS.
  
  
• With Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma [SAT]: Grant applications focused on anesthesiology, critical care, surgery, sepsis, and wound repair would be referred to SAT; applications in which the emphasis is on the integration of physical, chemical, mathematical or engineering principles in the study of physiology, medicine, or surgery would be referred to BTSS.

BTSS has the following shared interests outside the SBIB IRG:

• With the Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies [BST] IRG: In general, applications concerned with the fundamental aspects of biomaterials and biocompatibility, cell and tissue engineering, or molecular and cellular mechanics would be referred to BST; grant applications involving the integration of physical, chemical, mathematical or engineering principles in the study of physiology or medicine would be referred to BTSS. In general, applications proposing the development of molecular or nano-scale vehicles to deliver drugs, genes, or gene products would be referred to BST; applications proposing the development of macroscopic vehicles to deliver therapeutic agents would be referred to BTSS.
  
  
• With the Cardiovascular Sciences [CVS] IRG: There is a shared interest between CVS and BTSS in the bioengineering design and development of implantable cardiovascular devices.  Applications should be assigned to BTSS or to CVS depending on the focus of the study.
  
  
• With the Musculoskeletal, Oral, and Skin Sciences [MOSS] IRG: In general, studies of orthopedic and dental devices would be referred to MOSS; studies involving tissue engineering could be referred to MOSS or to BTSS depending on the focus of the study.
  
  
• With the Digestive Sciences [DIG] IRG: In general, applications concerned with the kinetics or metabolism of pharmaceuticals would be referred to DIG; those focused on the development of the drug delivery system would be referred to BTSS.
  
  
• With all organ-specific IRGs: In general, studies focused on a particular organ system would be referred to the appropriate organ-specific IRG; applications where the emphasis is on the integration of physical, chemical, mathematical or engineering principles in the study of the physiology or pathology of the organ system would be referred to BTSS.