A method of non-thermally ablating undesirable tissue in the body by application of pulsed, bipolar, instant charge reversal electrical fields of sufficient energy to cause complete and immediate cell membrane rupture and destruction. Energy is delivered through radio frequency pulses of particular frequencies, wave characteristics, pulse widths and pulse numbers, such that enhanced physical stresses are placed on the cell membrane to cause its immediate and complete destruction thereby spilling the entire cell content and membrane constituents into, the extracellular space without denaturing proteins so as to enable an immunological response to destroy and remove the target tissue and similarly marked tissue elsewhere in the subject.

A peristaltic pump-based apparatus for capturing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood is provided that includes a feedback control architecture that uses models of pump operation and measures of internal pressure fluctuations of the pump (e.g., in the form time-varying and/or position-dependent pressure oscillation data) to adjust pump operating characteristics that smooth pump operation, thereby improving viscosity and consistency of fluid flowing through the pump to a connected microfluidic capture device.

The present disclosure provides methods of obtaining, recovering and culturing pulmonary arterial endothelial cells from an individual patient, subjected to a right heart catheterization in regard to diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. These isolated pulmonary arterial endothelial cells from an individual patient may be utilized to generate cellular phenotyping profile for the cell population, allowing generation of a personalized pharmacotherapy regime to assist the clinician in treatment and prognosis of the disorder for an individual patient.

A method of non-thermally ablating undesirable tissue in the body by application of pulsed, bipolar, instant charge reversal electrical fields of sufficient energy to cause complete and immediate cell membrane rupture and destruction. Energy is delivered through radio frequency pulses of particular frequencies, wave characteristics, pulse widths and pulse numbers, such that enhanced physical stresses are placed on the cell membrane to cause its immediate and complete destruction thereby spilling the entire cell content and membrane constituents into, the extracellular space without denaturing proteins so as to enable an immunological response to destroy and remove the target tissue and similarly marked tissue elsewhere in the subject.

The present application relates cell replacement devices, comprising a frame cap and a frame base, where the frame cap includes a first connecting member and one or more ports that traverse a thickness of the frame cap. The frame base of the cell replacement device includes one or more walls defining an interior chamber, defining a first opening to the interior chamber on one side of the frame base, and defining a second opening to the interior chamber on another side of the frame base. The first opening of the frame base is configured to receive the frame cap, and the frame base further includes a second connecting member constructed to connect with the first connecting member. The frame base further comprises a mesh disposed adjacent the second opening.

An implantable containment apparatus for receiving and retaining a plurality of cells for insertion into a patient, such as into a tissue bed, is disclosed. The device includes a chamber having structural spacers therein to maintain an average distance between the first interior surface and the second interior surface of the chamber and to define at least one reservoir space for the placement of cells within the chamber.

A method of non-thermally ablating undesirable tissue in the body by application of pulsed, bipolar, instant charge reversal electrical fields of sufficient energy to cause complete and immediate cell membrane rupture and destruction. Energy is delivered through radio frequency pulses of particular frequencies, wave characteristics, pulse widths and pulse numbers, such that enhanced physical stresses are placed on the cell membrane to cause its immediate and complete destruction thereby spilling the entire cell content and membrane constituents into, the extracellular space without denaturing proteins so as to enable an immunological response to destroy and remove the target tissue and similarly marked tissue elsewhere in the subject.

An implantable containment apparatus for receiving and retaining a plurality of cells for insertion into a patient, such as into a tissue bed, is disclosed. The device includes a chamber having structural spacers therein to maintain an average distance between the first interior surface and the second interior surface of the chamber and to define at least one reservoir space for the placement of cells within the chamber.

Implantable devices comprising a scaffold, cells, and/or therapeutic molecules are provided. Uses include inhibition of pathological immunity, elaboration of therapeutic growth factors, and immune augmentation. The implantable device may contain a porous substrate structure to which therapeutic cells are adherent, which can be implanted and explanted from a patient. In another embodiment, a medical device includes a porous substrate seeded with therapeutic cells, said device comprising of an additional layer allowing free exchange of molecules without cell escape. Said medical device is seeded with thymic medullary epithelial cells or progenitors of said thymic medullary epithelial cells. In conditions where tolerance to alloreactive donor cells is desired, the thymic medullary epithelial cells or progenitors thereof are derived from recipient cells. In conditions where tolerance to alloreactive recipient cells is desired, the thymic medullary epithelial cells or progenitors thereof are derived from donor cells.

A method of non-thermally ablating undesirable tissue in the body by application of pulsed, bipolar, instant charge reversal electrical fields of sufficient energy to cause complete and immediate cell membrane rupture and destruction. Energy is delivered through radio frequency pulses of particular frequencies, wave characteristics, pulse widths and pulse numbers, such that enhanced physical stresses are placed on the cell membrane to cause its immediate and complete destruction thereby spilling the entire cell content and membrane constituents into, the extracellular space without denaturing proteins so as to enable an immunological response to destroy and remove the target tissue and similarly marked tissue elsewhere in the subject.