In April 1999, during the crisis in Kosovo, the Israeli government launched a medical, field hospital in order to provide humanitarian aid to the Albanian refugees that fled from their homes in Kosovo. This facility was set up by the Medical Corps of the Israeli Defense Forces, in a refugee camp located in Northern Macedonia. During the 16 days during which the hospital functioned, the medical staff treated 1,560 patients and hospitalized >100. The field hospital served as a referral center for all of the other primary clinics that were hastily erected in the camp and its surroundings. This communication elaborates on the various aspects of the humanitarian medical aid that were provided by this medical facility and the conclusions that learned from such a mission.

Biomaterials have made significant contributions to the advancement of modern health care and drug delivery industries. The present research is based on development of porous polymerceramic composite scaffolds using polypropylene (PP) polymer and tricalcium phosphate (TCP) ceramic for bone-graft applications. Three dimensionally interconnected controlled porosity scaffolds were fabricated using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) system. First, ceramic and polymeric materials were compounded under high shear using a torque rheometer. Compounded materials were then extruded to a 1.78mm diameter continuous filament using a single screw extruder. These filaments were used as a feedstock material for an FDM 1650 machine for direct fabrication of controlled porosity parts. Hg-porosimetry was done to determine pore size and their distribution in these structures. Tensile properties of neat composites and as received polymer were measured and compared using standard dog bone samples. Uniaxial compression tests were performed on cylindrical porous samples having average pore size of 160 μm and 36 vol% porosity. These samples showed an average ultimate compressive strength of 12.7 MPa. Average compressive modulus was calculated as 263 MPa. Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation studies were conducted with OPC1 modified human osteoblast cell-line. It was found that composite matrices were non-toxic and they showed excellent cell growth with OPC1 cells.

Challenges in tissue engineering have always-motivated scientists and engineers to develop new biomaterials that can restore the structural features and physiological functions of natural tissues. A novel ceramic-polymer composite was processed with bio-active ceramics dispersed in a natural bio-active polymer for bone graft applications. A commercially available caster bean extract polymer (CBP) was used. It is a natural polymer extracted from the oily caster beans of the dicotyledonous class. During processing of these composites, in situ random interconnected porosity was generated similar to natural bone. Hg-porosimetry results of these composites show that most of the pores are between 50 to 150 microns. Compression tests were performed on cylindrical samples to determine the mechanical properties. Average compression modulus was calculated as 173 MPa, while the average failure strength was 6.7 MPa. Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation studies were conducted with modified human osteoblast cell-line (OPC-1) to show that these composites are biocompatible. Composites showed good cell attachment with a continuous increase in cell growth for at least up to two weeks.