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The objective of this study is to improve the quality of life for the visually impaired by restoring their ability to self-navigate. In this paper we describe a compact, wearable device that converts visual information into a tactile signal. This device, constructed entirely from commercially available parts, enables the user to perceive distant objects via a different sensory modality. Preliminary...
Development of a new generation pneumatic of Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) required the design of cannulae to improve its optimal performance. In this case, a relevant restrictive design parameter was the material of the cannulae. Silicone was the best choice in a hemocompatible focus, but this is a material with very low stiffness. If the material is flexible, the most important parameter that...
A new infusion pathway monitoring system has been developed for hospital and home use. The system consists of linear integrated circuits and a low-power 8-bit single chip microcomputer which constantly monitors the infusion pathway intactness. An AC (alternating current) voltage is induced on the patient's body by electrostatic coupling from the normal 100 volt, 60 Hz AC power line wiring field in...
The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the clinically used epidural anesthesia needles based on quantitative comparative data. Precise measurement of the tip shape and puncture force analysis were conducted on six different needles. Tip angle (alpha+beta) and tip length (L) were measured by X-ray computed tomography (CT). The one-axial puncture force through a silicone phantom (thickness...
We have constructed a portable needle-free drug injection (NFI) device based upon a custom voice-coil linear actuator. Our actuator is optimized to provide high instantaneous force (>200 N) and power (4 kW) while still allowing a total stroke of 25 mm. The actuator is relatively inexpensive, compact, and lightweight, allowing it to serve as the force generator in a portable, reusable, handheld...
People living in areas of the world that are affected by disease, famine, or poverty could have their lives drastically improved by currently available electronic technologies, but the cost, complexity and/or limited operating environments of devices which employ these technologies can make it impossible or impractical for many of those in-need populations to actually acquire and make use of them...
The wireless electronic nervous system interface known as the functional electrical stimulation-battery powered bionreg system is being developed at the Alfred Mann Foundation. It contains a real-time propagated wave micro-powered multichannel communication system. This system is designed to send bi-directional messages between an external master controller unit (MCU), and each one of a group of injectable...
The X-ray response of polycrystalline-CdZnTe was measured by signal-to-noise (S/N) analysis. The CdZnTe material has optimal properties in a solid-state X-ray detector, and much research has focused on single crystal CdZnTe with a small-sized, silicon readout device. However, it would be difficult to apply CdTe or CdZnTe single crystal to large area, flat panel detectors, such as those used for radiography...
This paper presents a novel device which provides the opportunity to perform high-throughput biochemical assays on different individual cells. In particular, the proposed device is suited to screen the rare cells in biological samples for early stage cancer diagnosis and explore their biochemical functionality. In the process, single cells are precisely positioned and captured in activated micropores...
The development and realization of micropipettes and micropumps has captured the interest of people working in both biomedical and chemical areas for the capability of managing very low quantity of liquid (drug, biological liquid or expensive reagent) as well as everyone interested in controlling small flows for dedicated applications. In this paper a novel ferrofluidic pump adopting an electromagnetic...
The EnSitetrade intracavitary probe system developed by Endocardial Solutions, Inc (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN) was used to simultaneously record geometric information, probe potentials, and selected endocardial potentials within the right atria for four patients. Tikhonov regularization was then used to estimate endocardial potentials from probe measurements for each patient at each endocardial...
In this paper we investigated on the possibility of using a wearable kinesthetic system for monitoring flexion-extension of the knee joint during deambulation. The final goal was to provide an unobtrusive technique to identify the clinical stage of the recovery process of patients affected by venous ulcer. These patients have great difficulty in walking depending on the severity level of disease and...
Current surgical robotic systems dominate the space in the sterile field above the patient. Ideally, next generation systems will couple the simplicity of traditional laparoscopic instruments with the dexterity of robotic assisted surgery. This paper presents the design of a novel 6 DOF robotic instrument that eliminates the dependence on pivoting about the incision point. The motion envelope of the...
Modern intensive care units (ICUs) employ an impressive array of technologically sophisticated instrumentation to provide detailed measurements of the pathophysiological state of each patient. Providing life support in the ICU is becoming an increasingly complex task, however, because of the growing volume of relevant data from clinical observations, bedside monitors, mechanical ventilators, and a...
This paper presents a wireless ballistocardiographic chair developed for the Proactive Health Monitoring project in the Institute of Signal Processing. EMFi sensors are used for BCG measurement and IEEE 802.15.4 RF link for radio communication between the chair and a PC. The chair measures two BCG signals from the seat and the backrest and a rough ECG signal from the armrests of the chair. The R-spike...
This paper presents work resulting from a collaboration between obstetricians and researchers. It shows the benefits from the use of an instrumented childbirth simulator for the training of obstetricians and midwives. This new tool allows to surpass the constraints linked to the traditional training in a childbirth ward. This simulator training is designed to complete the traditional training used...
A motion support system is important for improving the quality of life for people with inadequate muscle power for walking or standing. Such a system must maintain coordination between the movement of the living body and that of the motion support system with respect to timing and power. We have developed a preliminary assistance device for human locomotion that does not restrict movement of the user's...
A new coil design inspired on the slot-and-hole magnetron tube is proposed for SENSE imaging. To investigate its g-factor behaviour: an SNR formula was derived using the quasi-static approach, and combined with the ultimate g-factor formula to compute the ultimate-factor-g-vs-depth plots. A g-factor expression was derived for the circular coil using the same approach for comparison purposes. SNR-vs-depth...
Commercial receivers used for parallel MR imaging often present researchers with hurdles such as high cost-per-channel, low scalability for multiple coils and non-accessibility to intermediate data for research. A novel low-cost multichannel digital receiver for use with MR scanners has been developed to alleviate these concerns. MR signals from up to 16 coils are bandpass sampled at RF, with all...
This paper presents a real-time digital simulator (DRTS) for possible use in testing of medical devices. The simulator runs a model of a physiological system (an organ or a group of organs) in real time and uses A/D and D/A cards to interface the simulation results to real medical equipment. With this simulator, the tests can be made as thorough as needed without much increase in cost
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