Search results for "Computer"

Causal analysis of short-term cardiovascular variability: state-dependent contribution of feedback and feedforward mechanisms.

2016

Baroreflex function is usually assessed from spontaneous oscillations of blood pressure (BP) and cardiac RR interval assuming a unidirectional influence from BP to RR. However, the interaction of BP and RR is bidirectional—RR also influences BP. Novel methods based on the concept of Granger causality were recently developed for separate analysis of feedback (baroreflex) and feedforward (mechanical) interactions between RR and BP. We aimed at assessing the proportion of the two causal directions of the interactions between RR and systolic BP (SBP) oscillations during various conditions, and at comparing causality measures from SBP to RR with baroreflex gain indexes. Arterial BP and ECG sig…

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance-derived aortic compliance, distensibility and pulse wave velocity at rest and during a supine bicycle exercise in y…

2014

Background Purpose: Risk of aortic rupture is evaluated based on the vessel diameter; this parameter is probably insufficient. In vivo evaluation of biomechanical property of the aortic tissue might be of interest to discriminate between normal and altered aortic tissue (A Lalande et al, JMRI 2008). The purpose of this study was to describe a technique to measure regional aortic compliance (AC), aortic distensibility (AD) and aortic stiffness with 1.5 T MRI in young individuals under resting conditions and during supine bicycle exercise.

Identifying physical activity type in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury by means of accelerometers

2015

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to develop and test classification algorithms based on machine learning using accelerometers to identify the activity type performed by manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: The study was conducted in the Physical Therapy department and the Physical Education and Sports department of the University of Valencia. Methods: A total of 20 volunteers were asked to perform 10 physical activities, lying down, body transfers, moving items, mopping, working on a computer, watching TV, arm-ergometer exercises, passive propulsion, slow propulsion and fast propulsion, while fitted with four accelerometers placed on both wrists, c…

Technical Detail on Nerve Coaptation in Phalloplasty: Use of Fibrin Glue Instead of Sutures.

2019

Translational development and pre-clinical evaluation of prototype gastrointestinal mock-up devices: only robotic placement of plastic?

2020

Background: The aim of this study was to address the vision of wireless theranostic devices distributed along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by defining design requirements, developing prototype mock-ups, and establishing a minimally invasive surgical approach for the implantation process. Methods: Questionnaires for contextual analysis and use case scenarios addressing the technical issues of an implantable GI device, a possible scenario for implantation, preparation and calibration of a device, and therapeutic usage by professionals and patients were completed and discussed by an interdisciplinary team of surgeons, engineers, and product designers. Two acute porcine experiments were cond…

Imaging of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Complications: Comparison of Whole Body Low-Dose Computed Tomography and Radiographic Shunt Series.

2016

OBJECTIVE To determine diagnostic value and radiation exposure of low-dose computed tomography (LD-CT) compared to radiographic shunt series (SS) for the detection of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt complications. METHODS Fourteen VP shunts were implanted in 7 swine cadavers. Mechanical complications were induced in 50% of VP shunts. Low-dose CT (80 kVp, 10 mAs, Pitch = 1.5) and SS were acquired. Dose area product (DAP) and effective doses for SS and LD-CT were collected. Scoring of diagnostic confidence and blinded readings of SS and CT data were performed. RESULTS The sensitivity of LD-CT was high (0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.00) with excellent interobserver agreement (κ = 0.88)…

Accuracy of automatic airway morphometry in computed tomography-correlation of radiological-pathological findings.

2010

Abstract Objectives Airway morphology shows characteristic changes in different pathologies. This study assesses the accuracy of a current automatic airway assessment technique by correlating CT images of porcine airways to histological slices of the same localization. Materials and methods Four isolated and ventilated porcine lungs were frozen in a liquid nitrogen bath and examined with a CT scanner (MDCT). This technique both preserved normal radiomorphological appearance and made it possible to slice the specimens for histological examination for subsequent correlation. The parameters wall thickness (WT), wall percentage (WP), and total diameter (TD) were assessed by computer-aided measu…

Towards EEG-Based Haptic Interaction within Virtual Environments

2019

International audience; Current virtual environments (VE) enable perceiving haptic stimuli to facilitate 3D user interaction, but lack brain-interfacial contents. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we undertook a feasibility study on exploring event-related potential (ERP) patterns of the user's brain responses during haptic interaction within a VE. The interaction was flying a virtual drone along a curved transmission line to detect defects under the stimuli (e.g., force increase and/or vibrotactile cues). We found that there were variations in the peak amplitudes and latencies (as ERP patterns) of the responses at about 200 ms post the onset of the stimuli. The largest negative peak occu…

Use of a Virtual Environment to Engage Motor and Postural Abilities in Elderly Subjects With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment (MAAMI Project)

2016

Objectives: In the context of rehabilitation, the use of new technology such as Virtual Reality Technology (VRT) offers multiple possibilities to modulate the functional stimulation of subjects according to needs. Material and methods: In this study, the validity and reliability of our VRT system were investigated in fifteen healthy aged adults (HAA) and seven aged subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). One implicit session was designed through two virtual environments (VEs) in order to induce the adapted activities associated with balance and postural control. In comparison, the same activities were achieved in explicit sessions with a physiotherapist. This cross-over study made us…

PPAR alpha gene variants as predicted performance-enhancing polymorphisms in professional Italian soccer players

2014

Patrizia Proia,1 Antonino Bianco,1 Gabriella Schiera,2 Patrizia Saladino,2 Valentina Contrò,1 Giovanni Caramazza,3 Marcello Traina,1 Keith A Grimaldi,4 Antonio Palma,1 Antonio Paoli5 1Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, 2Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 3Regional Sports School of CONI Sicilia, Sicily, Italy; 4Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece; 5Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padua, Italy Background: The PPARα gene encodes the peroxisome proliferato…