Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Magnetic Shape Memory Micropump for Submicroliter Intracranial Drug Delivery in Rats
Point-of-care diagnostic devices, micrototal analysis (μTAS) systems, lab-on-a-chip development, and biomedical research rely heavily upon microfluidic management and innovative micropump design. Here, we describe the design and prototype deployment of a magnetic shape memory (MSM) micropump capable of submicroliter per minute flow rates. The pump contains no valves or moving parts in the fluid channel and is capable of bidirectional fluid transport. This pump was employed as the mechanism to deliver small intracranial dosages of ketamine and tetrodotoxin (TTX) at 0.33  μl/min during in vivo electrophysiological record...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - September 10, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Unconstrained Measurement of Respiration Motions of Chest and Abdomen Using a Tactile Sensor Sheet in Supine Position on Bed
In this study, a flexible and stretchable tactile sensor sheet was developed to measure the static body pressure of a subject who lies on it and measure the pressure fluctuations induced by respiration or respiratory efforts. The results were compared with the measurements by band sensors that are widely used for measuring chest and abdominal movements in clinic. It was demonstrated that the sensor sheet can distinguish chest and abdominal movements in a supine position. The reasons why the pressure fluctuations measured by the sensor sheet are antiphase with the outputs of band sensors are discussed using a simple dynamic...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - September 10, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Liquid Handling Optimization in High-Throughput Biodosimetry Tool
Due to the need of high-speed and efficient biodosimetric assays for triage and therapy in the event of radiological or nuclear attack, a robotically based automated biodosimetry tool (RABiT) has been developed over the past few years. Adapting the micronucleus assay from filter plates to V-shaped plates presented challenges in the liquid handling, namely, cell splashing out of the V-shaped well plate during the cell harvesting, poor cell distribution on the bottom of the image plate during the dispensing, and cell loss from the image plate during the aspiration in the liquid handling process. Experimental and numerical in...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 31, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing of a Novel Maxillofacial Surgery Instrument: Application in the Sagittal Split Osteotomy
Mandibular sagittal split osteotomy (SSO) is an operation performed for the correction of mandibular deformities. In this operation, sharp rotary tools are used during osteotomies and this can induce some complications. For example, if the inferior alveolar nerve is damaged, paralysis of the teeth, the lateral side of the tongue, and the corner of the lip can occur. To decrease the occurrence of such possible complications, we designed and manufactured a novel computer-assisted, patient-specific SSO guide and soft tissue retractor in our previous study. And, we first tested this apparatus on a cadaveric bone in vitro. Now,...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 24, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Kinematic Design of a Generalized Double Parallelogram Based Remote Center-of-Motion Mechanism for Minimally Invasive Surgical Robot
Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has shown tremendous advances over the traditional techniques. To improve dexterity and back-drivability of the existing planar remote center-of-motion (RCM) mechanism, on which an active prismatic joint is required to drive the surgical tool move in –out of the patient's body, a two degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) planar RCM mechanism is proposed by constructing virtual parallelograms in this paper. The mechanism can be considered as a generalized double parallelogram; both of the actuated joints are revolute joints. This feature enhances the intri nsic back-drivability of the m...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 24, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Lower Limb-Driven Energy Harvester: Modeling, Design, and Performance Evaluation
Biomechanical energy harvesters (BMEHs) have shown that useable amounts of electricity can be generated from daily movement. Where access to an electrical power grid is limited, BMEHs are a viable alternative to accommodate energy requirements for portable electronics. In this paper, we present the detailed design and dynamic model of a lower limb-driven energy harvester that predicts the device output and the load on the user. Comparing with existing harvester models, the novelty of the proposed model is that it incorporates the energy required for useful electricity generation, stored inertial energy, and both mechanical...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 24, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

A Biologically Inspired Knee Actuator for a KAFO
Knee –ankle–foot orthoses (KAFOs) are prescribed to improve abnormal ambulation caused by quadriceps weakness. There are three major types of KAFOs: passive KAFOs, semidynamic KAFOs, and dynamic KAFOs. Dynamic KAFOs are the only type that enables to control knee motions throughout the entire walking gait cycle. However, those available in the market are heavy, bulky, and have limited functionality. The UT dynamic KAFO is developed to allow knee flexion and assist knee extension over the gait cycle by using a superelastic nitinol actuator, which has the potential to reduce volume and weight and reproduce normal knee beh...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 11, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Design of a Soft Robotic Glove for Hand Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients With Clenched Fist Deformity Using Inflatable Plastic Actuators
In this paper, we present a soft robotic glove designed to augment hand rehabilitation for stroke patients with clenched fist deformity. The robotic glove provides active finger extension for hand rehabilitative training, through its embedded inflatable actuators that are fabricated by heat bonding of flexible plastic sheets. Upon pressurization, the actuators inflate, stiffen, and extend the fingers. The actuators were embedded in the finger pockets of a glove. In this work, the device was evaluated in terms of its extension torque generated on the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of a dummy finger model and a healthy subj...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 11, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

A Study on Evaluation of Bioabsorbable Anchor (PLGA  + β-TCP) Through Mechanical Test Under Moisture Difference 1
(Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME)
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 8, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Dynamic Weighted Bar for Upper Limb Rehabilitation
This paper explores the design of a dynamically weighted therapy bar, which can provide real-time quantitative performance information and adjustments during rehabilitation exercise. In contrast, typical therapy equipment is passive, offering no feedback to the patient or clinician. The dynamic weighted bar (DWB) was designed and fabricated containing an inertial sensor which tracks the orientation of the bar and adjusts the position of an internal weight accordingly, in turn providing a targeted force imbalance between the patient's two arms. Step input experiments were performed on the device while it was held in various...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Intradiscal Microprobe With a Vibrational Optical Fiber for Diagnosis and Thermal Therapy of Discogenic Pain Due to an Annular Fissure
Major studies have shown that discogenic pain is the most common cause of chronic lower back pain, accounting for 40% of all the causes. Provocation discography —inducing pains by pressing nerve structures around the annular fissures—is recognized as the only method for diagnosing discogenic pain. However, the method is not available to the patient with full-thickness fissures because of a contrast media leakage through the fissure. In this paper, intra discal microprobes (IDMPs) affecting direct mechanical stimulus on the nerve fiber are presented for diagnosis of the fissure. The plastic optical fiber (POF), located ...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

An Adjustable Single Degree-of-Freedom System to Guide Natural Walking Movement for Rehabilitation
This paper presents a linkage system designed to guide a natural ankle trajectory with the corresponding foot orientation. A six-bar linkage was designed to coordinate the joint angles of an RR chain (R denotes a revolute or hinged joint) that models the leg to achieve the desired ankle trajectory. The design is shown to be adjustable to meet a range of trajectories obtained in an individual's normal gait. Control of the foot position is obtained using a cam-driven parallel chain that has the same input as the six-bar linkage. The design of the linkage was carried out using linkage synthesis theory and optimization methods...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Design of a Dynamic External Finger Fixator
This paper describes an improved design of an external fixator. The new fixator comprises 13 parts which are assembled together. The proposed device materials consist of polyether ether-ketone (PEEK) and stainless steel 316L. The design was subjected to finite-element analysis, and a working model was manufactured and subjected to cyclic mechanical testing. The finite-element analysis showed that the maximum stress was 242.9  MPa and this was less than the yield strength and the fatigue endurance limits for the selected materials. Mechanical testing showed that testing reached run-out of 170,000 cycles with no cracks or ...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Estimating Endoscopic Orientation in Static and Dynamic States With Inertial Sensors
This study proposes a new sensor-fusion method for reducing the shock-based error. A triaxial accelerometer measures the gravitational vector (g-components) in all static states. When motion appears, the angular velocity from a triaxial gyroscope is used to calculate the elemental changes in g-components. A so-called predict-and-choose process relies on this data to predict the future state by giving many prediction values. The relationship between these values, the newest accelerometer readings, and their variation determine the final choice. Hence, under all conditions, the gravitational components are iteratively estima...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research

Preliminary Design and Engineering Evaluation of a Hydraulic Ankle –Foot Orthosis
Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are used to correct motor impairments of the ankle. While current AFOs are passive, advances in technology and wearable robotics have opened the opportunity for a powered AFO. The hydraulic ankle foot orthosis (HAFO) is a device that takes advantage of the exceptional power-to-weight and force-to-weight of hydraulic fluid power. The device is untethered, and the power transmission chain is battery –electric motor–hydraulic pump–hose–cylinder, with the power supply worn at the waist and the cylinder actuators at the ankle. The fluid power circuit is configured as an electrohydraulic actuat...
Source: Journal of Medical Devices, Transactions of the ASME - August 5, 2016 Category: Medical Equipment Source Type: research