Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine 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.

A novel simulator for mechanical ventilation in newborns: MEchatronic REspiratory System SImulator for Neonatal Applications
Respiratory problems are among the main causes of mortality for preterm newborns with pulmonary diseases; mechanical ventilation provides standard care, but long-term complications are still largely reported. In this framework, continuous medical education is mandatory to correctly manage assistance devices. However, commercially available neonatal respiratory simulators are rarely suitable for representing anatomical and physiological conditions; a step toward high-fidelity simulation, therefore, is essential for nurses and neonatologists to acquire the practice needed without any risk. An innovative multi-compartmental i...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - August 3, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Baldoli, I., Cuttano, A., Scaramuzzo, R. T., Tognarelli, S., Ciantelli, M., Cecchi, F., Gentile, M., Sigali, E., Laschi, C., Ghirri, P., Menciassi, A., Dario, P., Boldrini, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Geometric parameterisation of pelvic bone and cartilage in contact analysis of the natural hip: An initial study
In this study, a simple set of parameters to describe the geometries of acetabulum and cartilage in the hip were extracted from two segmentation-based models, which were then used to generate the parameterised finite element models for the two subjects. The contact pressure and contact area at the articular surface predicted from the parameterised finite element models were compared with the results from the segmentation-based models. The differences in the predicted results between the parameterised models and segmentation-based models were found to be within 11% across seven activities simulated. In addition, the paramet...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - August 3, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Hua, X., Li, J., Wilcox, R. K., Fisher, J., Jones, A. C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The influence of flow diverter's angle of curvature across the aneurysm neck on its haemodynamics
Flow diverter stents have provided a new method of endovascular reconstruction for large and complex aneurysms. Understanding the impact of the flow diverter’s angle of curvature across the neck and its metal coverage rate on the haemodynamics of aneurysm is crucial to maximize the mass flow reduction inside the aneurysm, post-deployment. The aim of this study is to understand the correlation between the angle of curvature of flow diverter across the aneurysm neck and the metal coverage rate, and the aneurysm’s haemodynamics, using computational fluid dynamics. Varying the flow diverter angle resulted in varyin...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - August 3, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Karunanithi, K., Lee, C. J., Chong, W., Qian, Y. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Full-field in vitro measurements and in silico predictions of strain shielding in the implanted femur after total hip arthroplasty
Alterations in bone strain as a result of implantation may contribute towards periprosthetic bone density changes after total hip arthroplasty. Computational models provide full-field strain predictions in implant–bone constructs; however, these predictions should be verified using experimental models wherever it is possible. In this work, finite element predictions of surface strains in intact and implanted composite femurs were verified using digital image correlation. Relationships were sought between post-implantation strain states across seven defined Gruen zones and clinically observed longer-term bone density ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - August 3, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Chanda, S., Dickinson, A., Gupta, S., Browne, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Towards optimal design of sport footwear based on muscle activity and minimum loading rate using simplified model
In this study, a two-phase optimization method was proposed in order to better simulate the functionality of the central nervous system. A comparison between the results of this method and those in the literature demonstrates more accuracy. Additionally, it has been reported that the loading rate in the time history of the ground reaction force has a role in overuse injuries in the tibia and tarsals; therefore, in order to introduce an optimum design for sport shoes, in this study, a new objective function was introduced and the proposed method was used in order to find the best possible range of shoe parameters for pre-fa...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - August 3, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Khassetarash, A., Hassannejad, R. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Numerical investigation of the hydrodynamic parameters of blood flow through stenotic descending aorta
In this study, the blood flow passing through a three-dimensional geometrically realistic stenosis is investigated both experimentally and numerically. Although the blood flow in stenotic arteries has been extensively studied in the past few decades, not much work has been focused on irregularity of stenosis. Thus, a model of an irregular stenotic descending aorta is used in this work. Due to the irregularity of stenosis model, the governing differential equations for continuity and momentum are solved numerically using finite-volume/finite-difference techniques in the generalized body-fitted coordinates. In order to verif...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Pasha Zanous, S., Shafaghat, R., Esmaili, Q. Tags: Technical Note Source Type: research

Characteristics of locomotion efficiency of an expanding-extending robotic endoscope in the intestinal environment
This article describes the research on the characteristics of an expanding–extending robotic endoscope’s locomotion efficiency in real intestine and explores an approach to improve the locomotion ability in this environment. In the article, the robot’s locomotion efficiency was first calculated according to its gait in the gut, and the reasons for step losses were analyzed. Next, dynamical models of the robot and the intestine were built to calculate the step losses caused by failed anchoring and intestinal compression/extension. Based on the models and the calculation results, methods for reducing step l...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: He, S., Yan, G., Wang, Z., Gao, J., Yang, K. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Influences of dehydration and rehydration on the lubrication properties of phospholipid polymer-grafted cross-linked polyethylene
In this study, the lubrication properties of PMPC-grafted CLPE were evaluated in reciprocating friction test with rehydration process by unloading in various lubricants. The start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE was reduced, and the damage of PMPC layer was suppressed by rehydration in water or hyaluronic acid solutions. In contrast, the start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE increased in fetal bovine serum solution, and the damage for PMPC layer was quite noticeable. Interestingly, the start-up friction of PMPC-grafted CLPE was reduced in fetal bovine serum solution containing hyaluronic acid, and the damage of the PMPC ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Yarimitsu, S., Moro, T., Kyomoto, M., Watanabe, K., Tanaka, S., Ishihara, K., Murakami, T. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Inverse-model-based cuffless blood pressure estimation using a single photoplethysmography sensor
This paper proposes an inverse-model-based cuffless method for estimating blood pressure using a single photoplethysmography sensor. The proposed method, which is based on the relationship between blood pressure and the features of pulse waves, employs an inverse estimation and uses the blood pressure as the explanatory variable. Using this method, the blood pressure can be estimated with high accuracy even in situations where the pulse wave features are scattered, as the method uses the dynamic signal-to-noise ratio of the Taguchi method. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we employed it to measu...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Suzuki, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Evaluation of postural steadiness in below-knee amputees when wearing different prosthetic feet during various sensory conditions using the Biodex(R) Stability System
In recent years, computerized posturography has become an essential tool in quantitative assessment of postural steadiness in the clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of the Biodex® Stability System (BSS) to quantify postural steadiness in below-knee amputees. A convenience sample of 10 below-knee amputees participated in the study. The overall (OSI), anterior–posterior (APSI) and medial–lateral (MLSI) stability indexes as well as the percentage of time spent in left and right quadrants and four concentric zones were measured under altered sensory conditions while standing...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Arifin, N., Abu Osman, N. A., Ali, S., Gholizadeh, H., Wan Abas, W. A. B. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Prediction of hip joint load and translation using musculoskeletal modelling with force-dependent kinematics and experimental validation
Musculoskeletal lower limb models are widely used to predict the resultant contact force in the hip joint as a non-invasive alternative to instrumented implants. Previous musculoskeletal models based on rigid body assumptions treated the hip joint as an ideal sphere with only three rotational degrees of freedom. An musculoskeletal model that considered force-dependent kinematics with three additional translational degrees of freedom was developed and validated in this study by comparing it with a previous experimental measurement. A 32-mm femoral head against a polyethylene cup was considered in the musculoskeletal model f...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Zhang, X., Chen, Z., Wang, L., Yang, W., Li, D., Jin, Z. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Finite element analysis of sliding distance and contact mechanics of hip implant under dynamic walking conditions
An explicit finite element method was developed to predict the dynamic behavior of the contact mechanics for a hip implant under normal walking conditions. Two key parameters of mesh sensitivity and time steps were examined to balance the accuracy and computational cost. Both the maximum contact pressure and accumulated sliding distance showed good agreement with those in the previous studies using the implicit finite element analysis and analytical methods. Therefore, the explicit finite element method could be used to predict the contact pressure and accumulated sliding distance for an artificial hip joint simultaneously...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Gao, Y., Jin, Z., Wang, L., Wang, M. Tags: Technical Notes Source Type: research

Improvement of the knee center of rotation during walking after opening wedge high tibial osteotomy
This study has the potential to provide fundamental information that can be applied to understand abnormal kinematics in patients, diagnose knee joint disease, and design a novel implants for knee joint surgeries. (Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine)
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Kim, K., Feng, J., Nha, K. W., Park, W. M., Kim, Y. H. Tags: Technical Notes Source Type: research

A review on the mechanical design elements of ankle rehabilitation robot
This article reviews the design elements that have been incorporated into the existing robots, for example, backdrivability, safety measures and type of actuation. It also discusses numerous challenges faced by engineers in designing this robot, including robot stability and its dynamic characteristics, universal evaluation criteria to assess end-user comfort, safety and training performance and the scientific basis on the optimal rehabilitation strategies to improve ankle condition. This article can serve as a reference to design robot with better stability and dynamic characteristics and good safety measures against inte...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Khalid, Y. M., Gouwanda, D., Parasuraman, S. Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

Combined magnetic resonance imaging approach for the assessment of in vivo knee joint kinematics under full weight-bearing conditions
The development of detailed and specific knowledge on the biomechanical behavior of loaded knee structures has received increased attention in recent years. Stress magnetic resonance imaging techniques have been introduced in previous work to study knee kinematics under load conditions. Previous studies captured the knee movement either in atypical loading supine positions, or in upright positions with help of inclined supporting backrests being insufficient for movement capture under full-body weight-bearing conditions. In this work, we used a combined magnetic resonance imaging approach for measurement and assessment in ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Al Hares, G., Eschweiler, J., Radermacher, K. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research