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.

Microstructural characterization and hardness properties of electric resistance welding titanium joints for dental applications
The electric resistance welding procedure is used to join a titanium bar with specific implant abutments in order to produce a framework directly in the oral cavity of the patient. This investigation studied the effects of the welding process on microstructure and hardness properties of commercially pure (CP2 and CP4) Ti components. Different welding powers and cooling procedures were applied to bars and abutments, normally used to produce the framework, in order to simulate the clinical intraoral welding procedure. The analyses highlighted that the joining process did not induce appreciable changes in the geometry of the ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Ceschini, L., Boromei, I., Morri, A., Nardi, D., Sighinolfi, G., Degidi, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Effects of fatty infiltration in human livers on the backscattered statistics of ultrasound imaging
In this study, we used ultrasound Nakagami imaging to explore the effects of fatty infiltration in human livers on the statistical distribution of backscattered signals. A total of 107 patients volunteered to participate in the experiments. The livers were scanned using a clinical ultrasound scanner to obtain the raw backscattered signals for ultrasound B-mode and Nakagami imaging. Clinical scores of fatty liver disease for each patient were determined according to a well-accepted sonographic scoring system. The results showed that the Nakagami image can visualize the local backscattering properties of liver tissues. The N...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - June 4, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Wan, Y.-L., Tai, D.-I., Ma, H.-Y., Chiang, B.-H., Chen, C.-K., Tsui, P.-H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

A novel four-caster manual vehicle manoeuvring investigation: Higher loading-weights require larger turning spaces
Patient-hoists, goods-trolleys and other omni-directional manually operated vehicles are ubiquitous. Yet no substantive, empirically based dynamic analysis has been made of these four-caster vehicles despite manual handling concerns. A relationship between loading-weight and turning space is indicated by theoretical analysis which further shows that this effect is represented by only 11 different manoeuvres. A qualitative account of the theory is presented. These 11 manoeuvres were implemented experimentally. A total of 17 subjects selected a maximum comfortable loading-weight for the four-caster vehicle for each of the 11...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Abraham, B. B., Joyce, T. J., Davidson, R. I., Johnson, G. R. Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

Numerical modelling of crural fascia mechanical interaction with muscular compartments
This study includes the effects of a fascial stiffness increase along the proximal–distal direction and their possible clinical implications. Furthermore, the relationship between different pre-strain levels of the crural fascia in the proximal–distal direction and the rise of internal pressure in muscular compartments are considered. The numerical analyses can clarify which aspects could be directly implied in the rise of compartment syndrome, leading to greater insight into muscle-fascia mechanical phenomena, as well as promoting experimental investigation and clinical analysis of the syndrome. (Source: Proce...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Pavan, P. G., Pachera, P., Natali, A. N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

A new alternative to expandable pedicle screws: Expandable poly-ether-ether-ketone shell
This study investigated a possible solution to the pullout problem without the expandable screws’ handicaps. Newly designed poly-ether-ether-ketone expandable shell and classical pedicle screws were biomechanically compared. Torsion test, pullout tests, fatigue tests, flexion/extension moment test, axial gripping capacity tests and torsional gripping capacity tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM F543, F1798 and F1717. Standard polyurethane foam and calf vertebrae were used as embedding medium for pullout tests. Classical pedicle screw pullout load on polyurethane foam was 564.8 N compared to the failure load ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Demir, T. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Application of a model based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and finite element simulation for predicting the probability of osteoporotic hip fractures to a sample of people over 60 years
The aim of this work is the application of a mechanical predictive model to a sample of people over 60 years of age, in order to analyze the fracture probability related to age and sex. A total of 223 elderly people (63 men, aged 63–88, 72.32±6.10; 157 women, aged 61–89, 73.28±5.73) participated in the study. A dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanner was used to measure the bone mineral content and bone mineral density at total hip and femoral neck. The application of the predictive model also required a finite element simulation of the proximal femur, obtaining the mechanical damage and fracture...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Lopez, E., Casajus, J. A., Ibarz, E., Gomez-Cabello, A., Ara, I., Vicente-Rodriguez, G., Mateo, J., Herrera, A., Gracia, L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

In vitro wear testing of the PyroCarbon proximal interphalangeal joint replacement: Five million cycles of flexion and extension
Clinical results of the PyroCarbon proximal interphalangeal joint replacement are inconsistent with various complications reported. To address this, in vitro testing was conducted using finger joint simulators. Two PyroCarbon proximal interphalangeal prostheses were tested in a lubricant of dilute bovine serum to 5 x 106 cycles of flexion–extension (90°–30°) with dynamic forces of 10 N applied. At intervals of 3000 cycles testing ceased and a static load of 100 N was applied to simulate gripping. In addition, two ‘control’ prostheses were immersed alongside the test prostheses to account for...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Naylor, A., Bone, M. C., Unsworth, A., Talwalkar, S. C., Trail, I. A., Joyce, T. J. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Virtual prototyping of a semi-active transfemoral prosthetic leg
This article presents a virtual prototyping study of a semi-active lower limb prosthesis to improve the functionality of an amputee during prosthesis–environment interaction for level ground walking. Articulated ankle–foot prosthesis and a single-axis semi-active prosthetic knee with active and passive operating modes were considered. Data for level ground walking were collected using a photogrammetric method in order to develop a base-line simulation model and with the hip kinematics input to verify the proposed design. The simulated results show that the semi-active lower limb prosthesis is able to move effic...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Lui, Z. W., Awad, M. I., Abouhossein, A., Dehghani-Sanij, A. A., Messenger, N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Necromechanics: Death-induced changes in the mechanical properties of human tissues
After the death phenomenon, the rigor mortis development, characterized by body stiffening, is one of the most evident changes that occur in the body. In this work, the development of rigor mortis was assessed using a skinfold caliper in human cadavers and in live people to measure the deformation in the biceps brachii muscle in response to the force applied by the device. Additionally, to simulate the measurements with the finite element method, a two-dimensional model of an arm section was used. As a result of the experimental procedure, a decrease in deformation with increasing postmortem time was observed, which corres...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Martins, P. A., Ferreira, F., Natal Jorge, R., Parente, M., Santos, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

In vitro degradation and cell viability assessment of Zn-3Mg alloy for biodegradable bone implants
This article reports the in vitro degradation and cytotoxicity assessment of Zn–3Mg alloy developed for biodegradable bone implants. The alloy was prepared using casting, and its microstructure was composed of Mg2Zn11 intermetallic phase distributed within a Zn-rich matrix. The degradation assessment was done using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectrometry. The cell viability and the function of normal human osteoblast cells were assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium and alkaline phosphatase extracellular enzyme activity a...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - May 19, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Dambatta, M., Murni, N., Izman, S., Kurniawan, D., Froemming, G., Hermawan, H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Automated hand thermal image segmentation and feature extraction in the evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis
The aim of the study was (1) to perform an automated segmentation of hot spot regions of the hand from thermograph using the k-means algorithm and (2) to test the potential of features extracted from the hand thermograph and its measured skin temperature indices in the evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis. Thermal image analysis based on skin temperature measurement, heat distribution index and thermographic index was analyzed in rheumatoid arthritis patients and controls. The k-means algorithm was used for image segmentation, and features were extracted from the segmented output image using the gray-level co-occurrence matr...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - April 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Snekhalatha, U., Anburajan, M., Sowmiya, V., Venkatraman, B., Menaka, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Effect of SiC interlayer between Ti6Al4V alloy and hydroxyapatite films
Bioactive coatings are frequently used to improve the osseointegration of the metallic implants used in dentistry or orthopaedics. Among different types of bioactive coatings, hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is one of the most extensively used due to its chemical similarities to the components of bones and teeth. In this article, production and characterization of hydroxyapatite films deposited on Ti6Al4V alloy prepared by magnetron sputtering were reported. Besides, SiC was deposited on substrate surface to study the interlayer effect. Obtained coatings were annealed at 600 °C for 30 and 120 min in a mixed atmosphere...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - April 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Azem, F. A., Birlik, I., Braic, V., Toparli, M., Celik, E., Parau, A., Kiss, A., Titorencu, I., Vladescu, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Physiological outflow boundary conditions methodology for small arteries with multiple outlets: A patient-specific hepatic artery haemodynamics case study
This study derives physiological outflow boundary conditions for cases in which the physiological values at those outlets are not known (neither in vivo measurements nor literature-based values are available) and in which the tree exhibits symmetry to some extent. The inputs of the methodology are the three-dimensional domain and the flow rate waveform and the systolic and diastolic pressures at the inlet. The derived physiological outflow boundary conditions, which are a physiological pressure waveform for each outlet, are based on the results of a zero-dimensional model simulation. The methodology assumes symmetrical bra...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - April 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Aramburu, J., Anton, R., Bernal, N., Rivas, A., Ramos, J. C., Sangro, B., Bilbao, J. I. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Subject-specific finite element model with an optical tracking system in total hip replacement surgery
This study combines subject-specific finite element analysis modeling with an optical tracking system to characterize the resultant strain in the bone and results of impaction during total hip replacement surgery. The use of ABG II femoral stem (Stryker Orthopaedics, Mahwah, NJ, USA) in the model yielded the following results. Hammer velocity was measured experimentally using a three-dimensional optical tracking system and these data were input into the finite element analysis model so that intra-operative loading scenario could be simulated. A quasi-static explicit simulation and a dynamic loading step using two implant&n...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - April 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Miles, B., Kolos, E., Walter, W. L., Appleyard, R., Li, Q., Chen, Y., Ruys, A. J. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Friction characteristics of trocars in laparoscopic surgery
This article investigates the friction characteristics of the instrument–trocar interface in laparoscopic surgery for varying linear instrument velocities, trocar seal design and material, and trocar tilt. Furthermore, the effect of applying lubrication at the instrument–trocar seal interface on friction was studied. A friction testing apparatus was designed and built to characterise the resistance force at the instrument–trocar interface as a function of the instrument’s linear movement in the 12-mm trocar (at constant velocity) for different design, seal material, and angle of tilt. The resistance...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - April 30, 2015 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Alazmani, A., Roshan, R., Jayne, D. G., Neville, A., Culmer, P. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research