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.

Automatic recognizing of vocal fold disorders from glottis images
This study is aimed to develop a medical system with functionality of automatic intelligent recognition of dynamic images. The static images of glottis opening to the largest extent and closing to the smallest extent were screened automatically using color space transformation and image preprocessing. The glottal area was also quantized. As the tongue base movements affected the position of laryngoscope and saliva would result in unclear images, this study used the gray scale adaptive entropy value to set the threshold in order to establish an elimination system. The proposed system can improve the effect of automatically ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Huang, C.-C., Leu, Y.-S., Kuo, C.-F. J., Chu, W.-L., Chu, Y.-H., Wu, H.-C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Constitutive formulation and numerical analysis of the biomechanical behaviour of forefoot plantar soft tissue
The aim of this work is to provide a numerical approach for the investigation of the mechanical behaviour of the forefoot soft tissues. The development of reliable numerical models of biological structures requires the definition of constitutive formulations that actually interpret the mechanical response of the constituent biological tissues and their structural arrangement. A specific visco-hyperelastic constitutive model is provided to account for the typical features of soft plantar tissue mechanics, as geometric and material non-linearity, almost-incompressible behaviour and time-dependent phenomena. Constitutive para...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Fontanella, C. G., Favaretto, E., Carniel, E. L., Natali, A. N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

A sound and efficient measure of joint congruence
This article aims at providing a sound theoretical support to this congruence measure by means of the Winkler elastic foundation contact model which, with respect to others, has the advantage to hold also for highly conforming surfaces as most of the human articulations are. First, the geometrical relation between the applied load and the resulting peak of pressure is analytically derived from the elastic foundation contact model, providing a theoretically sound approach to the definition of a congruence measure. Then, the capability of congruence measure to capture the same geometrical relation is shown. Finally, the reli...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Conconi, M., Castelli, V. P. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Biomechanical behavior of pericardial human tissue: A constitutive formulation
This work aims to present a constitutive model suitable to interpret the biomechanical response of human pericardial tissues. The model is consistent with the need of describing large strains, anisotropy, almost incompressibility, and time-dependent effects. Attention is given to human pericardial tissue because of the increased interest in its application as a substitute in reconstructive surgery. Specific, even limited, experimental investigation has been performed on human samples taken from surgical grafts in order to verify the capability of the constitutive model in supplying a correct description of tissue mechanica...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Pavan, P. G., Pachera, P., Tiengo, C., Natali, A. N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The comparison of manual and LabVIEW-based fuzzy control on mechanical ventilation
The aim of this article is to develop a knowledge-based therapy for management of rats with respiratory distress. A mechanical ventilator was designed to achieve this aim. The designed ventilator is called an intelligent mechanical ventilator since fuzzy logic was used to control the pneumatic equipment according to the rat’s status. LabVIEW software was used to control all equipments in the ventilator prototype and to monitor respiratory variables in the experiment. The designed ventilator can be controlled both manually and by fuzzy logic. Eight female Wistar-Albino rats were used to test the designed ventilator an...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Guler, H., Ata, F. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The effect that energy storage and return feet have on the propulsion of the body: A pilot study
A variety of energy storage and return prosthetic feet are currently available for use within lower limb prostheses. Designs claim to provide a beneficial energy return during push-off, but the extent to which this occurs remains disputed. Techniques currently used to measure energy storage, dissipation and return within the structure of the prosthetic foot are debatable, with limited evidence to support substantial elastic energy storage and return from existing designs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of energy storage and return foot designs through considering the ankle power during push-off and t...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Crimin, A., McGarry, A., Harris, E. J., Solomonidis, S. E. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Biomechanical analysis and clinical effects of bridge combined fixation system for femoral fractures
This work aimed to compare the stress distribution and mechanical properties of our bridge combined fixation system and commonly used metal locking plate screw system by finite element analysis and by using the Zwick/Z100 testing machine. In addition, we also investigated the clinical outcome of our bridge combined fixation system for femoral fractures in 59 patients from June 2005 to January 2013. As a result, the stress distribution in the bone plate and screws of metal locking plate screw system during walking and climbing stairs was significantly lower than that of metal locking plate screw system. No significant diffe...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Wang, D.-x., Xiong, Y., Deng, H., Jia, F., Gu, S., Liu, B.-l., Li, Q.-h., Pu, Q., Zhang, Z.-z. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Prediction of low bone mass using a combinational approach of cortical and trabecular bone measures from dental panoramic radiographs
The aim of this study is to extract cortical and trabecular features of the mandible and to develop a novel combinational model of mandibular cortical thickness, trabecular bone area and age in order to predict low bone mineral density or osteoporosis from a dental panoramic radiograph. The study involved 64 south Indian women (age = 52.5 ± 12.7 years) categorised into two groups (normal and low bone mineral density) based on total femur bone mineral density. The dental panoramic radiographs were obtained by a digital scanner, and measurement of total bone mineral density at the right femur was performed by a dual-e...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Kathirvelu, D., Anburajan, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Accuracy of an adjustable patient-specific guide for acetabular alignment in hip replacement surgery (Optihip)
Implant malalignment in hip arthroplasty increases the risk of revision surgery due to problems such as hip instability, wear, and impingement. Traditional instrumentation lacks accuracy and does not individualize the goal. Computer-assisted surgery (CAS) and patient-specific solutions improve accuracy but add considerably to the cost, amongst other drawbacks. We developed an adjustable mechanical device, called Optihip, which is set to a patient-specific goal preoperatively and is independent of pelvis position intraoperatively. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate Optihip’s accuracy ex vivo. Acetabular ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Shandiz, M. A., MacKenzie, J. R., Hunt, S., Anglin, C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The effect of ascorbic acid and fluid flow stimulation on the mechanical properties of a tissue engineered pelvic floor repair material
In conclusion, a pelvic floor repair material with improved mechanical properties can be developed by supplementing culture media with ascorbic acid-2-phosphate to increase collagen I production. Future studies will assess the change in mechanical properties after implantation in an animal model. (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 - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Osman, N. I., Roman, S., Bullock, A. J., Chapple, C. R., MacNeil, S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Bayesian neural network approach for determining the risk of re-intervention after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair
This article proposes a Bayesian neural network approach to determine the risk of re-intervention after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair surgery. The target of proposed technique is to determine which patients have high chance to re-intervention (high-risk patients) and which are not (low-risk patients) after 5 years of the surgery. Two censored datasets relating to the clinical conditions of aortic aneurysms have been collected from two different vascular centers in the United Kingdom. A Bayesian network was first employed to solve the censoring issue in the datasets. Then, a back propagation neural network model was b...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - October 13, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Attallah, O., Ma, X. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Minimally invasive surgical instruments with an accessory channel capable of integrating fibre-optic cable for optical biopsy: A review of the state of the art
This review article provides a comprehensive overview and classification of minimally invasive surgical instruments with an accessory channel incorporating fibreoptics or another auxiliary device for various purposes. More specifically, this review was performed with the focus on the newly emerging field of optical biopsy, its objective being to discuss primarily the instruments capable of carrying out the optical biopsy and subsequent tissue resection. Instruments housing the fibreoptics for other uses, as well as instruments with an accessory channel capable of housing the fibreoptics instead of their original auxiliary ...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - September 9, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Jelinek, F., Arkenbout, E. A., Sakes, A., Breedveld, P. Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

The use of rapid prototyped implants to simulate knee joint abnormalities for in vitro testing: A validation study with replica implants of the native trochlea
This study concludes that this method is valid to investigate the effect of knee joint abnormalities with a replica implant as a control condition to account for the influence of material properties and rotational errors of the implant. (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 - September 9, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Van Haver, A., De Roo, K., De Beule, M., Van Cauter, S., Labey, L., De Baets, P., Claessens, T., Verdonk, P. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Hemodynamic simulation of blood flow in a new type of cardiac assist device named AVICENA
The purpose of this study is to investigate the hemodynamic parameters of blood flow in a balloon as a part of a new type of cardiac assist device named AVICENA, which is implanted into the descending aorta to improve the strength of pumping blood flow in a poor-performing left ventricle. Balloon is inflated and deflated during diastole and systole, respectively. The longitudinal velocity of blood flow during balloon inflation and deflation has been considered. Through these investigations, the result reveals that the balloon inflation causes the blood flow to accelerate through the balloon and compensates the blood flow v...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - September 9, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Alizadeh, M., Tehrani, P., Rahmani, S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The effect of feet position on standing balance in patients with diabetes
This study investigates standing balance in diabetic patients in four asymmetric feet displacements. Quiet standing balance was investigated using the Biodex Balance System in 18 diabetic patients and compared with 18 control elderly subjects. The four standing conditions, namely, comfortable feet position, preferred feet position with a stance width of 17 cm and 15° angle between the medial borders, feet side by side, and heel side by side with a 30° angle between medial edges of feet were evaluated (i.e. eyes opened, eyes closed). The overall stability was calculated by measuring anterior–posterior and medi...
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - September 9, 2014 Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Mehdikhani, M., Khalaj, N., Chung, T. Y., Mazlan, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research