bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electric vehicle fire hazards associated with batteries, combustibles and smoke
Authors: CHOW W.k. , CHOW C.l.
Published: June 2022

Electrical vehicles are planned to be the future green land traffic means in many places. However, reported vehicle fires or even explosions have raised public safety concern. Fire hazards studies of electric vehicles are commonly focused on ignition of genuine batteries. However, cheap counterfeit batteries of are widely used in electric vehicles in some countries. Counterfeit LIBs are made of unknown battery materials, electrolytes and construction with poor quality control. These counterfeit batteries are not designed for compatibility, not manufactured according to standards, and even not tested. Thus research results based on genuine batteries may not be applicable to counterfeit batteries. Batteries should be taken as a big ignition source for electric ve-hicles and fire hazards could occur during driving, charging or even when not in use. Further, very few works reported the effect of burning of the combustibles of car and smoke to the passengers trapped inside. Fire risk factors should be studied holistically for the entire vehicle to explore practical fire-safe engineering solutions. Key fire as-pects of electric vehicles are pointed out in this paper to alert the society, particularly the authority and professionals handling fire safety.
Second Hankel determinant for a subclass of analytic functions defined by S$\check{a}$l$\check{a}$gean-difference operator
Authors: Panigrahi T. , Murugusundaramoorthy G.
Published: June 2022

In the present investigation, inspired by the work on Yamaguchi type class of analytic functions satisfyingthe analytic criteria $\mathfrak{Re}\{\frac{f (z)}{z}\} > 0, $ in the openunit disk $\Delta=\{z \in \mathbb{C}\colon |z|<1\}$ and making use of S\v{a}l\v{a}gean-difference operator, which is a special type of Dunkl operator with Dunkl constant $\vartheta$ in $\Delta$ , wedesignate definite new classes of analytic functions $\mathcal{R}_{\lambda}^{\beta}(\psi)$ in $\Delta$. For functionsin this new class , significantcoefficient estimates $|a_2|$ and $a_3|$ are obtained. Moreover, Fekete-Szeg\H{o} inequalities and second Hankel determinant for the function belonging to this class are derived. By fixing the parameters a number of special cases are developed are new (or generalization) of the results of earlier researchers in this direction.
Vertical Scales, Deceleration, and Empirical Benchmarks for Growth
Authors: Student Sanford R.
Published: June 2022

Empirical growth benchmarks, as introduced by Hill, Bloom, Black, and Lipsey (2008), are a well-known way to contextualize effect sizes in education research. Past work on these benchmarks, both positive and negative, has largely avoided confronting the role of vertical scales, yet technical issues with vertical scales trouble the use of such benchmarks. This article introduces vertical scales and outlines their role in the creation of empirical benchmarks for growth. I then outline three strands of recent vertical scale research that call into question the grounds for relying on these benchmarks. I conclude with recommendations for researchers looking to contextualize observed effects of educational interventions without confounding their effects with vertical scaling artifacts.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF 2-5G BASE STATION ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD CHRONIC EXPOSURE NERVOUS SYSTEM EFFECT TYPOLOGICAL FEATURES
Authors:   FSBSI «Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health», Belaya О.V.
Published: June 2022

Introduction: the new exposure to electromagnetic fields biological effect assessment is actual with respect to the expected of electromagnetic environment complication due to joint operation of various generation cellular communication systems. The character of biological reaction can be mediated by individual typological characteristics of the organism. The goal: to study the 2–5G base stations electromagnetic field chronic exposure effect to nervous system functional state of laboratory animals with regard to their typological features. Methods: the rats body weight registration and "open field" test were carried out before the start of exposure, after each month of 24-hour exposure (500 µW/cm2, 2-5G mobile standards, 4 months) and 1 month after the end of exposure with accounting of high-entropic and low-entropic animal subgroups. Results: the results indicate a multidirectional effect of rats’ nervous system in groups of various entropy types. According to behavioral parameters and body weight dynamics, there was an inhibition of research activity and functional state of the high-entropic animals after 2 months of exposure. Conclusion: Results can be assumed that used experimental exposure type had a suppression affect to central nervous system functional state with higher responsiveness of animals that initially have a predominance of excitation over inhibition processes.
EMPLOYEES OF ENTERPRISES SERVED BY THE FMBA OF RUSSIA PROFESSIONAL UNSUITABILITY MONITORING AS PROFESSIONAL LONGEVITY MAINTAINING SYSTEM ELEMENT
Authors:   FSBI State Research Center – Federal Medical Biophysical Centre named by A.I.Burnasyan of FMBA, Vyunova A.A. , Vlasova I.V. , Lomteva A.A.
Published: June 2022

Relevance: Experienced, highly qualified specialists are the main personnel potential of the serviced enterprises. So, in the State Corporation «Rosatom» the training of one such employee requires at least 10 million rubles. Thus, the prevention of medical contraindications is not only important social task, but also provides the reduction in economic costs in all industries, critical ones including. Goal: To determine the most important areas for medical contraindications prevention in the framework of professional longevity maintaining. Materials and methods: The study included the results of periodic medical examinations of more than 300,000 employees conducted on the basis of 83 medical organizations subordinate to the FMBA of Russia. Results: The most common causes of unsuitability of workers are: eye diseases, cardiovascular diseases, pathology of hearing organ, cancer, diseases of digestive system. Conclusions: Professional unsuitability levels and causes system assessment introduction makes possible to determine the most important areas for prevention of medical contraindications within the framework of professional longevity system maintaining.
EP-4(0) PROTECTIVE PROPERTIES EXPERIMENTAL ASSESSMENT APPROACHES UNDER HIGH-VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
Authors:   FSBSI «Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health», Dremin A.I.
Published: June 2022

Introduction. Railway overhead contact system electrical staff work under disconnected line and live line work are associated with hazard and dangerous occupational factors human exposure. It requires possible human health risks reduce ensuring by occupational conditions safety organizing. Goal: evaluation of power frequency (PF) electric field (EF) decrease by shielding personal protective equipment use effectiveness in laboratory and actual-use test conditions. Methods of the research: The shielding sets' effectiveness evaluation based on the power frequency electric field strength measurements under clothes was carried out in two generic shielding individual protective equipment consisting of jacket, trousers and a jumpsuit. In the investigations there were simulated the work of electrical staff at the ground potential and live-line contact wire as well. Results: The research results show required power frequency electric field shielding properties of both tested individual protective equipment, with more than 30 dB attenuation coefficient in different occupational conditions. Conclusion: Carried out tests showed high efficiency of power frequency electric field attenuation by use of both samples of EP-4(0) personal protective equipment. The research results indicate appropriateness and possibility of laboratory and actual-use test conditions approaches applying for protective sets' power frequency electric field staff protection shielding properties assessment.
LOCOMOTIVE CREW MEMBERS PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL STATE DYNAMICS DEPENDING ON SHIFT WORK
Authors:   FSBSI «Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health», Zakrevskaya A.A.
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Shift work schedule is typical for most professions in railway transport. The need to stay awake at night, combined with high responsibility for traffic safety, is factor that reduces work efficiency, and therefore regular monitoring of workers functional state and its timely correction is necessary. Goal: Locomotive crews working in passenger traffic in day and night shifts on locomotive simulator «EP1M» functional state dynamics study. Research methods: Psychophysiological methods («Express test of the functional state», «Sense of time», «Stability of attention», «Complex motor reaction»); questionnaire «Health, activity, mood»; daily monitoring of blood pressure; analysis of erroneous actions in the simulator. Results: There were founded a number of differences in the results of psychophysiological examination before and after trips, both during the day and night. Blood pressure daily dynamics during day and night shifts was revealed. The «critical hours» of passenger traffic locomotive crews work, during which the risk of making mistakes increases, are noted. Conclusion: Locomotive crews (passenger traffic) during the day and night shifts psychophysiological functions changes dynamics was revealed.
OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME IN WORKERS OF DUST PROFECCIONS
Authors:   FSBSI «Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health», Kazennov A.E.
Published: June 2022

Introduction: The data of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) effect to bronchopulmonary system chronic pathology progression is the basis for conducting the study to assess the risk of OSA in dust professions, comparing the identified functional and anthropometric data in order to determine its impact to risk of respiratory system occupational pathology development. The aim of work was the comparative assessment of OSA frequency and severity in contact with industrial aerosols workers. Methods: 48 employees of industrial enterprises were examined. Group 1 (22 people) included workers exposed to disintegration aerosols (average work experience and age 20.5±9.9 and 52.4±9.8 years). Group 2 (10 people) - workers with condensation aerosols contact (average working period and age - 22.1 ± 8.8 and 48.6± 9.3 years). Group 3 (16 people) workers without industrial aerosols contact (average length of work and age 28.4±12.8 and 56.4± 10.7 years). The survey included interview by Stop-bang questionnaires and Berlin questionnaire for OSA development risk assessment, as well as exercise tolerance by a 6-minute walking test and ventilation function assessment. Results: Disintegration aerosols effect increases the likelihood of restrictive disorders, and under the influence of condensation aerosols, the likelihood of obstructive disorders, the formation of "air traps" and emphysema increases. Dust loading can also increase the risk of OSA. Conclusions: Questionnaires use (Berlin Questionnaire and Stop-bang) can give contradictory results, which requires a more detailed study of OSA features the course in workers of dust-hazardous professions with assessment of dust load and physico-chemical properties of aerosols role using objectifying techniques.
STUDENT RESPONSE TO KPI IN SPREADING HOAX LINKS ON MINISTRY OF EDUCATION QUOTAS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Authors: Diniyanti Riska
Published: June 2022

With changes in science and technology, it shows that human life is now entering the era of using the internet, this is marked by the emergence of the internet as a network. However, with the advent of the internet, it can have a negative impact or crimes committed online by individuals or groups. Without realizing it, the presence of new media, especially social media, has had a huge impact on a person's daily life as an individual and the general public. This research was conducted using a qualitative method and located at IAIN Pekalongan. This approach is intended as an estimate that discusses the use of the mindset used for the object of research. This research was conducted by means of questionnaire data accumulation technique.
Framing the Dialogue for Systemic Equity Reform in STEM Faculty Careers
Authors: White-Lewis Damani , Bennett Jessica , Redd Kacy
Published: June 2022

The NSF-funded Envisioning and Enacting an Inclusive and Diverse STEM Professoriate (EEIDSP; NSF# 2041007) Framing the Dialogue for Systemic Equity Reform in STEM Faculty Careers report advances three big ideas we believe are essential for a national dialogue on systemic reform for equity in STEM faculty careers: 1) Tracing, Addressing, and Dismantling Systemic Inequities in STEM Faculty Careers; 2) Tracking in STEM Faculty Careers; and, 3) Broadening the Bar: Redefining What Counts in Hiring and Evaluation. We believe that engagement with these key ideas across the entire faculty career ecosystem (including institutions of higher education, funding agencies, disciplinary societies, publishers, and other parts of the ecosystem) will help to lay the foundation for building consensus towards key equity-advancing transformation in STEM faculty careers.
A Novel Dependency Framework for Enhanced Discourse Analysis
Authors: Sun Kun , Wang Rong
Published: June 2022

Different theories of discourse structure have been developed and discourse corpora were established based on these theories. However, these discourse corpora established on different theoretical bases make it difficult to explore them in a consistent and unified way. This study aims to overcome the difficulties on unification. Dependency representations can be employed to extract data from PDTB, RST and SDRT corpora in a unified way. This study focuses on the dependency conversions for PDTB annotations. Some discourse parsers are employed to test the validity of the dependency data derived from the PDTB. Converting both PDTB and RST annotations for the same texts into dependencies respectively, this study also applies “dependency distance” to examine the correlation between RST dependencies and PDTB dependencies. The results show that the PDTB dependency data is fairly valid, and the two types of dependencydistance are highly correlated. This study provides a unified way of digging and evaluating existing discourse corpora. Discourse dependencies make it possible to achieve unification at different levels of linguistics and in different areas of language sciences.
Transformer-based Feature Matching for Fetoscopic Mosaicking
Authors:   Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences & Department of Computer Science, University College London, UK, Bano Sophia , Vasconcelos Francisco , David Anna  L , Deprest Jan , Stoyanov Danail ,   Fetal  Medicine  Unit,  University  College  London  Hospital,  UK,   Department  of  Development  and  Regeneration,  University  Hospital  Leuven,  Belgium
Published: June 2022

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a rare fetal anomaly that affects the twins sharing a monochronic placenta. It is caused by abnormal placental vascular anastomoses on the placenta, leading to uneven flow of blood between the two fetuses [1]. Fetoscopic Laser Pho- tocoagulation (FLP) is used to treat TTTS, however, this procedure is hindered because of difficulty in visualizing the surgical environment due to limited surgical field-of- view, unusual placenta position, limited manoeuvrability of the fetoscope and poor visibility due to fluid turbidity and occlusions (Fig. 1. This adds to the surgeon’s cogni- tive load and may result in increased procedural time and missed treatment, leading to persistent TTTS. Fetoscopic video mosaicking can create a virtual expanded field-of- view (FOV) image of the fetoscopic environment, which may support the surgeons in localizing the vascular anastomoses during the FLP procedure. Classical video mosaicking techniques perform handcrafted feature detection, description (i.e. SIFT, SURF, ORB, etc) and feature matching in consecutive frames and homography estimation for image stitching. However, these methods perform poorly on the in vivo fetoscopic videos due to low resolution, poor visibility, floating particles and texture paucity or repetitive texture. Deep learning-based sequential mosaicking [2] method overcomes the limitation of feature-based mosaicking methods, but results in drifting error when stitching non-planar views. A recent intensity-based image registration [3] method relies on placental vessel segmentation maps for registration. This facilitated in overcoming some visibility challenges, however, this method fails when the predicted segmentation map is inaccurate or inconsistent across frames or in views with thin or no vessels. In the paper, we propose the use of transformer-based detector-free local feature matching (LoFTR) method [4] as a dense feature matching technique for creating reliable mosaics with minimal drifting error. Using the publicly available dataset [3], we experimentally show the robustness of the proposed method over the state-of-the-art vessel-based method.
Answering the FDA’s Call To Action: Using Steerable Sheaths and Mirrors to Prevent ERCP Infections
Authors:   EndoTheia, Inc., Gafford J. B , Webster S. J , Anderson P. A , Herrell S. D , Obstein K. L ,   Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Rucker D. C ,   The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Mechanical Engineering
Published: June 2022

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangeopancreatography (ERCP) is the gold standard treatment for a variety of disorders of the pancreaticobiliary system. In ERCP, the biliary tract is accessed from the duodenum using a specialized endoscope called a duodenoscope. It enters the body transorally, navigates through the stomach, past the pylorus, and into the duodenum. Then, various ﬂexible tools are passed through the duodenoscope and aimed sideways at its tip, under side-view camera visualization. An elevator mechanism integrated into the duodenoscope tip is used to control tools to cannulate the major duodenal papilla to access the bile duct. An FDA review in 2019 found that many post-ERCP deaths and infections over the past few years have been due to multi-drug-resistant bacteria transferred between pa- tients undergoing ERCP. The root cause was determined to be the duodenoscopes themselves, which were transmitting harmful bacteria (including Escherichia coli, Staphylococ- cus, and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriacae) between patients in 5.4% of all cases [1], [2]. Furthermore, the FDA linked the high infection rates directly to the elevator mechanism, which contains moving parts with small gaps that harbor bacteria and are difﬁcult to clean and sterilize between cases [2]. These realizations led to the August 2019 call-to-action by the FDA [3], which recognized that a paradigm shift in duodenoscope technology was needed. The FDA call-to-action emphasizes the urgent need to develop “innovative device designs, such as those with disposable components” [3], and urges hospitals to rapidly adopt these technologies, once available.
Design, realization and preliminary validation of an active physical simulator for the study of pelvic floor damages during childbirth
Authors:   University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, Modarelli G , Maglio S , Tognarelli S , Menciassi A ,   The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant‚ÄôAnna, Pisa, Italy
Published: June 2022

Pelvic floor (PF) is a muscle-fascial system that inferiorly closes the pelvis. It is really important in woman's life because it guarantees the correct positioning of the pelvic organs, the urines and feces continence and evacuation, and it allows sexual activity and childbirth [1]. Dysfunctions of PF involve important physical and psychological consequences in the daily life of a woman and significant expenses for their treatment. Vaginal delivery represents one of the main risk factor for the onset of PF disorders. Pelvic muscles in pregnant women show very different elastic characteristics if compared with non-pregnant women‚Äôs muscles. Moreover, they undergo considerable stretching during the passage of the foetus, that often results in a medium and/or long-term tissues injury. Thus, dedicated studies could both pave the way to a better comprehension of this phenomena, and improve the use of prevention clinical techniques, i.e., c-section. High-fidelity and active physical simulators deepen the study of the factors characterizing a clinical event and allow the doctor to have a physical support and real time feedback, which are essential for technique refinement and knowledge transfer in the clinical practice. Currently, there are only birth simulators available on the market, in which the PF is merely an additional element recreated at a low-fidelity level in terms of anatomical and physiological features. In addition, commercial simulators equipped with PF are limited in number and entirely passive, hence they don‚Äôt provide any feedback to the clinician. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to realize a sensorized physical simulator of maternal PF that can be used both as a teaching and/or a training system for gynaecologists and obstetrics. The innovative features of the proposed simulator are the following: i) high- fidelity reconstruction of the maternal PF anatomy; ii) use of soft materials able to replicate the biomechanical properties of human tissues; iii) active evaluation of the muscle deformation induced by the foetal head (FH) passage through the PF structure.
A navigation console to steer magnetic instruments under radiological guidance for neuro-vascular interventions
Authors:   Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich, Dreyfus R , Boehler Q , Chautems C , Nelson B.J
Published: June 2022

The gold-standard for treating some neurovascular diseases such as ischemic stroke is an effective and minimal invasive endovascular technique. The primary instruments used are catheters and guidewires that are inserted into the vasculature through a small incision at the groin [1]. Some instruments have a curved tip allowing for easier access of different vessels as they bifurcate and are navigated by pushing, pulling, and rotating. In cerebrovascular interventions, interventional neuroradiologists are often faced with tortuous and complex anatomies that can be challenging to navigate and require a high level of skill and expertise [2]. An alternative to manual catheter and guidewires is a robotic approach using robotic magnetic navigation (RMN). In RMN, magnetic instruments composed of a flexible magnetic tip are redirected by the external magnetic field generated by a magnetic navigation system (MNS) [3]. In neurovascular radiology, where the instruments are navigated under radiological guidance, x- ray images of the patient anatomy and the instruments are displayed on a monitor. Under these circumstances, the steering of magnetic catheters and guidewires can be challenging, because they are 3D objects moving in a 3D environment, whereas the operator is provided a 2D image on a 2D display. Companies such as Stereotaxis make use of graphical representations of the magnetic field, the magnetic instrument, and the patient anatomy to help the operator in making the mental transformations [3]. Adding visual cues such as graphical overlays or a separate monitor have the potential to divert the doctor‚Äôs gaze away from the x-ray image. This can lead to loss of focus and potentially increase risk. In this work, we propose a new interface that allows the steering of magnetic instruments without the need of additional visual feedback other than the already available 2D fluoroscope image.
iSurgeon: Augmented reality telestration for improved surgical training
Authors:   Department  of  General,  Visceral  and  Transplantation  Surgery,  Heidelberg  University  Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany, Fuchs T.E , Felinska E.A , Kogkas A , Mylonas G.P , M√ºller-  Stich B.P , Nickel F ,   Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London, UK,   Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
Published: June 2022

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has become the gold standard in many surgical procedures [1]. Although it provides a better outcome for patients it has a slower learning curve [2, 3]. In laparoscopic surgery trainees need to learn how to interpret the operative field dis- played on the laparoscopic screen. Experts currently guide trainees only verbally during laparoscopic surgi- cal procedures. We developed the iSurgeon which al- lows the instructor to make hand gestures that are de- tected by an RGB-D camera (colour resolution: 1920x1080 pixels, 30 fps, depth resolution: 512x424 pixels, 30 fps) and displayed on the laparoscopic screen in augmented reality (AR) to provide visual expert guidance (telestration) [4]. Thus, the expert can provide clearer instructions by using gestures in addition to ver- bal instructions. This study analysed the effect of iSur- geon guided instructions on the gaze behaviour of in- structor and trainee during laparoscopic surgery. We also aimed to find out if the iSurgeon affects the per- formance and the cognitive workload of the trainees.
The Design of a Biomimetic Whisker-based System for Clinical Gastrointestinal Diseases Screening
Authors: Wang Zeyu , Chen Junhong , Zhang Ruiyang , Lo Benny
Published: June 2022

The prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases, manifesting as many broad and confusing symptoms such as malabsorption, malnutrition, and even neurologic dysfunction[1], has become a socio- economic burden for present-day society. Extensive clinical studies illustrate that early screening for gastrointestinal diseases is of vital importance for reducing mortality and improving life expectancy. The conventional screening method is endoscopy, featured by high sensitivity in diagnoses of mucosal diseases[2]. Its minimally invasive nature makes it is extensively carried out in hospitals. However, the highly confined and challenging working conditions including darkness, glare, reflection, bleeding caused by biopsy, blur, and defocus can all prevent optical sensors from working optimally, even lead to missing diagnosis[3]. Meanwhile, the diagnosis bias induced by endoscopist differences has a significant effect [4]. In addition, the tactile sensory modality is desired in surgical practice, which is the foundation of efficient force feedback in minimally invasive surgery. Inspired by the sensory mechanism of rat whisker, which shows great potential in texture discrimination and distance estimation tasks[5], in this paper, a biomimetic artificial whisker system is proposed for clinical gastrointestinal disease screening. Unlike optical sensing methods, this tactile sensing is a strong complement to the conventional vision-based methods, especially in situations where optical devices cannot work well, a totally lightless environment for instance. Utilizing the analog front end (AFE) technology, the system inherent noise is minimized, which suppresses detection error in experiments. An end-to-end deep learning algorithm is proposed to provide diagnostic outcomes assisting clinical decisions and avoiding subjective bias. A medical phantom-based pilot study was conducted to demonstrate the detection accuracy of the proposed with three common tissue structures, which are normal tissue, ulcerative colitis, and ulcerative cancer. The results have shown the proposed can reach 100% in distinguishing the different types of tissues, and demonstrated the potential of this novel system for advancing endoscopy.
Vision-based Robot Localisation for Ductoscopic Navigation
Authors:   Department  of  Surgery  and  Cancer,  Imperial  College  London, Daher Rema , Kendrick Connah , Yap Moi  Hoon , Leff Daniel , Giannarou Stamatia ,   Department  of  Computing  and  Mathematics,  Manchester  Metropolitan  University
Published: June 2022

Earlier detection of small invasive and non-invasive can- cers such as ductal carcinoma in-situ could be achieved through systematic interrogation of the mammary duct network. Conventional ductoscopy has failed to pene- trate practice because current platforms are unwieldy, inflexible, and cannot safely, swiftly and smoothly nav- igate down the complex tree-like structure of mam- mary ducts. Moreover, poor quality views with white light endoscopic visualisation within 1mm ducts hinders cancer exclusion, hence the reported low specificity [1]. Recently, the "MAMMOBOT" has been developed, which is a flexible steerable endoscopic robotic system that can safely navigate mammary ducts [2]. Ductoscopic navigation through mammary duct trees can be challenging due to the small field-of- view (FOV), coupled with the paucity of salient duct luminal features. Furthermore, tissue deformation and the complexity of the ductal tree anatomy make nav- igation disorientating, even for experienced operators. Intraoperative localisation and guidance are therefore essential for thoroughly examining ductal trees, targeting and retargeting pathological sites and deploying sensing probes in-vivo while keeping optimal tissue contact. Navigation systems based on electromagnetic (EM) tracking and image registration have been extensively investigated to assist camera localisation during endo- scopic examinations. EM-based systems require addi- tional equipment in the clinical setup and are sensitive to sensor calibration, field distortion and tissue deformation [3]. Image registration systems localise the camera by maximising the similarity between the endoscopic image and a virtual camera view created using a patient specific computer tomography (CT) model [4], [5]. Thus far, the endoscopic navigation methods have focused on bronchoscopic examinations. This paper presents a vision-based navigation framework for robot localisation during ductoscopic examinations. A 3D model of the mammary duct tree was created by a CT scan of a custom-made phantom. Camera localisation is achieved by matching ductoscopic views with virtual views from the CT model.
Collaborative Robotic Ultrasound Tissue Scanning for Surgical Resection Guidance in Neurosurgery
Authors:   Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Imperial College London, UK, Weld Alistair , Dyck Michael , Klodmann Julian , Anichini Giulio , Dixon Luke , Camp Sophie , Albu-Sch√§ffer Alin , Giannarou Stamatia ,   Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, German Aerospace Center,,   Department of Informatics, Technical University of Munich,,   Department of Neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, UK
Published: June 2022

The main goal of surgical oncology is to achieve complete resection of cancerous tissue with minimal iatrogenic injury to the adjacent healthy structures. Brain tumour surgery is particularly demanding due to the eloquence of the tissue involved. There is evidence that increasing the extent of tumour resection substantially improves overall and progression-free survival. Realtime intraoperative tools which inform of residual disease are invaluable. Intraoperative Ultrasound (iUS) has been established as an efficient tool for tissue characterisation during brain tumour resection in neurosurgery [1]. The integration of iUS into the operating theatre is characterised by significant challenges related to the interpretation and quality of the US data. The capturing of high-quality US images requires substantial experi- ence and visuo-tactile skills during manual operation. Recently, robotically-controlled US scanning systems have been proposed (see e.g. [2]) but the scanning of brain tissue poses major challenges to robotic systems because of the safety-critical nature of the procedure, the very low and precise contact forces required, the narrow access space and the large variety of tissue properties (hard scull, soft brain structure). The aim of this paper is to introduce a robotic platform for autonomous iUS tissue scanning to optimise intraop- erative diagnosis and improve surgical resection during robot-assisted operations. To guide anatomy specific robotic scanning and generate a representation of the robot task space, fast and accurate techniques for the recovery of 3D morphological structures of the surgical cavity are developed. The prototypic DLR MIRO surgi- cal robotic arm [3] is used to control the applied force and the in-plane motion of the US transducer. A key application of the proposed platform is the scanning of brain tissue to guide tumour resection.
Inexact Multi-Task Learning for Fetal Anastomoses Detection
Authors:   Department  of  Advanced  Robotics,  Istituto  Italiano  di  Tecnologia,  Genoa,  Italy, Casella Alessandro , Paolis Gaia  Romana  De , Momi Elena  De , Paladini Dario , Moccia Sara , Mattos Leonardo  S ,   Department  of  Electronics,  Information  and  Bioengineering,  Politecnico  di  Milano,  Milan,  Italy,   Department  of  Fetal  and  Perinatal  Medicine,  Istituto  “Giannina  Gaslini”,  Genoa,  Italy,   The BioRobotics Institute and Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
Published: June 2022

Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) is a rare pathology that may affect monochorionic twin pregnan- cies. TTTS depends on the unbalanced blood transfer from one twin (the donor) to the other (the recipient) through abnormal placental vascular anastomoses. Currently, the treatment for TTTS consists of the photo-ablation of abnormal anastomoses in fetoscopic laser surgery [1]. Residual anastomoses still represent a major complica- tion [2] and their identification is not a trivial task. Visual challenges such as small field of view, amniotic fluid turbidity, low-resolution imaging, and unfavourable views are due to the position of the insertion site for the tools. To support surgeons, researchers are working on vessel and placenta segmentation [3], [4]. Recently, [5] presented the first multi-centre large-scale dataset to improve the current state-of-the-art in segmentation and registration in fetoscopy. However, to date, there is no work in the literature on anastomosis detection. There is also no available datasets for this task. This work aims to develop a deep-learning-based frame- work for anastomosis detection in intra-operative feto- scopic videos from inexact labels. Considering the chal- lenges of labelling anastomoses, we propose a weakly- supervised strategy by training a multi-task convolutional neural network (CNN) for (i) segmenting vessels in the fetoscopy frame and (ii) classifying frames as containing anastomoses or not. Relying on class activation mapping (CAM), anastomosis detection is then accomplished.
Preliminary findings of a multimodal sensor system for measuring surgeon cognitive workload
Authors:   Department of Surgery and Cancer, St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College London, UK, Naik Ravi , Jin Kaizhe , Kogkas Alexandros , Ashrafian Hutan , Darzi Ara , Mylonas George ,   Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College  London, UK
Published: June 2022

The operating room represents a high-risk environment centred around the safe and efficient delivery of patient care. It is a complex ecosystem that encompasses many factors including communication within the multidisciplinary surgical team often led by the operating surgeon as well as execution of precise technical surgical skill. These factors are associated with the mental or cognitive workload (CWL) of the surgeon. CWL, also described as the mental effort exerted while undertaking a task, is a construct derived from the cognitive load theory first described in the eighties during problem solving exercises [1]. There has been a growing emphasis on the measurement of CWL since then on individuals working in high-stake environments such as aviation [2]. Measurement of CWL in surgery is moving from solitary traditional subjective measures such as the Surgical Task Load Index (SURG-TLX) to objective measurement of physiological parameters secondary to changes in the CWL of the surgeon which are less exposed to subjective bias [3]. These have included heart rate variability (HRV), pupil metrics, electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography (EEG), skin conductance and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). More recently, there is increasing evidence to demonstrate the use of multiple sensors, or a multimodal sensor system designed to measure CWL with greater accuracy [4]. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a pilot synchronised system of multiple sensors to measure the real-time cognitive workload of surgeons in a simulated setting to demonstrate a proof of concept and to discuss the early findings.
Reinforcement Learning for Path Generation for Surgical Robot Maneuver
Authors:   Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, Chen Junhong ,   King’s College London, Wang Zeyu , Zhu Ruiqi , Zhang Ruiyang , Bai Weibang , Lo Benny
Published: June 2022

In the last decades, surgical robots have been widely used in Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery (RAMIS), which benefits surgeons by reducing their burdens and leads to safer operations. However, RAMIS tasks are still mainly relied on surgeon’s control, thus the performance of a task mostly depends on the level and proficiency of a surgeon, and prone to human errors due to fatigue. However, despite their extensive experience, operators often make small mistakes and corrections during the tasks. Therefore, their kinematics data usually contains small differences to an ideal trajectory. To make full use of Learning from Demonstration(LfD) as well as reduce the dependence on kinematics data, a novel path generation method based on reinforcement learning(RL) is proposed in this paper. The da Vinci Research Kit, as the open-source robotic platform, is used to validate the model. And simulation is used for model training and early validation. The contributions in this work: a) a quick path gener- ation method for transferring tasks via RL; b) a new training strategy for surgical tasks based on surgeme[1]; c) the validation results of the proposed through trans- ferring the learnt model from simulation to real robots.
fMRI and MEG Compatible Hand Motion Sensor
Authors:   The Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, London, UK, Lyu L , Sanchez E Monfort , Runciman M , Mylonas G , Avery J
Published: June 2022

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are two of the most important neuroscience tools, providing spatial and temporal localisation of brain activity [1]. Investigations of somatosensory function or 141 neuroplasticity in rehabilitation greatly benefit from the correlation of neuroimaging and motion sensor data [2], particularly considering recent MEG breakthroughs which enable more accurate assessment of brain function during real world visuomotor coordination tasks [3]. However, constructing wearable sensors suitable for these environments presents a significant design challenge. Interaction between the MR environment and ferromagnetic components present safety concerns. Further electronics and changes in the static magnetic field i.e., from moving metal components, can produce interference. Existing MR compatible sensor systems, such as fibre optic sensors [2][4] or Vision-Based Motion Analysis [5] are either non-cost-effective or require line of sight from multiple angles, which may not always be feasible in fMRI or MEG rooms. We propose a MR/MEG compatible joint sensor, Fig. 1, to track finger motion during grasping tasks, common in rehabilitation or functional experiments. Using the Skinflow [6] principle of fluidic transmission and metal free construction, the sensor has the potential to track the joint angle without creating artefacts in the neuroimaging data, at a lower cost than fibre optic sensors, and without the need for line of sight.
Robotic cervical fixation and sEEG depth electrode placement – pushing the boundaries
Authors: Judy Brendan F , Davidar A. Daniel , Hersh Andrew , Weber-Levine Carly , Sacino Amanda N , Hwang Brian Y , Azad Tej D , Liu Ann , Materi Joshua , Dedrickson Tara , Anderson William S , Theodore Nicholas
Published: June 2022

The ExcelsiusGPS (Globus Medical, Inc., Audubon, PA) robot received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in 2017 with the first in human use for lumbar spine instrumentation at Johns Hopkins Hospital the same year. The applications of the robot soon expanded with the first interbody cage placement in 2020 and first deep brain stimulation performed in 2021. A metanalysis by Kosmopoulos et al1 found that of 37,337 pedicle screws implanted by freehand, 34,107 (91.3%) were found to be placed accurately. Furthermore, there was a higher rate of accuracy in the navigation group (95.2%) compared to without navigation (90.3%). Initial studies with the ExcelsiusGPS robot reported successful lumbar pedicle screw placement rate of 97.4% (339/348)2 and 99% (555/562).3 The ExcelsiusGPS robot has been shown to increase screw placement accuracy enabling utilization of longer screw length and diameters, reduce radiation exposure and surgical time.4 While conventional uses of the robot in spine surgery are pedicle screw placement and sacroiliac fusion, newer navigated interbody placement software hopes to minimize spinal cord injury during interbody placement. Current use in cranial surgery include biopsy, deep brain stimulation, and stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG). High cervical fixation involving C1 and C2 is a complex surgery with potentially severe complications including screw malposition causing damage to neural and/or vascular structures. In a study evaluating the accuracy of free-hand technique of C2 pars screw placement, 11% of screws were mispositioned using the cortical-breach grading system5. Among high cervical transarticular screws, the most common complication included screw misposition at 7% while vertebral artery injury occurred in about 3% of patients6. It was noted that anatomic constraints for this procedure involve alignment of C1 and C2 while inadequate reduction of C1 and C2 contributed to screw misposition. Due to these complications, higher accuracy is needed. Common complications of depth electrode placement for sEEG are hemorrhage related (eg: subdural hematoma, epidural hematoma or intracerebral hemorrhage) and hardware related complications such as malpositioning, electrode fracture, or electrode-recording malfunction7. Robotic navigation aims to reduce these events and increase accuracy. Here we report the first case series of high cervical fixation and sEEG depth electrode placement using the ExcelsiusGPS robot.
Shape Sensing for a Soft Continuum Manipulator using Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT)
Authors:   The Hamlyn Centre for Robotic  Surgery, Imperial College  London, Alian A , Zari E , Avery J , Franco E , Runciman M , Rodriguez y Baena F , Mylonas G. P
Published: June 2022

Soft robots offer numerous advantages for use in medical applications due to their flexibility, maneuverability and inherent softness, which increase safety in surgical procedures by reducing trauma and recovery time for patients. In recent years, soft continuum manipulators able to navigate unconstrained areas opened new opportunities in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and endoscopic applications. A compelling requirement yet to be fulfilled is the integration of a robust proprioceptive sensing system in the manipulator. The solutions that have been explored in the literature include optical fibers and electromagnetic (EM) sensors. However, both methods have disadvantages: aside from their high cost, optical fibers have bulky hardware that is difficult to integrate in a soft continuum robot and can affect its bending, while EM trackers are sensitive to metallic tools or other EM devices [1]. Here, we investigate a sensing approach based on electrical impedance tomography (EIT) for a 1 DOF inextensible manipulator that employs hydraulic actuation. Our system consists of a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) with 13 electrodes embedded in the soft continuum robot. Saline is used as a conductive actuation fluid and the voltage differences detected by the electrodes are used to measure the deformations of the manipulator upon pressurization. Having low profile and biocompatible components, and leaving adequate space for additional instruments are the main advantages of EIT in medical applications. This method shows promising results and we believe that it can inspire a new generation of autonomous soft continuum robots.
Dampak Adopsi TI Terhadap Kinerja Perusahaan Multinasional
Authors: Fawzi Muhammad Ihsan , Subriadi Apol Pribadi
Published: June 2022

This study aims to classify and provide an overview of the factors that influence the adoption of IT in multinational companies and the impact of IT adoption on the performance of multinational companies. The data for this study were obtained from literature searches published from 2009 to 2021. The searches were conducted on scientific journals published internationally in Elsevier or Science Direct, Emerald Insight, Willey, Taylor and Francis, and the Academy of Taiwan Information Systems Research. The search results related to themes and variables, obtained about 150 articles and selected 40 articles relevant to IT adoption in multinational companies and the impact of IT adoption on the performance of multinational companies. The results showed that technological factors, organizational factors, and environmental factors influenced IT adoption, although technological factors and organizational factors influenced IT adoption more than environmental factors. In addition, IT adoption has a positive impact on the performance of multinational companies, especially economic performance and operational performance. Even so, several studies say that IT adoption does not have a positive impact on the performance of multinational companies. The results of this study also show that to find out the factors that influence IT adoption in multinational companies is to use the TOE framework. IT adoption also has a positive impact on the performance of multinational companies, especially in terms of economic performance and operational performance.
Effect of Sustainable Infrastructure and Service Delivery on Sustainable Tourism: Application of Kruskal Wallis Test (Non-parametric)
Authors:   Department of Economics Central University of Kerala, Wani Gowhar Ahmad , Nagaraj V
Published: June 2022

This study examined the effect of sustainable infrastructure and service delivery on sustainable tourism in Kashmir Valley through the five main destinations by covering essential stakeholders. At present, tourism potential nations face destination sustainability issues in various junctures of the tourism sector. Therefore, international agencies and nations focus on sustainable tourism through sustainable transport infrastructure, other factors and improved service delivery. Few studies underlined the role of sustainable infrastructure in service quality and their collective impact on sustainability without empirical evidence at the destination level. At this juncture, the current study presents the summaries of empirical investigation of the effect of sustainable transport infrastructure and services delivery on sustainable tourism in Kashmir Valley. For analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test (non-parametric) is applied to assess the variation in sustainable tourism based upon the performance of sustainable infrastructure and service delivery at destinations. The application of the Kruskal-Wallis independent samples tests duly confirmed the significant results. Sustainable tourism differs by transport infrastructure performance, other elements and service quality of the destinations. Therefore, it is to be stated that poor functioning of transport infrastructure and other basic structures adversely affects service delivery and raises sustainability issues at destinations. It asserts that the comprehensive sustainable transport infrastructure, water supply and drainage, health and sanitation, solid and liquid waste management are highly required to combat environmental issues and ensure sustainability at destinations. The findings of the study have significant policy implications to promote green infrastructure, quality services and development of sustainable tourism at destinations.