bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE APPLICATION OF EXPANDABLE ENDOPROSTHETIC RECONSTRUCTION FOR LIMB SALVAGE SURGERY IN THE SKELETALLY IMMATURE PATIENTS
Authors: YANG RONG-SEN
Published: December 2008

The development of new image techniques enables the early detection of bone tumors in the extremities in the past two decades. In addition, new advance of adjuvant therapy improves the long-term survival of patients with primary bone malignancies. Since the primary bone malignancy frequently occurs at the metaphysis of long bones of pediatric patients in the first and second decade, many patients have to face the late problems of limb length discrepancy after the limb salvage operation. Since the inevitable limb length discrepancy will interfere the functional outcomes and cosmetic appearance, the reconstruction of limb defect after limb salvage remains a challenge. Several options of reconstruction are available for these patients, including resection arthrodesis, rotationplasty, osteochondral allograft reconstruction, and endoprosthetic reconstruction. All these methods are difficult to address the limb length discrepancy. The development of expandable endoprosthetic reconstruction makes limb-salvage surgery feasible in the skeletally immature and provides another choice of solution. This article presents the current status of custom-expandable endoprosthetic reconstruction in the skeletally immature patients after wide resection of primary bone malignancies in the extremity. The surgical options, complications and functional results will be emphasized.

Basically these expandable endoprostheses can be classified according to the expansion design. Recent reports demonstrated that the results of expandable prosthesis in the growing children are rather acceptable. Some patients can regain the equal limb length after expansion of the prosthesis. However these patients have to take several expansion procedures for the equality of limb length during the growing period. A rather high complication rate of either endoprosthesis-related or disease-associated still needs to be settled in the near future. These include mechanical failure of the expansion mechanism, extensive metallosis, aseptic loosening, fatigue fracture, flexion contracture, local recurrence, delayed wound healing, fat embolism, local overgrowth of counterpart bone, nerve palsy, infection, and bone fracture. Some patients even require an amputation even after expandable endoprosthesis reconstruction because of difficult reconstruction or severe functional impairment. However, with regard to difficult rehabilitation for patients under 8 years, amputation or alternative options need to be considered. A comprehensive discussion with the parents and patient about the detailed treatment protocol is needed before performing reconstruction using expandable endoprosthesis.
AN ALGORITHM TO CONSTRUCT THE CAD MODEL OF A RESIDUAL LIMB
Authors: HSU LAI-HSING , HSU FU-MEI , CHOU YOU-LI , HSU JU-YI , LEONG HANG , HUANG GWO-FENG
Published: December 2008

A duplicated mold of the residual limb of an amputee is usually needed to make the socket of prosthesis for the patient. However, traditional means to duplicate a positive mold is time-consuming, patient suffering and intensive manual-efforts required. The study has developed a prototype system that allows a prosthetist to construct the computer-aided design(CAD) model of residual limb easily using it's digitized points based on the concept of reverse engineering. First of all, the topographic data of a residual limb is captured using a non-intrusive scanning machine. The scanned data is then used as the input of a self-developed system that is based on the theories of B-spline curve and lofted surface to process the digitized points. The CAD model can then be built and transferred to a computer-aided manufacturing(CAM) system to generate the code for a computer numerical control(CNC) machine to make the duplicated mold of the residual limb.
QUANTIFICATION OF DIRECTION AND MAGNITUDE OF CYCLICAL POSTURAL SWAY USING ELLIPSES
Authors: SPARTO PATRICK J. , REDFERN MARK S.
Published: December 2008

In this paper we demonstrate a new method to quantify direction and magnitude of sway in response to periodic inputs. The postural sway response was modeled as an ellipse, allowing the determination of angle of heading as well as the resultant magnitude. To demonstrate this methodology, center of pressure data obtained from a subject receiving sinusoidal (0.25 Hz, 1.2 mA peak-to-peak) galvanic vestibular stimulation in both the binaural-bipolar and binaural-monopolar configurations were analyzed. The binaural-bipolar and binaural-monopolar stimuli elicited sway patterns that were oriented at 4° and 97° to the medial-lateral axis, respectively. In addition, the binaural-monopolar stimulus generated twice as much sway as the binaural-bipolar stimulus. We propose that this method can be applied to sway obtained from sinusoidal inputs to the sensory systems controlling balance. Estimation of the direction and magnitude of postural sway will become an important tool for understanding postural control mechanisms for disturbances to balance that do not occur in a cardinal direction.
THE ENTROPY OF DISCRETE-TIME FRACTIONAL GAUSSIAN NOISE AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE ELECTROMYOGRAM OF EXTERNAL URETHRAL SPHINCTER SIGNALS
Authors: CHANG YEN-CHING , CHANG SHYANG
Published: December 2008

In this work, we will study the Hurst parameter embedded in the discrete-time fraction Gaussian noise (DFGN) and derive the entropy with this parameter. It will be applied to the electromyogram (EMG) of external urethral sphincter (EUS). These signals come from intact rats and the injured ones from spinal cord injury (SCI). Analysis indicates that we can discriminate between intact and SCI rats from this information.
NUMERICAL STUDY AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS OF MECHANICAL HEART VALVE
Authors: HSU CHEUNG-HWA
Published: December 2008

This paper develops an analysis tool, for the mechanical heart valve designs, which contains a quick flow analysis model and a pseudo steady-state dynamic model. The flow model utilizes an irrotational, inviscid algorithm of source/doublet elements simulating the closed leaflet geometry and the aortic root coupled with a boundary layer model to simulate the viscous components. The numerical study provides quick simulation and vital design data of the shear stress distributed over the valve leaflet, the separation point prediction behind the leaflet and the sewing ring, and the aerodynamic loads acting on the leaflet. Those aerodynamic loads have been sent to a dynamic model, which simulates the leaflet motion as a 2nd order rotating system, to simulate the opening/closing characteristics of the leaflet. The analysis of the presented new heart valve design leads to a conclusion that the regurgitant volumes depends very much on the orientation of the gravity force. The maximum difference of the ratio of the valve closing regurgitation to the main flow can be as high as 12%. Hence the leaflet ought to be designed with a light material to avoid the unstable influence on the heart work due to the human's physical actions.
UNSTABLE MORSE CODE RECOGNITION SYSTEM WITH EXPERT-GATING NEURAL NETWORK
Authors: FUH DUU-TONG , LUO CHING-HSING
Published: December 2008

The standard Morse code defines the tone ratio (dash/dot) and the silent ratio (dash-space/dotspace) as 3:1. Since human typing ratio can't keep this ratio precisely and the two ratios —tone ratio and silent ratio—are not equal, the Morse code can't be recognized automatically. The requirement of the standard ratio is difficult to satisfy even for an ordinary person. As for the unstable Morse code typing pattern, the auto-recognition algorithms in the literature are not good enough in applications. The disabled persons usually have difficulty in maintaining a stable typing speeds and typing ratios, we therefore adopted an Expert-Gating neural network model to implement in single chip and recognize online unstable Morse codes. Also, we used another method—a linear back propagation recalling algorithm, to implement in single chip and recognize unstable Morse codes. From three person tests: Test one is a cerebral palsy; Test two is a beginner: Test three is a skilled expert, we have the results: in the experiment of test one, we have 91.15% (use 6 characters average time series as thresholds) and 91.54% (learning 26 characters) online average recognition rate; test two have 95.77% and 96.15%, and test three have 98.46% and 99.23% respectively. As for linear back propagation recalling method online recognized rate, we have the results from test one: 92.31% online average recognition rate; test two: 96.15%; and test three 99.23% respectively. So, we concluded: The Expert-Gating neural network and the linear back propagation recalling algorithm have successfully overcome the difficulty of analyzing a severely online unstable Morse code time series and successfully implement in single chip to recognize online unstable Morse code.
BIOACTIVE ASSESSMENT AND BACTERIA TEST FOR THE VARIED DEGREES OF ULTRA-VIOLET RADIATION ONTO THE COLLAGEN-IMMOBILIZED POLYPROPYLENE NON-WOVEN FABRIC
Authors: LIAO JIUNN-DER , TYAN YU-CHANG
Published: December 2008

Exposure to ultra-violet (UV)-C radiation is a frequently used method to prevent bacteria from invasion of blood-contact biomedical products. Potential damage induced by UV radiation to collagen is of concern due to the decay of bioactivity, considerably correlated with structural alterations. Current investigation indicates to the collagen-immobilized non-woven polypropylene (PP) fabrics with sample temperature ca. 4 °C; the samples are then exposed to UV-254 nm radiation for different time intervals. Using Fourier-Transformed Infrared with Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR) and XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), we examine the chemical structures of samples with different treatments. Blood-clotting effects on the modified samples are assessed by activated partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, and fibrinogen concentration tests. By means of cell counter and Scanning Electron Microscopy we count red blood cells and platelets adhesion in the modified porous matrix. Applying standard plate count for bacteria tests, E. coli, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Staph. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and Candida albieans are applied. For human plasma incubated samples of various intervals of UV-254 nm radiation, fibrinogen concentration decreases in human plasma, while platelets and red blood cells adhesions increase before UV radiation. The required time for thrombination shows significant change for UV exposure of less than 20 hrs (α = 0.05). Surface analyses indicate that the decrease of R-COOH (derivated from grafted-pAAc or decarboxylation of collagen), amides degradation (broken–NH), and phenylalanine scission (terminated by −OH, tyrosine formation) may gradually damage collagen by increasing the intervals of UV radiation. The XPS measurements of C 1s core levels at 288.1 eV (O=C-NH) and at 289.3 eV (O=C-O) illustrate significant decreases of intensity after radiation time ca. 44 hrs. It is clear that UV-254 nm radiation exposure for ca. 20 hrs has the potential impact to moderate the bioactivities of collagen and therefore act as a vital factor to accelerate bio-degradation. Bacteria test also supports that around 20 hrs of UV radiation, no bacteria clone formation is found on the immobilized collagen. However, the relation between eventual bioactivity of immobilized collagen after UV radiation and the capability of bacteria proliferation should be measured.
MODEL ANALYSIS OF RESPIRATION-RELATED DOSIMETRIC CHANGE DURING RADIOTHERAPY
Authors: WU JIAN-KUEN , CHEN JYH-CHENG , CHENG JASON CHIA-HSIEN , HUANG DAVID , JIAN JAMES JER-MIN
Published: December 2008

To estimate the respiration-induced dosimetric change at beam edge during a beam-on interval of radiotherapy, by the integration of a mathematical model for organ motion and a modeled beam profile. A method is proposed which incorporated the effects of intra-treatment organ motion due to breathing on the dosimetric change for the treatment of liver cancer. The basic algorithm was to assume the motion of infra-abdominal organs was predominantly in the superior-inferior (S-I) direction. The starting phase was defined as the mid-phase at exhale, to reproduce the same situation of computed tomography simulation for liver cancer. The S-I extent of motion was defined as 1.5cm. The period of a breathing cycle was defined as 4.2 seconds. The shape parameter of the respiratory model was defined as 3. The radiation dose of 100 cGy given with the rate of 300 MU/minute was designed for the model analysis. The position at the beam edge as a function of time could be parameterized for a 10cm x 10cm field with a setup of SAD 100cm. The dose profiles of both 6MV and 18MV photons were applied for the dosimetric calculation of the beam-edge point during the dynamic movement in a beam-on time interval of radiotherapy. The point doses at the superior beam edge for 6MV photons and18MV photons during a beam-one interval of 22.8 seconds were 73.5% and 77.2% of the isocenter dose, respectively. The point doses at the inferior beam edge for the two energies were 31.2% and 32.4%, respectively. There were 147-154% dose increase for superior beam edge and 62.4-64.8% dose decrease for inferior beam edge, as compared to the 50% isocenter dose with the static dose distribution. It is simple and feasible to use the mathematical model to estimate the dosimetric change of the intra-abdominal organ motion from respiration. The impact of respiration on the dosimetric difference deserves more attention in the prescription of radiation treatment. Further measurement of the exact organ motion during the real treatment is warranted to optimize the model.
STATISTICAL POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION: SYSTEM GEOMETRIC MODELS AND ITERATIVE ALGORITHMS
Authors: HSU CHING-HAN
Published: December 2008

Quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) using statistical techniques requires: (a) a system geometric model that represents the probability of detecting an emission from each image pixel at each detector-pair, and (b) an iterative algorithm that reconstructs image as quantitative measurements of radiotracer distribution in vivo. Conventional implementations of iterative reconstruction use system geometric models based either on linear interpolation or on computing the volume of intersection of detection tubes with each voxel, but these simple models ignore many important physical system factors, like depth dependent geometric sensitivity and spatially variant detector pair resolution. In this paper, we evaluate a more accurate system geometric model that includes these physical factors. In addition, implementation variation among different iterative algorithms is another factor that limits the performance. Here, we compare performance of filtered backprojection (FBP) with the ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm and a maximum a posteriori (MAP) method using a Gibbs prior with convex potential functions. Using the contrast recovery coefficient (CRC) as a performance measurement, we conducted various phantom experiments to investigate how the choices of algorithm and system matrix affect reconstruction accuracy. The results of these studies show that all of the iterative methods tested produce superior CRCs than FBP at matched background variance. And the combination of the accurate system geometric model and MAP reconstruction algorithm outperforms the other statistical methods.
THE GAIT ANALYSIS OF PREGNANT WOMEN
Authors: HUANG TSAN-HSUN , LIN SHENG-CHE , HO CHIN-SHAN , YU CHIA-YUEN , CHOU YOU-LI
Published: December 2008

During pregnancy, a woman changes obviously in body weight, body shape, and endocrine system. Those changes make the posture and gait pattern of the pregnant women different from those of the non-pregnant women. At the same time, activities of daily living become more difficult. But there was still no published paper discussing the posture and gait changes of the pregnant women in details and in a whole.

In this study, we used the optimization method to define the hip joint center of the pregnant women. The optimization method could compensate the lack of the anthropometric data of the pregnant women. Due to the variations of physiological changes in the pregnant women, it was difficulty to standardize the gait analysis of pregnant women, even in the same gestational age. The results revealed that there really was some correlation between the significant finding of gait analysis and sacroiliac pain of the pregnant women. The sacroiliac pain often occurred in the following conditions of gait analysis: (1) when the hip extension moment increased; (2) when the knee extension moment decreased; (3) when the angle of ankle plantar-flexion decreased; and (4) when the sacroiliac ajoint torsion increased. The gait analysis of the pregnant is a feasible, but complicated method for study. The data of gait analysis were also compare with questionnaires for further analysis.
THE MACHINE VISION BLIND GUIDE SYSTEM
Authors: LAY YUN-LONG , CHEN PEI-WEN , YANG HUI-JEN
Published: December 2008

The available guide tools of the orientation and mobility for a blind are the cane, guide dog and electronic guide devices. A cane is easy to detect the hindrance that is in front of the user but not for the hindrance above the user waist. That's why a cane user of a blind sometimes will be hit by the upper hindrance. Guide dog is a very powerful mobility guider but expensive and the training and living care for the dogs are difficult. Hence, guide dog is not popular in many countries. The electronic devices for blind guide tools such as laser cane; sonic glasses, sonic guide etc. can only detect a single point at a time and not for a whole view. In our system, a machine vision blind guide system is proposed. A CCD grabbed the image of front view and divided the image into nine blocks. Each block is calculated to get the distance message, which is multipoint data to guide the blind by the converted voice signal.
THE STUDY ON LUBRICITY PROPERTIES OF ARTERIAL VENOUS FISTULA NEEDLES
Authors: LEE MING-CHUNG , LIN CHING-LUNG , HUANG CHIU-LIN
Published: December 2008

Silicone fluid is applied to reduce the friction of medical device in this study. Several factors, which might affect the friction of Arterial-Venous Fistula (A. V.F.) Needles, were investigated by a series of experiments. The experimental results showed that a better condition for the coating is using 10/90-weight ratio of MDX4/n-hexane silicone solution and dipping for 1.5 seconds. Two-step coating with an interval of 20 minutes also was examined to give an improvement in the lubricity of needles. It was observed that increased DC 360 concentration in coating solution displays more excellent friction reduction properties. Experimental consequences also showed that the lubricity of needles coated with DC 360 (350cst) is superior to that of coated with DC 360 (12,500cst).
MOTION ANALYSIS OF MOUTH MOVEMENT UTILIZING CHALLIS TECHNIQUE-EXPERIMENT MODEL AND CLINICAL STUDY USING VIDEO-BASED SYSTEM
Authors: LIN SHENG-CHE , HUANG TSAN-HSUN , SU FONG-CHIN , CHOU YOU-LI
Published: December 2008

An Expert Vision motion analysis system with five analog video cameras was used to evaluate the mouth movement during two facial animations (smile and puffy face). Sixteen skin markers were adhered to the face of subject according to the anatomic landmarks to represent the functional movement of the facial muscles. The trajectory of the four or eight peri-oral skin markers was simultaneously evaluated by Challis technique, instead of individual movement of single marker. The 4-marker method is a little less accurate than 8-marker method. But the 4-marker method can be incorporated as a part of our modality of facial motion analysis, including two/three dimensional displacement of individual marker and absolute/relative displacement of paired markers. It was much easy for data acqusition and no extra marker was needed in the whole modality of our facial motion analysis. Physicians can use this Challis technique to evaluate grouped movement of facial markers, as a whole, in different animation.
A DIGITAL METHOD FOR MEASURING THE THERMAL COMFORT OF THE AIR
Authors: LIU TANG-JEN , YOUNG MING-SHING
Published: December 2008

Opening windows is frequently done to refresh the indoor air for the occupants. To maintain the cleanliness and freshness of the indoor air, more outdoor air is needed. But its high temperature and humidity are harmful to the thermal comfort of the indoor environment. Therefore, determining the amount of outdoor air allowed to enter the room is very important for the optimum conditioning of the indoor air. The ASHRAE comfort charts indicate the percentage of subjects feeling comfortable during various combinations of dry-bulb temperature, humidity, and air movement. A set of mathematical expressions were proposed to model the charts in order to calculate the comfort degree of the outdoor air automatically with its temperature and humidity. In this paper, the measurement of temperature and humidity was completed by a self-developed digital method. Besides, the comfort level of the sampled air was also simultaneously determined by this digital method based on the mathematical model of comfort charts. The system implemented based on our method is portable. This will let us make good use of the outdoor air and controll the ventilation machine more effectively.
3-D BIODYNAMIC CONSTRAINT CONDITIONS WITH THREE SEGMENTS AND TWO ARTICULATING JOINTS ON THE HUMAN KNEE
Authors: WANG XISHI , ZHANG LI-QUN
Published: December 2008

In the paper, the 3-D biodynamic constraint conditions with three-segments (femur-patella-tibia) and two articulating joints (patellofemoral joint and tibiaofemoral joint) on the human knee are established. These constraint conditions of motion accommodate two situations: a two-point and a single-point contact on the patellofemoral joint and tibiaofemoral joint. On the other word, the present constraint modeling includes both rolling and sliding motions between the patella-femoral joint and tibia-femoral joint. This study can be explored a realistically 3-D biodynamic modeling of the human knee joint or human lower extremity.
THE MONITORING AND CONTROL OF AN ARM CRANK SYSTEM USING FUZZY LOGIC FOR MULTI-HANDICAPPED YOUTHS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION
Authors: SHIEH JIANN-SHING , HUNG JEN-TSANG
Published: December 2008

In this paper, we try to cope with National Special School in Taoyuan in order to fit the special requirements for multi-handicapped youths with mental retardation using current high technology, such as microcomputer control, sensing technology, and fuzzy logic control. The prototype device of this paper is focused on designing an arm crank system using a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to exercise for the upper limb. The rotation velocity of this system was controlled via adjusting the electric current of the brake in order to increase the training motivation. Hence, a FLC was designed into this system in comparison with a manual control by an expert (i.e., physical therapist). Fifteen multi-handicapped youth with mental retardation were treated using the manual control as a control group, and another fifteen youths were treated using FLC as an experimental group. The root mean square deviation (RMSD) of the change of rotation velocity of arm crank was no significant difference (p > 0.05) using Student t test analysis. It means that FLC can be replaced the manual control by the qualified physical therapist. Therefore, it can be seen as a demonstration of feasibility of the applicability of this FLC for monitoring and control the velocity of the arm crank. But, it still needs a longer series of multi-handicapped youths with mental retardation, perhaps to refine the rule-bases, and certainly to see how widely they are applicable.
AN INTELLIGENT DIGITAL VOLTAMMETRIC SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS EXECUTED THROUGH STAND-ALONE OPERATION OR PC-CONTROL
Authors: CHENG CHING-CHING , YOUNG MING-SHING , YOUNG SHANG-WEN , CHUANG CHANG-LIN
Published: December 2008

This study presents an intelligent voltammetric system consisting of a personal computer and a digital voltammeter with VXIbus architecture of system control board, voltammetric measurement board and electrode evaluation board. System is designed to provide superior, comprehensive, versatile and convenient storage, analysis and display of electrochemical and voltammetric waveforms. Voltammeter is capable of stand-alone operation or direct PC control through a Labview program and serial communication interface. Stand-alone offers several general voltammetric functions such as electrochemical treatment and evaluation of electrodes and experimental voltammetry. PC connection gives additional functions such as automatic scanning of oxidation potential, expanded storage and processing of experimental data, arbitrary voltammetric waveform parameters, etc. Standalone uses microcontroller and three-bus structure, with EEPROM storing waveform parameters, experimental data and machine code program downloaded from PC. Electrode evaluation board tests electrode quality by measuring electrode equivalent resistance and capacitance, requiring only one button to perform the entire procedure. Minimum potential unit is 1 mV, at which setting the voltage range is −2.05 to +2.05 V. At a minimum unit of 4.9 mV, the voltage range is −10 to +10V. Experimental results are presented using carbon fiber electrode to measure the dopamine concentration in PBS solution, showing minimum oxidation current can be measured to less than 10 pA, with a minimum detectable bulk concentration of less than 10 ppb. The combination of PC with stand-alone voltammeter offers high-speed, precision, automation, versatility and portability, while the VXIbus architecture allows easy expansion capability.
AUTOMATED SHAPE MODIFICATION FOR THE CAD MODEL OF RESIDUAL LIMB
Authors: HSU LAI-HSING , HSU LU-YI , CHOU YOU-LI , CHIEN CHIH-WEI , HUANG GWO-FENG
Published: December 2008

During the design and fabricating processes of a prosthetic socket, in order to avoid the impair on the pressure-relief areas of the residual limb, such as tibia, the shape of duplicated plaster mold of the residual limb that is used to make the socket should be modified. The study focused on developing an algorithm that employs the techniques of reverse engineering, theories of B-spline and lofted surface, and knot insertion method to modify the shape of a residual limb. Once the regions of PT/PR areas of a residual limb have been specified, the selected scanned points are then transferred to the prototype system developed in this study to implement the required modification. A demonstrated case study has verified the algorithm that can automatically meet the required shape change of that specific residual limb. Based on the shape modification algorithm, an automated prosthetic socket design system that is being developed would then be more feasible.
USE OF THE SECOND HARMONIC IN STRAIN IMAGING: A PHANTOM STUDY
Authors: YANG SHIUH-KUANG , HUANG YI-CHENG
Published: December 2008

The clinical images of an ultrasound system are normally obtained by analyzing the ultrasonic echoes from the discontinuities in a patient. Information such as wave speed, acoustic impedance, and the attenuation coefficient computed from the ultrasonic echoes are the primary parameters used in constructing an ultrasonic image. However, the traditional medical imaging is insensitive to identify the abnormal regions of small stiff change. It often fails to reveal the extent or existence of tumors, which are found to be more stiff than surrounding normal tissues.

To overcome these problems, this research proposes an ultrasonic imaging method based on tissue elasticity through the harmonic filter to construct a strain-harmonic image. This technique is formed by a process involving two steps. First, the phantom is compressed externally to generate an internal strain field. Second, ultrasonic transmitting signals before and after compression are acquired and processed by harmonic filter. The strain profiles of a soft sample are converted into two-dimensional gray images using MATLAB software. Experiments were conducted for the comparison between the strain and strain-harmonic image. It is observed that the strain-harmonic images can illustrate layer location of the phantoms better than those plotted in the strain images.
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF A DENTAL IMPLANT
Authors: HUANG SHYH-CHOUR , TSAI CHANG-FENG
Published: December 2008

This paper presents results from using a 3-dimensional finite element model to assess the stress distribution in the bone, in the implant and in the abutment as a function of the implant's diameter and length. Increasing implant diameter and length increases the stability of the implant system. By using a finite element analysis, we show that implant length does not decrease the stress distribution of either the implant or the bone. Alternatively, however implant diameter increases reduce the stresses. For the latter case, the contact area between implant and bone is increased thus the stress concentration effect is decreased. Also, with increased implant diameter the bone loss is decreased and as a consequence the success rate is improved.
REGISTRATION AND NORMALIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING BRAIN FUNCTIONAL IMAGES
Authors: LIAO Y. L. , CHIU N. T. , WENG C. M. , SUN Y. N.
Published: December 2008

Tc-99m HMPAO is a typical tracer used in the analysis of cerebral blood flow. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging utilizing Tc-99m HMPAO is thus a popular method to assess brain function. In this paper, we present an image analysis system for SPECT images that performs a series of image processing procedures including 3D image registration, gray-level normalization, and brain extraction, which map all the 3D brain data to the same space for further analysis. Afterward, the aligned images undertake a standard statistical analysis, the paired t test, to detect the areas that have significant deviations between the two images. The statistical t map is then represented with a color plot for each brain slice to indicate the activation foci. The resulting maps are found very helpful to doctors for the lesion evaluation and localization in the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenic patients.
THE APPLICATION OF FULL-SCALE 3D ANTHROPOMETRIC DIGITAL MODEL SYSTEM ON BREAST RECONSTRUCTION OF PLASTIC SURGERIES
Authors: SUN SHUH-PING , CHEN JING-SHYR
Published: December 2008

A full-scale 3D anthropometric digital model system is a set of technology that combined with 3D digital imaging system, computer 3D image processing system, reverse engineering and Computer-Aided Design. The purpose of this studied is to make a full size solid breast model by using the 1:1 anthropometric digital model technique to assist breast reconstruction plastic surgery colon the same size of symmetrical breast of the patient. The full-sized simulating breast model created in this studied not only can assist plastic surgeons by making more symmetric breasts on the other side during the reconstruction of the breast surgeries, but also can go into a process of analyzing if the two sides of the breasts are symmetrical. This studied is used the 3D optics scanner to scan on patients' breasts to obtain the breast 3D image data and then used reverse engineering technique and CAD software to simulate and to analyze the 3D image model of the reconstruction breasts. If this type of solid model is needed during the medical treatment, it can apply 3D digital data into a Rapid Prototyping machine to make the full-sized solid model. Doctors can using this solid model go into a process of evaluation and planning before the surgeries and consider being an important reference on breast reconstruction surgeries so that it can reduce patients' inconvenience and promote the medical treatment qualities.
INTERFACE PRESSURE AND GAIT ANALYSIS IN DIFFERENT WALKING SPEEDS AND ON THE BELOW-KNEE AMPUTEES WITH MULTIPLE AXIS PROSTHETIC FOOT PROSTHESIS
Authors: CHOU YOU-LI , SHI SHIUH-SHENG , HUANG GWO-FENG , LIN TING-SHENG
Published: December 2008

Interface stresses are an important consideration in stump and socket for a prosthetic limb to a person with transtibial amputation. During stance phase of the gait cycle, the prosthetic socket is expected to support and distribute the entire body weight of the patient. Excessive stresses between stump and socket will induce pain, discomfort and breakdown of soft tissues. The objectives of this study are to investigate the differences of gait, the maximum forces and pressures between stump and socket during different walking speed. Motion analysis system was applied to investigate the kinematics and kinetics of the gait and the Pedar system was used to measure the maximum forces and pressures between stump and socket during different walking speeds. Fifteen male subjects with transtibial amputation were collected in this research. These subjects were required to walk in three different speeds (85 steps/min, 95 steps/min, 115 steps/min). The maximum force, pressure and forcetime integrals in head of fibula, patellar ligament, medial condyle of tibia, tibial end and fibular end were recorded. The results showed that, the range of motion and the moment in hip, knee and ankle joint increased as the walking speed. Maximum forces and pressures in the measured areas had no significant difference in multiple axis prosthetic foot when the walking speed increased. The distributions of the force-time integrals were the same when compared with maximum force and the pain scale of subjects' subjective feeling. Walking speed would not influence the maximum force and pressure when subjects were in single axis prosthetic foot. This study provided the objective and subjective data for prosthetist or physician when applied on amputees.
DEVELOPMENT OF AGENT-BASED AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC WHEELCHAIR CONTROL SYSTEMS
Authors: KUO CHUNG-HSIEN , HUANG HSU-LUNG , LEE MING-YIH
Published: December 2008

In this paper, the intelligent and agent-based autonomous robotic wheelchair controller is proposed. The proposed agent-based autonomous robotic wheelchair control system consists of the functions of path planning, navigation and obstacle avoidance. In this work, the A* algorithm is used to develop the path planning module; the fuzzy logic is used to develop the obstacle avoidance and comfortable wheelchair motion control. Especially, the fuzzy fusion method is used to integrate the proposed fuzzy agent model. Finally, several cases of the individual agent execution, fuzzy module fusion, path planning, and wheelchair coordination are discussed, and the simulation results show that the proposed autonomous robotic wheelchair controller achieves the desired objectives. In addition, the agent-based design increases the model integrability and maintability.
EFFECTS OF AORTA BENDING AND RENAL LIGATION ON THE BLOOD PRESSURE: A SIMULATION ON ARTERIAL STIFFENING
Authors: HSIU H. , JAN M. Y. , WANG Y. Y. LIN , WANG W. K.
Published: December 2008

Motivation: Arterial stiffening is thought to be the principal cause of hypertension [1-5]. In modern hemodynamic theories, it amplifies the pulse pressure by affecting wave reflection and reducing the cushion function. Methods: In this study, we performed aorta bending experiment on rats to simulate the arterial stiffening in vivo. Results: The blood pressure (both the steady and the pulsatile component) dropped rather than rose, which is quite different from deduction from models of "flow theories". Conclusion: It is a strong support that the artery is a transmission system for the pressure wave and the coupled resonance mechanism [6-14] accounts for the improving transmission efficiency. It may help us to understand the mechanism of hypertension.
QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF TRANSGENIC AND ENDOGENOUS DNA SEQUENCES IN SEEDS AFTER AUTOMATED DNA PREPARATION
Authors: PETERHÄNSEL CHRISTOPH , HAHNEN SILKE , KALAMAJKA RAINER , OFFERMANN SASCHA , MIEDL BRIGITTE , RÜGER BARBARA
Published: December 2008

In applied transgenic research as well as in agriculture there is an increasing need for high-throughput analyses of plants for genotypic selection or to identify the purity of seed stocks, e.g. for transgenic contaminations or the identification of pathogens. We developed and optimised conditions for the isolation of DNA from single seeds using an automated high-throughput protocol. Our results show that the system provided is capable of isolating DNA from any tested seed source. Furthermore, seeds remain capable of germinating during the homogenisation procedure. Quantification of endogenous and transgenic sequences by Real-Time PCR revealed that the prepared DNA is suitable in quality and quantity for multiple PCR analyses with both SYBR Green and hybridisation probe detection. The described method will be a useful tool for routine analyses like screening of large populations or the specific detection of genetically modified organisms (GMO).
THE APPLICATION OF AN AUTOMATED OXYGEN CONCENTRATION CONTROL AND MEASUREMENT SYSTEM TO A MINIATURIZED ENERGY CONSUMPTION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM USING RESISTIVE-TYPE OXYGEN GAS SENSORS
Authors: WU CHIEN-CHUNG , LEE GWO-BIN , LUO CHING-HSING
Published: December 2008

Although the conventional indirect calorimeter is a valuable tool, its size and expense prohibits its widespread use in hospitals. Furthermore, its flow-through measurement technique dilutes the respiratory variations, and hence some form of high-precision detection instrumentation is required. These limitations may be overcome by combining MEMS with CMOS circuit design technology to develop an innovative SOC biochip as the basis of a miniaturized energy consumption measurement system. In order to measure the characteristics of the oxygen sensors which form one part of this system, this study develops an automated oxygen concentration control and measurement system. This system can simulate the miniscule respiratory variations of a premature infant and can subsequently establish a suitable oxygen concentration environment to ensure the infant's well being. The proposed system is capable of establishing environments with oxygen concentrations ranging from 5% to 100%, and can control the oxygen concentration to a resolution of 0.006%. The minimum time required to increase the oxygen concentration from 21% to 100% is approximately 5.6 seconds. The proposed system can also automatically measure the properties of the oxygen sensors, including their resistance characteristics at different oxygen concentrations, the relationship between their sensitivity and the oxygen concentration, and the influence of working temperature and humidity upon their sensitivity. The necessary measurement data is acquired locally and can then be transmitted to a remote PC via the Internet.
THE INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAROTID INTIMA-MEDIA THICKNESS AND VASCULAR COMPLIANCE IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE
Authors: HUANG CHIH-CHENG , CHEN TAINSONG , CHAO TING-HSING , JUAN YAO-FENG
Published: December 2008

Carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is used as an indicator of atherosclerosis and a risk predictor for stroke and cardiovascular diseases. In macroscopic view, the atherosclerotic process constitutes changes in structure and mechanical function of vessels. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between carotid IMT and elastic property, or compliance, of the vessel.

Eighteen patients (10 males, 8 females, mean age: 65.5+/−12.2) who received coronary angiography due to coronary artery disease (CAD) were enrolled in this study. The IMT was measured at left carotid artery 5 cm below bifurcation. The blood pressure was measured through a catheter placed in aortic arch and continuous pressure change was recorded simultaneously during performing of carotid sonography. A sequence of cross section images of carotid sonogram was recorded. An image analysis algorithm is developed for serial luminal area measurements. Then the estimation of compliance was computed according to Windkessel model.

Regression analysis shows negative correlation (r=−0.704) between IMT and vascular compliance. The results correlate the elastic property and structural change of carotid artery during the process of atherosclerosis. This finding further support that IMT is a good parameter for evaluation of the severity of atherosclerosis.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR THE PREDICTION OF BLADDER CANCER
Authors: ABBOD M. F. , CATTO J. W. F. , CHEN M. , LINKENS D. A. , HAMDY F. C.
Published: December 2008

New techniques for the prediction of tumour behaviour are needed as statistical analysis has a poor accuracy and is not applicable to the individual. Artificial intelligence (AI) may provide these suitable methods. We have previously shown that the predictive accuracies of neuro-fuzzy modelling (NFM) and artificial neural networks (ANN), two methods of AI, are superior to traditional statistical methods for the behaviour of bladder cancer (Catto et al, 2003). In this paper, we explain the AI techniques required to produce these predictive models. We used 9 parameters, which were a combination of experimental molecular biomarkers and conventional clinicopathological data, to predict the risk of tumour progression in a population of 109 patients with bladder cancer, NFM, using fuzzy logic to model data, achieved similar or superior predictive accuracy to ANN, which required cross-validation. However, unlike the impenetrable opaque structure of neural networks, the rules of NFM are transparent, enabling validation from clinical knowledge and the manipulation of input variables to allow exploratory predictions.
INTENSITY DISTRIBUTION AND TEMPERATURE RISE FOR TRANSCRANIAL BRAIN ULTRASOUND HYPERTHERMIA
Authors: LIAUH CHIHNG-TSUNG
Published: December 2008

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the intensity distribution and the temperature responses when ultrasound beams are used for the intact brain tumor hyperthermia. A search method is developed to search for the appropriate transducer diameter and the input power level that induce a well focused high intensity region and an effective thermal dose region to enhance the goodness of the brain ultrasound hyperthermia treatments. This work employs a simplified model of a scanned ultrasound transducer power deposition (a cone with convergent/divergent shape). Multiple reflections and transmissions occurring at the interfaces are taken into consideration of calculating the intensity distribution as an ultrasound plane wave propagates through skull bone into brain tissue. The distributions of ultrasound intensity, specific absorption rate ratio, and temperature are used to determine the appropriateness of the transducer diameter and the input power level for a yielded set of tumor conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that (1) the maximum intensity ratio in the tumor region is larger than that in the bone region for all frequencies; (2) the treatments for larger tumors become more difficult to solve if the ratio of the diameter of transducer to the tumor diameter is less than 10 when one tries to use only high intensity ultrasound exposure to cause small lesions due to the cavitation effects. Results demonstrate the feasibility of inducing both a well focused high intensity region to produce local cavitation lesions and an effective thermal dose region to enhance the goodness of the intact brain ultrasound hyperthermia treatments. The results of this study can be a guideline for designing an optimal ultrasound heating system, arranging the transducers, and implementing further treatment planning for the transcranial brain tumor hyperthermia.
BIOLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS IN ATTEMPTING TO DESIGN A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATION OF ANAESTHETIC DELIVERY
Authors: ANGEL A. , TING C. H.
Published: December 2008

This paper is concerned with an attempt to produce a system to control anaesthetic depth in an animal model. The problems of deciding which parameter to use as an index of anaesthetic depth and the peculiar pharmacology of anaesthetic drugs will be explored.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF STEPPING OVER OBSTACLES IN YOUNG SUBJECTS
Authors: CHEN HAO-LING , LU TUNG-WU , LIN H. C.
Published: December 2008

A better understanding of the kinematics and control strategies adopted during obstacle crossing is essential for the prevention of injuries associated with falls in the elderly. The effects of obstacle height on the foot clearance, foot-obstacle distance and joint kinematics have presented significant controversy. This may be related to the selection of obstacle height, whether the obstacles are normalized to the leg length, and to the calculation of the foot-obstacle clearance, as well as the extraction of representative joint angles for the analysis. In this study, fourteen young healthy adults wearing 28 infrared retroreflective markers walked and crossed obstacles of heights of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% of their leg lengths in a gait laboratory equipped with a 3D motion analysis system. Three-dimensional joint kinematics of the lower limb were calculated. Foot clearances were calculated using the heel and toe markers. The results suggested that young subjects maintained a constant margin of leading foot clearance when crossing higher obstacles (higher than 79.4mm) and a constant trailing foot clearance for all obstacle heights. Both toe-obstacle and heel-obstacle horizontal distances were not affected by obstacle height. Apart from the peak values, kinematic variables for the leading limb should be considered both when the toe and heel cross the obstacle while only those when the toe crosses the obstacle for the trailing limb. Not only in the sagittal plane, motions of the lower limb in the other two planes were also important when investigating the kinematics of the leading limb during obstacle crossing. The present study clarified some of the controversies in the literature of obstacle-crossing through careful comparisons of kinematic variables obtained from different study aspects. The results will be helpful for future studies to gain insight into the kinematics and control strategies adopted during obstacle-crossing.
IMPROVING MMI WITH ENHANCED-FCM FOR THE FUSION OF BRAIN MR AND SPECT IMAGES
Authors: HUANG CHUNG-HSIEN , LEE JIANN-DER
Published: December 2008

Recently, maximization mutual information (MMI) of image intensities has been proposed as a new matching criterion for automated multimodality image registration. However, the success of the MMI relies on the similarity of the histogram distribution between the images to be fused. This condition is usually hard to be achieved in practical application. Besides, MMI is time consuming because it needs to find an optimal solution about six parameters (three for shifts and three for rotations) during the registration process. To overcome these drawbacks of using traditional MMI, a novel scheme, named improved MMI, which is based on fuzzy c-means (FCM) and MMI, is proposed. The experimental results, using MR and SPECT images, to confirm the superior performance of the proposed method in comparison with the traditional MMI method are also included.