Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 23, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

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University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

The goal of this thesis is to propose and investigate a method of predicting depth of a laser dissection pulse in soft tissue without acquiring material properties of the tissue target or measuring the laser output. The method proposed is similar to what is used by laser surgical operators today, but uses regression learning to perform on-the fly predictions in place of a skilled laser surgeon. Power of the laser and the ablation depth were recorded for 57 samples and fed into the regression algorithm. Data exclusion was performed using Temperature before laser action as criteria. A linear and logarithmic model was explored using random points from the data post-exclusion, validation RMSE ranged from 135-200 micrometer. A linear and logarithmic model was explored using data points below a moving power threshold and validated with data points above said threshold, validation RMSE ranged from 108-170 micrometer. The t.test performed showed there was not a significant difference between the linear and the logarithmic models' goodness of fit metrics, but it did show there was a significant difference between the model building methods (randomly selected data points, moving power threshold). The method of building a model using lower power levels to predict larger power levels had better goodness of fit metrics than the method of selecting data points at random. In the future, this method could be used to help approximate the laser settings for surgery on a procedural basis, and allow for surgeons to perform at a higher skill level with less training.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-154).

Parkinson' Disease (PD) is a motor disorder characterized by rigidity, tremor, and hypokinesia with secondary manifestations like defective posture and gait, mask like face and dementia. Over the years it may lead to inability to move, breath and ultimately patient may succumb to chest infection and embolism. Prevalence studies show that more than six million people around the world suffer from PD. At present, there is no cure for PD but there are effective treatments that can slow the progression of the disease and regulate its affects. PD results from a deficiency of dopamine so most drugs that produce a salutary effect in PD either potentiate dopamine or work as dopamine agonists. Hence, to keep the symptoms of PD to a minimum it is very important that the medications be consumed regularly, so that the dopamine level is maintained in the body of the subject. Electronic pillbox logger is a device that has been designed to ensure this very much required medication adherence in PD subjects, which can also be used to measure the response to oral medication. This work describes the design and implementation of an electronic pillbox logger for use by people suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). The pillbox logger is designed to track medication adherence and prompt the user to take medication on time. It is pocket-sized, portable, and compartmented. It has a variety of alarm systems to remind the user to take the correct dose of their medication at the correct time. Most importantly, it keeps an electronic log of the time of dosage consumption by detecting the presence/absence of pills in the pillbox. This overcomes major limitations of other pillboxes with a logging function that are often too large to carry, contain a single compartment, or only record the time the container was opened rather than the presence or absence of pills. The proposed pillbox logger complements a wearable device under development for people with Parkinson's disease that continuously monitors impaired movement. The combination of the pillbox logger with the wearable sensor will permit clinicians to determine the response to oral therapies, which can be used to optimize therapy. People with PD consume similar pills throughout the day hence the pillbox logger has been designed to detect the presence/absence of pills in general in the pillbox rather than which specific pills are absent or present in the pillbox logger. This feature of the current design that the device records knowledge about pills in general in the pillbox logger and not about any specific pills is a major reason why the current design is specific to PD subjects only. However, though the current design of the pillbox logger is designed for people with Parkinson's Disease, the pillbox is suitable for other maladies in which the timing of the medication is critical. The described pillbox logger was built and the design was validated after running a number of tests. The battery powered pillbox logger is able to accurately store the information about the actual presence/absence of pills in each compartment of the pillbox. It is capable of sending out reminder alarms at the right time of the day and can be connected to a host computer using a USB cable to read the stored information from it. The proper functional working of the pillbox logger after thorough testing proves that the design of pillbox logger was successful.

The use of medical devices and drugs is constantly increasing in the United States. New techniques are developed, pharmaceutical companies manufactured thousands drugs and medical devices each year, these products are put on the market immediately; therefore, the consequences can be terrible. / In the US, thousands even millions of people suffer from personal injuries because they use a defective medical product; this is referred as a mass tort. The class action procedure is often used in order to repair these personal injuries. Plaintiffs always ask for the use of this procedure, but the federal American courts always refuse the certification of the class because the conditions of Rule 23(b)(3) are not fulfilled. This is what is called "the new trend of American courts". / The non application of the class action procedure leads to terrible results; victims of a defective medical product cannot receive compensation for the injury they are suffering from. These victims choose the class action procedure because of its advantages, if the class action is not certified they won't sue individually. If the real problem was the non respect of Rule 23(b)(3)'s conditions, a modification or a reform of the Rule would have been done. Unfortunately the laxity of the federal judges tends to influence the American Congress who ignores the need for a reform of this rule. This makes us wonder what the real justifications motivating this refusal of certification are.

No description available.

Submitted in fulfilment of the Master's Degree in Clinical Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Introduction: The aim of this study was to establish the most reliable standard method for monitoring endotracheal tube cuff pressure in an intensive care unit. Methodology: The study was conducted at King Edward VIII Hospital ICU on adult patients undergoing prolonged intubation of more than 24 hours. Consent was obtained from the patient’s next of kin. The patient’s Pcuff for this study was recorded in two ways simultaneously for a period of 12 hours during the day. The principal investigator recorded the Pcuff thrice during the study period using the Posey cufflator®. Continuous recording was done using a pressure transducer connected to the Nihon Kohden BSM®. Factors causing changes in Pcuff were also documented. Results: Thirty-five critically ill adult patients were enrolled into the study. Nineteen (54.3%) of the subjects were male. Seventeen out of 35 subjects were studied for the entire 720 minute period. The mean time of study of the group was 667 minutes with the lowest period being 135 minutes for one patient. The group mean ± Standard deviation (SD) was 26.6 8.7 with a 95% confidence index of 9.2 – 44.0 and the median value was 25 for continuous readings. For the entire group, 13% of the time was spent in the low pressure range (< 20 cmH2O), while 23% was spent in the high pressure (> 30 cmH2O). A mean of 64% of the time was spent in the normal pressure range. Overall, the most frequently encountered events that caused pressure changes were body movement, coughing, head movement and suctioning accounting for 26.2%, 20.1%, 19.2% and 9.4% respectively. For intermittent readings, the mean ± SD of all patients for T0 was 25.3 ± 6.9; for T6 25.9 ± 8.7 and for T12 24.8 ± 3.8. The overall mean ± SD for all readings was 25.6 ± 7.1. For the entire group, 12% of the time was spent in the low pressure range (< 20 cmH2O), while 5% was spent in the high pressure (> 30 cmH2O). A mean of 83% of the time was spent in the normal pressure range. The correlation between intermittent pressure and the continuous reading at the same time was r = 0.87. iii Discussion: Continuous monitoring of Pcuff indicated that the endotracheal cuff pressure varies extensively during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients, such variation being noted both between patients and within an individual patient. In an attempt to compare intermittent and continuous monitoring of endotracheal cuff pressures, a good correlation between the two measurements was demonstrated. However, the variations in pressures noted for an individual patient would not have been detected if endotracheal cuff pressures were monitored intermittently. Hence, with continuous monitoring the pressure changes may be detected early. Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of cuff pressure during mechanical ventilation in intensive care units is thus recommended for all patients. If intermittent monitoring is performed, it should be more frequently than eight-hourly. It is recommended that a pressure range of 20-30 cmH2O still be used as the normal range. The role of self adjusting pressure devices, although needing further exploration, holds much promise. / DUT Postgraduate Development Services.

No description available.