Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-63).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75).

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that breast cancer related lymphoedema can be managed by means of Complete Decompression Therapy and consequently improve quality of life. An instrumental case study design was used. The target population was all women with breast cancer related lymphoedema living in Tshwane, the context of the study. The patient with the most severe breast cancer related lymphoedema treated by the researcher is presented. Mixed methods were used to gather data. The expected 60% limb volume reduction could not be achieved after 4 weeks of induction therapy. After 8.5 weeks of treatment, the limb volume reduced from the initial 3841 mL to 1639 mL, a 57.2% reduction. Patient compliance to compression therapy was a challenge and led to relapse extending the induction phase of treatment. Despite the prolonged treatment, the limb volume reduction improved the patient’s quality of life. The study demonstrated and confirmed that despite a degree of noncompliance, breast cancer related lymphoedema can be managed with Complete Decongestive Therapy which, in turn, improves the quality of life of women living with breast cancer.

Not available / text

Unreliable networks can severely hamper transmission of video data. In applications requiring minimal latency, video frames must be compressed using intraframe techniques. We develop a video codec suitable for robot teleoperation over unreliable networks with high packet loss rates. The codec combines a foveated image compression algorithm, Embedded Foveation Image enCoding (EFIC), with a Forward Error Correction (FEC) code tuned to network performance. Foveation, or spatially variant image resolution, allows very high compression levels while preserving the most important image characteristics. By tightly integrating an FEC within the codec we are able to virtually eliminate dropped frames independent of the network protocol. We find that the new codec supports much higher video quality than another intraframe compression technique, Motion JPEG (M-JPEG). / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Electrical Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Mathematics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy