A new hand training system has been designed and built to help clinicians administrate hand therapy to stroke patients. It uses pneumatics to actuate the fingers from the dorsal side of the hand in order to provide training for activities of daily living. Before the device is tested in a clinical trial, it’s safety, comfort and reliability needed to be established via trials on 30 healthy individuals. A comfort survey that was issued to the users indicated that they found the device comfortable regardless of age, gender, weight and hand length. The sensor data that was gathered during testing indicated that the readings were reliable and the device had minimal impact on the subjects' normal range of motion. A bio-mechanical model, validated through experimentation, was also created to estimate joint angles of the index finger during the trials to ensure that the device put the joints of the finger in bio-mechanically safe angles. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Therapeutic angiogenesis is a promising technique to treat ischemia by creating new blood vessels. The aim of this thesis was to develop and characterize biodegradable elastomers for localized delivery of growth factors and to investigate the ability of released growth factors to induce angiogenesis. An osmotic delivery mechanism using photo-cross-linked elastomers based on trimethylene carbonate (TMC) was used to deliver vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) alone or in combination at two different doses. It was hypothesized that elastomers made of TMC can provide an effective osmotic release using trehalose as a main osmotigen and that the use of TMC would eliminate the microenvironmental pH drop implicated in denaturing acid sensitive growth factors. To obtain an insight into the degrading zone in which growth factors will be released, the in vivo degradation mechanism and tissue response were investigated. The in vivo degradation of D,L-lactide/ε-caprolactone (DLLACL) elastomers that degrade by hydrolysis was investigated for comparison. Cross-link-density played a significant role in the degradation pattern of DLLACL elastomers. TMC and TMCCL elastomers degraded by surface erosion and oxidation played a significant role in their in vivo degradation. To obtain an efficient release, the mechanical properties of TMC elastomers were tailored by copolymerizing TMC with CL and DLLA and/or by controlling the cross-link density. The delivery device was able to provide a sustained release of growth factors for longer than two weeks with no initial burst. Cell based bioactivity assays indicated that released growth factors were highly bioactive over the entire release period. Microenvironmental pH studies using FITC-BSA indicated no significant drop in pH in TMC elastomers that contained small amounts of DLLA. Using 125I-VEGF165, it was found that the osmotic delivery can provide a direct in vivo-in vitro release correlation. Released growth factors were able to induce angiogenesis in rats when tested by subcutaneous implantation. Angiogenesis was dose dependent for both VEGF165 and HGF. Combined release of VEGF and HGF achieved the best results. The formed blood vessels were stable during the active release period, and they were normal looking and connected to the surrounding vasculature. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-03 14:54:28.709

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy disorder that affects roughly 5-7% of all pregnancies and is a leading cause of both maternal and fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality. With no present cure for the disease, researchers are interested in the lower incidence of PE observed among the cigarette smoking pregnant population. However, women who use smokeless tobacco do not experience the same decreased incidence of PE, leading to hypothesis of protection against PE from the largest combustible product of cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide (CO). Studies evaluated levels of CO in PE women and found that they were statistically lower than those of healthy pregnancy. Researchers have found CO to possess many cytoprotective and regulatory properties and specifically within the placenta, it has been found to increase perfusion pressure, decrease oxidative stress, decreases ischemia/reperfusion induced apoptosis and maintain endothelial functioning. The idea for use of CO as a possible therapeutic for PE has thus become a real possibility. This study determined CO levels in pregnant women ± smoking as well as in PE women±smoking, as to discover a possible therapeutic range for future treatments. The best correlated automated CO measurement device with blood CO levels was determined, for use in future clinical studies. This thesis also sought a possible CO delivery concentration, in order to achieve the CO levels observed in the human correlation study. A threshold level of maternal CO exposure in a murine animal model was found, for which fetal and maternal negative toxicities were not observed. The results of this thesis lend a few more pieces to the complicated puzzle involving CO and PE and offer another step toward the possibility of a therapeutic treatment/prevention using this gaseous molecule. / Thesis (Master, Anatomy & Cell Biology) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-19 08:55:06.548

No description available.

Energy modulated electron therapy (EMET) is a promising treatment modality that has the fundamental capabilities to enhance the treatment planning and delivery of superficially located targets. Although it offers advantages over x-ray intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), EMET has not been widely implemented to the same level of accuracy, automation, and clinical routine as its x-ray counterpart. This lack of implementation is attributed to the absence of a remotely automated beam shaping system as well as the deficiency in dosimetric accuracy of clinical electron pencil beam algorithms in the presence of beam modifiers and tissue heterogeneities. In this study, we present a novel technique for treatment planning and delivery of EMET. The delivery is achieved using a prototype of an automated "few leaf electron collimator" (FLEC). It consists of four copper leaves driven by stepper motors which are synchronized with the x-ray jaws in order to form a series of collimated rectangular openings or "fieldlets". Based on Monte Carlo studies, the FLEC has been designed to serve as an accessory tool to the current accelerator equipment. The FLEC was constructed and its operation was fully automated and integrated with the accelerator through an in-house assembled control unit. The control unit is a portable computer system accompanied with customized software that delivers EMET plans after acquiring them from the optimization station. EMET plans are produced based on dose volume constraints that employ Monte Carlo pre-generated and patient-specific kernels which are utilized by an in-house developed optimization algorithm. The structure of the optimization software is demonstrated. Using Monte Carlo techniques to calculate dose allows for accurate modeling of the collimation system as well as the patient heterogeneous geometry and take into account their impact on optimization. The Monte Carlo calculations were validated by comparing them against output measurements with an ionization chamber. Comparisons with measurements using nearly energy-independent radiochromic films were performed to confirm the Monte Carlo calculation accuracy for 1-D and 2-D dose distributions. We investigated the clinical significance of EMET on cancer sites that are inherently difficult to plan with IMRT. Several parameters were used to analyze treatment plans where they show that EMET provides significant overall improvements over IMRT.

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health in compliance with the requirements for a Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic at Durban Institute of Technology, 2005 / Due to sustained partial neck flexion when operating a computer terminal for prolonged periods and by holding a stooped posture being proposed aetiologies for hypertonic posterior cervical muscles and subsequent mechanical neck pain, subjects for this research study were chosen according to their occupation and had to sit at a desk for more the three hours and less than eight hours a day. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation combined with heat therapy as opposed to proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation combined with cryotherapy in the treatment of mechanical neck pain caused by hypertonic posterior cervical muscles. This was a comparative, randomised, clinical trial consisting of two groups. Group A received proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) combined with heat therapy as their treatment protocol. Group B received proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation combined with cryotherapy as their treatment protocol. Each group consisted of thirty people between the ages of 25 and 50 who were randomly allocated to their respective groups. It was hypothesized that the analgesic properties related to cryotherapy would result in the treatment group that received PNF stretching combined with cryotherapy yielding better results in terms of objective clinical findings. It was also hypothesized that the therapeutic effects of heat therapy would result in the treatment group receiving PNF stretching combined with heat therapy would yield better results in terms of subjective clinical findings and it is hypothesized that there is an association between the subjective and objective clinical findings between the cryotherapy and the heat therapy groups. The treatment regimen consisted of each participant receiving three treatments over a period of one week and then a one-week follow-up consultation. Subjective data monitored consisted of the Numerical Pain Rating Scale –101 (NRS-101) and the CMCC Neck Disability index. Objective data was collected using the Cervical Range of Motion goniometer (CROM) and the Algometer. At the end of all treatment protocols, statistical (quantitative) analysis was performed to determine whether one treatment protocol was more effective than the other. The analysis of the data collected showed that for all outcomes measured, either of the two treatments was effective overall. Trends suggested optimum treatments were dependent on the age of the patient. Age groups of 46-50 years old, 41-45 years old and the 31-35 years old responded best and improved the most with heat intervention, while age group of 36-40 years old responded best to the cryotherapy intervention. For the youngest age group of 25-30 years old, it did not make a difference whether they received heat therapy or cryotherapy as an intervention. It would seem that the older the patient the more effective the application of heat therapy as a result of the effect of heat therapy on the collagen and elastin fibers within the muscle and its fascia which allowed for increased and sustained improvement of the majority of the age groups represented in this study. Conversely it would seem that the cryotherapy group had only immediate and unsustained effects in the long term, which suggests that the cryotherapy had only a pain relieving function that allowed for the improvement of patients in the study, which when removed resulted in regression to the initial clinical syndrome severity. Most of the outcomes did not show a statistically significant interaction between time, age group and treatment group. The study was underpowered at the age group level, with only 12 subjects per age group. Further studies with a larger sample size in each of the age groups are needed in order to determine whether age is a definitive factor in one treatment being preferred over the other.

No description available.

This qualitative study explored the experiences of clients using the Life Story Board during personal therapy. LSB is a visual interview tool that consists of a colourful board, and sets of cards. The data from clients (N=7) was collected through follow up interviews after the sessions with the LSB. Two resulting themes, Role Play and Speaking Inside Out, explored the impact of the visual structure as well as how communication patterns were differently valuable compared to traditional therapy. Data collected from therapists (N=6) through two focus groups generated themes related to the therapists' assumptions about disclosure during therapy sessions. The LSB used in therapy sessions became an integral part of the process with active participation of client and therapist. Participant clients created a visual representation of their difficult life events and experiences in an organized way in a process of co-construction with the therapists, to improve their understanding.

The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to humor media improves mood states of older adults. The humor media consisted of four thirty minute videos. Ten subjects from a retirement community in East Central Indiana participated in the study. A control group and experimental group were assigned by the Activities Director of the retirement community. Each participant was administered the Profile of Mood States for the pretest and posttest measurement. The Profile of Mood States lists sixty-five adjectives and participants ranked on a scale of 0 to 4 how much they felt that mood within the past week. Members of the experimental group participated in fifteen minute interviews after the completion of the intervention.Total mood score means for the experimental group indicated an increase in positive mood from the pretest to the post-test. Total Mood Score means for the control group showed either no change or a decrease in positive mood. Because the sample size was very small,no statistical test of significance could be executed to test the null hypothesis. Based upon the qualitative interviews and the simple analysis of quantitative data humor media appears to have positive effects on the subjects in nursing homes and retirement communities. However, this intervention deserves further investigation with a larger sample that would allow for more rigorous statistical analysis. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

Access to abstract restricted until May 2016 / Access to thesis restricted until May 2016 / Department of Biology