Model-based design of a pneumatic actuator for a dynamically reconfigurable socket for transtibial amputees.

In this work, a cost-effective, scalable pneumatic silicone actuator array is introduced, designed to dynamically conform to the user's skin and thereby alleviate localised pressure within a prosthetic socket. The appropriate constitutive models for developing a finite element representation of these actuators are systematically identified, parametrised, and validated. Employing this computational framework, the surface deformation fields induced by 270 variations in soft actuator array design parameters under realistic load conditions are examined, achieving predictive accuracies within 70 µm.

Non-contact quantification of aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation using carotid waveforms from skin displacements.

. Early diagnosis of heart problems is essential for improving patient prognosis..

Mechano-electrical interactions and heterogeneities in wild-type and drug-induced long QT syndrome rabbits.

Electromechanical reciprocity - comprising electro-mechanical (EMC) and mechano-electric coupling (MEC) - provides cardiac adaptation to changing physiological demands. Understanding electromechanical reciprocity and its impact on function and heterogeneity in pathological conditions - such as (drug-induced) acquired long QT syndrome (aLQTS) - might lead to novel insights in arrhythmogenesis. Our aim is to investigate how electrical changes impact on mechanical function (EMC) and vice versa (MEC) under physiological conditions and in aLQTS.

Surface deformation tracking and modelling of soft materials.

Many computer vision algorithms have been presented to track surface deformations, but few have provided a direct comparison of measurements with other stereoscopic approaches and physics-based models. We have previously developed a phase-based cross-correlation algorithm to track dense distributions of displacements over three-dimensional surfaces. In the present work, we compare this algorithm with one that uses an independent tracking system, derived from an array of fluorescent microspheres.

Non-contact Quantification of Jugular Venous Pulse Waveforms from Skin Displacements.

The jugular venous (JV) pressure waveform is a non-invasive, proven indicator of cardiovascular disease. Conventional clinical methods for assessing these waveforms are often overlooked because they require specialised expertise, and are invasive and expensive to implement. Recently, image-based methods have been used to quantify JV pulsation waveforms on the skin as an indirect way of estimating the pressure waveforms.

Surface deformation tracking and modeling of soft materials.

Characterizing the mechanical properties of skin may lead to improvements in surgical scarring, burns treatments, artificial skin science, and disease detection. We present a method of validating a phase-based crosscorrelation method of material point tracking, used to measure surface deformations in soft tissues, using a silicone gel phantom. Tracking of a high spatial-resolution speckle pattern was validated using independent fluorescent microsphere markers.