Overview of dental radiology education for medical radiology students in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: In Taiwan, the formal education for cultivating medical radiation technologists began in 1965. However, there are very few dental radiology curricula in Taiwan's medical radiology schools. We investigated mainly the appearance of dental radiology education for medical radiology students in Taiwan.

The role of counter-torque holders in tightening of pedicle screw-rod constructs: a biomechanical study in a porcine model.

Background Context: Pedicle screw-rod assembly procedures following pedicle screw insertion include contouring and placing rods into screw tulips, introducing set screws into the tulip along the screw thread, applying a counter-torque holder and tightening all the set screws clockwise. Even if an appropriate pedicle screw is implanted, screw dislodgement after tightening of the tulip and set screw is not uncommon. Pedicle wall violation resulting from excessive rotational force due to inadequate use of a counter-torque holder might be the reason.

Evaluation of three force-position hybrid control methods for a robot-based biological joint-testing system.

Background: Robot-based joint-testing systems (RJTS) can be used to perform unconstrained laxity tests, measuring the stiffness of a degree of freedom (DOF) of the joint at a fixed flexion angle while allowing the other DOFs unconstrained movement. Previous studies using the force-position hybrid (FPH) control method proposed by Fujie et al. (J Biomech Eng 115(3):211-7, 1993) focused on anterior/posterior tests.

Effects of NH3 PECVD treatment time on the performance of multiwall carbon nanotubes for antibody immobilization.

This work presents an amino plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (NH3 PECVD) treatment to modify multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the immobilization of antibodies (IgG-gold), and the effects of treatment time were studied. A titanium nitride (TiN) buffer layer and a nickel catalyst layer were deposited on silicon substrates for synthesis of MWCNTs using thermal CVD. The MWCNTs were modified by amine (NH2 (-) ) or amino (NH(-) ) functional groups for 1, 3, and 5 min by PECVD, respectively.

Measurement of mandibular growth using cone-beam computed tomography: a miniature pig model study.

The purpose of this study was to measure the long-term growth of the mandible in miniature pigs using 3D Cone-Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT). The mandibles of the pigs were scanned monthly over 12 months using CBCT and the 3D mandibular models were reconstructed from the data. Seventeen anatomical landmarks were identified and classified into four groups of line segments, namely anteroposterior, superoinferior, mediolateral and anteroinferior.

Evaluation of ranges of motion of a new constrained acetabular prosthesis for canine total hip replacement.

Background: Total hip replacement (THR) is considered to be the most effective treatment option for advanced osteoarthritis of the hip in large breed dogs. However, a proportion of post-THR patients suffer prosthesis dislocation for various reasons, which may be addressed by a constrained acetabular prosthesis design. The study proposed a new THR with constrained acetabular component that aimed to decrease the incidence of postoperative dislocation while maintaining the necessary range of motion (ROM); and, through computer-simulated implantations, evaluated the ROM of the THR with and without malpositioning of the acetabular component.

Influence of model complexity and problem formulation on the forces in the knee calculated using optimization methods.

Background: Predictions of the forces transmitted by the redundant force-bearing structures in the knee are often performed using optimization methods considering only moment equipollence as a result of simplified knee modeling without ligament contributions. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of model complexity (with or without ligaments), problem formulation (moment equipollence with or without force equipollence) and optimization criteria on the prediction of the forces transmitted by the force-bearing structures in the knee.

Methods: Ten healthy young male adults walked in a gait laboratory while their kinematic and ground reaction forces were measured simultaneously.

Mercury emission and plant uptake of trace elements during early stage of soil amendment using flue gas desulfurization materials.

A pilot-scale field study was carried out to investigate the distribution of Hg and other selected elements (i.e., As, B, and Se), i.

Practically acquired and modified cone-beam computed tomography images for accurate dose calculation in head and neck cancer.

Background: On-line cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) may be used to reconstruct the dose for geometric changes of patients and tumors during radiotherapy course. This study is to establish a practical method to modify the CBCT for accurate dose calculation in head and neck cancer.

Patients And Methods: Fan-beam CT (FBCT) and Elekta's CBCT were used to acquire images.