Infrared skin temperature measurements for monitoring health in pigs: a review.

Infrared temperature measurement equipment (IRTME) is gaining popularity as a diagnostic tool for evaluating human and animal health. It has the prospect of reducing subject stress and disease spread by being implemented as an automatic surveillance system and by a quick assessment of skin temperatures without need for restraint or contact. This review evaluates studies and applications where IRTME has been used on pigs.

Optimum fuzzy filters for phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging segmentation.

Purpose: To develop and validate a multidimensional segmentation and filtering methodology for accurate blood flow velocity field reconstruction from phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC MRI).

Materials And Methods: The proposed technique consists of two steps: (1) the boundary of the vessel is automatically segmented using the active contour approach; and (2) the noise embedded within the segmented vector field is selectively removed using a novel fuzzy adaptive vector median filtering (FAVMF) technique. This two-step segmentation process was tested and validated on 111 synthetically generated PC MRI slices and on 10 patients with congenital heart disease.

Introduction of a new optimized total cavopulmonary connection.

Background: Several variations of the total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) have been investigated for favorable fluid mechanics and flow distribution. This study presents a hemodynamically optimized TCPC configuration code-named "OptiFlo." Featuring bifurcated vena cava (superior venacava to inferior vena cava SVC/IVC), it was designed to lower the fluid mechanical power losses in the connection and to ensure proper hepatic blood perfusion to both lungs.

Mitral valve function and chordal force distribution using a flexible annulus model: an in vitro study.

Since variations in annular motion/shape and papillary muscle displacement have been observed in studies of dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic mitral regurgitation, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of annular motion/flexibility and papillary muscle displacement on chordal force and mitral valve function. Six human mitral valves were studied in a left heart simulator using a flexible annular model. Mitral flow, trans-mitral pressure and chordae tendineae tension were monitored online in normal and pathophysiologic papillary muscle positions.

Effects of papillary muscle position on chordal force distribution: an in-vitro study.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Mitral insufficiency, a common and morbid pathology, has been related to topological changes in the left ventricle. These changes may affect mitral leaflet coaptation by displacing the tips of the papillary muscles (PMs), subsequently changing the tension distribution on the chordae tendineae. Therefore, further understanding of the effects of PM displacement on chordal force distribution is required.

Miniature C-shaped transducers for chordae tendineae force measurements.

C-shaped strain gauge force transducers were designed to enable dynamic measurements of the tension of the individual mitral valve chordae tendineae during the cardiac cycle. The force transducers were constructed from a C-shaped brass ring with a diameter of 6 mm, width of 2 mm, thickness of 0.5 mm, and a mass of <80 mg.

Effects of a saddle shaped annulus on mitral valve function and chordal force distribution: an in vitro study.

Studies have concluded that the shape of the human mitral valve annulus is a three-dimensional saddle. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a saddle shaped annulus on chordal force distribution and mitral valve function. Eleven human mitral valves were studied in a physiological left heart simulator with a variable shaped annulus (flat versus saddle).