Comparison of multidirectional upper limb strength for non-disabled individuals and individuals with C4-C7 spinal cord injury in a seated position.

This study investigates the multidirectional upper limb strength of individuals with a C4-C7 spinal cord injury (SCI) and non-disabled individuals in a seated position by measuring multidirectional force at the hand. Current literature lacks quantitative strength data to evaluate strength requirements for people who have reduced upper limb function due to a cervical SCI. Seated multidirectional force measurements were recorded for eleven non-disabled and ten males with a C4-C7 SCI.

Quantitative functional assessment of multidirectional upper limb strength for individuals in a seated position.

Understanding the limitations that are imposed by a disability is critical to ensure engineers develop designs that can be used by people with reduced function. Current literature lacks detail on this information for people with cervical spinal cord injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of a novel testing methodology to quantitatively assess the multi-directional upper limb strength of individuals in a seated position.

Multiscale Analogue Modelling of Clinching Process to Investigate Thickness Tolerance and Tool Misalignment.

NEED-The effect of dimensional variability of sheet thickness (tolerance) and tool misalignment is poorly understood for the clinching process. Finite element analysis (FEA) is valuable but requires a lot of and is difficult to verify in this situation due to the asymmetrical geometry and nonlinear plasticity. OBJECTIVE-The objective of this work was to determine the effect of thickness tolerance, tool misalignment and sheet placement (top vs.

The Effects of Cooling and Shrinkage on the Life of Polymer 3D Printed Injection Moulds.

3D Printed Injection Moulds (3DIM), commonly used for low volume production and prototyping purposes, are known to fail abruptly and have a comparatively shorter life than conventional moulds. Investigating the underlying critical factors affecting failure may help in reducing the risk of abrupt failures and possibly prolong the 3DIM tool life. A hypothesis that the cooling time of the Injection Moulding (IM) process is a critical factor for 3DIM tool failure has been proposed.

Analysis of Raised Feature Failures on 3D Printed Injection Moulds.

Background: Polymer-based 3D Printed Injection Mould (3DIM) inserts are used as a cost-effective method for low volume injection moulding (50-500 parts). However, abrupt failure leading to a short tool life is a common shortcoming of 3DIM. Need: The underlying causes of raised feature failures on 3DIM are not well known.

Computational modelling and experimental validation of drug entrainment in a dry powder inhaler.

In a passive dry powder inhaler (DPI) a patient inhales to entrain drug powder. The goal of this study is to demonstrate experimentally that an Eulerian-Eulerian (EE CFD) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method can accurately predict the entrainment of the dry powder formulation in DPIs. A CFD method that makes accurate predictions of the entrainment process can be applied in DPI design and optimization processes.

A personalized medicine approach to the design of dry powder inhalers: Selecting the optimal amount of bypass.

In dry powder inhalers (DPIs) the patient's inhalation manoeuvre strongly influences the release of drug. Drug release from a DPI may also be influenced by the size of any air bypass incorporated in the device. If the amount of bypass is high less air flows through the entrainment geometry and the release rate is lower.

Optimizing the Entrainment Geometry of a Dry Powder Inhaler: Methodology and Preliminary Results.

Purpose: For passive dry powder inhalers (DPIs) entrainment and emission of the aerosolized drug dose depends strongly on device geometry and the patient's inhalation manoeuvre. We propose a computational method for optimizing the entrainment part of a DPI. The approach assumes that the pulmonary delivery location of aerosol can be determined by the timing of dose emission into the tidal airstream.

Potential of a cyclone prototype spacer to improve in vitro dry powder delivery.

Purpose: Low inspiratory force in patients with lung disease is associated with poor deagglomeration and high throat deposition when using dry powder inhalers (DPIs). The potential of two reverse flow cyclone prototypes as spacers for commercial carrier-based DPIs was investigated.

Methods: Cyclohaler®, Accuhaler® and Easyhaler® were tested with and without the spacers between 30 and 60 Lmin−1.