Safe and Robust Map Updating for Long-Term Operations in Dynamic Environments.

Ensuring safe and continuous autonomous navigation in long-term mobile robot applications is still challenging. To ensure a reliable representation of the current environment without the need for periodic remapping, updating the map is recommended. However, in the case of incorrect robot pose estimation, updating the map can lead to errors that prevent the robot's localisation and jeopardise map accuracy.

Prognostic significance of right ventricle to pulmonary artery coupling in patients with mitral regurgitation treated with the MitraClip system.

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic impact of baseline tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) ratio, as an expression of the right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling, in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) treated with the MitraClip.

Background: Impaired RV to PA coupling is considered a marker of RV dysfunction.

Methods: From February 2016 to February 2020, a total of 165 patients were evaluated and stratified in two groups according to a prespecified value of TAPSE/PASP ratio ≤ 0.

Acute changes in mitral valve geometry after percutaneous valve repair with MitraClip XT by three-dimensional echocardiography.

Background: Mitral valve (MV) repair with MitraClip system is a safe treatment option for high-risk patients with significant mitral regurgitation (MR). We aimed to characterize, by three-dimensional echocardiography (3D-E), changes occurring in MV after implantation of third generation MitraClip XT device, with specific reference to the underlying MR mechanism (functional vs degenerative, FMR vs DMR).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 59 patients, who underwent intra-procedural 3D-E before and after device deployment.

Delayed Anaerobic Threshold in Heart Failure Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Purpose: To assess whether atrial fibrillation (AF) in heart failure (HF) affects oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold ((Equation is included in full-text article.)O2 AT) and heart rate (HR) kinetics.

Methods: A total of 15 patients with HF and AF and 18 with HF and sinus rhythm (SR) performed a maximal incremental and 2 constant workload cycle ergometer cardiopulmonary exercise tests (below and above AT, at 25% and 75% of maximal workload, respectively).