Soft pneumatic actuators for pushing fingers into extension.

Background: Compliant pneumatic actuators possess many characteristics that are desirable for wearable robotic systems. These actuators can be lightweight, integrated with clothing, and accommodate uncontrolled degrees of freedom. These attributes are especially desirable for hand exoskeletons, where the soft actuator can conform to the highly variable digit shape.

Comparing Deposition Characteristics of Various Embolic Particles Using an In Vitro Prostate Microvasculature Model.

Purpose: To compare spatial distributions of radiopaque glass (RG) microspheres, tris-acryl gelatin (TAG) microspheres, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nonspherical foam particles within a planar in vitro microvascular model of the hyperplastic hemiprostate.

Materials And Methods: A microvascular model simulating hyperplastic hemiprostate was perfused with a water-glycerin mixture. A microcatheter was positioned distal to the model's prostatic artery origin, and embolic particles (RG, 50 μm, 100 μm, and 150 μm; TAG, 100-300 μm and 300-500 μm; and PVA, 90-180 μm and 180-300 μm) were administered using a syringe pump.

Design Optimization and Tradeoff Analysis of an Actuated Continuum Probe for Pulmonary Nodule Localization and Resection.

Pulmonary nodules are abnormal tissue masses in the lungs, typically less than 3.0 cm in diameter, commonly detected during imaging of the chest and lungs. While most pulmonary nodules are not cancerous, surgical resection may be required if growth is detected between scans.

Comparison of Bolus Versus Dual-Syringe Administration Systems on Glass Yttrium-90 Microsphere Deposition in an In Vitro Microvascular Hepatic Tumor Model.

Purpose: To utilize an in vitro microvascular hepatic tumor model to compare the deposition characteristics of glass yttrium-90 microspheres using the dual-syringe (DS) and traditional bolus administration methods.

Materials And Methods: The microvascular tumor model represented a 3.5-cm tumor in a 1,400-cm liver with a total hepatic flow of 160 mL/min and was dynamically perfused.

Gastric artery embolization: studying the effects of catheter type and injection method on microsphere distributions within a benchtop arterial model.

Aims: The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of catheter type and injection method on microsphere distributions, specifically vessel targeting accuracy.

Materials And Methods: The study utilized three catheter types (a standard end-hole micro-catheter, a Surefire anti-reflux catheter, and an Endobar occlusion balloon catheter) and both manual and computer-controlled injection schemes. A closed-loop, dynamically pressurized surrogate arterial system was assembled to replicate arterial flow for bariatric embolization procedures.