In flexible endoscopy, the endoscope needs to be sufficiently flexible to go through the tortuous paths inside the human body and meanwhile be stiff enough to withstand external payloads without unwanted tip bending during operation. Thus, an endoscope whose stiffness can be adjusted on command is needed. This paper presents a novel variable-stiffness manipulator.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Vietnam is implementing hepatitis B (HBV) birth dose (BD) vaccination since 2003 but coverage remains low, especially in the Mekong River Delta. This study aimed to determine the coverage of the HBV BD vaccination, to identify socio-demographic factors influencing HBV BD, and to assess reasons for non-immunization of neonates.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015-2016.