Pilot Study to Investigate the Benefits of the InnoSpire Go Mesh Nebulizer Compared to Jet Nebulizers in the Treatment of Stable COPD.

Nebulizers are widely used for the delivery of aerosols to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer has been designed to improve upon the ease of use and convenience of existing nebulizers for the treatment of COPD. This was a pilot, single-center, randomized, open-label crossover study conducted over 2 months to investigate the use of the InnoSpire Go mesh nebulizer compared to the patient's own compressor driven jet nebulizer in ambulatory patients with stable COPD.

Estimating sleep stages using cardiorespiratory signals: validation of a novel algorithm across a wide range of sleep-disordered breathing severity.

Study Objectives: We have developed the CardioRespiratory Sleep Staging (CReSS) algorithm for estimating sleep stages using heart rate variability and respiration, allowing for estimation of sleep staging during home sleep apnea tests. Our objective was to undertake an epoch-by-epoch validation of algorithm performance against the gold standard of manual polysomnography sleep staging.

Methods: Using 296 polysomnographs, we created a limited montage of airflow and heart rate and deployed CReSS to identify each 30-second epoch as wake, light sleep (N1 + N2), deep sleep (N3), or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Acoustic enhancement of slow wave sleep on consecutive nights improves alertness and attention in chronically short sleepers.

Introduction: Chronic sleep restriction has been linked to occupational errors and motor vehicle crashes. Enhancing slow wave sleep may alleviate some of the cognitive deficits associated with chronic sleep restriction. However, the extent to which acoustic stimulation of slow wave activity (SWA) may improve alertness and attention is not well established, particularly with respect to consecutive nights of exposure.

Closed-loop system to enhance slow-wave activity.

Objective: Recent evidence reports cognitive, metabolic, and sleep restoration benefits resulting from the enhancement of sleep slow-waves using auditory stimulation. Our objective is to make this concept practical for consumer use by developing and validating an electroencephalogram (EEG) closed-loop system to deliver auditory stimulation during sleep to enhance slow-waves.

Approach: The system automatically detects slow-wave sleep with 74% sensitivity and 97% specificity and optimally delivers stimulation in the form of 50 ms-long tones separated by a constant one-second inter-tone interval at a volume that is dynamically modulated such that louder tones are delivered when sleep is deeper.

Revision extensor mechanism allografting after total knee arthroplasty.

This study analyzed the outcomes of revision extensor mechanism allografting (EMA) in 8 patients with failures of previous EMA after total knee arthroplasty. Fresh-frozen allografts were used. Knee Society Clinical Rating System (KSS) scores were used to measure clinical outcomes, with special attention given to presence of extensor lag and assistive ambulatory devices.

Anthropomorphic differences between the distal femora of men and women.

There is debate about whether distinct designs of femoral components for men and women are needed based on morphologic and size differences between genders. We asked whether anthropomorphic differences exist between the distal femoral dimensions in women and men. We measured the distal femora of 100 women and 100 men intraoperatively after preparation for prosthetic implantation.

Morbidity of sequential bilateral revision TKA performed under a single anesthetic.

Unlabelled: There are little data reporting perioperative morbidity and postoperative complications of bilateral sequential revision total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) performed in one anesthetic setting. We retrospectively reviewed 49 patients undergoing 51 complete (tibial and femoral components) bilateral revision TKAs under a single anesthetic between 1999 and 2006. The average age was 65 years; the minimum followup was 1 month (average, 12 months; range, 1-38 months).

Incidence of patellar clunk with a modern posterior-stabilized knee design.

Patellar clunk is an uncommon complication of posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty (TKA), though the incidence has been reported to be as high as 7.5% with some posterior-stabilized implants, and the etiology is multifactorial. Femoral component design has been implicated as a major cause of this complication.

Revision of a failed patellofemoral arthroplasty to a total knee arthroplasty.

Background: Patellofemoral arthroplasty is an effective treatment for isolated arthritis of the anterior compartment of the knee, but it is unclear whether it compromises the results of total knee arthroplasty if revision is necessary. The purpose of this study was to review the results of total knee arthroplasty after a prior patellofemoral arthroplasty.

Methods: Twelve failed patellofemoral replacements in ten patients were revised to total knee arthroplasties for isolated progressive tibiofemoral arthritis (six knees), isolated patellofemoral catching and maltracking (three), or a combination of both (three).

The influence of dynamic visual cues for postural control in children aged 7-12 years.

Young children rely heavily on vision for postural control during the transition to walking. Although by 10 years of age, children have automatic postural responses similar to adults, it is not clear when the integration of sensory inputs becomes fully developed. The purpose of this study was to examine this transition in the sensory integration process in children aged 7-12 years.