Quality control in the Netherlands; todays practices and starting points for guidance and future research.

Objectives: Adequate analytical quality of reported results is primarily ensured by performing internal quality control (iQC). Currently, several different iQC practices are in use. As a prelude to the revision of a Dutch guidance document on analytical QC, a questionnaire was sent out to gain insights in the applied practices and the need for guidance.

Performance specifications and six sigma theory: Clinical chemistry and industry compared.

Analytical performance specifications are crucial in test development and quality control. Although consensus has been reached on the use of biological variation to derive these specifications, no consensus has been reached which model should be preferred. The Six Sigma concept is widely applied in industry for quality specifications of products and can well be compared with Six Sigma models in clinical chemistry.

Cancellous and cortical bone mineral density around an elastic press-fit socket in total hip arthroplasty.

Background and purpose - The acetabular component has remained the weakest link in hip arthroplasty for achievement of long-term survival. One of the possible explanatory factors for acetabular failure has been acetabular stress shielding. For this, we investigated the effects of a cementless elastic socket on acetabular bone mineral density (BMD).

Decoding Sensorimotor Rhythms during Robotic-Assisted Treadmill Walking for Brain Computer Interface (BCI) Applications.

Locomotor malfunction represents a major problem in some neurological disorders like stroke and spinal cord injury. Robot-assisted walking devices have been used during rehabilitation of patients with these ailments for regaining and improving walking ability. Previous studies showed the advantage of brain-computer interface (BCI) based robot-assisted training combined with physical therapy in the rehabilitation of the upper limb after stroke.

Using Actual and Imagined Walking Related Desynchronization Features in a BCI.

Recently, brain-computer interface (BCI) research has extended to investigate its possible use in motor rehabilitation. Most of these investigations have focused on the upper body. Only few studies consider gait because of the difficulty of recording EEG during gross movements.