Effects of occlusal disharmony on working memory performance and prefrontal cortex activity induced by working memory tasks measured by NIRS.

The effects of artificial occlusal disharmony (AOD) on working memory function and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in the elderly were examined. We evaluated working memory function using the modified Sternberg test (ST). We measured activity in the bilateral PFC during ST using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) before and after AOD: the mandibular position was displaced by a splint for 10 min.

[Progress in NIRS monitoring of cerebral blood flow].

Various studies have demonstrated the usefulness of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for detecting cerebral ischemia during a carotid endarterectomy; however, it is difficult to apply NIRS to the diagnosis of ischemic stroke, since commercially available NIRS, which uses continuous-wave light, does not provide quantitative values of baseline hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations. In contrast, time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy (TRS) permits quantitative measurement of Hb concentrations. We applied TRS to detection of cerebra vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Mapping of optical pathlength of human adult head at multi-wavelengths in near infrared spectroscopy.

Measurement of multichannel continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy (CW-NIRS) is dependent on the modified Beer-Lambert law, which includes optical pathlength (PL) as an essential parameter. PLs are known to differ across different head regions and different individuals, but the distribution of PLs for the whole head has not been evaluated so far. Thus, using time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy (TR-NIRS), we measured the optical characteristics including PL, scattering coefficients (mu'(s)), and absorption coefficients (mu(a)) at three wavelengths (760, 800, 830 nm).

Compact forceps manipulator using friction wheel mechanism and gimbals mechanism for laparoscopic surgery.

This paper reports evaluation of compact forceps manipulator designed for assisting laparoscopic surgery. The manipulator consists of two miniaturized parts; friction wheel mechanism which rotates and translates forceps (62 x 52 x 150[mm3], 0.6 [kg]), and gimbals mechanism which provides pivoting motion of forceps around incision hole on the abdomen (135 x 165 x 300 [mm3], 1.