Feasibility evaluation of N-Isopropyl Acrylamide 3D gel dosimeters for proton therapy.

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying 3D gel dosimeters for proton therapy. Two different formulations (5-5-3-5, 5-3-3-10) for the N-Isopropyl Acrylamide (NIPAM) polymer gel were used to find the best composition for the application of NIPAM polymer gels for proton therapy. The reaction of the gel under different physical conditions, including dependence on energy and dependence on the dose rate of the NIPAM gel under proton irradiation, was also explored.

Process Parameter Prediction and Modeling of Laser Percussion Drilling by Artificial Neural Networks.

Finding process parameters for laser-drilled blind holes often relies on an engineer's experience and the trial-and-error method. However, determining such parameters should be possible using methodical calculations. Studies have already begun to examine the use of neural networks to improve the efficiency of this situation.

Technical Note: Radiotherapy dose characterization of gel dosimetry using shear wave elasticity imaging.

Purpose: Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for many types of cancer in clinical settings. Gel dosimetry has the potential to record three-dimensional (3D) dose distribution compared to a conventional ion chamber. As the elasticity of the gel is altered after irradiation due to gel polymerization, we aim to measure the dose recorded in gel dosimetry with ultrasonic shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI), a nondestructive and quantitative elasticity imaging tool.

Three-dimensional dose comparison of flattening filter (FF) and flattening filter-free (FFF) radiation therapy by using NIPAM gel dosimetry.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy are modern radiation therapy technologies that can create the desired dose distribution by multileaf collimator movement and dose-rate control. However, the homogeneous dose delivery of small-field irradiation techniques shows disagreement with that of treatment planning system. The removal of the flattening filter by flattening filter free (FFF) beam irradiation increases dose conformity and further reduces treatment delivery time in radiosurgery.

Design and Fabrication of Smart Diapers with Antibacterial Yarn.

In this study, intelligent eco-diapers are made by combining antibacterial yarns coated with quaternary ammonium salts with conductive yarns to improve caretaking for urinary incontinence. The combination of conductive yarns and sensors can detect the moisture content in eco-diapers, and an alarm is sent when moisture is significant. A wireless module is used to send detected signals to a smartphone or tablet PC via the Internet.

Development and characteristic study of woven fabrics for intelligent diapers.

Background: Urinary incontinence mostly affects infants, the elderly, and the disabled. However, no diaper is equipped with an effective immediate reminder feature that signifies when changing is needed.

Objective: This study proposes eco-diapers containing metallic fibers, such that eco-diapers and sensors are combined to transmit a signal when changing is necessary.

Image reconstruction of optical computed tomography by using the algebraic reconstruction technique for dose readouts of polymer gel dosimeters.

Optical computed tomography (optical CT) has been proven to be a useful tool for dose readouts of polymer gel dosimeters. In this study, the algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) for image reconstruction of gel dosimeters was used to improve the image quality of optical CT. Cylindrical phantoms filled with N-isopropyl-acrylamide polymer gels were irradiated using a medical linear accelerator.

Quantitative measurement of Parkinsonian gait from walking in monocular image sequences using a centroid tracking algorithm.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system that results from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Abnormal gait begins in the early stage and becomes severe as the disease progresses; therefore, the assessment of gait becomes an important issue in evaluating the progression of PD and the effectiveness of treatment. To provide a clinically useful gait assessment in environments with budget and space limitations, such as a small clinic or home, we propose and develop a portable method utilizing the monocular image sequences of walking to track and analyze a Parkinsonian gait pattern.

Using K-Nearest Neighbor Classification to Diagnose Abnormal Lung Sounds.

A reported 30% of people worldwide have abnormal lung sounds, including crackles, rhonchi, and wheezes. To date, the traditional stethoscope remains the most popular tool used by physicians to diagnose such abnormal lung sounds, however, many problems arise with the use of a stethoscope, including the effects of environmental noise, the inability to record and store lung sounds for follow-up or tracking, and the physician's subjective diagnostic experience. This study has developed a digital stethoscope to help physicians overcome these problems when diagnosing abnormal lung sounds.

Bidirectional and multi-user telerehabilitation system: clinical effect on balance, functional activity, and satisfaction in patients with chronic stroke living in long-term care facilities.

Background: The application of internet technology for telerehabilitation in patients with stroke has developed rapidly.

Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a bidirectional and multi-user telerehabilitation system on balance and satisfaction in patients with chronic stroke living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

Method: This pilot study used a multi-site, blocked randomization design.

Performance enhancement of a web-based picture archiving and communication system using commercial off-the-shelf server clusters.

The rapid development of picture archiving and communication systems (PACSs) thoroughly changes the way of medical informatics communication and management. However, as the scale of a hospital's operations increases, the large amount of digital images transferred in the network inevitably decreases system efficiency. In this study, a server cluster consisting of two server nodes was constructed.

Effect of composition interactions on the dose response of an N-isopropylacrylamide gel dosimeter.

In this study, a two-level full factorial design was used to identify the effects of the interactions between compositions in an N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) gel dosimeter involving the following variables: (A) gelatin, (B) NIPAM, (C) the crosslinker N, N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (Bis), and (D) the antioxidant tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride (THPC). The dose range was from 0 Gy to 5 Gy. Optical computed tomography was used to scan the polymer gel dosimeter.

Application of portable CDA for secure clinical-document exchange.

Health Level Seven (HL7) organization published the Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) for exchanging documents among heterogeneous systems and improving medical quality based on the design method in CDA. In practice, although the HL7 organization tried to make medical messages exchangeable, it is still hard to exchange medical messages. There are many issues when two hospitals want to exchange clinical documents, such as patient privacy, network security, budget, and the strategies of the hospital.

Using accelerometers for physical actions recognition by a neural fuzzy network.

Triaxial accelerometers were employed to monitor human actions under various conditions. This study aimed to determine an optimum classification scheme and sensor placement positions for recognizing different types of physical action. Three triaxial accelerometers were placed on the chest, waist, and thigh, and their abilities to recognize the three actions of walking, sitting down, and falling were determined.

Exquisite textiles sensors and wireless sensor network device for home health care.

In this study, we propose a wearing system with four sensors, ECG (electrocardiogram), three-axis accelerometer, temperature, and tight-switch, applied for remote monitoring system in home-care. The sensors ECG, measured with wearable electrodes made of the steel textile to generate the real-time heart-rate estimator, tight-switch, made of the steel textile to check whether wearing person dresses properly, accelerometer, and temperature parameters are received via the ZigBee receiver within an exquisite belt. Since the movable textile electrodes will cause of unfixed contacts when the wearing person is in motion, making the heart-rate estimation much a sophisticated work, the tight-switch sensor and FIR (Filter Impulse Response) filter technology are applied here to get the more satisfiable heart-rate.