Developing a piezoresistive sensor based bionic neurological intraoperative monitoring system for spine surgery skill training.

This research aims to tackle the limitations faced in surgical education nowadays, particularly in the complex field of spinal cord tumor removal surgery. An innovative flexible piezoresistive sensor designed to mimic a motor nerve was developed and integrated into a bionic spine surgery simulation system, allowing for the intraoperative nerve monitoring possible during simulated tumor removal surgeries. The motor nerve, fabricated using a combination of carbon nanotubes and silicone rubber, exhibited a strong correlation between applied force and resultant changes in resistance, as confirmed by experimental results.

Self-Awareness of Sleep Apnea Symptoms Among Middle-Aged and Elderly People in Taiwan.

In recent years, the proportion of middle-aged and elderly people in Taiwan has gradually increased and has already surpassed that of advanced countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan, therefore, the health of middle-aged and elderly people is a topic that needs attention. This is because physical deterioration or illness can lead to a decline in quality of life and create a medical burden on the individual and society. This study investigated the common symptoms of sleep apnea in middle-aged and elderly people (over 40 years old), and developed a self-test subjective perception model, using "daytime sleepiness" and "sleep quality" as influencing factors, and "attention" as mediating variables to verify the effect with sleep apnea symptoms.

Enhanced mechanical and biological performances of CaO-MgO-SiO glass-ceramics via the modulation of glass and ceramic phases.

This work reports a new CaO-MgO-SiO (CMS) bioactive glass-ceramic, using ZrO as a nucleus to modulate the ratios of glass and ceramic phases as a function of sintering temperature. Mg-rich bioactive CMS glass-ceramics exhibit advantages regarding mechanical strength (flexural strength ~190 MPa and compressive strength ~555 MPa), in-vitro and in-vivo biocompatibilities, and bone ingrowth. The high mechanical strengths could be attributed to the CaMgSiO glass-ceramic and lower porosity.

Identification of the Framingham Risk Score by an Entropy-Based Rule Model for Cardiovascular Disease.

Since 2001, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has had the second-highest mortality rate, about 15,700 people per year, in Taiwan. It has thus imposed a substantial burden on medical resources. This study was triggered by the following three factors.

Implementation of interactive games to a shoulder rehabilitation and evaluation system.

Background: After an operation, the shoulder and wrist might not be able to lift and swing freely, and must be assisted with rehabilitation training.

Objective: In this paper, Kinect combined with multiple sensors of a Bluetooth ball is proposed to improve the measurement function of the arm's micro-motion trajectory, rotation amount, and acceleration, which cannot be detected by Kinect alone.

Methods: We designed two virtual scene rehabilitation games for clinical trials.

Processing Characteristics and Parametric Effects on Picosecond Laser Nanoscaled Patterning of Poly(methyl methacrylate).

Characteristics of picosecond laser processing for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) are studied in this text. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) can be applied to micro- or nano-scale electronic devices. Short-pulsed laser is usually used for noncontact processing of nanoscale patterning of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA).

An Advanced ICTVSS Model for Real-Time Vehicle Traffic Applications.

From the accident news, it is found that the occurrences of traffic accidents every year and the numbers of deaths and injuries have raised continually and have become a specific issue concerned in society in Taiwan. More seriously, the number of traffic accidents is positively increased with the increasing motorized vehicles. Thus, to reduce the incidence of traffic accidents through by some advanced real-time technologies is an important and interesting work.

Thermal Transport Model of Short-Pulse Laser Microscale Ablation for Poly(methyl methacrylate) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene/Polyvinyl Chloride.

This study analytically investigates the picosecond laser ablation of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Pulsed laser ablation is a well-established tool for polymers. However the ablation mechanism used in laser processing of polymers is not thoroughly understood.

Analytical Study on Junction Temperatures of GaInN and AlGaN Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes.

Junction temperatures of GaInN and AlGaN UV LEDs are analytically investigated in this paper. GaInN and AlGaN UV LEDs have a wide variety of applications such as lighting, displays, spectrofluometry, photocatalytic processes, and high resolution optics. An analytical method is employed to analyze the junction temperature variations of GaInN and AlGaN UV LEDs with injection currents.

Threshold-based fall detection using a hybrid of tri-axial accelerometer and gyroscope.

Objective: Falling is an important health maintenance issue for the elderly and people with movement disorders, strokes and multiple sclerosis. With the development of light, low-cost wearable technology, inertia-based fall detection has gained much attention. However, some large movements, such as jumping and postural changes, are frequently confounded with falls.

Hyperthermia Temperature of Magnetic Fluid with Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles Subjected to an Alternating Magnetic Field.

This paper conducts the thermal analysis of magnetic fluid with superparamagnetic nanoparticles subjected to an alternating magnetic field. Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) provides a potential method for cancer treatment, which has fewer side effects than chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles dispersed in water are suitable for safe application of MFH.

Earthquake insurance pricing: a risk-based approach.

Flat earthquake premiums are 'uniformly' set for a variety of buildings in many countries, neglecting the fact that the risk of damage to buildings by earthquakes is based on a wide range of factors. How these factors influence the insurance premiums is worth being studied further. Proposed herein is a risk-based approach to estimate the earthquake insurance rates of buildings.

Football APP based on smart phone with FES in drop foot rehabilitation.

Background: Long-term, sustained progress is necessary in drop foot rehabilitation. The necessary inconvenient body training movements, the return trips to the hospital and repetitive boring training using functional electrical stimulation (FES) often results in the patient suspending their training. The patient's drop foot rehabilitation will not progress if training is suspended.

Combining fisetin and ionizing radiation suppresses the growth of mammalian colorectal cancers in xenograft tumor models.

Fisetin (3,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxyflavone), which belongs to the flavonoid group of polyphenols and is found in a wide range of plants, has been reported to exhibit a number of biological activities in human cancer cells, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiangiogenic, anti-invasive and antiproliferative effects. Although previous studies have shown that fisetin treatment increases the apoptotic rate and enhances the radiosensitivity of human colorectal cancer cells, the effects of fisetin on tumor growth remain unclear. In the present study a murine xenograft tumor model was employed to investigate the therapeutic effects of fisetin in combination with radiation on CT-26 colon cancer cells and human HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.

Digitized Hand Skateboard Based on IR-Camera for Upper Limb Rehabilitation.

Abnormal upper limb function seriously impacts a patient's daily life. After receiving emergency treatment patient should receive function-rebuilding and recovery training. The objective of this study is to integrate IR-camera, an infrared emitter, with a conventional passive hand skateboard training device for conventional upper limb training and the training process is comprehensively recorded and analyzed.

A comprehensive identification-evidence based alternative for HIV/AIDS treatment with HAART in the healthcare industries.

Background And Objective: The HIV/AIDS-related issue has given rise to a priority concern in which potential new therapies are increasingly highlighted to lessen the negative impact of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in the healthcare industry. With the motivation of "medical applications," this study focuses on the main advanced feature selection techniques and classification approaches that reflect a new architecture, and a trial to build a hybrid model for interested parties.

Methods: This study first uses an integrated linear-nonlinear feature selection technique to identify the determinants influencing HAART medication and utilizes organizations of different condition-attributes to generate a hybrid model based on a rough set classifier to study evolving HIV/AIDS research in order to improve classification performance.

Multimedia virtualized environment for shoulder pain rehabilitation.

[Purpose] Researchers imported games and virtual reality training to help participants train their shoulders in a relaxed environment. [Subjects and Methods] This study included the use of Kinect somatosensory device with Unity software to develop 3-dimensional situational games. The data collected from this training process can be uploaded via the Internet to a cloud or server for participants to perform self-inspection.

Improvement in the physiological function and standing stability based on kinect multimedia for older people.

[Purpose] The increase in the Taiwanese older population is associated with age-related inconveniences. Finding adequate and simple physical activities to help the older people maintaining their physiological function and preventing them from falls has become an urgent social issue. [Subjects and Methods] This study aimed to design a virtual exercise training game suitable for Taiwanese older people.

Application of RFID technology-upper extremity rehabilitation training.

[Purpose] Upper extremity rehabilitation after an injury is very important. This study proposes radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to improve and enhance the effectiveness of the upper extremity rehabilitation. [Subjects and Methods] People use their upper extremities to conduct daily activities.

An empirical study of a hybrid imbalanced-class DT-RST classification procedure to elucidate therapeutic effects in uremia patients.

The high prevalence and incidence of severe renal diseases exhaust constrained medical resources for the treatment of uremia patients. In addition, the problem of imbalanced-class data distributions induces negative effects on classifier learning algorithms. Hemodialysis is the most common treatment for uremia diseases due to the limited supply of donated organs available for transplantation.

Application of the Blobo bluetooth ball in wrist rehabilitation training.

[Purpose] The introduction of emerging technologies such as the wireless Blobo bluetooth ball with multimedia features can enhance wrist physical therapy training, making it more fun and enhancing its effects. [Methods] Wrist injuries caused by fatigue at work, improper exercise, and other conditions are very common. Therefore, the reconstruction of wrist joint function is an important issue.

Noninvasive tongue-motion controlled computer mouse for the disabled.

Background: A patient whose spinal cord was damaged due to accident may result in Tetraplegia or lose the ability to control his/her daily living environment. Currently, patients must use an invasive tool tongue movement, to help the patient communicate with the external environment.

Objective: This study designed a non-invasive tongue movement computer mouse system that allows the patient to use tongue movement to control a computer to communicate with the external environment.

Balance training using an interactive game to enhance the use of the affected side after stroke.

[Purpose] Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases are major causes of adult mobility problems. Because stroke immobilizes the affected body part, balance training uses the healthy body part to complete the target movement. The muscle utilization rate on the stroke affected side is often reduced which further hinders affected side functional recovery in rehabilitation.

Bimodal Biometric Verification Using the Fusion of Palmprint and Infrared Palm-Dorsum Vein Images.

In this paper, we present a reliable and robust biometric verification method based on bimodal physiological characteristics of palms, including the palmprint and palm-dorsum vein patterns. The proposed method consists of five steps: (1) automatically aligning and cropping the same region of interest from different palm or palm-dorsum images; (2) applying the digital wavelet transform and inverse wavelet transform to fuse palmprint and vein pattern images; (3) extracting the line-like features (LLFs) from the fused image; (4) obtaining multiresolution representations of the LLFs by using a multiresolution filter; and (5) using a support vector machine to verify the multiresolution representations of the LLFs. The proposed method possesses four advantages: first, both modal images are captured in peg-free scenarios to improve the user-friendliness of the verification device.