NH3 Sensor Based on rGO-PANI Composite with Improved Sensitivity.

This work reports on a reduced graphene oxide and poly(aniline) composite (rGO-PANI), with rGO clusters inserted between PANI chains. These clusters were formed due the plasticizing effect of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent, which was added during the synthesis. Further, this composite was processed as thin film onto an interdigitated electrode array and used as the sensitive layer for ammonia gas, presenting sensitivity of 250% at 100 ppm, a response time of 97 s, and a lowest detection limit of 5 ppm. The PANI deprotonation process, upon exposure to NH3, rGO, also contributed by improving the sensitivity due its higher surface area and the presence of carboxylic acids. This allowed for the interaction between the hydrogen of NH3 (nucleophilic character) and the -COOH groups (electrophilic character) from the rGO surface, thereby introducing a promising sensing composite for amine-based gases.

Perovskite Flash Memory with a Single-Layer Nanofloating Gate.

Here we use triple-cation metal-organic halide perovskite single crystals for the transistor channel of a flash memory device. Moreover, we design and demonstrate a 10 nm thick single-layer nanofloating gate. It consists of a ternary blend of two organic semiconductors, a p-type polyfluorene and an n-type fullerene that form a donor:acceptor interpenetrating network that serves as the charge storage unit, and of an insulating polystyrene that acts as the tunneling dielectric. Under such a framework, we realize the first non-volatile flash memory transistor based on a perovskite channel. This simplified, solution-processed perovskite flash memory displays unique performance metrics such as a large memory window of 30 V, an on/off ratio of 9 × 107, short write/erase times of 50 ms, and a satisfactory retention time exceeding 106 s. The realization of the first flash memory transistor using a single-crystal perovskite channel could be a valuable direction for perovskite electronics research.

A Compressed Sensing Approach for Multiple Obstacle Localisation Using Sonar Sensors in Air.

Methods for autonomous navigation systems using sonars in air traditionally use the time-of-flight technique for obstacle detection and environment mapping. However, this technique suffers from constructive and destructive interference of ultrasonic reflections from multiple obstacles in the environment, requiring several acquisitions for proper mapping. This paper presents a novel approach for obstacle detection and localisation using inverse problems and compressed sensing concepts. Experiments were conducted with multiple obstacles present in a controlled environment using a hardware platform with four transducers, which was specially designed for sending, receiving and acquiring raw ultrasonic signals. A comparison between the performance of compressed sensing using Orthogonal Matching Pursuit and two traditional image reconstruction methods was conducted. The reconstructed 2D images representing the cross-section of the sensed environment were quantitatively assessed, showing promising results for robotic mapping tasks using compressed sensing.

Eigenspace generalized sidelobe canceller combined with SNR dependent coherence factor for plane wave imaging.

BACKGROUND: The eigenspace generalized sidelobe canceller (EGSC) beamformer combined with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) dependent coherence factor (CF) is suggested for coherent plane wave compounding (PW) imaging. Conventional CF based methods such as generalized CF and subarray CF can improve the image quality, however, they are not suitable for low SNR. On the other hand, the EGSC CF based approach can introduce improvements in image quality, however, in PW imaging is susceptible to suffer from degradation due to low SNR which leads to a poor image quality. To overcome this limitation, the SNR dependent CF method is suggested for application in such situations due to its ability to control the SNR levels. METHODS: The Field II and the Verasonics ultrasound imaging system with a L11-4v array transducer with a contrast resolution phantom were used to capture the plane wave sequences of simulation and experimental data, respectively. The performance evaluation using full width at half maximum (FWHM), contrast (CR and CNR) and the speckle statistics by using the signal to noise ratio (SNR) complemented by the Rayleigh distribution analysis was performed. In order to evaluate the performance of the [Formula: see text] (the SNR CF) beamformer, the comparison is done with particular importance to other CF-based approaches such as [Formula: see text] (the generalized CF) and, [Formula: see text] (the subarray CF) respectively. RESULTS: Taking DAS as reference, [Formula: see text] showed 30.3 and 39.5% of improvement for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively, when using experimental data. The proposed method also slightly outperforms the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] methods for [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and speckle statistics assessment. CONCLUSION: The [Formula: see text] is, therefore, suitable for CPWC by improving the spatial resolution and contrast while preserving the speckle pattern.

Genetic Polymorphisms and Their Impact on Body Composition and Performance of Brazilians in a 105 Km Mountain Ultramarathon.

Although the studied polymorphisms affect muscular proteins, aerobic adaptations, and recovery, their influence on the anthropometric variables and performance in ultramarathon runners is still poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the influence of ACTN3 R577X, ACE I/D, and CK MM A/G NcoI polymorphisms on the changes in the anthropometric variables and running time of 105 km mountain runners, in which 22 male Brazilian elite athletes (35.9 ± 6.5 years) were evaluated. Genotyping of the R577X (RR, RX, and XX), ACE I/D (DD, ID, and II), and CK MM A/G Ncol (AA, AG, and GG) polymorphisms was performed using the Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique with DNA extracted from saliva. Body composition was determined via bioimpedance. Pre- and post-race weight differences were observed on athletes with the AA genotype (77.1 ± 5.9 kg; 74.6 ± 5.6 kg) compared with those with the AG genotype (74.5 ± 8.0 kg; 68 ± 5.1 kg) (p = 0.02; p = 0.02). The RR genotype showed a correlation between BMI and running time (R = 0.97; p = 0.004). The genotype II showed a correlation with % fat and fat mass concerning running time (R = 0.91; p = 0.003; R = 0.99; p < 0.0001). The AA genotype was associated with post-race weight and lean mass loss, while the RR genotype correlated with BMI, and the genotype II correlated with % body fat and fat mass in relation to times in the 105 km mountain ultramarathon.

Evaluation of stability and size distribution of sunflower oil-coated micro bubbles for localized drug delivery.

BACKGROUND: Micro bubbles were initially introduced as contrast agents for ultrasound examinations as they are able to modify the signal-to-noise ratio in imaging, thus improving the assessment of clinical information on human tissue. Recent developments have demonstrated the feasibility of using these bubbles as drug carriers in localized delivery. In micro fluidics devices for generation of micro bubbles, the bubbles are formed at interface of liquid gas through a strangulation process. A device that uses these features can produce micro bubbles with small size dispersion in a single step. METHODS: A T-junction micro fluidic device constructed using 3D prototyping was made for the production of mono dispersed micro bubbles. These micro bubbles use sunflower oil as a lipid layer. Stability studies for micro bubbles with diameters different generated from a liquid phase of the same viscosity were conducted to evaluate whether micro bubbles can be used as drug carriers. The biocompatibility of coating layer, the ability to withstand environmental pressure variations combined with echogenicity, are key factors that they can safely play the role of drug transporters. RESULTS: The normal distribution curve with small dispersion of the diameter of bubbles validates the process of generating micro bubbles with low value of variation coefficient, i.e., 0.381 at 1.90%. The results also showed the feasibility of using sunflower oil as the lipid matrix with stable population of bubbles over 217 minutes for micro bubbles with an average diameter of 313.04 µm and 121 minutes for micro bubbles with an average diameter of 73.74 µm, considering bubbles with air as gaseous phase. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the micro fluidic device designed can be used for producing micro bubbles with low variation coefficient using sunflower oil as a coating of micro bubbles. These carriers were stable for periods of time that are long enough for clinical applications even when regular air is used as the gas phase. Improved stability can be achieved when biocompatible gas with lower permeability is used.

Photonic nanostructures mimicking floral epidermis for perovskite solar cells.

Here, we report photonic nanostructures replicated from the adaxial epidermis of flower petals onto light-polymerized coatings using low-cost nanoimprint lithography at ambient temperature. These multifunctional nanocoatings are applied to confer enhanced light trapping, water repellence, and UV light and environmental moisture protection features in perovskite solar cells. The former feature helps attain a maximum power conversion efficiency of 24.61% (21.01% for the reference cell) without any additional device optimization. Added to these merits, the nanocoatings also enable stable operation under AM 1.5G and UV light continuous illumination or in real-world conditions. Our engineering approach provides a simple way to produce multifunctional nanocoatings optimized by nature's wisdom.

High efficiency blue organic light-emitting diodes with below-bandgap electroluminescence.

Blue organic light-emitting diodes require high triplet interlayer materials, which induce large energetic barriers at the interfaces resulting in high device voltages and reduced efficiencies. Here, we alleviate this issue by designing a low triplet energy hole transporting interlayer with high mobility, combined with an interface exciplex that confines excitons at the emissive layer/electron transporting material interface. As a result, blue thermally activated delay fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes with a below-bandgap turn-on voltage of 2.5 V and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 41.2% were successfully fabricated. These devices also showed suppressed efficiency roll-off maintaining an EQE of 34.8% at 1000 cd m-2. Our approach paves the way for further progress through exploring alternative device engineering approaches instead of only focusing on the demanding synthesis of organic compounds with complex structures.

Measurement of wound area for early analysis of the scar predictive factor.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the use of the 2D-FlexRuler as a facilitating tool for the early calculation of the predictive scar factor of chronic wounds. METHOD: a descriptive study with a quantitative, experimental, longitudinal and prospective approach. The sample consisted of 22 outpatients. 32 chronic wounds were analyzed. The wound edges were identified and drawn on the 2D-FlexRuler. The calculations of the areas of chronic wounds were obtained by manual, traditional methods, by software and Matlab algorithm. These areas were compared with each other to determine the efficiency of the proposed ruler in relation to traditional methods. RESULTS: the calculation of the wound area by the traditional method and Kundin's coefficient show average errors greater than 40%. The manual estimation of the area with the 2D-FlexRuler is more accurate in relation to traditional measurement methods, which were considered quantitatively disqualified. When compared with the reference method, for example, the Klonk software, the data obtained by 2D-FlexRuler resulted in an error of less than 1.0%. CONCLUSION: the 2D-FlexRuler is a reliable metric platform for obtaining the anatomical limits of chronic wounds. It facilitated the calculation of the wound area under monitoring and allowed to obtain the scar predictive factor of chronic wounds with precocity in two weeks.

A hysteresis-free perovskite transistor with exceptional stability through molecular cross-linking and amine-based surface passivation.

Organo-metal halide perovskite field-effect transistors present serious challenges in terms of device stability and hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics. Migration of ions located at grain boundaries and surface defects in the perovskite film are the main reasons for instability and hysteresis issues. Here, we introduce a perovskite grain molecular cross-linking approach combined with amine-based surface passivation to address these issues. Molecular cross-linking was achieved through hydrogen bond interactions between perovskite halogens and dangling bonds present at grain boundaries and a hydrophobic cross-linker, namely diethyl-(12-phosphonododecyl)phosphonate, added to the precursor solution. With our approach, we obtained smooth and compact perovskite layers composed of tightly bound grains hence significantly suppressing the generation and migration of ions. Moreover, we achieved efficient surface passivation of the perovskite films upon surface treatment with an amine-bearing polymer, namely polyethylenimine ethoxylated. With our synergistic grain and surface passivation approach, we were able to demonstrate the first perovskite transistor with a complete lack of hysteresis and unprecedented stability upon continuous operation under ambient conditions. Added to the merits are its ambipolar transport of opposite carriers with balanced hole and electron mobilities of 4.02 and 3.35 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively, its high Ion/Ioff ratio >104 and the lowest sub-threshold swing of 267 mV dec-1 reported to date for any perovskite transistor. These remarkable achievements obtained through a cost-effective molecular cross-linking of grains combined with amine-based surface passivation of the perovskite films open a new era and pave the way for the practical application of perovskite transistors in low-cost electronic circuits.

New demodulation method for efficient phase-rotation-based beamforming.

In this paper, we present a new demodulation method to reduce hardware complexity in phase-rotation-based beamforming. Due to its low sensitivity to phase delay errors, quadrature demodulation, which consists of mixing and lowpass filtering, is commonly used in ultrasound machines. However, because it requires two lowpass filters for each channel to remove harmonics after mixing, the direct use of quadrature demodulation is computationally expensive. To alleviate the high computational requirement in quadrature demodulation, we have developed a two-stage demodulation technique in which dynamic receive focusing is performed on the mixed signal instead of the complex baseband signal. Harmonics then are suppressed by using only two lowpass filters. When the number of channels is 32, the proposed two-stage demodulation reduces the necessary number of multiplications and additions for phase-rotation beamforming by 82.7% and 88.2%, respectively, compared to using quadrature demodulation. We have found from simulation and phantom studies that the proposed method does not incur any significant degradation in image quality in terms of axial and lateral resolution. These preliminary results indicate that the proposed two-stage demodulation method could contribute to significantly reducing the hardware complexity in phase-rotation-based beamforming while providing comparable image quality.

New demodulation filter in digital phase rotation beamforming.

In this paper, we present a new quadrature demodulation filter to reduce hardware complexity in digital phase rotation beamforming. Due to its low sensitivity to phase delay errors, digital quadrature demodulation is commonly used in ultrasound machines. However, since it requires two lowpass filters for each channel to remove harmonics, the direct use of conventional finite impulse response (FIR) filters in ultrasound machines is computationally expensive and burdensome. In our new method, an efficient multi-stage uniform coefficient (MSUC) filter is utilized to remove harmonic components in phase rotation beamforming. In comparison with the directly implemented FIR (DI-FIR) and the previously-proposed signed-power-of-two FIR (SPOT-FIR) lowpass filters, the proposed MSUC filter reduces the necessary hardware resources by 93.9% and 83.9%, respectively. In simulation, the MSUC filter shows a negligible degradation in image quality. The proposed method resulted in comparable spatial and contrast resolution to the DI-FIR approach in the phantom study. These preliminary results indicate that the proposed quadrature demodulation filtering method could significantly reduce the hardware complexity in phase rotation beamforming while maintaining comparable image quality.

High performance polymer tandem solar cell.

A power conversion efficiency of 9.02% is obtained for a fully solution-processed polymer tandem solar cell, based on the diketopyrrolopyrrole unit polymer as a low bandgap photoactive material in the rear subcell, in conjunction with a new robust interconnecting layer. This interconnecting layer is optically transparent, electrically conductive, and physically strong, thus, the charges can be collected and recombined in the interconnecting layer under illumination, while the charge is generated and extracted under dark conditions. This indicates that careful interface engineering of the charge-carrier transport layer is a useful approach to further improve the performance of polymer tandem solar cells.

Measurement of wound area for early analysis of the scar predictive factor / Mensuração da área de feridas para análise precoce do fator preditivo cicatricial / Medición del área de heridas para el análisis temprano del factor predictivo de cicatriz

Objective: to evaluate the use of the 2D-FlexRuler as a facilitating tool for the early calculation of the predictive scar factor of chronic wounds. Method: a descriptive study with a quantitative, experimental, longitudinal and prospective approach. The sample consisted of 22 outpatients. 32 chronic wounds were analyzed. The wound edges were identified and drawn on the 2D-FlexRuler. The calculations of the areas of chronic wounds were obtained by manual, traditional methods, by software and Matlab algorithm. These areas were compared with each other to determine the efficiency of the proposed ruler in relation to traditional methods. Results: the calculation of the wound area by the traditional method and Kundin's coefficient show average errors greater than 40%. The manual estimation of the area with the 2D-FlexRuler is more accurate in relation to traditional measurement methods, which were considered quantitatively disqualified. When compared with the reference method, for example, the Klonk software, the data obtained by 2D-FlexRuler resulted in an error of less than 1.0%. Conclusion: the 2D-FlexRuler is a reliable metric platform for obtaining the anatomical limits of chronic wounds. It facilitated the calculation of the wound area under monitoring and allowed to obtain the scar predictive factor of chronic wounds with precocity in two weeks.

Objetivo: avaliar o uso da régua 2D-FlexRuler como ferramenta facilitadora para o cálculo precoce do fator preditivo cicatricial de feridas crônicas. Método: estudo descritivo com abordagem quantitativa, experimental, longitudinal e prospectiva. A amostra foi de 22 pacientes ambulatoriais. Foram analisadas 32 feridas crônicas. As bordas das feridas foram identificadas e desenhadas na 2D-FlexRuler. Os cálculos das áreas das feridas crônicas foram obtidos pelos métodos manuais, tradicionais, por softwares e algoritmo Matlab. Essas áreas foram comparadas entre si para determinar a eficiência da régua proposta em relação aos métodos tradicionais. Resultados: o cálculo da área da ferida pelo método tradicional e coeficiente de Kundin demonstram erros médios maiores do que 40%. A estimativa manual da área com a 2D-FlexRuler é mais exata em relação aos métodos tradicionais de medição, os quais foram considerados quantitativamente desqualificados. Quando comparada com o método de referência, i.e., o software Klonk, os dados obtidos pela 2D-FlexRuler resultaram em um erro menor que 1,0%. Conclusão: a régua 2D-FlexRuler é uma plataforma métrica confiável para a obtenção dos limites anatômicos de feridas crônicas. Facilitou o cálculo da área da ferida sob monitoramento e permitiu obter o fator preditivo cicatricial de feridas crônicas com precocidade em duas semanas.

Objetivo: evaluar el uso de la regla 2D-FlexRuler como herramienta facilitadora para el cálculo temprano del factor predictivo de cicatrices en heridas crónicas. Método: estudio descriptivo con enfoque cuantitativo, experimental, longitudinal y prospectivo. La muestra consistió en 22 pacientes ambulatorios. Se analizaron 32 heridas crónicas. Los bordes de la herida fueron identificados y dibujados en 2D-FlexRuler. Los cálculos de las áreas de heridas crónicas se obtuvieron por métodos manuales, tradicionales, por software y algoritmo Matlab. Estas áreas se compararon entre sí para determinar la eficiencia de la regla propuesta en relación con los métodos tradicionales. Resultados: el cálculo del área de la herida por el método tradicional y el coeficiente de Kundin muestran errores promedio superiores al 40%. La estimación manual del área con 2D-FlexRuler es más precisa en relación con los métodos de medición tradicionales, que se consideraron descalificados cuantitativamente. Al ser comparados con el método de referencia, es decir, el software Klonk, los datos obtenidos por 2D-FlexRuler arrojaron un error de menos del 1,0%. Conclusión: la regla 2D-FlexRuler es una plataforma métrica confiable para obtener los límites anatómicos de las heridas crónicas. Facilitó el cálculo del área de la herida bajo monitoreo y permitió obtener el factor predictivo de cicatriz de heridas crónicas con precocidad en dos semanas.

An organic photovoltaic featuring graphene nanoribbons.

A combination of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was deployed as a potential candidate to replace the commonly used hole transport material poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) ( PEDOT: PSS) in a high performance organic photovoltaic. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.6% has been obtained using inkjet printing to fabricate the photovoltaic along with the presence of C60-bis as an electron transporting material.

Plasmon enhanced organic devices utilizing highly ordered nanoimprinted gold nanodisks and nitrogen doped graphene.

High performance organic devices including polymer solar cells (PSCs) and light emitting diodes (PLEDs) were successfully demonstrated with the presence of highly ordered nanoimprinted Au nanodisks (Au NDs) in their solution-processed active/emissive layers, respectively. PSCs and PLEDs were fabricated using a low bandgap polymer and acceptor, nitrogen doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes poly[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b]-thiophenediyl] (n-MWCNTs:PTB7), and [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) and (4,4-N,N-dicarbazole) biphenyl (CBP) doped with tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium(iii) (Ir(ppy)3) as active/emissive layers, respectively. We synthesized nitrogen doped graphene and used it as anodic buffer layer in both devices. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect from Au NDs clearly contributed to the increase in light absorption/emission in the active layers from electromagnetic field enhancement, which originated from the excited LSPR in PSCs and PLEDs. In addition to the high density of LSPR and strong exciton-SP coupling, the electroluminescent (EL) enhancement is ascribed to enhanced spontaneous emission rates. This is due to the plasmonic near-field effect induced by Au NDs. The PSCs and PLEDs exhibited 14.98% (8.08% to 9.29%) under one sun of simulated air mass 1.5 global (AM1.5G) illumination (100 mW cm(-2)) and 19.18% (8.24 to 9.82 lm W(-1)) enhancement in the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) compared to the control devices without Au NDs.

Technological development and production of health supplies: challenges for the Unified Health System (SUS) / Desenvolvimento tecnológico e produção de insumos para saúde: desafios para o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS)

This study discusses the Brazilian model of incentives for the domestic development and production of supplies for public health, considering initiatives implemented from 2003 to 2016. This paper was prepared based on a qualitative bibliographic study, considering authors in the fields of health sciences, public health and public policy, reports by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and official documents available from the Brazilian Federal Government. The paper focuses on the social dimension of health, considering a specific time period in the literature, from 2003 to 2016 and, finally, the new Regulatory Framework for Science, Technology, and Innovation approved in 2016. Various government initiatives were identified in the field of technological development and production to meet the objectives of the SUS according to the literature analysis. Brazil has been substantially increasing investment in Research and Development (R&D) during the last decade, though it lags European and OECD counterparts. Brazilian investment in R&D increased from 1.01% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 to 1.23% in 2012. Despite being the top performer in Latin America (representing 60% of total R&D investment in the region), investment in R&D in Brazil is approximately half the level of European and OECD countries, which invest on average approximately 2% and 2.5% of GDP.

Este artigo pretende discutir o modelo brasileiro de incentivos para o desenvolvimento interno e produção de insumos para saúde pública, considerando ações governamentais implementadas no período de 2003 a 2016. O artigo foi elaborado com base em estudo bibliográfico qualitativo, considerando autores nas áreas de economia da saúde, saúde pública e políticas públicas, relatórios da Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS), Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE), Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento (IDB) e Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC), bem como documentos oficiais disponíveis do Governo Federal Brasileiro. O estudo aborda a dimensão social da saúde, considerando um período de tempo específico na literatura, de 2003 a 2016 e, finalmente, o novo Marco Legal da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação aprovado em 2016. Diversas iniciativas governamentais para atingir os objetivos do SUS foram identificadas, de acordo com a análise da literatura. O Brasil tem aumentado substancialmente o investimento em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P & D) durante a última década, embora fique atrás de países europeus e da OCDE. O investimento brasileiro em P & D aumentou de 1,01% do produto interno bruto (PIB) em 2000 para 1,23% em 2012. Apesar de ter o melhor desempenho na América Latina (representando 60% do investimento total em P & D na região), o investimento em P & D no Brasil é aproximadamente metade do nível dos países europeus e da OCDE, que investem em média aproximadamente 2% e 2,5% do PIB.

A programmable FPGA-based 8-channel arbitrary waveform generator for medical ultrasound research activities.

In modern ultrasound imaging systems, digital transmit beamformer module typically generates accurate control of the amplitude of individual elements in a multielement array probe, as well as of the time delays and phase between them, to enable the acoustic beam to be focused and/or steered electronically. However, these systems do not provide the ultrasound researchers access to transmit front-end module. This paper presents the development of a digital transmit beamformer system for generating simultaneous arbitrary waveforms, specifically designed for research purposes. The proposed architecture has 8 independent excitation channels and uses an FPGA (Field Programmable Gated Array) device for electronic steering and focusing of ultrasound beam. The system allows operation in pulse-echo mode, with pulse repetition rate of excitation from 62.5 Hz to 8 kHz, center frequency from 500 kHz to 20 MHz, excitation voltage over 100 Vpp, and individual control of amplitude apodization, phase angle and time delay trigger. Experimental results show that this technique is suitable for generating the excitation waveforms needed for medical ultrasound imaging researches.

A fully programmable computing architecture for medical ultrasound machines.

Application-specific ICs have been traditionally used to support the high computational and data rate requirements in medical ultrasound systems, particularly in receive beamforming. Utilizing the previously developed efficient front-end algorithms, in this paper, we present a simple programmable computing architecture, consisting of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a digital signal processor (DSP), to support core ultrasound signal processing. It was found that 97.3% and 51.8% of the FPGA and DSP resources are, respectively, needed to support all the front-end and back-end processing for B-mode imaging with 64 channels and 120 scanlines per frame at 30 frames/s. These results indicate that this programmable architecture can meet the requirements of low- and medium-level ultrasound machines while providing a flexible platform for supporting the development and deployment of new algorithms and emerging clinical applications.

The role of biomedical engineering in health system improvement and nation's development.

Biomedical Engineering (BME) undergraduate programs are incipient in Brazil and in other South American countries. Accreditation concerns and the Health system modernization make necessary for countries such as Brazil to plan the education and investments strategy for the next 15 years. BME curricula are not well defined in Brazil and this study intends to present the minimum needs. The importance of implantation of new BME programs in Brazil and other Latin American countries is also discussed.