Enhanced photo-assisted electrical gating in vanadium dioxide based on saturation-induced gain modulation of erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

By incorporating saturation-induced gain modulation of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), we have demonstrated a high-speed photo-assisted electrical gating with considerably enhanced switching characteristics in a two-terminal device fabricated by using vanadium dioxide thin film. The gating operation was performed by illuminating the output light of the EDFA, whose transient gain was modulated by adjusting the chopping frequency of the input light down to 1 kHz, onto the device. In the proposed gating scheme, gated signals with a temporal duration of approximately 40 micros were successively generated at a repetition rate of 1 kHz.

Second-order all-fiber comb filter based on polarization-diversity loop configuration.

By concatenating three birefringence loops in series, a second-order all-fiber comb filter based on a polarization-diversity loop configuration is newly proposed. The proposed filter consists of one polarization beam splitter, polarization-maintaining fibers, and two halfwave plates. The effect of a second-order structure of polarization-maintaining fiber loops on a bandwidth of the filter passband was theoretically analyzed and experimentally demonstrated. Transmission output of the second-order filter (flat-top and narrow-band transmission spectra) could be obtained by adjusting two half-wave plates. 1 and 3 dB bandwidths of the proposed filter in flat-top and narrow-band operations were greater by approximately 102.9 and 44.3 % and smaller by approximately 47.9 and 47.1 % than those of a conventional Sagnac birefringence filter, respectively.

High-frequency and low-frequency chest compression: effects on lung water secretion, mucus transport, heart rate, and blood pressure using a trapezoidal source pressure waveform.

High-frequency chest compression (HFCC), using an appropriate source (pump) waveform for frequencies at or above 3 Hz, can enhance pulmonary clearance for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using a trapezoidal HFCC source pressure waveform, secretion of water from epithelial tissue and transport of mucus through lung airways can be enhanced for patients with CF and COPD. At frequencies below 3 Hz, low-frequency chest compression (LFCC) appears to have a significant impact on the cardiovascular system. For a trapezoidal source pressure waveform at frequencies close to 1 Hz, LFCC produces amplitude or intensity variations in various components of the electrocardiogram time-domain waveform, produces changes at very low frequencies associated with the electrocardiogram frequency spectra (indicating enhanced parasympathetic nervous system activity), and promotes a form of heart rate synchronization. It appears that LFCC can also provide additional cardiovascular benefits by reducing peak and average systolic and diastolic blood pressure for patients with hypertension.

A simulation tool to study high-frequency chest compression energy transfer mechanisms and waveforms for pulmonary disease applications.

High-frequency chest compression (HFCC) can be used as a therapeutic intervention to assist in the transport and clearance of mucus and enhance water secretion for cystic fibrosis patients. An HFCC pump-vest and half chest-lung simulation, with 23 lung generations, has been developed using inertance, compliance, viscous friction relationships, and Newton's second law. The simulation has proven to be useful in studying the effects of parameter variations and nonlinear effects on HFCC system performance and pulmonary system response. The simulation also reveals HFCC waveform structure and intensity changes in various segments of the pulmonary system. The HFCC system simulation results agree with measurements, indicating that the HFCC energy transport mechanism involves a mechanically induced pulsation or vibration waveform with average velocities in the lung that are dependent upon small air displacements over large areas associated with the vest-chest interface. In combination with information from lung physiology, autopsies and a variety of other lung modeling efforts, the results of the simulation can reveal a number of therapeutic implications.

Pilot study: understanding the effects of voicing intervention on HFCC therapy in people with cystic fibrosis.

The efficacy of High-Frequency Chest Compression (HFCC) airway clearance therapy is linked to the induced-peak expiratory airflow pulse (IPEF) at the patient's mouth. The authors' goal was to determine the conditions that yield the highest IPEF using HFCC running at 6Hz in conjunction with voicing intervention. A pilot experimental study was conducted in a laboratory setting. Six adults with moderate to mild cystic fibrosis (CF) and 10 healthy adults participated. When the component characteristics of voicing were disregarded in data analysis of four conditions, voicing only intervention (V(1)I(0)), HFCC only intervention (V(0)I(1)), voicing intervention and HFCC intervention combinations (V(1)I(1)) and nonintervention (V(0)I(0)), V(0)I(1) had significantly higher (P<0.0001) IPEF. Data analyses of 64 separate voicing component characteristics, frequency (x4), amplitude (x4), and rhythm (x2) of voicing intervention, in addition to absence and presence of HFCC intervention (V(1)I(0) and V(1)I(1)), were examined. One condition in V(1)I(0) had significantly higher (P<0.000001) IPEF than other conditions in V(1)I(0) and V(1)I(1) in both experimental and control groups. Based on these findings, V(1)I(1) may yield higher IPEF than V(0)I(1). One condition of amplitude component of voicing and one condition of rhythm component of voicing had significantly higher (P<0.0001) IPEF than other conditions of amplitude and rhythm components in both CF and control subjects. Analysis of this combined condition of V(1)I(1) showed that this specific condition of V(1)I(1) had significantly higher (P<0.000001) IPEF than any other conditions in V(1)I(1) and V(0)I(1).

Induced respiratory system modeling by high frequency chest compression using lumped system identification method.

High frequency chest compression (HFCC) treatment systems are used to promote mucus transport and mitigate pulmonary system clearance problems to remove sputum from the airways in patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and at risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Every HFCC system consists of a pump generator, one or two hoses connected to a vest, to deliver the pulsation. There are three different waveforms in use; symmetric sine, the asymmetric sine and the trapezoid waveforms. There have been few studies that compared the efficacy of a sine waveform with the HFCC pulsations. In this study we present a model of the respiratory system for a young normal subject who is one of co-authors. The input signal is the pressure applied by the vest to chest, at a frequency of 6Hz. Using the system model simulation, the effectiveness of different source waveforms is evaluated and compared by observing the waveform response associated with air flow at the mouth. Also the study demonstrated that the ideal rectangle wave produced the maximum peak air flow, and followed by the trapezoid, triangle and sine waveform. The study suggests that a pulmonary system evaluation or modeling effort for CF patient might be useful as a method to optimize frequency and waveform structure choices for HFCC therapeutic intervention.

High frequency chest compression effects on cardio-respiratory interaction.

In this study, we present a quantitative approach to the analysis of the HFCC effect on heart rate changes in the respiratory stage according to different pulsation conditions with HFCC pulsation and without HFCC pulsation. We have shown that the heart rate increases with higher pressure settings revealing different patterns depending on the respiration stages. For our interaction study of how the heart and lungs were affected by HFCC, phase synchronization was considered and compared under different conditions which determine the real biological phenomenon for nonlinear or linear oscillatory coupling. The subject for this study was young and healthy, so these preliminary results should be verified with more detailed studies from abundant subjects to increase HFCC efficacy for lung disease patients. Interestingly, the indication or tracking of heart rate changes, respiration rate changes, or synchronization epoch can be the standard index for how much the cardiac and respiratory system improve using HFCC during therapy time or after therapy time.

Two models of high frequency chest compression therapy: interaction of jacket pressure and mouth airflow.

High frequency chest compression (HFCC) therapy assists clearing the secretions in the lung. This paper presents two mathematical models: 1) HFCC jacket function model (JFM) and 2) respiratory function model (RFM). JFM predicts the variation of the jacket pressure (Pj) from the respiratory pattern of mouth airflow (Fm). RFM predicts the HFCC induced mouth airflow (Fm) from the HFCC pulse pressures at the jacket (Pj). Fm and Pj were measured from a healthy subject during HFCC therapy. JFM, which was implemented with 2nd order system using prediction error method, shows the existence of breathing pattern at Pj. RFM, which was implemented with amplitude modulation technique, shows how the HFCC pulses affects to the Fm. JFM calculations match 78% of the measured respiratory pattern of Pj>. RFM calculations match 90% of measured HFCC induced Fm. These models can be used to test new breathing patterns before designing studies on patients having chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.