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. This creative system can play an important role in providing valuable feedback for training doctors, facilitating the assessment of surgical precision and success, and enabling doctors to take necessary precautions to minimize the risk of nerve damage in real surgical scenarios. Ultimately, this proposed system has the potential to elevate the standard of surgical education, foster skill development among doctors, and significantly contribute to enhanced patient care and recovery.

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. An online electronic questionnaire was conducted and distributed through social media and groups of friends in Taiwan. A total of 541 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed in three stages: Descriptive Analysis, Measurement Model Validation, and Structural Equation Model. The research processes of the study showed that the sample fitted the normal distribution and the measurement model conformed with convergent reliability and discriminant validity. The research results were found that "sleep quality" had a significant negative effect on sleep apnea symptoms. "Daytime sleepiness" had a positive effect on sleep apnea symptoms. "Daytime sleepiness" had a negative effect on sleep apnea symptoms through the "attention" mediator. Finally, through the questionnaire, we hope to make the middle-aged people aware of themselves, so that they can seek early medical treatment if there are signs and symptoms of sleep apnea symptoms.

Combination of frequency and amplitude-modulated model for the synthesis of normal and wheezing sounds.

Based on communication theory, this study proposes a model to synthesize normal and wheezing sounds. The model included five parts: the flow source as a transmitter, the frequency and amplitude-modulated (FM-AM) sounds, the accompanying noise as a modulator, the airway wall as a medium, and the microphone as a receiver. The hypothesis of modulation builds on that the deviation of frequency and amplitude of the sounds which cause from the deviation of collision speed of the air flow on the wall. The model was successful to simulate the normal breath and wheezing sounds. Furthermore, it provided a correct proof for the CORSA description, which indicates that the wheeze was contained in the domain frequency at 400 Hz, but a number of investigators have suggested that the range is actually between 80-1,600 Hz and 350-950 Hz by filter theory. This study modifies the signal source in Wodicka et al. model, and describes it in functional blocks. In fact, the design of the signal source base on the knowledge of the lung sound studies, especially the analysis of components in the frequency and time domains. We synthesized the required components to reproduce the lung sounds, and proposed a mechanism of wheeze which was examined by the computer simulation in the points of the system engineering view.

Respiratory wheeze detection system.

Respiratory sound is associated with many lung diseases. By observing respiratory sound symptoms, we can know more about lung conditions. In this research, we construct an efficient lung sound recording system according to CORSA, and develop a spectrogram process flow technique to object wheeze. It is a low cost and efficient system. In clinic test, we also can precisely objective wheeze up to about 89%.

An effective image measurement in brachial flow-mediated dilation response analysis.

Non-invasive cardiovascular measurements are used to evaluate cardiovascular diseases early and to cure early. By using various evaluation methods of cardiovascular features to diagnose cardiovascular disease.Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) evaluated by Ultrasound offers a mechanism to characterize endothelial function and, therefore, may play a role in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular endothelial is intermedia between blood and cardiovascular muscle. It has important effect for keeping balance of the environment in vessel. Nitric Oxide (NO) is the most important fact. Many cardiovascular diseases, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, smoking, is the cause of endothelial dysfunction. We design a series of images analysis methods to compute the change of cardiovascular radius in ultrasound images for evaluating endothelial function instead of measuring by-hand. We use B-mode ultrasound system to measure brachial cardiovascular radius. Then we capture the images by image capture card 10 images per second. We evaluate the average radius of brachial cardiovascular radius before we cut off blood flow. And we evaluate the maximum radius of brachial cardiovascular radius after we cut off blood flow and release it. Using the two radii we can compute the FMD value to evaluate endothelial function. First, we use Hough Transform to detect possible center possible of vessel. Then we use edge-reserved filter to filtrate speckle noise and preserve edge. After filtrating noise, we utilize Laplacian of Gaussian to detect edge-points.