An automatic water-occluding device to enable laryngectomee participation in water activities.

Individuals with a laryngectomy face a host of challenges ranging from restricted vocal communication to significant lifestyle modifications associated with breathing through a stoma. Although there are significant mental and physical health benefits achieved by returning to recreational pursuits that were enjoyed pre-surgery, there can be significant obstacles in doing so. One particular challenge arises during participation in water activities (e.g, fishing, boating, etc.) where accidental submersion poses a significant risk of drowning. This manuscript describes a proof-of-concept device that protects the airway from accidental incursion of water into the airway during unanticipated submersion in water, thereby allowing laryngectomees to return to participation in water activities. The device is designed to be worn comfortably for long periods of time, while not interfering with the common methods of replacement speech that are utilized post-laryngectomy.

Level-wise differences in in vivo lateral bending moment are associated with microstructural alterations in bovine caudal intervertebral discs.

Despite its common use as a laboratory model, little is known about the in vivo forces and moments applied to the bovine caudal intervertebral disc. Such aspects are crucial, as intervertebral disc tissue is known to remodel in response to repeated loading. We hypothesized that the magnitude of loading from muscle contraction during a typical lateral bending motion varies between caudal levels and is accompanied by variations in tissue microstructure. This hypothesis was tested by estimating level-wise forces and bending moments using two independent approaches: a dynamic analytical model of the motion and analysis of muscle cross-sections obtained via computed tomography. Microstructure was assessed by measuring the collagen fiber crimp period in the annulus fibrosus, and composition was assessed via quantitative histology. Both the analytical model and muscle cross-sections indicated peak bending moments of over 3 N m and peak compressive force of over 125 N at the c1c2 level, decreasing distally. There was a significant downward trend from proximal to distal in the outer annulus fibrosus collagen crimp period in the anterior and posterior regions only, suggesting remodeling in response to the highest lateral bending moments. There were no observed trends in composition. Our results suggest that although the proximal discs in the bovine tail are subjected to forces and moments from muscle contraction that are comparable (relative to disc size) to those acting on human lumbar discs, the distal discs are not. The resulting pattern of microstructural alterations suggests that level-wise differences should be considered when using bovine discs as a research model.