Design of an Automatic Jackson-Pratt Drain Auxiliary System for Postoperative Management Applications.

Background: After surgery, the exudation at a surgical site can cause complications and infections. The exudation is periodically removed through a Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain while maintaining a negative pressure in the JP bulb. However, the JP drainage tube may be clogged due to blood clotting. Thus, the periodic management of the JP drain is essential. In particular, the postoperative management of the JP drain includes squeezing and stripping it. In this study, we proposed a JP drain auxiliary system that can perform automatic stripping to assist specialists and nurses. Methodology: The proposed system was designed based on pre-experimental measurements and operated as a gripping and rolling device. Experimental Results: Twenty experiments were performed, and an average stripping efficiency of 93.8% was obtained. Conclusions: Consequently, we think that the proposed auxiliary system can automatically contribute to increase working efficiency for specialists and nurses.

Mathematical Analysis and Motion Capture System Utilization Method for Standardization Evaluation of Tracking Objectivity of 6-DOF Arm Structure for Rehabilitation Training Exercise Therapy Robot.

A treatment method for suppressing shoulder pain by reducing the secretion of neurotransmitters in the brain is being studied in compliance with domestic and international standards. A robot is being developed to assist physical therapists in shoulder rehabilitation exercise treatment. The robot used for rehabilitation therapy enables the training of patients to perform rehabilitation exercises repeatedly. However, the biomechanical movement (or motion) of the shoulder joint should be accurately designed to enhance efficiency using a shoulder rehabilitation robot. Furthermore, safely treating patients by accurately evaluating biomechanical movements in compliance with domestic and international standards is a major task. Therefore, an in-depth analysis of shoulder movement is essential for understanding the mechanism of shoulder rehabilitation using robots. This paper proposes a method for analyzing shoulder movements. The rotation angle and range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder joint are measured by attaching a marker to the body and analyzing the inverse kinematics. The first motion is abduction and adduction, and the second is external and internal rotation. The location information of the marker is transmitted to an application software through an infrared camera. For the analysis using an inverse kinematics solution, five males and five females participated in the motion capture experiment. The subjects did not have any disability, and abduction and adduction were repeated 10 times. As a result, ROM of the abduction and adduction were 148° with males and 138.7° in females. Moreover, ROM of the external and internal rotation were 111.2° with males and 106° in females. Because this study enables tracking of the center coordinates of the joint suitably through a motion capture system, inverse kinematics can be accurately calculated. Additionally, a mathematical inverse kinematics equation will utilize follow-up study for designing an upper rehabilitations robot. The proposed method is assessed to be able to contribute to the definition of domestic and international standardization of rehabilitation robots and motion capture for objective evaluation.

Removal of Specular Reflection Using Angle Adjustment of Linear Polarized Filter in Medical Imaging Diagnosis.

The biggest problem in imaging medicine is the occurrence of light reflection in the imaging process for lesion diagnosis. The formation of light reflection obscures the diagnostic field of the lesion and interferes with the correct diagnosis of the observer. The existing method has the inconvenience of performing a diagnosis in a state in which light reflection is suppressed by adjusting the direction angle of the camera. This paper proposes a method for rotating a linear polarization filter to remove light reflection in a diagnostic imaging camera. Vertical polarization and horizontal polarization are controlled through the rotation of the filter, and the polarization is adjusted to horizontal polarization. The rotation angle of the filter for horizontal polarization control will be 90°, and the vertical and horizontal polarization waves induce a 90° difference from each other. In this study, light reflection can be effectively removed during the imaging process, and light reflection removal can secure the field of view of the lesion. The removal of light reflection can help the observer's accurate diagnosis, and these results are expected to be highly reliable and commercialized for direct application in the field of diagnostic medicine.

Web-Based Intravenous Fluid Treatment Monitoring Platform in Nursing Station.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous fluid treatment is the most common way to take care of inpatients. Because of the global pandemic, the number of inpatients is increasing rapidly, leading to constant demand in the contactless system. PURPOSE: In this article, we suggest a web-based intravenous fluid treatment monitoring platform in the nursing station to unburden the medical staff's workload.