Cerebral function monitoring on a general paediatric ward: feasibility and potential.

UNLABELLED: Cerebral function monitoring is widely used in neonatal intensive care, but its potential role in assessment of older infants is scarcely reported. We reviewed the use of cerebral function monitoring on a general paediatric ward in a series of young infants admitted with abnormal movements. Review of the amplitude-integrated EEG obtained by cerebral function monitoring revealed electrographic seizures in four of seven infants monitored. We also surveyed general paediatric wards in hospitals in our region of the UK to ask about current use of cerebral function monitoring and local availability of formal electroencephalography services. Cerebral function monitoring was not being used in the 16 other paediatric departments surveyed, and there was very limited provision for obtaining a full-array electroencephalogram out-of-hours. CONCLUSION: With adequate training and education, it is feasible to undertake cerebral function monitoring on a general paediatric ward. Continuous cerebral function monitoring is a tool that has potential use for detecting clinical seizures and augmenting clinical neuro-observations of young children admitted to a general paediatric ward. WHAT IS KNOWN: • In intensive care settings, cerebral function monitoring (CFM) has long been used for the continuous bedside monitoring of brain function in critically ill neonates, children and adults. • Very few studies have looked at the use of CFM outside of the intensive care setting, and it is presently unclear if CFM is used in the general paediatric ward. What is new: • CFM is presently not widely used in the general paediatric setting. • With appropriate training and support, CFM can be successfully introduced to the general paediatric ward with the potential to enhance the clinical monitoring of young infants admitted with abnormal movements.

Blood vessel constitutive models-1995-2002.

Knowledge of blood vessel mechanical properties is fundamental to the understanding of vascular function in health and disease. Analytic results can help physicians in the clinic, both in designing and in choosing appropriate therapies. Understanding the mechanical response of blood vessels to physiologic loads is necessary before ideal therapeutic solutions can be realized. For this reason, blood vessel constitutive models are needed. This article provides a critical review of recent blood vessel constitutive models, starting with a brief overview of the structure and function of arteries and veins, followed by a discussion of experimental techniques used in the characterization of material properties. Current models are classified by type, including pseudoelastic, randomly elastic, poroelastic, and viscoelastic. Comparisons are presented between the various models and existing experimental data. Applications of blood vessel constitutive models are also briefly presented, followed by the identification of future directions in research.

Constitutive modeling of porcine coronary arteries using designed experiments.

The development of new coronary artery constitutive models is of critical importance in the design and analysis of coronary replacement grafts. In this study, a two-parameter logarithmic complementary energy function, with normalized measured force and internal pressure as the independent variables and strains as the dependent variables, was developed for healthy porcine coronary arteries. Data was collected according to an experimental design with measured force ranging from 9.8 to 201 mN and internal pressure ranging from 0.1 to 16.1 kPa (1 to 121 mmHg). Comparisons of the estimated constitutive parameters showed statistically significant differences between the left anterior descending [LAD] and right coronary artery [RCA], but no differences between the LAD and left circumflex [LCX] or between the LCX and RCA. Point-by-point strain comparisons confirm the findings of the model parameter study and isolate the difference to the axial strain response. Average axial strains for the LAD, LCX, and RCA are 0.026 +/- 0.009, 0.015 +/- 0.005, and 0.011 +/- 0.009, respectively, at all physiologic loads, suggesting that the axial strains in the LAD are significantly higher than in the other regions.