Technology and Health Care - Volume 21, issue 6

Authors: Saxena, Amulya K.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy (LP) for Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis (IHPS) is associated with an increased risk of mucosal tears or incomplete myotomy when compared with open myotomy. Keeping these risks in mind, a new ergonomically designed spreader for LP was developed and investigated in IHPS. Methods: The new Pyloric Spreader was designed as a 3.5 mm instrument specifically for minimal access application taking into consideration the specific needs of LP. Results: LP was performed using this spreader in 25 infants with IHPS during a 5-year period from 2006–2012. After incising the pylorus using an arthrotomy knife …blade, the spreader could be inserted with ease in the pyloric muscle slit and permitted spreading of the pyloric muscle without any circular tears. The axial handle attached to the spreader enable a wide and controlled muscular spreading without mucosal injuries or incomplete spreads. Two infants underwent surgical revision due to recurrent vomiting; however no signs of incomplete myotomy were evident and the vomiting which subsequently subsided was attributed to the preoperative administration of Rotavirus vaccines in these infants. Conclusion: The newly designed Pyloric Spreader offers a new ergonomically designed instrument with a flat tip for easy placement in the pyloric muscle slit, broad instrument surface to avoid circular muscle tears, rounded tip edges to prevent mucosal injuries, wide spreading capability for optimal muscle spread and an axial handle for better hand ergonomic for LP in IHPS. Show more

Keywords: Laparoscopic pyloromyotomy, infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, spreader, ergonomic, instrument

DOI: 10.3233/THC-130752

Citation: Technology and Health Care, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 625-630, 2013

Authors: Claassen, L. | Hawi, N. | Ettinger, M. | Stukenborg-Colsman, Ch. | Liodakis, E. | Citak, M.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The procedure of computer-assisted navigation of femoral shaft fractures is well described. Nevertheless, its use is less common. An unclear disposal and longer operation times might be two reasons. The aim of this technical note is to render assistance concerning the ideal disposal of the setup.

Keywords: Femur shaft fracture, antetorsion, fracture reduction, internal fixation, computer-assisted navigation

DOI: 10.3233/THC-130763

Citation: Technology and Health Care, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 631-639, 2013

Authors: Kurillo, Gregorij | Chen, Alic | Bajcsy, Ruzena | Han, Jay J.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: In clinical evaluation of upper extremity, there is a lack of assessment methods that are quantitative, reliable, and informative of the overall functional capability of an individual. Objective: We present new methodology for the assessment of upper extremity impairments based on the concept of 3-dimensional reachable workspace using Microsoft Kinect. Methods: We quantify the reachable workspace by the relative surface area representing the portion of the unit hemi-sphere that is covered by the hand movement. We examine accuracy of joint positions, joint angles, and reachable workspace computation between the Kinect and motion capture …system. Results: The results of our analysis in 10 healthy subjects showed that the accuracy of the joint positions was within 66.3 mm for our experimental protocol. We found that the dynamic angle measurements had relatively large deviations (between 9° to 28°). The acquired reachable workspace envelope showed high agreement between the two systems with high repeatability between trials (correlation coefficients between 0.86 and 0.93). Conclusions: The findings indicate that the proposed Kinect-based 3D reachable workspace analysis provides sufficiently accurate and reliable results as compared to motion capture system. The proposed method could be promising for clinical evaluation of upper extremity in neurological or musculoskeletal conditions. Show more

Keywords: Kinect, upper extremity, functional evaluation, reachable workspace

DOI: 10.3233/THC-130764

Citation: Technology and Health Care, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 641-656, 2013

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/THC-2013-21614

Citation: Technology and Health Care, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 657-666, 2013

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/THC-2013-21615

Citation: Technology and Health Care, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 667-670, 2013