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INTRODUCTION: Trabecular bones have a porous microstructure and can be modeled as linear elastic solids, heterogeneous and anisotropic. In the literature, few investigations have compared the two- dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) morphometric analyses of cancellous bone. METHODS: In this investigation eighteen cylindrical samples of cancellous bone (10 mm of diameter and 20 mm of height) were obtained from six bovine head femurs, with similar values for the weight and age, of the same race and gender. The samples were harvested and freezed at - 20 °C before carrying out the microCT analysis. The CT-Analyzer software was used to measure in three directions (superior-inferior, lateral-medial and anterior-posterior) parameters such as trabecular thickness, trabecular separation, trabecular number and the eigenvalues of the fabric tensor (M). RESULTS: The Comparison of 2D and 3D analyses for the parameters: 2D (plate model) trabecular thickness, trabecular separation and trabecular number were statistically different (p = 0) showing that measurements are not similar to the 3D ones. However, 2D (rod model) trabecular thickness and 3D trabecular thickness measurements presented no significant difference (p = 0.26). The eigenvalues show that the bovine trabecular microstructure has a tendency to transverserly isotropic symmetry. DISCUSSION: The method proved to be quite interesting for the characterization of the bone structure through 3D measurements of trabecular bone morphometric parameters in the three possible directions of loading. The results show that x-ray microtomography (∝CT) is a technique of great potential for characterization and generating bone quality parameters for the diagnosis of bone metabolism diseases.

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INTRODUCTION: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a mode of non-invasive mechanical ventilation commonly used in neonatology. The incorporation of new therapeutic and technological advances may impact the survival of very low birth weight preterm infants. However, one of the difficulties faced is the high cost of this device and its numerous add-on functions, such as Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), flow limitation, among others. Thus, in this study, we aim to address the design and construction of a CPAP device prototype to be used in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). METHODS: In order to design the experimental CPAP device with sensory instrumentation for providing data to a micro-controlled system, electro-pneumatic circuits and signal conditioning boards of sensors have been fitted to achieve optimized CPAP function with low energy consumption. While running this setup, a metrological study was carried out to evaluate the sensors' performance. The methodology employed for the study was the IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize, and Validate) method, a variant of six sigma, to minimize the failure rates. It is expected that it works under valve activation to maintain positive pressure in the airways of the patient (neonate). RESULTS: The whole system performs satisfactorily (low noise level) for each assessed module. Additionally, it is emphasized that software development for application control has resulted in a significant improvement of hardware functions. CONCLUSION: In this work, a system that performs the CPAP function was obtained; the research has shown that, by adopting a specific purpose, it may create a better understanding of Assistive Technology.

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INTRODUCTION: The present study proposes a new scientific project for the seat of a wheelchair, suggesting that, through the properties of a three plan mobile seat, the pelvis of individuals with neuromotor dysfunctions may position themselves adequately, allowing a chain effect, with innumerable benefits to the users, such as prevention of deformities, of muscle shortening, of pressure ulcers and improved functionality. In spite of innumerable wheelchair models available in market, none presents the ample properties resembling the articulated seat, allowing the pelvic alignment that is crucial for the adoption of an adequate posture. METHODS: The articulated seat was set over a ball and socket articulation made of two components, one convex that is fixed in the chair's structure and the other concave, attached to a mobile platform. The property of the articulated seat, to change the pressure distribution in the gluteal region, was tested on 34 typical individuals, without neurological injury, through a measurement system composed by 27 sensors. RESULTS: The significance of the statistic model proposed determined that the articulated seat was capable of altering the pressure distribution in the gluteal region in several positions on the frontal and sagittal planes, in healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that this equipment is capable of redistributing the pressure in a seating position, future research to examine other parameters such as time of use, the use in subjects with neurological dysfunction, the angle of pelvic inclination, the criterions of indication and non-indication, inter alia, must be conducted to appropriately qualify this device.

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INTRODUCTION: When a gas is used for therapy, often the kinetic behavior and their distribution in biological systems is not known, leading to unsatisfactory results for clinical application. The use of ozone in living organisms has been scientifically released worldwide under the name of ozone therapy. The efficacy of this technique is determined primarily by the diffusion of gas within the tissues or fluids and which determines their action in the entire target region. We propose the development of technique to monitoring the O3 dissolved in the biological fluid using an optical device operating in the red-infrared region. METHODS: The recombination of O3 in O2 enables the monitoring of the latter by the measurement of SpO2, and, based on this phenomenon, we propose to use an optical device operating in the red-infrared region to monitoring indirectly the diffusion of O3 in fluids. The system was based on optomechanical arrangement using a capsule containing fluid that was ozonated or oxygenated during the process. A pulse oximeter is a noninvasive device used for continuously measure of SpO2 resulting from the recombination of ozone. RESULTS: The measurements of SpO2 when subjected to ozone and oxygen, showed an increased rate of SpO2 function of time for both cases reaching its peak in 80s and 160s, respectively. The experimental data concerning the SpO2 saturation as a function of time can be fitted by the theoretical model, showing a good correlation between them. CONCLUSION: A technique was developed using an optical device operating in the red-infrared region to monitoring ozone dissolved in biological fluid, showing a simple and effective way to indirectly monitoring the presence of ozone in fluids.

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INTRODUCTION: Parcellation of the corpus callosum (CC) in the midsagittal cross-section of the brain is of utmost importance for the study of diffusion properties within this structure. The complexity of this operation comes from the absence of macroscopic anatomical landmarks to help in dividing the CC into different callosal areas. In this paper we propose a completely automatic method for CC parcellation using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). METHODS: A dataset of 15 diffusion MRI volumes from normal subjects was used. For each subject, the midsagital slice was automatically detected based on the Fractional Anisotropy (FA) map. Then, segmentation of the CC in the midsgital slice was performed using the hierarchical watershed transform over a weighted FA-map. Finally, parcellation of the CC was obtained through the application of the watershed transform from chosen markers. RESULTS: Parcellation results obtained were consistent for fourteen of the fifteen subjects tested. Results were similar to the ones obtained from tractography-based methods. Tractography confi�rmed that the cortical regions associated with each obtained CC region were consistent with the literature. CONCLUSIONS: A completely automatic DTI-based parcellation method for the CC was designed and presented. It is not based on tractography, which makes it fast and computationally inexpensive. While most of the existing methods for parcellation of the CC determine an average behavior for the subjects based on population studies, the proposed method reflects the diffusion properties specifi�c for each subject. Parcellation boundaries are found based on the diffusion properties within each individual CC, which makes it more reliable and less affected by differences in size and shape among subjects.

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INTRODUCTION: Patient monitoring will tend to decline in the coming years due to a shortage of physical and human resources in hospitals. Therefore, several studies define alternatives to improve patient monitoring using wireless networks. In these studies, a wireless network is used to transfer data generated by medical sensors without interacting with the traffic in the data network of the hospital. However, this approach should be avoided because there are demands for integration between user applications and patient monitoring. Therefore, this paper defines a patient monitoring system, called Wi-Bio, directed to the establishment of IEEE 802.11 networks that allows traffic generated by user applications. METHODS: The formal validation of Wi-Bio was made through the design of Petri nets, and performance analysis was performed through simulations of the Network Simulator 2 tool. The adoption of this approach is justified by the fact that Petri nets allow verification of logical correctness of the designed systems, while simulations allow behavioral analysis of Wi-Bio in overload scenarios where many patients are monitored. RESULTS: The results confirmed the validity of the designed Petri nets and showed that Wi-Bio is able to accomplish the temporal goals imposed by medical sensors, thereby promoting efficient integration of traffic present in the data network and the patient monitoring network. CONCLUSION: As described, Wi-Bio fulfilled its objectives and motivates future studies aimed at complementing the obtained results.

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INTRODUCTION: The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques causes millions of death yearly. It is known that the kind of predominant tissue is associated with its dangerousness. In addition, the mechanical properties of plaques have been proved to be a good parameter to characterize the type of tissue, important information for therapeutic decisions. METHODS: Therefore, we present an alternative and simple way to discriminate tissues. The procedure relies on computing an index, the ratio of the plaque area variation of a suspecting plaque, using images acquired with vessel and plaques, pre and post-deformation, under different intraluminal pressure. Numerical phantoms of coronary cross-sections with different morphological aspects, and simulated with a range of properties, were used for evaluation. RESULTS: The outcomes provided by this index and a widely used one were compared, so as to measure their correspondence. As a result, correlations up to 99%, a strong agreement with Bland-Altman and very similar histograms between the two indices, have shown a good level of equivalence between the methods. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the proposed index discriminates highly lipidic from fibro-lipidic and calcified tissues in many situations, as good as the widely used index, yet the proposed method is much simpler to be computed.

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INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown increases in airway opening pressure (Pao) swings and work of breathing (WOB) by different continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices at rest, but few address this issue during exercise. The aim of the present work was to analyze the imposed WOB (WOBi), the apparent resistance (Rapp) and swings of Pao (deltaP) of 3 CPAP assemblies at simulated exercise conditions. METHODS: The CPAP measures were obtained from: a commercial CPAP (Assembly 1), a high flow CPAP (Assembly 2) and the parallel association of these devices (Assembly 3). In each assembly the spring-loaded positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) valve was set to fully opened (mode A) or at the same CPAP pressure (mode B). The exercise protocol simulation, performed manually by a calibrated syringe and a metronome, employed a respiratory frequency of 30 bpm, tidal volume of 2.7 L and inspiratory-to-expiratory ratio of 1. The setups were evaluated at CPAP settings of 5, 10 and 15 cmH2O. RESULTS: The lowest deltaP as well as Rapp and WOBi were obtained with Assembly 3 in mode A with an adjusted CPAP of 10 cmH2O (deltaP=8.1 (0.5) cmH2O, WOBi=1.4 (0.14) cmH2O/L/s, Rapp= 1.3 (0.07) J/s) showed as median (interquartile range). CONCLUSION: For the conditions studied, the best CPAP setup was obtained with mode A.

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INTRODUCTION: This paper presents a simulation for evaluation of the scattered radiation components produced in a gamma camera PARK using Monte Carlo code SIMIND. It simulates a whole body study with MDP (Methylene Diphosphonate) radiopharmaceutical based on Zubal anthropomorphic phantom, with some spinal lesions. METHODS: The simulation was done by comparing 3 configurations for the detected photons. The corresponding energy spectra were obtained using Low Energy High Resolution collimator. The parameters related with the interactions and the fraction of events in the energy window, the simulated events of the spectrum and scatter events were calculated. RESULTS: The simulation confirmed that the images without influence of scattering events have a higher number of valid recorded events and it improved the statistical quality of them. A comparison among different collimators was made. The parameters and detector energy spectrum were calculated for each simulation configuration with these collimators using 99mTc. CONCLUSION: The simulation corroborated that LEHS collimator has higher sensitivity and HEHR collimator has lower sensitivity when they are used with low energy photons.

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INTRODUCTION: Thrombosis is a complex disease that is often silent and is characterized by thrombus formation within the blood vessel. It can lead to a venous obstruction in the body, severe sequelae and even death. Thrombus formation occurs when there is reduced blood flow and/or the release of procoagulant substances caused by external factors. In Brazil, the data on this pathology are still underestimated, and its incidence is approximately 0.8 cases/1000 inhabitants per year according to the literature. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a predictive method for the risk of thrombosis or thromboembolism according to various risk factors. METHODS: This is an observational and retrospective study based on a convenience sample of records. It was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University Mogi das Cruzes and the Heart Hospital of the São Paulo. The sample was classified according to the risk, and the assessment of concordance was performed by determining the Kappa coefficient and accuracy. RESULTS: Of the observed patients, 23 (46%) were women, and 86% were over 45 years old. The mean age of the patients was 60.8 years. Forty-eight percent of the patients underwent surgery for more than 30 minutes. In this study, the method categorized 29 (58%) patients as moderate risk, 10 as low risk and 11 as high risk. Two cases of thrombotic disease were sufficient for validation. CONCLUSION: The use of this software as a predictive method was feasible, providing fast filling, immediate scoring, flexibility and an upgrade over previous systems. The software will not substitute for diagnosis, which is a medical competence, but it may help as a warning of risk.