Biophysical therapy using the pulsating electromagnetic field as adjunctive therapy for implant osseointegration - A review.

Development of procedures which accelerate osseointegration of dental implants, reduce the period of healing, and lead to an early rehabilitation of the patient are required for successful oral rehabilitation. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) is a noninvasive, therapeutic form of low field magnetic stimulation that has been used for healing bone non unions and various fractures. It acts on osteoblasts and bone, affecting their metabolism, therefore, increasing the tissue integration of the implanted devices and their clinical success. A broad range of settings that includes magnetic field intensity, frequency and duration of application, etc. used for PEMFs stimulation is a hurdle to properly define treatment protocols and extensive research is needed to overcome this issue. The present review includes studies that investigated the effects of PEMFs on the response of bone cells to different classes of biomaterials and the reports that focused on in vivo and in vitro investigations of biomaterials implanted in bone. This study is expected to serve as a guide for researchers and clinicians to bring into their clinical use these strategies to improve implant osseointegration in deficient and osteoporotic bone.

Low-level laser therapy in temporomandibular joint disorders: a systematic review.

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) encompass a wide array of ailments affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), muscles of mastication, and the allied structural framework. Myofascial pain, internal derangement of the joint, and degenerative joint diseases constitute the majority of TMDs. TMDs usually have a multifactorial etiology, and treatment modalities range from conservative therapies to surgical interventions. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has evolved as an efficient non-invasive therapeutic modality in TMDs. Previously conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown variable results regarding the efficiency of LLLT in TMJ disorder patients. Hence, this systematic review was carried out as an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of LLLT in the treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder patients.

Acoustic analysis of speech under stress.

When a person is emotionally charged, stress could be discerned in his voice. This paper presents a simplified and a non-invasive approach to detect psycho-physiological stress by monitoring the acoustic modifications during a stressful conversation. Voice database consists of audio clips from eight different popular FM broadcasts wherein the host of the show vexes the subjects who are otherwise unaware of the charade. The audio clips are obtained from real-life stressful conversations (no simulated emotions). Analysis is done using PRAAT software to evaluate mean fundamental frequency (F0) and formant frequencies (F1, F2, F3, F4) both in neutral and stressed state. Results suggest that F0 increases with stress; however, formant frequency decreases with stress. Comparison of Fourier and chirp spectra of short vowel segment shows that for relaxed speech, the two spectra are similar; however, for stressed speech, they differ in the high frequency range due to increased pitch modulation.

Real time acquisition and PC to PC wireless transmission of human carotid pulse waveform.

Carotid pulse is an established physiological parameter used to deduce cardiac information. Technological advances allow non-invasive measurement of carotid waveform, but involve complex electronics. Simple and relatively inexpensive method is devised here to acquire the carotid pulse. Measurements were made non-invasively on human subjects in various postures using piezoelectric sensor. Transducer output is interfaced directly to a computer in real time and carotid wave is viewed successfully on virtual oscilloscope. Stored data is digitally filtered, visually analyzed and transferred wirelessly from one computer to another using windows hyper-terminal and XBee RF transceiver module. Automated analysis algorithm can be further developed.

A computer based wireless system for online acquisition, monitoring and digital processing of ECG waveforms.

Various ECG instruments have addressed a wide variety of clinical and technical issues. However, there is still scope for improvement in them particularly in the area of their susceptibility to noise, lack of universal connectivity and off-line processing. A prototype system has been developed that caters to these limitations. It includes an analog system and a FM transceiver pair interfaced through sound port of the computer. The real time acquired data is viewed and filtered using MATLAB software. The ECG system described captures the bio-signal faithfully in real time wireless mode with minimum noise and has universal connectivity.

Prediction of electrical impedance parameters for the simulated leg segment of an aircraft pilot under G-stress.

BACKGROUND: Blood accumulation in the lower extremities of fighter pilots has been known to induce loss of peripheral vision and consciousness. G suits and anti-G straining maneuvers applied to lower limbs do not work according to the actual status of blood accumulation. Therefore, the problem of blood accumulation in the legs requires further investigation. METHOD: The leg segment of an aircraft pilot has been modeled as a cylinder containing its anatomical structure of skin-fat layer, muscles, bones, and blood volume in the form of inner cylinders. Finite element analysis (FEA) was applied to the leg model with suitable boundary conditions. Predicted leg-segment electrical impedance (LEI) without blood accumulation has been compared with the measured experimental value using electrical impedance plethysmography (EIP). The effects of 7% blood pooling were analyzed by electrical impedance of the leg segment and its constituents by increasing the diameter of blood volume cylinder. RESULTS: The LEI has been predicted to be 46.7 omega, which corresponds well with experimental value of 46.0 omega and predicted value, being 1.58% higher. Predicted LEI was reduced to 44.2 omega during simulation of blood accumulation in FE model. The relative contributions of admittance for leg constituents fat, muscle, bones and blood volume are also found to be 2.96, 75.58, 0.33, and 11.13%, respectively. CONCLUSION: A computer simulation technique has been developed to predict electrical impedance parameters of the leg segment and its constituents with and without blood pooling. These results will be useful in further research and clinical applications for aircraft pilots under acceleration (G) stress.