Remote Monitoring System of Dynamic Compression Bracing to Correct Pectus Carinatum.

Pectus carinatum (PC) is a chest deformity caused by disproportionate growth of the costal cartilages compared with the bony thoracic skeleton, pulling the sternum forwards and leading to its protrusion. Currently, the most common non-invasive treatment is external compressive bracing, by means of an orthosis. While this treatment is widely adopted, the correct magnitude of applied compressive forces remains unknown, leading to suboptimal results. Moreover, the current orthoses are not suitable to monitor the treatment. The purpose of this study is to design a force measuring system that could be directly embedded into an existing PC orthosis without relevant modifications in its construction. For that, inspired by the currently commercially available products where a solid silicone pad is used, three concepts for silicone-based sensors, two capacitive and one magnetic type, are presented and compared. Additionally, a concept of a full pipeline to capture and store the sensor data was researched. Compression tests were conducted on a calibration machine, with forces ranging from 0 N to 300 N. Local evaluation of sensors' response in different regions was also performed. The three sensors were tested and then compared with the results of a solid silicon pad. One of the capacitive sensors presented an identical response to the solid silicon while the other two either presented poor repeatability or were too stiff, raising concerns for patient comfort. Overall, the proposed system demonstrated its potential to measure and monitor orthosis's applied forces, corroborating its potential for clinical practice.

A randomised controlled trial evaluating internal limiting membrane peeling forceps in macular hole surgery.

PURPOSE: To assess study design and a range of anatomical and functional changes after internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling using forceps developed for atraumatic ILM pick-up compared to standard forceps. METHODS: We conducted a masked proof-of concept randomised controlled trial (RCT) on 65 patients who underwent ILM peeling for idiopathic full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) using etched-tip forceps (etched-tip group, 33 eyes) compared to standard ILM forceps (smooth-tip group, 32 eyes). Patients were assessed preoperatively, 3 weeks, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The primary closure rate was 95.4%. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of final visual acuity (66.9 vs 70.9 ETDRS letters, p = 0.13), difference of visual field mean deviation (1.32 vs 1.14 decibels), and number of eyes with pick-up-related retinal haemorrhages (16% vs 16%, p = 0.96), swelling of arcuate nerve fibre layer lesions (63% vs 55%, p = 0.54), number of dissociated optic nerve fibre layer lesions (31.4 vs 41.0, p = 0.16), nor inner retina defects (37% vs 22%, p = 0.17). Similar changes in inner retinal volumes were detected in all 9 sectors of an ETDRS grid except for a trend (p = 0.06) towards a lower reduction in the inferior inner sector in the etched-tip group. CONCLUSIONS: The study was successfully completed with masking maintained and a low risk of bias. Multiple endpoints relating to ILM peeling were assessed, and estimates were provided that can be used for future studies. Although the study was not powered to assess any specific endpoint, the anatomical and functional outcomes assessed did not significantly differ.

A sensorized needle guide for ultrasound assisted breast biopsy.

One in every eight women will get breast cancer during their lifetime. Therefore, the early diagnosis of the lesions is fundamental to improve the chances of recovery. To find breast cancers, breast screening using techniques such as mammography and ultrasound (US) imaging scans are often used. When a lesion is found, a breast biopsy is performed to extract a tissue sample for analysis. The breast biopsy is usually assisted by an US to help find the lesion and guide the needle to its location. However, the identification of the needle tip in US image is challenging, possibly resulting in puncture failures. In this paper, we intend to study the potential of a sensorized needle guide system that provides information about the needle angle and displacement in respect to the US probe. Laboratory tests were initially conducted to evaluate the accuracy of each sensor in controlled conditions. After, a practical experiment with the US probe, working as a proof of concept, was performed. The angle sensor showed a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.48 degrees and the displacement sensor showed a RMSE of 0.26mm after being calibrated. For the US probe tests, the displacement sensor shows high errors in the range of 1.19mm to 2.05mm due to mechanical reasons. Overall, the proposed system showed its potential to be used to accurately estimate needle tip localization throughout breast biopsies guided by US, corroborating its potential clinical application. Clinical relevance - Potential for clinical application where precise needle localization in ultrasound image is required.

Partitioning the grapevine growing season in the Douro Valley of Portugal: accumulated heat better than calendar dates.

Temperature and water status profiles during the growing season are the most important factors influencing the ripening of wine grapes. To model weather influences on the quality and productivity of the vintages, it is necessary to partition the growing season into smaller growth intervals in which weather variables are evaluated. A significant part of past and ongoing research on the relationships between weather and wine quality uses calendar-defined intervals to partition the growing season. The phenology of grapevines is not determined by calendar dates but by several factors such as accumulated heat. To examine the accuracy of different approaches, this work analyzed the difference in average temperature and accumulated precipitation using growth intervals with boundaries defined by means of estimated historical phenological dates and intervals defined by means of accumulated heat or average calendar dates of the Douro Valley of Portugal. The results show that in situations where there is an absence of historical phenological dates and/or no available data that makes the estimation of those dates possible, it is more accurate to use grapevine heat requirements than calendar dates to define growth interval boundaries. Additionally, we analyzed the ability of the length of growth intervals with boundaries based on grapevine heat requirements to differentiate the best from the worst vintage years with the results showing that vintage quality is strongly related to the phenological events. Finally, we analyzed the variability of growth interval lengths in the Douro Valley during 1980-2009 with the results showing a tendency for earlier grapevine physiology.