Concussion management application for amateur sports.

Concussion management has become one of the most popular topics in sports medicine. Significant resources are being invested in developing protocols for professional sport associations such as the NFL and FIFA. These protocols are often expensive and require substantial resources to implement. The problem, however, runs much deeper than just professional sports. Currently there exists little infrastructure to effectively manage concussion in amateur settings such as high school, club and university sport. A more holistic approach is required to ensure that the same standard of concussion management is being implemented across the board, regardless of the available medical and financial resources. An application was developed that will allow for easily accessible baseline testing and access to a player's concussion history from anywhere in the world. The application will be used to monitor players from the day they start playing sport until they potentially become professional sport players.

Evaluating the influence of ventilation and ventilation-compression synchronization on chest compression force and depth during simulated neonatal resuscitation.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of ventilation and ventilation-compression synchronization on compression force and sternal displacement during simulated neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (NCPR) on an infant manikin. METHODS: Five Neonatal Resuscitation Program trained clinicians were recruited to perform simulated NCPR on an infant manikin using two-finger (TF) and two-thumb (TT) compression, with synchronous and asynchronous ventilation, as well as without ventilation. The sternal displacement and force were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Synchronous ventilation and compression yielded sternal displacements and forces in the range of 22.8-32.4 mm and 15.0-29.8 N, respectively, while asynchronous ventilation and compression produced depths and forces in the range of 21.2-32.4 mm and 14.0-28.8 N, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ventilation exerts a significant influence on sternal displacement and force during simulated NCPR, regardless of the compression method used. Ventilation-compression synchronization, however, is only significant during TF compression with lower compression forces measured during synchronous ventilation than in asynchronous ventilation. This occurs for two reasons: (i) the strong influence of ventilation forces on the lower magnitude compression forces produced during TF compression relative to TT compression and (ii) in asynchronous ventilation, compression and ventilation may occur simultaneously, with inflation and deflation providing an opposing force to the applied compression force.

Preoperative three-dimensional model creation of magnetic resonance brain images as a tool to assist neurosurgical planning.

BACKGROUND: Neurosurgeons regularly plan their surgery using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, which may show a clear distinction between the area to be resected and the surrounding healthy brain tissue depending on the nature of the pathology. However, this distinction is often unclear with the naked eye during the surgical intervention, and it may be difficult to infer depth and an accurate volumetric interpretation from a series of MRI image slices. OBJECTIVES: In this work, MRI data are used to create affordable patient-specific 3-dimensional (3D) scale models of the brain which clearly indicate the location and extent of a tumour relative to brain surface features and important adjacent structures. METHODS: This is achieved using custom software and rapid prototyping. In addition, functionally eloquent areas identified using functional MRI are integrated into the 3D models. RESULTS: Preliminary in vivo results are presented for 2 patients. The accuracy of the technique was estimated both theoretically and by printing a geometrical phantom, with mean dimensional errors of less than 0.5 mm observed. CONCLUSIONS: This may provide a practical and cost-effective tool which can be used for training, and during neurosurgical planning and intervention.

Development of a patient-specific femoral component for unicompartmental knee replacement.

This study describes the development of a novel, patient-specific unicompartmental knee prosthesis. The geometries of the lateral and medial condyles are approximated by polynomials, instead of single radius circles that are commonly used. Furthermore, a database containing the geometries of healthy knees is used to generate appropriate knee geometries according to certain measurements of the unhealthy knee. This new method enables a customized design of a unicompartmental knee replacement that will closely resemble the articulating surfaces of the normal, healthy knee joint.

Noise exposure of truck drivers: a comparative study.

To investigate the extent of noise exposure to which truck drivers are subjected, a comparison was made of the noise levels in the cabs of two different brands of trucks. Both brands were manufactured with identical engines. The equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure levels, maximum sound pressure levels, and percentage noise dose were determined. This study sought to determine if truck drivers are exposed to excessive noise inside the cabs of these trucks. Furthermore, the most beneficial working environment in terms of the brand used was investigated. No significant differences regarding the individual noise exposure of the truck drivers were found (P > 0.05). Based on comparison of measured noise exposures to existing criteria, it was determined that the noise exposures of truck drivers are potentially hazardous to their hearing.