No Arabic abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has strained the hospital systems in many countries in the world, especially in developing countries. In many low-resource hospitals, severely ill hypoxemic Covid-19 patients are treated with various forms of low-flow oxygen therapy (0-15 L/min), including interfaces such as a nasal cannula, Hudson mask, venturi-mask, and non-rebreather masks. When 15L/min of pure oxygen flow is not sufficient for the patient, treatment guidelines suggest non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) or high-flow nasal oxygenation (HFNO) as the next stage of treatment. However, administering HFNO in the general wards of a low-resource hospital is difficult due to several factors, including difficulty in operation, unavailability of electric power outlets, and frequent maintenance. Therefore, in many cases, the highest level of care a patient receives in the general ward is 15L/min of oxygen on a Non-Rebreather Mask. With a shortage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, this is a major problem since intermediate forms of treatments are simply not available at an affordable cost. To address this gap, we have developed a low-cost CPAP system specifically designed for low-resource hospitals. The device is a precision venturi-based flow-generator capable of providing up to 60L/min of flow. The device utilizes the mechanics of a jet pump driven by high-pressure oxygen to increase the volumetric flow rate by entraining atmospheric air. The fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) can be attained between 40 - 100% using a dual-flowmeter. Consisting of a traditional 22mm breathing circuit, a non-vented CPAP mask, and a Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) valve, the CPAP can provide positive pressures between 5-20 cm H2O. The device is manufactured using local 3D printing and workshop facilities.
Recent studies have reported an increased risk of developing brain and neck tumors, as well as cataracts, in practitioners in interventional radiology (IR). Occupational radiation protection in IR has been a top concern for regulatory agencies and professional societies. To help minimize occupational radiation exposure in IR, we conceptualized a virtual reality (VR) based radiation safety training system to help operators understand complex radiation fields and to avoid high radiation areas through game-like interactive simulations. The preliminary development of the system has yielded results suggesting that the training system can calculate and report the radiation exposure after each training session based on a database precalculated from computational phantoms and Monte Carlo simulations and the position information provided in real-time by the MS Hololens headset worn by trainee. In addition, real-time dose rate and cumulative dose will be displayed to the trainee by MS Hololens to help them adjust their practice. This paper presents the conceptual design of the overall hardware and software design, as well as preliminary results to combine MS HoloLens headset and complex 3D X-ray field spatial distribution data to create a mixed reality environment for safety training purpose in IR.
Objective evaluation of new and improved methods for PET imaging requires access to images with ground truth, as can be obtained through simulation studies. However, for these studies to be clinically relevant, it is important that the simulated images are clinically realistic. In this study, we develop a stochastic and physics-based method to generate realistic oncological two-dimensional (2-D) PET images, where the ground-truth tumor properties are known. The developed method extends upon a previously proposed approach. The approach captures the observed variabilities in tumor properties from actual patient population. Further, we extend that approach to model intra-tumor heterogeneity using a lumpy object model. To quantitatively evaluate the clinical realism of the simulated images, we conducted a human-observer study. This was a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) study with trained readers (five PET physicians and one PET physicist). Our results showed that the readers had an average of ~ 50% accuracy in the 2AFC study. Further, the developed simulation method was able to generate wide varieties of clinically observed tumor types. These results provide evidence for the application of this method to 2-D PET imaging applications, and motivate development of this method to generate 3-D PET images.
We present an overview of the ICE hardware and software framework that implements large arrays of interconnected FPGA-based data acquisition, signal processing and networking nodes economically. The system was conceived for application to radio, millimeter and sub-millimeter telescope readout systems that have requirements beyond typical off-the-shelf processing systems, such as careful control of interference signals produced by the digital electronics, and clocking of all elements in the system from a single precise observatory-derived oscillator. A new generation of telescopes operating at these frequency bands and designed with a vastly increased emphasis on digital signal processing to support their detector multiplexing technology or high-bandwidth correlators---data rates exceeding a terabyte per second---are becoming common. The ICE system is built around a custom FPGA motherboard that makes use of an Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA and ARM-based co-processor. The system is specialized for specific applications through software, firmware, and custom mezzanine daughter boards that interface to the FPGA through the industry-standard FMC specifications. For high density applications, the motherboards are packaged in 16-slot crates with ICE backplanes that implement a low-cost passive full-mesh network between the motherboards in a crate, allow high bandwidth interconnection between crates, and enable data offload to a computer cluster. A Python-based control software library automatically detects and operates the hardware in the array. Examples of specific telescope applications of the ICE framework are presented, namely the frequency-multiplexed bolometer readout systems used for the SPT and Simons Array and the digitizer, F-engine, and networking engine for the CHIME and HIRAX radio interferometers.
This paper presents an analytical design of an ultrasonic power transfer system based on piezoelectric micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) for fully wireless brain implants in mice. The key steps like the material selection of each layer and the top electrode radius to maximize the coupling factor are well-detailed. This approach results in the design of a single cell with a high effective coupling coefficient. Furthermore, compact models are used to make the design process less time-consuming for designers. These models are based on the equivalent circuit theory for the PMUT. A cell of 107 um in radius, 5 um in thickness of Lead Zirconate Titanium (PZT), and 10 um in thickness of silicon (Si) is found to have a 4% of effective coupling coefficient among the highest values for a clamped edge boundary conditions. Simulation results show a frequency of 2.84 MHz as resonance. In case of an array, mutual impedance and numerical modeling are used to estimate the distance between the adjacent cells. In addition, the area of the proposed transducer and the number of cells are computed with the Rayleigh distance and neglecting the cross-talk among cells, respectively. The designed transducer consists of 7x7 cells in an area of 3.24 mm2. The transducer is able to deliver an acoustic intensity of 7.185 mW/mm2 for a voltage of 19.5 V for powering brain implants seated in the motor cortex and striatum of the mices brain. The maximum acoustic intensity occurs at a distance of 2.5 mm in the near field which was estimated with the Rayleigh length equation.
We present a design for a continuous-wave (CW) atom laser on a chip and describe the process used to fabricate the device. Our design aims to integrate quadrupole magnetic guiding of ground state Rb atoms with continuous surface adsorption evaporative cooling to create a continuous Bose-Einstein condensate; out-coupled atoms from the condensate should realize a CW atom laser. We choose a geometry with three wires embedded in a spiral pattern in a silicon subtrate. The guide features an integrated solenoid to mitigate spin-flip losses and provide a tailored longitudinal magnetic field. Our design also includes multiple options for atom interferometry: accomodations are in place for laser-generated atom Fabry-Perot and Mach-Zehnder interferometers, and a pair of atomic beam X-splitters is incorporated for an all-magnetic atom Mach-Zehnder setup. We demonstrate the techniques necessary to fabricate our device using existing micro- and nano-scale fabrication equipment, and discuss future options for modified designs and fabrication processes.