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Auf Grundlage der Computer-Aided-Design (CAD)-rekonstruierten ersten „Eisernen Hand“ des Götz von Berlichingen wird ein umgebautes, controllergesteuertes sensomotorisches Fingersystem auf seine Funktionalität beim Greifen von unterschiedlichen Gegenständen beschrieben und geprüft. Die elektronischen Finger, die den „Pinzettengriff“ nachahmen und automatisch bei dem zuvor eingestellten Anpressdruck abschalten, bewiesen eine bemerkenswerte Alltagstauglichkeit. Das vorgestellte Grundkonzept könnte eine Alternative bei der Entwicklung einfacher und kostengünstiger, aber dennoch gut einsatzfähiger bionischer Hände sein und zeigt einmal mehr, wie historische Ideen in die Gegenwart transferiert werden können.
The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) has left us with many puzzles. The well-known oil painting by Elias Gottlob Haußmann is the only painting for which Bach actually posed in person. According to this portrait, Bach must have been quite obese. The cheeks and nose are flushed – possibly as signs of hypertension – and the eye lids are narrow – a sign of myopia. Furthermore, there is a thinning of the lateral third of the right eyebrow, which is known as Hertoghe’s sign, and indicated periorbital edema. Both signs are compatible with hypothyroidism. Bach might have been suffering from type-2 diabetes as the origin of his final illness, and the obituary reports two cataract surgeries by oculist John Taylor in March/April 1750, and, four months later, “apoplexy” followed by a high fever, of which Bach died. It may be speculated, however, that Bach’s entire illness was the result of his presumed obesity, possibly in combination with hypothyroidism.
The growing demand for active medical implantable devices requires data and or power links between the implant and the outside world. Every implant has to be encapsulated from the body by a specific housing and one of the most common materials used is titanium or titanium alloy. Titanium thas the necessary properties in terms of mechanical and chemical stability and biocompatibility. However, its electrical conductivity presents a challenge for the electromagnetic transmission of data and power. The proposed paper presents a fast and practical method to determine the necessary transmission parameters for titanium encapsulated implants. Therefore, the basic transformer-transmission-model is used with measured or calculated key values for the inductances. Those are then expanded with correction factors to determine the behavior with the encapsulation. The correction factors are extracted from finite element method simulations. These also enable the analysis of the magnetic field distribution inside of the housing. The simulated transmission properties are very close to the measured values. Additionally, based on lumped elements and magnetic field distribution, the influential parameters are discussed in the paper. The parameter discussion describes how to enhance the transmitted power, data-rate or distance, or to reduce the size of the necessary coils. Finally, an example application demonstrates the usage of the methods.
Die Hersteller von Cochlea-Implantat (CI)-Systemen sehen für klinische Audiologen die Möglichkeit vor, die Mikrofonleistung der meisten aktuellen CI-Sprachprozessoren mittels anschließbarer Monitorkopfhörer zu prüfen. Nähere Angaben dazu, nach welchem Prozedere diese Prüfung stattfinden soll, z. B. welche Stimuli mit welchen Pegeln verwendet werden sollen, sind nach Wissen der Autoren seitens der CI-Hersteller nicht verfügbar. Auf der Basis dieser subjektiven Prüfung entscheidet dann der Audiologe, ob der betreffende Sprachprozessor an den Hersteller eingeschickt wird oder nicht. Wir haben eine Messbox entwickelt, mit der die Mikrofonleistung aller abhörbaren CI-Sprachprozessoren der Hersteller Advanced Bionics, Cochlear und MED-EL objektiv geprüft werden kann. Die Box wurde im 3-D-Druckverfahren hergestellt. Der zu prüfende Sprachprozessor wird in die Messbox eingehängt und über einen verbauten Lautsprecher mit definierten Prüfsignalen (Sinustönen unterschiedlicher Frequenz) beschallt. Das Signal des Mikronfons bzw. der Mikrofone wird über das in der Audio-/Abhörbuchse des Prozessors eingesteckte Kabel der Monitorkopfhörer herausgeführt und mit einer Shifting and Scaling-Schaltung in einen Spannungsbereich transformiert, der für die A/D-Wandlung mit einem Mikrokontroller (ATmega1280 verbaut auf einem Arduino Mega) geeignet ist. Derselbe Mikrokontroller übernimmt über einen eigens gebauten D/AWandler die Ausgabe der Prüfsignale über den Lautsprecher. Signalaufnahme und –wiedergabe erfolgt jeweils mit einer Samplingrate von 38,5 kHz. Der frequenzspezifische Effektivwert des abgegriffenen Mikrofonsignals wird mit einem Referenzwert verglichen. Die (frequenzspezifischen) Referenzwerte wurden mit einem neuwertigen Sprachprozessor gleichen Typs ermittelt und im Speicher des Mikrokontrollers abgelegt. Das Ergebnis wird nach Abschluss der Messung grafisch auf einem Touchscreen ausgegeben. Derzeit läuft eine erste Datenerhebung mit in der Klinik subjektiv auffällig gewordenen CI-Sprachprozessoren, die anschließend in der Messbox untersucht werden. Längerfristiges Ziel ist es, die hit und false alarm Raten der subjektiven Prüfung zu ermitteln.
An Ultra-Low-Power RFID/NFC Frontend IC Using 0.18 μm CMOS Technology for Passive Tag Applications
(2018)
Battery-less passive sensor tags based on RFID or NFC technology have achieved much popularity in recent times. Passive tags are widely used for various applications like inventory control or in biotelemetry. In this paper, we present a new RFID/NFC frontend IC (integrated circuit) for 13.56 MHz passive tag applications. The design of the frontend IC is compatible with the standard ISO 15693/NFC 5. The paper discusses the analog design part in details with a brief overview of the digital interface and some of the critical measured parameters. A novel approach is adopted for the demodulator design, to demodulate the 10% ASK (amplitude shift keying) signal. The demodulator circuit consists of a comparator designed with a preset offset voltage. The comparator circuit design is discussed in detail. The power consumption of the bandgap reference circuit is used as the load for the envelope detection of the ASK modulated signal. The sub-threshold operation and low-supply-voltage are used extensively in the analog design—to keep the power consumption low. The IC was fabricated using 0.18 μm CMOS technology in a die area of 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm and an effective area of 0.7 mm2. The minimum supply voltage desired is 1.2 V, for which the total power consumption is 107 μW. The analog part of the design consumes only 36 μW, which is low in comparison to other contemporary passive tags ICs. Eventually, a passive tag is developed using the frontend IC, a microcontroller, a temperature and a pressure sensor. A smart NFC device is used to readout the sensor data from the tag employing an Android-based application software. The measurement results demonstrate the full passive operational capability. The IC is suitable for low-power and low-cost industrial or biomedical battery-less sensor applications. A figure-of-merit (FOM) is proposed in this paper which is taken as a reference for comparison with other related state-of-the-art researches.
Oxide semiconductors are highly promising candidates for the most awaited, next-generation electronics, namely, printed electronics. As a fabrication route for the solution-processed/printed oxide semiconductors, photonic curing is becoming increasingly popular, as compared to the conventional thermal curing method; the former offers numerous advantages over the latter, such as low process temperatures and short exposure time and thereby, high throughput compatibility. Here, using dissimilar photonic curing concepts (UV–visible light and UV-laser), we demonstrate facile fabrication of high performance In2O3 field-effect transistors (FETs). Beside the processing related issues (temperature, time etc.), the other known limitation of oxide electronics is the lack of high performance p-type semiconductors, which can be bypassed using unipolar logics from high mobility n-type semiconductors alone. Interestingly, here we have found that our chosen distinct photonic curing methods can offer a large variation in threshold voltage, when they are fabricated from the same precursor ink. Consequently, both depletion and enhancement-mode devices have been achieved which can be used as the pull-up and pull-down transistors in unipolar inverters. The present device fabrication recipe demonstrates fast processing of low operation voltage, high performance FETs with large threshold voltage tunability.
A printed electronics technology has the advantage of additive and extremely low-cost fabrication compared with the conventional silicon technology. Specifically, printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGFETs) are attractive for low-cost applications in the Internet-of-Things domain as they can operate at low supply voltages. In this paper, we propose an empirical dc model for EGFETs, which can describe the behavior of the EGFETs smoothly and accurately over all regimes. The proposed model, built by extending the Enz-Krummenacher-Vittoz model, can also be used to model process variations, which was not possible previously due to fixed parameters for near threshold regime. It offers a single model for all the operating regions of the transistors with only one equation for the drain current. Additionally, it models the transistors with a less number of parameters but higher accuracy compared with existing techniques. Measurement results from several fabricated EGFETs confirm that the proposed model can predict the I-V more accurately compared with the state-of-the-art models in all operating regions. Additionally, the measurements on the frequency of a fabricated ring oscillator are only 4.7% different from the simulation results based on the proposed model using values for the switching capacitances extracted from measurement data, which shows more than 2× improvement compared with the state-of-the-art model.
Design of a Programmable Passive SoC for Biomedical Applications Using RFID ISO 15693/NFC5 Interface
(2018)
Low power, low cost inductively powered passive biotelemetry system involving fully customized RFID/NFC interface base SoC has gained popularity in the last decades. However, most of the SoCs developed are application specific and lacks either on-chip computational or sensor readout capability. In this paper, we present design details of a programmable passive SoC in compliance with ISO 15693/NFC5 standard for biomedical applications. The integrated system consists of a 32-bit microcontroller, a sensor readout circuit, a 12-bit SAR type ADC, 16 kB RAM, 16 kB ROM and other digital peripherals. The design is implemented in a 0.18 µm CMOS technology and used a die area of 1.52 mm × 3.24 mm. The simulated maximum power consumption of the analog block is 592 µW. The number of external components required by the SoC is limited to an external memory device, sensors, antenna and some passive components. The external memory device contains the application specific firmware. Based on the application, the firmware can be modified accordingly. The SoC design is suitable for medical implants to measure physiological parameters like temperature, pressure or ECG. As an application example, the authors have proposed a bioimplant to measure arterial blood pressure for patients suffering from Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).
Nowadays, robotic systems are an integral part of many orthopedic interventions. Stationary robots improve the accuracy but also require adapted surgical workflows. Handheld robotic devices (HHRDs), however, are easily integrated into existing workflows and represent a more economical solution. Their limited range of motion is compensated by the dexterity of the surgeon. This work presents control algorithms for HHRDs with multiple degrees of freedom (DOF). These algorithms protect pre- or intraoperatively defined regions from being penetrated by the end effector (e.g., a burr) by controlling the joints as well as the device’s power. Accuracy tests on a stationary prototype with three DOF show that the presented control algorithms produce results similar to those of stationary robots and much better results than conventional techniques. This work presents novel and innovative algorithms, which work robustly, accurately, and open up new opportunities for orthopedic interventions.
The high frequency (HF) catheter ablation is the gold standard for the therapy of many cardiac tachyarrhythmias, such as atrioventricular node re-entry tachycardia (AVNRT), atrioventricular re-entry tachycardia (AVRT) or atrial flutter (AFL). The aim of the study was to simulate the HF ablation of AVNRT, AVRT, AFL and its heat propagation in reference to the supplied power with different electrode material and electrode size. The modeling and simulation were performed with the thermal and electromagnetic simulation software CST® (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt). The modeling and simulation were carried out using ablation catheters with 4 mm tip electrode and 8 mm tip electrode with different electrode materials. Both electrode types were made of platinum and gold respectively. For the measurement of the heat propagation in the heart tissue, the catheters were integrated in the Offenburg heart rhythm model. The HF ablation procedures were performed with the 4 mm platinum tip electrode, with an application duration of 45 seconds and a power output of 40 watts. The HF ablation of the atrioventricular node slow pathway produced a maximum temperature of 66.33 °C. The Kent bundle HF ablation in the left atrium achieved a maximum temperature of 67.14 °C. The HF ablation of the right atrial isthmus resulted 65.96 °C. The 8 mm distal platinum tip electrode and a power output of 60 watts reached 72.85 °C. The 8 mm distal gold tip electrode and a power output of 60 watt reached 64.66 °C, due to the improved thermal conductivity of gold. Virtual heart and ablation electrode models allow the static and dynamic simulation of HF ablation with different electrode material and electrode size. The 3D simulation of the temperature profile may be used to optimize the AVNRT, AVRT and AFL HF ablation.
Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is a common therapy in atrial fibrillation (AF). The cryoballoon was invented to isolate the pulmonary vein in one step and in a shorter time than a point-by-point radiofrequency (RF) ablation. The aim of the study was to model two cryoballoon catheters, one RF catheter and to integrate them into a heart rhythm model for the static and dynamic simulation of PVI by cryoablation and RF ablation in AF. The modeling and simulation were carried out using the electromagnetic and thermal simulation software CST (CST, Darmstadt). Two cryoballons and one RF ablation catheter were modeled based on the technical manuals of the manufacturers Medtronic and Osypka. The PVI especially the isolation of the left inferior pulmonary vein using a cryoballoon catheter was performed with a -50 °C heatsource and an exponential signal. The temperature at the balloon surface was -50 °C after 20 s ablation time, -24 °C from the balloon 0,5 mm in the myocardium, at a distance of 1 mm -3 °C, at 2 mm 18 °C and at a distance of 3mm 29 °C. PVI with RF energy was simulated with an applied power of 5 W at 420 kHz at the distal 8 mm ablation electrode. The temperature at the tip electrode was 110 °C after 15 s ablation time, 75 °C from the balloon at 0,5 mm in the myocardium, at a distance of 1 mm 58 °C, at 2 mm 45 °C and at a distance of 3 mm 38 °C. Virtual heart rhythm and catheter models as well as the simulation of the temperature allow the simulation of PVI in AF by cryo ablation and RF ablation. The 3D simulation of the temperature profile may be used to optimize RF and cryo ablation.
Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) is a device-based therapy for the treatment of systolic left ventricular chronic heart failure. Unlike other device-based therapies for heart failure, CCM delivers non-excitatory pacing signals to the myocardium. This leads to an extension of the action potential and to an improved contractility of the heart. The modeling and simulation was done with the electromagnetic simulation software CST. Three CCM electrodes were inserted into the Offenburg heart rhythm model and subsequently simulated the electric field propagation in CCM therapy.
In addition, simulations of CCM have been performed with electrodes from other device-based therapies, such as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and implantable cardioverter / defibrillator (ICD) therapy. At the same distance to the simulation electrode, the electric field is slightly stronger in CCM therapy than in CCM therapy with additionally implanted CRT or ICD electrodes. In addition, there is a change in the electric field propagation at the electrodes of the CRT and the shock electrode of the ICD.
By simulating several different therapy procedures on the heart, it is possible to check how they affect their behavior during normal operation. CCM heart rhythm model simulation allows the evaluation the individual electrical pacing and sensing field during CCM.
Abstract: Electric field of biventricular (BV) pacing, left ventricular (LV) electrode position and electrical interventricular desynchronization are important parameters for successful cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure, sinus rhythm and reduced LV ejection fraction. The aim of the study was to evaluate electric pacing field of transesophageal left atrial (LA) pacing and BV pacing with 3D heart rhythm simulation. Bipolar right atrial (RA), right ventricular (RV), LV electrodes and multipolar hemispherical esophageal LA electrodes were modeled with CST (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt). Electric pacing field were simulated with bipolar RA and RV pacing with Solid S (Biotronik) electrode, bipolar LV pacing with Attain 4194 (Medtronic) electrode and bipolar LA pacing with TO8 (Osypka) esophageal electrode. 3D heart rhythm model with esophagus allowed electric pacing field simulation of 4-chamber pacing with bipolar intracardiac RA, RV, LV pacing and bipolar transesophageal LA pacing. The pacing amplitudes were 3V RA pacing amplitude, 50V LA pacing amplitude, 1.5V RV pacing amplitude and 3V LV pacing amplitude with 0.5ms pacing pulse duration. The atrioventricular delay between RA pacing and BV pacing was 140ms atrioventricular pacing delay and simultaneous RV and LV pacing. Electric pacing fields were simulated during the different pacing modes AAI, VVI, DDD and DDD0V. The intracardiac far-field pacing potentials were evaluated with intracardiac electrodes and a distance of 1mm from the electrodes with RA electrode 1.104V, RV electrode 0.703V and LV electrode 1.32V. The transesophageal far-field pacing potential was evaluated with transesophageal electrode and a distance of 10mm from the elelctrode with LA electrode 6.076V. Heart rhythm model simulation with esophagus allows evaluation of electric pacing fields in AAI, VVI, DDD, DDD0V and DDD0D pacing modes. Electric pacing field of RA, RV and LV pacing in combination with LA pacing may additional useful pacing mode in CRT non-responders.
Objectives: Speech recognition on the telephone poses a challenge for patients with cochlear implants (CIs) due to a reduced bandwidth of transmission. This trial evaluates a home-based auditory training with telephone-specific filtered speech material to improve sentence recognition. Design: Randomised controlled parallel double-blind. Setting: One tertiary referral centre. Participants: A total of 20 postlingually deafened patients with CIs. Main outcome measures: Primary outcome measure was sentence recognition assessed by a modified version of the Oldenburg Sentence Test filtered to the telephone bandwidth of 0.3-3.4 kHz. Additionally, pure tone thresholds, recognition of monosyllables and subjective hearing benefit were acquired at two separate visits before and after a home-based training period of 10-14 weeks. For training, patients received a CD with speech material, either unmodified for the unfiltered training group or filtered to the telephone bandwidth in the filtered group. Results: Patients in the unfiltered training group achieved an average sentence recognition score of 70.0%±13.6% (mean±SD) before and 73.6%±16.5% after training. Patients in the filtered training group achieved 70.7%±13.8% and 78.9%±7.0%, a statistically significant difference (P=.034, t10 =2.292; two-way RM ANOVA/Bonferroni). An increase in the recognition of monosyllabic words was noted in both groups. The subjective benefit was positive for filtered and negative for unfiltered training. Conclusions: Auditory training with specifically filtered speech material provided an improvement in sentence recognition on the telephone compared to training with unfiltered material.
Nachweise für die Stabilität von Regelkreisen, deren Stellgrößen an ihre Begrenzungen gelangen können und bei denen die Regler Integratoren oder andere dynamische Glieder sowie Anti-Windup-Maßnahmen enthalten, sind gewöhnlich sehr aufwändig zu führen. Bei PI-Zustandsreglern, die mittels der in [1] vorgestellten Methode in einem mehrstufigen Verfahren für Regelstrecken entworfen wurden, die bis auf die Stellgrößenbegrenzungen linear sind, lassen sich jedoch äußerst hilfreiche allgemeine Stabilitätsaussagen treffen, die den konkreten Stabilitätsnachweis für das Gesamtsystem– selbst unter Einbeziehung von Beobachtern – erheblich vereinfachen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die diesbezüglichen, auf Steuerbarkeitsbetrachtungen beruhenden, Zusammenhänge für zeitdiskrete Regelkreise aufgezeigt sowie daraus exemplarisch mittels Ljapunow-Funktionen eine einfache Reglerformel für Zustandsregler abgeleitet, die auch im Begrenzungsfall stabil arbeiten. Ein Beispielaus der elektrischen Antriebstechnik illustriert die Anwendbarkeit der vorgestellten Methode.
Since their dawning, space communications have been among the strongest driving applications for the development of error correcting codes. Indeed, space-to-Earth telemetry (TM) links have extensively exploited advanced coding schemes, from convolutional codes to Reed-Solomon codes (also in concatenated form) and, more recently, from turbo codes to low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. The efficiency of these schemes has been extensively proved in several papers and reports. The situation is a bit different for Earth-to-space telecommand (TC) links. Space TCs must reliably convey control information as well as software patches from Earth control centers to scientific payload instruments and engineering equipment onboard (O/B) spacecraft. The success of a mission may be compromised because of an error corrupting a TC message: a detected error causing no execution or, even worse, an undetected error causing a wrong execution. This imposes strict constraints on the maximum acceptable detected and undetected error rates.
Cellular phone antennas are generally designed to have radiation patterns that are as omnidirectional as possible. Omnidirectional antennas allow a phone’s radio to work well for many orientations of the phone with respect to the cellular base station. Recent studies, however, are generating uncertainty about the health effects of prolonged exposure to electromagnetic (EM) radiation from cellular phones. In this paper, an antenna array is designed primarily to minimize users’ exposure to EM radiation. The antenna comprises a beamforming 4 by 3 array of microstrip patch antennas that is controlled by an accelerometer-only inertial navigation system. The proposed design reduces radiated power directed toward the user to below 10% of the total in the worst case.
Background: The electrical field (E-field) of the biventricular (BV) stimulation is important for the success of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with cardiac insufficiency and widened QRS complex. The 3D modeling allows the simulation of CRT and high frequency (HF) ablation.
Purpose: The aim of the study was to model different pacing and ablation electrodes and to integrate them into a heart model for the static and dynamic simulation of atrial and BV stimulation and high frequency (HF) ablation in atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods: The modeling and simulation was carried out using the electromagnetic simulation software CST (CST Darmstadt). Five multipolar left ventricular (LV) electrodes, one epicardial LV electrode, four bipolar right atrial (RA) electrodes, two right ventricular (RV) electrodes and one HF ablation catheter were modeled. Selected electrodes were integrated into the Offenburg heart rhythm model for the electrical field simulation. The simulation of an AV node ablation at CRT was performed with RA, RV and LV electrodes and integrated ablation catheter with an 8 mm gold tip.
Results: The right atrial stimulation was performed with an amplitude of 1.5 V with a pulse width of 0.5. The far-field potentials generated by the atrial stimulation were perceived by the right and left ventricular electrode. The far-field potential at a distance of 1 mm from the right ventricular electrode tip was 36.1 mV. The far-field potential at a distance of 1 mm from the left ventricular electrode tip was measured with 37.1 mV. The RV and LV stimulation were performed simultaneously at amplitude of 3 V at the LV electrode and 1 V at the RV electrode with a pulse width of 0.5 ms each. The far-field potentials generated by the BV stimulations could be perceived by the RA electrode. The far-field potential at the RA electrode tip was 32.86 mV. AV node ablation was simulated with an applied power of 5 W at 420 kHz and 10 W at 500 kHz at the distal 8 mm ablation electrode.
Conclusions: Virtual heart and electrode models as well as the simulations of electrical fields and temperature profiles allow the static and dynamic simulation of atrial synchronous BV stimulation and HF ablation at AF. The 3D simulation of the electrical field and temperature profile may be used to optimize the CRT and AF ablation.
Im Jahr 1504 verlor der deutsche Ritter Gottfried („Götz“) von Berlichingen seine
rechte Hand. Schon während seiner Genesung dachte er daran, die Hand zu ersetzen,
und beauftragte bald darauf die erste Handprothese, die sogenannte „Eiserne Hand“.
Jahre später wurde die aufwändigere zweite „Eiserne Hand“ gebaut. Wir haben die erste
Prothese auf der Basis früherer Literaturdaten von
Quasigroch (1982) mit Hilfe von 3-D
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) rekonstruiert. Dazu mussten einige Abmessungen angepasst
und ein paar Annahmen für das CAD-Modell gemacht werden. Die historische passive
Prothese des Götz von Berlichingen ist für die moderne Neuroprothetik interessant, da sie
eine Alternative zu komplexen invasiven Brain-Machine-Interface-Konzepten darstellen
könnte, wo diese Konzepte nicht notwendig, möglich oder vom Patienten gewünscht sind.
Comparison of Time Warping Algorithms for Rail Vehicle Velocity Estimation in Low Speed Scenarios
(2017)
In the past two decades much has been published on whiplash injury, yet both the confusion regarding the condition, and the medicolegal discussion about it have increased. In this paper, functional imaging research results are summarized using MRIcroGL3D visualization software and assembled in an image comprising regions of cerebral activation and deactivation.
Streustrahlung in der Ultraschall-Computertomographie zur Verifizierung der Echtheit von Perlen
(2017)
This paper describes a new analysis method developed to distinguish real from fake
pearls using non-ionizing, non-destructive ultrasound computed tomography (USCT): In the USCT Shepp-Logan-filtered time-of-flight image, a fake pearl shows irregular, asymmetric
scattering of ultrasound, whereas the pattern in a natural pearl is regular and symmetric.
We strongly assume that pattern recognition of the scattering of ultrasound cannot only
play an important role in verifying pearls, but also in testing other materials and tissues in
(bio-)medical engineering. Furthermore, and most importantly, this new approach could
be helpful for a variety of clinical diagnoses using high-resolution 3D-USCT, such as the
detection of X-ray-negative micro-calcifications in early breast cancer. Moreover looking
at scattering patterns in dedicated positron emission tomography systems may promote
new developments in nuclear medicine diagnostics.
In this study, we tested the function of a replica of the over 500-year-old original of the
famous Franconian Imperial Knight Götz von Berlichingen’s first “iron hand”, which we
reconstructed by computer-aided design (CAD) and recently printed using a multi-material
3D printer. In different everyday tasks, the artificial hand prosthesis proved to be remarkably
helpful. Thus, the hand could hold a wine glass, some grapes, or a smartphone. With a
suitable pencil, even writing was possible without any problem. Although for all these
functions the healthy other hand was necessary to assist at the beginning, the artificial hand
is an astonishing mechanical aid with many possibilities. Therefore, in certain cases, the
non-invasive approach of a passive mechanical hand replacement, which is an individual,
quick and cheap solution due to modern 3D printing, may always be worth considering
also for today’s requirements.
Background: R-wave synchronised atrial pacing is an effective temporary pacing
therapy in infants with postoperative junctional ectopic tachycardia. In the technique
currently used, adverse short or long intervals between atrial pacing and ventricular
sensing (AP–VS) may be observed during routine clinical practice.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyse outcomes of R-wave synchronised
atrial pacing and the relationship between maximum tracking rates and AP–VS
intervals.
Methods: Calculated AP–VS intervals were compared with those predicted by experienced
pediatric cardiologist.
Results: A maximum tracking rate (MTR) set 10 bpm higher than the heart rate (HR)
may result in undesirable short AP–VS intervals (minimum 83 ms). A MTR set 20 bpm
above the HR is the hemodynamically better choice (minimum 96 ms). Effects of either
setting on the AP–VS interval could not be predicted by experienced observers. In our
newly proposed technique the AP–VS interval approaches 95 ms for HR > 210 bpm
and 130 ms for HR < 130 bpm. The progression is linear and decreases strictly
(− 0.4 ms/bpm) between the two extreme levels.
Conclusions: Adjusting the AP–VS interval in the currently used technique is complex
and may imply unfavorable pacemaker settings. A new pacemaker design is advisable
to allow direct control of the AP–VS interval.
Exploiting Dissent: Towards Fuzzing-based Differential Black Box Testing of TLS Implementations
(2017)
The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol is one of the most widely used security protocols on the internet. Yet do implementations of TLS keep on suffering from bugs and security vulnerabilities. In large part is this due to the protocol's complexity which makes implementing and testing TLS notoriously difficult. In this paper, we present our work on using differential testing as effective means to detect issues in black-box implementations of the TLS handshake protocol. We introduce a novel fuzzing algorithm for generating large and diverse corpuses of mostly-valid TLS handshake messages. Stimulating TLS servers when expecting a ClientHello message, we find messages generated with our algorithm to induce more response discrepancies and to achieve a higher code coverage than those generated with American Fuzzy Lop, TLS-Attacker, or NEZHA. In particular, we apply our approach to OpenssL, BoringSSL, WolfSSL, mbedTLS, and MatrixSSL, and find several real implementation bugs; among them a serious vulnerability in MatrixSSL 3.8.4. Besides do our findings point to imprecision in the TLS specification. We see our approach as present in this paper as the first step towards fully interactive differential testing of black-box TLS protocol implementations. Our software tools are publicly available as open source projects.
In this study, a high-performance controller is proposed for single-phase grid-tied energy storage systems (ESSs). To control power factor and current harmonics and manage time-shifting of energy, the ESS is required to have low steady-state error and fast transient response. It is well known that fast controllers often lack the required steady-state accuracy and trade-off is inevitable. A hybrid control system is therefore presented that combines a simple yet fast proportional derivative controller with a repetitive controller which is a type of learning controller with small steady-state error, suitable for applications with periodic grid current harmonic waveforms. This results in an improved system with distortion-free, high power factor grid current. The proposed controller model is developed and design parameters are presented. The stability analysis for the proposed system is provided and the theoretical analysis is verified through stability, transient and steady-state simulations.
A new yield function for lamellar gray cast iron materials is proposed. The new model is able to describe the results of recently performed microstructure-based finite-element computations that resolve the three dimensional yield surface of three different gray cast irons. The yield function requires only the yield stress in tension and compression of the respective material as model parameters. Furthermore, the algorithmic formulation of the new model is assessed for numerical robustness and efficiency.
BACKGROUND:
While hearing aids for a contralateral routing of signals (CROS-HA) and bone conduction devices have been the traditional treatment for single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), in recent years, cochlear implants (CIs) have increasingly become a viable treatment choice, particularly in countries where regulatory approval and reimbursement schemes are in place. Part of the reason for this shift is that the CI is the only device capable of restoring bilateral input to the auditory system and hence of possibly reinstating binaural hearing. Although several studies have independently shown that the CI is a safe and effective treatment for SSD and AHL, clinical outcome measures in those studies and across CI centers vary greatly. Only with a consistent use of defined and agreed-upon outcome measures across centers can high-level evidence be generated to assess the safety and efficacy of CIs and alternative treatments in recipients with SSD and AHL.
METHODS:
This paper presents a comparative study design and minimum outcome measures for the assessment of current treatment options in patients with SSD/AHL. The protocol was developed, discussed, and eventually agreed upon by expert panels that convened at the 2015 APSCI conference in Beijing, China, and at the CI 2016 conference in Toronto, Canada.
RESULTS:
A longitudinal study design comparing CROS-HA, BCD, and CI treatments is proposed. The recommended outcome measures include (1) speech in noise testing, using the same set of 3 spatial configurations to compare binaural benefits such as summation, squelch, and head shadow across devices; (2) localization testing, using stimuli that rove in both level and spectral content; (3) questionnaires to collect quality of life measures and the frequency of device use; and (4) questionnaires for assessing the impact of tinnitus before and after treatment, if applicable.
CONCLUSION:
A protocol for the assessment of treatment options and outcomes in recipients with SSD and AHL is presented. The proposed set of minimum outcome measures aims at harmonizing assessment methods across centers and thus at generating a growing body of high-level evidence for those treatment options.
n this work a mathematical model for describing the performance of lithium-ion battery electrodes consisting of porous active material particles is presented. The model represents an extension of the Newman-type model, accounting for the agglomerate structure of the active material particles, here Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 (NCM) and Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Al1/3)O2 (NCA). To this goal, an additional pore space is introduced on the active material level. The space is filled with electrolyte and a charge-transfer reaction takes place at the liquid-solid interface within the porous active material particles. Volume-averaging techniques are used to derive the model equations. A local Thiele modulus is defined and provides an insight into the potentially limiting factors on the active material level. The introduction of a liquid-phase ion transport within the active material reduces the overall transport losses, while the additional active surface area within the agglomerate lowers the charge-transfer resistance. As a consequence, calculated discharge capacities are higher for particles modeled as agglomerates. This finding is more pronounced in the case of high C-rates
MITK-OpenIGTLink for combining open-source toolkits in real-time computer-assisted interventions
(2016)
PURPOSE:
Due to rapid developments in the research areas of medical imaging, medical image processing and robotics, computer-assisted interventions (CAI) are becoming an integral part of modern patient care. From a software engineering point of view, these systems are highly complex and research can benefit greatly from reusing software components. This is supported by a number of open-source toolkits for medical imaging and CAI such as the medical imaging interaction toolkit (MITK), the public software library for ultrasound imaging research (PLUS) and 3D Slicer. An independent inter-toolkit communication such as the open image-guided therapy link (OpenIGTLink) can be used to combine the advantages of these toolkits and enable an easier realization of a clinical CAI workflow.
METHODS:
MITK-OpenIGTLink is presented as a network interface within MITK that allows easy to use, asynchronous two-way messaging between MITK and clinical devices or other toolkits. Performance and interoperability tests with MITK-OpenIGTLink were carried out considering the whole CAI workflow from data acquisition over processing to visualization.
RESULTS:
We present how MITK-OpenIGTLink can be applied in different usage scenarios. In performance tests, tracking data were transmitted with a frame rate of up to 1000 Hz and a latency of 2.81 ms. Transmission of images with typical ultrasound (US) and greyscale high-definition (HD) resolutions of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] is possible at up to 512 and 128 Hz, respectively.
CONCLUSION:
With the integration of OpenIGTLink into MITK, this protocol is now supported by all established open-source toolkits in the field. This eases interoperability between MITK and toolkits such as PLUS or 3D Slicer and facilitates cross-toolkit research collaborations. MITK and its submodule MITK-OpenIGTLink are provided open source under a BSD-style licence ( http://mitk.org )
Cardiac resynchronization therapy is an established therapy for heart failure patients. The aim of the study was to evaluate electrical left cardiac atrioventricular delay and interventricular desynchronization in sinus rhythm cardiac resynchronization therapy responder and non-responder. Cardiac electrical desynchronization were measured by surface ECG and focused transesophageal bipolar left atrial and left ventricular ECG before implantation of cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. Preoperative electrical cardiac desynchronization was 195.7 ± 46.7 ms left cardiac atrioventricular delay and 74.8 ± 24.5 ms interventricular delay in cardiac resynchronization therapy responder. Cardiac resynchronization therapy responder New York Heart Association class improved during long term biventricular pacing. Transesophageal left cardiac atrioventricular delay and interventricular delay may be additional useful parameters to improve patient selection for cardiac resynchronization therapy.
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a widely-used diagnostic technique to characterize electrochemical processes. It is based on the dynamic analysis of two electrical observables, that is, current and voltage. Electrochemical cells with gaseous reactants or products (e.g., fuel cells, metal/air cells, electrolyzers) offer an additional observable, that is, the gas pressure. The dynamic coupling of current and/or voltage with gas pressure gives rise to a number of additional impedance definitions, for which we use the term electrochemical pressure impedance. It also gives rise to different experimental probing approaches. In this article we present a model-based study of electrochemical pressure impedance spectroscopy (EPIS). Possible quantifications and realizations of EPIS are discussed. The study of generic cell geometries consisting of gas reservoir, diffusion layer(s) and electrochemically active layer(s) reveals distinct spiral-shaped features in the Nyquist plot. Using the example of a sodium/oxygen (Na/O2) cell, the dynamic spatiotemporal behavior of the state variables is quantified and interpreted. Results are compared to first experimental EPIS measurements by Hartmann et al. [J. Phys. Chem. C118, 1461, 2014]. A sensitivity analysis highlights the properties of EPIS with respect to geometric, transport, and kinetic parameters. We demonstrate that EPIS is sensitive to transport parameters that are not well-accessible with standard EIS.
Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird beschrieben, wie bereits entworfene Zustandsregler für proportional geregelte Systeme ohne Rechentotzeit auf einfache Art und Weise für Systeme mit Reglerintegratoren bzw. mit Rechentotzeit erweitert werden können. Das Ziel ist hierbei, den Aufwand zur Ermittlung der Reglermatrix zu reduzieren. Hierbei soll die bereits vorhandene, optimierte Regelkreisdynamik so wenig wie möglich verändert werden, wodurch bei Mehrgrößensystemen hinzukommende Freiheitsgrade sinnvoll festgelegt werden. Die Betrachtungen erfolgen für lineare zeitdiskrete Systeme und werden anhand eines Beispiels aus der elektrischen Antriebstechnik veranschaulicht.
Im Rahmen der Cochleaimplantat (CI)-Versorgung werden sowohl intraoperativ als auch postoperativ verschiedene elektrische und elektrophysiologische Diagnostikverfahren eingesetzt, bei denen elektrische Messgrößen vom CI erfasst und elektrophysiologische Messungen bei CI-Patienten durchgeführt werden. Zu den elektrophysiologischen Diagnostikverfahren zählen die Messung der elektrisch evozierten Summenaktionspotenziale des Hörnervs, die Registrierung der elektrisch evozierten auditorischen Hirnstammpotenziale und die Erfassung der elektrisch evozierten auditorischen kortikalen Potenziale. Diese Potenziale widerspiegeln die Erregung des Hörnervs und die Reizverarbeitung in verschiedenen Stationen der aufsteigenden Hörbahn bei intracochleärer elektrischer Stimulation mittels eines CI. Bei den aktuellen CI sind die Beurteilung der Elektrodenlage sowie die Prüfung der Ankopplung des Implantats an den Hörnerv wichtige Anwendungsgebiete der elektrophysiologischen Diagnostikverfahren. Ein weiteres bedeutendes Einsatzfeld stellt die Prüfung der Reizverarbeitung in der Hörbahn dar. Das Hauptanwendungsgebiet dieser Verfahren bildet jedoch die Unterstützung der Anpassung der CI-Sprachprozessoren bei Säuglingen und Kleinkindern auf der Basis elektrophysiologischer Schwellen.
Structured Innovation with TRIZ in Science and Industry - Creating Value for Customers and Society
(2016)
Lithium–oxygen cells with nonaqueous electrolyte show high overpotentials during charge, indicating asymmetric charge/discharge reaction mechanisms. We present a kinetic modeling and simulation study of the lithium–oxygen cell cycling behavior. The model includes a multistep reaction mechanism of the cell reaction (2Li + O2 ⇄ Li2O2) forming lithium peroxide by precipitation, coupled to a 1D porous-electrode transport model. We apply the model to study the asymmetric discharge/charge characteristics and analyze the influence of a redox mediator dissolved homogeneously in the liquid electrolyte. Model predictions are compared to experimental galvanostatic cycling data of cells without and with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxyl (TEMPO) as redox mediator. The predicted discharge behavior shows good agreement with the experimental results. A spatiotemporal analysis of species concentrations reveals inhomogeneous distributions of dissolved oxygen and reaction products within the cathode during discharge. The experimentally observed charge overpotentials as well as their reduction by using a redox mediator can be qualitatively reproduced with a partially irreversible reaction mechanism. However, the proposed models fail to reproduce the particular shape of the experimental charge curve with continuously increasing charge overpotential, which implies that part of the reaction mechanism is still open for investigation in future work.
Serendipities in der Medizin
(2016)
Zufälle begleiten unser Leben. Auch bei wichtigen Entdeckungen und Entwicklungen in der Medizin spielt der „Zufall“ (engl. „serendipity“) eine Rolle. Hierzu gehören u. a. die Mendelschen Gesetze, die Ermittlung der menschlichen Chromosomenzahl, die Entdeckung der DNS durch Watson und Crick, der PAP-Test oder die Entdeckung der Röntgenstrahlung und der Radioaktivität. Aber auch und gerade in der Pharmakologie gibt es viele Beispiele für Serendipitäten. Einige gehen eng mit Zufällen bei der Entdeckung der Bakteriologie einher.