Characterization of unipolar electrogram morphology: A novel tool for quantifying conduction inhomogeneity

Aims: Areas of conduction inhomogeneity (CI) during sinus rhythm may facilitate the initiation and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Currently, no tool is available to quantify the severity of CI. Our aim is to develop and validate a novel tool using unipolar electrograms (EGMs) only to quantify the severity of CI in the atria....

Spectroscopic optical coherence tomography at 1200 nm for lipid detection

Significance: Spectroscopic analysis of optical coherence tomography (OCT) data can yield added information about the sample's chemical composition, along with high-resolution images. Typical commercial OCT systems operate at wavelengths that may not be optimal for identifying lipid-containing samples based on absorption features. Aim: The...

An organ-on-chip device with integrated charge sensors and recording microelectrodes

Continuous monitoring of tissue microphysiology is a key enabling feature of the organ-on-chip (OoC) approach for in vitro drug screening and disease modeling. Integrated sensing units are particularly convenient for microenvironmental monitoring. However, sensitive in vitro and real-time measurements are challenging due to the inherently...

Wearable Wheelchair Mobility Performance Measurement in Basketball, Rugby, and Tennis: Lessons for classification and training

Athlete impairment level is an important factor in wheelchair mobility performance (WMP) in sports. Classification systems, aimed to compensate impairment level effects on performance, vary between sports. Improved understanding of resemblances and differences in WMP between sports could aid in optimizing the classification methodology....

Fear of movement is not associated with trunk movement variability during gait in patients with low back pain

BACKGROUND: Literature describing differences in motor control between low back pain (LBP) patients and healthy controls is very inconsistent, which may be an indication for the existence of subgroups. Pain-related psychological factors might play a role causing these differences. PURPOSE: To examine the relation between fear of movement and...

Focus of attention instructions during baseball pitching training

It has often been shown that performance and learning in movement tasks may be improved by focusing on the effect of the movement in the environment (external focus of attention) instead of the movement itself (internal focus of attention). Nevertheless, most coaching instructions and feedback information given in sports seem to favor an...

Laparoscopic suturing learning curve in an open versus closed box trainer

Background The aim of this study was to examine the influence of training under direct vision prior to training with indirect vision on the learning curve of the laparoscopic suture task. Methods Novices were randomized in two groups. Group 1 performed three suturing tasks in a transparent laparoscopic box trainer under direct vision followed by...

Predicting Object Size from Hand Kinematics: A Temporal Perspective

Research on reach-to-grasp movements generally concentrates on kinematics values that are expression of maxima, in particular the maximum aperture of the hand and the peak of wrist velocity. These parameters provide a snapshot description of movement kinematics at a specific time point during reach, i.e., the maximum within a set of value, but...

Smart needles for percutaneous interventions

The development of advanced needles for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes such as ablation and brachytherapy in the liver has offered minimally invasive therapies to patients that were previously untreatable. This thesis focuses on accurate placement of such needles guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to maximize the effect of the...

Surgical device, in particular for minimally invasive surgery

Surgical device, in particular for minimally invasive surgery, provided with a shaft having a distal end to which a surgical instrument is mounted or mountable and a proximal end equipped for handling the instrument, wherein the shaft is hollow and the surgical instrument is mounted or mountable on inserts that are longitudinally movable in the...

Relationship Between Distal and Proximal Neoplasia

An analysis of braking measures

Braking to a full stop at a prescribed target position is a driving manoeuvre regularly used in experiments to investigate driving behaviour or to test vehicle acceleration feedback systems in simulators. Many different performance measures have been reported in the literature for analysing braking. These may or may not be useful to analyse the...