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Contributing to health system resilience during pandemics via purchasing and supply strategies: an exploratory system dynamics approach

Götz, Paula (author), Auping, Willem L. (author), Hinrichs-Krapels, S. (author)

Background: Health systems worldwide struggled to obtain sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic due to global supply chain disruptions. Our study’s aim was to create a proof-of-concept model that would simulate the effects of supply strategies under various scenarios, to ultimately help...

journal article 2024

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Applying the quick exposure check in the workstation design process, physical and virtual prototype assessment

Ipaki, Bahram (author), Molenbroek, J.F.M. (author), Merrikhpour, Zahra (author), Faregh, Seyed Ali (author)

BACKGROUND: The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) assesses four major body parts and engages users in assessing some physical interactions relevant to design in task analysis. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we investigated the application of QEC as the ergonomic intervention to detect pre-production ergonomic design faults in the apple sorting machine by...

journal article 2023

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Ultrasonically Powered and Controlled Microsystem for Dual-Wavelength Optogenetics with a Multi-Load Regulation Scheme

Rashidi, A. (author), Zamani, M. (author), Mondal, Tanmay (author), Hosseini, Seyedsina (author), Laursen, Kjeld (author), Corbet, Brian (author), Moradi, Farshad (author)

This letter presents an ultrasonically powered dual-wavelength optogenetic device that targets simultaneous excitation and inhibition of neural activities, or in a broader sense, optical stimulation in two distinct wavelengths for targeting different populations of neurons. This can be applied to a variety of neurological disorders. The...

journal article 2023

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Desktop Research into Historic Automation Projects of Brownfield Container Terminals

Burgos Gajardo, L.A. (author), Taneja, P. (author), van Koningsveld, M. (author)

There is a global trend of automation of container terminals. However, there is a lack of literature to guide automation projects for brownfield terminals. Therefore, the experiences and lessons learnt from historical brownfield automation of container terminals are a valuable source of information to guide future projects. This paper describes...

journal article 2022

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Design Aspects in Repairability Scoring Systems: Comparing Their Objectivity and Completeness

Dangal, S. (author), Faludi, Jeremy (author), Balkenende, R. (author)

The Circular Economy Action Plan adopted by the European Commission aims to keep value in products as long as possible through developing product-specific requirements for durability and repairability. In this context, various scoring systems have been developed for scoring product repairability. This study assessed the objectivity and...

journal article 2022

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Head and facial dimensions of Chilean workers for design purposes and the differences with other populations

Rodríguez, Ariel Antonio (author), Escanilla, David Eduardo (author), Caroca, Luis Alberto (author), Albornoz, Christian Eduardo (author), Marshall, Paulina Andrea (author), Molenbroek, J.F.M. (author), Lee, Wonsup (author), Viviani, Carlos (author), Castellucci, Héctor Ignacio (author)

BACKGROUND: An appropriate match between a product and its end-users requires anthropometric data, which show variations among different countries. Proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) fit is key for safety and comfort. Chile had no head and facial anthropometric data available in order to design face/head PPE. OBJECTIVE: To describe...

journal article 2022

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Vivianite scaling in wastewater treatment plants: Occurrence, formation mechanisms and mitigation solutions

Prot, T.J.F. (author), Korving, L. (author), Dugulan, A.I. (author), Goubitz, K. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

The presence of soluble iron and phosphorus in wastewater sludge can lead to vivianite scaling. This problem is not often reported in literature, most likely due to the difficult identification and quantification of this mineral. It is usually present as a hard and blue deposit that can also be brown or black depending on its composition and...

journal article 2021

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Characterisation of trocar associated gas leaks during laparoscopic surgery

Robertson, P.D. (author), Sterke, F. (author), van Weteringen, Willem (author), Arezzo, Alberto (author), Mintz, Yoav (author), Nickel, Felix (author), Horeman, T. (author)

Background<br/>During laparoscopy, the abdominal cavity is insufflated with carbon dioxide (CO2) that could become contaminated with viruses and surgical smoke. Medical staff is potentially exposed when this gas leaks into the operating room through the instruments and past trocar valves. No detailed studies currently exist that have quantified...

journal article 2021

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Application of DEM-based metamodels in bulk handling equipment design: Methodology and DEM case study

Fransen, M.P. (author), Langelaar, Matthijs (author), Schott, D.L. (author)

Developments in discrete element modelling (DEM) enable detailed modelling of granular flows in bulk handling equipment (BHE) but due to the computational expense of DEM, wide use in analysing equipment performance is not yet feasible. Metamodels are a viable option to effectively use DEM in analysing BHE performance. Metamodels are able to...

journal article 2021

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Comparative Study on the Early Stage of Skid Resistance Development between Polyurethane-Bound Porous Mixture and Asphalt Mixture

Shi, Jiachen (author), Cong, Lin (author), Yang, Fan (author), Wang, T. (author), Tan, Le (author), Yu, Meng (author)

Polyurethane-bound porous mixture (PPM) is a new type of pavement material that has shown some potential for overcoming common asphalt mixtures mechanical failures. However, little research has been done on its skid resistance performance. This work presents a comparative study of the skid resistance development between PPM and asphalt...

journal article 2020

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A Context-specific Design of an Electrosurgical Unit and Monopolar Handheld to Enhance Global Access to Surgical Care: a Design Approach Based On Contextual Factors

Oosting, R.M. (author), Ouweltjes, Koen (author), Hoeboer, M.D.B. (author), Hesselink, Larissa (author), Madete, J.K. (author), Diehl, J.C. (author), Groen, R. S. (author), Wauben, L.S.G.L. (author), Dankelman, J. (author)

To comply with the large global need for surgery, surgical equipment that fits the challenging environment in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) should be designed. The aim of this study is to present a context-specific design of an electrosurgical unit (ESU) and a monopolar handheld to improve global access to surgery. This paper...

journal article 2020

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Barriers to availability of surgical equipment in Kenya

Oosting, R.M. (author), Wauben, L.S.G.L. (author), Mwaura, Salome W. (author), Madete, J.K. (author), Groen, Reinou S. (author), Dankelman, J. (author)

Background &amp; Objective: The need for surgery is currently not met in Sub-Saharan Africa, requiring both extra workforce and surgical equipment. Currently, there is a gap in the availability of surgical equipment which, among others, limits the provision of safe surgery. To design strategies to increase availability, the use of surgical...

journal article 2019

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DEM particle upscaling for large-scale bulk handling equipment and material interaction

Lommen, S.W. (author), Mohajeri, M. (author), Lodewijks, G. (author), Schott, D.L. (author)

Purpose: The development of bulk material handling equipment can be accelerated and made less expensive when testing of virtual prototypes is adopted. However, the modelling of a grab unloader requires a large volume (77 m3) of iron ore pellets, making the computational costs prohibitive. This paper investigates the extent to which the...

journal article 2019

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Inland waterway terminal yard configuration contributing to sustainability: Modeling yard operations

Wiercx, Max (author), van Kalmthout, Martijn (author), Wiegmans, B. (author)

In order to encourage a substantial shift from highly polluting freight transport by road to more sustainable Inland WaterWay (IWW) transport, one of the possible options is to optimize handling activities at Inland Waterway Terminals (IWTs). Therefore, this research focused on efficiencies of IWTs and possible improvements by analyzing the...

journal article 2019

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Optimal equipment deployment for biomass terminal operations

Dafnomilis, I. (author), Duinkerken, M.B. (author), Junginger, M. (author), Lodewijks, G. (author), Schott, D.L. (author)

This paper investigates the optimization of biomass terminal equipment deployment. A mixed integer linear programming model is developed and applied to minimize the terminal's investment and operational costs related to dedicated and partially used or shared equipment between a terminal's operational steps. The results minimize annual...

journal article 2018

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Design of a novel miniature breast biopsy needle for ductoscopy

Sakes, A. (author), Snaar, Kevin (author), Smit, G. (author), Witkamp, Arjen J. (author), Breedveld, P. (author)

Background. The majority of the benign and malignant lesions in the breast arise from the ductal epithelium and terminal ductlobular unit. A minimally invasive procedure called ductoscopy is able to visualize these lesions as it inspects the ductal epithelium using a small micro-endoscope. Unfortunately, it is currently challenging to obtain...

journal article 2018

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Equipment for essential surgical care in 9 countries across Africa: availability, barriers and need for novel design

Oosting, R.M. (author), Wauben, L.S.G.L. (author), Groen, R.S. (author), Dankelman, J. (author)

Shortages of medical equipment in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) have been found by several previous studies that assessed surgical capacity. To increase surgical capacity, there is a need to identify the availability of specific types of surgical equipment on a local, regional and national level. A survey was conducted among surgeons...

journal article 2018

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Surgical flow disturbances in dedicated minimally invasive surgery suites:: An observational study to assess its supposed superiority over conventional suites

Blikkendaal, Mathijs D. (author), Driessen, Sara R C (author), Rodrigues, Sharon P. (author), Rhemrev, Johann P T (author), Smeets, Maddy J G H (author), Dankelman, J. (author), van den Dobbelsteen, J.J. (author), Jansen, F.W. (author)

Background: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is frequently compromised by surgical flow disturbances due to technology- and equipment-related failures. Compared with MIS in a conventional cart-based OR, performing MIS in a dedicated integrated operating room (OR) is supposed to be beneficial to patient safety. The aim of this study was to...

journal article 2017

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Research on conditional characteristics vision real-time detection system for conveyor belt longitudinal tear

Qiao, Tiezhu (author), Li, Xinyu (author), Pang, Y. (author), Lü, Yuxiang (author), Wang, Feng (author), Jin, Baoquan (author)

Conveyor belt longitudinal tear is one of the most serious problems in coal mining. Existing systems cannot realise lossless and real-time detection for longitudinal tear of conveyor belt. Currently, visual detecting systems are proposed by many researchers and are becoming the future trend. A visual recognition system based on using laser...

journal article 2017

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Prospective techno-economic and environmental assessment of carbon capture at a refinery and CO₂ utilisation in polyol synthesis

Fernandez Dacosta, C. (author), Van Der Spek, Mijndert (author), Hung, Christine Roxanne (author), Oregionni, Gabriel David (author), Skagestad, Ragnhild (author), Parihar, Prashant (author), Gokak, D. T. (author), Strømman, Anders Hammer (author), Ramirez, Andrea (author)

CO₂ utilisation is gaining interest as a potential element towards a sustainable economy. CO₂ can be used as feedstock in the synthesis of fuels, chemicals and polymers. This study presents a prospective assessment of carbon capture from a hydrogen unit at a refinery, where the CO₂ is either stored, or partly...

journal article 2017