• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

Active polymer gels expand and contract in response to certain environmental stimuli, such as the application of an electric field or a change in the pH level of the surroundings. This ability to achieve large, reversible deformations with no external mechanical loading has generated much interest in the use of these gels as biomimetic actuators and artificial muscles. In this study, poly (vinyl alcohol)(PVA) grafted acrylic acid monomer (PVA-g-AAc) hydrogels were prepared by $^{60}Co$ ${\gamma}-ray$ irradiation and their properties such as degree of grafting and weight swelling in electrostimulation as an artificial muscle and actuator were investigated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.361-367
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• 2015

This paper presents the design concept of an intrinsic continuum robot for safe man-machine interface and characteristic behaviors of its end-effector based on real experiments. Since pneumatic artificial muscles having similar antagonistic actuation to human muscles are used for main backbones of the proposed robot as well as in the role of the actuating devices, variable stiffness of robotic joints can be available in the actual environment. In order to solve the inherent shortcoming of an intrinsic continuum robot due to bending motion of the backbone materials, a Kalman filter scheme based on a triaxial accelerometer and a triaxial gyroscope was proposed to conduct an attitude estimation of the end-effector of the robot. The experimental results verified that the proposed method was effective in estimating the attitude of the end-effector of the intrinsic continuum robot.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.104-110
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• 2008

The aim of this study ultimately is verifying that PGO gait is more efficient than RGO fur paraplegics because the air muscle assists hip flexion power in heel off movement. The gait characteristics of the paraplegic wearing the PGO or RGO are compared with that of a normal person. PGO with air muscles was used to analyze the walking of patients with lower-limb paralysis, and the results showed that the hip joint flexion and pelvic tilt angle decreased in PGO. In comparison to RGO gait, which is propelled by the movements of the back, PGO uses air muscles, which decreases the movement in the upper limb from a stance phase rate of 79$\pm$4%(RGO) to 68$\pm$8%. The energy consumption rate was 8.65$\pm$3.3 (ml/min/Kg) for RGO, while it decreased to 7.21t2.5(ml/min/Kg) for PGO. The results from this study show that PGO decreases energy consumption while providing support for patients with lower-limb paralysis, and it is helpful in walking for extended times.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.348-354
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• 2007

Polymer actuators, which are also called as smart materials, change their shapes when electrical, chemical, thermal, or magnetic energy is applied to them and are useful in wide variety of applications such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), machine components, and artificial muscles. For this study, Polyaniline/carbon-nanotube polymer actuator that is one of electroactive polymer actuators was prepared. Since the nonlinear phenomena of hysteresis and a step response are essential considerations for practical use of polymer actuators, we have investigated the movement of the Polyaniline/carbon-nanotube polymer actuator and have developed an integrated model that can be used for simulating and predicting the hysteresis and a step response during actuation. The Preisach hysteresis model, one of the most popular phenomenological models of hysteresis, were used for describing the hysteretic behavior of Polyaniline/carbon-nanotube polymer actuator while the ARX method, one of system identification techniques, were used for modeling a step response. In this paper, we first expain details in preparation of the Polyaniline/carbon-nanotube polymer then present the mathematical description of our model, the extraction of the parameters, simulation results from the model, and finally a comparison with measured data.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.77-83
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• 2021

With the progress in virtual reality technology, various virtual objects can be displayed using head-mounted displays (HMD). However, force feedback sensations such as pushing against a virtual object are not possible with an HMD only. Focusing on force feedback, desktop-type devices are generally used, but the user cannot move in a virtual space because such devices are fixed on a desk. With a wearable force feedback device, users can move around while experiencing force feedback. Therefore, the authors have developed a wearable force feedback device using a magnetorheological fluid clutch and pneumatic rubber artificial muscle, aiming at presenting the elasticity, friction, and viscosity of an object. To date, we have developed a wearable four-degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) force feedback device and have quantitatively evaluated that it can present commanded elastic, frictional, and viscous forces to the end effector. However, sensory evaluation with a human has not been performed. In this paper, therefore, we conduct a sensory evaluation of the proposed method. In the experiment, frictional and viscous forces are rendered in a virtual space using a 4-DOF force feedback device. Subjects are asked to answer questions on a 1- to 7-point scale, from 1 (not at all) to 4 (neither) to 7 (strongly). The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for all data, and answer 4 (neither) was used as compared standard data. The experimental results confirmed that the user could feel the presence or absence of viscous and frictional forces. However, the magnitude of those forces was not sensed correctly.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.849-859
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• 2023

Objective: The prognostic value of the volume and density of skeletal muscles in the abdominal waist of patients with colon cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between the automated computed tomography (CT)-based volume and density of the muscle in the abdominal waist and survival outcomes in patients with colon cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 474 patients with colon cancer who underwent surgery with curative intent between January 2010 and October 2017. Volumetric skeletal muscle index and muscular density were measured at the abdominal waist using artificial intelligence (AI)-based volumetric segmentation of body composition on preoperative pre-contrast CT images. Patients were grouped based on their skeletal muscle index (sarcopenia vs. not) and muscular density (myosteatosis vs. not) values and combinations (normal, sarcopenia alone, myosteatosis alone, and combined sarcopenia and myosteatosis). Postsurgical disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using univariable and multivariable analyses, including multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression. Results: Univariable analysis showed that DFS and OS were significantly worse for the sarcopenia group than for the non-sarcopenia group (P = 0.044 and P = 0.003, respectively, by log-rank test) and for the myosteatosis group than for the non-myosteatosis group (P < 0.001 by log-rank test for all). In the multivariable analysis, the myosteatotic muscle type was associated with worse DFS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.89 [95% confidence interval, 1.25-2.86]; P = 0.003) and OS (aHR, 1.90 [95% confidence interval, 1.84-3.04]; P = 0.008) than the normal muscle type. The combined muscle type showed worse OS than the normal muscle type (aHR, 1.95 [95% confidence interval, 1.08-3.54]; P = 0.027). Conclusion: Preoperative volumetric sarcopenia and myosteatosis, automatically assessed from pre-contrast CT scans using AI-based software, adversely affect survival outcomes in patients with colon cancer.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1242-1250
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• 2011

Several biomimetic artificial muscles including the electro-active synthetic polymers (SSEBS, PSMI/PVDF, SPEEK/PVDF, SPSE, XSPSE, PVA/SPTES and SPEI), bio-polymers (Bacterial Cellulose and Cellulose Acetate) and nano-composite (SSEBS-CNF, SSEBS-$C_{60}$, Nafion-$C_{60}$ and PHF-SPEI) actuators are introduced in this paper. Also, some applications of the developed biomimetic actuators are explained including biomimetic robots and biomedical active devices. Present results show that the developed electro-active polymer actuators with high-performance bending actuation can be promising smart materials applicable to diverse applications.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1558-1562
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• 2008

Ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), one of Electro- Active Polymer (EAP) actuators, has great attention due to the low-voltage driven, large deformation and its potential for artificial muscles. In this paper, we firstly review fish swimming modes using various propulsion mechanisms. Based on study on the swimming mechanisms, we develop an underwater robot actuator which mimics fanning motion of webfoot form. It consists of four actuators fabricated by using IPMC and PDMS which mimics Bio-inspired motion Experiments using a prototype show that the webfooted IPMC actuator generates large deformation and propulsion.

• Journal of Neurocritical Care
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2018

Management of mechanical ventilation is essential for patients with neuro-critical illnesses who may also have impairment of airways, lungs, respiratory muscles, and respiratory drive. However, balancing the approach to mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) with the need to prevent additional lung and brain injury, is challenging to intensivists. Lung protective ventilation strategies should be modified and applied to neuro-critically ill patients to maintain normocapnia and proper positive end expiratory pressure in the setting of neurological closed monitoring. Understanding the various parameters and graphic waveforms of the mechanical ventilator can provide information about the respiratory target, including appropriate tidal volume, airway pressure, and synchrony between patient and ventilator, especially in patients with neurological dysfunction due to irregularity of spontaneous respiration. Several types of asynchrony occur during mechanical ventilation, including trigger, flow, and termination asynchrony. This review aims to present the basic interpretation of mechanical ventilator waveforms and utilization of waveforms in various clinical situations in the neuro-ICU.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.57-64
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• 2021

This paper reviews recent developments and applications of dielectric elastomers (DEs) and suggests various techniques to improve DE properties. DEs as smart materials are a variety of electro-active polymers (EAPs) that convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and cause a large deformation when a voltage is applied. The dielectric constant, modulus, and dielectric loss of DEs determine the efficiency of deformation. Among these, the dielectric constant significantly affects their performance. Therefore, various recent approaches to improve the dielectric constant are reviewed, including the enhancement of polarization, introduction of microporous structures in the matrix, and introduction of ferroelectric fillers. Furthermore, the basic principles of DEs are examined, as well as their various applications such as actuators, generators, sensors, and artificial muscles.