• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.429-438
• /
• 1997

Mechanical valve is one of the most widely used implantable artificial organs of which the reliability is so important that its failure means the death of patient. Therefore early noninvasive detection is essentially required, though mechanical valve failure with thrombosis is the most common. The objective of this paper is to detect the thrombosis formation by spectral analysis and neural network. Using microphone and amplifier, we measured the sound from the mechanical valve which is attached to the pneumatic ventricular assist device. The sound was sampled by A/D converter(DaqBook 100) and the periodogram is the main algorithm for obtaining spectrum. We made the thrombosis models using pellethane and silicon and they are thrombosis model on the valvular disk, around the sewing ring and fibrous tissue growth across the orifice of valve. The performance of the measurment system was tested firstly using 1 KHz sinusoidal wave. The measurement system detected well 1KHz spectrum as expected. The spectrum of normal and 5 kinds of thrombotic valve were obtained and primary and secondary peak appeared in each spectrum waveform. We find that the secondary peak changes according to the thrombosis model. So to distinguish the secondary peak of normal and thrombotic valve quantatively, 3 layer back propagation neural network, which contains 7, 000 input node, 20 hidden layer and 1 output was employed The trained neural network can distinguish normal and valve with more than 90% probability. As a conclusion, the noninvasive monitoring of implanted mechanical valve is possible by analysing the acoustical spectrum using neural network algorithm and this method will be applied to the performance evaluation of other implantable artificial organs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.569-576
• /
• 2017

The electromagnetic valve of pneumatic doors of EMUs has a high failure rate due to air leakage because it supplies air on and off to operate the doors repeatedly. The electromagnetic valve is a very important safety component for which a very high reliability is required because failure makes it impossible to operate the passenger cars. However, domestic urban railway operators maintain electronic valves of the EMU door under a fixed cycle with a spare period according to the full overhaul cycle of the EMU. An improvement of the current maintenance cycle was suggested based on the reliability function and mission reliability. Using the statistical program MINITAB for the operational data of EMU line 6, we analyzed the characteristics of the fault distribution and derived the shape and scale parameters of the reliability function. If we limit the specific reliability probability to under a certain failure rate and calculate its statistical parameters, we can calculate the allowable inspection period with mission reliability. Through this study, we suggested a maintenance period based on RCM (reliability centered-maintenance) to improve the reliability of electromagnetic valves from 68% to 95%.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.469-477
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of insole-equipped ankle-foot-orthoses (AFO) on gait. 10 healthy males who had no history of injury in the lower extremity participated in this study as the subjects. The foot of each subject was first scanned, and the insole fit to the plantar was made using BDI-PCO(Pedcad Gmbh, Germany). The subject then was made to walk on a treadmill under four experimental conditions: 1) normal walking, 2) walking wearing AFO, 3) walking wearing AFO equipped with the insole, 4) walking wearing pneumatic-ankle-foot-orthosis (pAFO) equipped with the insole. During walking, foot pressure data such as maximum force, contacting area, peak pressure, and mean pressure was collected using Pedar-X system (Novel Gmbh, Germany) and EMG activity of lower limb muscles such as gastrocnemius medial head, gastrocnemius lateral head, and soleus was recorded using MP150 EMG module (BIOPAC System Inc., USA). Collected data was then analyzed using paired t-test in order to investigate the effects of the insole. As a result of the analysis, when insole was equipped, overall contacting area was increased while both the highest peak pressure and the mean pressure were significantly decreased, and EMG activity of the lower limb muscles was decreased. On the contrary, the cases of wearing AFO showed the decreased contacting area and the increased pressures. Therefore, the AFO equipped with a proper insole fit well to the foot can help comfortable walking by spreading the pressure over the entire plantar.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.217-226
• /
• 2010

The lower limb orthosis with a pneumatic rubber actuator, which is intended for the assistance and the enhancement of muscular activities of lower limbs was developed in this study. Compared to other knee extension assistive devices being developed by other researchers, our device is designed especially for the elderly people and intended only for slight assistance so that the subjects can keep their muscular strength. For the effectiveness of system, muscular activities of major muscles in lower limbs during sit-to-stand (STS) and squat motion were measured and analyzed. Subjects were performed the STS and squat motion with and without lower limb orthosis. We made comparison muscular activities between with and without lower limb orthosis. Lower limb orthosis was controlled using muscular stiffness force feedback that is controlled by muscular activities of the measured muscle from force sensor. For analysis of muscular activities, electromyography of the subjects was measured during STS and squat motion, and these were measured using MP 150(BIOPAC Systems, Inc.). Muscles of interest were rectus femoris(RF), vastus lateralis(VL), vastus medialis(VM) and vastus intermedius(VI) muscles in lower limbs of the right side. A biodex dynamometer was used to measure the maximal concentric isokinetic strength of the knee extensors of wearing and not wearing orthosis on right side. The test were performed using the concentric isokinetic mode of test with the velocity set at 60°/s for muscles around the knee joints. The experimental result showed that muscular activities in lower limbs wearing orthosis using muscular stiffness force of a vastus medialis muscle was reduced and knee extension torque of an knee joint wearing lower limb orthosis was increased. With this, we confirmed the effectiveness of the developed lower limb orthosis.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.20 no.12
• /
• pp.237-246
• /
• 2019

The Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) is the next generation braking system for automobiles and railway vehicles. Current brake systems for high-speed trains generate a braking force using a pneumatic cylinder, but EMB systems produce that force through a combination of an electric motor and a gear. In this study, an EMB operation mechanism capable of generating a high braking force was proposed, and structural and vibration analyses of the gears and shafts, which are the core parts of the mechanisms, were performed. Dynamic structural analysis confirmed that the maximum stress in the analysis model was within the yield strength of the material. In addition, the design that maximizes the diameter of the motor shaft was found to be advantageous in strength, and large shear stress could be generated in the bolt fixing the gear and eccentric shaft. In addition, a test apparatus that can reproduce the mechanism of the analytical model was fabricated to measure the strain of the fixed bolt part, which is the most vulnerable part. The strain measurement results showed that the error between the analysis and measurement was within 10%, which could verify the accuracy of the analytical model.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.135-140
• /
• 2014

Pressure vessels are used in various industrial fields. If a defect occurs on the inner or outer surface of a pressure vessel, it may cause a massive accident. A defect on the outer surface can be detected by visual inspection. However, a defect on the inner surface is generally impossible to detect with visual inspection. Nondestructive testing can be used to detect this type of defect. Laser speckle shearing interferometry is one nondestructive testing method that can optically detect a defect; its advantages include noncontact, full field, and real time inspection. This study evaluated the detectable size for an internal defect of a pressure vessel. The material of the pressure vessel was ASTM A53 Gr.B. The internal defect was detected when the pressure vessel was loaded by internal pressure controlled by a pneumatic system. The internal pressure was controlled from 0.2 MPa to 0.6 MPa in increments of 0.2 MPa. The results confirmed that an internal defect with a 25 % defect depth could be detected even at 0.2 MPa pressure variation.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
• /
• v.1992 no.05
• /
• pp.27-47
• /
• 1992

Engineers have developed new instruments that aid in diagnosis and therapy Ultrasonic imaging has provided a nondamaging method of imaging internal organs. A complex transducer emits ultrasonic waves at many angles and reconstructs a map of internal anatomy and also velocities of blood in vessels. Fast computed tomography permits reconstruction of the 3-dimensional anatomy and perfusion of the heart at 20-Hz rates. Positron emission tomography uses certain isotopes that produce positrons that react with electrons to simultaneously emit two gamma rays in opposite directions. It locates the region of origin by using a ring of discrete scintillation detectors, each in electronic coincidence with an opposing detector. In magnetic resonance imaging, the patient is placed in a very strong magnetic field. The precessing of the hydrogen atoms is perturbed by an interrogating field to yield two-dimensional images of soft tissue having exceptional clarity. As an alternative to radiology image processing, film archiving, and retrieval, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are being implemented. Images from computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are digitized, transmitted, and stored in computers for retrieval at distributed work stations. In electrical impedance tomography, electrodes are placed around the thorax. 50-kHz current is injected between two electrodes and voltages are measured on all other electrodes. A computer processes the data to yield an image of the resistivity of a 2-dimensional slice of the thorax. During fetal monitoring, a corkscrew electrode is screwed into the fetal scalp to measure the fetal electrocardiogram. Correlations with uterine contractions yield information on the status of the fetus during delivery To measure cardiac output by thermodilution, cold saline is injected into the right atrium. A thermistor in the right pulmonary artery yields temperature measurements, from which we can calculate cardiac output. In impedance cardiography, we measure the changes in electrical impedance as the heart ejects blood into the arteries. Motion artifacts are large, so signal averaging is useful during monitoring. An intraarterial blood gas monitoring system permits monitoring in real time. Light is sent down optical fibers inserted into the radial artery, where it is absorbed by dyes, which reemit the light at a different wavelength. The emitted light travels up optical fibers where an external instrument determines O2, CO2, and pH. Therapeutic devices include the electrosurgical unit. A high-frequency electric arc is drawn between the knife and the tissue. The arc cuts and the heat coagulates, thus preventing blood loss. Hyperthermia has demonstrated antitumor effects in patients in whom all conventional modes of therapy have failed. Methods of raising tumor temperature include focused ultrasound, radio-frequency power through needles, or microwaves. When the heart stops pumping, we use the defibrillator to restore normal pumping. A brief, high-current pulse through the heart synchronizes all cardiac fibers to restore normal rhythm. When the cardiac rhythm is too slow, we implant the cardiac pacemaker. An electrode within the heart stimulates the cardiac muscle to contract at the normal rate. When the cardiac valves are narrowed or leak, we implant an artificial valve. Silicone rubber and Teflon are used for biocompatibility. Artificial hearts powered by pneumatic hoses have been implanted in humans. However, the quality of life gradually degrades, and death ensues. When kidney stones develop, lithotripsy is used. A spark creates a pressure wave, which is focused on the stone and fragments it. The pieces pass out normally. When kidneys fail, the blood is cleansed during hemodialysis. Urea passes through a porous membrane to a dialysate bath to lower its concentration in the blood. The blind are able to read by scanning the Optacon with their fingertips. A camera scans letters and converts them to an array of vibrating pins. The deaf are able to hear using a cochlear implant. A microphone detects sound and divides it into frequency bands. 22 electrodes within the cochlea stimulate the acoustic the acoustic nerve to provide sound patterns. For those who have lost muscle function in the limbs, researchers are implanting electrodes to stimulate the muscle. Sensors in the legs and arms feed back signals to a computer that coordinates the stimulators to provide limb motion. For those with high spinal cord injury, a puff and sip switch can control a computer and permit the disabled person operate the computer and communicate with the outside world.