Biomedizinische Technik. Biomedical engineering
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[Acute cardiovascular failure and its treatment--value of defibrillation in preclinical management].
Ventricular fibrillation is the most common cause of cardiac arrest. The only scientifically proved therapy that guarantees a long time survival is the early electrical defibrillation. As early as 200 years ago electricity was employed in trying to regain circulation in cases of unexpected death. ⋯ The advantage of the biphasic defibrillation is a less harmful impact on the myocardium at lower shock intensity. A further novelty which enables the application by groups other than the rescue services, is the automatic external defibrillator (AED). Extending the availability of defibrillators can contribute to an increase in the presently low success rates of resuscitation.
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Comparative Study
The effect of limited interlaminar decompression versus complete laminectomy on intrathecal volume in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.
There is a controversial discussion about the adequate surgical procedure for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. Due to the observation that the degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis takes place predominantly at the interlaminar region on the level of the disc involving facets and bulging of the ligamentum flavum, resection of the whole lamina might not be necessary. A biomechanical study was designed to assess the effect of different decompression techniques using cadaver lumbar spine models. ⋯ The results allow to conclude that limited interlaminar decompression is efficient for decompression in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.
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Long periods of quiet sitting is considered a cause of low back pain. It is often assumed that spinal loads are high, especially when sitting erect. Modern office chairs with a tiltable back permit changes in the seated posture. ⋯ In the end-tilt position of the chairback, loads were always lower than when the chairback was upright. Even when the lordotic curvature of the lumbar spine was "corrected", loads on the fixator were lower than when the subject was seated in the upright position. In a modern chair, spinal loading is no higher than with non-adjustable office chairs.
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Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRO 300, Hamamatsu Photonics, Japan) was used to monitor human cerebral function in the central region during manual acupuncture needle stimulation of the large intestine 4 (LI.4) point in 16 adult volunteers (9 females, 7 males; mean age 23.9 +/- 6.0 (SD) years, range 19-45 years). We found a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in oxyhaemoglobin after needle insertion and stimulation (duration 20 sec.), accompanied by an increase (p = 0.003) in deoxyhaemoglobin. ⋯ Cytochrome oxidase aa3 remained unchanged during stimulation. The results demonstrate that near-infrared spectroscopy may be a noninvasive method of measuring regional changes in cerebral haemodynamics resulting from peripheral acupuncture stimulation.
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Medical research confirmed the relevance of diagnosis and therapy of sleep-related breathing disorders, revealing prevalence and patho-physiological mechanisms [1-10]. Reliable sleep assessment currently demands examinations in the sleep-lab, which is very technical and time-consuming. ⋯ As a solution, the authors present telemetric system concepts for the unattended assessment of a patient's sleep profile and cardio-respiratory parameters. Taking initial experience with home polysomnography into consideration, the presented research work focuses on easily applicable sensors, the corresponding sleep profile assessment rules, wireless data recording, intelligent signal processing algorithms and telemedical information logistics to include sleep-labs in the diagnosis and treatment process as competence centers.