Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference
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Burst suppression is an electroencephalogram pattern observed in states of severely reduced brain activity, such as general anesthesia, hypothermia and anoxic brain injuries. The burst suppression ratio (BSR), defined as the fraction of EEG spent in suppression per epoch, is the standard quantitative measure used to characterize burst suppression. ⋯ Our approach removes the need to artificially average the ratio over long epochs and allows us to make formal statistical comparisons of burst activity at different time points. Our state-space model suggests a more principled way to analyze this key EEG feature that may offer more informative assessments of its associated brain state.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2011
Instrumentation to record evoked potentials for closed-loop control of deep brain stimulation.
Closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems offer promise in relieving the clinical burden of stimulus parameter selection and improving treatment outcomes. In such a system, a feedback signal is used to adjust automatically stimulation parameters and optimize the efficacy of stimulation. We explored the feasibility of recording electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) during DBS for use as a feedback control signal. ⋯ Subsequently, the instrumentation was used to make in vivo recordings of ECAPs during thalamic DBS in cats, without contamination by the stimulus artifact. The signal characteristics were similar across three experiments, suggesting common neural activation patterns. The ECAP recordings enabled with this novel instrumentation may provide insight into the type and spatial extent of neural elements activated during DBS, and could serve as feedback control signals for closed-loop systems.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2011
Using ultrasound imaging to identify landmarks in vertebra models to assess spinal deformity.
Scoliosis is a type of spinal deformity that commonly develops in adolescents. Cobb angle, using the most tilted vertebrae, is the gold standard to assess scoliosis on radiographs. However, regularly taking radiographs introduces harmful ionizing radiation to patients, thus non-ionizing radiation methods have been explored for many years. ⋯ The second study showed laminae and transverse processes could be recognized from ultrasound images. The difference of the width of the laminae between the phantom and the ultrasound image was 0.3 mm. Therefore, it is feasible to use the proposed method and the laminae from the ultrasound images to assess the severity of scoliosis.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2011
iSyNCC: an intelligent system for patient monitoring & clinical decision support in Neuro-Critical-Care.
Close monitoring and timely treatment are extremely crucial in Neuro Intensive/Critical Care Units (NICUs) to prevent patients from secondary brain damages. However, the current clinical practice is labor-intensive, prone to human errors and ineffective. ⋯ The requirements of the system were investigated through interviews and discussions with neurosurgeons, neuroclinicians and nurses. Based on the summarized requirements, a modular 2-tier system is developed. iSyNCC integrates and stores crucial patient information ranging from demographic details, clinical & treatment records to continuous physiological monitoring data. iSyNCC enables remote and centralized patient monitoring and provides computational intelligence to facilitate clinical decision makings.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2011
Selective co-stimulation of pudendal afferents enhances reflex bladder activation.
The loss of normal bladder function is common in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and negatively impacts their quality of life. Electrical stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents is a promising approach to restore control of bladder function. Pudendal afferent stimulation can generate reflex contraction of the bladder, but the resulting bladder voiding efficiency remains low. ⋯ In preclinical studies in anesthetized adult cats, co-stimulation of CSN and DNP evoked larger bladder contractions than individual stimulation of either CSN or DNP. In a parallel clinical experiment involving a participant with chronic SCI, co-stimulation of the proximal and distal urethra also produced synergistic augmentation of reflex bladder activity, and thus improved voiding efficiency when compared to reflex distension-evoked voiding. Selective co-stimulation of pudendal afferents is efficacious and should be considered in the development of neural prosthetics for restoration of bladder function in persons with SCI.