Biomedical sciences instrumentation
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It is well established that the pattern of bone loss from the cortex in osteoporotic bone begins from the endosteal surface of the cortex, where there is enlargement of the medullary canal at the expense of the inner cortex. Bone loss does not occur at the periosteal surface. The objective of the following study was to induce osteoporosis in female rats by ovariectomy, followed by treatment with sustained delivery of Diosgenin (DG), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), or estrogen (E) after clinical signs of osteoporosis. ⋯ Third, there is an increase in total body weight associated with OVX that is reduced to control levels after replacement therapy. Finally, OVX also resulted in reproductive tissue atrophy, which was reversed by all three of the treatment regimens in this study. These data suggest that bone loss after OVX can be significantly reduced by supplementation with sustained levels of DHEA, E, and DG without jeopardizing other body organs.
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Our long-term goal is to formulate and assess functional methodologies to enhance recovery of locomotor function in human subjects after incomplete Spinal Cord Contusion Injury (iSCI). This methodology could consist of locomotor training by active treadmill walking. Here, we present kinematic analysis of limb movements in rats with iSCI that have undergone treadmill-walking training. ⋯ The treadmill training eventually led to recovery of coordinated locomotor function after 7 weeks, albeit with deformities in gait. This recovery of locomotor function occurred in spite of significant loss of axonal connections between the brain and the spinal lumbar segments at site of injury (assessed by histology after terminal data collection). The results suggest that functional recovery of locomotion could be an activity dependent process.
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In most instances, the treatment of major burn victims begins in the emergency room of the hospital closest to the accident site. It can be assumed that the emergency room personnel in most hospitals rarely see patients with major burns. ⋯ To assist these individuals a fluid resuscitation calculation application has been developed to run on a hand-held personal digital assistant (Palm Pilot). This hand-held application is meant to assist in emergency situations where time is short, thoughtful computation is not possible, and a quick determination of fluid replacement therapy is important for the survival of the patient.
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Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation (FNS) systems activate paralyzed limbs by electrically stimulating motor neurons. These systems have been used to restore functions such as standing and stepping in people with thoracic level spinal cord injury. Research in our laboratory is directed at the design and evaluation of the control algorithms for generating posture and movement. ⋯ In our laboratory, we use the Flock of Birds (Ascension Technology Corp.) motion tracking sensor system to monitor limb segment position and orientation (6 degrees of freedom). Errors in the sensor system have been characterized and nonlinear polynomial models have been developed to account for these errors. With this compensation, the error in the distance measurement is reduced by 90 % so that the maximum error is less than 1 cm.
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One method for validating a biosensor is through comparative assessment of the test sensor with a control sensor when both sensors are presented with the same inputs. In the case of adult pulse oximeter (SpO2) sensors, both sensors should ideally be placed on the same digit of the subject. ⋯ Hardware and software requirements for the transfer standard, and a statistical method for analyzing the data will be discussed. A method for the direct comparison of two SpO2 sensors using a "switch over" trial design will also be presented.