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Towards Robotic Chauffeurs: The SAE/GM Autodrive Challenge
No full textThis article focuses on efforts by automotive manufacturers and engineering students towards developing autonomous vehicles. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has defined different levels of autonomy (SAE J3016 standard), to describe how automated a vehicle is, which have also been adopted by the US Department of Transportation. The purpose of SAE and General Motors (GM) in designing and implementing hands-on engineering design and conducting technology-focused collegiate competition with an emphasis on autonomous driving and the associated technologies´ is to provide a professional development and educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at selected universities. SAE and its sponsors are supporting the competition with training and mentoring. Students are also learning how to work in interdisciplinary teams, which has its own issues. Different academic disciplines approach problems differently, use different techniques, and sometimes even seem to speak a different language. Another important thing about the Challenge is that it lets them see how their courses impact real engineering problems. Students taking a controls course see plenty of Laplace transforms and all sorts of plots—root-locus plots, perhaps Nyquist plots or Bode plots, time domain response plots—but they may not always realize how this links up to real life
Improvement in depression and physical health following total joint arthroplasty
No full textBackground: Depression is a common co-morbid condition seen in arthroplasty patients. Pain and depression have been understood to influence one another, which may explain why this patient group experiences higher rates of depression than the general population. Arthroplasty can relieve pain and improve function, which may thereby initiate an improvement in the patient\u27s depressive symptoms. Methods: This retrospective study examined physical and mental domain outcomes of Short Form-36 health-related quality of life questionnaire among 146 patients who underwent primary hip or knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis at a single institution during 2001-2004. These patients were classified into depressed/anxious and non-depressed groups based on their pre-operative mental component summary (MCS), with MCS \u3c 42 defining depression. MCS and the subscales from the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey form expected to be influenced by arthroplasty, Physical Function, Pain, and Role Physical were examined at 3 months and 1 year post-operative. Results: At 1 year, 66.7% of the depressed/anxious group reported MCS \u3e 42, suggesting improvement of their depressive symptoms. Both groups reported similar improvements in their 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey subscale scores for Pain and Physical Function. However, the depressed group\u27s scores were lower than the non-depressed group\u27s at all time points. Conclusion: Arthroplasty significantly improved Physical Function and Pain in depressed patients, while their depressive symptoms improved. This improvement may be in response to the resolution of physical symptoms and represents an additional benefit to this elective surgery. Further studies, in larger populations, are needed to establish patient characteristics associated with non-resolution of depressive symptoms and the role of mental health interventions to optimize outcomes for hip and knee arthroplasty patients
Experimental Study on Spectral Characteristics of Corona-Generated Audible Noise From a DC Conductor
No full textIn this paper, spectral characteristics of the corona-generated audible noise (AN) on a dc conductor are studied through a quadrate corona cage structure. To reduce the influence of background noise, all experiments are conducted in a semi-anechoic chamber. Different from previous investigations, time-domain waveforms of corona-generated AN are recorded and the frequency spectra are calculated based on the time-domain waveforms through the calculation method of A-weighted sound pressure level (SPL). The results confirm that the frequency spectra describe different characteristics at different applied voltages and have a close relationship with pulse amplitude and pulse repetition frequency. In addition, the AN from a negative corona discharge contains more high-frequency components than those from a positive corona discharge. The components with the frequency above 400 Hz contribute most to the resultant total A-weighted SPL. The differences of AN from positive and negative corona discharges are interpreted on the basis of the corona discharge physics. Furthermore, some correlation frequency components in the frequency spectrum are found and can be used to calculate the total A-weighted SPL by adding correction values. Finally, the influences of pulse amplitudes and repetition frequency on the frequency spectrum of AN are discussed on the basis of the time-domain stochastic model
Transportation-Related Guidelines for Hip Spica Application and Subsequent Discharge Planning
No full textHip spica casts are a common method to treat trauma or hip dysplasia for children aged ~6 months to 4 or 5 years. The cast is typically applied with the lower extremities positioned to achieve satisfactory fracture reduction and/or joint stability while avoiding a reduction in blood flow to the hip joint. A number of studies have observed that some spica cast positions can present a challenge to safely transport the child home. This is due to the posterior cast geometry which is typically not congruent with the child’s car seat. In the current study, a series of transportation options were evaluated to identify seats that accommodate a hip spica cast
Safe Transport of Spica Casted Children in Passenger Vehicles Is Possible: A Frontal Crash Test Analysis of Child Restraint Systems Using Spica Casted Crash Test Dummies
No full textThere is a paucity of data defining safe transport protocols for children treated with hip spica casting. While restraint devices for casted children are available, all federally mandated testing has been done using non-casted anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs), also known as crash test dummies. No current commercially available or specially designed restraint device has been tested using casted ATDs. In light of this significant lack of data, the purpose of this study was to evaluate current restraint options in simulated frontal crash testing using a casted pediatric ATD to determine injury to the head, cervical spine, chest, and pelvis
A Microsoft HoloLens Mixed Reality Surgical Simulator for Patient-Specific Hip Arthroplasty Training
No full textSurgical simulation can offer novice surgeons an opportunity to practice skills outside the operating theatre in a safe controlled environment. According to literature evidence, nowadays there are very few training simulators available for Hip Arthroplasty (HA). In a previous study we have presented a physical simulator based on a lower torso phantom including a patient-specific hemi-pelvis replica embedded in a soft synthetic foam. This work explores the use of Microsoft HoloLens technology to enrich the physical patient-specific simulation with the implementation of wearable mixed reality functionalities. Our HA multimodal simulator based on mixed reality using the HoloLens is described by illustrating the overall system, and by summarizing the main phases of the design and development. Finally, we present a preliminary qualitative study with seven subjects (5 medical students, and 2 orthopedic surgeons) showing encouraging results that suggest the suitability of the HoloLens for the proposed application. However, further studies need to be conducted to perform a quantitative test of the registration accuracy of the virtual content, and to confirm qualitative results in a larger cohort of subjects
