Several medical procedures involve the use of needles. The advent of robotic and robot assisted procedures requires dynamic estimation of the needle tip location during insertion for use in both assistive systems as well as for automatic control. Most prior studies have focused on the maneuvering of solid flexible needles using external force measurements at the base of the needle holder. However, hollow needles are used in several procedures and measurements of forces in proximity of such needles can eliminate the need for estimating frictional forces that have high variations. These measurements are also significant for endoscopic procedures in which measurement of forces at the needle holder base is difficult. Fiber Bragg grating sensors, due to their small size, inert nature, and multiplexing capability, provide a good option for this purpose. Force measurements have been undertaken during needle insertion into tissue mimicking phantoms made of polydimethylsiloxane as well as chicken tissue using an 18-G needle instrumented with FBG sensors. The results obtained show that it is possible to estimate the different stages of needle penetration including partial rupture, which is significant for procedures in which precise estimation of needle tip position inside the organ or tissue is required.
Core body temperature is an important indicator of well being of humans. The commonly used methods and sites of measurement do not lend well for continuous measurement at home. However, continuous monitoring using non-invasive, small, low cost sensors could have many applications like detection of hypothermia and fever in low birth weight neonates in rural settings. We investigate the feasibility of making such measurements using only skin temperature sensors. Our initial sensor prototype is composed of flexible materials, with embedded high precision thermistors and is based on dual heat flux technique. Our initial experiments show that the reliable estimation of core temperature under varying ambient conditions and at different measurement sites is a challenge, but promising. Further work is needed to combine results from experimental measurements and theoretical simulations to provide good insights and enable accurate estimation of core body temperature for long term monitoring at home.
Background: The neonatal mortality rate is a key outcome indicator for newborn care and directly reflects prenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal care. Objective: Primary objective was to assess the neonatal mortality profile, incidence of neonatal sepsis among total neonatal deaths and pattern of antimicrobial resistance. Methodology: This was a retrospective descriptive study done at a tertiary care center. All neonatal deaths from January 2014 to December 2014 were reviewed, and primary causes of mortality, incidence of sepsis among neonatal deaths and pattern of antimicrobial resistance were analyzed. Results: Common causes of neonatal mortality were sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, congenital malformations, asphyxia, extreme preterm, meconium aspiration syndrome. Case fatality rate was high in extreme preterm neonates (82%), followed by respiratory distress syndrome (29%), congenital malformations (29%), sepsis (25%), asphyxia (25%). In our study incidence of neonatal sepsis among total neonatal deaths was about 20.5%. Staphylococcus aureus (60%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (23%) were predominant organisms. Highest case fatality rate was associated with K. pneumoniae sepsis about 60%, followed by Escherichia coli sepsis (54%) and Acinetobacter sepsis (50%). Multidrug resistance is an emerging problem, especially in Acinetobacter sepsis. Conclusion: Sepsis still remains the leading cause of death in developing countries. S. aureus was the most common predominant organism; of this, two-thirds were methicillin-resistant S. aureus. About 90% of K. pneumoniae were resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins. Multidrug resistance is an emerging problem, especially in Acinetobacter sepsis.
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