Force and torque modelling of drilling simulation for orthopaedic surgery

The advent of haptic simulation systems for orthopaedic surgery procedures has provided surgeons with an excellent tool for training and preoperative planning purposes. This is especially true for procedures involving the drilling of bone, which require a great amount of adroitness and experience due to difficulties arising from vibration and drill bit breakage. One of the potential difficulties with the drilling of bone is the lack of consistent material evacuation from the drill's flutes as the material tends to clog. This clogging leads to significant increases in force and torque experienced by the surgeon. Clogging was observed for feed rates greater than 0.5 mm/s and spindle speeds less than 2500 rpm. The drilling simulation systems that have been created to date do not address the issue of drill flute clogging. This paper presents force and torque prediction models that account for this phenomenon. The two coefficients of friction required by these models were determined via a set of calibration experiments. The accuracy of both models was evaluated by an additional set of validation experiments resulting in average R² regression correlation values of 0.9546 and 0.9209 for the force and torque prediction models, respectively. The resulting models can be adopted by haptic simulation systems to provide a more realistic tactile output.     

A biomechanical approach to the analysis of methods and procedures of bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery includes a variety of procedures that are performed on obese people and aim at decreasing the intake of food and calories. This goal is usually pursued by reducing stomach capacity and/or absorbing capability. Adjustable gastric banding is the most common and successful operation. In general, bariatric surgical procedures are effective, but are often associated with major complications.Surgical procedure and post-surgical conformation of the stomach are usually defined on clinical and surgical basis only. Instead, the optimal configuration should be identified by analyzing the mechanical functionality of the stomach and the surrounding structures, and the relationship between food intake, nutrient adsorption, mechanical stimulation of stomach wall and feeling of satiety.A novel approach to bariatric surgery is required, integrating competences in the areas of biomechanics, physiology and surgery, based on a strong interaction between engineers and clinicians. Preliminary results from coupled experimental and computational investigations are here reported. The analyses aim to develop computational tools for the investigation of stomach mechanical functionality in pre- and post-surgical conformations.     

Computational analysis of pediatric ventricular assist device implantation to decrease cerebral particulate embolization

Stroke is the most devastating complication after ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation with a 19% incidence and 65% mortality in the pediatric population. Current pediatric VAD technology and anticoagulation strategies alone are suboptimal. VAD implantation assisted by computational methods (CFD) may contribute reducing the risk of cerebral embolization. Representative three-dimensional aortic arch models of an infant and a child were generated. An 8 mm VAD outflow-graft (VAD-OG) anastomosed to the aorta was rendered and CFD was applied to study blood flow patterns. Particle tracks, originating in the VAD, were computed with a Lagrangian phase model and the percentage of particles entering the cerebral vessels was calculated. Eight implantation configurations (infant = 5 and child = 3) and 5 particle sizes (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mm) were considered. For the infant model, percentage of particles entering the cerebral vessels ranged from 15% for a VAD-OG anastomosed at 90° to the aorta, to 31% for 30° VAD-OG anastomosis (overall percentages: X² = 10,852, p < 0.0001). For the child model, cerebral embolization ranged from 9% for the 30° VAD-OG anastomosis to 15% for the 60° anastomosis (overall percentages: χ² = 10,323, p < 0.0001). Using detailed CFD calculations, we demonstrate that the risk of stroke depends significantly on the VAD implantation geometry. In turn, the risk probably depends on patient-specific anatomy. CFD can be used to optimize VAD implantation geometry to minimize stroke risk.     

Atrial fibrillation after thoracic surgery for lung cancer: use of a single cut-off value of N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide to identify patients at risk

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-known complication occurring after thoracic surgery. B-type natriuretic peptide has recently been investigated as a predictive marker of postoperative AF after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate a definite cut-off for N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in predicting postoperative AF in lung cancer patients. NT-proBNP was determined before and after surgery in 400 patients. Cardiac function was monitored by continuous postoperative ECG and clinical cardiological evaluation. AF occurred in 18% of the patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses identified a cut-off of 182.3?ng l^?1 as the one with the highest sensitivity and specificity. Perioperative increased levels of NT-proBNP seem to predict postoperative AF in patients undergoing thoracic surgery, and a single cut-off of 182.3?ng l^?1 can be used to select high-risk patients who could receive preventive therapy, leading to a considerable decrease in the total costs associated with the management of this complication.     

血流阻断的缺血预处理技术在肝癌切除术中的临床应用价值

目的:探讨血流阻断的缺血预处理技术在肝癌切除术中的临床应用价值。方法:选取2010年4月至2013年7月我院收治的96名原发性肝癌并采用肝脏部分切除术进行治疗的患者,将患者随机分为观察组和对照组,每组各48例,观察组在肝脏部分切除术阻断肝门血流前先分别给予1个5 min缺血和再灌注的处理。对照组不采取任何干预措施。术前、术后1天、3天、7天时分别进行生化检查,并于术前及术后1h对Fas-mRNA表达、Caspasc-3活性及AI进行测定,观察记录患者术后的并发症情况、手术时间、术中出血量以及住院时间。结果:术后1天、3天、7天时两组间的AST、ALT、TBIL等生化指标的含量情况相比,观察组均显著优于对照组(P0.05);术后l d,两组患者ALB均有不同程度的降低,对照组低于观察组(P0.05);术后住院时间观察组为13.28±3.85天,对照组为19.48±4.92天,观察组明显低于对照组(P0.05);术后1h,两组患者的Fas-mRNA表达、Caspasc-3活性相比于阻断前均显著提高,但观察组提高幅度明显低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);两组阻断前均未见肝细胞凋亡,术后l h时,两组组均可见肝细胞凋亡,且对照组明显高于观察组组(P0.05)。结论:血流阻断的缺血预处理技术具有操作简便、副作用小的重要特点,应用于肝癌切除术中在保护肝功能方面具有显著的优势。     

Juxtacellular Monitoring and Localization of Single Neurons within Sub-cortical Brain Structures of Alert,Head-restrained Rats

There are a variety of techniques to monitor extracellular activity of single neuronal units. However, monitoring this activity from deep brain structures in behaving animals remains a technical challenge, especially if the structures must be targeted stereotaxically. This protocol describes convenient surgical and electrophysiological techniques that maintain the animal’s head in the stereotaxic plane and unambiguously isolate the spiking activity of single neurons. The protocol combines head restraint of alert rodents, juxtacellular monitoring with micropipette electrodes, and iontophoretic dye injection to identify the neuron location in post-hoc histology. While each of these techniques is in itself well-established, the protocol focuses on the specifics of their combined use in a single experiment. These neurophysiological and neuroanatomical techniques are combined with behavioral monitoring. In the present example, the combined techniques are used to determine how self-generated vibrissa movements are encoded in the activity of neurons within the somatosensory thalamus. More generally, it is straightforward to adapt this protocol to monitor neuronal activity in conjunction with a variety of behavioral tasks in rats, mice, and other animals. Critically, the combination of these methods allows the experimenter to directly relate anatomically-identified neurophysiological signals to behavior.     

The aetiology of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery

Recognition of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery is difficult, since strong analgesics (e.g. opioids) can mask anginal symptoms, and ECG abnormalities are subtle or transient. Thorough knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms is therefore essential. These mechanisms can be subdivided into four groups: type I myocardial infraction (MI), type II MI, non-ischaemic cardiac pathology, and non-cardiac pathology. The incidence of type I MI in patients with a clinical suspicion of perioperative acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is 45–57 %. This percentage is higher in patients with a high likelihood of MI such as patients with ST-elevation ACS. Of note, the generalisability of this statement is limited due to significant study limitations. Non-ischaemic cardiac pathology and non-cardiac pathology should not be overlooked as a cause of perioperative myocardial injury (PMI). Especially pulmonary embolism and dysrhythmias are a common phenomenon, and may convey important prognostic value. Implementation of routine postoperative troponin assessment and accessible use of minimally invasive imaging should be considered to provide adequate individualised therapy. Also, addition of preoperative imaging may improve the stratification of high-risk patients who may benefit from preoperative or perioperative interventions.     

Activatable fluorescent probes in fluorescence-guided surgery: Practical considerations

Fluorescence-guided imaging during surgery is a promising technique that is increasingly used to aid surgeons in identifying sites of tumor and surgical margins. Of the two types of fluorescent probes, always-on and activatable, activatable probes are preferred because they produce higher target-to-background ratios, thus improving sensitivity compared with always-on probes that must contend with considerable background signal. There are two types of activatable probes: 1) enzyme-reactive probes that are normally quenched but can be activated after cleavage by cancer-specific enzymes (activity-based probes) and 2) molecular-binding probes which use cancer targeting moieties such as monoclonal antibodies to target receptors found in abundance on cancers and are activated after internalization and lysosomal processing (binding-based probes). For fluorescence-guided intraoperative surgery, enzyme-reactive probes are superior because they can react quickly, require smaller dosages especially for topical applications, have limited side effects, and have favorable pharmacokinetics. Enzyme-reactive probes are easier to use, fit better into existing work flows in the operating room and have minimal toxicity. Although difficult to prove, it is assumed that the guidance provided to surgeons by these probes results in more effective surgeries with better outcomes for patients. In this review, we compare these two types of activatable fluorescent probes for their ease of use and efficacy.     

盐酸右美托咪定联合瑞芬太尼在骨科手术中的镇静效果及对患者血流动力学和呼吸功能的影响

目的:探讨盐酸右美托咪定联合瑞芬太尼在骨科手术中的镇静效果及对患者血流动力学和呼吸功能的影响。方法:选择2016年3月至2017年5月在我院186例行骨科手术的患者,根据数表法随机分为对照组(93例)和观察组(93例),对照组采用丙泊酚联合瑞芬太尼进行麻醉,观察组采用盐酸右美托咪定联合瑞芬太尼进行麻醉,比较两组用药前(T_1)、联合用药后10 min(T_2)、联合用药后20 min(T_3)、联合用药后30 min(T_4)和患者清醒后(T_5)等时间点的镇静效果以及血流动力学和呼吸功能指标变化,并比较两组不良反应发生率。结果:T_3、T_4时间点两组警觉/镇静(OAA/S)评分低于组内其他时间点,且观察组OAA/S评分低于对照组(P0.05)。两组T_1、T_5时间点呼吸频率(RR)、血氧饱和度(SpO_2)比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05);在T_2、T_3、T_4时间点观察组RR、SpO_2高于对照组(P0.05);T_3、T_4时间点两组的RR水平均低于组内其他时间点(P0.05)。两组各时间点平均动脉压(MAP)、心率(HR)水平比较差异均无统计学意义(P0.05)。观察组呼吸抑制、呼吸道梗塞和恶心呕吐的发生率低于对照组(P0.05)。结论:盐酸右美托咪定联合瑞芬太尼在骨科手术中镇静效果良好,对患者血流动力学的影响较小,呼吸抑制程度轻,安全性好。     

HALS与LAP用于直肠癌根治术患者的临床疗效及其对血清炎性因子水平的影响

目的:探讨手辅助腹腔镜手术(hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery,HALS)与全腹腔镜手术(laparoscopic surgery,LAP)用于直肠癌根治术患者的临床疗效及其对血清炎性因子水平的影响。方法:选取2013年3月～2018年3月在我院行直肠癌根治术的患者61例进行回顾性分析,按照手术方式不同分为手辅助腹腔镜手术组(HALS组)和全腹腔镜手术组(LAP组)。比较两组患者的手术相关指标、术后恢复指标和治疗前后血清炎性因子水平的变化。结果:HALS组的手术时间、术中出血量和副损伤显著低于LAP组(P0.05),两组中转开腹率相比无统计学差异(P0.05);两组患者术后肠功能恢复时间、进食时间、下床时间和住院时间比较均无显著性差异(P0.05);两组患者术后1 h和术后1 d血清白细胞介素-10(interleukin-10, IL-10)、C-反应蛋白(C reactive protein,CRP)和α肿瘤坏死因子(Tumor Necrosis Factor-α,TNF-α)水平均较术前显著升高,且HALS组显著低于LAP组(P0.05),术后1 w血清IL-10、CRP和TNF-α水平与术前相比无统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:HALS直肠癌根治术对患者的手术创伤小,炎性反应轻,且不影响患者的预后,利于患者的康复。