The aim of this study was to systematically register data for respiratory and heart rates (RR and HR, respectively) during different sleep stages [active (AS, i.e., rapid eye movement) and quiet (QS, i.e., non-rapid eye movement) sleep] and age in a large number of healthy infants (277) during the first year of life to simplify polysomnography. The reference values in this age group differ significantly between the number of patients and age at time of investigation. According to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the measurement of polysomnography included HR (beats per minute, or bpm), RR (breaths per minute, or breaths/min), brain waves, SO2, sound, and video. Data recording and evaluation occurred via Alice 3®/3.5®(Respironics®), classification into AS and QS sleep according to maturity. For RR, the 5th-95th percentiles during AS decreased from 25.8-47.7 breaths/min (1st month) to 17.8-27.7 breaths/min (>9 months). During QS, RR ranged from 27.4-51.5 breaths/min (1st month) to 17.8-29.2 breaths/min (>9 months). HR decreased during AS from 118.3-150.6 bpm (1st month) to 100.9-126.4 bpm (>9 months). During QS, HR decreased from 116.0-149.9 bpm (1st month) to 93.7-119.8 bpm (>9 months). The mean HR and RR significantly decreased with age in both sleep stages (p<0.05). The mean HR is significantly lower during QS compared with AS (p<0.05). Our data may serve as basic values for HR and RR in different sleep stages during the first year of life.

Simultaneous magnetoencephalography (MEG) and local field potential (LFP) recordings in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment is a promising tool for both clinical application and basic research. Recordings can be accomplished during the time interval between electrode insertion and its connection to the pulse generator while electrodes are being externalized. In nine PD patients, coherence (COH) between LFP and MEG signals was calculated from the data of a 5-min simultaneous MEG-LFP rest recording. For the observed COH patterns, a validation procedure is introduced based on time-shift principal component analysis (TSPCA), which was originally developed to suppress background signals from MEG. Here TSPCA is used as a regression of the MEG signal with filtered versions of the LFP signal to intentionally remove COH. The channel mean of the original COH is compared with the residual channel mean COH after TSPCA application. COH peaks are suppressed in the 15- to 30-Hz range; at lower frequencies, the results are less obvious due to the presence of an artifact caused by a weak remanent magnetization of the externalization wires. The COH suppression is statistically significant for four out of nine subjects, and validation has been achieved, as the COH suppression yields the hypothesized outcome.

Fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) extraction from non-invasive biopotential recordings is a long-standing research topic. Despite the significant number of algorithms presented in the scientific literature, it is difficult to find information about embedded hardware implementations able to provide real-time support for the required features, bridging the gap between theory and practice. This article presents the NInFEA (non-invasive fetal ECG analysis) tool, an embedded hardware/software framework based on the hybrid dual-core OMAP-L137 low-power processor for the real-time evaluation of fetal ECG extraction algorithms. The hybrid platform, including a digital signal processor (DSP) and a general-purpose processor (GPP), allows achieving the best performance compared with single-core architectures. The GPP provides a portable graphical user interface, whereas the DSP is extensively used for advanced signal processing tasks. As a case study, three state-of-the-art fetal ECG extraction algorithms have been ported onto NInFEA, along with some support routines needed to provide the additional information required by the clinicians and supported by the user interface. NInFEA can be regarded both as a reference design for similar applications and as a common embedded low-power testbed for real-time fetal ECG extraction algorithms.

In total hip replacement, patient placement in the lateral position is preferred by many surgeons. However, it complicates registration of the so-called pelvic coordinate system that is the standard reference for surgeons to measure cup orientation. This coordinate system comprises the anterior pelvic plane and the mid-sagittal plane, and it is conventionally registered on the basis of bony anatomical landmarks including the left and the right anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). Ultrasound has been suggested for transcutaneous palpation of the bone surface. The difficulty in registration of the pelvic coordinate system with the patient in the lateral position arises because the contralateral ASIS cannot be reached easily by a mechanical pointer and is not accessible by means of an ultrasound probe. Up to now, methods to compensate for these missing data have not been used in clinical routine. This paper describes a new ultrasound-based method that requires neither image segmentation nor statistical shape models and uses symmetry to approximate the position of the contralateral ASIS. A detailed analysis based on computed tomography data of 60 hips following a cadaver study is presented to show the ability of our method to reliably reconstruct the pelvic coordinate system. The median angles between ground truth planes and the "reconstructed" planes were <2°. By choosing a standard cup orientation w.r.t. the "reconstructed" planes, the median abduction and version angle errors were <2°, too.

To improve osseointegration, different possible dental implant surface modifications, e.g., alterations of surface chemistry and roughness, have been developed. The purpose of this study was to examine the in vitro biocompatibility of newly designed zirconium implants with different surface modifications in comparison with commercially available zirconium and titanium implants. Therefore, cell viability and proliferation were measured after 21 days and correlated with surface structures. In the presence of new ceramic implants with an "mds (blasted/etched)" and a "blasted" surface, cell viability was 1.29- and 1.26-fold increased, respectively, compared to untreated cells, whereas cell viability was unchanged in the presence of reference implants and new ceramic implants with an "etched" surface. The cell viability findings correlate with the results of the cell cytotoxicity assay. The etched implants showed a surface with high roughness and heterogeneity, whereas the mds and blasted implants showed a similar, very rough-textured homogenate surface. The in vitro biocompatibility of two new ceramic implants was significantly better in comparison with the tested reference ceramic and titanium implants. The good biocompatibility may be attributed to the homogenous surface of these implants, and these surfaces might hasten osseointegration.

To determine the lingual surface morphology of central and lateral upper incisors evaluating constant morphological regions for better adhesion of industrial prefabricated lingual brackets. A total of 102 randomly selected patients at the end of the first phase of second dentition with intact central and lateral upper incisors participated in this study. After impression taking and cast model preparation, 3D laser scans of the lingual surface of the upper central and lateral incisors were taken (Laserscan 3D®, Willytec, Munich, Germany), digitalised, and transferred into CAD software to analyse the surface morphology by superimposition. For better comparison of morphological variations and determination of the most constant lingual regions, the surface was divided into five parts: incisal edge, mesial ridge, lateral ridge, cingulum, and medial sector. Statistical analysis was performed by the paired t-test. Statistically significant differences were found in all surfaces, with cingulum as the most inconstant region. The most constant region was the medial sector and the mesial ridge. As expected, the lingual surface underlies a high intra-individual variation complicating industrial prefabricated lingual brackets adhesion. However, the mesial ridge and the medial sector seem to be the most constant regions within intra-individual morphological variations.

For contactless monitoring of ventilation and heart activity, magnetic induction measurements are applicable. As the technique is harmless for the human body, it is well suited for long-term monitoring solutions, e.g., bedside monitoring, monitoring of home care patients, and the monitoring of persons in critical occupations. For such settings, a two-channel portable magnetic induction system has been developed, which is small and light enough to be fitted in a chair or bed. Because demodulation, control, and filtering are implemented on a front-end digital signal processor, a PC is not required (except for visualization/data storage during research and development). The system can be connected to a local area network (LAN) or wireless network (WiFi), allowing to connect several devices to a large monitoring system, e.g., for a residential home for the elderly or a hospital with low-risk patients not requiring standard ECG monitoring. To visualize data streams, a Qt-based (Qt-framework by Nokia, Espoo, Finland) monitoring application has been developed, which runs on Netbook computers, laptops, or standard PCs. To induce and measure the magnetic fields, external coils and amplifiers are required. This article describes the system and presents results for monitoring respiration and heart activity in a (divan) bed and for respiration monitoring in a chair. Planar configurations and orthogonal coil setups were examined during the measurement procedures. The measurement data were streamed over a LAN to a monitoring PC running Matlab (The MathWorks Inc, Natick, MA, USA).

The objective of the current epidemiological study is to show the correlation of various postural abnormalities and spinal deformities and the clinically identifiable dentofacial anomalies by orthodontic examination. Twenty-three children with Scheuermann's disease [mean age: 14 years 8 months; standard deviation (SD): 1 year 8 months] and 28 with scoliosis (mean age: 14 years 7 months; SD: 2 years 3 months) participated in the study. Standardized orthodontic screening protocols were used to map the occlusal relations in the sagittal, vertical, and horizontal dimensions; the space relations of the maxillary and mandibular frontal segment; the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) status; and the facial asymmetries. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the values of the examined groups of patients for the following measurements: incisal overjet and overbite, upper and lower midline deviation, mandibular frontal spacing, TMJ pathological symptoms and functional characteristics, and frequency of facial asymmetries. A large percentage of patients with pre-pubertal developments of spinal deformities have various dentofacial anomalies. The majority of these anomalies are present in patients with Scheuermann's disease. Early treatment of the malocclusions closely correlated to postural disorders should minimize the progression of the dentofacial anomalies, making necessary performing orthodontic screening of these patients as early as possible.