A Fully Fail-Safe Capacitive-Based Charge Metering Method for Active Charge Balancing in Deep Brain Stimulation

Related to safety issues, charge balancing is a major concern in neural and functional electrical stimulation. This paper presents a capacitive-based charge metering method as a low-power and precise charge balancing method used in Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). In contrast to the previously presented capacitive-based charge metering methods, the proposed method does not need any precise and high-speed comparator for net-zero charge detection. It is proven that this method is insensitive to the delay and the offset of its components. Consequently, using ultra-low power components in the charge balancer is feasible. Furthermore, the proposed method properly supports any stimulation mode and waveform. The proposed approach along with voltage and current mode pulse generators was validated in a 0.9% saline solution by using a DBS lead

Development of biomedical devices for the extracorporeal real-time monitoring and perfusion of transplant organs

The goal of this Thesis is to develop a range of technologies that could enable a paradigm shift in organ preservation for renal transplantation, transitioning from static cold storage to warm normothermic blood perfusion. This transition could enable the development of novel pre-implantation therapies, and even serve as the foundation for a global donor pool. A low-hæmolysis pump was developed, based on a design first proposed by Nikola Tesla in 1913. Simulations demonstrated the theoretical superiority of this design over existing centrifugal pumps for blood recirculation, and provided insights for future avenues of research into this technology. A miniature, battery-powered, multimodal sensor suite for the in-line monitoring of a blood perfusion circuit was designed and implemented. This was named the ‘SmartPipe’, and proved capable of simultaneously monitoring temperature, pressure and blood oxygen saturations over the biologically-relevant ranges of each modality. Finally, the Thesis details the successful implementation and optimisation of a combined microfluidic and microdialysis system for the real-time quantitation of creatinine in blood or urine through amperometric sensing, to act as a live renal function monitor. The range of detection was 4.3μM – 500μM, with the possibility of extending this in both directions. This work also details and explores a novel methodology for functional monitoring in closed-loop systems which avoids the need for sensor calibration, and potentially overcomes the problems of sensor drift and desensitisation.Open Acces

MEMS Technology for Biomedical Imaging Applications

Biomedical imaging is the key technique and process to create informative images of the human body or other organic structures for clinical purposes or medical science. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology has demonstrated enormous potential in biomedical imaging applications due to its outstanding advantages of, for instance, miniaturization, high speed, higher resolution, and convenience of batch fabrication. There are many advancements and breakthroughs developing in the academic community, and there are a few challenges raised accordingly upon the designs, structures, fabrication, integration, and applications of MEMS for all kinds of biomedical imaging. This Special Issue aims to collate and showcase research papers, short commutations, perspectives, and insightful review articles from esteemed colleagues that demonstrate: (1) original works on the topic of MEMS components or devices based on various kinds of mechanisms for biomedical imaging; and (2) new developments and potentials of applying MEMS technology of any kind in biomedical imaging. The objective of this special session is to provide insightful information regarding the technological advancements for the researchers in the community

SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION PATTERN DUE TO COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IN KAMPONG HOUSE

ABSTRACT Kampung houses are houses in kampung area of the city. Kampung House oftenly transformed into others use as urban dynamics. One of the transfomation is related to the commercial activities addition by the house owner. It make house with full private space become into mixused house with more public spaces or completely changed into full public commercial building. This study investigate the spatial transformation pattern of the kampung houses due to their commercial activities addition. Site observations, interviews and questionnaires were performed to study the spatial transformation. This study found that in kampung houses, the spatial transformation pattern was depend on type of commercial activities and owner perceptions, and there are several steps of the spatial transformation related the commercial activity addition. Keywords: spatial transformation pattern; commercial activity; owner perception, kampung house; adaptabilit

Personality Identification from Social Media Using Deep Learning: A Review

Social media helps in sharing of ideas and information among people scattered around the world and thus helps in creating communities, groups, and virtual networks. Identification of personality is significant in many types of applications such as in detecting the mental state or character of a person, predicting job satisfaction, professional and personal relationship success, in recommendation systems. Personality is also an important factor to determine individual variation in thoughts, feelings, and conduct systems. According to the survey of Global social media research in 2018, approximately 3.196 billion social media users are in worldwide. The numbers are estimated to grow rapidly further with the use of mobile smart devices and advancement in technology. Support vector machine (SVM), Naive Bayes (NB), Multilayer perceptron neural network, and convolutional neural network (CNN) are some of the machine learning techniques used for personality identification in the literature review. This paper presents various studies conducted in identifying the personality of social media users with the help of machine learning approaches and the recent studies that targeted to predict the personality of online social media (OSM) users are reviewed

Global Trends & Challenges in Water Science, Research and Management

The global water challenge is unprecedented. Climate change, rapid urbanisation, increasing consumption and demand for food and energy, and changing land use, will leave few countries and communities unaffected. The demand for water and sanitation services is greater than it has ever been, and water has never been higher on the agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) not only provide a framework to address water challenges, they put water at the centre of the global agenda on sustainable development. This presents opportunities for the water sector to develop innovative solutions and scale-up best practice. Water management is a complex multi-disciplinary topic, and water professionals come in many different shapes. One of the unique strengths of IWA is bringing together experts from across the globe and specialisations into communities of practice, IWA’s Specialist Groups. Connecting people from across disciplines and across national boundaries accelerates the science, innovation and practice that can make a difference in addressing water challenges and pushes the sustainability agenda. The Global Trends and Challenges in Water Science, Research and Management compendium draws upon the expertise of IWA’s specialist groups who have identified the hot topics, innovations and global trends in water science, research and management that will have impact in solving global water challenges. The compendium highlights a diversity of approaches, from detailed technical and scientific aspects to more integrated approaches

Cumulative index to NASA Tech Briefs, 1970-1975

Tech briefs of technology derived from the research and development activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are presented. Abstracts and indexes of subject, personal author, originating center, and tech brief number for the 1970-1975 tech briefs are presented

WOFEX 2021 : 19th annual workshop, Ostrava, 1th September 2021 : proceedings of papers

The workshop WOFEX 2021 (PhD workshop of Faculty of Electrical Engineer-ing and Computer Science) was held on September 1st September 2021 at the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. The workshop offers an opportunity for students to meet and share their research experiences, to discover commonalities in research and studentship, and to foster a collaborative environment for joint problem solving. PhD students are encouraged to attend in order to ensure a broad, unconfined discussion. In that view, this workshop is intended for students and researchers of this faculty offering opportunities to meet new colleagues.Ostrav