Total Knee Arthroplasty Wear Is Caused by Malrotation and Excessive Laxity

Total knee arthroplasty is a proven technique which combines specially designed components and surgical processes to treat cartilage degeneration and alleviate pain in arthritic knees. However, this technique is limited by component design and surgical precision. Due to these limitations, knee arthroplasty components will eventually wear out, causing rejection and necessitating the need for a replacement. For this reason, it would be beneficial to experts if the primary causes of this wear could be identified in order to minimize the number of replacements. This study aims to determine if a correlation exists between instability of a knee joint and the amount of wear present in an implant, and also relate surgical alignment to this wear. To accomplish this aim, a custom laxity machine was used to assess joint stability in 20 knees of human bodies donated to science. This laxity data was compared to damage scores expressing the amount of wear on each implant specimen, and was used in conjuction with alignment data obtained from CT scans. Alignment data was expressed as the difference in component rotations, as well as a new method here named “congruency mismatch”. A significant correlation was found between wear and anterior and posterior laxity, indicating the need for additional constraint in implant design to minimize sliding which can lead to wear. No significant relationships were observed between either alignment analysis technique and wear scores. Results do show a positive postoperative relationship between external femoral rotation and increasing varus coronal angle, which is inversely related to previous studies which were undertaken preoperatively. Implant functionality and successful outcomes are directly related to design and proper surgical technique, which can be quantified and improved using new methods such as patient-specific design and robotic surgical system

Multimedia

The nowadays ubiquitous and effortless digital data capture and processing capabilities offered by the majority of devices, lead to an unprecedented penetration of multimedia content in our everyday life. To make the most of this phenomenon, the rapidly increasing volume and usage of digitised content requires constant re-evaluation and adaptation of multimedia methodologies, in order to meet the relentless change of requirements from both the user and system perspectives. Advances in Multimedia provides readers with an overview of the ever-growing field of multimedia by bringing together various research studies and surveys from different subfields that point out such important aspects. Some of the main topics that this book deals with include: multimedia management in peer-to-peer structures & wireless networks, security characteristics in multimedia, semantic gap bridging for multimedia content and novel multimedia applications

Handbook of Optical and Laser Scanning

From its initial publication titled Laser Beam Scanning in 1985 to Handbook of Optical and Laser Scanning, now in its second edition, this reference has kept professionals and students at the forefront of optical scanning technology. Carefully and meticulously updated in each iteration, the book continues to be the most comprehensive scanning resource on the market. It examines the breadth and depth of subtopics in the field from a variety of perspectives. The Second Edition covers: Technologies such as piezoelectric devices Applications of laser scanning such as Ladar (laser radar) Underwater scanning and laser scanning in CTP As laser costs come down, and power and availability increase, the potential applications for laser scanning continue to increase. Bringing together the knowledge and experience of 26 authors from England, Japan and the United States, the book provides an excellent resource for understanding the principles of laser scanning. It illustrates the significance of scanning in society today and would help the user get started in developing system concepts using scanning. It can be used as an introduction to the field and as a reference for persons involved in any aspect of optical and laser beam scanning

Wireless Sensor Networks

The aim of this book is to present few important issues of WSNs, from the application, design and technology points of view. The book highlights power efficient design issues related to wireless sensor networks, the existing WSN applications, and discusses the research efforts being undertaken in this field which put the reader in good pace to be able to understand more advanced research and make a contribution in this field for themselves. It is believed that this book serves as a comprehensive reference for graduate and undergraduate senior students who seek to learn latest development in wireless sensor networks

Examining the taphonomic challenges to the 3D digitisation of fragmented bone

The utilisation of 3D digitisation and visualisation has grown considerably since 2008 and is becoming an increasingly useful tool for the digital documentation and metric analysis of archaeological artefacts and skeletal remains. It provides public access to rare and fragile specimens of palaeontological and palaeopathological importance whilst reducing the physical impact on these remains. Research in engineering and computer vision provides some insight into the impact of surface properties such as colour, specularity, reflectance and shape on the quality of the recorded 3D image, but within the archaeological and palaeontological disciplines comparable work has not yet been developed. If archaeology and anthropology are to provide long term reliable data from archaeological and palaeontological specimens in a way that doesn’t require repeated re-digitisation, we need to understand the impacts that the taphonomic histories of such samples have on our ability to 3D record them. Understanding the relationship of these taphonomic histories and the surface and optical properties will promote informed choices about the suitability of recording techniques. This thesis considers the taphonomic processes that affect the preservation of bone over archaeological, forensic and palaeontological timescales and the effect this has on the quality of 3D digital models. The digital refit of fragmentary bone samples is considered in relation to the effect of taphonomic alterations to bone. Conclusions regarding the key taphonomic factors and 3D digital model quality are drawn and areas of further work are identified.Arts and Humanities Research Counci

Payload data handling, telemetry and data compression systems for Gaia.

Gaia, la nova missió astromètrica de la ESA amb un llançament previst pel 2011, observarà més de mil milions d'estels i altres objectes amb una exactitud sense precedents. Els seus ambiciosos objectius desbanquen completament les missions rivals d'altres agències. Al final de la seva vida útil es generarà el major i més complert mapa tridimensional de la nostra Galàxia.Una missió com aquesta suposa grans esforços tecnològics i de disseny ja que caldrà detectar, seleccionar i mesurar centenars d'estels cada segon, per enviar-ne posteriorment les dades cap a la Terra -a més d'un milió i mig de quilòmetres. Hem centrat el treball d'aquesta tesi en aquesta vessant de la missió, proposant dissenys pels sistemes de gestió de dades, de telemetria científica, i de compressió de dades. El nostre objectiu final és fer possible la transmissió a l'estació terrestre d'aquesta immensa quantitat de dades generades pels instruments, tenint en compte la limitada capacitat del canal de comunicacions. Això requereix el disseny d'un sistema de compressió de dades sense pèrdues que ofereixi les millors relacions de compressió i garanteixi la integritat de les dades transmeses. Tot plegat suposa un gran repte pels mètodes de la teoria de la informació i pel disseny de sistemes de compressió de dades.Aquests aspectes tecnològics encara estaven per estudiar o bé només es disposava d'esborranys preliminars -ja que la missió mateixa estava en una etapa preliminar en quan varem començar aquesta tesi. Per tant, el nostre treball ha estat rebut amb entusiasme per part de científics i enginyers del projecte.En primer lloc hem revisat l'entorn operacional del nostre estudi, descrit a la primera part de la tesi. Això inclou els diversos sistemes de referència i les convencions que hem proposat per tal d'unificar les mesures, referències a dades i dissenys. Aquesta proposta s'ha utilitzat com a referència inicial en la missió i actualment altres científics l'estan ampliant i millorant. També hem recopilat les principals característiques de l'instrument astromètric (en el qual hem centrat el nostre estudi) i revisat les seves directrius operacionals, la qual cosa també s'ha tingut en compte en altres equips.A la segona part de la tesi descrivim la nostra proposta pel sistema de gestió de dades de la càrrega útil de Gaia, la qual ha estat utilitzada per presentar els requeriments científics als equips industrials i representa en sí mateixa una opció d'implementació viable (tot i que simplificada). En la següent part estudiem la telemetria científica, recopilant els camps de dades a generar pels instruments i proposant un esquema optimitzat de codificació i transmissió, el qual redueix la ocupació del canal de comunicacions i està preparat per incloure un sistema optimitzat de compressió de dades. Aquest darrer serà descrit a la quarta i última part de la tesi, on veurem com la nostra proposta compleix gairebé totalment els requeriments de compressió, arribant a duplicar les relacions de compressió ofertes pels millors sistemes estàndard. El nostre disseny representa la millor solució actualment disponible per Gaia i el seu rendiment ha estat assumit com a disseny base per altres equips.Cal dir que els resultats del nostre treball van més enllà de la publicació d'una memòria de tesi, complementant-la amb aplicacions de software que hem desenvolupat per ajudar-nos a dissenyar, optimitzar i verificar la operació dels sistemes aquí proposats. També cal indicar que la complexitat del nostre treball ha estat augmentada degut a la necessitat d'actualitzar-lo contínuament als canvis que la missió ha sofert en el seu disseny durant els cinc anys del doctorat. Per acabar, podem dir que estem satisfets amb els resultats del nostre treball, ja que la majoria han estat (o estan essent) tinguts en compte per molts equips involucrats en la missió i per la mateixa Agència Espacial Europea en el disseny final

Aerial Vehicles

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space

Efficient Decision Support Systems

This series is directed to diverse managerial professionals who are leading the transformation of individual domains by using expert information and domain knowledge to drive decision support systems (DSSs). The series offers a broad range of subjects addressed in specific areas such as health care, business management, banking, agriculture, environmental improvement, natural resource and spatial management, aviation administration, and hybrid applications of information technology aimed to interdisciplinary issues. This book series is composed of three volumes: Volume 1 consists of general concepts and methodology of DSSs; Volume 2 consists of applications of DSSs in the biomedical domain; Volume 3 consists of hybrid applications of DSSs in multidisciplinary domains. The book is shaped decision support strategies in the new infrastructure that assists the readers in full use of the creative technology to manipulate input data and to transform information into useful decisions for decision makers

Technologies and Applications for Big Data Value

This open access book explores cutting-edge solutions and best practices for big data and data-driven AI applications for the data-driven economy. It provides the reader with a basis for understanding how technical issues can be overcome to offer real-world solutions to major industrial areas. The book starts with an introductory chapter that provides an overview of the book by positioning the following chapters in terms of their contributions to technology frameworks which are key elements of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership and the upcoming Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics. The remainder of the book is then arranged in two parts. The first part “Technologies and Methods” contains horizontal contributions of technologies and methods that enable data value chains to be applied in any sector. The second part “Processes and Applications” details experience reports and lessons from using big data and data-driven approaches in processes and applications. Its chapters are co-authored with industry experts and cover domains including health, law, finance, retail, manufacturing, mobility, and smart cities. Contributions emanate from the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership and the Big Data Value Association, which have acted as the European data community's nucleus to bring together businesses with leading researchers to harness the value of data to benefit society, business, science, and industry. The book is of interest to two primary audiences, first, undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in various fields, including big data, data science, data engineering, and machine learning and AI. Second, practitioners and industry experts engaged in data-driven systems, software design and deployment projects who are interested in employing these advanced methods to address real-world problems