Advanced Control Strategies for Automatic Drug Delivery to Regulate Anesthesia during Surgery

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Model-based development of a fuzzy logic advisor for artificially ventilated patients.

This thesis describes the model-based development and validation of an advisor for the maintenance of artificially ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). The advisor employs fuzzy logic to represent an anaesthetist's decision making process when adjusting ventilator settings to safely maintain a patient's blood-gases and airway pressures within desired limits. Fuzzy logic was chosen for its ability to process both quantitative and qualitative data. The advisor estimates the changes in inspired O2 fraction (FI02), peak inspiratory pressure (PEEP), respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (VT) and inspiratory time (TIN), based upon observations of the patient state and the current ventilator settings. The advisor rules only considered the ventilation of patients on volume control (VC) and pressure regulated volume control (PRVC) modes. The fuzzy rules were handcrafted using known physiological relationships and from tacit knowledge elicited during dialogue with anaesthetists. The resulting rules were validated using a computer-based model of human respiration during artificial ventilation. This model was able to simulate a wide range of patho-physiology, and using data collected from ICU it was shown that it could be matched to real clinical data to predict the patient's response to ventilator changes. Using the model, five simulated patient scenarios were constructed via discussion with an anaesthetist. These were used to test the closed-loop performance of the prototype advisor and successfully highlighted divergent behaviour in the rules. By comparing the closed-loop responses against those produced by an anaesthetist (using the patient-model), rapid rule refinement was possible. The modified advisor demonstrated better decision matching than the prototype rules, when compared against the decisions made by the anaesthetist. The modified advisor was also tested using data collected from ICU. Direct comparisons were made between the decisions given by an anaesthetist and those produced by the advisor. Good decision matching was observed in patients with well behaved physiology but soon ran into difficulties if a patients state was changing rapidly or if the patient observations contained large measurement errors

Advanced Applications of Rapid Prototyping Technology in Modern Engineering

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology has been widely known and appreciated due to its flexible and customized manufacturing capabilities. The widely studied RP techniques include stereolithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), three-dimensional printing (3DP), fused deposition modeling (FDM), 3D plotting, solid ground curing (SGC), multiphase jet solidification (MJS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Different techniques are associated with different materials and/or processing principles and thus are devoted to specific applications. RP technology has no longer been only for prototype building rather has been extended for real industrial manufacturing solutions. Today, the RP technology has contributed to almost all engineering areas that include mechanical, materials, industrial, aerospace, electrical and most recently biomedical engineering. This book aims to present the advanced development of RP technologies in various engineering areas as the solutions to the real world engineering problems

Applications and Experiences of Quality Control

The rich palette of topics set out in this book provides a sufficiently broad overview of the developments in the field of quality control. By providing detailed information on various aspects of quality control, this book can serve as a basis for starting interdisciplinary cooperation, which has increasingly become an integral part of scientific and applied research

Medical Robotics

The first generation of surgical robots are already being installed in a number of operating rooms around the world. Robotics is being introduced to medicine because it allows for unprecedented control and precision of surgical instruments in minimally invasive procedures. So far, robots have been used to position an endoscope, perform gallbladder surgery and correct gastroesophogeal reflux and heartburn. The ultimate goal of the robotic surgery field is to design a robot that can be used to perform closed-chest, beating-heart surgery. The use of robotics in surgery will expand over the next decades without any doubt. Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a revolutionary approach in surgery. In MIS, the operation is performed with instruments and viewing equipment inserted into the body through small incisions created by the surgeon, in contrast to open surgery with large incisions. This minimizes surgical trauma and damage to healthy tissue, resulting in shorter patient recovery time. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the state-of-art, to present new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this expanding area. Nevertheless, many chapters in the book concern advanced research on this growing area. The book provides critical analysis of clinical trials, assessment of the benefits and risks of the application of these technologies. This book is certainly a small sample of the research activity on Medical Robotics going on around the globe as you read it, but it surely covers a good deal of what has been done in the field recently, and as such it works as a valuable source for researchers interested in the involved subjects, whether they are currently “medical roboticists” or not

Research and technology

Significant research and technology activities at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) during Fiscal Year 1990 are reviewed. Research in human factors engineering, the Space Shuttle, the Space Station Freedom, space exploration and related topics are covered

ESSE 2017. Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical-, biological-, and information sciences to study and solve environmental problems. ESSE - The International Conference on Environmental Science and Sustainable Energy provides a platform for experts, professionals, and researchers to share updated information and stimulate the communication with each other. In 2017 it was held in Suzhou, China June 23-25, 2017