Recent Developments and Future Challenges in Medical Mixed Reality

As AR technology matures, we have seen many applicationsemerge in entertainment, education and training. However, the useof AR is not yet common in medical practice, despite the great po-tential of this technology to help not only learning and training inmedicine, but also in assisting diagnosis and surgical guidance. Inthis paper, we present recent trends in the use of AR across all med-ical specialties and identify challenges that must be overcome tonarrow the gap between academic research and practical use of ARin medicine. A database of 1403 relevant research papers publishedover the last two decades has been reviewed by using a novel re-search trend analysis method based on text mining algorithm. Wesemantically identified 10 topics including varies of technologiesand applications based on the non-biased and in-personal cluster-ing results from the Latent Dirichlet Allocatio (LDA) model andanalysed the trend of each topic from 1995 to 2015. The statisticresults reveal a taxonomy that can best describes the developmentof the medical AR research during the two decades. And the trendanalysis provide a higher level of view of how the taxonomy haschanged and where the focus will goes. Finally, based on the valu-able results, we provide a insightful discussion to the current limi-tations, challenges and future directions in the field. Our objectiveis to aid researchers to focus on the application areas in medicalAR that are most needed, as well as providing medical practitioners with latest technology advancements

Improving Quantitative Infrared Imaging for Medical Diagnostic Applications

Infrared (IR) thermography is a non-ionizing and non-invasive imaging modality that allows the measurement of the spatial and temporal variations of the infrared radiation emitted by the human body. The emitted radiation and the skin surface temperature that can be derived from the emitted radiation data carry a wealth of information about different processes within the human body. To advance the quantitative use of IR thermography in medical diagnostics, this dissertation investigates several issues critical to the demands imposed by clinical applications. We developed a computational thermal model of the human skin with multiple layers and a near-surface lesion to understand the thermal behavior of skin tissue in dynamic infrared imaging. With the aid of this model, various cooling methods and conditions suitable for the clinical application of dynamic IR imaging are critically evaluated. The analysis of skin cooling provides a quantitative basis for the selection and optimization of cooling conditions in the clinical practice of dynamic IR imaging. To improve the quantitative accuracy for the analysis of dynamic IR imaging, we proposed a motion tracking approach using a template-based algorithm. The motion tracking approach is capable of following the involuntary motion of the subject in the IR image sequence, thereby allowing us to track the temperature evolution for a particular region on the skin. In addition, to compensate for the measurement artifacts induced by the surface curvature in IR thermography, a correction formula was developed based on the emissivity model and phantom experiments. The correction formula was integrated into a 3D imaging procedure based on a system combining Kinect and IR cameras. We demonstrated the feasibility of mapping 2D IR images onto the 3D surface of the human body. The accuracy of temperature measurement was improved by applying the correction method. Finally, we designed a variety of quantitative approaches to analyze the clinical data acquired from patient studies of pigmented lesions and hemangiomas. These approaches allow us to evaluate the thermal signatures of lesions with different characteristics, measured in both static and dynamic IR imaging. The collection of methodologies described in this dissertation, leading to improved ease of use and accuracy, can contribute to the broader implementation of quantitative IR thermography in medical diagnostics

Focal Spot, Spring 2007

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1105/thumbnail.jp

Longitudinal Sex Differences During Landing in Knee Abduction in Young Athletes

Purpose— The objective of this study was to determine if biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors related to abnormal movement patterns increased in females, but not males, during the adolescent growth spurt. Methods— 315 subjects participated in two testing sessions approximately one year apart. Male and female subjects were classified based on their maturation status as pubertal or post-pubertal.Three trials of a drop vertical jump (DVJ) were collected. Maximum knee abduction angle and external moments were calculated during the DVJ deceleration phase using a 3D motion analysis system. Changes in knee abduction from the first to second year were compared among four subject groups (female pubertal, female post-pubertal, male pubertal and male post-pubertal). Results— There were no sex differences in peak knee abduction angle or moment during DVJ between pubertal males and females (p\u3e0.05). However, pubertal females increased peak abduction angle from the first to second year (pp=0.90) in the matched developmental stages. Following puberty, the peak abduction angle and moment were greater in females relative to males (angle: female -9.3±5.7°, male -3.6±4.6°, pp=0.017). Conclusion— This study identified, through longitudinal analyses, that knee abduction angle was significantly increased in pubertal females during rapid adolescent growth, while males showed no similar change. In addition, knee abduction motion and moments were significantly greater for subsequent year in young female athletes, following rapid adolescent growth, compared to males

Longitudinal Sex Differences During Landing in Knee Abduction in Young Athletes

Purpose— The objective of this study was to determine if biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors related to abnormal movement patterns increased in females, but not males, during the adolescent growth spurt. Methods— 315 subjects participated in two testing sessions approximately one year apart. Male and female subjects were classified based on their maturation status as pubertal or post-pubertal.Three trials of a drop vertical jump (DVJ) were collected. Maximum knee abduction angle and external moments were calculated during the DVJ deceleration phase using a 3D motion analysis system. Changes in knee abduction from the first to second year were compared among four subject groups (female pubertal, female post-pubertal, male pubertal and male post-pubertal). Results— There were no sex differences in peak knee abduction angle or moment during DVJ between pubertal males and females (p\u3e0.05). However, pubertal females increased peak abduction angle from the first to second year (pp=0.90) in the matched developmental stages. Following puberty, the peak abduction angle and moment were greater in females relative to males (angle: female -9.3±5.7°, male -3.6±4.6°, pp=0.017). Conclusion— This study identified, through longitudinal analyses, that knee abduction angle was significantly increased in pubertal females during rapid adolescent growth, while males showed no similar change. In addition, knee abduction motion and moments were significantly greater for subsequent year in young female athletes, following rapid adolescent growth, compared to males

The HoloLens in Medicine: A systematic Review and Taxonomy

The HoloLens (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA), a head-worn, optically see-through augmented reality display, is the main player in the recent boost in medical augmented reality research. In medical settings, the HoloLens enables the physician to obtain immediate insight into patient information, directly overlaid with their view of the clinical scenario, the medical student to gain a better understanding of complex anatomies or procedures, and even the patient to execute therapeutic tasks with improved, immersive guidance. In this systematic review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the usage of the first-generation HoloLens within the medical domain, from its release in March 2016, until the year of 2021, were attention is shifting towards it's successor, the HoloLens 2. We identified 171 relevant publications through a systematic search of the PubMed and Scopus databases. We analyze these publications in regard to their intended use case, technical methodology for registration and tracking, data sources, visualization as well as validation and evaluation. We find that, although the feasibility of using the HoloLens in various medical scenarios has been shown, increased efforts in the areas of precision, reliability, usability, workflow and perception are necessary to establish AR in clinical practice.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figure

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