Fostering Europe’s Future Physician-Scientists: An Interview with European MD/PhD Association Chairman Dr. André dos Santos Rocha

Dr. André dos Santos Rocha is a Resident Physician in Intensive Care Medicine & Anaesthesiology and a current MD-PhD student in the Department of Acute Medicine at the University of Geneva. In parallel, he is also the current Chairman of the European MD/PhD Association (EMPA), a role in which he coordinates a diverse group of highly-driven MD-PhD students. EMPA is a not-for-profit organisation which was founded with the central aims of bringing together MD-PhDs from across Europe, fostering a comfortable setting for networking, promotion of European scientific collaborations and support for research and mobility of European MD-PhD students. One of the main medium through which EMPA achieves a number of these lofty goals is their annual conference, which is typically held in conjunction with one of the national associations. I met with André after the recent European and Swiss MD-PhD Conference in Geneva to discuss his experience in this role and what the future holds for EMPA

Textile-based pressure sensors for step detection: a preliminary assessment

This paper presents the development and performance assessment of textile-based sensor based on a three layer architecture for the step detection. Two different transducing elements (EeonTex™ LG-SLPA and velostat) and electrodes (Satatex Techniktex P-130 and Elitex yarns) were selected for the construction of the sensors. The performance of the resulting sensors was assessed based on a dynamometer cyclic compression/decompression test with different compressions loads and at different speeds. Additionally, a real-life experiment was conducted to evaluate the sensor response during walking. The results show that all sensors configurations have a non-linear resistance-force relation. The best sensor configuration for the step detection was the combination of EeonTex™ LG-SLPA as a transducing element and the Elitex yarns for the electrodes. In this configuration, the resistance magnitude varies in an order of hundreds of kohms between the stance and the swing phases.This work was partially financed by FEDER funds through the Competitively Factors Operational Programme—COMPETE and by national founds through FCT -Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and Project PEstOE/EEI/UI0319/2014. Authors would like to thanks André Paiva and Sérgio Branco for their collaboration in sensors production and data acquisition, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Collaborative approaches in sustainable and resilient manufacturing

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).In recent years, the manufacturing sector is going through a major transformation, as reflected in the concept of Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. The urge for such transformation is intensified when we consider the growing societal demands for sustainability. The notion of sustainable manufacturing has emerged as a result of this trend. Additionally, industries and the whole society face the challenges of an increasing number of disruptive events, either natural or human-caused, that can severely affect the normal operation of systems. Furthermore, the growing interconnectivity between organizations, people, and physical systems, supported by recent developments in information and communication technologies, highlights the important role that collaborative networks can play in the digital transformation processes. As such, this article analyses potential synergies between the areas of sustainable and resilient manufacturing and collaborative networks. The work also discusses how the responsibility for the various facets of sustainability can be distributed among the multiple entities involved in manufacturing. The study is based on a literature survey, complemented with the experience gained from various research projects and related initiatives in the area, and is organized according to various dimensions of Industry 4.0. A brief review of proposed approaches and indicators for measuring sustainability from the networked manufacturing perspective is also included. Finally, a set of key research challenges are identified to complement strategic research agendas in manufacturing.publishersversionpublishe

Health monitoring using textile sensors and electrodes: an overview and integration of technologies

Publicado em "MeMeA 2014 International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications : proceedings", ISBN 978-1-4799-2920-7This paper gives an overview of technologies and results of integration and test of textile integrated sensors and electrodes for monitoring of biosignals (electrocardiographic - ECG and electromyographic - EMG), breathing and moisture. Using a seamless jacquard knitting machine, it is possible to integrate these sensors and electrodes directly into the fabrics, which can then be used in clothing for monitoring of elderly people, in sports or in hazardous occupations. The total integration of the sensing elements and connections into the garment presents great advantages in physical as well as psychological comfort of the user. It has been shown that the measurements are of adequate quality for most of the applications. In some cases, as is the case of ECG and EMG, signals acquired are similar to those obtained using conventional electrodes.The authors wish to thank funding by FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, projects PEst-C/CTM/UI0264/2011, PTDC/DTP-DES/1661/2012 and project PROTACTICAL - Co-Promoção Nº Projecto: 23267, sponsored by AD

Smart shirt with embedded vital sign and moisture sensing

This paper presents the development of a smart shirt with embedded electrodes in two-lead configuration for heart rate measurement and a knitted moisture sensor for sweat detection. Signal conditioning for heart rate measurement is based on the Analog Devices AD8232 heart rate monitor front-end. The shirt is part of a fireman interactive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which monitors information on heart rate and sweat detection, among other variables. Sweat detection is used to avoid skin burns that may occur due to the combination of excessive moisture and heat. Tests have demonstrated that the measurement of heart rate using the shirt is as efficient as conventional solutions, such as heart-rate monitoring straps. Sweat detection through textile moisture sensors has also shown to be effective.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the framework of project UID/CTM/00264/2013 and project PROTACTICAL - Co-Promoção Nº Projecto: 23267, sponsored by ADI

A loose-coupled fusion of inertial and UWB assisted by a decision-making algorithm for localization of emergency responders

Combining different technologies is gaining significant popularity among researchers and industry for the development of indoor positioning systems (IPSs). These hybrid IPSs emerge as a robust solution for indoor localization as the drawbacks of each technology can be mitigated or even eliminated by using complementary technologies. However, fusing position estimates from different technologies is still very challenging and, therefore, a hot research topic. In this work, we pose fusing the ultrawideband (UWB) position estimates with the estimates provided by a pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) by using a Kalman filter. To improve the IPS accuracy, a decision-making algorithm was developed that aims to assess the usability of UWB measurements based on the identification of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions. Three different data fusion algorithms are tested, based on three different time-of-arrival positioning algorithms, and experimental results show a localization accuracy of below 1.5 m for a 99th percentile.This work has been partially supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2019 and Project UID/CTM/00264/2019 of 2C2T - Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, funded by National Founds through FCT/MCTES. The work of A. G. Ferreira and D. Fernandes was supported by the FCT under Grant SFRH/BD/91477/2012 and Grant SFRH/BD/92082/2012

Study and optimization of swimming performance in swimsuit designed with seamless technology

Hydrodynamic resistance, also called water drag, is one of the most discussed issues in swimming sport and recognized as a major factor in terms of swimming performance. Different authors tried to demonstrate that body compression is responsible for a better result in swimming, based on the fact that body modelling improves energy saving and helps to maintain the performance on repetitive movements. In this paper, different weft knitted fabrics, prepared under predefined production parameters, were tested in order to establish which were the most adequate for compressive effect and which parameters contribute most for compression.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/EEA-ELC/70803/2006

Surveillance and control of the yarn input tension on circular weft knitting machines : new approaches

The Yarn Input Tension - YIT is one of the most important parameters in weft knitting industry. This parameter must be maintained between limits in order to produce knitted fabric without faults. However, YIT is not the only parameter to control and monitor for preventing faults. The knitting elements and the knitting machine itself should be monitored to improve productivity and quality. The monitoring of the YIT can be used to detect the faults and at the same time controlled inside tight limits to prevent machine’s premature stop due to yarn break . This paper will present the recent developments made for monitoring and control the YIT. A surveillance system will be presented, a low cost force sensor will be suggested to substitute the present industrial solutions, and a new actuator for control of the YIT will be introduced.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia POSI/SRI/39824/200

Effects of base fabric parameters on the electro-mechanical behavior of piezoresistive knitted sensors

Strain sensors embedded into fabric structure are one of the most interesting research areas for health and engineering monitoring. In this paper, a textile-based strain sensor has been developed using an intrinsically conductive stainless steel-polyester plain knitted fabric. The influence of fabric structural parameters, such as loop length on electromechanical properties of sensors was studied under a tensile fatigue set. Knitted fabric structure deformation during tensile fatigue was monitored and image processed. Peak fitting of electric resistant waveforms (ERWs) and tensile fatigue versus time were performed to analyze the ERWs behavior in detail wherein the entire elongation of knit strain sensor partitioned into two distinct phases, such as loop head and loop leg sections. The results evidenced a discrepancy between loop head and loop leg elongation rate at the stretching onset and end of relaxing phase. The ERW with the higher resolution was obtained using the longest loop length along with the higher extension.This work was supported in part by FEDER through the COMPETE Program and in part by national funds through Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 007136 and Project UID/CTM/00264. The work of S. D. Tohidi was supported by the FCT under Grant SFRH/BD/94759/2013. The work of A. Zille was supported by FCT under Contract IF/00071/2015. The associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for publication was Prof. Tarikul Islam.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using multivariate statistics on detection of particular signals during production of knitwear

This paper reports the recent developments in the pursuit to correctly locate, identify and distinguish faults during production of weft knitted fabrics. For this purpose a major textile parameter – yarn input tension (YIT) - is analyzed by means of signal processing techniques. An overview of the entire process of gathering the information and fault detection is presented. For the purpose of distinguishing faults, Multivariate statistical methods, namely cluster and discriminant analysis are used, results presented and discussed. Finally, some conclusions are drawn from the obtained results and future developments are addressed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - project POSI/SRI/39824/2001