Morphometric Analysis and Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Reconstruction of Thai Distal Femur

This study evaluates the distal femur morphology of the Thai population using a three-dimensional (3D) measurement method, measuring the distance between the triangular point of the femoral 3D model. The 3D model of 360 Thai femoral obtained from 180 volunteers (90 males, 90 females; range 20–50 years, average 32.8 years) was created using reverse engineering techniques from computed tomography imaging data. Using the 3D identified landmark method, the morphometric parameters evaluated included transepicondylar axis length (TEA), mediolateral length (ML), anteroposterior width (AP), medial anteroposterior width (MAP), lateral anteroposterior width (LAP), medial condyle width (MCW), lateral condyle width (LCW), intercondylar notch width (WIN), intercondylar notch depth (DIN), medial posterior condyle height (MPC), lateral posterior condyle height (LPC), femoral aspect ratio (ML/AP), lateral femoral aspect ratio (ML/LAP), and medial femoral aspect ratio (ML/MAP). The measured data were summarized for the analysis of an average value and standard deviation. Statistical analysis was performed using the independent samples t-test, unequal variances t-test, and linear regression. A p-value less than 0.05 (<0.05) was regarded as statistically significant and indicates strong evidence of the hypothesis. Additionally, the K-means clustering analysis of Thai distal femoral to the optimum size of the prosthesis with the correlation between ML length and AP width was performed. The results found that the morphometric parameters of the Thai male distal femur were significantly different and higher than those of Thai females, except for the ratio of ML/AP and ML/MAP. Comparatively, there was a significant difference between the specific size of Thai distal femur and that of the Korean population, which was also smaller than that for Caucasians. In addition, there was a mismatch between the distal femoral component sizing of knee prosthesis and what is available and commonly used in Thailand. At least six sizes of ML and/or AP should be recommended for the reasonable design of distal femoral prosthesis for covering the anatomy of Thais. These data are useful for predicting the morphometric parameters in forensic anthropology and provide basic data for the design of knee prostheses suitable for the Thai population

Real-Time Gait Phase Detection Using Wearable Sensors for Transtibial Prosthesis Based on a kNN Algorithm

Those with disabilities who have lost their legs must use a prosthesis to walk. However, traditional prostheses have the disadvantage of being unable to move and support the human gait because there are no mechanisms or algorithms to control them. This makes it difficult for the wearer to walk. To overcome this problem, we developed an insole device with a wearable sensor for real-time gait phase detection based on the kNN (k-nearest neighbor) algorithm for prosthetic control. The kNN algorithm is used with the raw data obtained from the pressure sensors in the insole to predict seven walking phases, i.e., stand, heel strike, foot flat, midstance, heel off, toe-off, and swing. As a result, the predictive decision in each gait cycle to control the ankle movement of the transtibial prosthesis improves with each walk. The results in this study can provide 81.43% accuracy for gait phase detection, and can control the transtibial prosthetic effectively at the maximum walking speed of 6 km/h. Moreover, this insole device is small, lightweight and unaffected by the physical factors of the wearer

Fabrication of an acetone gas sensor based on Si-doped WO3 nanorods prepared by reactive magnetron co-sputtering with OAD technique

Gas sensing technology is currently applied in a variety of applications. In medical applications, gas sensors can be used for the detection of the biomarker in various diseases, metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus, asthma, renal, liver diseases, and lung cancer. In this study, we present acetone sensing characteristics of Si-doped WO _3 nanorods prepared by a DC reactive magnetron co-sputtering with an oblique-angle deposition (OAD) technique. The composition of Si-doped in WO _3 has been studied by varying the electrical input power applied to the Si sputtered target. The nanorods film was constructed at the glancing angle of 85°. After deposition, the films were annealed at 400 °C for 4 h in the air. The microstructures and phases of the materials were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results showed that 1.43 wt% Si-doped WO _3 thin film exhibited the maximum response of 5.92 towards 100 ppm of acetone at performing temperature (350 °C), purifying dry air carrier. The process exposed in this work demonstrated the potential of high sensitivity acetone gas sensor at low concentration and may be used as an effective tool for diabetes non-invasive monitoring