Long‐Term Evaluation of Biotronik Linox and Linoxsmart Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Leads

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137409/1/jce12971_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137409/2/jce12971.pd

Implantable Neural Probes for Brain-Machine Interfaces - Current Developments and Future Prospects

A Brain-Machine interface (BMI) allows for direct communication between the brain and machines. Neural probes for recording neural signals are among the essential components of a BMI system. In this report, we review research regarding implantable neural probes and their applications to BMIs. We first discuss conventional neural probes such as the tetrode, Utah array, Michigan probe, and electroencephalography (ECoG), following which we cover advancements in next-generation neural probes. These next-generation probes are associated with improvements in electrical properties, mechanical durability, biocompatibility, and offer a high degree of freedom in practical settings. Specifically, we focus on three key topics: (1) novel implantable neural probes that decrease the level of invasiveness without sacrificing performance, (2) multi-modal neural probes that measure both electrical and optical signals, (3) and neural probes developed using advanced materials. Because safety and precision are critical for practical applications of BMI systems, future studies should aim to enhance these properties when developing next-generation neural probes

Secure Enablement of Real Time Applications: A Novel End-to-End Approach

The Internet has evolved into a multi-service Internet Protocol (IP) network with support for various types of traffic, including multimedia. Given the relatively open nature of IP networks, securely enabling multimedia services is increasingly important. While protocols such as Secure Real Time Protocol (SRTP) provide container formats for various applications, the supporting security solutions lack end-to-end secure key management. In this paper, we propose a novel secure key management framework targeted for real time applications in multi-operator environments. In particular, by leveraging an Identity-Based Authenticated Key Exchange (IBAKE) protocol, we develop secure key management solutions to support two-party communications, conferencing applications, call forking, call redirect, and deferred delivery. Our framework eliminates the need for costly public key infrastructure (PKI) or other online solutions, overcomes the problem of key escrow while providing perfect forward and backwards secrecy, and works across applications and media types. Overall, our solution opens-up new lines of research and business opportunities in secure application enablement. (c) 2012 Alcatel-Lucent

Non-invasive electrophysiological assessment of the optimal configuration of quadripolar lead vectors on ventricular activation times

Background Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is now generally delivered via quadripolar leads. Assessment of the effect of different vector programs from quadripolar leads on ventricular activation can be now done using non-invasive electrocardiographic mapping (ECM). Material and methods In nineteen patients with quadripolar LV leads, activation maps were constructed. The total ventricular activation time (TVaT) and the time for the bulk of ventricular activation (VaT10–90) were calculated. Results CRT delivered via a quadripolar lead significantly reduced TVaT and VaT10–90 by a mean of 16 ms and 31 ms, respectively, compared to baseline. There was a marked reduction in ventricular activation between the most and least synchronous vectors: 28% difference in baseline TVaT and 37% difference in VaT10–90. Conclusion Changes in the configuration of an LV quadripolar lead significantly affected ventricular activation timings in both ischaemic and non-ischaemic subjects. This suggests that programming of the optimal pacing vector may need to be individually tailored