Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Relationship between the Clinical Frailty Scale and short-term mortality in patients ≥ 80 years old acutely admitted to the ICU: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is frequently used to measure frailty in critically ill adults. There is wide variation in the approach to analysing the relationship between the CFS score and mortality after admission to the ICU. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of modelling approach on the association between the CFS score and short-term mortality and quantify the prognostic value of frailty in this context. METHODS: We analysed data from two multicentre prospective cohort studies which enrolled intensive care unit patients ≥ 80 years old in 26 countries. The primary outcome was mortality within 30-days from admission to the ICU. Logistic regression models for both ICU and 30-day mortality included the CFS score as either a categorical, continuous or dichotomous variable and were adjusted for patient's age, sex, reason for admission to the ICU, and admission Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score. RESULTS: The median age in the sample of 7487 consecutive patients was 84 years (IQR 81-87). The highest fraction of new prognostic information from frailty in the context of 30-day mortality was observed when the CFS score was treated as either a categorical variable using all original levels of frailty or a nonlinear continuous variable and was equal to 9% using these modelling approaches (p < 0.001). The relationship between the CFS score and mortality was nonlinear (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Knowledge about a patient's frailty status adds a substantial amount of new prognostic information at the moment of admission to the ICU. Arbitrary simplification of the CFS score into fewer groups than originally intended leads to a loss of information and should be avoided. Trial registration NCT03134807 (VIP1), NCT03370692 (VIP2)

Kinematics analysis of a 3-DOF joint for a novel hyper-redundant robot arm

In this paper, the kinematics of a joint with three degrees of freedom for a novel hyper-redundant robot arm is investigated. This joint is able to achieve a superposed rotation about two axes (roll and pitch) and a translational motion along one axis as a common prismatic joint. The forward and inverse kinematics of the so-called Multi-Joint will be determined in a closed-form solution. Next, the reachable and suitable workspace will be worked out to determine the solution space of the inverse kinematics. Finally, the differential kinematics to compute the cartesian velocity and statics will be determined

Development of fully automatic inspection systems for large underground concrete pipes partially filled with wastewater

The Emschergenossenschaft based in Germany is currently planning the Emscher sewer system, arguably the largest residential water management project in Europe in years to come. The Emschergenossenschaft engaged the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) in Magdeburg, Germany, as the general contractor to develop automatic inspection and cleaning systems to meet the requirements imposed by legal guidelines. The systems must operate continuously in a sewer line that has diameters ranging from 1400 to 2800 mm and is partially filled, 25% at minimum, all the time. To construct the Emscher sewer system, the Emschergenossenschaft favors a one-pipe line in long sections. A walk-through or inspection by personnel would be impossible in these sections. The Fraunhofer Institute IFF has developed prototypes of all systems for motion through the sewer and all sensor systems, thus achieving a new quality of inspection above and below the water line under these difficult conditions. This article describes significant project results and important components of inspection such as the inspection systems, pipe axis measurement, system positioning, and sensor systems for damage detection. Fundamental for the development of the inspection systems is the detail of the inspection, which goes far beyond the video inspection common today, and the ability to take comparative measurements throughout the sewer system's period of operation in order to track the development of damage

Fully automated facade cleaning robot for a high-rise building in Munich, Germany

The Fraunhofer Institute of Factory Operation and Automation IFF has developed and constructed an automated facade cleaning robot SIRIUSc for use on the headquarters of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The robot system consists of a cleaning unit, a fully automated rooftop gantry crane, a human machine interface, and an integrated building management control system. The robot is supported by cables connected to the gantry at the top of a facade and travels down its side. It employs the kinematic principle of the 'advance sliding module' to move quickly and efficiently along the facade and does not need guide rails mounted on the building's facade. The robot cleans as it ascends the facade so that its vacuum grippers do not leave tracks. With help of it the facility management staff will be able to clean the facade without any technical support from the researchers at the building

Kinematics, sensors and control of the fully automated facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for the Fraunhofer headquarters building, Munich

The Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF has developed the automatic facade cleaning robot SIRIUSc for use on the Fraunhofer-Gesellschafts headquarters, a high-rise building in Munich, Germany. The building has a height of 80rn, its facade an area of 4000 m(2). Apart from the robot that moves along and cleans the facade, the complete, fully automated system consists of a fully automated gantry that secures, supplies energy to and above all positions the robot. Part of the project involved completely automating a standard gantry, which is an integral part of the complete facade cleaning robot system. This article presents an overview of the significant basic functions of the robot and the gantry, emphasizing the kinematics, the control and sensor systems for navigation and the cleaning sequence that employs the extensive fully automatic functions of the robot and gantry

Robotic systems for cleaning and inspection of large concrete pipes

Concrete pipes are used in a variety of areas for conducting media underground (e.g. wastewater, cooling water, etc.) or for transportation purposes. Regular cleaning and inspection is required to ensure the static integrity of the pipe and to insure against the problems associated with failure of the pipe. In this paper, the SVM-RS system for cleaning and inspecting large concrete pipes will be presented. Various aspects of the robot including its kinematics, the cleaning system, the sensor system, the media supply, communications, as well as the control system and operator interface will be discussed in detail. The use of robust robotics for accurate positioning of high-pressure water nozzles in combination with non-destructive sensing techniques for navigation and inspection during normal pipe operation allows for a new standard in high-quality pipe cleaning and inspection. The latest cleaning and inspection results from tests in real sewers will be presented

Kinematics, sensors and control of the fully automated facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for the Fraunhofer headquarters building, Munich

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Fraunhofer institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) has developed the automatic facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for use on the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's headquarters, a high-rise building in Munich, Germany. Design/methodology/approach - The building has a height of 80 m, its facade an area of 4,000 m(2). Apart from the robot that moves along and cleans the facade, the complete, fully automated system consists of a fully automated gantry that secures, supplies energy to and, above all, positions the robot. Part of the project involved completely automating a standard gantry, which is an integral part of the complete facade-cleaning robot system. Findings - This paper presents an overview of the significant basic functions of the robot and the gantry, emphasizing the kinematics, the control and sensor systems for navigation and the cleaning sequence that employs the extensive fully automatic functions of the robot and gantry. Originality/value - The paper presents the first freely climbing facade-cleaning robot for vertical facades without rails effectively in use in Europe