Low-cost VIS/NIR Range Hand-held and Portable Photospectrometer and Evaluation of Machine Learning Algorithms for Classification Performance

In this study, the electronic design of a low-cost and portable spectrophotometer device capable of analyzing in the visible-near infrared region was established. The design of C#.NET-based user-friendly device control software and the development of machine learning algorithms for data classification as well as the comparison of the results were presented. When the spectrophotometer design and implementation studies are reviewed in the literature, two groups of subjects become prominent: (i) a new device fabrication, (ii) solution approaches to current problems by combining commercial portable spectrometer systems and devices with artificial intelligence applications. This work encompasses both groups, and a supportive approach has been followed on how to transform the theoretical knowledge into practice in device development and supportive software with the help of machine learning approaches from design to production. Three commercial spectral sensors, each with six photodiode arrays, were adopted in the spectrophotometer. Thus, 18 features belonging to each sample were acquired in the optical spectral region in the 410 nm to 940 nm band range. The spectral analyses were conducted with 9 different food types of powder or flake structures. A Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) approaches were employed for data classification. As a result, SVM and CNN achieved 97% and 95% accuracies, respectively. Moreover, we provided the spectral measurement data, the electronic circuit designs, the API files containing the artificial intelligence algorithms and the graphical user interface (GUI)

Detection of Meatal Stenosis with Uroflowmetry in Cases of Distal Hypospadias that are Operated with the TIPU Technique

Objective: Meatal stenosis after hypospadias surgery causes difficulty in urination and intermittent cessation in urinary stream at the early postoperative period. Increasing the duration of catheterization, meatotomy, and meatal revision surgeries are among the procedures applied for meatal stenosis. If the diagnosis of meatal stenosis is made at an earlier stage, it is easier to manage it, especially in the younger age group. We aimed to determine whether the uroflowmetry technique can be a guide for detecting and following meatal stenosis. Material and Methods: Forty-one cases with distal hypospadias operated with the Tubularized Incised Plate Urethroplasty (TIPU) technique were involved in this study. At the postoperative 1st month, all the patients with or without complaints of meatal stenosis had uroflowmetries with an effort to provide an objective data for diagnosing stenosis at the early stages. The results of uroflowmetries were compared with the clinical signs of meatal stenosis. Results: The average maximum flow rate was found to be 11.3 mL/s (6.7–31.6), and the average voided quantity of urine was detected as 181.7 mL/s (71–283) as result of uroflowmetry. Ureteral stenosis was clinically diagnosed in three patients with intermittent urination, prolonged urination with poor flow, and with difficulty in starting urination. All patients were found to be similar. The uroflowmetry results were parallel to the clinical outcome in all patients. Conclusion: In the early stages, uroflowmetry can assist clinical observation as a non-invasive method. In addition, it makes it possible to perform earlier therapeutic interventions