Monitoring the Microclimate in the Shoe-foot Interface

A new continuous monitoring portable system device is presented here, it allows to reduce the complications that arise from diabetic foot ulcer, because of temperature and humidity disorders. This device monitors the microclimate of the shoe and consists of one array of 10 sensors to obtain the temperature and humidity data between the foot and the insole interface of the shoe. It has also a software interface for viewing and analyzing the data. Temperature monitoring of the participants showed an average range of 23.90 °C to 29.34 °C and 51.57 % to 69.78 % relative humidity

Analysis of Insulating Material of XLPE Cables considering Innovative Patterns of Partial Discharges

This paper aims to analyze the quality of insulation in high voltage underground cables XLPE using a prototype which classifies the following usual types of patterns of partial discharge (PD): (1) internal PD, (2) superficial PD, (3) corona discharge in air, and (4) corona discharge in oil, in addition to considering two new PD patterns: (1) false contact and (2) floating ground. The tests and measurements to obtain the patterns and study cases of partial discharges were performed at the Testing Laboratory Equipment and Materials (LEPEM) of the Federal Electricity Commission of Mexico (CFE) using a measuring equipment LDIC and norm IEC60270. To classify the six patterns of partial discharges mentioned above a Probabilistic Neural Network Bayesian Modified (PNNBM) method having the feature of using a large amount of data will be used and it is not saturated. In addition, PNN converges, always finding a solution in a short period of time with low computational cost. The insulation of two high voltage cables with different characteristics was analyzed. The test results allow us to conclude which wire has better insulation

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Portable System for Monitoring the Microclimate in the Footwear-Foot Interface

A new, continuously-monitoring portable device that monitors the diabetic foot has shown to help in reduction of diabetic foot complications. Persons affected by diabetic foot have shown to be particularly sensitive in the plantar surface; this sensitivity coupled with certain ambient conditions may cause dry skin. This dry skin leads to the formation of fissures that may eventually result in a foot ulceration and subsequent hospitalization. This new device monitors the micro-climate temperature and humidity areas between the insole and sole of the footwear. The monitoring system consists of an array of ten sensors that take readings of relative humidity within the range of 100% ± 2% and temperature within the range of −40 °C to 123.8 ± 0.3 °C. Continuous data is collected using embedded C software and the recorded data is processed in Matlab. This allows for the display of data; the implementation of the iterative Gauss-Newton algorithm method was used to display an exponential response curve. Therefore, the aim of our system is to obtain feedback data and provide the critical information to various footwear manufacturers. The footwear manufactures will utilize this critical information to design and manufacture diabetic footwear that reduce the risk of ulcers in diabetic feet

System for the recognition of wear patterns on microstructures of carbon steels using a multilayer perceptron

Este artículo describe la aplicación de un sistema de reconocimiento de patrones de desgaste presente en aceros al carbón, el sistema clasifica la microestructura de los materiales los cuales presentan tres condiciones a lo largo de su vida útil en plantas termoeléctricas. El enfoque propuesto emplea la red neuronal artificial perceptrón multicapa, en conjunto con el procesamiento digital de imágenes para reconocer los diferentes estados físicos de los materiales utilizados como conductores en condiciones de altas temperaturas. La microestructura de las condiciones estudiadas son esferonización, descarborización y grafitización. La microestructura se revela a partir de imágenes de microscopio obtenidos en el Laboratorio de Pruebas de Equipos y Materiales de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad de México (CFE-LAPEM). El sistema propuesto, en comparación con el humano experto, obtuvo una exactitud promedio del 96.82 % con un menor tiempo de análisis y costo de inspección

System for the recognition of wear patterns on microstructures of carbon steels using a multilayer perceptron

This paper describes the application of a recognition system wear patterns present in carbon steel, the system classifies the microstructure of the materials which have three conditions throughout life-time in thermoelectric plants. This approach employs the artificial neural network multilayer perceptron in conjunction with the digital image processing to recognize the different physical states of the materials used as conductors in conditions of high temperatures. The studied patterns in the microstructure are spheronization, decarburization and graphitization. The microstructure is revealed from microscope images obtained in the Testing Laboratory Equipment and Materials of the Federal Electricity Commission in Mexico (LAPEM-CFE). The proposed system compared to the human expert, obtained an accuracy of 96.83 % with a shorter analysis time and inspection cost.Este artículo describe la aplicación de un sistema de reconocimiento de patrones de desgaste presente en aceros al carbón, el sistema clasifica la microestructura de los materiales los cuales presentan tres condiciones a lo largo de su vida útil en plantas termoeléctricas. El enfoque propuesto emplea la red neuronal artificial perceptrón multicapa, en conjunto con el procesamiento digital de imágenes para reconocer los diferentes estados físicos de los materiales utilizados como conductores en condiciones de altas temperaturas. La microestructura de las condiciones estudiadas son esferonización, descarborización y grafitización. La microestructura se revela a partir de imágenes de microscopio obtenidos en el Laboratorio de Pruebas de Equipos y Materiales de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad de México (CFE-LAPEM). El sistema propuesto, en comparación con el humano experto, obtuvo una exactitud promedio del 96.82 % con un menor tiempo de análisis y costo de inspección