Dynamic update of a virtual cell for programming and safe monitoring of an industrial robot

A hardware/software architecture for robot motion planning and on-line safe monitoring has been developed with the objective to assure high flexibility in production control, safety for workers and machinery, with user-friendly interface. The architecture, developed using Microsoft Robotics Developers Studio and implemented for a six-dof COMAU NS 12 robot, established a bidirectional communication between the robot controller and a virtual replica of the real robotic cell. The working space of the real robot can then be easily limited for safety reasons by inserting virtual objects (or sensors) in such a virtual environment. This paper investigates the possibility to achieve an automatic, dynamic update of the virtual cell by using a low cost depth sensor (i.e., a commercial Microsoft Kinect) to detect the presence of completely unknown objects, moving inside the real cell. The experimental tests show that the developed architecture is able to recognize variously shaped mobile objects inside the monitored area and let the robot stop before colliding with them, if the objects are not too small

Friction modeling and identification for industrial manipulators

The paper is focused on the development of an adequate model of the friction acting on the joints of an industrial manipulator, suitable to be used for simulation and control purposes. The experimental tests required for the identification are executable via the standard interface for the robot programming, without any change in the path planning procedure or in the robot control. The proposed friction model is developed and validated for the six-dof Comau SMART NS12 manipulator

Intracoronary bivalirudin: a new way to appease the hostile thrombus?

Intracoronary thrombi are a common finding in the setting of acute coronary syndromes and correlate with intraprocedural complications, adverse prognosis and unpredictable response to standard pharmacological and interventional treatment. Interventional cardiologists have learned to fear the so-called hostile thrombus, with its aggressive and unstable behavior often leading to abrupt and refractory vessel closure. Here we report a case series of intracoronary bivalirudin administration to treat massive intracoronary thrombi, leading to rapid clot disappearance and coronary blood flow restoration. Interventional cardiologists might consider intracoronary bivalirudin administration as a bailout strategy during unusual critical situations. (C) 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Pre-hospital ticagrelor in patients with ST-segment elevationmyocardial infarction with long transport time to primary PCI facility

Background: Pre-hospital ticagrelor, given less than 1 h before coronary intervention (PCI), failed to improve coronary reperfusion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing primary PCI. It is unknownwhether a longer interval fromticagrelor administration to primary PCImight reveal any improvement of coronary reperfusion. Methods: Weretrospectively compared 143 patients, pre-treated in spoke centers or ambulancewith ticagrelor at least 1.5 h before PCI (Pre-treatment Group), with 143 propensity score-matched controls treated with ticagrelor in the hub before primary PCI (Control Group) extracted fromRENOVAMI, a large observational Italian registry of more than 1400 STEMI patients enrolled from Jan. 2012 to Oct. 2015 (ClinicalTrials. gov id: NCT01347580). The median time from ticagrelor administration and PCI was 2.08 h (95% CI 1.66-2.84) in the Pre-treatment Group and 0.56 h (95% CI 0.33-0.76) in the Control Group. TIMI flow grade before primary PCI in the infarct related artery was the primary endpoint. Results: The primary endpoint, baseline TIMI flowgrade, was significantly higher in Pre-treatment Group (0.88 +/- 1.14 vs 0.53 +/- 0.86, P = 0.02). However in-hospital mortality, in-hospital stent thrombosis, bleeding rates and other clinical and angiographic outcomes were similar in the two groups. Conclusions: In a real world STEMI network, pre-treatment with ticagrelor in spoke hospitals or in ambulance loading at least 1.5 h before primary PCI is safe and might improve pre-PCI coronary reperfusion, in comparison with ticagrelor administration immediately before PCI. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Meta-analysis of bioabsorbable versus durable polymer drug-eluting stents in 20,005 patients with coronary artery disease: An update

Objectives To perform an updated meta-analysis comparing biodegradable polymer drug eluting stents (BP-DES) and durable polymer drug eluting stents (DP-DES). Background BP-DES have been suggested to reduce late stent thrombosis (LST) rates as compared to first generation DP-DES. Recently, second generation DP-DES have replaced older DES, but comparison of these stents with BP-DES has not yielded consistent results. Methods Medline/Web databases were searched for studies comparing BP-DES and DP-DES, and reporting rates of overall/cardiac mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), LST, target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target vessel revascularization (TVR) and late lumen loss (LLL), with a follow-up >= 6 months. Results Twenty studies (20,005 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. Median follow-up time was 1 year. Compared with DP-DES, BP-DES showed lower LLL (in stent: weighted mean difference WMD -0.45 mm, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.24 mm, P = 0.00001; in segment: WMD -0.15 mm, 95% CI = -0.24 to -0.06 mm, P = 0.001) and lower rates of LST (OR 0.51, 95% CI = 0.30 to 0.86, P = 0.01), although they did not improve mortality, MI, TLR, and TVR rates. BP-DES coated with sirolimus or novolimus, in comparison with biolimus or paclitaxel, were associated with reduced LLL (P < 0.0001 for subgroups). Conclusions In comparison with DP-DES, BP-DES significantly reduce LLL and LST rates, without clear benefits on harder endpoints. The efficacy of BP-DES in preserving lumen patency seems larger for sirolimus and novolimus DES. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc