Design and construction of a laser-based respiratory gating system for implementation of deep inspiration breathe hold technique in radiotherapy clinics

Background: Deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) is known as a radiotherapy method for the treatment of patients with left-sided breast cancer. In this method, patient is under exposure only while he/she is at the end of a deep inspiration cycle and holds his/her breath. In this situation, the volume of the lung tissue is enhanced and the heart tissue is pushed away from the treating breast. Therefore, heart dose of these patients, using DIBH, experiences a considerable decline compared to free breathing treatment. There are a few commercialized systems for implementation of DIBH in invasive or noninvasive manners. Methods: We present a novel constructed noninvasive DIBH device relied on a manufacturing near-field laser distance meter. This in-house constructed system is composed of a CD22-100AM122 laser sensor combined with a data acquisition system for monitoring the breathing curve. Qt Creator (a cross-platform JavaScript, QML, and C++-integrated development environment that is part of the SDK for development of the Qt Graphical User Interface application framework) and Keil MDK-ARM (a programming software where users can write in C and C++ and assemble for ARM-based microcontrollers) are used for composing computer and microcontroller programs, respectively. Results: This system could be mounted in treatment or computed tomography (CT) room at suitable cost; it is also easy to use and needs a little training for personnel and patients. The system can assess the location of chest wall or abdomen in real time with high precision and frequency. The performance of CD22-100AM122 demonstrates promise for respiratory monitoring for its fast sampling rate as well as high precision. It can also deliver reasonable spatial and temporal accuracy. The patient observes his/her breathing waveform through a 7” 1024 × 600 liquid crystal display and gets some instructions during treatment and CT sessions by an exploited algorithm called “interaction scenario” in this study. The system is also noninvasive and well sustainable for patients. Conclusions: The constructed system has true real-time operation and is rapid enough for delivering clear contiguous monitoring. In addition, in this system, we have provided an interaction scenario option between patient and CT or Linac operator. In addition, the constructed system has the capability of sending triggers for turning on and off CT or Linac facilities. In this concern, the system has the superiority of combining a plenty of characteristics

Pattern of growth among boys during adolescence: a profile from an urban region in South India

This study aimed to assess the growth pattern of adolescent boys in Mysore city in south India. In this cross sectional study anthropometric profile of 1083 boys aged 10-18years was measured and compared to 50th centiles of W.H.O standards for height and weight and the measurement of MUAC and SFT were compared to NHANES standard. Self-reporting questionnaire to obtain data related to family socioeconomic status and personal information was implemented. The increase in height exhibited linearity from 10 to 18 years of age, mean height was 141.8 +/- 1.56 cms in boys aged 10years while boys aged 18 year had a mean height of 172.2 +/- 7.15 cms The mean weight at age 10 was 31.7 +/- 3.10 kgs and at 18 years the mean body weight was 58.6 +/- 9.04 kg. In this study population the mean BMI was 15.63 +/- 2.21 at the age 10 and increased to 19.71 +/- 2.42 at age 18th year The mean MUAC at the age 10 was 19.6 +/- 1.72 cm and skin fold at triceps was 11.07 +/- 3.5 mm. These participate boys were shorter and lighter in all the stages of adolescences as compared to reference, although the difference for height was smaller than that seen for weight BMI, of boys in all age groups was lower as compare to the W.H.O references