Deposition & characterisation of silicon and conductive layers on woven polyester

Textile and semiconductor processes were combined to produce a flexible solar panel by depositing silicon thin film onto woven polyester. Semiconductor processes such as evaporation, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) and RFsputtering were done under vacuum conditions. Microwave PECVD proved difficult for textile substrates as the weave was damaged using parameter settings commonly used for conventional substrates such as silicon wafers and glass. PECVD parameters such as temperature, gas flow-rate, mixture, pressure and power were adjusted to allow the textile to be processed and a good quality silicon thin film to be deposited. An extra conductive layer was introduced between the textile and metal back-contact to support the cell. The silicon film structure changed from amorphous to mixed crystal growth in an amorphous matrix, as revealed by Raman spectroscopy and light transmission. The silicon Raman spectrum often had three peaks with the middle one, a fingerprint for nanocrystal growth with a hexagonal wurtzite structure in between the amorphous and crystalline peaks. Process conditions for pure amorphous and microcrystalline structures were also established, requiring two peaks to fit the Raman spectrum. Different structures have different band-gap energies and these were determined by measuring the variation in light transmission. An amorphous structure has a band-gap energy of 1.8eV while a crystalline silicon structure has a band-gap of 1eV and a mixed nanocrystalline content has an intermediate value which depends on the crystal size. A microcrystalline structure has a band-gap of 1.6eV

Patient Relevant Outcomes after total hip replacement. A comparison between different surgical techniques

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in pre- and postoperative patient-relevant outcome between hybrid total hip replacement (THR) and cemented THR in patients with primary osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: 245 consecutive patients were included in the study. 68 of the patients (mean age 62) were operated on with hybrid THR and 177 (mean age 74) were operated on with cemented THR. All patients were investigated preoperatively and 0.5, 1 and 3.6 years postoperatively with two self-administered questionnaires, SF-36 and WOMAC (Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, LK 3.0). RESULTS: Preoperatively, there was a difference in the SF-36 subscales RP (role physical) and GH (general health) where the patients with the hybrid THR attained better scores. At 3.6-years the patients with the hybrid THR reached better scores in all SF-36 subscales except BP (bodily pain) and GH. Further, they had better scores in WOMAC function. However, after adjusting for age, sex, follow-up time and baseline values there were no differences in outcome between the two different surgical techniques. CONCLUSION: This medium term (3–5 years), controlled, open cohort study, using patient-relevant outcome measures, did not reveal any differences between hybrid THR and cemented THR for OA at 3.6 years after surgery. Since the study had 75–94% power to detect the clinically significant score difference of 10 points, we suggest that any difference in outcome between these two methods is small and may require a large-scale, blinded, randomized trial to show

Effects of neuromuscular training (NEMEX-TJR) on patient-reported outcomes and physical function in severe primary hip or knee osteoarthritis: a controlled before-and-after study

Background: The benefits of exercise in mild and moderate knee or hip osteoarthritis (OA) are apparent, but the evidence in severe OA is less clear. We recently reported that neuromuscular training was well tolerated and feasible in patients with severe primary hip or knee OA. The aims of this controlled before-and-after study were to compare baseline status to an age-matched population-based reference group and to examine the effects of neuromuscular training on patient-reported outcomes and physical function in patients with severe primary OA of the hip or knee. Methods: 87 patients (60-77 years) with severe primary OA of the hip (n = 38, 55% women) or knee (n = 49, 59% women) awaiting total joint replacement (TJR) had supervised, neuromuscular training (NEMEX-TJR) in groups with individualized level and progression of training. A reference group (n = 43, 53% women) was included for comparison with patients' data. Assessments included self-reported outcomes (HOOS/KOOS) and measures of physical function (chair stands, number of knee bends/30 sec, knee extensor strength, 20-meter walk test) at baseline and at follow-up before TJR. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for comparing patients and references and elucidating influence of demographic factors on change. The paired t-test was used for comparisons within groups. Results: At baseline, patients reported worse scores than the references in all HOOS/KOOS subscales (hip 27-47%, knee 14-52%, of reference scores, respectively) and had functional limitations (hip 72-85%, knee 42-85%, of references scores, respectively). NEMEX-TJR (mean 12 weeks (SD 5.6) of training) improved self-reported outcomes (hip 9-29%, knee 7-20%) and physical function (hip 3-18%, knee 5-19%) (p = 15%) in HOOS/KOOS subscales by training. The improvement in HOOS/KOOS subscale ADL was greater for patients with knee OA than hip OA, while the improvement in subscale Sport/Rec was greater for patients with hip OA than knee OA. Conclusions: Both self-reported outcomes and physical function were clearly worse compared with the reference group. Neuromuscular training with an individualized approach and gradual progression showed promise for improving patient-reported outcomes and physical function even in older patients with severe primary OA of the hip or knee

Magnitude and meaningfulness of change in SF-36 scores in four types of orthopedic surgery

Background: The Medical Outcomes General Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used health status measure; however, limited evidence is available for its performance in orthopedic settings. The aim of this study was to examine the magnitude and meaningfulness of change and sensitivity of SF-36 subscales following orthopedic surgery.Methods: Longitudinal data on outcomes of total hip replacement (THR, n = 255), total knee replacement (TKR, n = 103), arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM, n = 74) and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL, n = 62) were used to estimate the effect sizes (ES, magnitude of change) and minimal detectable change (sensitivity) at the group and individual level. To provide context for interpreting the magnitude of changes in SF-36 scores, we also compared patients\u27 scores with age and sex-matched population norms. The studies were conducted in Sweden. Follow-up was five years in THR and TKR studies, two years in ACL, and three months in APM.Results: On average, large effect sizes (ES&ge;0.80) were found after orthopedic surgery in SF-36 subscales measuring physical aspects (physical functioning, role physical, and bodily pain). Small (0.20&ndash;0.49) to moderate (0.50&ndash;0.79) effect sizes were found in subscales measuring mental and social aspects (role emotional, vitality, social functioning, and mental health). General health scores remained relatively unchanged during the follow-up. Despite improvements, post-surgery mean scores of patients were still below the age and sex matched population norms on physical subscales. Patients\u27 scores on mental and social subscales approached population norms following the surgery. At the individual level, scores of a large proportion of patients were affected by floor or ceiling effects on several subscales and the sensitivity to individual change was very low.Conclusion: Large to moderate meaningful changes in group scores were observed in all SF-36 subscales except General Health across the intervention groups. Therefore, in orthopedic settings, the SF-36 can be used to show changes for groups in physical, mental, and social dimensions and in comparison with population norms. However, SF-36 subscales have low sensitivity to individual change and so we caution against using SF-36 to monitor the health status of individual patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.<br /

Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score (HOOS) – validity and responsiveness in total hip replacement

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate if physical functions usually associated with a younger population were of importance for an older population, and to construct an outcome measure for hip osteoarthritis with improved responsiveness compared to the Western Ontario McMaster osteoarthritis score (WOMAC LK 3.0). METHODS: A 40 item questionnaire (hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score, HOOS) was constructed to assess patient-relevant outcomes in five separate subscales (pain, symptoms, activity of daily living, sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life). The HOOS contains all WOMAC LK 3.0 questions in unchanged form. The HOOS was distributed to 90 patients with primary hip osteoarthritis (mean age 71.5, range 49–85, 41 females) assigned for total hip replacement for osteoarthritis preoperatively and at six months follow-up. RESULTS: The HOOS met set criteria of validity and responsiveness. It was more responsive than WOMAC regarding the subscales pain (SRM 2.11 vs. 1.83) and other symptoms (SRM 1.83 vs. 1.28). The responsiveness (SRM) for the two added subscales sport and recreation and quality of life were 1.29 and 1.65, respectively. Patients ≤ 66 years of age (range 49–66) reported higher responsiveness in all five subscales than patients >66 years of age (range 67–85) (Pain SRM 2.60 vs. 1.97, other symptoms SRM 3.0 vs. 1.60, activity of daily living SRM 2.51 vs. 1.52, sport and recreation function SRM 1.53 vs. 1.21 and hip related quality of life SRM 1.95 vs. 1.57). CONCLUSION: The HOOS 2.0 appears to be useful for the evaluation of patient-relevant outcome after THR and is more responsive than the WOMAC LK 3.0. The added subscales sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life were highly responsive for this group of patients, with the responsiveness being highest for those younger than 66

Knee arthroplasty: are patients' expectations fulfilled?: A prospective study of pain and function in 102 patients with 5-year follow-up

Background and purpose With an aging population expecting an active life after retirement, patients’ expectations of improvement after surgery are also increasing. We analyzed the relationship between preoperative expectations and postoperative satisfaction and self-reported outcomes with regard to pain and physical function after knee arthroplasty

Patient-reported outcome after rheumatoid arthritis-related surgery in the lower extremities: A report from the Swedish National Register of Rheuma Surgery (RAKIR)

Background and purpose Although decreasing with the development of effective pharmacological regimes, joint surgery has improved the function and quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Few studies have assessed patient-reported outcomes after RA surgery to the lower extremities. Here we report patient-relevant outcome after RA-related surgery based on the first data from the Swedish National Register of Rheuma Surgery (RAKIR). Patients and methods 258 RA patients (212 women) who had joint surgery performed at the Department of Orthopaedics, Spenshult Hospital between September 2007 and June 2009 were included. Mean age at surgery was 64 (20-86) years. The patients completed the SF-36 and HAQ questionnaires preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively, and 165 patients completed them after 12 months. Results Improvement was seen as early as at 6 months. At 12 months, 165 patients (141 women)-including hip (n = 15), knee (n = 27), foot (n = 102), and ankle (n = 21) patients-reported statistically significant improvements from preoperatively to 12 months postoperatively in HAQ (mean change: -0.11) and SF-36 subscales physical function (11), role physical (12), bodily pain (13), social functioning (6.4), and role emotional (9.4). Hip and knee patients reported the greatest improvements. Interpretation Orthopedic RA-related surgery of the lower extremities has a strong effect on pain and physical function. Improvement is evident as early as 6 months postoperatively and remains after 12 months

Variations in the pre-operative status of patients coming to primary hip replacement for osteoarthritis in European orthopaedic centres.

addresses: Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Oxford, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Headington, Oxford, UK. [email protected]: PMCID: PMC2654855types: Journal Article; Multicenter Study; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't© 2009 Dieppe et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Total hip joint replacement (THR) is a high volume, effective intervention for hip osteoarthritis (OA). However, indications and determinants of outcome remain unclear. The 'EUROHIP consortium' has undertaken a cohort study to investigate these questions. This paper describes the variations in disease severity in this cohort and the relationships between clinical and radiographic severity, and explores some of the determinants of variation

Ultrasound evaluation in combination with finger extension force measurements of the forearm musculus extensor digitorum communis in healthy subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of an ultrasound-based method of examining extensor muscle architecture, especially the parameters important for force development. This paper presents the combination of two non-invasive methods for studying the extensor muscle architecture using ultrasound simultaneously with finger extension force measurements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>M. extensor digitorum communis (EDC) was examined in 40 healthy subjects, 20 women and 20 men, aged 35–73 years. Ultrasound measurements were made in a relaxed position of the hand as well as in full contraction. Muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), pennation angle and contraction patterns were measured with ultrasound, and muscle volume and fascicle length were also estimated. Finger extension force was measured using a newly developed finger force measurement device.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The following muscle parameters were determined: CSA, circumference, thickness, pennation angles and changes in shape of the muscle CSA. The mean EDC volume in men was 28.3 cm³and in women 16.6 cm³. The mean CSA was 2.54 cm²for men and 1.84 cm²for women. The mean pennation angle for men was 6.5° and for women 5.5°. The mean muscle thickness for men was 1.2 cm and for women 0.76 cm. The mean fascicle length for men was 7.3 cm and for women 5.0 cm. Significant differences were found between men and women regarding EDC volume (p < 0.001), CSA (p < 0.001), pennation angle (p < 0.05), muscle thickness (p < 0.001), fascicle length (p < 0.001) and finger force (p < 0.001). Changes in the shape of muscle architecture during contraction were more pronounced in men than women (p < 0.01). The mean finger extension force for men was 96.7 N and for women 39.6 N. Muscle parameters related to the extension force differed between men and women. For men the muscle volume and muscle CSA were related to extension force, while for women muscle thickness was related to the extension force.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ultrasound is a useful tool for studying muscle architectures in EDC. Muscle parameters of importance for force development were identified. Knowledge concerning the correlation between muscle dynamics and force is of importance for the development of new hand training programmes and rehabilitation after surgery.</p