Multicenter Results with an Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant in Patients with Single-sided Deafness

Objective: To evaluate the audiological and subjective benefit from hearing rehabilitation with an active bone conduction implant in subjects with single-sided sensorineural deafness (SSD). Study design: Prospective, multicenter, single-subject repeated measures. Setting: Tertiary referral center, five clinics in Germany and Switzerland. Patients: Seventeen subjects aged 18 years and older with severe to profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss and contralateral normal hearing were followed up for 24 months. Intervention: Active bone conduction implant. Main outcome measures: Speech understanding in noise was assessed in three situations: with signal from front, deaf, or normal hearing side (with noise from front in all set-ups). Subjective benefit was evaluated using the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ-B) and Bern Benefit in Single-Sided Deafness (BBSS) questionnaire. Results: When the signal was coming from the deaf side the mean improvement of the speech reception threshold in noise ranged from 1.5 up to 2.2 dB with the device and was statistically and clinically significant at all tested timepoints. No significant difference between the aided and unaided situation was found when signal and noise were coming from the front. With the signal from the normal hearing side no clinically significant difference, that is, greater than 1 dB between the aided and unaided situation was found. The SSQ-B and BBSS questionnaire showed an overall improvement with no significant difference between time points. Conclusions: The study demonstrates long-term efficacy and benefit of the device in adults with SSD. Patients reported substantial and persistent subjective benefit from the active bone conduction implant

Fulminant Puerperal Sepsis caused by Hemolytic Group A Streptococci and Toxic Shock Syndrome – A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Summary Puerperal sepsis is a rare but serious and potentially lethal syndrome. It is imperative that severe postpartum malaise is taken seriously; early initiation of antibiotic therapy before sepsis becomes manifest can save lives.Revisión por pare

Fulminant Puerperal Sepsis caused by Hemolytic Group A Streptococci and Toxic Shock Syndrome – A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Summary Puerperal sepsis is a rare but serious and potentially lethal syndrome. It is imperative that severe postpartum malaise is taken seriously; early initiation of antibiotic therapy before sepsis becomes manifest can save lives.Revisión por pare

Konzepte und Implikationen zur Integration von VR-, CAx- und PDM-Systemen für die funktionale Absicherung von Montage-/Demontageoperationen

Die Erstellung virtueller Montage- und. Demontageprozesse ist ein komplexer und zeitaufwendiger Prozess, der derzeit durch einen hohen manuellen Aufwand gekennzeichnet ist. In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojekts AVILUSplus vorgestellt, die darauf abzielen, virtuelle Montage- und Demontageprozesse auf der Grundlage von existierenden Informationen als Teil der Absicherung von zu entwickelnden Produkten im Rahmen der Virtuellen Produktentstehung effizienter in deren Prozessketten zu integrieren. Dazu wurden Methoden und Werkzeuge entwickelt, um CAD-Modelle für diesen Zweck aufzubereiten und notwendige geometriebezogene Informationen aus den Modellen zu extrahieren. Auf der Grundlage von Bauteilgeometrie und -physik werden Montage- und Demontagepfade erzeugt. Die zugehörigen Handlungsanweisungen werden entsprechend ihrer Handlungssemantik formuliert und mit Verknüpfungen zu Baugruppenstrukturen und Werkzeugen versehen. Die Integration der Modelle und Werkzeuge in PLM-Strukturen und -Prozesse ermöglicht deren durchgängige Nutzung im Produktentwicklungsprozess und führt zu einer engeren Integration von VR/AR-Anwendungen zur virtuellen Absicherung. Die entwickelten Verfahren werden in einen gemeinsamen Demonstrator integriert, welcher im Rahmen dieses Dokuments vorgestellt wird

The role and architecture of the Virtual Model for Manual Work Support throughout System Lifecycle

One of the main challenges that companies face nowadays is effectively reusing and sharing information and knowledge not only within teams, but also between other divisions or with other companies that are involved in the product lifecycle. This work-in-progress paper summarizes the recent results of the EU FP7 research project ManuVAR (211548) - Manual Work Support throughout System Lifecycle by Exploiting Virtual and Augmented Reality. In ManuVAR it is proposed to define a Virtual Model concept for bi-directional communication of various actors across the lifecycle. In this paper we focus on the architecture of the virtual model, its implementation and applicability in industry