Classification of Corneal Nerve Images Using Machine Learning Techniques

Recent research shows that small nerve fiber damage is an early detector of neuropathy. These small nerve fibers are present in the human cornea and can be visualized through the use of a corneal confocal microscope. A series of images can be acquired from the subbasal nerve plexus of the cornea. Before the images can be quantified for nerve loss, a human expert manually traces the nerves in the image and then classifies the image as having neuropathy or not. Some nerve tracing algorithms are available in the literature, but none of them are reported as being used in clinical practice. An alternate practice is to visually classify the image for neuropathy without quantification. In this paper, we evaluate the potential of various machine learning techniques for automating corneal nerve image classification. First, the images are down-sampled using discrete wavelet transform, filtering and a number of morphological operations. The resulting binary image is used for extracting characteristic features of the image. This is followed by training the classifier on the extracted features. The trained classifier is then used for predicting the state of the nerves in the images. Our experiments yield a classification accuracy of 0.91 reflecting the effectiveness of the proposed method

Fuzzy Logic in neurosurgery: Predicting poor outcomes after lumbar disk surgery in 501 consecutive patients

Background: Despite a lot of research into Patient selection, a significant number of Patients fail to benefit from surgery for symptomatic lumbar disk herniation. We have used Fuzzy Logic-based fuzzy inference system (FIS) for identifying Patients unlikely to improve after disk surgery and explored FIS as a tool for surgical outcome prediction.Methods: Data of 501 Patients were retrospectively reviewed for 54 independent variables. Sixteen variables were short-listed based on heuristics and were further classified into memberships with degrees of membership within each. A set of 11 rules was formed, and the rule base used individual membership degrees and their values mapped from the membership functions to perform Boolean Logical inference for a particular set of inputs. For each rule, a decision bar was generated that, when combined with the other rules in a similar way, constituted a decision surface. The FIS decisions were then based on calculating the centroid for the resulting decision surfaces and thresholding of actual centroid values. The results of FIS were then compared with eventual postoperative Patient outcomes based on clinical follow-ups at 6 months to evaluate FIS as a predictor of poor outcome.Results: Fuzzy inference system has a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 86% in the prediction of Patients most likely to have poor outcome after lumbosacral miscrodiskectomy. The test thus has a positive predictive value of 0.36 and a negative predictive value of 0.98.Conclusion: Fuzzy inference system is a sensitive method of predicting Patients who will fail to improve with surgical intervention

Coordinated robotic system for civil structural health monitoring

With the recent advances in sensors, robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles, communication, and information technologies, it is now feasible to move towards the vision of ubiquitous cities, where virtually everything throughout the city is linked to an information system through technologies such as wireless networking and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, to provide systematic and more efficient management of urban systems, including civil and mechanical infrastructure monitoring, to achieve the goal of resilient and sustainable societies. In this proposed system, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) is used to ascertain the coarse defect signature using panoramic imaging. This involves image stitching and registration so that a complete view of the surface is seen with reference to a common reference or origin point. Thereafter, crack verification and localization has been done using the magnetic flux leakage (MFL) approach which has been performed with the help of a coordinated robotic system. In which the first robot is placed at the top of the structure whereas the second robot is equipped with the designed MFL sensory system. With the initial findings, the proposed system identifies and localize the crack in the given structure. 1 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017.This paper was made possible by National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) grant No. 7-234-2-109 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Marital quality in alcohol dependance syndrome: a comparative study between first time and repeatedly hospitalised patients

Background: Marital quality is considered as a significant part of social well-being. Poor marital quality adversely affects physical and mental health as well as the overall quality of life. Moreover, it can significantly affect the course of alcohol dependance syndrome. The aim this study was to compare the marital quality among patients with alcohol dependance syndrome who are admit-ted for the first time and patients with alcohol dependance syndrome (ADS) who are admitted for multiple times.Methods: The sample consisted of each 30 patients with alcohol dependance syndrome who are admitted for the first time and patients with alcohol dependance syndrome who are admitted for multiple times, diagnosed as per international classification of diseases-10 diagnostic criteria for research. The sample population was evaluated using Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire and The Marital Quality Scale. The data was analysed using SPSS-16.0.Results: The severity of alcohol dependance was found to be significantly higher in the repeatedly hospitalised group when compared to first time admitted patients with ADS (p<0.01). The repeatedly hospitalised patients are found to be having significantly poor Marital Quality in the domains of Understanding, Rejection, Satisfaction, Affection, Despair, Decision Making, Dominance, Self-Disclosure, Trust and Role Functioning, when compared to first time admitted patients (p<.001).Conclusions: How problem use of alcohol affect marital quality is not settled in research till date, though most of the studies suggest a negative correlation. There are contradictory hypotheses regarding the effects of alcohol use on marital quality. Our study showed that patients with severe degrees alcoholism and who are admitted repeatedly have poor marital quality when compared to patients with lesser severity of alcoholism and admitted for the first time in Indian context

A Prototype Of Virtually Interactive Hand Activating Devise-Low Cost Portable Head Mounted System (vihad Plus) For Neurological Rehabilitation

Background and Purpose: Restoring function in individuals who have severe paralysis of the upper extremity secondary to stroke is challenging. Recent technologies have made it possible to use robotic devices as novel tools for assisting the therapists to provide safe and intensive rehabilitation with repeated motions. However, most of the training robots are types of Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) devices that produce slower and stereotyped movement patterns. Earlier works have shown that passive or slow movements do not significantly benefit motor improvement. Several studies reveal that even the use of ipsilateral electromyographic (EMG) pattern recognition approaches might not be practical to decode movement intention and, may negatively affect re-mapping of the neural pathways in the brain. To have a successful hand rehabilitation system, the system should be able to produce a wide variety of unpredicted and challenging movement patterns of various degrees of speed and range of motion with increasing complexity, sufficient enough to produce the necessary neurological plasticity of the affected brain. Current rehabilitation devices are not sufficient to produce such a range of complex activities which enables maximum neurological plasticity. Objective: In this work, we describe a prototype of the contralateral EMG-based Interactive Hand Activating Devise for Stroke (IHADS) system that can detect a hemiplegic person's intention for bilaterally executed hand activities using his/her surface EMG signals from the non-affected side (contralateral). Furthermore, this system can assist in bilateral hand activities through an exoskeleton attached to the hemiplegic upper extremity to initiate progressively challenging and unpredicted type of activities in a virtual reality (VR) world to obtain optimum functional recovery by inducing maximum neurological plasticity. Design: The IHADS system is made up of an embedded controller and a robotic exoskeleton, contralateral EMG sensors and a VR interface with a semi-immersed VR system, where the patient will be seeing progressively impulsive activities that would force the brain to activate the affected extremity to manipulate through the remaining neural networks and mirror neuronal system which in turn will optimize the neurological recovery. This means that the paralyzed arm will be following the motion of the healthy arm whose motion is picked up by the EMG sensors and are translated as actuation signals for the exoskeleton to execute virtually created challenging activities. Conclusion: Contralateral EMG-based 'IHADS' system is a unique, cost effective, highly innovative and portable robotic device. If incorporated into the stroke rehabilitation, this system will be capable of autonomous guidance through the use of real-time feedback from the contralateral upper limb, integrated via the VR interface and the hand activating device to make rehabilitation more intense, functional, motivating, and capable of inducing maximum neurological plasticity

Fuzzy logic: A “simple” solution for complexities in neurosciences?

Background: Fuzzy logic is a multi-valued logic which is similar to human thinking and interpretation. It has the potential of combining human heuristics into computer-assisted decision making, which is applicable to individual patients as it takes into account all the factors and complexities of individuals. Fuzzy logic has been applied in all disciplines of medicine in some form and recently its applicability in neurosciences has also gained momentum.Methods: This review focuses on the use of this concept in various branches of neurosciences including basic neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and psychology.Results: The applicability of fuzzy logic is not limited to research related to neuroanatomy, imaging nerve fibers and understanding neurophysiology, but it is also a sensitive and specific tool for interpretation of EEGs, EMGs and MRIs and an effective controller device in intensive care units. It has been used for risk stratification of stroke, diagnosis of different psychiatric illnesses and even planning neurosurgical procedures.Conclusions: In the future, fuzzy logic has the potential of becoming the basis of all clinical decision making and our understanding of neurosciences

Varumärkesidentitet och varumärkesbild på svenska gårdsbutiker

Varumärkesidentiteten och varumärkesbilden är något som finns med i många företags strategiska planering. Genom att planera sin varumärkesidentitet och tydligt förmedla den till sina kunder ökar chansen att etablera ett starkt varumärke som klarar sig länge på marknaden. Varumärkesbilden är kundernas egen tolkning av varumärket och går att påverka med en genomtänkt identitet och marknadsföring. Detta arbete syftar till att undersöka hur innehavare av gårdsbutiker med ett eget varumärke arbetar med sin varumärkesidentitet. Totalt har fem varumärkesinnehavare med försäljning av olika typer av produkter intervjuats. Intervjufrågorna har baserats på en modell som även använts tidigare i liknande studier. Modellen har sex olika sidor som ska identifiera ett företags varumärkesidentitet. Detta har sedan jämförts med varumärkesbilden som uppfattats med hjälp av hemsidor, sociala medier och besök i butiken. Resultatet av studien visar att den varumärkesidentitet som de medverkande gårdsbutikerna vill ha eller strävar efter liknar varandra i många aspekter. Det har också funnits skillnader mellan varumärkesidentiteten och varumärkesbilden som i många fall har liknat varandra. Studien visar också att alla gårdsbutiker i vårt arbete vill framhäva det lokala och har samma lantliga miljö i butikerna, vilket gör att gårdsbutikerna mister sin personlighet.Brand identity and brand image is something that is part of many companies strategic planning. By planning its brand identity and clearly communicating it to its customers, the chance of a strong brand that can survive in the market for a long time increases. The brand image is the customers own interpretation of the brand and can be influenced by a well thought out identity and marketing. This work aims to investigate how owners of farm shops with their own brand work with their brand identity. In total, five brand owners with sales of different types of products have been interviewed. The questions have been based on a model that has also been used previously in similar studies. The model has six different pages that will identify a company’s brand identity, this has then been compared to the brand image that was perceived with the help of websites, social media, and in-store visits. The results of the study show that the brand identity that the participating farm shops wants or strives to want, is similar in many aspects. There have also been differences between brand identity and brand image, which, in many cases have been similar. The study also shows that all farm shops in our study want to emphasize the local and have the same rural environment in the shops, which makes the farm shops lose their personality

Robotic Probe Positioning System for Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health Monitoring (SHM) is a very critical component for sustainable civil and mechanical structures in modern urban settings. The sky-scrappers and huge bridges in modern metropolis today are essential aspects of the prosperity and development of a country but at the same time they present a great challenge in terms of maintaining and sustaining the structures in a good health. Due to the complex designs of these structures, it is typically very dangerous to do SHM tasks through human personnel. Deployment of a monitoring team with various forms of equipment and scaffolding accompanied with their hoisting machines becomes extremely exorbitant for the maintenance and planning of the structures causing unnecessary cost-spill on other areas of the available budget. For most of the metallic structures, a fast method of scanning an area more closely is the Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) based defect detection. The MFL is considered the most economical approach for inspecting the metallic structures. Traditionally a hand-held device is used for performing the MFL inspection. In this paper, an autonomous MFL inspection robot has been presented which is small, flexible and remotely accessible. The robot is constructed with an Aluminum chassis, driven by two servomotors and holds a stack of very powerful Neodymium magnets to produce the required magnetic circuit. As the robot moves on a metallic surface, the magnetic circuit produces a layered magnetic field just under the scanning probe. The probe is composed of several Hall-effect sensors to detect any leakage in the magnetic circuit, which happens due to abnormality in the surface, thus detecting an anomaly. In this paper, a coordinated robotic inspection system has been proposed that utilizes a set of drones with one positioning robotic crawler platform with additional load hoisting capabilities that are utilized in order to position a specific defect-locating probe on the building under scan. Proposed methodology can play a vital role in SHM since it is capable of scanning a specific area and transmit back the results in a shorter time with a very safe mode of operation. This method is more reliable as compared to fixed sensors that focus a particular area of the structure only. Design for SHM robot involves intelligent integration of navigation system comprising of crucial parts that act as its backbone and assist the robot to work autonomously. These parts include GPS module, compass, range sensor, Infrared (IR) sensor along with MFL probe and winch setup and powerful PMDC Servo Motor controller (MC 160) used to drive two (2) powerful motors. The MC160 brushed Motor Controller proves to be a perfect platform for controlling Brushed DC motors. The controller consists of two power drivers in addition to OSMC connector for a third power driver (winch motor control). All these things add extra degrees of freedom to the robotic system for SHM. Novelty of the methodology is that the robot's program logic is not fixed. It is flexible in terms of path following. It has ability to detect an obstacle while it is on its way to scan the building. It not only detects obstacle but also changes its course and automatically adopts new route to the target destination. Such an autonomous robotic system can play a vital role in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) in contrast to manual inspection eliminating the need of physical presence of human in severe weather conditions. The presented methodology is condition based in contrast to schedule-based approach. Core scan is easily done and robot is reconfigurable in a sense that it automatically changes its course to adopt to rough terrain and avoids obstacles on its way. Easy deployment makes robot an excellent choice for SHM with minimum cost and enhanced flexibility. Proposed robotic system can perform a coarse level of scan of a tall building using drones and the probe deployment robots (PDR). The drones provide a rough estimate of the location of possible defect or abnormality and PDR inspects the anomaly more closely. In addition, the coarse information about a possible defect can also help in deploying other means of inspection in a much lower cost since the whole structure needs not to be inspected.qscienc