Soft Impact in a Biomechanical System With Shape Memory Element

Author(s):  
R. Rusinek ◽  
M. Szymanski ◽  
J. Warminski

The analysis of the shape memory prosthesis (SMP) of the middle ear is presented in this paper. The shape memory prosthesis permits the adjustment of its length to individual patient needs, but sometimes the prosthesis cannot be properly fixed to the stapes. In this case, the impact between the prosthesis and stapes is important. Therefore, the reconstructed middle ear is modeled as a two degree-of-freedom system with a nonlinear shape memory element and soft impact to represent its behavior when the prosthesis is not properly placed or fixed. The properties of the shape memory prosthesis, in the form of a helical spring, are represented by a polynomial function. The system exhibits advisable periodic and undesirable aperiodic and irregular behavior depending on the excitation amplitude, the frequency, and the prosthesis length. The prosthesis length can change, resulting in a modification of the distance between the prosthesis and the stapes. The results of this study provide an answer in terms of how the prosthesis length, which produces the ossicular chain tension, influences the system dynamics and its implication in medical practice.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255821
Author(s):  
Eileen Y. Brister ◽  
Robert H. Withnell ◽  
Pavel Shevchenko ◽  
Claus-Peter Richter

As the resolution of 3D printing techniques improves, the possibility of individualized, 3-ossicle constructions adds a new dimension to middle ear prostheses. In order to optimize these designs, it is essential to understand how the ossicles and ligaments work together to transmit sound, and thus how ligaments should be replicated in a middle ear reconstruction. The middle ear ligaments are thought to play a significant role in maintaining the position of the ossicles and constraining axis of rotation. Paradoxically, investigations of the role of ligaments to date have shown very little impact on middle ear sound transmission. We explored the role of the two attachments in the gerbil middle ear analogous to human ligaments, the posterior incudal ligament and the anterior mallear process, severing both attachments and measuring change in hearing sensitivity. The impact of severing the attachments on the position of the ossicular chain was visualized using synchrotron microtomography imaging of the middle ear. In contrast to previous studies, a threshold change on the order of 20 dB across a wide range of frequencies was found when both ligaments were severed. Concomitantly, a shift in position of the ossicles was observed from the x-ray imaging and 3D renderings of the ossicular chain. These findings contrast with previous studies, demonstrating that these ligaments play a significant role in the transmission of sound through the middle ear. It appears that both mallear and incudal ligaments must be severed in order to impair sound transmission. The results of this study have significance for middle ear reconstructive surgery and the design of 3D-printed three-ossicle biocompatible prostheses.


Author(s):  
E A Guneri ◽  
A Cakir Cetin

Abstract Objective To compare the results of endoscopic and microscopic ossicular chain reconstruction surgery. Methods Patients undergoing ossicular chain reconstruction surgery via an endoscopic (n = 31) or microscopic (n = 34) technique were analysed for age, gender, Middle Ear Risk Index, ossicular chain defect, incision type, ossicular chain reconstruction surgery material, mean air conduction threshold, air–bone gap, air–bone gap gain, word recognition score, mean operation duration and mean post-operative follow up. Results Post-operative air conduction, air–bone gap and word recognition score improved significantly in both groups (within-subject p < 0.001 for air conduction and air–bone gap, and 0.026 for word recognition score); differences between groups were not significant (between-subject p = 0.192 for air conduction, 0.102 for air–bone gap, and 0.709 for word recognition score). Other parameters were similar between groups, except for incision type. However, endoscopic ossicular chain reconstruction surgery was associated with a significantly shorter operation duration (p < 0.001). Conclusion Endoscopic ossicular chain reconstruction surgery can achieve comparable surgical and audiological outcomes to those of microscopic ossicular chain reconstruction surgery in a shorter time.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Peraza-Hernandez ◽  
Darren Hartl ◽  
Edgar Galvan ◽  
Richard Malak

Origami engineering—the practice of creating useful three-dimensional structures through folding and fold-like operations on two-dimensional building-blocks—has the potential to impact several areas of design and manufacturing. In this article, we study a new concept for a self-folding system. It consists of an active, self-morphing laminate that includes two meshes of thermally-actuated shape memory alloy (SMA) wire separated by a compliant passive layer. The goal of this article is to analyze the folding behavior and examine key engineering tradeoffs associated with the proposed system. We consider the impact of several design variables including mesh wire thickness, mesh wire spacing, thickness of the insulating elastomer layer, and heating power. Response parameters of interest include effective folding angle, maximum von Mises stress in the SMA, maximum temperature in the SMA, maximum temperature in the elastomer, and radius of curvature at the fold line. We identify an optimized physical realization for maximizing folding capability under mechanical and thermal failure constraints. Furthermore, we conclude that the proposed self-folding system is capable of achieving folds of significant magnitude (as measured by the effective folding angle) as required to create useful 3D structures.


Author(s):  
Lorenzo La Rosa ◽  
Francesco Maresca

Abstract Ni-Ti is a key shape memory alloy (SMA) system for applications, being cheap and having good mechanical properties. Recently, atomistic simulations of Ni-Ti SMAs have been used with the purpose of revealing the nano-scale mechanisms that control superelasticity and the shape memory effect, which is crucial to guide alloying or processing strategies to improve materials performance. These atomistic simulations are based on molecular dynamics modelling that relies on (empirical) interatomic potentials. These simulations must reproduce accurately the mechanism of martensitic transformation and the microstructure that it originates, since this controls both superelasticity and the shape memory effect. As demonstrated by the energy minimization theory of martensitic transformations [Ball, James (1987) Archive for Rational Mechanics and Analysis, 100:13], the microstructure of martensite depends on the lattice parameters of the austenite and the martensite phases. Here, we compute the bounds of possible microstructural variations based on the experimental variations/uncertainties in the lattice parameter measurements. We show that both density functional theory and molecular dynamics lattice parameters are typically outside the experimental range, and that seemingly small deviations from this range induce large deviations from the experimental bounds of the microstructural predictions, with notable cases where unphysical microstructures are predicted to form. Therefore, our work points to a strategy for benchmarking and selecting interatomic potentials for atomistic modelling of shape memory alloys, which is crucial to modelling the development of martensitic microstructures and their impact on the shape memory effect.


2018 ◽  
Vol 127 (5) ◽  
pp. 306-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Es-Hak Bedri ◽  
Miriam Redleaf

Objectives: In Ethiopia, 2-stage operations with middle ear prostheses are economically unfavorable. We hypothesized that single-stage autologous ossiculoplasty results in acceptable tympanic membrane (TM) and hearing improvements in a setting of limited resources. Methods: One hundred eighty-eight patients (197 ears) who underwent 1-stage autologous ossiculoplasty for ossicular dysfunction are presented. All but 14 of these ears also had perforations of the TM. Conditions of the middle ear were granulation tissue, ossicular disruption only, tympanosclerosis, and cholesteatoma. Reconstructions of the ossicular chain were performed with autologous ossicles only. Results: The closure rate of TM perforations was 95%. Preoperative air bone gaps were 27 to 60 dB (mean [SD] = 44 [7] dB); postoperative air bone gaps were 0 to 50 dB (average [SD] = 23 [10] dB), for an average improvement of 21 dB across all reconstruction types ( P < .001). The largest favorable changes in air bone gaps were with incus and malleus columellas from the footplate to the TM (33 and 23 dB, respectively) ( P < .001). No patient had worsening of sensorineural hearing levels or extrusion of the reconstructed ossicles. Conclusion: Autologous ossiculoplasty performed well in this setting. Acceptable TM closure rates and improvement of air bone gaps were seen in 1-stage operations without the use of prostheses.


Author(s):  
Hussein F. M. Ali ◽  
Youngshik Kim

Abstract In this paper, we developed two degree of freedom shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator using SMA springs. This module can be applied easily to various applications: device holder, artificial finger, grippes, fish robot, and many other biologically inspired applications, where small size and small wight of the actuator are very critical. This actuator is composed of two sets of SMA springs: one set is for the rotation around the X axis (roll angle) and the other set is for the rotation around the Y axis (pitch angle). Each set contains two elements: one SMA spring and one antagonistic SMA spring. We used an inertia sensor (IMU) and two potentiometers for angles feedback. The SMA actuator system is modeled mathematically and then tested experimentally in open-loop and closed-loop control. We designed and experimentally tuned a proportional integrator derivative (PID) controller to follow the set points and to track the desired trajectories. The main goal of the presented controller is to control roll and pitch angles simultaneously in order to satisfy set points and trajectories within the work space. The experimental results show that the two degree of freedom SMA actuator system follows the desired setpoints with acceptable rise time and overshoot.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107754632110216
Author(s):  
M Banu Sundareswari ◽  
G Then Mozhi ◽  
K Dhanalakshmi

This article dwells on two technical aspects, the design and implementation of an upgraded version of the differential shape-memory alloy–based revolute actuator/rotary actuating mechanism for stabilization and position control of a two-degree-of-freedom centrally hinged ball on beam system. The actuator is configured with differential and inclined placement of shape-memory alloy springs to provide bidirectional angular shift. The shape-memory alloy spring actuator occupies a smaller space and provides more extensive reformation with justifiable actuation force than an equally able shape-memory alloy wire. The cross or diagonal architecture of shape-memory alloy springs provides force amplification and reduces the actuator’s control effort. The shape-memory alloy spring–embodied actuator’s function is exemplified by the highly dynamic underactuated custom-designed ball balancing system. The ball position control is experimentally demonstrated by cascade control using the control laws that have been unattempted for shape-memory alloy actuated systems; the ball is positioned with linear (integer-order and fractional-order) proportional–integral–derivative controllers optimized with genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization at the outer/primary loop. Angular control of the shape-memory alloy actuated beam is obtained with nonlinear (integer-order and fractional-order sliding mode control) control algorithms in the inner/secondary loop.


Author(s):  
Christophe T. Arendt ◽  
Doris Leithner ◽  
Marius E. Mayerhoefer ◽  
Peter Gibbs ◽  
Christian Czerny ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the performance of radiomic features extracted from high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) for the differentiation between cholesteatoma and middle ear inflammation (MEI), and to investigate the impact of post-reconstruction harmonization and data resampling. Methods One hundred patients were included in this retrospective dual-center study: 48 with histology-proven cholesteatoma (center A: 23; center B: 25) and 52 with MEI (A: 27; B: 25). Radiomic features (co-occurrence and run-length matrix, absolute gradient, autoregressive model, Haar wavelet transform) were extracted from manually defined 2D-ROIs. The ten best features for lesion differentiation were selected using probability of error and average correlation coefficients. A multi-layer perceptron feed-forward artificial neural network (MLP-ANN) was used for radiomics-based classification, with histopathology serving as the reference standard (70% of cases for training, 30% for validation). The analysis was performed five times each on (a) unmodified data and on data that were (b) resampled to the same matrix size, and (c) corrected for acquisition protocol differences using ComBat harmonization. Results Using unmodified data, the MLP-ANN classification yielded an overall median area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.78 (0.72–0.84). Using original data from center A and resampled data from center B, an overall median AUC of 0.88 (0.82–0.99) was yielded, while using ComBat harmonized data, an overall median AUC of 0.89 (0.79–0.92) was revealed. Conclusion Radiomic features extracted from HRCT differentiate between cholesteatoma and MEI. When using multi-centric data obtained with differences in CT acquisition parameters, data resampling and ComBat post-reconstruction harmonization clearly improve radiomics-based lesion classification. Key Points • Unenhanced high-resolution CT coupled with radiomics analysis may be useful for the differentiation between cholesteatoma and middle ear inflammation. • Pooling of data extracted from inhomogeneous CT datasets does not appear meaningful without further post-processing. • When using multi-centric CT data obtained with differences in acquisition parameters, post-reconstruction harmonization and data resampling clearly improve radiomics-based soft-tissue differentiation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Natalia Lewandowska ◽  
Michal Cialkowski

The research concerns the development of geometric variants of patches sewn into the common carotid artery during surgery of the atherosclerotic plaques removal. Based on analytical methods, thegeometry of the patch described by the polynomial function has been developed. The simulations of blood flow in the arteries with the sewn patch were performed. The study included the influence of the patient’s diameter and the width of the chosen patch on blood flow disorders. The result of the research is the algorithm of selecting the geometry of the arterial patch to the individual geometrical featuresof the patient’s artery. The studies result will comprise the development of software, which, upon introduction of input data related to arterial geometry, patch length and patient’s blood parameters (affecting the fluid density and viscosity), shall generate an accurate contour of the patch of width causing no flow disorders.


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