Study on the Optimal Design for Cavitation Reduction in the Vortex Suction Cup for Underwater Climbing Robot

In order to adhere to the wall stably in an underwater environment, a vortex suction cup that injects high-pressure water inside via two axisymmetrically side-distributed inlets to create a negative pressure area in the center is the necessary component for the underwater climbing robot (UCR). However, the suction force of this vortex suction cup is reduced and periodically unstable due to unstable cavitation. The aim of this paper is to propose a cavitation reduction optimization method for vortex suction cups and to verify the effectiveness of the optimization. Analyses of this vortex flow, including streamlines, pressure, and cavitation number fluctuations, were carried out by the introduced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulating methods based on the multiphase RNG k−ε model to study the periodic fluctuations of the suction force of the original suction cup and the optimized ones. Force measurement and vortex observation experiments were conducted to compare the suction force of the original vortex suction cup and the optimized suction cup, as well as the cavitation and pressure fluctuation phenomenon. Results of simulation and experiments prove the existence of the effect of vortex cavitation on the suction performance and verify the rationality of optimization as well.

Management of suction cup induced palatal bone resorption in xerostomia patient with sunken cheek appearance: A therapeutic and esthetic treatment option- A case report

Salivary reservoir in maxillary denture offers an effective, non-invasive approach in the treatment of edentulous patients afflicted with xerostomia. It is always desirable to have large volume reservoir in order to decrease the inconvenience of repeated refilling, however, increased bulk of palatal reservoir often leads to discomfort in speech, swallowing and acceptance of such prosthesis. In designing of size and shape of reservoir in the present case, large volume was achieved utilizing circular palatal resorption area, and proper shape was ensured by duplication of functional palatal contour. Adequate voluntary wetting of mouth was effected by “swallowing control saliva release” mechanism of the flexible reservoir lid. Sunken cheek appearance was addressed by using an easy, economical, and effective method of detachable cheek plumpers.

Gripe-Needle: A Sticky Suction Cup Gripper Equipped Needle for Targeted Therapeutics Delivery

This paper presents a multi-purpose gripping and incision tool-set to reduce the number of required manipulators for targeted therapeutics delivery in Minimally Invasive Surgery. We have recently proposed the use of multi-arm Concentric Tube Robots (CTR) consisting of an incision, a camera, and a gripper manipulator for deep orbital interventions, with a focus on Optic Nerve Sheath Fenestration (ONSF). The proposed prototype in this research, called Gripe-Needle, is a needle equipped with a sticky suction cup gripper capable of performing both gripping of target tissue and incision tasks in the optic nerve area by exploiting the multi-tube arrangement of a CTR for actuation of the different tool-set units. As a result, there will be no need for an independent gripper arm for an incision task. The CTR innermost tube is equipped with a needle, providing the pathway for drug delivery, and the immediate outer tube is attached to the suction cup, providing the suction pathway. Based on experiments on various materials, we observed that adding a sticky surface with bio-inspired grooves to a normal suction cup gripper has many advantages such as, 1) enhanced adhesion through material stickiness and by air-tightening the contact surface, 2) maintained adhesion despite internal pressure variations, e.g. due to the needle motion, and 3) sliding resistance. Simple Finite Element and theoretical modeling frameworks are proposed, based on which a miniature tool-set is designed to achieve the required gripping forces during ONSF. The final designs were successfully tested for accessing the optic nerve of a realistic eye phantom in a skull eye orbit, robust gripping and incision on units of a plastic bubble wrap sample, and manipulating different tissue types of porcine eye samples.

Abstract 10618: A Head up CPR Based Care Bundle Improves the Likelihood of Survival to Hospital Discharge After Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Introduction: Survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remain poor with widespread use of conventional (C) CPR. Based on pre-clinical studies showing improved cerebral flow and neurologically-intact survival, a FDA approved automated Head Up Positioning (AHUP) device for CPR was developed for use with an impedance threshold device (ITD), and manual and/or automated suction cup-based CPR. A prospective observational IRB approved registry was created to track use and clinical outcomes with this AHUP device based bundle. Hypothesis: Faster time to use of an AHUP CPR bundle improves survival to hospital discharge after OHCA versus historical controls treated with C-CPR. Methods: Registry patients from sites routinely recording time from 911 call to AHUP device placement (T 911 ) were included. C-CPR controls were from 3 prior randomized prospective CPR trials: 1) Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Prehospital Resuscitation using an IMpedance valve and Early versus Delayed (ROC PRIMED) Study, 2) Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium Amiodarone, Lidocaine, or Placebo Study (ROC-ALPS), 3) The ResQTrial. Propensity score analysis was performed using logistic regression for baseline characteristics including age, sex, witnessed arrest, bystander CPR, shockable rhythm, and time to first responder CPR. Each AHUP patient was matched with up to 4 C-CPR patients. Results: Of 11 U.S. sites reporting AHUP CPR outcomes, 6 had time from 911 call to AHUP device placement recorded (n = 227). The model yielded a c-statistic of 0.76. Stratified by T 911 , the odds of survival with AHUP CPR were significantly higher than with C-CPR between T 911 < 7 minutes (OR 4.57, 95% CI 1.3-16.0) and T 911 < 15 minutes (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.1-3.8). There was a time dependent effect of AHUP device placement on survival (See Figure). Conclusions: More rapid initiation of an AHUP CPR bundle resulted in improved survival to hospital discharge versus historical controls treated with C-CPR in OHCA.

Design and Implementation of a Low-Cost Microcontroller-Based an Industrial Delta Robot

This paper presents a practical design and control for a delta robot based on a low-cost microcontroller. The main purpose of the proposed delta robot is to improve and enhance industrial productivity such as fast pick-and-place tasks and fully autonomous production lines. Additionally, during a global pandemic similar to (COVID-19), some medical and food products suffer from a sudden increase and demand. Moreover, kinematics, workspace dynamics analysis took into consideration an optimized approach to achieve a viable yet efficient model representing them. Furthermore, stress analysis and material selection have been applied, targeting to achieve high customizability of the manipulator linages. Taking availability into considerations, most components are available locally for ease of manufacturing. To add a touch of machine vision to the robot, a camera module is mounted in an optimized fashion to optimize the robot's performance and increase its accuracy. Finally, various interchangeable end effectors can be mounted including a magnetic gripper, vacuum suction cup, soft-robotics grippers, and other types to suit our requirements and needs.

Hydraulically Coupled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators for a Bioinspired Suction Cup

Suction cups of cephalopods show a preeminent performance when absorbing irregular or flat objects. In this paper, an octopi-inspired suction cup, driven by hydraulically coupled dielectric elastomer actuators (HCDEAs), is proposed, which is considered to be controlled easily and have compact structure. To investigate the performance of suction cups, experiments have been conducted to clarify the effect of the pre-stretch ratio and chamber angle on suction forces. It could be seen that both factors have a complicated influence on suction forces, and the best performance obtained was a reasonable combination of the pre-stretch ratio and chamber angle. Here, we achieved a maximum suction force of 175 mN with λp = 1.2, α = 23° under a DC voltage of 3500 V. To enhance the capacity and adaptation of the suction cup, flat objects of various types of materials were introduced as targets. Experimental results displayed that for tested materials, including a dry/wet acrylic plate, CD, ceramic wafer, and aluminum plate, the suction cup showed outstanding performance of absorbing and lifting the target without any damage or scratch to them. Our research may serve as a guide to the optimal design and provide insights into the performance of the HCDEAs-actuated suction cup.

Suction cup induced palatal hyperplasia in maxillary complete denture: A case report

Although various methods have been applied for getting a Complete Denture with perfect retention, but it is difficult to attain. Residual ridge resorption creates an ill-fitting denture, hence causing difficulty while eating and even dislodging during talking, even adding to the patient's embarrassment. Suction cup has been widely used for the retention & stability of dentures, but is known to carry few complications like palatal perforations and oro-antral communications. Here we present a case report of palatal hyperplasia due to the suction cup.