A Multivariate Cumulative Sum Method for Continuous Damage Monitoring with Lamb-wave Sensors

This paper proposes a new damage monitoring method based on a multivariate cumulative sum test statistic applied to Lambwave sensing data for health monitoring in composites. TheCUSUM monitoring method applied to the features extracted with Principal Components Analysis was studied to improve robustness of detection and sensitivity to small damages. The method is illustrated with measured sensor data from fatigue loading and impact tests of carbon fiber materials and the performance of the proposed CUSUM approach was compared with existing Mahalanobis distance based monitoring techniques commonly applied in the health monitoring literature. It was shown that the CUSUM approach can significantly improve the misdetection rate for monitoring gradually developing damages.

Lung Ultrasound Proficiency Study

Background and Hypothesis: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a major public health burden, and accounts for billions of dollars in healthcare costs annually. Pulmonary congestion is a primary reason patients with AHF seek emergency care. B-lines on lung ultrasound (LUS) is an objective measurement of congestion. It has great implications on diagnosis and prognosis for patients with AHF, but is operator dependent. The goal of this study was to determine if novice sonographers, with limited training, could quantify LUS B-lines with good correlation when compared to experts. Methods: This was a prospective observational study of novice sonographers from three academic institutions. Sonographers received a structured 2-hour ultrasound training on LUS B-line assessment, which included lecture, B-line video review to practice counting, and hands-on patient scanning. Sonographers quantified B-lines in 4 lung zones in each hemithorax in patients with pulmonary edema. The primary objective was measured by comparing novice sonographer B-line counts to a blinded expert reviewer. We used a cumulative sum method for statistical analysis. Results: There were xx sonographers, who scanned xx patients with pulmonary edema. We found … (will await Eckert’s stats). Conclusion and Potential Impact: Will await Eckert’s stats- if successful, the quantification of B-lines by novice sonographers in patients with AHF may greatly impact diagnosis, prognosis and risk stratification.