Design, modeling, and measurements are discussed for a new direct-drive, electromagnetic valve actuator (EVA) for internal combustion engines. The actuator offers greater dynamic performance than previous designs and achieves fully flexible valve timing and lift, which provides great benefits in engine performance including increased engine efficiency, reduced emissions, and improved low-end pe...

Mitral valve (MV) repair is the procedure of choice for MV prolapse or flail. However, valve repair is more technically demanding and requires a precise definition of MV morphology to determine the timing, complexity, and feasibility of repair. We prospectively examined 170 consecutive patients with MV prolapse or flail referred for MV repair. The MV valve was systematically assessed by intraop...

Many electromagnetic actuators su2er from high velocity impacts. One such actuator is the electromechanical valve actuator, recently receiving attention for enabling variable valve timing in internal combustion engines. Impacts experienced by the actuator are excessively loud and create unnecessary wear. This paper presents an extremum seeking controller designed to reduce the magnitude of thes...

Background—Normal left ventricular myocardium demonstrates distinct spikes in the velocity trace before and after left ventricular ejection. We tested the hypothesis that the preejection and postejection velocity spikes reflect early systolic shortening and late systolic lengthening that are interrupted by mitral and aortic valve closure, respectively. Methods and Results—In 11 anesthetized dog...

Multi-step analytical tests, such as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), require delivery of multiple fluids into a reaction zone and counting the incubation time at different steps. This paper presents a new type of paper-based magnetic valves that can count the time and turn on or off a fluidic flow accordingly, enabling timed fluid control in paper-based microfluidics. The timing c...

In this paper, a model-based strategy for the air-path, fuel injection timing, and fuel pressure control of a heavy-duty Diesel engine is presented. The engine system is a six-cylinder Diesel engine, equipped with a dual-stage fixed geometry turbo system and a variable valve actuation (VVA) system. The VVA operates on the intake valves, and realizes a late Miller combustion cycle. The control s...

This paper investigates optimal strategies for minimising the conflicting objectives of fuel consumption and warm up duration following an engine cold start. Using a reduced order model, parametric solutions for the optimal air-fuel ratio, valve timing, cam timing and idle speed setpoint are sought in the presence of input constraints. The results are then validated using a dynamic programming ...

Background: Heart valve disease gradually increases the pressure in the heart chambers and impairs heart pumping. It influences on quality of life due to low output, disability, fear, amnesia, anxiety, and depression. Although most of signs and symptoms in patients with heart valve diseases may significantly decrease after valve replacement surgery, there is limited information about the impact...