BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility and potential value of the computer-controlled, 3D, echocardiographic reconstruction of the color Doppler-imaged vena contracta (CDVC) and the flow convergence (FC) region as a means of accurately and quantitatively estimating the severity of a ventricular septal defect (VSD). METHODS AND RESULTS We performed a 3D reco...

Traditional models of ictal propagation involve the concept of an initiation site and a progressive outward march of activation. The process of neurovascular coupling, whereby the brain supplies oxygenated blood to metabolically active neurons presumably results in a similar outward cascade of hyperemia. However, ictal neurovascular coupling has never been assessed in vivo using simultaneous me...

BACKGROUND Adjustment of pulmonary artery banding (PAB) may be a challenging procedure in complex congenital heart defects. Whatever the technique used, subsequent re-operations are frequently needed to control the pulmonary blood flow or pressures. OBJECTIVE To report the efficacy of a new telemetric adjustable PAB (FloWatch-PAB) operated with the help of an external control unit that transm...

seems there is a semantic confusion in the definition of perimembranous VSD coming from the vague definition given by many authors using the term subarterial or subaor-tic VSD to describe perimembranous VSD. When the aorta is far away, it seems that there is difficulty in distinguishing perimembranous VSD from inlet VSD. The definition of the membranous septum is independent from the aortic ann...

With safety aspects due to closer human-robot interaction and increased requirements in energy effiency due to mobile applications, series elastic joint concepts receive high priority in contemporary robotics. Beyond making robots more safe and flexbile, such concepts can store energy and thus optimize the energetic efficiency of the robot’s motion. Therefore adjusting the stiffness is advantag...

Vascular stiffness is an indicator of cardiovascular health, with carotid artery stiffness having established correlation to coronary heart disease and utility in cardiovascular diagnosis and screening. State of art equipment for stiffness evaluation are expensive, require expertise to operate and not amenable for field deployment. In this context, we developed ARTerial Stiffness Evaluation for...