AIM Previous research has shown that general practitioners (GPs) rarely use pneumatic otoscopy or tympanometry as recommended by best practice guidelines for diagnosing otitis media. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a multimodal, interactive training workshop on the techniques of pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry would improve the confidence of GPs for the diagnosis of otit...

OBJECTIVE To determine to what extent FPs teach and use pneumatic otoscopy and to identify the chief influences on this behaviour. DESIGN Mixed-methods descriptive study conducted between March and May 2011. SETTING The family medicine residency program at Laval University in Quebec city, Que. PARTICIPANTS Directors of the family medicine teaching units (FMTUs), teachers, and residents. ...

BACKGROUND Intrasphincteric injection of botulinum toxin is a new treatment option for achalasia. AIMS To compare the immediate and long term efficacy of botulinum toxin with that of pneumatic dilatation. METHODS Symptomatic patients with achalasia were randomised to botulinum toxin (22 patients, median age 57 years) or pneumatic dilatation (20 patients, median age 56 years). Symptom scores...

There has been increased interest in use of pneumatic actuators in many fields, such as medical care and welfare. In particular, proposed pneumatic soft actuator with soft material has many advantages such as low mass, flexibility, safety and user-friendliness. We therefore focus on the pneumatic actuators as a drive source of a rehabilitation device. This paper describes the concept, design, p...

In this contribution, three nonlinear control strategies are presented for a two-degree-offreedom parallel robot that is actuated by two pairs of pneumatic muscle actuators as depicted in Fig. 1. Pneumatic muscles are innovative tensile actuators consisting of a fibrereinforced vulcanised rubber hose with appropriate connectors at both ends. The working principle is based on a rhombical fibre s...

An experimental study concerning particle behaviors in a horizontal dilute swirling flow pneumatic conveying was performed. Measurements of particle velocities and concentration profiles have been carried out using the photographic image technique. From the experimental results, it is found that mean particle velocity of swirling flow pneumatic conveying is lower than that of conventional pneum...

One strategy for actuating soft machines (e.g., tentacles, grippers, and simple walkers) uses pneumatic inflation of networks of small channels in an elastomeric material. Although the management of a few pneumatic inputs and valves to control pressurized gas is straightforward, the fabrication and operation of manifolds containing many (>50) independent valves is an unsolved problem. Complex p...