among the therapeutic options for achalasia are pneumatic dilatation (pd), an appropriate long-term therapy, and botulinum toxin injection (bt) that is a relatively short-term therapy. this study aimed to compare therapeutic effect of repetitive pneumatic dilation with a combined method (botulinum toxin injection and pneumatic dilation) in a group of achalasia patients who are low responder to ...

After total hip (THR) or knee replacement (TKR), there is still an appreciable risk of developing deep-vein thrombosis despite prophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH). In a prospective, randomised study we examined the efficacy of LMWH in combination with intermittent pneumatic compression in patients undergoing primary unilateral THR or TKR. We administered 40 mg of enoxaparin dai...

This study presents a combined pneumatic seed-metering device (SMD) that could not only fill, carry, and meter seeds, but also switch quickly between seed-metering and seed-cleaning modes, and clean seeds thoroughly and rapidly. The seed-filling, seed-carrying, and seed-metering modes of the SMD were analyzed based on a theoretical kinematic model. Furthermore, a three-factor, three-level ortho...

This article presents the development and control of a novel hybrid controlled vertical climbing robot based on Pneumatic Muscle Actuators (PMAs). PMAs are highly non– linear pneumatic actuators where their elongation is proportional to the internal pressure. The vertical sliding of the robot is based on four PMAs and through the combined and sequential contraction–extension of the pneumatic mu...

Between June 1987 and December 2002, 237 cases of malleolar fractures were treated at Erasme Hospital using pneumatic stapling, alone or combined with another type of fixation. This retrospective study addresses 176 well-documented cases. The mean follow-up period was 36 months. The results indicate that pneumatic stapling is an effective technique with a very low rate of failure. Comminuted fr...

The ready availability of low cost microprocessors and mechantronic components allow industrial users to consider adopting servo-controlled pneumatic actuators with an acceptable cost. This leads to a demand for a software tool in pneumatic actuator system CAS/CAD. Therefore, the paper introduces a software tool developed by the research group in Liverpool for pneumatic actuator system computer...

Compression therapy--including inelastic, elastic, and intermittent pneumatic compression--is the standard of care for venous ulcers (VLUs) and chronic venous insufficiency, but there is no consensus in the literature regarding the most effective type of compression therapy. A prospective, randomized, clinical pilot study was conducted among 70 patients with unilateral VLUs treated in a hospita...

Pneumatic actuators are attractive for robotic rehabilitation applications because they are lightweight, powerful, and compliant, but their control has historically been difficult, limiting their use. In this paper we present the pneumatic control system developed for Pneu-WREX: a pneumatically actuated, upper extremity orthosis for rehabilitation after stroke. The developed pneumatic control s...

a canola seed pneumatic conveyor was designed and constructed to convey canola seed at a 90 g/hr mass flow rate through a 58 mm diameter pipe. physical and aerodynamic properties of the canola seed that are critical to the design process were measured. system pressure drop, comprising air pressure drop and solid pressure drop and which is the most important aspect of pneumatic conveyor design, ...