-------------------------Monitor------------------------
The Newsletter for PC-Based Data Acquisition and Control
Issue 167 www.windmill.co.uk June 2012
--------------------ISSN 1472-0221----------------------
Thanks for subscribing to Monitor. Today we have a
story about how researchers are using a portable Windmill
strain package to aid the accurate fitting of prosthetic
limbs to amputees. Their findings will benefit patients,
in terms of comfort, and save doctors' time and money.
I hope find the newsletter useful, but should you wish
to remove yourself from our mailing please go to
Monitor Newsletter
CONTENTS
========
* Windmill Notes: Windmill Strain Package aids fit of
Prosthetic Limbs
* Windmill News: Download the new data acquisition leaflet
* Excel Corner: Displaying time stamps as seconds
* DAQ News Round-up
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Windmill Notes: Windmill Strain Package aids fit of
Prosthetic Limbs by recording strain
________________________________________________________
British researchers are designing tools to help fit
prosthetic (artificial) limbs to people, increasing
their comfort. Accuracy of fit remains the single most
important factor affecting amputee satisfaction.
The quality of fit depends on how pressure is distributed
around the limb and socket interface. There should be
no pressure on the sensitive regions where the bone is
close to the surface; all the pressure should be supported
by the limb's areas of thick tissue.
Until now, pressure data could only be collected by either:
- inserting a sensor into the socket/limb interface, which
affects the results collected, or
- by modifying the socket to insert the pressure transducer,
making it unsuitable for everyday use.
The researchers from Bournemouth University, the University
of the West of England and the Disablement Services Centre in
Southmead Hospital, though, have found a third way without
the drawbacks of the other two. They are using artificial
intelligence to determine the pressures at the
limb/prosthetic socket interface.
Artificial neural networks (ANNs), like people, learn by
example. An ANN is configured for a specific application
through a repetitive learning process.
Relationship between Strain and Pressure
=========================================
To find the relationship between the surface strains and
internal pressures, the artificial neural network requires
a transducer that can reliably measure a strain response on
the socket due to the internal pressure. The pressure and
strain data must then be stored as ANN input and output pairs.
This requires a loading device for applying known pressures
inside the socket. The engineers decided to use strain
measurement which produces reliable and repeatable responses.
To do this they attached strain gauges to the socket surface,
and had to choose carefully the best method.
Capturing the Strain Measurements
==================================
A transducer usually used for measuring strain underwater
fitted the bill for the experiments. This is a resin encased
stacked strain gauge rosette, giving three separate strain readings
at 0, 45 and 90 degrees. The rosette is stuck to a plastic plate
and the researchers used a standard hot glue gun to bond the
transducer to the prosthetic socket via the plastic plate.
They chose a 751-SG strain monitoring and control
data acquisition system to capture the strain data with a
resolution of +/- 1 microstrain. The 751-SG package comprises
Windmill software, a USB unit which provides differential inputs
to monitor 16 strain gauges at up to 80 samples per second, and
a strain gauge connection box. The Windmill software automatically
monitors the strain gauge's excitation voltage and performs a
bridge calculation to produce a reading in microstrain.
Eight USB units can be connected to one laptop to monitor up to
128 strain gauges. A portable system was required as the
strain data was to be captured in a clinical environment.
The Windmill USB unit was attached to a laptop.
The researchers wrote their own software in Visual C++ utilising
Windmill's IML Tools' Active X controllers, and ANN theory, to
generate the code.
Right First Time Socket Fitting
================================
They concluded that their methodology can aid "right first time"
socket fitting which will benefit both the patient in terms of
comfort and the prosthetist by reducing the time and associated
costs of providing a high level of socket fit.
The 751-SG package is currently on special offer,
reduced from £775 to £475, and is available at
https://www.windmillsoft.com/daqshop/strain-measurement.html
Further Reading
===============
Static and dynamic pressure prediction for prosthetic socket
fitting assessment utilising an inverse problem approach
Philip Sewell, Siamak Noroozi, John Vinneya, Ramin Amalib,
Stephen Andrews. Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Volume 54, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 29–41
IML Tools Active X Controls
https://www.windmillsoft.com/daqshop/programming-tools.html
Windmill 751-SG Strain Gauge Measurement Package
https://www.windmillsoft.com/daqshop/strain-measurement.html
Tips and Techniques for Measuring Strain
https://www.windmill.co.uk/strain-measurement.html
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Windmill News: Ethernet Data Acquisition Leaflet now Available
________________________________________________________
You can now download our leaflet telling all
about the new 851 Ethernet data logger at
https://www.windmillsoft.com/851leaflet.pdf
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Excel Corner: Displaying Time-Stamps as Seconds
________________________________________________________
"Hi, I have a problem with my Excel sheet. How can I
change the time settings to only show seconds?"
Assuming your time settings are in the format hh:mm:ss
then you would multiply this by 24*60*60 (86400). This
is because time is stored internally in Excel as a
fraction of a 24-hour day. For example, Excel sees
12:00 as 0.5 of a day. To convert to seconds you
multiply the time by the number of seconds in a day:
ie by 24 (hours in a day) * 60 (minutes in an hour)
* 60 (seconds in a minute) or 86400.
For more Excel tips and tricks, see
https://www.windmill.co.uk/excel/
Ask us an Excel measurement question: fill in the
form in the Excel page.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
DAQ News Round-up
________________________________________________________
Welcome to our round-up of the data acquisition and
control news. If you would like to receive more
timely DAQ news updates then either follow us on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/#!/DataAcquisition
or grab our RSS newsfeed at
https://www.windmillsoft.com/monitor.xml
Bot with boyish personality wins biggest Turing test
Eugene Goostman, a chatbot with the personality of a
13-year-old boy, won the biggest Turing test ever staged,
on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing.
Held at Bletchley Park, UK, where Turing cracked the
Nazi Enigma code during the second world war, the test
involved over 150 separate conversations, 30 judges,
25 hidden humans and five elite, chattering software
programs. First conceived by Turing in the early 1950s,
the test is the most famous evaluation of machine
intelligence. Human judges converse via a text interface
with both hidden bots and humans - and say in each
case whether they are chatting to a human or machine.
Source: New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/
Understanding ISA-84
The International Society of Automation (ISA) has issued
a guide to understanding ISA-84, addressing the need for
improved understanding and harmonisation of risk reduction
approaches in computer controlled manufacturing.
Source: The International Society of Automation
http://tinyurl.com/isa84
Kinect system keeps track of household objects
Fitting your house with a network of Kinect sensors could
mean never losing your wallet, TV remote or other small
items again.
Source: New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/
Tiny data loggers help show how bird society works
The tiny data logger fitted to a great tit's leg is one
of thousands that researchers are using to study "social
networks" in birds. As well as finding out exactly how
bird society works, the study could shed light on factors
that have an impact on the birds' survival. These include
how diseases are spread between individuals and how easy
it is for the animals to find food or mates.
Source: BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18425408
Technology could monitor hip replacements for signs of wear
A new device could monitor hip replacements for signs
of wear, powered only by the movement of the user' s
walk. The technology, designed to fit inside a typical
prosthetic hip joint, uses a piezo-electric device that
generates up to 3.7V of electricity as the user walks
to power a strain gauge and a transmitter.
Source: The Engineer
https://www.theengineer.co.uk/
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
* Copyright Windmill Software Ltd
* Reprinting permitted with this notice included
* For more articles see https://www.windmill.co.uk
We are happy for you to copy and distribute this
newsletter, and use extracts from it on your own web site
or publication, providing the above notice is
included and a link back to our website is in place.
An archive of previous issues is at
https://www.windmill.co.uk/newsletter.html
and an index of articles at
https://www.windmill.co.uk/monitorindex.html
Windmill Software Ltd, PO Box 58, North District Office,
Manchester, M8 8QR, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)161 834 6688
Facsimile: +44 (0)161 833 2190
E-mail: monitor@windmillsoft.com
https://www.windmill.co.uk/
https://www.windmillsoft.com/
To receive Monitor every month please fill in your e-mail address below. We will not pass your address to any third parties, nor send you any unsolicited e-mail.
Subscribe Monitor
You will receive an e-mail confirming your subscription, with details of how to download the free software. If you don't receive this then your spam filter may be blocking our message. Make sure it is set to accept messages from monitor@windmillsoft.com. If you have problems contact the Editor.
