The accurate identification of tumor margins during neurosurgery is a primary concern for the surgeon in order to maximize resection of malignant tissue while preserving normal function. The use of preoperative imaging for guidance is standard of care, but tumor margins are not always clear even when contrast agents are used, and so margins are often determined intraoperatively by visual and ta...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the lower-extremity kinematics when walking on potentially slippery surfaces in simulated construction worksite environments. METHODS A survey was conducted to select two types of footwear, two floorings, and four contaminants to represent the local construction worksite environments, making 16 simulated conditions. A mechanical slip-resist...

Background Painful adult scoliosis presenting kyphotic evolution combined with an anterior imbalance of the trunk is one of the most difficult clinical conditions in rehabilitation. Clinical changes during rehabilitation treatment (physical therapy) can be measured by using surface topography, although postural changes can produce measurement fluctuations, and interpretations should be made cau...

Sudden application of load along a sagittal or coronal axis has been used to study trunk stiffness, but not axial (vertical) load. This study introduces a new method for sudden-release axial load perturbation. Prima facie validity was supported by comparison with standard mechanical systems. We report the response of the human body to axial perturbation in sitting and standing and within-day re...

This paper presents the design and modeling of a flexible tactile sensor, capable of detecting the 2D surface texture image, contact-force estimation and stiffness of the sensed object. The sensor is made of polymer materials. It consists of a cylindrical chamber for pneumatic actuation and a membrane with a mesa structure. The inner radius of the cylindrical chamber is 2cm and its outer radius...

Plane wave imaging in Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) captures shear wave propagation in real-time at ultrafast frame rates. To assess the capability of this technique in accurately visualizing the underlying shear wave mechanics, this work presents a multiphysics modeling approach providing access to the true biomechanical wave propagation behind the virtual image. This methodology was applied t...

Free-standing graphene is inherently crumpled in the out-of-plane direction due to dynamic flexural phonons and static wrinkling. We explore the consequences of this crumpling on the effective mechanical constants of graphene. We develop a sensitive experimental approach to probe stretching of graphene membranes under low applied stress at cryogenic to room temperatures. We find that the in-pla...