The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) will use an ablative heat shield. To better design this heat shield and others that will undergo planetary entry, an improved understanding of the ablation process would be beneficial. Here, a technique developed at The University of Texas at Austin that uses planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of a low-temperature sublimating ablator (naphthalen...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study aimed to assess preoperative risk factors for the incidence of deep venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF). METHODS The diagnosis of preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was confirmed by Doppler ultrasonography. To examine the preoperative risk factors for DVT admitted for PLIF, comparative analysis of the...

This paper presents some experimental results concerning the collective behavior of a colony of PLIF (Piezo Light Intelligent Flea) microrobots. An introduction to the peculiarities of piezoelectric PLIF microrobots is given, and then the results of co-operation by three robots are illustrated in both simulation and a real application. From the results it emerges that the strategy implemented i...

Background & Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the pain of patients with spondylolisthesis who had undergone either of the surgery techniques: posterolateral fusion (PLF) or posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF). Methods & Materials/Patients: In a prospective observational study, 102 surgical candidates with low grade degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis were e...

Recently, we have completed the development of an The ability to obtain quantitative planar laserincorporates a production fuel injector and is capable of induced fluorescence (PLIF) measurements in a highoperating at pressures up to 50 atm with preheated air. pressure combustor would represent a significant This facility allows laser-based imaging techniques to be advance in the application of...

AIM Although conventional posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using pedicle screws provides successful outcomes, pedicle screw related complications are sometimes noted. SPIRE? was invented as an interspinous fixation device (ISD) to replace pedicle screw. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes in patients who underwent unilateral PLIF using SPIRE? comp...

STUDY DESIGN Clinical case series. PURPOSE In the posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) procedure in our institute, the cephalad screw trajectory follows a mediolateral and caudocephalad directed path according to the original cortical bone trajectory (CBT) method. However, the starting point of the caudal screw is at the medial border of the pedicle on an articular surface of the superior...

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective study. PURPOSE An en bloc partial laminectomy and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in spinal stenosis patients with severe foraminal narrowing has a shorter operation time, less neural manipulation and allows indirect decompression by restoring the interforaminal height compared to other procedures. This study investigated the efficacy of the procedure. ...

BACKGROUND Lumbar spine fusion rates can vary according to the surgical technique. Although many studies on spinal fusion have been conducted and reported, the heterogeneity of the study designs and data handling make it difficult to identify which approach yields the highest fusion rate. This paper reviews studies that compared the lumbosacral fusion rates achieved with different surgical tech...

OBJECT Previous studies of surgical complications associated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) are of limited value due to intrastudy variation in instrumentation and fusion techniques. The purpose of the present study was to examine rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications of PLIF using a large number of cases with uniform instrumentation and a uniform fusion techniq...