background: closure of patent ductus arteriosus (pda), ventricular septal defect (vsd) and atrial septal defect (asd) can be done surgically or by device. this study was designed to compare the total cost of surgical or device closures of pda, asd or vsd for iranian patients. methods: this is a cross-sectional study, conducted from january 1, 2005 until january 1, 2006 in two large heart center...

this is a case presentation of a 26-year-old woman with a moderate-sized atrial septal secundum defect (17mm) who underwent catheterism, during which an amplatzer septal occluder number 26 was inserted successfully. on the second postoperative day, she deteriorated and a clinical examination showed a typical tamponade. after a percutaneous aspiration of the pericardial cavity and transient impr...

Contour Crafting is an emerging technology that uses robotics to construct free form building structures by repeatedly laying down layers of material such as concrete. The Contour Crafting technology scales up automated additive fabrication from building small industrial parts to constructing buildings. Tool path planning and optimization for Contour Crafting benefit the technology by increasin...

OBJECTIVE Re-implantation of autologous skull bone has been known to be difficult because of its propensity for resorption. Moreover, the structural characteristics of the area of the defect cannot tolerate physiologic loading, which is an important factor for graft healing. This paper describes our experiences and results with cranioplasty following decompressive craniectomy using autologous b...

Ideal alveolar ridge width and height allows placement of a natural appearing pontic, which provides maintenance of a plaque-free environment. The contour of a partially edentulous ridge should be thoroughly evaluated before a fixed partial denture is undertaken. Localized alveolar ridge defect refers to a volumetric deficit of the limited extent of bone and soft-tissue within the alveolar proc...

In this paper a new algorithm to restore semi-transparent blotches (or water blotches) in vintage photographic prints is proposed. It works in two steps: the first stage is based on an additive/multiplicative model the optimal parameters of which are searched for around the area to be restored. The second one performs an interpolation along the gradient direction on the contour. The results obt...

A non-contact measurement method, namely electronic speckle pattern interferometer (ESPI), was used to investigate the tensile strain field of a composites plate in the presence of stress concentrations caused by a geometrical defect consisting of circular hole. ESPI uses the principle of 3D speckle interferometry to measure the deformation and contour of the measuring field with submicrometer ...

In 17 patients with atrial septal defect, in 12 patients with mitral stenosis and in four patients with unilateral lung tumor but without evidence of mitral valve disease, a similarity in pressure pulse contours in the left atrium and pulmonary artery wedge position was obtained at cardiac catheterization. It is concluded that the pulmonary artery wedge pressure pulse is a reasonably accurate r...

Dorsal defect of the patella (DDP) is a well-documented yet infrequently observed osteolytic lesion on the superolateral aspect of the patella, primarily occurring in the second and third decades of life. The plain radiographic appearance of DDP is typically a round radiolucent lesion with a peripheral sclerotic margin. On a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fluid-sensitive series, DDP is demons...