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Objective . Blood C-reactive protein (CRP) and the electrical bioimpedance spectroscopy (EBIS) variables phase angle (PhA) and impedance ratio (IR) have been proposed as biomarkers of metainflammation in overweight/obesity. CRP involves taking blood samples, while PhA and IR imply a less-than-2-minute-non-invasive procedure. In this study, values for these variables and percent body fat mass (PBFM) were obtained and compared before and immediately after a colon cleansing protocol (CCP), aimed at modulating intestinal microbiota and reducing metainflammation, as dysbiosis and the latter are intrinsically related, as well as along a period of 8 weeks after it. Approach . 20 female volunteers (20.9-24.9 years old) participated: 12 in an overweight group ( OG ), and 8 in a lean group ( LG ). The OG was divided in two subgroups ( n = 6, each): control ( CSG ) and experimental ( ESG ). The ESG underwent a 6-day CCP at week 2, while 5 volunteers in the CSG underwent it at week 9. Main results. Pre/post-CCP mean values for the variables in the OG were: PBFM (34.3/31.3%), CRP (3.7/0.6 mg dl -1 ), PhA (6.9/7.5°) and IR*10 (0.78/0.77). Calculated R 2 correlation factors among these variables are all above 0.89. The favourable changes first seen in the ESG were still present 8 weeks after the CCP. Significance. (a) the CCP drastically lowers meta-inflammation, (b) EBIS can be used to measure metainflammation, before and after treatment, (c) for microbiota modulation, CCP could be a good alternative to more drastic procedures like faecal microbiota transplantation; (d) reestablishing eubiosis by CCP could be an effective coadjutant in the treatment of overweight young adult women., (© 2024 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.)

To evaluate the association of standardized phase angle (SPA) with nutritional status, functional parameters, and postoperative outcomes in surgical cancer patients. This prospective study includes 59 cancer patients from Pelotas (Brazil) admitted for elective cancer surgery. We obtained the phase angle through Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) and standardized it according to the population's reference values. We estimated the muscle mass using BIA for later calculation of the Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) and performed handgrip strength (HGS) and gait speed (GS) tests. We used the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) to assess the nutritional status. Postoperative complications and duration of hospital stay were evaluated as the outcomes. The prevalence of malnutrition in the sample was 28.8%, according to ASG-PPP. SPA was statistically lower in patients with malnutrition, with lower HGS and reduced GS. For postoperative outcomes, patients with severe complications and those with prolonged hospitalization also had lower SPA values. The greater the number of functional alterations in patients, the lower the SPA value, mainly when associated with reduced muscle mass assessed by BIA, suggesting that muscle mass reduction plays an important role in the association between functional alterations and phase angle in patients with cancer. According to the parameters used in this study, low SPA value was associated with impaired nutritional and functional status and negative outcomes in the analyzed sample., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The Focused Impedance Method (FIM) is a new technique of electrical bioimpedance measurements in the human body. The idea originated in Bangladesh and provides an opportunity for localized measurement of bioimpedance down to reasonable depths from the body surface using skin surface electrodes. This has potential applications for physiological studies of targeted organs in the body and in detecting or diagnosing diseases and disorders. FIM is based on the age-old Tetra-Polar Impedance Measurement (TPIM) but provides a few significant improvements. Technology must be developed indigenously to obtain long-term benefits, particularly in Low and Medium Income countries (LMIC). This paper presents an experimental sensitivity study of the six-electrode version of the Focused Impedance method (FIM-6) with the circuit and phantom indigenously designed in Nepal. The work involved sensitivity studies of both FIM-6 and TPIM with the necessary circuit blocks developed through experimental validation. The sensitivity studies were performed on a simple 2D phantom with different electrode arrangements for FIM-6 and linear TPIM. A cylindrical object was placed at different positions for this study. The FIM-6 gave a high sensitivity in the central part, which remained almost constant within a small region that may be termed as the focused region. On the other hand, TPIM results fell off sharply away from the central point, making it unsuitable for practical measurements on target organs. Besides, there were areas with large negative sensitivities in TPIM, which were much smaller in FIM. The results obtained through this work clearly show the improvement offered by FIM over TPIM., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Authors state no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Trilochan Khanal et al., published by Sciendo.)

Electrical bioimpedance is a non-invasive and radiation-free technique that was proposed to be used in different clinical areas, however, its practical use is limited due to its low capacity to discriminate between tissues. In order to overcome this limitation, our research group proposes to incorporate the contrast media into the electrical bioimpedance procedure. The main objective of the present study was to assess the crystalloid solutions as a possible contrast media to discriminate between different tissue types in the bioimpedance technique. Two medical-grade crystalloid solutions (Hartmann and NaCl 0.9%) were injected into three biological ex vivo models: kidney, liver, and brain. BIOPAC system was used to acquire bioimpedance data before and after the injections. The data was adjusted to the Debye electrical model. The analysis of measured values showed substantial bioimpedance disparities in tissues subjected to isotonic solutions. The NaCl solution exhibited more pronounced changes in electrical parameters compared to the Hartmann solution. Similarly, NaCl solution displayed superior discriminatory capabilities among tissues, with variations of 465%, 157%, and 206%. Distinct spectral modifications were identified, with tissues demonstrating unique responses at each frequency of analysis relative to untreated tissue. Variations in bandwidth alterations were discernible among tissues, providing clear distinctions. In conclusion, the research showed that the crystalloid solution exhibited greater sensitivity and superior tissue contrast at specific frequencies. This study's findings underscore the feasibility of implementing crystalloid solutions to enhance tissue discrimination, similar to the effects of contrast agents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In 2019, cirrhosis accounted for 2.4% of global deaths. The projection for 2030 is an increase in this index. In recent years, hospitalization costs have escalated by 36% for compensated cirrhosis and 24% for decompensated cirrhosis. Therefore, it is necessary to identify a tool capable of predicting the mortality of these patients according to their clinical condition and consequently extending their survival time. Different studies have shown that the phase angle (PA) can be a feasible method in clinical practice, with the potential to guide assertive patient management in the therapeutic of chronic liver disease., Aim: To evaluate the prognostic role of PA in cirrhotic patients over a 15-year follow-up period., Methods: Retrospective cohort study with 129 cirrhotic patients of both sexes over 18 years old. Diagnosis of cirrhosis by liver biopsy. The first year of data collection was 2007, and data regarding outcomes was collected in 2023. Data were gathered from medical records, such as esophageal varices (EV), EV bleeding, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), encephalopathy, laboratory findings and PA. The cut-off value for the PA was 5.4°, a value described in 2012 by Fernandes et al for 129 patients evaluated in this study and the cut-off points for the Brazilian population presented in percentiles (P), as described by Mattiello et al . The mortality was assessed using the PA percentile through Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate binary logistic regression models., Results: Patients were divided into two groups according to the PA 5.4th (PA > 5.4°, n = 40; PA ≤ 5.4°, n = 89) PA percentile (< P50, n = 56; ≥ P50 n = 73). The percentile classification was more accurate in identifying long-term deaths than the 5.4º PA. Patients with < P50 had a higher number of relevant complications such as ascites, SBP, liver encephalopathy and HCC. PA is strongly correlated with serum albumin ( P < 0.001), International Normalized Ratio ( P = 0.01), total bilirubin ( P = 0.02) and direct bilirubin ( P = 0.003). PA is correlated with survival time ( P < 0.001) and length of stay ( P = 0.02). Logistic regression analysis shows that an increase of 1° in PA enlarges the cirrhotic patient's chance of survival by 17.7%., Conclusion: PA is a good predictor of morbidity and mortality for cirrhotic patients. The PA by percentile showed greater sensitivity in predicting mortality compared to the cut-off point of 5.4º., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest for any of the researchers., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Captive housed non-human primates, specifically great apes such as chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are frequently reported to have died from or are diagnosed with potentially fatal heart conditions that require the monitoring of physiological signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) or respiratory rate. ECG screening must be conducted after applying full anaesthesia, causing potential physical and emotional stress as well as risk for the animal. Here, we present an electronic system that simultaneously measures the ECG and the electrical bioimpedance for the early detection of abnormal cardiovascular activity. Modified gloves whose fingers are equipped with electrodes enable the caregiver to obtain three cardiovascular signals (ECG, pulse rate and respiratory rate) by placing the fingertips on specific parts of the non-human primate without needing any prior physical preparations. Validation (ECG and bioimpedance) was performed both on humans and on captive housed chimpanzees, where all the signals of interest were correctly acquired., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2023. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), being the culprit for one-third of deaths globally, constitute a challenge for biomedical instrumentation development, especially for early disease detection. Pulsating arterial blood flow, providing access to cardiac-related parameters, involves the whole body. Unobtrusive and continuous acquisition of electrical bioimpedance (EBI) and photoplethysmography (PPG) constitute important techniques for monitoring the peripheral arteries, requiring novel approaches and clever means., Methods: In this work, five peripheral arteries were selected for EBI and PPG signal acquisition. The acquisition sites were evaluated based on the signal morphological parameters. A small-data-based deep learning model, which increases the data by dividing them into cardiac periods, was proposed to evaluate the continuity of the signals., Results: The highest sensitivity of EBI was gained for the carotid artery (0.86%), three times higher than that for the next best, the posterior tibial artery (0.27%). The excitation signal parameters affect the measured EBI, confirming the suitability of classical 100 kHz frequency (average probability of 52.35%). The continuity evaluation of the EBI signals confirmed the advantage of the carotid artery (59.4%), while the posterior tibial artery (49.26%) surpasses the radial artery (48.17%). The PPG signal, conversely, commends the location of the posterior tibial artery (97.87%)., Conclusions: The peripheral arteries are highly suitable for non-invasive EBI and PPG signal acquisition. The posterior tibial artery constitutes a candidate for the joint acquisition of EBI and PPG signals in sensor-fusion-based wearable devices-an important finding of this research.

Introduction: Serum resistin levels have been associated with obesity, visceral fat, and insulin resistance. Its relationship with muscle mass has been less evaluated., Objectives: to evaluate the relationship between muscle mass determined by electrical bioimpedance and circulating resistin levels in obese women over 60 years of age., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 313 obese women. Anthropometric data (weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference), BIA parameters (total fat mass (TFM), fat-free mass (FFM), fat-free mass index (FFMI)), skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI)), blood pressure and laboratory tests were recorded., Results: Patients were divided into two different groups according to the mean value of SMI (11.93 kg/m 2 ): low SMI versus high SMI. In the low SMI group, the resistin levels were higher than the resistin levels in the high SMI group (delta value: 2.8 + 0.3 ng/dl:p = 0.01). Serum resistin levels are inversely correlated with FFM, FFMI, SMM, and SMI. This adipokine shows a positive correlation with insulin, HOMA-IR and PCR levels. In the model with SMI as the dependent variable, resistin levels explained 12% of the variability in muscle mass (Beta -0.38, 95% CI -0.91 to -0.11)., Conclusions: Serum resistin levels are associated with low skeletal muscle mass in obese women over 60 years of age., (Copyright © 2023 SEEN and SED. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

In general, the electrical property of soft tissues is sensitive to the force applied to their surface. To further study the relationship between the force and the electrical property of soft tissues, this paper attempts to investigate the effect of static and higher-order stresses on electrical properties. Overall, a practical experimental platform is designed to acquire the force information and the electrical property of soft tissues during a contact procedure, which is featured different compression stimuli, such as constant pressing force, constant pressing speed, and step-force compression, etc. Furthermore, the piezoresistive characteristic is innovatively introduced to model the mechanical-electrical properties of soft tissue. Finite Element Modeling (FEM) is adopted to fit the static piezoresistivity of the soft tissue. Finally, experimental studies were performed to demonstrate the effect of stress on the electrical properties and the feasibility of the proposed piezoresistive model to describe soft tissues' mechanical and electrical properties.

The early detection of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is essential to improve patient prognosis and enable organ and function preservation treatments. The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of using electrical bioimpedance (EBI) sensing technology to detect HNSCC tissue. A prospective study was carried out analyzing tissue from 46 patients undergoing surgery for HNSCC. The goal was the correct identification of pathologic tissue using a novel needle-based EBI sensing device and AI-based classifiers. Considering the data from the overall patient cohort, the system achieved accuracies between 0.67 and 0.93 when tested on tissues from the mucosa, skin, muscle, lymph node, and cartilage. Furthermore, when considering a patient-specific setting, the accuracy range increased to values between 0.82 and 0.95. This indicates that more reliable results may be achieved when considering a tissue-specific and patient-specific tissue assessment approach. Overall, this study shows that EBI sensing may be a reliable technology to distinguish pathologic from healthy tissue in the head and neck region. This observation supports the continuation of this research on the clinical use of EBI-based devices for early detection and margin assessment of HNSCC.

Background: To investigate the clinical significance of the disturbance coefficient (DC) and regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO 2 ) as obtained through the use of electrical bioimpedance and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in pediatric neurocritical care., Participants and Methods: We enrolled 45 pediatric patients as the injury group and 70 healthy children as the control group. DC was derived from impedance analysis of 0.1 mA-50 kHz current via temporal electrodes. rSO 2 was the percentage of oxyhemoglobin measured from reflected NIR light on the forehead. DC and rSO 2 were obtained at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery for the injury group and during the health screening clinic visit for the control group. We compared DC and rSO 2 between the groups, their changes over time within the injury group and their correlation with intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score, Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score, and their ability to diagnose postoperative cerebral edema and predict poor prognosis., Results: DC and rSO 2 were significantly lower in the injury group than in the control group. In the injury group, ICP increased over the monitoring period, while DC, CPP and rSO 2 decreased. DC was negatively correlated with ICP and positively correlated with GCS score and GOS score. Additionally, lower DC values were observed in patients with signs of cerebral edema, with a DC value of 86.5 or below suggesting the presence of brain edema in patients aged 6-16 years. On the other hand, rSO 2 was positively correlated with CPP, GCS score, and GOS score, with a value of 64.4% or below indicating a poor prognosis. Decreased CPP is an independent risk factor for decreased rSO 2 ., Conclusion: DC and rSO 2 monitoring based on electrical bioimpedance and near-infrared spectroscopy not only reflect the degree of brain edema and oxygenation, but also reflect the severity of the disease and predict the prognosis of the patients. This approach offers a real-time, bedside, and accurate method for assessing brain function and detecting postoperative cerebral edema and poor prognosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wang, Xing, Zhou, Fang, Fu and Xu.)

Background: Pelotherapy is the traditional procedure of applying curative muds on the skin's surface-shown to have a positive effect on the human body and cure illnesses. The effect of pelotherapy is complex, functioning through several mechanisms, and depends on the skin's functional condition. The current research objective was to develop a methodology and electrodes to assess the passage of the chemical and biologically active compounds of curative mud through human skin by performing electrical bioimpedance (EBI) analysis., Methods: The methodology included local area mud pack and simultaneous tap water compress application on the forearms with the comparison to the measurements of the dry skin. A custom-designed small-area gold-plated electrode on a rigid printed circuit board, in a tetrapolar configuration, was designed. A pilot study experiment with ten volunteers was performed., Results: Our results indicated the presence of an effect of pelotherapy, manifested by the varying electrical properties of the skin. Distinguishable difference in the measured real part of impedance ( R ) emerged, showing a very strong correlation between the dry and tap-water-treated skin (r = 0.941), while a poor correlation between the dry and mud-pack-treated skin (r = 0.166) appeared. The findings emerged exclusively in the frequency interval of 10 kHz …1 MHz and only for R ., Conclusions: EBI provides a promising tool for monitoring the variations in the electrical properties of the skin, including the skin barrier. We foresee developing smart devices for promoting the exploitation of spa therapies.

Bladder monitoring, including urinary incontinence management and bladder urinary volume monitoring, is a vital part of urological care. Urinary incontinence is a common medical condition affecting the quality of life of more than 420 million people worldwide, and bladder urinary volume is an important indicator to evaluate the function and health of the bladder. Previous studies on non-invasive techniques for urinary incontinence management technology, bladder activity and bladder urine volume monitoring have been conducted. This scoping review outlines the prevalence of bladder monitoring with a focus on recent developments in smart incontinence care wearable devices and the latest technologies for non-invasive bladder urine volume monitoring using ultrasound, optical and electrical bioimpedance techniques. The results found are promising and their application will improve the well-being of the population suffering from neurogenic dysfunction of the bladder and the management of urinary incontinence. The latest research advances in bladder urinary volume monitoring and urinary incontinence management have significantly improved existing market products and solutions and will enable the development of more effective future solutions.

Purpose: Detrusor pressure-volume relationship evaluation by urodynamics provides useful clinical information; however, it is invasive, and requires specific installations. An alternative technique proposed by our research group is the electrical bioimpedance (BI) which is an easily performed and non-invasive method. In this work, we assess the relationship between BI and detrusor bladder pressure in adults with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction., Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted. 20 patients (11 females and 9 male) previously diagnosed with neurogenic bladder were included. All participants underwent simultaneously a urodynamic evaluation (UDS) and BI determination, and both examination signals were recorded and subjected to Shapiro-Wilks statistical test. A correlational statistical test was used to compare the pressure parameters (detrusor, vesical and abdominal) with their respective BI determinations. Subsequently, a linear regression test was performed to evaluate the concordance between BI and their respective pressure values., Results: From the 20 correlations, between detrusor bladder pressure (PDET) and abdominal bioimpedance determinations (ZABD), obtained for all participants, 16 evidenced significant results over 90% (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: A significantly high correlation between abdominal bioimpedance determinations and the detrusor bladder pressures was evidenced. These results should be confirmed in a larger group of participants., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Parasitic capacitance represents the main error source in measurement systems based on electrical impedance spectroscopy. The capacitive nature of electrodes' impedance in tetrapolar configuration can give origin to phase errors when electrodes are coupled to parasitic capacitances. Nevertheless, reactive charges in tissue excitation systems are susceptible to instability. Based on such a scenario, mitigating capacitive effects associated with the electrode is a requirement in order to reduce errors in the measurement system. A literature review about the main compensation techniques for parasitic capacitance was carried out. The selected studies were categorized into three groups: (i) compensation in electronic instrumentation; (ii) compensation in measurement processing, and (iii) compensation by negative impedance converters. The three analyzed methods emerged as effective against fixed capacitance. No method seemed capable of mitigating the effects of electrodes' capacitance, that changes in the frequency spectrum. The analysis has revealed the need for a method to compensate varying capacitances, since electrodes' impedance is unknown.

Background: Overhydration (OH) is common in peritoneal dialysis (PD) and increases the cardiovascular risk. Multifrequency bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) has been proposed to estimate the hydration in dialysis. Our objective was to evaluate if BIS is superior than control based on clinical assessment plus single-frequency bioimpedance (SF-BIA) on the fluid control and intermediate cardiovascular outcomes., Methods: Randomized controlled study in adult PD patients, with a 9-month follow-up, allocated into two groups: control and BIS. Data were collected from medical records. SF-BIA and BIS, laboratory exams, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, echocardiography (ECHO), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were evaluated. The BIS data were available to the medical team only in BIS group., Results: 34 patients completed the study, 17 in each group. At the endpoint the BIS group had a significant ( p < 0.05) greater proportion of patients with OH/extracellular water (OH/ECW%) ≤ 15% than the control (94.1% vs. 52.9%), and a lower OH mean (2.1 ± 1.6 vs. 0.9 ± 1.1 L). The control group has a significant increase in the tumor necrosis factor alpha median concentration from baseline to six [11.9 (6.0-24.1) vs. 44.7 (9.4-70.6) pg/ml] and 9 months [11.9 (6.0-24.1) vs. 39.4 (27.9-62.6) pg/ml], and in the N-terminal fragment of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide median [239 (171.5-360.5) vs. 356 (219-1,555) pg/ml]. For cardiovascular parameters, BIS group presented a significant reduction in radial PWV [7.7 (6.9-9.2) vs. 6.5 (5.5-8.4) m/s] at 9 month, while in the control presented a significant increase in mean central systolic blood pressure (BP) (106.8 ± 11.2 vs. 117.6 ± 16.5 mmHg) and in central diastolic BP (90.4 ± 9.8 vs. 103.3 ± 12.5 mmHg) at 9 months. The left ventricular mass (LVM)/body surface presented a significant reduction in the control (109.6 ± 30.8 vs. 101.2 ± 28.9 g/m 2 ) and BIS group (107.7 ± 24.9 vs. 96.1 ± 27.0 g/m 2 ) at 9 months., Conclusion: The results suggest BIS is superior than the clinical evaluation plus SF-BIA for the fluid control of PD patients., Clinical Trial Registration: [https://www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [RBR-10k8j3bx]., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Costa, Reis, Reis, Oliveira, Zanati Bazan, Canedo da Silva, Martin and Barretti.)

Objective. Tissue recognition is a critical process during a Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) and it relies on the involvement of advanced sensing technology. Approach. In this paper, the concept of Robot Assisted Electrical Impedance Sensing (RAEIS) is utilized and further developed aiming to sense the electrical bioimpedance of target tissue directly based on the existing robotic instruments and control strategy. Specifically, we present a new sensing configuration called pseudo-tetrapolar method. With the help of robotic control, we can achieve a similar configuration as traditional tetrapolar, and with better accuracy. Main results. Five configurations including monopolar, bipolar, tripolar, tetrapolar and pseudo-tetrapolar are analyzed and compared through simulation experiments. Advantages and disadvantages of each configuration are thus discussed. Significance. This study investigates the measurement of tissue electrical property directly based on the existing robotic surgical instruments. Specifically, different sensing configurations can be realized through different connection and control strategies, making them suitable for different application scenarios., (© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

Background & Aims: There is minimal data regarding the long-term effects of targeted daily protein intake and its role in nutritional restoration. This study aims to evaluate the effect of protein supplementation among upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgical patients, reviewing the effect on muscle mass and hand grip strength., Methods: The records of 223 upper GI surgical patients from September 2017 to June 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Protein intake was categorised based on average daily protein intake (0.8g-1.2 g/kg/day vs. more than 1.2 g/kg/day), depending on compliance to the institution target of 1.2g-1.5 g/kg/day. Hand grip strength and body composition including weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), Fat-Free Mass (FFM), and Fat Mass (FM) were measured. Paired t-tests and independent t-tests were used to analyse the effects of different levels of protein intake on hand grip strength and body composition., Results: Among the 223 patients included, 84 subjects had benign upper GI pathology and 139 subjects had malignant upper GI pathology, with mean follow-up duration of 52.3 (SD,42.10) weeks and 39.3 (SD,35.11) respectively. Patients with malignant pathology who consumed more than 1.2 g/kg/day of protein had increased hand-grip strength and preservation of FFM, while those who consumed 0.8g-1.2 g/kg/day of protein had deteriorating hand grip strength and significant FFM reduction (p = 0.004). Patients with benign pathology showed significant improvement in hand-grip strength (p < 0.001) and increase in FFM (p < 0.001) with higher protein intake., Conclusion: Protein supplementation is paramount in nutrition recovery and muscle mass restoration among upper gastrointestinal surgical patients. Protein intake of at least 1.2 g/kg/day was especially important among patients with malignancy to preserve muscle mass and strength., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest and no external source of any funds received for this research., (Copyright © 2022 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

With the evolving demands of surgical intervention, there is a strong need for smaller and functionally augmented instruments to improve surgical outcomes, operational convenience, and diagnostic safety. Owing to the narrow and complicated anatomy, the probe head of the medical instrument is required to possess both good maneuverability and compact size. In addition, the development of medical instrument is moving toward patient-specialized, of which the articulation positions can be customized to reach the target position. To fulfill these requirements, this study presents the design of a smart handheld device which equips with a low cost, easy control, disposable flexible wrist, and an electrical bioimpedance sensor for medical diagnosis. Prototype of the device is made and tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed device can provide accurate manipulation and effective tissue detection, showing a great potential in various medical applications.

This study proposes a low-cost, portable, eight-channel electrical impedance tomograph based on the AD5933 impedance converter. The patterns for current injection and voltage measurement are managed by an Arduino Mega 2560 board and four 74HC4067 Texas Instruments multiplexers. Regarding the experimental results, the errors in the impedance estimates of an electrical circuit that represents a Cole model were less than 1.14% for the magnitude and 4.15% for the phase. Furthermore, the signal-to-noise ratio measured in a resistive phantom was 55.23 dB. Additional experiments consisted of placing five spheres of different size and conductivity in a saline tank, measuring their impedance through eight electrodes, and then generating impedance maps using the Electrical Impedance Tomography and Diffuse Optical Tomography Reconstruction Software (EIDORS). These maps were different for each sphere, suggesting the proposed prototype as a promising alternative for medical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to summarize the evidence on the association of phase angle (PhA) with muscle strength and aerobic fitness in different populations., Methods: A systematic search on this topic was performed in nine electronic databases (CINAHL, LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, ScienceDirect, MEDLINE, and Web of Science) in January 2021. Studies with different designs that permitted extraction of information about the relationships between PhA and muscle strength and between PhA and aerobic fitness were included. A total of 4446 studies were initially identified; 34 were included after reading of the title, abstract, full text, and references. Four of the studies included had a longitudinal design, with samples consisting of participants ages 6 to 92 years. Thirty-two of the 34 studies evaluated the relationship between PhA and muscle strength, two cross-sectional studies investigated only PhA and aerobic fitness, and three cross-sectional studies evaluated both components (muscle strength and aerobic fitness)., Results: PhA was directly associated with muscle strength in 30 cross-sectional studies and two longitudinal studies; the two studies that did not find a direct relationship had a cross-sectional design. For aerobic fitness, the five studies identified reported a direct relationship with PhA., Conclusions: PhA is directly associated with muscle strength and aerobic fitness in different age groups (children, adolescents, adults, and older adults) and in people with different health conditions (human immunodeficiency virus, Crohn's disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bariatric surgery, kidney transplant, cancer, hemodialysis, and sarcopenia)., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to examine whether electrical impedance tomography (EIT) could determine the presence of ventilation inhomogeneity in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) from measurements carried out not only during conventional forced full expiration maneuvers but also from forced inspiration maneuvers and quiet tidal breathing and whether the inhomogeneity levels were comparable among the phases and higher than in healthy subjects. EIT data were acquired in 52 patients with exacerbated COPD (11 women, 41 men, 68 ± 11 years) and 14 healthy subjects (6 women, 8 men, 38 ± 8 years). Regional lung function parameters of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ), forced inspiratory vital capacity (FIVC), forced inspiratory volume in 1 s (FIV 1 ), and tidal volume (V T ) were determined in 912 image pixels. The spatial inhomogeneity of the pixel parameters was characterized by the coefficients of variation (CV) and the global inhomogeneity (GI) index. CV and GI values of pixel FVC, FEV 1 , FIVC, FIV 1 , and V T were significantly higher in patients than in healthy subjects ( p ≤ 0.0001). The ventilation distribution was affected by the analyzed lung function parameter in patients (CV: p = 0.0024, GI: p = 0.006) but not in healthy subjects. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that CV and GI discriminated patients from healthy subjects with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.835 and 0.852 (FVC), 0.845 and 0.867 (FEV 1 ), 0.903 and 0.903 (FIVC), 0.891 and 0.882 (FIV 1 ), and 0.821 and 0.843 (V T ), respectively. These findings confirm the ability of EIT to identify increased ventilation inhomogeneity in patients with COPD., Competing Interests: IF has received funding from the European Commission (grant agreement numbers 611223, 668259, and 825572) and speaking/congress fees from Dräger AG & Co KGaA outside the submitted work. ZZ has received a consulting fee from Dräger AG & Co KGaA outside the submitted work. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Frerichs, Lasarow, Strodthoff, Vogt, Zhao and Weiler.)

Objective. Bioimpedance technology is experiencing an increased use to assess health in a wide range of new consumer, research and clinical applications. However, the interaction between tissues producing bioimpedance data is often unclear. Methods. This work provides a novel theoretical framework to model bioimpedance measurements of nonhomogeneous tissues. We consider five case studies to validate the usefulness of our approach against finite element model simulations. Results. Theoretical and FEM-simulated apparent resistance and reactance data were in good agreement, with a maximum relative errors <4% and <8%, respectively. Conclusion. The biophysics-driven framework developed provides compact analytical expressions to model nonhomogeneous bioimpedance measurements including multiple tissues with arbitrary shape and electrical properties. This work provides a new perspective to interpret nonhomogeneous bioimpedance measurements using series , parallel , and series-parallel circuit-like topology equivalents. Significance. Our framework is a new tool to better understand and describe complex nonhomogeneous biological measurements as, for example, cardiac, brain and respiratory applications using (non)invasive electrodes., (© 2021 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.)

Background: Protein-energy wasting is related to impairment of quality of life and lower survival of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients. The evaluation of body composition, especially fat free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM), is important for the prediction of outcomes in these individuals. The aim of this study was to compare the FFM and FM measurements obtained by single-frequency bioimpedance (SF-BIA) and by a multiple frequency bioimpedance (MF-BIA) device, using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving adult patients undergoing regular PD, in which we performed SF-BIA, MF-BIA, and DXA at the same visit. To compare the bioimpedance values with DXA, we used: Person correlation ( r ), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman concordance analysis. Results: The sample consisted of 50 patients in the PD, with mean age of 55.1 ± 16.3 years. Both bioimpedance methods showed a strong correlation ( r > 0.7) and excellent reproducibility (ICC > 0.75) compared to DXA. According to the Bland-Altman diagram, SF-BIA showed agreement in body compartment measurements, with no proportionality bias ( p > 0.05), without systematic bias for FFM (-0.5 ± 4.9, 95% CI -1.8 to 0.9, p = 0.506), and for FM (0.3 ± 4.6, p = 0.543). MF-BIA did not present a proportionality bias for the FFM, but it underestimated this body compartment by 2.5 ± 5.4 kg ( p = 0.002). In addition, MF-BIA presented proportionality bias for FM. Conclusion: SF-BIA was a more accurate assessing method than MBIA for FFM and FM measurements in PD patients. Because it is a low-cost, non-evaluator-dependent measurement and has less systematic bias, it can also be recommended for fat mass and free-fat mass evaluation in PD patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Reis, Vaninni, Silva, de Oliveira, Reis, Costa, Martin and Barretti.)

Hypoxia poses a serious threat to pilots. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of electrical bioimpedance (EBI) in detecting the onset of hypoxia in real time in a rabbit hypoxia model. Thirty-two New Zealand rabbits were divided equally into four groups (control group and three hypoxia groups, i.e., mild, moderate, and severe). Hypoxia was induced by simulating various altitudes in the hypobaric oxygen chamber (3,000 m, 5,000 m, and 8,000 m). Both cerebral impedance and blood oxygen (Sp O 2 ) were monitored continuously. Results showed that the cerebral impedance increased immediately during the period of increasing altitude and decreased quickly to the initial baseline at the phase of descending altitude. Moreover, the change of cerebral impedance in the mild hypoxia group (3,000 m) was significantly smaller than those in the other two groups (5,000 m and 8,000 m, P < 0.05). The changes in cerebral impedance and Sp O 2 were significantly correlated based on the total of measurement data ( r 2 = 0.628, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the agreement analysis performed with Bland-Altman and standardized residual plots exhibited high concordance between cerebral impedance and Sp O 2 . Receiver operator characteristic analysis manifested that the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve using cerebral impedance for changes in Sp O 2 This study is the first to examine the efficacy of electrical bioimpedance (EBI) in detecting the onset of high-altitude hypoxia in real time. The novelty of this research includes three aspects. First, the cerebral impedance of rabbits increased immediately during the rising of altitude and decreased quickly to the initial baseline at the phase of descending altitude. Second, there was a significant correlation and high concordance between cerebral impedance and Sp NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study is the first to examine the efficacy of electrical bioimpedance (EBI) in detecting the onset of high-altitude hypoxia in real time. The novelty of this research includes three aspects. First, the cerebral impedance of rabbits increased immediately during the rising of altitude and decreased quickly to the initial baseline at the phase of descending altitude. Second, there was a significant correlation and high concordance between cerebral impedance and Sp O 2 . Third, cerebral impedance could determine the change of Sp O 2 resulting from hypoxia.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multi-organ disease with significant mortality. Diagnosis of malnutrition is sometimes difficult, and gastrointestinal disorders in patients with SSc may play a significant role in deteriorating nutritional status. Many factors can contribute to the development of eating disorders in this group of patients, including mood disorders, depression, anxiety - may reduce appetite, ulceration and skin changes, may cause difficulties in preparing and eating meals., Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status of patients with SSc., Materials and Methods: The study included 32 patients with diagnosed SSc, mean age 52.9±15.9 years. Anthropometric measurements were performed in all SSc patients and body composition was assessed using electrical bioimpedance (BIA). The hand grip strength range was measured using a dynamometer., Results: Obesity was diagnosed in one patient (3.1%) with SSc. Most patients with SSc, as many as 19 (59.4%), had normal body weight based on BMI. 10 (31.5%) SSc patients were overweight. 2 (6.3%) patients with SSc were diagnosed with malnutrition based on BMI. In the group of patients with SSc, 2 people had deficiencies in lean body mass calculated on the basis of the Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI), while on the basis of the BMI analysis their body mass was normal. In 26 patients with SSc, the content of lean mass assessed on the basis of the FFMI index was normal, while one of these persons had a BMI below the norm and on this basis was diagnosed with malnutrition., Conclusions: Nutritional disorders are common in patients with SSc. The most common disturbance in nutritional status in SSc patients was overweight, which was present in 31,5 of patients., (© 2021 MEDPRESS.)

Background: Malnutrition in cirrhotic patients is correlated with mortality and a better response to liver transplantation. However, recovery of the nutritional status in these patients is a challenge due to the difficulty in establishing a reliable nutritional diagnosis. The bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) method appears as a feasible tool in clinical practice to define the physiological state of cirrhotic patients by assessing hydration and body cellularity., Aim: To evaluate body composition in cirrhotic patients using BIVA., Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out by following cirrhotic outpatients at a hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil. A tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analysis device was used to evaluate cellularity and hydration and to perform the BIVA. The BIVA graphic was elaborated by software and for statistical analysis a significance level of 5% ( P ≤ 0.05) was considered., Results: One hundred and ninety patients, 61.1% males, with a mean age of 56.6 ± 11.0 years, were evaluated. Of these, 56.3% had Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) A score, and the prevalent etiology was hepatitis C virus (47.4%). The patients were classified according to cellularity and hydration by the quadrants and ellipses of the BIVA method, quadrant 1 (47.9%); quadrant 2 (18.9%); quadrant 3 (14.2%); and quadrant 4 (18.9%). Those classified in quadrant 1 and 2 had a higher phase angle compared to those in quadrants 3 and 4 ( P < 0.001). Quadrant 2 patients had a lower average age than the other groups. The association with CTP score showed that patients in quadrant 2 had a higher proportion of CTP A, and those in quadrant 4 had a higher proportion of CTP C ( P < 0.052)., Conclusion: The BIVA method allows identification of the cellularity and hydration status of cirrhotic patients, and its association with clinical factors determines the disease severity, age and prognostic index., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this article., (©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study was to analyse the body composition among women after radical mastectomy. The body compositions of 30 women after radical mastectomy (study group) were compared with those of 30 healthy females (control group). The method of electrical bioimpedance was used to analyse body composition. The significant differences between the groups, unfavourable for women, following mastectomy concerned body mass ( p = 0.021), BMI ( p = 0.049), fat mass (%) ( p = 0.007), fat mass (kg) ( p = 0.005), total body water (%) ( p = 0.002), left upper limb fat mass ( p = 0.013) as well as right upper limb fat mass ( p = 0.022). The body composition of women after radical mastectomy was significantly worse compared to the control group. The majority of subjects were overweight and had high levels of body fat. Abnormal body composition is a modifiable risk factor of breast cancer; therefore, improving lifestyle is important in the prevention and treatment of this disease. There is a need for education, dietary supervision and physical activity in women following radical mastectomy. The innovation of our study was the use of the modern bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method, which does not cause ionisation and is a gold standard in the field of body composition analysis. In future research, we plan to broaden the assessment of lifestyle and the significance of diet and physical activity in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

Introduction: Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Existing detecting techniques are invasive. Electrical bioimpedance is a noninvasive technique and has a high diagnostic potential., Methods: An impedance value different from the normal can predict a physiological abnormality. The idea is to use a designed bioimpedance device to early detect breast cancer. A low-frequency current (1 kHz, 0.9 mA) is injected to each breast to measure the extracellular resistances. The resistances of the two breasts are then measured, and if there is a significant difference, warning is displayed. The performance was tested on a set of reference resistors, and the validation was done in vitro on (Na+Cl-) solutions and in vivo on a group of forty volunteer women., Results: The results confirm that the electrical conductivity of an ionic solution is proportional to its concentration. The concentration and the resistance are strongly correlated (correlation coefficient of 0.97). The accuracy and the repeatability of the measures were satisfactory. Early detection means that we can detect small extracellular concentration variations into the breast (from 0.6 g/l). In vivo measurements made it possible to set the threshold at 50 ohm. If the difference between the two measured breast resistances is greater than this threshold, we advise the patient to consult a doctor promptly., Conclusion: The difference between measured resistances of the right and left breast is a pertinent parameter to early detect the presence of a cancer. The lowest resistance value (RR or RL) can provide information on the breast affected by the cancer (right or left). Various improvements in the system are possible but already the results are encouraging. In the future, this system could be integrated into a bra., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2020 Mansouri et al.)

Background: Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is a device used to measure electrical impedance at frequencies from 0 Hz to 1 MHz. Many clinical diagnosis and fundamental researches, especially in the field of physiology and pathology, rely on this device. The device can be used to estimate human body composition, through the information of total body water, extracellular fluid and intracellular fluid, fat-free mass, and fat mass from its impedance. BIS analysis can provide physiological statuses such as ischemia, pulmonary edema, skin cancer, and intramuscular tumors. BIS is expected to be used even more widely, both for hospital or home-based use, particularly because BIS handy, compact, inexpensive, and less power-consuming with adequately accurate real-time. In previous research, the BIS design was based on the magnitude-ratio and phase-difference detection using the AD8302 gain-phase detector method which resulted in an operating range between 20 kHz and 1 MHz. However, the impedance was obtained from the logarithmic ratio magnitude which caused the device to have limited accuracy at frequencies <20 kHz., Methods: In this research, we conduct design and development of a low-cost arduino-based electrical bioimpedance spectrometer., Results: The low-cost bioimpedance spectrometry was successfully developed using AD9850 as the programmable function generator, OPA2134 as the OpAm of voltage-controlled current source, AD620A as the instrument amplifier and AD536A as the alternating current to direct current converter which could work accurately from 0 Hz to 100 kHz., Conclusion: The multi-frequency bioimpedance device developed in this research has the capability to safely measure the impedance of the human body due to its relatively stable electric current, which is equal to (0.370 ± 0.003) mA with frequencies ranging from 5 to 200 kHz and has an accuracy of over 90% in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 100 kHz., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Journal of Medical Signals & Sensors.)

Introduction: Ischemic stroke is caused by artery blockage, resulting in damage to brain tissue. A significant factor in the further treatment of a patient is not only the time to reach a specialist centre, but also the state of hydration of the organism. Clinical situations involving the excess or deficiency of water can have extremely serious consequences for the functioning of the body and subsequent stroke-related disorders. One of the increasingly common methods of evaluating the composition of the human body is by electrical bioimpedance., Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the state of human body hydration measured by bioimpedance in patients with an early stage of ischemic stroke., Material and Methods: The examination involved 81 patients with ischemic stroke in the Neurology Department, Subdivision of Stroke Treatment at the Province Specialist Hospital in Lublin, Poland, in 2015. Measurement of the composition and outer and intracellular space of the human body by the Whole Body Bioimpedance (WBIA) method was performed using the Body Composition Monitor (BCM) (Fresenius Medical Care GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany)., Results: A group of patients were been examined with the use of the BIA apparatus three times: on the first, seventh, and tenth day of hospital stay, to determine the level of body hydration. Comparative analysis of data showed that on the first day of hospitalization all the measurements of electrical bioimpedance parameters in the patients were significantly different from those of the control group. In the case of TBW, ECW, ICW, the patients' scores were significantly higher than those of the control group. Only with respect to the over-hydration index, the patients achieved a significantly lower score than the control group., Conclusions: Assessment of hydration status in patients with a diagnosed stroke indicates a slight dehydration in relation to the control group, but falling within the scope of normovolaemia, according to bioimpedance measurement standards.

Background: The provision of guidance in ventilator therapy by continuous monitoring of regional lung ventilation, aeration and respiratory system mechanics is the main clinical benefit of electrical impedance tomography (EIT). A new application was recently described in critically ill patients undergoing diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with the intention of using EIT to identify the region where sampling was performed. Increased electrical bioimpedance was reported after fluid instillation. To verify the accuracy of these findings, contradicting the current EIT knowledge, we have systematically analysed chest EIT data acquired under controlled experimental conditions in animals undergoing a large number of BAL procedures., Methods: One hundred thirteen BAL procedures were performed in 13 newborn piglets positioned both supine and prone. EIT data was obtained at 13 images before, during and after each BAL. The data was analysed at three time points: (1) after disconnection from the ventilator before the fluid instillation and by the ends of fluid (2) instillation and (3) recovery by suction and compared with the baseline measurements before the procedure. Functional EIT images were generated, and changes in pixel electrical bioimpedance were calculated relative to baseline. The data was examined in the whole image and in three (ventral, middle, dorsal) regions-of-interest per lung., Results: Compared with the baseline phase, chest electrical bioimpedance fell after the disconnection from the ventilator in all animals in both postures during all procedures. The fluid instillation further decreased electrical bioimpedance. During fluid recovery, electrical bioimpedance increased, but not to baseline values. All effects were highly significant (p < 0.001). The fractional changes in individual regions-of-interest were posture-dependent. The regional fall in electrical bioimpedance was smaller in the ventral and larger in the dorsal regions after the fluid instillation than after the initial disconnection to ambient pressure in supine animals (p < 0.001) whereas these changes were of comparable amplitude in prone position., Conclusions: The results of this study show a regionally dissimilar initial fall in electrical bioimpedance caused by non-uniform aeration loss at the beginning of the BAL procedure. They also confirm a further pronounced fall in bioimpedance during fluid instillation, incomplete recovery after suction and a posture-dependent distribution pattern of these effects.

Patients with liver cirrhosis are a group particularly exposed to the development of water and electrolyte disturbances, having a significant impact on the course of the disease and the quality of life. Precise and rapid assessment of the hydration status of patients often determines the further course of the disease, the success of treatment and the time of hospitalization. For this reason, it is important to maintain the water and electrolyte balance in a state of equilibrium. So far, no one optimized diagnostic tool has been found to assess the hydration status of the organism, which would become a gold standard. Despite some limitations, it should be noted that the electrical bioimpedance (BIA) method makes it possible to assess the total body water volume, extracellular space, intracellular space, as well as the content of sodium ions, which affects the flow of fluids between these spaces. It is an excellent non-invasive tool in diagnosing hydration status of patients with liver cirrhosis, kidney failure and cardiovascular diseases., (© 2018 MEDPRESS.)

Objective: To minimize the false negativity in cervical cancer screening with Papanicolaou (Pap) test, there is a need to explore novel cytological technique and identification of unique and important cellular features from the perspectives of morphological as well as biophysical properties., Materials and Methods: The present study explores the feasibility of low-cost cervical monolayer techniques in extracting cyto-pathological features to classify normal and abnormal conditions. The cervical cells were also analyzed in respect to their electrical bioimpedance., Result: The results show that newly developed monolayer technique for cervical smears is cost effective, capable of cyto-pathological evaluation. Electrical bioimpedance study evidenced distinction between abnormal and normal cell population at more than two order of magnitude difference., Conclusion: The integration of bioimpedance observation along with the proposed low-cost monolayer technology could increase the efficiency of the cervical screening to a greater extent thereby reducing the rates of faulty diagnosis.

Aim: To introduce a bioimpedance gastric motility measurement method based on an electrical-mechanical composite concept and a preliminary clinical application., Methods: A noninvasive gastric motility measurement method combining electrogastrogram (EGG) and impedance gastric motility (IGM) test was used. Preliminary clinical application studies of patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) and gastritis, as well as healthy controls, were carried out. Twenty-eight FD patients (mean age 40.9 ± 9.7 years) and 40 healthy volunteers (mean age 30.9 ± 7.9 years) were involved. IGM spectrum was measured for both the healthy subjects and FD patients, and outcomes were compared in the FD patients before treatment and 1 wk and 3 wk after treatment. IGM parameters were obtained from 30 erosive gastritis patients (mean age 50.5 ± 13.0 years) and 40 healthy adults, and IGM and EGG results were compared in the gastritis patients before treatment and 1 wk after treatment., Results: There were significant differences in the IGM parameters between the FD patients and healthy subjects, and FD patients had a poorer gastric motility [percentage of normal frequency (PNF) 70.8 ± 25.5 in healthy subjects and 28.3 ± 16.9 in FD patients, P < 0.01]. After 1 wk administration of domperidone 10 mg, tid, the gastric motility of FD patients was not improved, although the EGG of the patients had returned to normal. After 3 wk of treatment, the IGM rhythm of the FD patients became normal. There was a significant difference in IGM parameters between the two groups (PNF 70.4 ± 25.5 for healthy subjects and 36.1 ± 21.8 for gastritis patients, P < 0.05). The EGG rhythm of the gastritis patients returned to normal (frequency instability coefficient 2.22 ± 0.43 before treatment and 1.77 ± 0.19 one wk after treatment, P < 0.05) after 1 wk of treatment with sodium rabeprazole tablets, 10 mg, qd, po, qm, while some IGM parameters showed a tendency toward improvement but had not reached statistical significance., Conclusion: The electrical-mechanical composite measurement method showed an attractive clinical application prospect in gastric motility research and evaluation.

We present a novel method for localization of large blood vessels using a bioimpedance based needle positioning system on an array of ten monopolar needle electrodes. The purpose of the study is to develop a portable, low cost tool for rapid vascular access for cooling and controlled reperfusion of cardiac arrest patients. Preliminary results show that localization of blood vessels is feasible with this method, but larger studies are necessary to improve the technology.