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Robot-assisted surgery platforms are utilized globally thanks to their stereoscopic vision systems and enhanced functional assistance. However, the necessity of ergonomic improvement for their use by surgeons has been increased. In surgical robots, issues with chronic fatigue exist owing to the fixed posture of the conventional stereo viewer (SV) vision system. A head-mounted display was adopted to alleviate the inconvenience, and a virtual vision platform (VVP) is proposed in this study. The VVP can provide various critical data, including medical images, vital signs, and patient records, in three-dimensional virtual reality space so that users can access medical information simultaneously. An availability of the VVP was investigated based on various user evaluations by surgeons and novices, who executed the given tasks and answered questionnaires. The performances of the SV and VVP were not significantly different; however, the craniovertebral angle of the VVP was 16.35° higher on average than that of the SV. Survey results regarding the VVP were positive; participants indicated that the optimal number of displays was six, preferring the 2 × 3 array. Reflecting the tendencies, the VVP can be a neoconceptual candidate to be customized for medical use, which opens a new prospect in a next-generation surgical robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the fuel atomization effect of alternating magnetic field (AMF)-based preprocessing equipment that promotes the atomization of automobile fuel. Two coils are connected to the output terminal of the preprocessing equipment and wound on an STS 316 L fuel pipe in the form of a solenoid. Positive sine waves and negative sine waves are output to the two coils, and the AMF in the solenoids causes atomization of the fuel flowing inside the pipe. A spray visualization experiment was conducted with fine particles sprayed from the injector, and the spray arrival distance, spray angle, and spray area were recorded. The information was analyzed to digitize the spray penetration, angle, and area at 2 ms after firing the injector. The fuel atomization effect of the AMF-based preprocessing equipment was also investigated Gasoline was used as the fuel, and the fuel atomization effect was analyzed using the number of windings around the STS 316 L fuel pipe, the frequency applied to the coil, the distance between the two solenoid coils, and the fuel injection pressure as variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intraoperative estimated blood loss (EBL), an essential parameter for perioperative management, has been evaluated by manually weighing blood in gauze and suction bottles, a process both time-consuming and labor-intensive. As the novel EBL prediction platform, we developed an automated deep learning EBL prediction model, utilizing the patch-wise crumpled state (P-W CS) of gauze images with texture analysis. The proposed algorithm was developed using animal data obtained from a porcine experiment and validated on human intraoperative data prospectively collected from 102 laparoscopic gastric cancer surgeries. The EBL prediction model involves gauze area detection and subsequent EBL regression based on the detected areas, with each stage optimized through comparative model performance evaluations. The selected gauze detection model demonstrated a sensitivity of 96.5% and a specificity of 98.0%. Based on this detection model, the performance of EBL regression stage models was compared. Comparative evaluations revealed that our P-W CS-based model outperforms others, including one reliant on convolutional neural networks and another analyzing the gauze’s overall crumpled state. The P-W CS-based model achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.25 g and a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 7.26% in EBL regression. Additionally, per-patient assessment yielded an MAE of 0.58 g, indicating errors < 1 g/patient. In conclusion, our algorithm provides an objective standard and streamlined approach for EBL estimation during surgery without the need for perioperative approximation and additional tasks by humans. The robust performance of the model across varied surgical conditions emphasizes its clinical potential for real-world application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hot corrosion behaviors of Inconel alloys with different Cr contents (Inconel 600, 601, and 690), which are used widely in nuclear plants, were investigated in molten LiCl–Li2O salts. The hot corrosion behaviors were studied by measuring the mass and attack depth changes, surface and cross-sectional morphologies and elemental distributions, and compositional changes at the subscale and substrate scale as well as the spalled oxide scale. At 288 h, the weight losses of Inconel 601 and Inconel 690 were approximately four and twelve times higher, respectively, than that of Inconel 600. The corrosion products of all tested alloys were Cr2O3, NiO, and FeCr2O4. Inconel 600, which exhibited a dense and continuous external corrosion layer and an internal corrosion layer with localized corrosion behavior, exhibited superior corrosion resistance compared with those of Inconel 601 and 690, which showed a spalled external corrosion layer and an internal corrosion layer with uniform corrosion behavior. Thus, the corrosion resistance of the Inconel alloys tested in the hot lithium molten salts in an oxidizing atmosphere is closely related to the contents of the primary alloying elements in the alloys. Of the various alloys analyzed in this study, Inconel 600 exhibited the highest corrosion resistance. Thus, a Cr content of 16.30 wt% or less, Ni content of at least 73.66 wt%, and Fe content considerably lower than 8.15 wt% can result in excellent corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the cyclic corrosion behavior of N06230, N07263, and N06625 in a LiCl-LiO molten salt was investigated at 650 °C in argon atmosphere. The cyclic corrosion behavior was observed through measurements of the oxide morphology and thickness, the extent of internal corrosion, and compositional changes in the oxide scale and the substrate. The corrosion products in the surface corrosion layers of N07263 were (Ni,Co)O, (Ni,Co)CrO, CrO, and TiO and those in the surface corrosion layers of N06230 were NiO, NiCrO, and CrO, while NiO, NiCrO, CrNbO, and CrO were identified as the corrosion products of N06625. The internal corrosion behavior of N07263 was localized, while N06230 and N06625 showed uniform corrosion. N07263 exhibited superior corrosion resistance as its corrosion layer was more continuous, dense, and adherent as compared to those of N06230 and N06625. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-temperature corrosion behavior of anode current collectors in liquid Ag under an oxidizing atmosphere was investigated. The weight gain in oxygen was higher than that of liquid Ag because of the effective barrier formed by Ag-rich layer coated on the corrosion layer. The thickness of the corrosion layer under oxygen was approximately twice that of the layer developed under liquid Ag because of the effective barrier originating from the Ag-rich layer. The corrosion products on the surface of the specimens in both oxygen and liquid Ag were Al2O3 and FeAl2O4 from 24 to 168 h. The surface morphology that was developed on the scale of the corroded layer represented a buckle structure in liquid Ag and a convoluted structure in oxygen, which resulted from the lateral growth of the oxide. This study proved the improved stability and cost-effectiveness of using FeCrAl alloy as a current collector in a solid oxide membrane system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates for the first time the fabrication of Zr-Cu alloy ingots from a Hf- free ZrO2 precursor in a molten CaCl2 medium to recover nuclear-grade Zr. The reduction of ZrO2 in the presence of CaO was accelerated by the formation of Ca metal in the intermediate stage of the process. Tests conducted with various amounts of ZrO2 indicate that the ZrO2 was reduced to the metallic form at low potentials applied at the cathode, and the main part of the zirconium was converted to a CuZr alloy with a different composition. The maximum oxygen content values in the CuZr alloy and Zr samples upon using liquid Cu were less than 300 and 891 ppm, respectively. However, Al contamination was observed in the CuZr during the electroreduction process. In order to solve the Al contamination problem, the fabrication process of CuZr was performed using the metallothermic reduction process, and the produced CuZr was used for electrorefining. The CuZr alloy was further purified by a molten salt electrorefining process to recover pure nuclear-grade Zr in a LiF-Ba2ZrF8-based molten salt, the latter of which was fabricated from a waste pickling acid of a Zr clad tube. After the electrorefining process, the recovered Zr metal was fabricated into nuclear-grade Zr buttons through arc melting following a salt distillation process. The results suggest that the removal of oxygen from the reduction product is a key reason for the use of a liquid CaCu reduction agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]