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Introduction: Recent patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure trials have demonstrated efficacy in secondary stroke prevention. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) can reliably detect the presence of PFO, with sensitivity comparable to echocardiography. We sought to compare the sensitivity of TCD in detecting right to left shunt (RLS) using transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) criteria as described in the CLOSE and REDUCE trials. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all TCD studies at our institution who also had TEE studies. We excluded patients who had their PFO closed prior to one of these studies being performed. We classified the size of the PFO based on both REDUCE and CLOSE criteria (large was defined as greater than 25 microbubbles and greater than 30 microbubbles, respectively) and compared to the size based on the Spencer grade. Results: A total of 525 TCD bubble studies were performed at our institution from May 2013 to June 2018, 220 of which also underwent TEE. Using TEE as the gold standard, TCD detected 97.61% (41/42) of any moderate-large RLS and 100% (10/10) of any large RLS. The single patient who had a moderate RLS on TEE, but not TCD had a poor Valsalva during the TCD study. TCD detected 33 patients with RLS not detected on TEE [33% (33/100)], 33.3% of which were considered significant (Spencer grades 3-5). Conclusion: TCD is comparable to TEE in detecting moderate-to-large RLS based on REDUCE/CLOSE criteria. TCD detected an appreciable amount of RLS (a third of which were Spencer grades 3-5) not detected by TEE. Further study is needed to clarify the role of PFO closure in patients with significant RLS on TCD, but no RLS on TEE. TCD is a good alternative screening tool for RLS as compared with TEE methods from recent positive trials.

We present the design, and evaluation of WaaZam, a video mediated communication system designed to support creative play in customized environments. Users can interact together in virtual environments composed of digital assets layered in 3D space. The goal of the project is to support creative play and increase social engagement during video sessions of geographically separated families. We try to understand the value of customization for individual families with children ages 6-12. We present interviews with creativity experts, a pilot study and a formal evaluation of families playing together in four conditions: separate windows, merged windows, digital play sets, and customized digital environments. We found that playing in the same video space enables new activities and increases social engagement for families. Customization allows families to modify scenes for their needs and support more creative play activities that embody the imagination of the child.

Children engage in free play for emotional, physical and social development; researchers have explored supporting free play between physically remote playmates using videoconferencing tools. We show that the configuration of the video conferencing setup affects play. Specifically, we show that a shared visual scene configuration promotes fundamentally active forms of engaged, co-operative play.

As personal projection devices become more common they will be able to support a range of exciting and unexplored social applications. We present a novel system and method that enables playful social interactions between multiple projected characters. The prototype consists of two mobile projector-camera systems, with lightly modified existing hardware, and computer vision algorithms to support a selection of applications and example scenarios. Our system allows participants to discover the characteristics and behaviors of other characters projected in the environment. The characters are guided by hand movements, and can respond to objects and other characters, to simulate a mixed reality of life-like entities.

This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an interactive tabletop system that supports co-located meeting capture and asynchronous search and review of past meetings. The goal of the project is to evaluate the design of a conference table that augments the everyday work patterns of small collaborative groups by incorporating an integrated annotation system. We present a holistic design that values hardware ergonomics, supports heterogeneous input modalities, generates a memory of all user interactions, and provides access to historical data on and off the table. We present a user evaluation that assesses the usefulness of the input modalities and software features, and validates the effectiveness of the MemTable system as a tool for assisting memory recall.

Mechanical properties testing of running shoes was performed. Stress relaxation tests and energy absorbing tests were performed on excised samples and on unmodified shoes. The stress relaxation moduli for running shoe midsole materials ranged from 19 psi to 114 psi.