Innovations in Biomedical Engineering

The article presents a description of the results of interdisciplinary cooperation. It is related to the implementation of research carried out in the form of Project Based Learning as a part of the project ‘Silesian University of Technology as the Centre for Modern Education based on research and innovation’. Employees and students of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology have attempted to design some furniture for senior integrated with control systems located in the LeonardoLab—2014a room for testing technological solutions for the elderly.

Cryotherapy, also known as cold therapy, is a method consisting in the lowering of the temperature of tissues using water, ice, air, ethyl chloride, dinitrogen monoxide or liquid nitrogen. Treatment with low temperature may be applied generally or locally. General cryotherapy consists in the cooling of the whole body, whereas local one refers to the decrease in the temperature of skin and tissues. In this method, the cooling area should not be too big. The research project involved the second type of the above-mentioned cooling methods. The project entitled “Thermal Stabiliser of the Knee Joint” was implemented by a team of students. The objective of this project was to develop and then fabricate a cooling system using the Peltier module, including the attachment of the system to the stabiliser of the knee joint. The developed device will find application in local cryotherapy of the knee joint. This type of therapy is commonly applied in early post-trauma conditions with the damage to soft tissues (spraining and dislocation of joints, contusions of muscles), chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases as well as overload disorders (degenerative diseases of knee joints, rheumatoid arthritis of joints), conditions of increased muscle tension and limitation of joint mobility, chronic oedema and joint exudates. The first stage of the research encompassed a review of the existing solutions of ortheses and methods of cooling the knee joint. Next, two concepts of the device were developed and their visualization was prepared in the Inventor software programme. The third phase involved the development of the documentation concerning the project implementation and the applied technology. This was done using the CAD software programme. The project was also analysed with a view to satisfying the functional requirements. In addition to that, necessary elements were printed using a 3D printer. The last stage involved the manufacturing of a prototype of a functional device taking into consideration electronics and an Android system application.

The objective of an interdisciplinary team of IT specialists, bio-engineers, architects, a specialist in thermovisual measurements and medical personnel was to develop an apparatus enabling a remote measurement of human temperature using a thermal imaging camera coupled with a mobile phone and the Augmented Reality technology. The team designed a portable device which makes it possible to conduct measurements in an automatic way without the use of hands.

The study presents a cordless stethoscope, which is a tool supporting physician’s work in time where direct contact with the patient is difficult or impossible. The study presents various types of available stethoscopes and their design. The stethoscopes presented in the article are important tools in physician’s work particularly now, at the time characterised by the limited possibility of patient examination. Difficulty in the examination of patients can also result from the necessity of using personal protective measures by medical personnel. The stethoscope helps monitor the health of patients who cannot leave the place of their stay.

Objectives Down syndrome is the most frequently occurring genotype aberrations in human with atlantoaxial articulation instability sometime combined with hypoplasia of the odontoid process. In this article, was aimed at estimating the size of the population of persons with DS in the Upper Silesia region and the selection of persons who have undergone atlantoaxial joint examination as part of Special Olympics’ preventative measures program. Material and Methods: Selected 31 towns in Poland a in which we sought special centers. Conducted the interview and analyze the necessary documentation. In all of the towns selected, the special facilities were located (61 total) and direct contact with the persons in charge of the facilities was obtained. Results: In total, 7105 people ranging in age from 7 to 21 years, Down syndrome occurred in 473 subjects, in 29 subjects conducted radiological examination and in 8 subjects was diagnosed atlantoaxial articulation instability. Conclusions: The obtained information should result in actions which would define the range of needs to conduct research concerning the problems for this population. The results achieved suggest that the number of examinations focused on the occurrence of atlantoaxial instability performed in persons with DS is insufficient.

Introduction Rehabilitation of balance maintaining ability is a long-lasting process, requiring strict cooperation between physiotherapist and the patient. Rehabilitation process is usually monotonous, requires a lot of dedication and is just not attractive for patients, while allowing physiotherapists to assess the progression of the process qualitatively only. Used in traditional physical rehabilitation methods of obtaining quantitative data can be insufficient to objectively evaluate if any improvement has been achieved or changes in rehabilitation program must be made.Purpose Virtual reality (VR) technology is becoming a trending solution for said inconveniences and problems, allowing patients to become immersed in an entertaining, unreal world while still performing rehabilitative tasks and receiving immediate feedback on progress that is being made. Authors aim to establish trends in development of VR using systems used for enhancing rehabilitation of balance maintaining ability, which will make it easier for physiotherapists to pick suitable equipment, and for companies creating rehabilitation equipment to create devices with greater potential of being a successful inventions.Material and Methods Authors reviewed 110 publications found in databases of Pubmed, Researchgate, Mendeley (prior to version 1.19.8) and Google Scholar. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria 23 publications were put into further considerations.Results and Conclusions Reviewed systems were classified into 3 groups and analyzed. 15 publications were created using more simple, market available systems, 5 were using custom-made devices and 3 made use of highly advanced and not-easily accessible systems. Trends in development of VR using rehabilitation devices have been established in favour of more simple, but easily accessible systems.

The aim of the study was the biomechanical assessment of selected motor and cognitive exercises carried out with the use of the Neuroforma rehabilitation system. The selected parameters of the kinematics of the upper limbs’ movements during exercises with the Neuroforma system were compared with the kinematics of the movement of selected activities used in daily living. The reference group consisted of 17 adults without any musculoskeletal disorders. For the reference group, studies of the kinematics of the movement of the upper limbs were carried out using the Xsens system. Tasks performed during these activities included actions such as drinking from a cup or lifting an object on a platform. The study of the kinematics of movement of selected cognitive-motor exercises (“Paths”, “Track”) with the Neuroforma system was carried out for one healthy adult. It has been shown that the maximum value of angles and ranges of motion in the shoulder and elbow joints during exercise in the Neuroforma system is higher than in the analyzed everyday activities. Moreover, the values of the analyzed kinematic parameters do not increase linearly with the increase made in the levels of the analyzed exercises. The type and level of exercise in the system should be selected by the doctor/physiotherapist individually on the basis of the patient’s mobility capabilities, based on medical knowledge and a biomechanical assessment of movements made for specific exercises and their levels.

The article presents the concept of using thermal image processing to measure temperature, but with the support of a classic vision system and the digital image processing and recognition. As part of the research, the hybrid thermovision-vision system was built, the purpose of which was to search for characteristic measurement areas on the human face that are reliable for the measurement of body temperature. The research focused on measurements in the corners of the eyes. The selection of the measurement area was based on the analysis and recognition of visual images, while the temperature was determined on the basis of the analysis of the infrared image of the studied area. Research was carried out on a small research group, the results were compared with those obtained with the use of non-contact medical thermometers. The obtained results, after taking into account the conditions in which the experiments were carried out, can be regarded as satisfactory and confirming the validity of the adopted concept of a hybrid temperature measurement system.

The article examines a controversial problem of criticising physical activity in the aspect of physiological irregularities or incorrect performance of motoric activities. The authors represent a questionable view that a wrong physical activity is actually worse than no activity at all. They formulate the following thesis: walking with poles (Nordic Walking) is bad for obese people and undermines the basic principles of obesity treatment. The article presents biochemical and anthropometric characteristics of obesity. Main problems related to obesity and musculoskeletal system are discussed in the context of spinal joints and lower limbs overload and degeneration (specifically knee joints). The article examines biomechanical aspects of multiple musculoskeletal loads in obese persons, which lead to dynamic stability disorders.

The aim of the study was to assess the electromechanical response times of muscles and to assess the effect of repeatability of the performed task on the indicated times: TRT (total reaction time), PMT (premotor time), and EMD (electromechanical delay). The test consisted in squeezing the dynamometer with maximum force in the shortest possible time after hearing an audible signal that repeated 15 times at 5-second intervals. The analysis clearly shows that there is an influence of the repeatability of the performed task on the designated reaction times after the occurrence of the sound stimulus. It was noticed that the applied rhythmic sound stimulations result in a shortening of the premotor reaction time.

This work aimed to determine the impact of the restrictions imposed during the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic on the physical activity of young people who were staying in the territory of Poland. The investigations included 11 subjects at the age of 20–25. The measurements consisted in the monitoring of a daily number of steps using a mobile device with the installed application Samsung Health or Health and notes about additional physical activities. The data had already been being collected for 7 weeks before the pandemic was announced in Poland and then during the pandemic for a period of 10 weeks. The analysis encompassed a weekly: number of steps, duration of physical activities, number of burnt kcal and number of METs. The COVID-19 epidemic resulted in a ‘dangerous’ drop in physical activity. In the first weeks of the lockdown, an average daily number of steps equalled approximately 1500.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) enables non-invasive and painless stimulation of brain structures. TMS facilitates the stimulation of neurological responses, both in the processes of weakening and in stimulating neurological activity. Hitherto, it has been shown that the behavioral effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation depend on various factors, such as the activation state of the nerves, the intensity of the stimulation and the duration of the stimulation.The aim of this review is to present the latest advances in brain stimulation methods in experimental therapies for treating a variety of mental disorders. Numerous studies show that it is necessary to conduct more research and to optimize the measurement parameters and the stimulation site itself.

Posture disorder affects more and more people in every age and social group, causing a huge drop in energy (tiredness, depression) or even nerve compression. The early assessment allows introducing therapy that minimizes the influence on everyday life. In the presented approach authors focused on the analysis of thermal images. The research group consists of 101 people, but only 69 were selected for further analysis (24 in the pathological group and 44 described as normative). Appropriate clothing for women turns out to be a very important element of the protocol. Each patient was photographed 3 times by thermovision camera (before, immediately after and 10 min after exercises). Using a proprietary algorithm the patient’s body (back) was divided into 10 ROI. The cross-validation kNN classifier was used to divide the subject into appropriate categories – normative or pathological. On the basis of the temperature data, the matched-pair t-test shows the significant statistical difference before and after exercise for all ROI in both normative and pathological group. Classification result based on after exercise data is 72.1% in contrary to 57.4% obtained from data before exercise.

The work aimed to compare the body posture taken during 3 different sitting positions: I) slumped position, II) preferred position, and III) upright position, to obtain a reference point, posture measurements were also made while standing. The Zebris ultrasound system was used to assess the body posture of the analyzed activities. In the experimental research took part 36 healthy people (18 women and 18 men) aged 20–26. The experimental tests allowed for obtaining information about the curvature of the spine, length of the spine and its sections, as well as the position of individual body segments to each other. Postural studies have shown, among other things, that the sitting position causes the pelvic anteversion or smaller than during standing position, pelvic retroposition, which reduces the angle of lumbar lordosis.

At present, it is believed that 60 to 80% of the infections that humans encounter after implantation are related to the formation of biofilms. Biofilm-forming bacteria are particularly resistant to antibiotics and human immune mechanisms. This process is multistage, conditioned by the properties of the microorganisms that make it up, and by the structure and properties of the colonized materials. Therefore, it was proposed to apply the ZnO antibacterial layer on the substrate made of $$Ti_{6}Al_{7}Nb$$ T i 6 A l 7 N b alloy by the ALD method. To evaluate the proposed surface modification, studies of electrochemical properties were carried out. In addition, biological studies were performed with the reference bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923). The results show that the number of bacterial colonies adhered to the tested surfaces depends on the variant of used surface modification.

Bone stabilization with bone plates is a very common orthopedic procedure. Due to the occurrence of complex fractures, fractures resulting from osteoporosis and allergic reactions, solutions in the form of traditional bone plates are not sufficient. Therefore, the use of composite materials is increasingly proposed for such fractures. The aim of this study was to obtain the appropriate mechanical properties of the proposed glass fiber-reinforced PLA-based composite using 3D technology. In order to verify the mechanical properties, the samples were subjected to a strength analysis using the tensile test and the three-point bend test. The research has shown the possibility of using reinforcements in 3D printing, the use of means to accelerate the rehabilitation of the patient after bone fusion surgery.

The aim of the study was to compare the value of the suture breaking force in the baseline state and after taking into account the exposure time to Ringer’s solution (7 and 14 d). Taking into consideration also the sewing process, the value of the force causing the thread to break away from the needle was determined. Absorbable threads (PGLA LACTIC USP 2/0 and 3/0; PGA USP 2/0 and 3/0) and non-absorbable threads (PA USP 2/0 and 3/0) were selected for the study and divided into groups according to their diameter and time of exposure to Ringer’s solution. In order to determine the value of the forces, a static tensile test was performed on the MTS Criterion Model 45 testing machine with a tensile speed of 30 cm/min. Additionally, in order to assess the values of the forces causing the breaking of the sutures made with the threads selected for testing, two samples were prepared, which differed in the number of straight knotted stitches with which the animal skin was sewn. In the first case, 9 sutures were used, in the second—11. On the basis of the obtained results, a higher value of the breaking force in the threads size USP 2/0 was found, both absorbable and non-absorbable. A lower value of the breaking force in relation to the initial state was also observed for the threads exposed to Ringer’s solution. In the case of sewn animal skin, it can be concluded that the highest value of the force was obtained for tearing 11 straight knotted sutures made with USP 2/0 nylon threads (F = 26.1 N). On the other hand, the smallest force (F = 17 N) was obtained to tear 9 straight knotted sutures made with the same threads, size USP 3/0.

The work aimed to determine the effect of finishing porous three-dimensional structures manufactured with additive technologies such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) on their physical properties. The work focuses on the influence of the material, type of surface treatment as well as the thickness and height of the strut forming the tested structures on their surface quality, the degree of porosity, and compressive strength. Moreover, the compatibility of the 3D printed porous structure to the developed 3D model designed in the CAD software was also analyzed. The test samples were made of polyamide PA12 (SLS technology) and PLA (FDM technology). Depending on the 3D printing technology used, the impact of different types of finishing was assessed. The scope of the research included: mass measurement, determination of geometrical features, porosity examination by gas pycnometry, macroscopic observations, and static compression test. The analysis of the obtained results showed that with the use of SLS technology, the 3D physical model is characterized by greater accuracy compared to the model manufactured in FDM technology. It was also found that the smaller the strut height and thickness of the porous 3D structure, the more compressive strength the structure has. In the case of finishing 3D printing, it was found that for SLS technology, sandblasting with glass beads is the optimal treatment, while for models printed by the FDM method - annealing.

Bone drilling is a common orthopedic procedure used to produce drill holes for screw insertion to repair fractured bone. Hole quality depends not only on the drill geometry but also on the cutting parameters, drilling force, and drilling technique, therefore, skilled personnel are required to successfully perform bone drilling. The drilling process should limit the generation of heat (thermal energy) to avoid osteonecrosis caused by interrupted blood supply to bone tissue. Studies were performed to determine the optimal material type and infill percentage for fabricating bone phantoms via 3D printing. Phantoms made from PA, PLA, and PET were produced using different infill percentages. Our results show large differences in quality among certain materials and demonstrate that 3D printing can be successfully used for manufacturing bone phantoms.

This work investigates the surface chemistry and porous structure of biomorphous composites prepared using monolithic supports—carbonized rectangular samples of Yucca flaccida and chitosan. The surface chemistry of the support and the composites was investigated using FTIR spectroscopy. Porous structure and specific surface area (SBET) of the materials were derived from low-temperature nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The obtained composites are porous materials of the bulk porosity over 80%, marked by considerably higher surface area (50 m2/g) than that of the support. The bulk porosity was found to affect distinctly ultrasonic velocity. The surface chemistry of resulted materials contains many oxygen functional groups, with a majority of acidic groups. The covering of the surface of the support by thin film of chitosan makes the composite a promising material for many applications involving metal ions adsorption.

Purpose The purpose of the work was the developed new photosensitive material dedicated for the blood contact in particular blood pump components.Material Comparable to the thiol-ene polymerization, the thiol-yne reaction follows a step growth mechanism bringing unique properties to this interesting class of materials. Polymerization shrinkage is low, and oxygen inhibition plays only a minor role due to efficient hydrogen abstraction of peroxy radicals from thiols under the simultaneous formation of highly reactive thiyl radicals. One challenging issue of thiol-based formulations is their shelf-life. Dark reactions of thiol, methacrylate and yne, catalysed from basic impurities or traces of metal ions and peroxides, can lead to a significant increase in viscosity during storage time. In order to enable a stable printing of the desired 3D structures, appropriate stabilizers must be found.Methodology Expression of platelet activation markers was measured on CD61 gated objects using PAC-1 antibody for conformational change of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, and using CD62P for P-selectin. Integrated fluorescence of the activation marker was calculated as a multiplication total of geometric mean fluorescence by percentage of marker-positive objects. Both platelet receptors activation was calculated as measured by PAC-1 and P-selectin (CD62) expression: percentage and mean channel fluorescence of CD62-positive platelets (% and MNF, respectively). The biocompatible resin system, thiol-yne reactive monomers have been evaluated. This reaction is based on a multiple step radical mechanism and finally leads to an addition of two thiol units to one yne functionality forming corresponding thio-ether bonds.

Implants made of NiTi alloy for use in the bloodstream should be characterized by good biocompatibility and hemocompatibility, understood as not exerting a harmful effect on blood morphotic components, and prevention of clot formation. Due to the small size of the implants, electropolishing was used. Next, four methods of NiTi alloy passivation were applied: in boiling water, in boiling $$H_{2}O_{2}$$ H 2 O 2 , in the autoclave, and in air at temp. 450 $$^{\circ }$$ ∘ C. Potentiodynamic impedance, EIS, and wettability tests were used to assess the surface. The results of corrosion resistance tests in the environment of artificial plasma show that there are no significant differences in the methods of passivation compared to electropolishing. Therefore, it can be concluded that already during the electropolishing process a passive layer with very good biocompatibility is produced spontaneously and the use of additional passivation methods does not improve but also does not deteriorate the properties tested.

Anodic oxidation is now one of the most popular surface modification, as it allows to obtain a surface layer with the desired properties, which can be controlled by using various process parameters. So far, anodic oxidation has been performed most often in acid solutions. The aim of the work was to evaluate influence of anodic oxidation parameters to corrosion resistance of the Ti6Al4V alloy, which was performed in a new worked out type of alkaline bath. The impact of voltage and hydrodynamic conditions was investigated.The scope of the research included macroscopic observations of the surface, roughness assessment and potentiodynamic tests in Ringer’s solution. The results obtained in the work clearly shows the influence of anodic oxidation parameters on the parameters describing the corrosion resistance of the Ti6Al4V alloy.

The data of preliminary research presented in this study can serve as a reference to help design, model, and interpret tests using foams of Synbone producer. The aim of the study was to identify flexural modulus of osteoporotic trabecular and cortical type polyurethane foams applied in the production of artificial human femurs. Mechanical behavior of composite bone models with replicated pathological properties are crucial for experimental and numerical biomechanical analysis of bone performance and fracture fixation simulations. Synbone replicate femur components were identified upon three-point bending tests conducted on beam specimens. The samples were cut out of the final Synbone product (Synbone Inc., Davos, Switzerland, Article Number LD2386). Polyurethane foam was investigated separately for cortical and trabecular analog material. The flexural modulus was found to be 231 ± 46 MPa and 195 ± 9 MPa for cortical and trabecular analog tissue, respectively. The correctness of the performed identification was confirmed by three-point bending tests on composite beams compound of both cortical and trabecular replicate foams.

Vision is considered one of the most important human senses. People acquire a large amount of data by reading, so the faster someone reads, the more information he/she should learn. However, this is not always the case. Electrooculography (EOG) plays a significant role in research on reading. We recorded the EOG signals with the JINS MEME ES_R smart glasses from eight subjects who read a text and then completed a reading comprehension test implemented as a multiple-choice test. Reading speed was calculated as the time of reading the text with a constant number of words. The visualization of reading was based on detecting the saccades in the horizontal component of the EOG signal. The algorithm consists of signal preprocessing and FCM (fuzzy c-means) thresholding. Three types of saccades and their duration were detected and associated with blinking, eye movement to the left, and eye movement to the right. The developed application shows the reading process with the use of an animation of eye-walking on the text. The application tests carried out show that it works properly.

The aim of the study is to analyse head protection systems against dynamic loads. The fully protecting construction of helmet against the destruction of the tissues of the head resulting from loads has not been developed yet. Therefore, researches in this issue are needed. The study undertook the development and numerical research of materials absorbing loads energy for military use.The work analyzes two absorbing constructions with conical and oval holes for five different Young’s modulus of construction materials (2, 10, 20, 30 and 200 MPa). The research allowed to determine the possibility of use of the proposed absorber structures for head protection. The research was carried out using finite elements method (FEM) and have shown that the best energy attenuation is provided by the absorber with oval holes and the Young’s modulus does not significantly affect its properties. In the case of conical-hole absorber, an influence of the Young’s modulus on its protective properties was observed.

Preprocessing and analysis of medical data are very important. Information technology has become the right hand of doctors and without there medicine would not be the same. Great attention should be paid to the possibilities offered by computer science as well as to the functions that we can use. Functions, parameters, and algorithms used strongly influence the final result of each analysis. The analysis of both fMRI and rsfMRI should be preceded by the so-called "manual corregistration". This function allows the data to be compared later, as the xyz point is set exactly at the AC location. The work shows how the analysis process can run and what influence the preliminary alignment has on the analysis. It should be noted that it would be useful to systematize the so-called pre-processing. ...

Due to the growing importance of immunotherapy, especially in the treatment of cancer or designing personalized vaccines, there is a need to understand the mechanisms of the adaptive immune response. Based on the available data on the immunogenic response of T cells (CD8 +) to viral peptides presented on the molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, models of predicting immunogenicity were developed using methods such as: Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine and Extreme Gradient Boosting. Models were compared and validated to choose the best method of predicting immunogenicity.

Degenerative changes in lumbar spine are one of the most common reason for lower back pain occurring. Unfortunately there are no any known methotds to reverse this process. That is why there are many approaches to find an optimal solution for treating these conditions. In the article numerical analysis of designed implant is presented as a tool for design evaluation, and its optimization according to results of a numerical experiment. Obtained numerical results allowed to point areas with stress concentration and changing their geometry to avoid this.

The loss of the upper limb, especially the hand, can affect the level of autonomy. Developing an effective control system for the upper limb prostheses could improve the quality of users’ life. The aim of this project was to design artificial neural networks for automatic grasp classification. A subset of the grips allowing to perform everyday activities was proposed. The proposed artificial neural networks were evaluated and the maximal accuracy reached 97%.

In this article, four variants of tibial lateral condyle split fracture stabilization (AO 41-B1.1) with two canulated cancellous screws were studied. The impact of a diameter and length of the thread on the distribution and values of the stress and displacement in the stabilization model was analyzed utilizing the finite element method. Geometric model was derived from CT imaging of 39 years-old female tibial bone. The geometric and numerical models of the individual variants of fracture stabilization were prepared in ANSYS Workbench Software. During the analysis, the Huber-Mises stress of each part of the models and the displacement between bone and split fragment were designated. An influence of the thread diameter on maximum values and distribution of the stress was observed while the thread length did not render any significant impact. For all analyzed variants, the displacement values and distribution were similar.

The area of telemedicine, including wireless communication, has an increasingly significant impact on health care. In recent years, an increase in the importance of compression methods has been noticed in many areas of medicine. Especially in the field of storing, processing and remotely transmitting large amounts of data. Different compression algorithms, based on different methods have been described in the literature so far. Few of them are currently used in monitoring systems and telemedicine.This paper discusses the use of the Matching Pursuit (MP) compression method for electrocardiographic signal transmission using LoRa (Long Range) technology. LoRa technology is one of the communication standards of the Internet of Things. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a diagnostic tool that measures and records the heart’s electrical activity in detail. The ECG is an important tool used to diagnose heart abnormalities.The paper describes research of the effectiveness of the Matching Pursuit algorithm in compressing the ECG signal, using the Dictionary Learning. The signals from the PTB Diagnostic ECG Database were used for the tests. The analyzed signal fragments were divided into 1000 ms parts, which were then resampled and normalized. The learning data was used to create a dictionary of atoms using the Dictionary Learning method. Using the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit algorithm for the fragments of test data, indices of non-zero coefficients were obtained. In the next step, using the developed extreme compression algorithm, a byte table that could be transmitted over the network was obtained. In the research, the byte array was decompressed and the signal was reconstructed. Consequently, the transmitted to the original signal similarity was measured for different parameters of the algorithm.Thanks to the development of technology, remote patient monitoring, consulting and medical care can be more flexible and convenient.

The aim of the work was to develop method and build a laboratory stand that would allow the study of flows, using PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) method, in a transparent model of a blood vessel with bifurcation. For the purposes of the research, a transparent model of a blood vessel was also made. The model was prepared with the assumed morphometric parameters of the arteries: internal diameters of the inlet and outlet canals, as well as the bifurcation angle. PIV apparatus consists of a camera, laser with an optical arrangement to limit the physical region illuminated, a synchronizer to act as an external trigger for control of the camera and laser, the seeding particles, the fluid under investigation and appropriate software. The analysis of the obtained data allows for the conclusion that the proposed laboratory stand enables the study of the flow in the blood vessel model.

The disability of the upper limbs limits the performance of daily activities and work, rehabilitation allows in many cases to reduce limitations and in some cases to restore full efficiency. This article presents an ARM-200 upper limb rehabilitation robot, its kinematic solutions and detailed description of components and roles performed in the robot control system. The article also discusses the possible application of the designed system in a rehabilitation process as well as presents differences between the ARM-200 robot and the ARM-100 robot, the work on which was completed in 2009.