In patients on mechanical ventilation, the endotracheal aspiration procedure (“operation”) requires temporary disconnection from the ventilator; therefore, the operation needs to be completed skillfully within a short period of time, so as to avoid prolonging the duration of apnea in the patients. In addition, the operation requires a clean environment to prevent possible infections. The Clinical Engineering Department provides a one-time practical training to students in our campus using a simulator. The visual guidance, which may be insufficient because the instructors need to train a large number of students within a limited period of time. Therefore, we attempted to record the motions of the students to improve the efficiency of the instructions. Wrist-wearable motion sensors were used for the recording. Preliminary observations were conducted with measures of acceleration and images. The images were used to establish the time needed for each step of the operation procedure, and each period was separately observed. Furthermore, the volume of the aspirated sputum was also measured. The results showed significant differences between the skilled and unskilled operators in the volume of aspirated sputum, in the derivative of the low-frequency component of right-hand acceleration during the preparation, and in the power from 3 to 5 Hz upon tube insertion.

Currently, in the field of regenerative medicine, cell processing is being manually performed. Such a process is labor intensive and expensive, and its efficiency needs to be enhanced. Recently, automatic cell culture apparatus equipped with a vertical articulated robot have been proposed. However, automation of all cell processing tasks complicates the system. This study develops a simple and rational cell processing system by combining the tasks performed by a robot and human. In a previous study, we improved the efficiency of discarding and injecting tasks using a robot arm in the media changing process. In this study, we report the results of the validation of the cell culture assisting robot that facilitates the improvement of the efficiency of discarding and injecting tasks. Our experimental results revealed the feasibility of a cell culture assisting robot that can be used in a safety cabinet. By installing the apparatus, discarding and injecting processes can be performed in parallel, which takes less than half the time compared with the manual process. The total time of the discarding and injecting processes for 40 flasks was 17 min 26 s. In addition, the risk of dripping can be reduced using this apparatus.

Aim: To evaluate the accuracy and swiftness of screen tapping-based heart rate (HR) assessment using the neonatal resuscitation decision support software (tool B) the author had previously reported, by comparing with a mobile app NeoTapLS (tool A).

Methods: Twenty-one participants were enrolled to evaluate HR assessment using auscultation plus tool B comparing with auscultation plus tool A. Each participant determined a set of 15 randomly selected HRs simulated in a Laerdal SimNewB^® manikin. Tool A and B calculated and displayed the HR based on the user’s last 3 taps on their screens.

Results: A total of 315 measurements were recorded. A high correlation was found between estimated and simulated values by tool B (r=0.993) with error of 2.4 bpm as well as by tool A (r=0.996) with error of 2.0 bpm.The mean HR acquisition time for tool A and B was 8.9 and 9.1 seconds respectively. Tool A and B showed 100% sensitivity and 94.8% and 95.7% specificity respectively in detecting HRs below 100 bpm.

Conclusions: Tool B the author had been involved showed a good accuracy and swiftness in estimating HR as NeoTapLS did. Screen tapping-based HR assessment could be an important resource especially in settings with limited availability of monitoring equipment.

During patient exhalation through an oxygen mask with a reservoir, oxygen gas is stored in the reservoir bag (hereinafter referred to as the reservoir), and during patient inhalation, oxygen gas is discharged from the reservoir. This increases the oxygen concentration of the inhaled air to 60 %–80 %. In an abnormal condition where the reservoir collapses during inhalation, the oxygen concentration of the inhaled air decreases. To avoid such an abnormal condition, the oxygen gas flow should be adjusted so that the reservoir is always inflated to 30 %–50 % or more of the full volume. In clinical practice, the collapsed and inflated state of the reservoir is monitored visually by medical personnel. Under such circumstances, there is a risk of not being able to administer the appropriate concentration of oxygen to patients due to human error. Therefore, in this study, we made a system that quantitatively and objectively monitors the collapsed and the distended state of the reservoir using a reed switch and notifies the surrounding area of abnormal conditions by emitting LED lights and triggering an alarm.