Browsing by Author "Mintchev, Martin P."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 28
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    Advanced methods in esophageal testing
    (2012) Gao, Xuexin; Mintchev, Martin P.
    Technical innovations for esophageal testing are continuously evolving to help people better understand and treat various esophageal disorders. In this work, efforts have been focused on the developments of two innovative systems for improving the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and esophageal motility disorders (EMDs). Determining the volume of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is important for the diagnosis and treatment of GERD. However, a reliable diagnostic method for accomplishing this task is still missing. This research provided an integrated tool for automated monitoring of GER volume. A simple, low-cost ultrasonic probe was developed as a volumetric sensing component and it was combined with a commercially available multichannel intraluminal impedance catheter. The integrated tool was successfully tested in in-vitro laboratory and in-vivo human studies. In-vitro testing results demonstrated the accuracy of the volumetric measurement. In-vivo human testing was undertaken on two healthy human subjects. Results confirmed the feasibility of the proposed system for measuring volume of liquid GER in the vicinity of the ultrasonic probe. The proposed method paved the way towards an improved diagnosis and treatment of GERD. Ambulatory esophageal manometry has been considered the optimal technique for precise classification of various types of EMDs. However, current ambulatory manometry systems are not widely accepted due to their high costs, incomplete circumferential pressure sensing capabilities, and other practical issues. In this study, a novel manometry catheter containing a cost-effective pressure sensor capable of circumferential sensing was presented to overcome these limitations. A portable-size capacitance measurement device was used as an interface between the sensor and a graphical user interface on a personal computer. Experimental results confirmed the feasibility of the new manometry system for measuring circumferential pressure. This study provided a significant contribution towards a disposable esophageal manometry catheter to facilitate a low-cost and reliable ambulatory monitoring of esophageal motility.
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    Compensation of metallic implant related artifcats in magnetic resonance imaging
    (2004) Pauchard, Yves; Mintchev, Martin P.; Smith, Michael Richard
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    Design and Implementation of a Magnitude Only Bio-Impedance Analyzer
    (2018-04-18) Al-Ali, Abdulwadood Abdullah Abdulwadood; Maundy, Brent J.; Murari, Kartikeya; Mintchev, Martin P.
    The increasing interest in the bio-impedance analysis in various fields has increased the demand for portable and low-cost impedance analyzers that can be used in the field. Simplifying the hardware is crucial to maintaining low-cost and portability, but this is not an easy task due to the need for accurate phase and magnitude measurements. This thesis proposes a new measurement technique that replaces the need to measure the phase by using a software algorithm to extract the phase from the magnitude information. The algorithm which is based on a modified Kramers-Kronig transforms was implemented and tested first using MATLAB, where error and noise analysis on the algorithm were done. Furthermore, the algorithm was written using a python code, and a full Bio-impedance measurement system was proposed to be used for fruit quality control which is receiving increasing attention as an important application of bio-impedance measurements, for being a non-invasive technique. The Final design which was implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB), had a final cost of around $95 CAD and drew a maximum current of around 88mA which satisfies the requirement of a low-cost and low-power device respectively. The device was then tested with passive components and several fruit samples to show that it can effectively monitor fruit samples impedance in the range 100 Ohm-280 kOhm, and a frequency range 1 Hz-10 MHz which is higher than any other work in the literature. The proposed portable bio-impedance analyzers were then used to study the ageing effect of some strawberries samples on their bio-impedance, and the results showed that the device could be used in such an application.
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    Designing a BioMEMS-based blood sampler
    (2006) Gattiker, Giorgio; Mintchev, Martin P.; Kaler, Karan V. I. S.
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    Electronic mosquito: a feedback-controlled semi-invasive microsystem for glucose monitoring
    (2009) Thomas, Geoffrey; Mintchev, Martin P.; Kaler, Karan V. I. S.
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    Feedback-controlled implantable neural gastrointestinal electrical stimulator
    (2010) Arriagada Escudero, Alvaro J.; Mintchev, Martin P.
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    Gastric Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Obesity: From Entrainment to Bezoars—A Functional Review
    (2013-02-07) Mintchev, Martin P.
    Growing worldwide obesity epidemic has prompted the development of two main treatment streams: (a) conservative approaches and (b) invasive techniques. However, only invasive surgical methods have delivered significant and sustainable benefits. Therefore, contemporary research exploration has focused on the development of minimally invasive gastric manipulation methods featuring a safe but reliable and long-term sustainable weight loss effect similar to the one delivered by bariatric surgeries. This antiobesity approach is based on placing external devices in the stomach ranging from electrodes for gastric electrical stimulation to temporary intraluminal bezoars for gastric volume displacement for a predetermined amount of time. The present paper examines the evolution of these techniques from invasively implantable units to completely noninvasive patient-controllable implements, from a functional, rather than from the traditional, parametric point of view. Comparative discussion over the available pilot and clinical studies related to gastric electrical stimulation outlines the promises and the fallacies of this concept as a reliable alternative anti-obesity strategy.
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    GERD-targeting cough detection catheter using optical interferometric manometry
    (2006) Hogan, Jennifer Anne; Mintchev, Martin P.
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    Leakage Prevention and Detection in Pipelines Utilizing a Wireless Information and Communication Network
    (2018-01-03) Valentin de Oliveira, Thiago; Mintchev, Martin P.; Gemma Lu, Qingye; Onen, Denis; Yadid-Pecht, Orly; Mintchev, Martin P.
    Major environmental concerns have arisen due to a series of pipeline leakage incidents. Several systems have been proposed to identify and locate leakages; however, incidents still persist and pipeline acceptance from the public has become compromised. In order to address the need for early leakage detection, as well as leakage prevention, a novel pipeline system is proposed. This concept builds on the already existing pipe-in-pipe design, by segmenting the pipeline system with segmentation rings and embedding a wireless network in the annular airgap between the two pipe layers. Presence of fluid in the case of a leakage causes degradation of the wireless network. The leak is detected in real time by an external central unit connected to the wireless network, as demonstrated with a 6'8'' experimental pipeline setup. An analysis of the US pipeline system is provided, along with a cost estimate of implementing such technology.
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    Medium-assisted Microwave Telemetry for Directional Drilling Applications
    (2020-09-25) Almeida Costa e Silva, Ingrid; Mintchev, Martin P.; Yadid-Pecht, Orly; Onen, Denis; Fapojuwo, Abraham O.
    The drilling industry has an increasing reliance on sensor telemetry systems in order to improve process efficiency and safety. Typically measured in terms of throughput, telemetry performance is in constant need for improvements for better measurement and logging while drilling tools to be employed to ensure safer and more cost-effective wellbore drilling, particularly in directional drilling applications. Recent works have shown remarkable improvements in telemetry performance via the use of radio frequency (RF)-based telemetry. However, these systems have not been designed to work in water-based environments because of water's high electromagnetic attenuation effect in the microwave band. In this work, I propose and test a new medium-assisted RF-based telemetry system that allows for improved drilling telemetry performance in water-based scenarios. The approach, named microwave telemetry (MWT), makes use of an added propagation medium to allow for improved radio communication via reduced signal attenuation within the communication channel. To test the foundations of the MWT system, I inserted two XBee S2C RF modules into three dielectric rods made out of different dielectric materials. I show that the addition of the rods into a water-based environment significantly increased the throughput and reduced the bit error ratio and packet loss ratio of the system. I also show that different materials presented statistically significant better network performance in accordance with the order of improved electromagnetic properties. These statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) results indicate a path towards which RF-based telemetry systems could be used in water-based drilling environments.
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    Multichannel electrogastrography utilizing wavelet-based decomposition
    (2009) Tchervensky, Ilian Vladimirov; Mintchev, Martin P.; Dimitrov, Vassil
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    Needle and Potentiostat Study for Blood Glucose Monitoring: Third-Generation E-Mosquito
    (2020-03-04) Teixeira de Carvalho Rojas, Jonas; Mintchev, Martin P.; Yadid-Pecht, Orly; Nielsen, Jorgen; Curiel, Laura; Smith, Michael Richard
    Diabetes Mellitus is a lifelong condition related to the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin, a hormone that regulates glucose levels in the body. Diabetes can also occur when the body resists the effects of the insulin. If diabetes is not treated properly or in time, the consequences can be severe and will put the patient’s life at risk. To control the glucose levels in their body, patients perform self-managed treatments. The objective of these treatments is to normalize the glucose levels by continuously monitoring the blood. Due to their high-accuracy in displaying real-time glucose concentration in the blood, finger pricking tests have become the most popular method to monitor the glucose levels. However, the finger prick method remains inconvenient for the patient. This is due to the technique, which demands the user to stab themself with a needle (inflicting pain) to access a blood sample. As a consequence, a significant number of patients drop their treatments. E-Mosquito is a new concept: a minimally-invasive glucose monitor meant to replace the finger pricking test. The second-generation E-Mosquito has proven to be an effective device to access a blood sample without inflicting pain to the user. Additionally, the E-Mosquito also has a glucometer that matches the accuracy of its commercial counterparts. Nevertheless, the E-Mosquito still requires some adjustments to acquire the correct amount of blood with a high success rate. The glucometer also requires improvement to avoid noise insertion in the circuit, that could influence the glucose readings. This thesis aims to optimize the E-Mosquito’s efficiency with two different studies. The first study focuses on selecting an appropriate needle to increase the success rate and the amount of blood acquired from the patient without inflicting pain. Furthermore, changes in the E-Mosquito design were performed to adjust the SMA actuator used in the blood acquisition. The second study is the addition of a new programmable electrochemical potentiostat. This addition reduces the number of components integrating the glucometer and maximize the accuracy of the glucose detection in the E-Mosquito when evaluating a blood sample. In the needle study, six out of eight tests extracted the required amount of blood, meaning that the success rate increased 25% for blood samples <10µL. The electrochemical potentiostat study shows that the new chip reduces the number of components inside the E-Mosquito, from three to just one, without affecting its accuracy. The glucometer exhibited a good linear correlation (R=0.9728). This complies with the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration. The two studies increase the feasibility of the E-Mosquito to replace the current glucose monitor devices.