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Biomedical subjects

C Sparkes

Publications and source records attributed to C Sparkes.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

A new acoustic method of differentiating palatal from non-palatal snoring.

Palatal snoring produces explosive peaks of sound at very low frequency (approximately 20 Hz). Using a digital sound trace a ratio of peak amplitude to root mean square amplitude can be calculated. This Peak Factor Ratio is significantly higher for palatal snores than non-palatal snores (P < 0.01). This acoustic method will be useful for selecting patients for palatal surgery as it is non-invasive and could be used in a home monitor.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1997

A study of mercuric oxide and zinc-air battery life in hearing aids.

The requirement to phase out mercuric oxide (mercury) batteries on environmental grounds has led to the widespread introduction of zinc-air technology. The possibility arises that high drain hearing aids may not be adequately catered for by zinc-air cells, leading to poor performance. This study investigated the hearing aid user's ability to perceive differences between zinc-air and mercury cells in normal everyday usage. The data was collected for 100 experienced hearing aid users in field trials. Users report 50 per cent greater life for zinc-air cells in high power aids and 28 per cent in low power aids. The average life of the zinc-air cells range from 15 days in high power to 34 days in low power aids. Users are able to perceive a difference in sound quality in favour of zinc-air cells for low and medium power aids. The hearing aid population is not disadvantaged by phasing out mercury cells.

Disposable Equipment↗
PubMed1997

Is the KTP laser effective in tonsillectomy?

Thirty-eight patients underwent a randomized double-blind trial using the KTP laser for tonsillectomy on one tonsil and standard dissection tonsillectomy on the other tonsil. Blood loss was less on the laser side. However, pain though initially slightly less on the laser side (days 1 and 2 post-operation) was worse on the laser side at 2 weeks due to delayed healing of the tonsillar bed. There were no primary or reactionary haemorrhages but a 15% incidence of secondary haemorrhage on the laser side.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Bilingual hearing acquisition in Welsh and English following cochlear implantation.

A post lingually deafened adult equilingual in Welsh and English, receive rehabilitation in both languages following cochlear implantation. Hearing acquisition was very similar in both languages, indicating that there is no need to vary the electrode coding strategy for different languages of Indo-European origin. The situation may be difficult for tonal languages such as Chinese.

Cochlear Implants↗