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Biomedical subjects

Shyh-Jen Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Shyh-Jen Wang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

The pincer chopsticks: the investigation of a new utensil in pinching function.

The manipulation of chopsticks requires skillful motions of fingers. Therefore, it would be difficult to manipulate chopsticks for people with hand dysfunction. We designed a simple and convenient utensil, the pincer chopsticks, to simulate the pincers-pinching operation of traditional chopsticks. To compare the performance of the new device with that of traditional chopsticks and spoons, 32 volunteers applied these utensils to pick up four kinds of fool with either hand. For dominant hands, the manipulation time of both pincer and traditional chopsticks was shorter than that of spoons, while using pincer chopsticks with non-dominant hands revealed the best performance among the three experimental utensils for users without experience. In this study, the newly designed pincer chopsticks demonstrated advantages for operation and performance. It has the potential to benefit patients with impaired hands.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

A new type of chopsticks for patients with impaired hand function.

OBJECTIVES: To present a method for adapting chopsticks to persons with hand impairments and to compare the efficiency of the adapted chopsticks with spoons among adults with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: Equipment development and pilot evaluation. SETTING: Rehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: Two adults with complete C8-level SCI and 9 adults with incomplete SCI from the C6 to C8 level. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Instructions for adapting chopsticks and the time to pick up and manipulate 4 types of food (noodle strips, cubed carrots, unshelled peanuts, tofu cube) by using adapted chopsticks as compared with spoons. RESULTS: The mean time for manipulating tofu was comparable between the adapted chopsticks and spoon, but the adapted chopsticks were sufficiently faster than spoons for noodle strips, carrots, and unshelled peanuts. CONCLUSIONS: Adapted chopsticks convert gross grasp into 2-point pinch. They are inexpensive, easily constructed, and may benefit patients with lower cervical SCI and residual gross grasp.

Cooking and Eating Utensils↗
PubMed2006

Hardness evaluation of penile prostheses.

AIM: This work investigates the hardness and buckling force of penile prostheses to further understand the rigidity of penile prostheses before and after implantation. METHODS: Evaluated herein are four prosthetic samples (three inflatable, one semi-rigid), five real prostheses (one inflatable, four semi-rigid), and one prosthesis after implantation. The hardness is measured with a Shore Durimeter by pressing the tester's indentor to the surface of the specimen. A volunteer with inflatable prosthesis implantation is evaluated with respect to penile hardness versus various numbers of pumping. The buckling force of the prosthesis is also determined by a push-pull gauge and a specially designed sampling table. RESULTS: Results in this study demonstrate that although the inflatable prosthesis could only be pumped to a certain amount of hardness, hardness and buckling force correlate well with each other. After reaching the hardness limit, prostheses can even be pumped a further few times. However, continuous pumping only puts more tension on the prosthetic material without increasing hardness and could induce mechanical failure of the prosthesis. Results also indicate that the buckling force decreases with increasing length of the semirigid prostheses, and increases when the prosthesis has a larger diameter. CONCLUSION: This mechanical measurement of rigidity in penile prostheses could provide more information to clinicians about the penile prosthesis before surgical implantation, and to patients about prosthesis usage after implantation.

Hardness Tests↗
PubMed2004

Decreased uptake after fractionated ablative doses of iodine-131.

PURPOSE: In an attempt to obviate the necessity for hospitalisation, the ablative dose of 131I in the treatment of thyroid cancer is divided into two or three fractions at weekly intervals in some hospitals with no special bed for 131I treatment. Thyroid stunning has been observed in patients receiving a 131I dose between 74 and 370 MBq (2-10 mCi). However, the influence of 131I uptake after administration of a higher dose, such as 1,110-1,850 MBq of 131I, has never been reported. In this study, we evaluated the degree of reduction in 131I uptake after patients received 1,480 MBq of 131I and evaluated the clinical value of fractionated ablative doses of 131I. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with functional thyroid cancer received a total of 4,440 MBq (120 mCi) of 131I which was divided into three fractions administered at weekly intervals. In all patients two 131I whole-body scans were performed. The first scan was performed directly prior to the second dose of 131I (7 days after the first administration of 131I), and the second scan was performed 7 days after the second administration of 131I and directly prior to the third administration. Regions of interest including the neck and lungs were drawn to calculate the uptake of 131I in the thyroid remnant and possible cervical lymph node and lung metastases. RESULTS: The mean uptake of 131I was 2.73% 7 days after the first administration, and decreased significantly to 0.26% 7 days after the second administration. The mean decrease was as high as 80.7%. The decrease in 131I uptake was significant in all patients except the two with lung metastases. In the two patients with lung metastases, no definite evidence of decreased uptake was noted; the uptake of 131I in the lung metastases even increased on the second 131I image in one of these patients. After administration of 1,480 MBq of 131I, the decreased uptake was significant in all neck lesions but not in lung metastases. CONCLUSION: The use of fractionated ablative doses of 131I is not to be recommended in patients without lung metastases. However, the influence of fractionated ablative doses of 131I in patients with lung metastases is worthy of further study.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Preparation and biodistribution of rhenium-188 ECD/Lipiodol in rats following hepatic arterial injection.

Radiolabeled Lipiodol has routinely been used in hepatoma therapy. In this article an attempt to develop a new (188)Re-ECD/Lipiodol radiopharmaceutical, in which the chelating agent ECD (ethyl cyteinate dimer), is the constituent of the known brain perfusion agent (99m)Tc-ECD, and an evaluation of its stability and biodistribution in rats with hepatic tumors is presented. First, (188)Re-ECD was prepared in a vial, followed by extraction with Lipiodol to get the final product, (188)Re-ECD/Lipiodol. The optimal labeling conditions for (188)Re-ECD were: (1) tartaric acid which is better than EDTA as a weak chelating agent; and (2) 15 mg of SnCl(2), as the reducing agent, and 5-10 mg of tartaric acid in each vial had a better labeling yield. The radiochemical purity of (188)Re-ECD/Lipiodol was more than 94%. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats with liver tumors were sacrificed at 1, 24, and 48 h (eight rats each time) after an injection of approximately 7.4 MBq of (188)Re-ECD/Lipiodol via the hepatic artery. The radioactivity in the liver tumor is significantly high following therapeutic arterial injection, and relatively low in other organs including the bone, spleen, brain, thyroid, stomach, muscle, blood, and testis throughout this study. In conclusion, the new preparation of (188)Re-ECD/Lipiodol is a candidate agent for the treatment of liver cancer.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for low back pain induced by extension with no root sign.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is very common in the general population. Most patients with LBP will receive an X-ray examination on lumbar spine; however, the results are likely to show a negative finding or degenerative joint disease, which are not truly pathological factors. Among various imaging diagnostic tools for active bony lesions of lumbar spine, planar bone scintigraphy has a higher sensitivity, but its ability to locate anatomic lesions is less satisfactory. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of SPECT for evaluation of LBP. METHODS: Fifty-two consecutive patients who had low back pain induced by extension were studied. They had no evidence of malignant tumor, immune disease, spinal infection and neurological disorder by history-taking and physical examination. All patients received planar bone scintigraphy and SPECT exams following an X-ray examination. The results of X-ray finding were grouped into 3 categories: (A) normal; (B) degenerative joint arthritis; (C) spondylolysis. The data of test results and clinical evaluation were then used for analysis. RESULTS: Twenty (38.5%) out of 52 patients examined by planar scan had abnormality, with 29 increased uptake lesions, compared with 28 (53.8%) out of 52 patients with 60 increased uptake lesions by SPECT with planar scan; SPECT disclosed 1-2 more lesions with improved location in 15 patients (p < 0.05). Of the 52 patients, 21 (40.4%) presented in group A, 21 (40.4%) in group B, and 10 (19.2%) in group C according to the X-ray examination. In group A, 9 out of 21 (42.9%) patients had an abnormal SPECT result, compared to 5 of 10 (50%) in group B, and 14 out of 21 (66.7%) in group C, respectively (p > 0.05). The location of abnormal uptake on L-spine included vertebral body and arch (57.1%), vertebral arch (28.6%), and vertebral body (14.3%). Most of lesions (91.5%) were distributed at the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebral segments. CONCLUSIONS: SPECT was more sensitive and located more lesions than planar bone scintigraphy, especially when the lesions were located at posterior element of vertebrae. Most of the lesions were distributed at the 4 th and 5 th lumbar vertebral segments. There was no significant statistical difference of abnormal SPECT related to X-ray finding. The use of SPECT was the first choice among all image modalities when cause of low back pain was assumed to arise from bone and joint disorder at clinical evaluation.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy and intact parathyroid hormone levels in hyperparathyroidism.

Tc-99m MIBI has been widely used to evaluate hyperparathyroidism based on increased tracer uptake in hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue. The functional status measurement of parathyroid glands with intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels is also one of the most important diagnostic studies in this disorder. The aim of the current study was to assess the relation between MIBI imaging and iPTH levels. The authors retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with hyperparathyroidism who were referred to their department for Tc-99m MIBI scintigraphy. Sixty-five patients (24 primary and 41 secondary hyperparathyroidism) were included. The iPTH levels ranged from 66.06 to 2,836 pg/ml (normal, 10 to 55 pg/ml). Forty-two patients were MIBI positive and 23 were negative. The iPTH level in the MIBI-positive group was significantly greater than in the negative group in the primary (548 +/- 478 versus 124 +/- 45; = 0.002), secondary (1,155 +/- 692 versus 501 +/- 352; < 0.001), and overall (909 +/- 678 versus 386 +/- 341; < 0.001) groups. For the primary hyperparathyroidism group, 17 of the 24 patients were MIBI positive (71%). When iPTH levels exceeded 200 pg/ml (100%), the diagnostic sensitivity reached 100%. For the secondary hyperparathyroidism group, 25 of 41 patients (61%) were MIBI positive; 24 of 38 patients (63%) had an iPTH level greater than 200 pg/ml, 21 of 27 patients (78%) had an iPTH level greater than 500 pg/ml, and 11 of 12 patients (92%) had an iPTH value greater than 1,000 pg/ml. Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy showed a good correlation with iPTH level for both primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Visualization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands on Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy was more likely with a higher serum iPTH level in a dose-dependent manner.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Scintigraphic findings of Mycobacterium avium complex tenosynovitis of the index finger in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The presented case is a 36-year-old woman with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus for 10 years. She had progressively painful swelling of the right index finger that later proved to be a rare case of tenosynovitis caused by Mycobacterium avium complex. Serial images of 3-phase bone scans, gallium scan, and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrate the area of involvement.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A new blade for the bookwalter retractor system.

The table-fixed Bookwalter retractor system has been widely adopted in abdominal surgery, and during the past 15 or more years, we have succeeded in using the retractor system for thousands of cases operated on at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. However, for some surgical procedures, such as gastrectomy, the blades that are currently available do not adequately hold deeper organs or tissue, such as the liver. We have successfully designed and fabricated a blade for grasping deeper tissue or organs, which is reusable and cost-effective. The shape of this new blade is described.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed2002

Clinical features and gallium scan in the detection of post-surgical infection in the elderly.

Common signs of infection, such as an elevated level of C-reactive protein (CRP), raised white blood cell (WBC) count and increased temperature, may not be present in elderly patients when infection occurs. In addition, these typical signs may be normal events during the postoperative period. Therefore, early detection of post-surgical infection may be difficult in the elderly population. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of gallium scan in the detection of infection in elderly patients after colorectal surgery and compared it with CRP, WBC count and ear temperature (ET) examinations. Thirty-three patients undergoing colorectal surgery and aged over 60 years were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent a gallium scan and CRP, WBC and ET examinations. Of the 33 patients, 18 (54.5%) were diagnosed with infection. The diagnostic sensitivity was 100% for both gallium scan and the CRP test, but only 44.4% and 61.1% for the WBC count and ET, respectively. The diagnostic specificity of the gallium scan, WBC count and ET was 80% or more, whereas that of the CRP test was only 53.3%. The diagnostic accuracy of gallium scan, CRP test, WBC count and ET was 90.9%, 78.8%, 60.6% and 72.7%, respectively. In conclusion, both WBC and ET examinations show low sensitivity in the detection of infection in the elderly population after colorectal surgery. The CRP test has good sensitivity but low specificity. Of the four diagnostic modalities, gallium scan had the highest overall diagnostic accuracy (90.9%) while the WBC test had the lowest (60.6%).

Abdominal Abscess↗