Biomedical subjects

U Tasch

Publications and source records attributed to U Tasch.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Comparison of models to identify lame cows based on gait and lesion scores, and limb movement variables.

Bovine lameness results in pain and suffering in cattle and economic loss for producers. A system for automatically detecting lame cows was developed recently that measures vertical force components attributable to individual limbs. These measurements can be used to calculate a number of limb movement variables. The objective of this investigation was to explore whether gait scores, lesion scores, or combined gait and lesion scores were more effectively captured by a set of 5 limb movement variables. A set of 700 hind limb examinations was used to create gait-based, lesion-based, and combined (gait- and lesion-based) models. Logistic regression models were constructed using 1, 2, or 3 d of measurements. Resulting models were tested on cows not used in modeling. The accuracy of lesion-score models was superior to that of gait-score models; lesion-based models generated greater values of areas under the receiving operating characteristic curves (range 0.75 to 0.84) and lower mean-squared errors (0.13 to 0.16) compared with corresponding values for the gait-based models (0.63 to 0.73 and 0.26 to 0.31 for receiving operating characteristic and mean-squared errors, respectively). These results indicate that further model development and investigation could generate automated and objective methods of lameness detection in dairy cattle.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

A noninvasive radiotelemetry system to monitor heart rate for assessing stress responses of bovines.

A noninvasive radiotelemetry system was developed to monitor heart rates of cows and to view and analyze data. The system was validated by comparing heart rate data of two restrained heifers collected simultaneously using telemetric and direct electrocardiogram measurements and by acquiring data over 72 h from two dry cows housed in an experimental handling facility consisting of a free-stall pen, a holding pen, a pass-through stall, and a second holding pen. Telemetric and direct measurements in response to pharmacological elevation of heart rates were essentially identical. For cows in the experimental facility, peristimulus-time histograms indexed to standing or lying showed that average heart rates for cows increased 4.0 +/- 1.4 beats/min after cows stood and decreased 4.8 +/- 1.0 beats/min after cows lay. Similarly, the average heart rate for the cow naive to the facility increased from 60 to 86 beats/min and remained elevated for 6.3 min when heart rate was indexed to maximal heart rate within +/- 3 min of entry into the pass-through stall. Heart rate for the naive cow increased consistently from around 60 to over 160 beats/min during repeated agonistic encounters between animals. Heart rate for the other cow was not affected by the encounters. These results show clearly that heart rate can be used to monitor animal anxiety.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Aortic pressure estimation with electro-mechanical circulatory assist devices.

An adaptive technique for the estimation of the time history of aortic pressure (from applied voltage and position feedback) has been designed, implemented, and bench tested using the Penn State Electric Ventricular Assist Device (EVAD). This method, known in the field of automatic control as a dynamic observer, utilizes gains which were determined using experimental data collected while the EVAD was running on a mock circulatory system. An adaptive scheme provides the observer with a method of changing its initial conditions on a stroke-by-stroke basis which improves observer performance. In both determining the feedback gains and developing the adaptation scheme, a range of beat rates and pressure loads was taken into account to yield satisfactory observer performance over a range of operating conditions. The observer was implemented, its performance was verified in vitro and results are reported. In the six experimental operating conditions, the beat rate ranged from 56-104 beats per minute (bpm) and the span of the mean systolic aortic pressure was 10.7-18.7 kPa (80-140 mmHg). For these cases, the mean deviation between the actual and estimated aortic pressure during the latter two-thirds of systole was 0.41 kPa (3.1 mmHg).

Algorithms↗

PubMed1992

An optimal controller for an electric ventricular-assist device: theory, implementation, and testing.

This paper addresses the development and testing of an optimal position feedback controller for the Penn State electric ventricular-assist device (EVAD). The control law is designed to minimize the expected value of the EVAD's power consumption for a targeted patient population. The closed-loop control law is implemented on an Intel 8096 microprocessor and in vitro test runs show that this controller improves the EVAD's efficiency by 15-21%, when compared with the performance of the currently used feedforward control scheme.

Computers↗

PubMed1990

An adaptive aortic pressure observer for the Penn State Electric Ventricular Assist Device.

This paper addresses the development of an aortic pressure observer for the Penn State Electric Ventricular Assist Device (EVAD). The observer estimates the aortic blood pressure by measuring the voltage of the electric motor and the pusher plate position. The estimated pressure is fedback to the EVAD's blood flow controller, which adjusts the beat rate of the device to accommodate the varying demand of cardiac output. The gains of the observer are deterministically optimized such that the optimal values are independent of the (often unknown) system state initial conditions. To improve the performance of the pressure observer an adaptation scheme is developed. In this scheme the initial pressure estimate of the succeeding systolic cycle is adjusted when the pressure does not match its corresponding second estimated value. In vitro test runs of the developed observer show that is is robust to parameter variations, and the error of the resultant estimated pressure is less than 5%.

Aorta↗