Measuring the burden of preventable diabetic hospitalisations in the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).

PubMed

Lugo-Palacios, David G; Cairns, John; Masetto, Cynthia

2016-08-02

The prevalence of diabetes among adults in Mexico has increased markedly from 6.7 % in 1994 to 14.7 % in 2015. Although the main diabetic complications can be prevented or delayed with timely and effective primary care, a high percentage of diabetic patients have developed them imposing an important preventable burden on Mexican society and on the health system. This paper estimates the financial and health burden caused by potentially preventable hospitalisations due to diabetic complications in hospitals operated by the largest social security institution in Latin America, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), in the period 2007-2014. Hospitalisations in IMSS hospitals whose main cause was a diabetic complication were identified. The financial burden was estimated using IMSS diagnostic-related groups. To estimate the health burden, DALYs were computed under the assumption that patients would not have experienced complications if they had received timely and effective primary care. A total of 322,977 hospitalisations due to five diabetic complications were identified during the period studied, of which hospitalisations due to kidney failure and diabetic foot represent 78 %. The financial burden increased by 8.4 % in real terms between 2007 and 2014. However, when measured as cost per IMSS affiliate, it decreased by 11.3 %. The health burden had an overall decrease of 13.6 % and the associated DALYs in 2014 reached 103,688. Resources used for the hospital treatment of diabetic complications are then not available for other health care interventions. In order to prevent these hospitalisations more resources might need to be invested in primary care; the first step could be to consider the financial burden of these hospitalisations as a potential target for switching resources from hospital care to primary care services. However, more evidence of the effectiveness of different primary care interventions is needed to know how much of the burden could be prevented by better primary care.

Microsatellite Interruptions Stabilize Primate Genomes and Exist as Population-Specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms within Individual Human Genomes

PubMed Central

Ananda, Guruprasad; Hile, Suzanne E.; Breski, Amanda; Wang, Yanli; Kelkar, Yogeshwar; Makova, Kateryna D.; Eckert, Kristin A.

2014-01-01

Interruptions of microsatellite sequences impact genome evolution and can alter disease manifestation. However, human polymorphism levels at interrupted microsatellites (iMSs) are not known at a genome-wide scale, and the pathways for gaining interruptions are poorly understood. Using the 1000 Genomes Phase-1 variant call set, we interrogated mono-, di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats up to 10 units in length. We detected ∼26,000–40,000 iMSs within each of four human population groups (African, European, East Asian, and American). We identified population-specific iMSs within exonic regions, and discovered that known disease-associated iMSs contain alleles present at differing frequencies among the populations. By analyzing longer microsatellites in primate genomes, we demonstrate that single interruptions result in a genome-wide average two- to six-fold reduction in microsatellite mutability, as compared with perfect microsatellites. Centrally located interruptions lowered mutability dramatically, by two to three orders of magnitude. Using a biochemical approach, we tested directly whether the mutability of a specific iMS is lower because of decreased DNA polymerase strand slippage errors. Modeling the adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene sequence, we observed that a single base substitution interruption reduced strand slippage error rates five- to 50-fold, relative to a perfect repeat, during synthesis by DNA polymerases α, β, or η. Computationally, we demonstrate that iMSs arise primarily by base substitution mutations within individual human genomes. Our biochemical survey of human DNA polymerase α, β, δ, κ, and η error rates within certain microsatellites suggests that interruptions are created most frequently by low fidelity polymerases. Our combined computational and biochemical results demonstrate that iMSs are abundant in human genomes and are sources of population-specific genetic variation that may affect genome stability. The genome-wide identification of iMSs in human populations presented here has important implications for current models describing the impact of microsatellite polymorphisms on gene expression. PMID:25033203

Navigation, behaviors, and control modes in an autonomous vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byler, Eric A.

1995-01-01

An Intelligent Mobile Sensing System (IMSS) has been developed for the automated inspection of radioactive and hazardous waste storage containers in warehouse facilities at Department of Energy sites. A 2D space of control modes was used that provides a combined view of reactive and planning approaches wherein a 2D situation space is defined by dimensions representing the predictability of the agent's task environment and the constraint imposed by its goals. In this sense selection of appropriate systems for planning, navigation, and control depends on the problem at hand. The IMSS vehicle navigation system is based on a combination of feature based motion, landmark sightings, and an a priori logical map of the mockup storage facility. Motion for the inspection activities are composed of different interactions of several available control modes, several obstacle avoidance modes, and several feature identification modes. Features used to drive these behaviors are both visual and acoustic.

Mobile satellite service for Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sward, David

1988-01-01

The Mobile Satellite (MSAT) system and a special program designed to provide interim mobile satellite services (IMSS) during the construction phase of MSAT are described. A mobile satellite system is a key element in extending voice and and data telecommunications to all Canadians.

System architecture for the Canadian interim mobile satellite system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shariatmadar, M.; Gordon, K.; Skerry, B.; Eldamhougy, H.; Bossler, D.

1988-01-01

The system architecture for the Canadian Interim Mobile Satellite Service (IMSS) which is planned for commencement of commercial service in late 1989 is reviewed. The results of an associated field trial program which was carried out to determine the limits of coverage and the preliminary performance characteristics of the system are discussed.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Different Testing Strategies that Use Antibody Levels to Detect Chronic Hepatitis C in Blood Donors.

PubMed

Granados-García, Víctor; Contreras, Ana M; García-Peña, Carmen; Salinas-Escudero, Guillermo; Thein, Hla-Hla; Flores, Yvonne N

2016-01-01

We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of seven hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing strategies in blood donors. Three of the seven strategies were based on HCV diagnosis and reporting guidelines in Mexico and four were from previous and current recommendations outlined by the CDC. The strategies that were evaluated determine antibody levels according to the signal-to-cut-off (S/CO) ratio and use reflex Immunoblot (IMB) or HCV RNA tests to confirm true positive (TP) cases of chronic HCV infection. Costs were calculated from the perspective of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). A decision tree model was developed to estimate the expected number of true positive cases and costs for the base-case scenarios and for the sensitivity analyses. Base-case findings indicate an extended dominance of the CDC-USA2 and CDC-USA4 options by the IMSS Mexico3 and IMSS-Mexico1 alternatives. The probabilistic sensitivity analyses results suggest that for a willingness-to-pay (WTP) range of $0-9,000 USD the IMSS-Mexico1 strategy is the most cost-effective of all strategies ($5,000 USD per TP). The IMSS-Mexico3, IMSS-Mexico2, and CDC-USA3 strategies are also cost-effective strategies that cost between $7,800 and $8,800 USD per TP case detected. The CDC-USA1 strategy was very expensive and not cost-effective. HCV antibody testing strategies based on the classification of two or three levels of the S/CO are cost-effective procedures to identify patients who require reflex IMB or HCV RNA testing to confirm chronic HCV infection.

Loss of job-related right to healthcare associated with employment turnover: challenges for the Mexican health system.

PubMed

Guerra, Germán; Gutiérrez-Calderón, Emilio; Salgado de Snyder, Nelly; Borja-Aburto, Víctor Hugo; Martínez-Valle, Adolfo; González-Block, Miguel Ángel

2018-06-15

The Mexican health system segments access and right to healthcare according to worker position in the labour market. In this contribution we analyse how access and continuity of healthcare gets interrupted by employment turnover in the labour market, including its formal and informal sectors, as experienced by affiliates to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) at national level, and of workers with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Mexico City. Using data from the National Employment and Occupation Survey, 2014, and from IMSS electronic medical records for workers in Mexico City, we estimated annual employment turnover rates to measure the loss of healthcare access due to labour market dynamics. We fitted a binary logistic regression model to analyse the association between sociodemographic variables and employment turnover. Lastly we analysed job-related access to health care in relation to employment turnover events. At national level, 38.3% of IMSS affiliates experienced employment turnover at least once, thus losing the right to access to healthcare. The turnover rate for T2DM patients was 22.5%. Employment turnover was more frequent at ages 20-39 (38.6% national level; 28% T2DM) and among the elderly (62.4% national level; 26% T2DM). At the national level, higher educational levels (upper-middle, OR = 0.761; upper, OR = 0.835) and income (5 minimum wages or more, OR = 0.726) were associated with lower turnover. Being single and younger were associated with higher turnover (OR = 1.413). T2DM patients aged 40-59 (OR = 0.655) and with 5 minimum wages or more (OR = 0.401) experienced less turnover. Being a T2DM male patient increased the risk of experiencing turnover (OR = 1.166). Up to 89% of workers losing IMSS affiliation and moving on to other jobs failed to gain job-related access to health services. Only 9% gained access to the federal workers social security institute (ISSSTE). Turnover across labour market sectors is frequently experienced by the workforce in Mexico, worsening among the elderly and the young, and affecting patients with chronic diseases. This situation needs to be prospectively addressed by health system policies that aim to expand the financial health protection during an employment turnover event.

Loss of job-related right to healthcare is associated with reduced quality and clinical outcomes of diabetic patients in Mexico.

PubMed

Doubova, Svetlana V; Borja-Aburto, Víctor Hugo; Guerra-Y-Guerra, Germán; Salgado-de-Snyder, V Nelly; González-Block, Miguel Ángel

2018-05-01

The Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) provides a package of health, economic and social benefits to workers employed in private firms within the formal labour market and to their economic dependants. Affiliates have a right to these benefits only while they remain contracted, thus posing a risk for the continuity of healthcare. This study evaluates the association between the time (in days) without the right to healthcare due to job loss in the formal labour market and the quality of healthcare and clinical outcomes among IMSS affiliates with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Retrospective cohort study 2013-2015. Six IMSS family medicine clinics (FMC) in Mexico City. T2DM patients (n = 27 217) affiliated with job-related health insurance and at least one consultation with a family doctor during 2013. IMSS affiliation department database and electronic health records and clinical laboratory databases. Quality of the processes (eight indicators) and outcomes (three indicators) of healthcare. The results indicated that losing IMSS right to healthcare is frequent, occurring to one-third of T2DM patients during the follow-up period. The time without the right to healthcare in the observed period was of 120 days on average and was associated with a 43.2% loss of quality of care and a 19.2% reduction in clinical outcomes of T2DM. Policies aimed at ensuring access and continuity of care, regardless of job status, are critical for improving the quality of processes and outcomes of healthcare for diabetic patients.

Hybrid intelligent monironing systems for thermal power plant trips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barsoum, Nader; Ismail, Firas Basim

2012-11-01

Steam boiler is one of the main equipment in thermal power plants. If the steam boiler trips it may lead to entire shutdown of the plant, which is economically burdensome. Early boiler trips monitoring is crucial to maintain normal and safe operational conditions. In the present work two artificial intelligent monitoring systems specialized in boiler trips have been proposed and coded within the MATLAB environment. The training and validation of the two systems has been performed using real operational data captured from the plant control system of selected power plant. An integrated plant data preparation framework for seven boiler trips with related operational variables has been proposed for IMSs data analysis. The first IMS represents the use of pure Artificial Neural Network system for boiler trip detection. All seven boiler trips under consideration have been detected by IMSs before or at the same time of the plant control system. The second IMS represents the use of Genetic Algorithms and Artificial Neural Networks as a hybrid intelligent system. A slightly lower root mean square error was observed in the second system which reveals that the hybrid intelligent system performed better than the pure neural network system. Also, the optimal selection of the most influencing variables performed successfully by the hybrid intelligent system.

[Hypoacusia as a result of chronic traumatic acoustic lesion in workers with affiliation to the Mexican Social Security Institute, 1992-2002].

PubMed

Loera-González, Maria de los Angeles; Salinas-Tovar, Santiago; Aguilar-Madrid, Guadalupe; Borja-Aburto, Victor Hugo

2006-01-01

Hypoacusia by chronic acoustic trauma (HTAC) is one of the main work diseases. to analyze the distribution and frequency of hearing loss produced by chronic acoustic trauma (HLON) in workers who attend to Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Also analyze the estimated cost of permanent work disabilities. We analyze all hearing loss cases of the workers who attend to IMSS in the period between 1992 to 2001, registered in the Subsystem of registration of work's risk in the IMSS. Measures of central tendency, odds ratio (OR) and direct costs by means were calculated. The HLON represents 41% (1867) of all work's disease, during the period it was observed an increase of number of cases, the average of permanent disabilities, the rate of incidence and the average of rating percentage. The cases solved through a demand showed an increase to 105% in four years. The estimate monthly cost for every worker was 277 pesos. The HLON represents an important problem for the IMSS causing social and economic impact. If they don't take some actions to improve the quality of chronic acoustic trauma diagnosis it will have more serious consequences.

[Seventy years of medicine in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social].

PubMed

Fajardo-Ortiz, Guillermo

2014-01-01

The purpose of these lines is to remember and refer some of the historical landmarks in the evolution of the medical services of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS, according to its initials in Spanish) since it was founded, in 1943. We also want to bring to the reader's attention that the dimensions and impacts on health that IMSS has achieved, throughout its history, have strengthened the citizenship, as well as social sustainability. Also, those impacts have determined the creation and the reinforcement of human capital in México. Throughout this concise balance, all the controversy surrounding the foundation of the Institute is being recalled (the protest in the Mexico City Zócalo, or the attack to an hospital in San Ángel -a neighborhood located in the Southwest of Mexico City-), as well as the way the IMSS incorporated several words into the vocabulary of Mexicans. We also remember the previous antecedent of the Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, as well as the Revista de Enfermería, and the emblematic Archives of Medical Research. The IMSS has 70 years of achievements, seven decades covered.

[Health research at the Mexican Social Security Institute, a historical review].

PubMed

Jáuregui-Renaud, Kathrine

2011-01-01

After the establishment of the Mexican Social Security Institute, medical research developed beside health care activities. Since 1962, the journal Revista Médica del IMSS was formally edited and in 1963 the Central Office for Medical Education and Research was created. The production of the journal Archivos de Investigación Médica, in Spanish started in 1970, which in 1992 was transformed into Archives of Medical Research in English. In 1981, an administrative structure for the research carrier was designed including 6 categories. By 1985, after the conception of the National System of Investigators (1984), 77 IMSS researchers were recognized as national researchers. In 1986, 93 % of the scientific papers were published in national journals, five years later, more than a third of the publications were international, and from year 2000 this percentage doubled. Through the years decentralization and diversification occurred, with promotion of research on health systems and strengthening of clinical research. Today, the institutional research capacity comprises Biomedical Research Centers as well as Research Units on clinical epidemiology, specific medical topics and epidemiology and health systems.

[The diffusion of knowledge].

PubMed

Ramiro-H, Manuel; Cruz-A, Enrique

2016-01-01

Between August 19 and 21, the Feria del Libro de las Ciencias de la Salud (Healthcare Book Fair) took place in the Palacio de Medicina in Mexico City. Archives of Medical Research, Revista Médica del IMSS, and Saber IMSS, three of the main instruments of knowledge diffusion of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, assisted to this book fair, which was organized by the Facultad de Medicina of UNAM.

Malignant tumors as cause of disability at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

PubMed

Zitle-García, Edgar Jesús; Sauceda-Valenzuela, Alma Lucila; Ascencio-Montiel, Iván de Jesús; García-Paredes, Jesús

2018-01-01

Cancer represents an important issue in health, with the economic impact that it takes. The aim of this paper is to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of a population with social security who was diagnosed with some type of cancer and required a disability pension. Observational study, retrolective cohort type, carried out at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) with IMSS beneficiaries ruled with a state of disability due to malignancy during the period 2006 to 2012. 13 633 cases were studied, observing an increasing behavior among the years mentioned. The age average of the rightful claimants ruled was 47.75 years; the main causes of disability due to malignant tumors were breast, colon and brain cancer. The definitive opinions represented the 49.66%, which are likely to generate a constituent amount for the IMSS. It is important to have data of the survival in relation to the most frequent malignant tumors, which can provide information about the severity and prognosis of these diseases. The results obtained lead to discuss the effectiveness of programs established on the prevention and early detection of non-communicable diseases, mainly in breast cancer, since the impact that has this type of suffering may involve a major financial problem for the IMSS because of the payment of constituent amounts.

[IMSS in numbers. Consumption of alcohol and psyhoactive substances].

PubMed

2005-01-01

One of the main public health problems in the world are alcohol and drug abuse. Health impact of addictions is clearly evidenced by the increasing numbers of suicides, depression, domestic violence, accidents and injuries. The mental and behavioral problems derived by the abuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs are under reported. From 1991 to 2003 around 13,000 cases for problems due to alcohol abuse were reported annually in Family Medicine services, nearly 4000 cases in specialized services and an average of 20,000 cases were attended in the emergency areas of the social security system in Mexico (IMSS). The data indicates that this health problems are becoming evident in young populations under 25 years old and the trend is increasing. Professional resources that are specialized in the treatment of such behavioral problems are not sufficient and the institution faces an upcoming health threat that demands prevention programs and a more integrated health care programs.

Local research ethics committees of the Mexican Institute of Social Security: results of a national survey.

PubMed

Valdez-Martinez, E; Garduño-Espinosa, J; Martinez-Salgado, H; Porter, J D H

2004-07-01

To identify the structure, composition and work of the local research ethics committees (LRECs) of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed that included all LRECs of the IMSS. A total of 335 questionnaires coded in advance were posted to each LREC secretary. The requested information was from January to December 2001. The response rate was 100%. Two hundred and thirty-eight (71%) LRECs were reported as 'active' during the evaluation period. Although almost all LRECs were composed of diverse professionals, physicians dominated the LRECs' membership. The rejection rate for research projects was lower than 1 per 1000, and less than half of the LRECs held meetings to issue a report of projects' evaluation. LRECs need to foster good ethical research; implementation of an audit system to examine their work might help improve LRECs' performance and accountability.

[IMSS in numbers. Surgeries].

PubMed

2005-01-01

Surgery occupies a priority place within the organization of health services. In the IMSS around 1.4 million surgeries are performed annually and 3934 take place each day. A great part of the resources goes to obstetric interventions, since 222,928 caesarean sections were performed in 2004, and along with curettages, tubal occlusions and hysterectomies, they sum 37.6% of the surgeries performed in 2004. Abdominal deliveries (caesarean sections) were done in 39% of the pregnancies delivered in the IMSS and 8.3% were done in adolescents. Simple surgical interventions were also important. Cholecystectomies were 6 times more frequent in women aged 20 to 59 years old than in men the same age. Among the main interventions we also describe hernioplasty, appendicectomies, amygdalectomies, rhinoplasties, biopsies and circumcisions. Scarce data on complications are registered and no data is available for infections of surgical wounds. Surgical procedures are more frequent in women and in certain specialities.

[Human resources requirements for diabetic patients healthcare in primary care clinics of the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

PubMed

Doubova, Svetlana V; Ramírez-Sánchez, Claudine; Figueroa-Lara, Alejandro; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo

2013-12-01

To estimate the requirements of human resources (HR) of two models of care for diabetes patients: conventional and specific, also called DiabetIMSS, which are provided in primary care clinics of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). An evaluative research was conducted. An expert group identified the HR activities and time required to provide healthcare consistent with the best clinical practices for diabetic patients. HR were estimated by using the evidence-based adjusted service target approach for health workforce planning; then, comparisons between existing and estimated HRs were made. To provide healthcare in accordance with the patients' metabolic control, the conventional model required increasing the number of family doctors (1.2 times) nutritionists (4.2 times) and social workers (4.1 times). The DiabetIMSS model requires greater increase than the conventional model. Increasing HR is required to provide evidence-based healthcare to diabetes patients.

[Myasthenia gravis in adults of institutions pertaining to the Mexican public health system: an analysis of hospital discharges during 2010].

PubMed

Tolosa-Tort, Paulina; Chiquete, Erwin; Domínguez-Moreno, Rogelio; Vega-Boada, Felipe; Reyes-Melo, Isael; Flores-Silva, Fernando; Sentíes-Madrid, Horacio; Estañol-Vidal, Bruno; García-Ramos, Guillermo; Herrera-Hernández, Miguel; Ruiz-Sandoval, José L; Cantú-Brito, Carlos

2015-01-01

Epidemiological studies on myasthenia gravis (MG) in Mexico is mainly derived from experiences in referral centers. To describe the epidemiological characteristics of hospital discharges during 2010 with the diagnosis of MG in adults hospitalized in the Mexican public health system. We consulted the database of hospital discharges during 2010 of the National Health Information System (Ministry of Health, IMSS, IMSS oportunidades, ISSSTE, PEMEX, and the Ministry of Defense). The MG records were identified by the code G70.0 of the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision. During 2010 there were 5,314,132 hospital discharges (4,254,312 adults). Among them, 587 (0.01%) were adults with MG (median age: 47 years, 60% women). Women with MG were significantly younger than men (median age: 37 vs. 54 years, respectively; p < 0.001). The median hospital stay was six days. The case fatality rate was 3.4%, without gender differences. Age was associated with the probability of death. We confirmed the bimodal age-gender distribution in MG. The in-hospital case fatality rate in Mexico is consistent with recent reports around the world.

[Premature death and disability profile in the population affiliated to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS)].

PubMed

Rodríguez-Abrego, Gabriela; Escobedo de la Peña, Jorge; Zurita, Beatriz; Ramírez, Teresita de Jesús

2007-01-01

To carry out estimations of the burden of disease for 129 causes in order to identify health priorities in the different geographic regions of the country and to present comparative data between 1995 and 2000. Indicators such as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and disability adjusted life expectancy (DALE) were analyzed for the population covered by IMSS in 1995 and 2000; for both years, the methodology proposed by the Burden of Disease Worldwide Study was applied. Data corresponding to 1995 were analyzed in 1997, while data corresponding to 2000 were analyzed in 2001. The comparative study was carried out in 2006 by IMSS, Mexico. The higher proportion of DALYs was due to chronic diseases, although the 2000 rate is 1.5 times higher than that of 1995. Priorities that were identified were diabetes mellitus, ischemic cardiopathy, and cerebrovascular disease, with a loss that is mainly accounted for by premature death, as well as by diseases related to disability with an important burden of disease, such as AIDS or depression. Epidemiological backlogs can still be observed. The population covered by IMSS is still in a phase of epidemiologic transition, favoring polarization in health conditions. Health policies need to be directed toward bringing about an improved response and reversing the trend in diseases that represent an institutional risk for the financing of health care.

[IMSS in numbers: demand of services in the emergency room, 2004].

PubMed

2006-01-01

The emergency room is one of the most productive services in any medical institution, where the demand of health services is diverse and complex in nature. Around 15 % of all the medical attentions provided at IMSS were done at the emergency room. There was an important increase in the number of consultations provided from 1995 to 2004; the death rate in the service also increased but the incapacity rate decreased. Adult and elderly women were among the most frequent users of emergency services. The main problems seen were respiratory infections (19.4%), trauma and poisoning (18.8%) and diarrheas (8%). Cholelithiasis, migraine, urinary infections and diabetes were more frequent in women, while trauma, accidents and conjunctivitis were more frequent in men. In relation to mortality, around 21% of all deaths registered at IMSS occurred in the emergency room. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases appeared among the main death causes, especially in the adult and elderly population. Mortality was higher in men than in women.

[The role of health education in preventive medicine strategy of the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

PubMed

Rodríguez Véliz, A M

1982-01-01

This article presents the Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS) created in 1943 and describes its main features, its programmes and the role played by health education inside the programmes. It ends by explaining the present situation concerning health education and the changes which are presently envisaged. During its first twenty years, the IMSS promoted preventive medicine and trained health personnel. Since 1979 it has concerned itself mainly with some 10 million peasants and marginal groups. In the frame of a national development programme, a vaccination and detection campaign were implemented and the distribution system of potable water was extended. Mexico with a population of 73 million has the dual characteristics of a developed and a developing country (70 per cent of its population is urban, 30 per cent rural). The overcrowded cities contrast with the isolated rural areas where sanitary conditions are poor and life difficult. The main causes of mortality, in 1978, were: -in the towns: car accidents, cardiovascular diseases and suicide; -in rural areas, acute respiratory infections and intestinal infections. The 1978 Alma Ata international conference on primary health care and the meeting of Ministers of health convened in 1980 by the Pan American Health Organization endorsed the IMSS programmes which emphasize prevention, promote health education and community participation. The cost of preventive measures being cheaper than treatment, 203 million pesos were saved and allocated to the expansion of programmes. Systematic immunization has resulted in a sharp decline of diphteria, polio, rabies, typhoid, pertussis and measles. Early detection of tumours of cervix uteri has saved many lives.

Expression of candidate genes associated with obesity in peripheral white blood cells of Mexican children

PubMed Central

Ulloa-Martínez, Marcela; Burguete-García, Ana I.; Murugesan, Selvasankar; Hoyo-Vadillo, Carlos; Cruz-Lopez, Miguel

2016-01-01

Introduction Obesity is a chronic, complex, and multifactorial disease, characterized by excess body fat. Diverse studies of the human genome have led to the identification of susceptibility genes that contribute to obesity. However, relatively few studies have addressed specifically the association between the level of expression of these genes and obesity. Material and methods We studied 160 healthy and obese unrelated Mexican children aged 6 to 14 years. We measured the transcriptional expression of 20 genes associated with obesity, in addition to the biochemical parameters, in peripheral white blood cells. The detection of mRNA levels was performed using the OpenArray Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems). Results Obese children exhibited higher values of fasting glucose (p = 0.034), fasting insulin (p = 0.004), low-density lipoprotein (p = 0.006), triglycerides (p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), and lower values of high-density lipoprotein (p < 0.001) compared to lean children. Analysis of transcriptional expression data showed a difference for ADRB1 (p = 0.0297), ADIPOR1 (p = 0.0317), GHRL (p = 0.0060) and FTO (p = 0.0348) genes. Conclusions Our results suggest that changes in the expression level of the studied genes are involved in biological processes implicated in the development of childhood obesity. Our study contributes new perspectives for a better understanding of biological processes involved in obesity. The protocol was approved by the National Committee and Ethical Committee Board from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) (IMSS FIS/IMSS/PRIO/10/011). PMID:27695486

[XII National Forum on Health Education].

PubMed

Ramiro-H, Manuel

2015-01-01

In Guadalajara, on August 19, 20 and 21 was held the XII Foro Nacional de Educación en Salud, in line with the interest that both, the Dirección General and the Dirección de Prestaciones Médicas of the IMSS, have in training and updating the human resources for the care of the beneficiaries. The Unidad de Educación, Investigación y Políticas de Salud organized a meeting in which the actors of these tasks, the institutional staff and authorities from various universities worked together with the IMSS.

[Determinants of partner violence in health workers of IMSS, Morelos].

PubMed

Ortega-Ceballos, Paola Adanari; Mudgal, Jyoti; Flores, Yvonne; Rivera-Rivera, Leonor; Díaz-Montiel, Juan Carlos; Salmerón, Jorge

2007-01-01

To study the prevalence of partner violence, and to identify the associated risk factors in a sample of female workers of IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute), Morelos State. Cross-sectional data from 1 173 women participating in the cohort study of IMSS workers are utilized to study these associations. The study provides information on frequency of psychological, physical or sexual violence and perception of severity during the 12 months prior to the time of data collection. It was carried out in Morelos between October 1998 and March 2000. Polytomous logistic regression models were used to obtain odds ratios for different degrees of partner violence. A high prevalence of partner violence is observed in the sample. Main factors associated with higher severity of violence are state of the relationship and alcohol intake, emotional status of the couple at home, work burden of the woman, and a history of violence in childhood. All these factors are potentially modifiable through interventions aimed at stress reduction. These results should be considered when developing preventive programs against partner violence in Mexico.

[Violence in Mexican women using public health services].

PubMed

Gómez-Dantés, Héctor; Vázquez-Martínez, José Luis; Fernández-Cantón, Sonia B

2006-01-01

To compare the prevalence of violence and determine its risk factors among women who use Mexican Social Services (IMSS) clinics and do not have access to social security services. Sociodemographic data linked to domestic violence reported by women attending the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) health services was analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed using STATAV.7. Psychological violence in IMSS women was 18% followed by physical violence (9.1%), sexual (6.7%) and economic (5%). Prevalence of violence in women with no social security care was psychological (21.4%), physical (10.5%), sexual (7.5%) and economical (5%). Women between 25 and 44 years of age with basic schooling and married and with family background of violence were the most affected. The daily consumption of alcohol by their partners was an important predictor of domestic violence. Violence in women with no social security is higher. Partner's alcohol intake pattern is an important risk factor. Detection of domestic violence in the clinical setting is necessary to recognize its real magnitude as a social problem.

[Depressive disorder and issues related to DiabetIMSS beneficiaries].

PubMed

Fu-Espinosa, Mario; Trujillo-Olivera, Laura Elena

2013-01-01

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) is the leading cause of death in people from 15 to 64 years in Mexico, and other regions in the world. For the chronic nature of diabetes and complications caused by inadequate metabolic control, patients may have mood disorders such as depression. Several studies have demonstrated higher prevalence of depression in diabetic patients than in general population. Our objective: is to determine prevalence and factors associated with depressive disorder in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in DiabetIMSS during 2010. Analytical study with random probability sampling. The analysis included prevalence, odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. The Center Epidemiological Studies Depression Instrument was used. Prevalence of depression was 32.7% at 95% CI = 26.4-38.9%), 67.3% for women, 32.7 % for men; good metabolic control was 51.9%, CI = 95% (45.13-58.66%). We found a higher prevalence of depressive disorders than in the general population, no statistical association with glycemic control, keeping a greater proportion of women as well as the main aspect of depression associated with the perception of emotional support. We discuss DiabetIMSS program effectiveness.

Comparative inter-institutional study of stress among dentists.

PubMed

Pozos-Radillo, Blanca E; Galván-Ramírez, Ma Luz; Pando, Manuel; Carrión, Ma De los Angeles; González, Guillermo J

2010-01-01

Dentistry is considered to be a stressful profession due to different factors caused by work, representing a threat to dentists'health. The objectives of this work were to identify and compare chronic stress in dentists among the different health institutions and the association of stress with risk factors. The study in question is observational, transversal and comparative; 256 dentists were included, distributed among five public health institutions in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, namely: the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), the Ministry of Health (SS), the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), the Social Security Services Institute for the Workers (ISSSTE) and the University of Guadalajara (U. de G) Data were obtained by means of the census technique. Stress was identified using the Stress Symptoms Inventory and the statistical analysis was performed using the Odds Ratio (O.R.) and the chi-square statistic. From the total population studied, 219 subjects presented high levels of chronic stress and 37, low levels. In the results of comparative analysis, significant differences were found between IMSS and U. de G and likewise between IMSS and SS. However, in the analysis of association, only U. de G was found to be associated with the high level of chronic stress.

Assessment of the Validity and Reproducibility of the Pap Smear in Mexico: Necessity of a Paradigm Shift.

PubMed

Yunes-Díaz, Elsa; Ruiz, Patricia Alonso-de; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo

2015-05-01

An assessment was performed of the quality of Pap readings in 19 cytology laboratories (CLs) in Mexico from the Cervical Cancer Screening Program. Nine CLs were affiliated with the Health Ministry (SSA), and ten were affiliated with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Two sets of 200 cervical cytology specimens were prepared, one set for each institution. Fourteen percent of the specimens were positive and six were inappropriate for diagnosis (3%). All cervical cytology specimens were processed in the cytopathology laboratory at the General Hospital of Mexico, and histopathology was available for each positive case. Thirty percent of the SSA reading centers had a sensitivity of at least 80%; however, not one of the ten IMSS laboratories evaluated reached this figure. Some reading centers had a sensitivity <65%, meaning that nearly half of the specimens with a cytology consistent with cervical neoplasm were not identified. Given these results, it is a priority to effect a paradigm shift combining various screening tests to improve adherence to standards and enhanced cost-effectiveness of the early detection of cervicouterine cancer (CC) in Mexico. Copyright © 2015 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calculation of the Average Cost per Case of Dengue Fever in Mexico Using a Micro-Costing Approach

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Introduction The increasing burden of dengue fever (DF) in the Americas, and the current epidemic in previously unaffected countries, generate major costs for national healthcare systems. There is a need to quantify the average cost per DF case. In Mexico, few data are available on costs, despite DF being endemic in some areas. Extrapolations from studies in other countries may prove unreliable and are complicated by the two main Mexican healthcare systems (the Secretariat of Health [SS] and the Mexican Social Security Institute [IMSS]). The present study aimed to generate specific average DF cost-per-case data for Mexico using a micro-costing approach. Methods Expected medical costs associated with an ideal management protocol for DF (denoted ´ideal costs´) were compared with the medical costs of current treatment practice (denoted ´real costs´) in 2012. Real cost data were derived from chart review of DF cases and interviews with patients and key personnel from 64 selected hospitals and ambulatory care units in 16 states for IMSS and SS. In both institutions, ideal and real costs were estimated using the program, actions, activities, tasks, inputs (PAATI) approach, a micro-costing technique developed by us. Results Clinical pathways were obtained for 1,168 patients following review of 1,293 charts. Ideal and real costs for SS patients were US$165.72 and US$32.60, respectively, in the outpatient setting, and US$587.77 and US$490.93, respectively, in the hospital setting. For IMSS patients, ideal and real costs were US$337.50 and US$92.03, respectively, in the outpatient setting, and US$2,042.54 and US$1,644.69 in the hospital setting. Conclusions The markedly higher ideal versus real costs may indicate deficiencies in the actual care of patients with DF. It may be necessary to derive better estimates with micro-costing techniques and compare the ideal protocol with current practice when calculating these costs, as patients do not always receive optimal care. PMID:27501146

White blood cell counting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The design, fabrication, and tests of a prototype white blood cell counting system for use in the Skylab IMSS are presented. The counting system consists of a sample collection subsystem, sample dilution and fluid containment subsystem, and a cell counter. Preliminary test results show the sample collection and the dilution subsystems are functional and fulfill design goals. Results for the fluid containment subsystem show the handling bags cause counting errors due to: (1) adsorption of cells to the walls of the container, and (2) inadequate cleaning of the plastic bag material before fabrication. It was recommended that another bag material be selected.

Seismo-acoustic Signals Recorded at KSIAR, the Infrasound Array Installed at PS31

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, T. S.; Che, I. Y.; Jeon, J. S.; Chi, H. C.; Kang, I. B.

2014-12-01

One of International Monitoring System (IMS)'s primary seismic stations, PS31, called Korea Seismic Research Station (KSRS), was installed around Wonju, Korea in 1970s. It has been operated by US Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) for more than 40 years. KSRS is composed of 26 seismic sensors including 19 short period, 6 long period and 1 broad band seismometers. The 19 short period sensors were used to build an array with a 10-km aperture while the 6 long period sensors were used for a relatively long period array with a 40-km aperture. After KSRS was certified as an IMS station in 2006 by Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) which is the Korea National Data Center started to take over responsibilities on the operation and maintenance of KSRS from AFTAC. In April of 2014, KIGAM installed an infrasound array, KSIAR, on the existing four short period seismic stations of KSRS, the sites KS05, KS06, KS07 and KS16. The collocated KSIAR changed KSRS from a seismic array into a seismo-acoustic array. The aperture of KSIAR is 3.3 km. KSIAR also has a 100-m small aperture infrasound array at KS07. The infrasound data from KSIAR except that from the site KS06 is being transmitted in real time to KIGAM with VPN and internet line. An initial analysis on seismo-acoustic signals originated from local and regional distance ranges has been performed since May 2014. The analysis with the utilization of an array process called Progressive Multi-Channel Correlation (PMCC) detected seismo-acoustic signals caused by various sources including small explosions in relation to constructing local tunnels and roads. Some of them were not found in the list of automatic bulletin of KIGAM. The seismo-acoustic signals recorded by KSIAR are supplying a useful information for discriminating local and regional man-made events from natural events.

HPV testing for cervical cancer screening appears more cost-effective than Papanicolau cytology in Mexico.

PubMed

Flores, Yvonne N; Bishai, David M; Lorincz, Attila; Shah, Keerti V; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Hernández, Mauricio; Granados-García, Víctor; Pérez, Ruth; Salmerón, Jorge

2011-02-01

To determine the incremental costs and effects of different HPV testing strategies, when compared to Papanicolau cytology (Pap), for cervical cancer screening in Mexico. A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) examined the specific costs and health outcomes associated with (1) no screening; (2) only the Pap test; (3) only self-administered HPV; (4) only clinician administered HPV; and (5) clinician administered HPV plus the Pap test. The costs of self- and clinician-HPV testing, as well as with the Pap test, were identified and quantified. Costs were reported in 2008 US dollars. The health outcome associated with these screening strategies was defined as the number of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer cases detected. This CEA was performed using the perspective of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Morelos, Mexico. Screening women between the ages of 30-80 for cervical cancer using clinical-HPV testing or the combination of clinical-HPV testing, and the Pap is always more cost-effective than using the Pap test alone. This CEA indicates that HPV testing could be a cost-effective screening alternative for a large health delivery organization such as IMSS. These results may help policy-makers implement HPV testing as part of the IMSS cervical cancer screening program.

HPV testing for cervical cancer screening appears more cost-effective than Papanicolau cytology in Mexico

PubMed Central

Bishai, David M.; Lőrincz, Attila; Shah, Keerti V.; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Hernández, Mauricio; Granados-García, Víctor; Pérez, Ruth; Salmerón, Jorge

2010-01-01

Objective To determine the incremental costs and effects of different HPV testing strategies, when compared to Papanicolau cytology (Pap), for cervical cancer screening in Mexico. Methods A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) examined the specific costs and health outcomes associated with (1) no screening; (2) only the Pap test; (3) only self-administered HPV; (4) only clinician administered HPV; and (5) clinician administered HPV plus the Pap test. The costs of self- and clinician-HPV testing, as well as with the Pap test, were identified and quantified. Costs were reported in 2008 US dollars. The health outcome associated with these screening strategies was defined as the number of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer cases detected. This CEA was performed using the perspective of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Morelos, Mexico. Results Screening women between the ages of 30–80 for cervical cancer using clinical-HPV testing or the combination of clinical-HPV testing, and the Pap is always more cost-effective than using the Pap test alone. Conclusions This CEA indicates that HPV testing could be a cost-effective screening alternative for a large health delivery organization such as IMSS. These results may help policy-makers implement HPV testing as part of the IMSS cervical cancer screening program. PMID:21170578

[Ethics committees in the experience of the IMSS: a Latin American instance].

PubMed

Valdez-Martínez, Edith; Mata-Valderrama, Guadalupe; Bedolla, Miguel; Fajardo-Dolci, Germán Enrique

2015-01-01

The aim of this article is to identify the current state of hospital bioethics committees and local research ethics committees of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed that included all hospitals of the IMSS (N = 262). Two self-administered questionnaires were e-mailed between october and november 2014 to the hospital directors: one for hospital bioethics committees and another for local research ethics committees. Both questionnaires had five sections: committee location, date of committee set up, activity situation, composition, functions, and experience. The response rate was 85 %. It was reported 150 active hospital bioethics committees and 67 active local research ethics committees. In both groups physicians and executive directors dominated committees' membership, and lay people were reported only in seven hospital bioethics committees. The primary function of hospital bioethics committees was case consultation, and their primary goal "to improve the quality of medical care". Local Research Ethics Committees reported as primary function "to evaluate health research protocols and rule of them", and as their primary goal "to protect the rights and wellbeing of the research subjects". Both groups of committees ought to be assessed regularly through audit cycles in order to identify the educative actions that enhance their efficiency.

A pharmaco-economic analysis of second-line treatment with imatinib or sunitinib in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours.

PubMed

Contreras-Hernández, I; Mould-Quevedo, J F; Silva, A; Salinas-Escudero, G; Villasís-Keever, M A; Granados-García, V; Dávila-Loaiza, G; Petersen, J A; Garduño-Espinosa, J

2008-06-03

Second-line treatments recommended by the National Cancer Center Network to manage advanced-stage gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) were evaluated to determine the cost and cost-effectiveness of each intervention in the Mexican insurance system, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Treatments examined over a 5-year temporal horizon to estimate long-term costs included 800 mg day(-1) of imatinib mesylate, 50 mg day(-1) of sunitinib malate (administered in a 4 week on/2 week rest schedule), and palliative care. The mean cost (MC), cost-effectiveness, and benefit of each intervention were compared to determine the best GIST treatment from the institutional perspective of the IMSS. As sunitinib was not reimbursed at the time of the study, a Markov model and sensitivity analysis were conducted to predict the MC and likelihood of reimbursement. Patients taking 800 mg day(-1) of imatinib had the highest MC (+/-s.d.) of treatment at $35,225.61 USD (+/-1253.65 USD); while sunitinib incurred a median MC of $17,805.87 USD (+/-694.83 USD); and palliative care had the least MC over treatment duration as the cost was $2071.86 USD (+/-472.88 USD). In comparison to palliative care, sunitinib is cost-effective for 38.9% of patients; however, sunitinib delivered the greatest survival benefit as 5.64 progression-free months (PFM) and 1.4 life-years gained (LYG) were obtained in the economic model. Conversely, patients on imatinib and palliative care saw a lower PFM of 5.28 months and 2.58 months and also fewer LYG (only 1.31 and 1.08 years, respectively). Therefore, economic modeling predicts that reimbursing sunitinib over high dose imatinib in the second-line GIST indication would deliver cost savings to the IMSS and greater survival benefits to patients.

A pharmaco-economic analysis of second-line treatment with imatinib or sunitinib in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumours

PubMed Central

Contreras-Hernández, I; Mould-Quevedo, J F; Silva, A; Salinas-Escudero, G; Villasís-Keever, M A; Granados-García, V; Dávila-Loaiza, G; Petersen, J A; Garduño-Espinosa, J

2008-01-01

Second-line treatments recommended by the National Cancer Center Network to manage advanced-stage gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) were evaluated to determine the cost and cost-effectiveness of each intervention in the Mexican insurance system, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Treatments examined over a 5-year temporal horizon to estimate long-term costs included 800 mg day−1 of imatinib mesylate, 50 mg day−1 of sunitinib malate (administered in a 4 week on/2 week rest schedule), and palliative care. The mean cost (MC), cost-effectiveness, and benefit of each intervention were compared to determine the best GIST treatment from the institutional perspective of the IMSS. As sunitinib was not reimbursed at the time of the study, a Markov model and sensitivity analysis were conducted to predict the MC and likelihood of reimbursement. Patients taking 800 mg day−1 of imatinib had the highest MC (±s.d.) of treatment at $35 225.61 USD (±1253.65 USD); while sunitinib incurred a median MC of $17 805.87 USD (±694.83 USD); and palliative care had the least MC over treatment duration as the cost was $2071.86 USD (±472.88 USD). In comparison to palliative care, sunitinib is cost-effective for 38.9% of patients; however, sunitinib delivered the greatest survival benefit as 5.64 progression-free months (PFM) and 1.4 life-years gained (LYG) were obtained in the economic model. Conversely, patients on imatinib and palliative care saw a lower PFM of 5.28 months and 2.58 months and also fewer LYG (only 1.31 and 1.08 years, respectively). Therefore, economic modeling predicts that reimbursing sunitinib over high dose imatinib in the second-line GIST indication would deliver cost savings to the IMSS and greater survival benefits to patients. PMID:18506179

Medical Expenditure for Chronic Diseases in Mexico: The Case of Selected Diagnoses Treated by the Largest Care Providers.

PubMed

Figueroa-Lara, Alejandro; Gonzalez-Block, Miguel Angel; Alarcon-Irigoyen, Jose

2016-01-01

Chronic diseases (CD) are a public health emergency in Mexico. Despite concern regarding the financial burden of CDs in the country, economic studies have focused only on diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Furthermore, these estimated financial burdens were based on hypothetical epidemiology models or ideal healthcare scenarios. The present study estimates the annual expenditure per patient and the financial burden for the nine most prevalent CDs, excluding cancer, for each of the two largest public health providers in the country: the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). Using the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 (ENSANUT) as the main source of data, health services consumption related to CDs was obtained from patient reports. Unit costs for each provided health service (e.g. consultation, drugs, hospitalization) were obtained from official reports. Prevalence data was obtained from the published literature. Annual expenditure due to health services consumption was calculated by multiplying the quantity of services consumed by the unit cost of each health service. The most expensive CD in both health institutions was chronic kidney disease (CKD), with an annual unit cost for MoH per patient of US$ 8,966 while for IMSS the expenditure was US$ 9,091. Four CDs (CKD, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and chronic ischemic heart disease) accounted for 88% of the total CDs financial burden (US$ 1.42 billion) in MoH and 85% (US$ 3.96 billion) in IMSS. The financial burden of the nine CDs analyzed represents 8% and 25% of the total annual MoH and IMSS health expenditure, respectively. The financial burden from the nine most prevalent CDs, excluding cancer, is already high in Mexico. This finding by itself argues for the need to improve health promotion and disease detection, diagnosis, and treatment to ensure CD primary and secondary prevention. If the status quo remains, the financial burden could be higher.

Medical Expenditure for Chronic Diseases in Mexico: The Case of Selected Diagnoses Treated by the Largest Care Providers

PubMed Central

Figueroa-Lara, Alejandro; Gonzalez-Block, Miguel Angel; Alarcon-Irigoyen, Jose

2016-01-01

Background Chronic diseases (CD) are a public health emergency in Mexico. Despite concern regarding the financial burden of CDs in the country, economic studies have focused only on diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Furthermore, these estimated financial burdens were based on hypothetical epidemiology models or ideal healthcare scenarios. The present study estimates the annual expenditure per patient and the financial burden for the nine most prevalent CDs, excluding cancer, for each of the two largest public health providers in the country: the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). Methods Using the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 (ENSANUT) as the main source of data, health services consumption related to CDs was obtained from patient reports. Unit costs for each provided health service (e.g. consultation, drugs, hospitalization) were obtained from official reports. Prevalence data was obtained from the published literature. Annual expenditure due to health services consumption was calculated by multiplying the quantity of services consumed by the unit cost of each health service. Results The most expensive CD in both health institutions was chronic kidney disease (CKD), with an annual unit cost for MoH per patient of US$ 8,966 while for IMSS the expenditure was US$ 9,091. Four CDs (CKD, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and chronic ischemic heart disease) accounted for 88% of the total CDs financial burden (US$ 1.42 billion) in MoH and 85% (US$ 3.96 billion) in IMSS. The financial burden of the nine CDs analyzed represents 8% and 25% of the total annual MoH and IMSS health expenditure, respectively. Conclusions/Significance The financial burden from the nine most prevalent CDs, excluding cancer, is already high in Mexico. This finding by itself argues for the need to improve health promotion and disease detection, diagnosis, and treatment to ensure CD primary and secondary prevention. If the status quo remains, the financial burden could be higher. PMID:26744844

[Quality dimensions focused on the healthcare protocol Infarction Code (Código Infarto)].

PubMed

Arriaga-Dávila, Jesús; Pérez-Rodríguez, Gilberto; Borrayo-Sánchez, Gabriela

2017-01-01

The Código Infarto (Infarction Code) strategy is part of the comprehensive care program "A Todo Corazón" (To All Heart), whose aim is to reinforce the prevention and health care of cardiovascular diseases. Mexico faces a big challenge, since it is the country with greater mortality secondary to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the first 30 days in patients of 45 years or older (28% compared with 7.9% of the average). In addition, Mexico's population has a high prevalence of risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, dyslipidemias, overweight, and obesity). It is for these reasons that 18 months ago the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) implemented the first care protocol for patients with AMI, called Código Infarto, whose main aim is to guarantee the diagnosis and treatment of patients with AMI, so that they can receive, once they are admitted at IMSS emergency rooms, primary angioplasty in less than 90 minutes, or fibrinolytic therapy in less than 30 minutes. The quality focus in the Código Infarto strategy has six main dimensions: security, effectiveness, its focus on the patient, opportune, efficient, and [it offers] equitable [treatment]. The implementation of Código Infarto in IMSS is the first institutional strategy to face the leading cause of death in our country and it has produced up until now very encouraging results.

[Perception of undergraduate medical students of the educational environment at Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social].

PubMed

Morales-Gómez, Antonio; Medina-Figueroa, Alda María

2007-01-01

To ascertain the perception of third and fourth year medical students and interns (fifth year) about the educational environment during the clinical education phase and during the internship at Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). A questionnaire with 120 items was developed to evaluate whether IMSS educational environment encourages reflection and criticism among medical students and interns. The highest possible score of the questionnaire was 240 points. A t test was used to compare the score of the students who were classified according to the term in which they were enrolled. 1997 medical students and 1075 interns from 46 IMSS clinical settings answered the previously validated questionnaire. Seventy percent of the students considered that the educational environment was not very favorable for reflection and criticism; 19% perceived it as favorable and 11% as unfavorable. The median score of third and fourth year medical students, was 134.9 (range 80-193; p = 0.27), interns' score was 130.4 (range 80-208; p = 0.001). The perception of the medical students in clinical settings other than Mexico City was less unfavourable (median 132.8; range 63.5-208); p = 0.003). apparently, the occupational environment influences the educational environments where the courses take place. As long as the students advance in their courses and get involved in clinical practice, their perception of the educational environment becomes unfavorable.

Entamoeba histolytica. Phagocytosis as a virulence factor

PubMed Central

1983-01-01

In this paper, we attempted to define the role of phagocytosis in the virulence of Entamoeba histolytica. We have isolated, from a highly phagocytic and virulent strain, a clone deficient in phagocytosis. Trophozoites of wild-type strain HM1:IMSS were fed with Escherichia coli strain CR34-Thy- grown on 5-bromo,2'-deoxyuridine. The trophozoites that had incorporated the base analog through phagocytosis of the bacteria were killed by irradiation with 310 nm light. The survivors, presumably trophozoites defective in phagocytosis, were grown until log phase and submitted two more times to the selection procedure. Clone L-6, isolated from a subpopulation resulting from this selection procedure, showed 75-85% less erythrophagocytic activity than the wild-type strain. The virulence of clone L-6 and strain HM1:IMSS was measured. The inoculum required to induce liver abscesses in 50% of the newborn hamsters inoculated (AD50) of HM1:IMSS was 1.5 X 10(4) trophozoites. Clone L-6 trophozoites failed to induce liver abscesses in newborn hamsters even with inocula of 5 X 10(5) trophozoites. Virulence revertants were obtained by successive passage of L-6 trophozoites through the liver of young hamsters. The trophozoites that recovered the ability to produce liver abscesses simultaneously recuperate high erythrophagocytic rates. These results show that phagocytosis is involved in the aggressive mechanisms of E. histolytica. PMID:6313842

[Costs and sick leave due to chikungunya in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Guerrero, Mexico].

PubMed

Vázquez-Cruz, Irene; Juanico-Morales, Guillermina; Sánchez-Ramos, Apolinar; Morales-Sánchez, Ofelia de Jesúis

2018-01-01

Chikungunya fever (CHIK) generally causes temporary sick leave, affecting groups of productive age, which represents a significant economic impact from the labor point of view. The objective was to estimate costs of disability due to chikungunya in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) in Guerrero, Mexico. Cost assessment of working population from IMSS in Guerrero who met the definition of case for CHIK and took sick leave, which was registered in the Original Disability Certificates (OCI, according to its initials in Spanish) processed from January to April, 2015. Paid sick days were multiplied by the current minimum wage of the municipality of Acapulco (geographical area A, general = $ 70.10: seventy pesos with 10 cents per day]). Of all the OCIs, 31.5% (38 271/12 062) met the criteria for CHIK with a total of 41 197 prescribed days and 14 941 paid sick days with an estimated cost of 2 397 393.40 pesos (two million, three hundred and ninety seven thousand, three hundred and ninety three dollars and forty cents). Sick leaves increase the costs in health systems. These costs increase as increases the number of days granted. The average number of days granted is consistent with the information published in different articles.

[Cancer incidence in a Cancer Care Unit of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Toluca, Mexico].

PubMed

Gómez-Villanueva, Angel; Chacón Sánchez, Jesús; Santillán Arreygue, Leopoldo; Sánchez González, Yolanda; Romero-Figueroa, María del Socorro

2014-01-01

In 2000, malignant tumors were responsible for 12% of nearly 56 million deaths that occurred in the world from all causes. To determine the incidence of cancer in a Cancer Care Unit of IMSS in Toluca, Mexico. Prospective cross-sectional study; we identified the primary tumor, age, family history of cancer, comorbidities, risk factors, and ECOG in patients with newly diagnosed cancer. We identified 446 cases, 66.1% were women. The age group of age 50 to 59 had the highest number of cases (98). The most common cancers in women are breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer, and in men, testicular, prostate, and colorectal cancer. The most common cancers in both sexes were breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, and testicular cancer.

[IMSS in numbers. Cancers in insured population, 1990-2003].

PubMed

2005-01-01

The epidemiological transition has highlighted the incidence of cancer in the agendas of every health institution. The high demand of health services that require specialized and high cost diagnostic and treatment technologies, obliges the institution to reinforce their resources towards the detection and effective treatment programs. Although the institution has implemented effective prevention and control programs towards cancers that mainly affect women, it still needs to direct resources to control cancers that affect men and other age groups. Statistics shown in this paper demonstrate the increase in the demand of health services in the family physician setting as well as in the specialized medical services and hospitals. Along with the aging of the insured population the incidence of cancer will increase, therefore, the IMSS will have to intensify the prevention and control programs.

[The Mexican Institute of Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Numbers. Functional inventory of imaging medical equipment, 2003].

PubMed

2005-01-01

Medical technology is a fundamental instrument for the provision of health services in the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) and as a support for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The inventory of relevant medical equipment describes the needs for upgrading the technological infrastructure, organize its distribution and plan its renovation in order to guarantee the quality of health services. In this report we describe the type of equipment used in radiology and other imaging services, its geographical distribution, median age in operation and its productivity. The inventory reported 2091 pieces of equipment, ultrasonography and radiology were the most common types (31%) followed by fluoroscopic equipment (20%). Follow-up in the inventory should help in planning the acquisition and maintenance of sophisticated technology used for medical purposes.

Frequency of cancer in children residing in Mexico City and treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (1996–2001)

PubMed Central

Juárez-Ocaña, Servando; González-Miranda, Guadalupe; Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Rendón-Macías, Mario Enrique; Martínez-García, María del Carmen; Fajardo-Gutiérrez, Arturo

2004-01-01

Background The objective of this article is to present the frequency of cancer in Mexican children who were treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City (IMSS-MC) in the period 1996–2001. Methods The Registry of Cancer in Children, started in 1996 in the IMSS-MC, is an on-going, prospective register. The data from 1996 through 2001 were analyzed and the different types of cancer were grouped according to the International Classification for Cancer in Children (ICCC). From this analysis, the general and specific frequencies by age and by sex were obtained for the different groups of neoplasms. Also, the frequency of the stage of the disease that had been diagnosed in cases of children with solid tumors was obtained. Results A total of 1,702 new cases of children with cancer were registered, with the male/female ratio at 1.1/1. Leukemias had the highest frequency with 784 cases (46.1%) and, of these, acute lymphoblastic leukemias were the most prevalent with 614 cases (78.3%). Thereafter, in descending order of frequency, were tumors of the central nervous system (CNST) with 197 cases (11.6%), lymphomas with 194 cases (11.4%), germinal cell tumors with 110 cases (6.5%), and bone tumors with 97 cases (5.7%). The highest frequency of cancer was found in the group of one to four year-olds that had 627 cases (36.8%). In all the age groups, leukemias were the most frequent. In the present work, the frequency of Hodgkin's disease (~4%) was found to be lower than that (~10%) in previous studies and the frequency of tumors of the sympathetic nervous system was low (2.3%). Of those cases of solid tumors for which the stage of the disease had been determined, 66.9% were diagnosed as being Stage III or IV. Conclusions The principal cancers in the children treated in the IMSS-MC were leukemias, CNST, and lymphomas, consistent with those reported by developed countries. A 2.5-fold reduction in the frequency of Hodgkin's disease was found. Of the children, the stage of whose disease had been determined, two thirds were diagnosed as having advanced stages of the disease. PMID:15310396

Skylab 3 crew during training in Orbital Workshop trainer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The three prime crewmen of the Skylab 3 mission check over flight data during a training session in the crew quarters of the Orbital Workshop (OWS) trainer in the Mission Simulation and Training Facility at JSC. They are from left to right, Scientist-Astronaut Owen K. Garriott, science pilot; and Astronauts Alan L. bean, commander, and Jack R. Lousma, pilot (28419); Skylab 3 crew work with Inflight Medical Support System (IMSS) resupply container atop the food table in the OWS. From left to right are Garriott, Lousma and Bean (28420).

Skylab (SL)-3 Crew - Training - Orbital Workshop Trainer - JSC

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-06-16

S73-28420 (16 June 1973) --- The three prime crewmen of the Skylab 3 mission check over flight data during a training session in the crew quarters of the Orbital Workshop (OWS) trainer in the Mission Simulation and Training Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Skylab 3 crew work with Inflight Medical Support System (IMSS) resupply container atop the food table in the OWS. They are from left to right, scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriott, science pilot; and astronauts Jack R. Lousma, pilot; and Alan L. Bean, commander. Photo credit: NASA

A Content Validity Study of AIMIT (Assessing Interpersonal Motivation in Transcripts).

PubMed

Fassone, Giovanni; Lo Reto, Floriana; Foggetti, Paola; Santomassimo, Chiara; D'Onofrio, Maria Rita; Ivaldi, Antonella; Liotti, Giovanni; Trincia, Valeria; Picardi, Angelo

2016-07-01

Multi-motivational theories of human relatedness state that different motivational systems with an evolutionary basis modulate interpersonal relationships. The reliable assessment of their dynamics may usefully inform the understanding of the therapeutic relationship. The coding system of the Assessing Interpersonal Motivation in Transcripts (AIMIT) allows to identify in the clinical the activity of five main interpersonal motivational systems (IMSs): attachment (care-seeking), caregiving, ranking, sexuality and peer cooperation. To assess whether the criteria currently used to score the AIMIT are consistently correlated with the conceptual formulation of the interpersonal multi-motivational theory, two different studies were designed. Study 1: Content validity as assessed by highly qualified independent raters. Study 2: Content validity as assessed by unqualified raters. Results of study 1 show that out of the total 60 AIMIT verbal criteria, 52 (86.7%) met the required minimum degree of correspondence. The average semantic correspondence scores between these items and the related IMSs were quite good (overall mean: 3.74, standard deviation: 0.61). In study 2, a group of 20 naïve raters had to identify each prevalent motivation (IMS) in a random sequence of 1000 utterances drawn from therapy sessions. Cohen's Kappa coefficient was calculated for each rater with reference to each IMS and then calculated the average Kappa for all raters for each IMS. All average Kappa values were satisfactory (>0.60) and ranged between 0.63 (ranking system) and 0.83 (sexuality system). Data confirmed the overall soundness of AIMIT's theoretical-applicative approach. Results are discussed, corroborating the hypothesis that the AIMIT possesses the required criteria for content validity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Assessing Interpersonal Motivations in psychotherapy transcripts as a useful tool to better understand links between motivational systems and intersubjectivity. A step forward in the knowledge of evolutionary cognitivism and a contribution to the bio-psycho-social model of human relatedness and interpersonal neurobiology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Factor associated with medicines utilization and expenditure in Mexico].

PubMed

Wirtz, Veronika J; Serván-Mori, Edson; Heredia-Pi, Ileana; Dreser, Anahí; Ávila-Burgos, Leticia

2013-01-01

To analyze medicine utilization and expenditure and associated factors in Mexico, as well as to discuss their implications for pharmaceutical policy. Analysis of a sample of 193,228 individuals from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012. Probability and amount of expenditure were estimated using logit, probit and quantile regression models, evaluating three dimensions of access to medicines: (1) likelihood of utilization of medicines in the event of a health problem, (2) probability of incurring expenses and (3) amount spent on medicines. Individuals affiliated to IMSS were more likely to use medicines (OR=1.2, p<0.05). Being affiliated to the IMSS, ISSSTE or SP reduced the likelihood of spending compared to those without health insurance (about RM 0.7, p<0.01). Median expenditures varied between 195.3 and 274.2 pesos. Factors associated with the use and expenditure on medicines indicate that inequities in the access to medicines persist.

[Demographic analysis of a congenital heart disease clinic of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, with special interest in the adult].

PubMed

Márquez-González, Horacio; Yáñez-Gutiérrez, Lucelli; Rivera-May, Jimena Lucely; López-Gallegos, Diana; Almeida-Gutiérrez, Eduardo

2017-11-07

Congenital heart disease (CHD) has an incidence of 8-10 cases per 1000 live births. In Mexico, there are 18,000-20,000 new cases per year. Most tertiary care centers for CHD attend only pediatric population; the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) has a clinic that attends pediatric and adult population. To analyze the demographic aspects of the CHD clinic of IMSS. From 2011 to 2016 a cross-sectional study of the CC clinic of a third level hospital of the IMSS, including all patients with confirmed structural heart disease of recent diagnosis was carried out. The sex, age, reference entity, antecedent of pregnancy and treatment were registered. The population was divided into age ranges (<2 years, 2.1-6 years, 6.1-10 years, 10.1-17 years and >17.1 years). Descriptive statistics and χ 2 test were used in qualitative variables. 3,483 patients with CHD (male:female ratio, 0.8:1.2) were included. Increased pulmonary flow acyanogenic cardiopathies were the most frequent CHD group (47.2%), with atrial septal defect being the most frequent diagnosis overall; 25.6% were adults and 35% of women with a history of pregnancy. Chiapas was Federal entity with greater proportion of patients diagnosed in the adult stage (33.82%); 7% were not candidates for any treatment for complications of the disease. CHD is a late diagnosis; it is necessary to create a national register to promote new health policies and a rational distribution of resources for these patients. Copyright © 2017 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Feasibility and impact of Creciendo Sanos, a clinic-based pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschool children in Mexico City.

PubMed

Martínez-Andrade, Gloria Oliva; Cespedes, Elizabeth M; Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L; Romero-Quechol, Guillermina; González-Unzaga, Marco Aurelio; Benítez-Trejo, María Amalia; Flores-Huerta, Samuel; Horan, Chrissy; Haines, Jess; Taveras, Elsie M; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo; Gillman, Matthew W

2014-03-20

Mexico has the highest adult overweight and obesity prevalence in the Americas; 23.8% of children <5 years old are at risk for overweight and 9.7% are already overweight or obese. Creciendo Sanos was a pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschoolers in Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) clinics. We randomized 4 IMSS primary care clinics to either 6 weekly educational sessions promoting healthful nutrition and physical activity or usual care. We recruited 306 parent-child pairs: 168 intervention, 138 usual care. Children were 2-5 years old with WHO body mass index (BMI) z-score 0-3. We measured children's height and weight and parents reported children's diet and physical activity at baseline and 3 and 6-month follow-up. We analyzed behavioral and BMI outcomes with generalized mixed models incorporating multiple imputation for missing values. 93 (55%) intervention and 96 (70%) usual care families completed 3 and 6-month follow-up. At 3 months, intervention v. usual care children increased vegetables by 6.3 servings/week (95% CI, 1.8, 10.8). In stratified analyses, intervention participants with high program adherence (5-6 sessions) decreased snacks and screen time and increased vegetables v. usual care. No further effects on behavioral outcomes or BMI were observed. Transportation time and expenses were barriers to adherence. 90% of parents who completed the post-intervention survey were satisfied with the program. Although satisfaction was high among participants, barriers to participation and retention included transportation cost and time. In intention to treat analyses, we found intervention effects on vegetable intake, but not other behaviors or BMI. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01539070.Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica del IMSS: 2009-785-120.

[Experience and knowledge about climateric and menopause in women in Mexico City].

PubMed

Velasco-Murillo, V; Navarrete-Hernández, E; Ojeda-Mijares, R I; Pozos-Cavanzo, J L; Camacho-Rodríquez, M A; Cardona-Pérez, J A

2000-01-01

To know the experiences and knowledge about climateric and menopause in a group of women covered by Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). The purpose was to contribute for planning some strategies to increase seeking for medical care at these periods of life. Descriptive survey study in a randomized sample of women aged 50-59 years, currently users of medical services in family medicine system of IMSS en Mexico City, with a confidence interval of 95%. Mean age at menopause was 47.8 years. Most frequent climateric symptoms were: hot flushes (70.9%), depression (60.2%), insomnia (53.5%) and menstrual disturbances (37.8%). 51.1% of women seeked medical care due to climateric symptoms but only 12.1% received treatment, majority hormonals (81.6%). Past users were 14.9% and they received hormones too in 87.8%. In this survey, 83.8% of women had some knowledge about main symptoms of climateric and 90.1% knew about osteoporosis but only 37.2% had some knowledge about cardiovascular risk after menopause. The prevention of osteoporosis and coronary disease was associated with calcium and exercise; only in 1% with use of hormonals. It exists an acceptable level of information about climateric syndrome and postmenopausal osteoporosis in these women, but it is low for risk of cardiovascular disease. Probably, their information is got from the mass media communication and did not for the activities of medical institutions in health education.

[Hospital maternal mortality: causes and consistency between clinical and autopsy diagnosis at the Northeastern Medical Center of the IMSS, Mexico].

PubMed

Calderón-Garcidueñas, Ana Laura; Martínez-Salazar, Griselda; Fernández-Díaz, Héctor; Cerda-Flores, Ricardo M

2002-02-01

The aim was to study the causes of maternal mortality (MM) and the percent of concordance between the clinical diagnosis and the autopsy findings. The autopsies of maternal death (1980-1999) from the Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico del Noreste, IMSS in Monterrey, México, were analyzed. The cases were classified in directly obstetric maternal mortality (DOM) and indirectly obstetric maternal mortality (IOM), the causes were studied and the percent of concordance between pre- and post-mortem diagnosis was determined. There were 124 deaths. Autopsy was performed in 61 (49.1%) women. In 55 cases the clinical file and the autopsy protocol were available. This was our sample for study. Sixty percent of the cases were DO. Causes of DOM were: specific hypertensive pregnancy disease (SHPD) (51.6%), sepsis (35.5%), hypovolemic shock (9.7%), anesthetic accidents (3%); causes of IOM were: sepsis (41.7%), malignancies (16.7%), hematological diseases (12.5%), cardiopathy and systemic arterial hypertension (12.5%), hepatic disorders (12.5%), and Superior Longitudinal Sinus thrombosis (4%). A 100% clinical-pathological concordance was observed in DOM cases, while only a 41.6% was found in IOM cases. In those cases of sepsis (IOM), the etiologic agents were identified only in 20% before death. The early detection and treatment of SHPD and the prevention of sepsis should decrease the MM. This study showed some weakness in the Health Services that should be improved.

Development and validation of an instrument to measure family physicians' clinical aptitude in metabolic syndrome in Mexico.

PubMed

Cabrera-Pivaral, Carlos E; Gutiérrez-Ruvalcaba, Clara Luz; Peralta-Heredia, Irma Concepción; Alonso-Reynoso, Carlos

2008-01-01

The purpose of this work was to measure family physicians' clinical aptitude for the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic syndrome in a representative sample from six Family Medicine Units (UMF) at the Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS), in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. This is a cross-sectional study. A validated and structured instrument was used, with a confidence coefficient (Kuder-Richardson) of 0.95, that was applied to a representative sample of 90 family physicians throughout six UMFs in Guadalajara, between 2003 and 2004. Mann-Whitney's U and Kruskal-Wallis' tests were used to compare two or more groups, and the Perez-Viniegra Test was used to define aptitude development levels. No statistically significant differences were found in aptitude development between the six family medicine units groups and other comparative groups. The generally low level of clinical aptitude, and its indicators, reflects limitations on the part of family physicians at the IMSS in Jalisco to identify and manage metabolic syndrome.

[Frequency of depression in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2].

PubMed

Garduño-Espinosa, J; Téllez-Zenteno, J F; Hernández-Ronquillo, L

1998-01-01

To determine the prevalence of depression in Mexican adult diabetics and to identify factors associated to the depression. Prolective survey. Four Mexico City hospitals (Clinica San Pedro de los Pinos IMSS, Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI IMSS, Hospital Gea González SSa and Centro de Salud Margarita Chorne SSa). 79 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. The Beck Depression Inventory was used as a measure of depression. We used sociodemographic variables (age, gender, marital status, religion, education, occupation, socioeconomic status) and disease variables (years of diagnosis, other chronic medical conditions and compliance with therapeutic regimens) as the independent variables of depression. Mean age was 59 +/- 11 years (SD) and 58 (73%) were females. The frequency of depression was 46%. Factors associated to depression were: females (OR = 3.67, CI = 1.07-13.3, p = 0.03) and years of diagnosis above 15 (OR = 3.08, CI = 0.91-10.8, p = 0.07). Frequency of depression was high (46%). Gender and years of diabetes diagnosis were factors associated to depression.

[Interactive workshops as a dissemination strategy in psychology].

PubMed

Martínez-Martínez, Kalina Isela; Carrascosa-Venegas, César; Ayala-Velázquez, Héctor

2003-01-01

To assess whether interactive workshops are an effective strategy for promoting a psychological intervention model among healthcare providers, to treat problem drinkers. The study was conducted between the years 1999 and 2000, among 206 healthcare providers at seven Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Mexican Institute of Social Security, IMSS) clinics. Study subjects were selected by hospital executive officers. The study design is a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study. Data on providers' attitudes, interests, and knowledge were collected using a questionnaire. After that, interactive workshops were conducted, and the same questionnaire was applied again at the end of the workshops. Statistical analysis was carried out using Student's t test for matched samples. Statistically significant differences were found in participants' knowledge on alcoholism t (206, 205) = -9.234, p = 0.001, as well as in their interest t (206, 205) = -2.318, p = 0.021. Interactive workshops are an effective tool to disseminate the Guided Self-Help Program conducted in IMSS clinics. Healthcare providers can become change-inducing/promoting agents of psychological innovations.

Prevalence of hypothyroidism during pregnancy in a highly specialised referral centre in Mexico.

PubMed

López-Muñoz, Eunice; Ibarra-Avalos, Jorge Antonio; Chan-Verdugo, Rosario Guadalupe; Mateos-Sánchez, Leovigildo; Sánchez-Rodríguez, Olivia

2016-11-01

In order to determine the prevalence of overt and subclinical hypothyroidism, and isolated hypothyroxinemia during pregnancy, thyroid hormone reference values established by UMAE HGO4, IMSS in Mexico City and those suggested by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) were used. All pregnant patients, whose thyroid function was measured and whose pregnancy was monitored and resolved in UMAE HGO4, IMSS from 1 January to 31 December 2013, were included. Significant differences (p = .00419) were observed in the frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism, being higher when using ATA criteria (18.21% vs. 9.66%). The prevalence rate (UMAE HGO4 vs. ATA) for overt hypothyroidism was 1.11 vs. 1.63, for subclinical hypothyroidism 0.84 vs. 1.41 and for isolated hypothyroxinemia 3.17 vs. 2.79 per 1000 consults during the study period. Independently of prevalence rate, it is essential to provide information on the possible risks involved in pregnancy to all women of childbearing age at the time of hypothyroidism diagnosis.

Leveraging Oceanic and Surface Intensive Field Campaign Data Sets for Validation and Improvement of Recent Hyperspectral IR Satellite Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joseph, E.; Nalli, N. R.; Oyola, M. I.; Morris, V. R.; Sakai, R.

2014-12-01

An overview is given of research to validate or improve the retrieval of environmental data records (EDRs) from recently deployed hyperspectral IR satellite sensors such as Suomi NPP Cross-track Infrared Microwave Sounder Suite (CrIMSS). The effort centers around several surface field intensive campaigns that are designed or leveraged for EDR validation. These data include ship-based observations of upper air ozone, pressure, temperature and relative humidity soundings; aerosol and cloud properties; and sea surface temperature. Similar intensive data from two land-based sites are also utilized as well. One site, the Howard University Beltsville site, is at a single point location but has a comprehensive array of observations for an extended period of time. The other land site, presently being deployed by the University at Albany, is under development with limited upper air soundings but will have regionally distributed surface based microwave profiling of temperature and relative humidity on the scale of 10 - 50 km and other standard meteorological observations. Combined these observations provide data that are unique in their wide range including, a variety of meteorological conditions and atmospheric compositions over the ocean and urban-suburban environments. With the distributed surface sites the variability of atmospheric conditions are captured concurrently across a regional spatial scale. Some specific examples are given of comparisons of moisture and temperature correlative EDRs from the satellite sensors and surface based observations. An additional example is given of the use of this data to correct sea surface temperature (SST) retrieval biases from the hyperspectral IR satellite observations due to aerosol contamination.

Multiple sclerosis among Afghan immigrants in Isfahan, Iran.

PubMed

Etemadifar, Masoud; Sadeghpour, Niyousha; Nekouie, Kimia; Jahansouz, Mohammadmostafa; Salari, Mehri; Fereidan-Esfahani, Mahboobeh

2017-04-01

Multiple sclerosis is a central nervous system demyelinating disease with unknown etiology. However, it is believed to be a multifactorial disease resulting from an interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Immigrant studies have been performed to provide a better view of the pattern of this interaction. We aimed to report the prevalence of MS Afghan immigrants of Isfahan, a population who share the same environment as Isfahan residents but with different genetic backgrounds. Medical documents of 4536 patients registered by Isfahan Multiple Sclerosis Society (IMSS), the only MS registry in the province of Isfahan, were reviewed for Afghan patients and the demographic and clinical characteristics. The information on the current population of Afghans residing in the province was gathered through Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA). Six Afghan cases were identified among 4536 patients registered by IMSS. Current population of Afghans in the province was 123,578 people (65,041 male and 58,537 female). One of the cases was male and the other five were females with a female/male ratio of 5:1. Sex-adjusted prevalence for males and females was 1.53 and 8.54 per 100,000, respectively. The overall crude prevalence for Afghan population of Isfahan is 4.85 per 100,000. This study shows a lower prevalence of MS among Afghan residents of Isfahan compared to the overall prevalence of the province. Our result could be implying a stronger bond between genetic factors and developing MS, rather than the environmental factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Recommendations to improve the scientific communication process in the Revista Médica del IMSS].

PubMed

Álvarez, Ivón

2016-01-01

In order to improve the position of the Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social among the different journals, in this editorial we enumerate a series of recommendations to ameliorate the practices of the different actors who participate in the scientific communication process of this journal.

Surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing nosocomial infections in five medical centers of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México from 2005-2009.

PubMed

Velazquez-Meza, Maria Elena; Hernández-Salgado, Margarita; Contreras-Cordero, Juan F; Pérez-Cortes, Patricia; Villarreal-Treviño, Licet

2013-10-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a principal cause of human bacterial infection worldwide. The dissemination of antibiotic resistance among S. aureus strains is very import in the treatment of Staphylococcal infections. We undertook this study to identify methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones responsible for nosocomial infection in five medical centers in Monterrey, Nuevo León (N.L.), México from 2005-2009. One hundred ninety MRSA strains collected from 2005-2009 from five hospitals affiliated with the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) in Monterrey, N.L., México were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing. Only one clone was present in the five hospitals (clone C); this clone is strongly associated with the New York-Japan clone (SCCmec II) with a broad resistance profile. This study clearly documented the high ability for dissemination and the persistence of the New York-Japan clone in these centers. Copyright © 2013 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[IMSS in Numbers: the Census of Diabetic Patients, 2004].

PubMed

2006-01-01

The census of diabetic patients at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social describes the state and level of control of biologic markers, such as glucose, BMI and blood pressure of all diabetic patients attending the family medicine units during 2004. The main results show that 2,334,340 diabetic patients visited the health units of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social with an average of 3.7 visits per year. Around 75% of the patients had their weight and height registered; 73%, their blood pressure, and only 28.8%, their glycemia level. One third of the patients (35.7%) had an unspecified diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and 91.3% had no complications reported. Of those with glycemia reported, 56.9% had a poor blood glucose control. Half of the diabetic patients were also diagnosed as hypertensive though 74% had good blood pressure control. The BMI reported that 40.4% were obese and 39.6% were overweight. All these data are important to measure the impact of different health interventions that point to a better control of diabetes at the IMSS.

[Cost-effectiveness of two hospital care schemes for psychiatric disorders].

PubMed

Nevárez-Sida, Armando; Valencia-Huarte, Enrique; Escobedo-Islas, Octavio; Constantino-Casas, Patricia; Verduzco-Fragoso, Wázcar; León-González, Guillermo

2013-01-01

In Mexico, six of every twenty Mexicans suffer psychiatric disorders at some time in their lives. This disease ranks fifth in the country. The objective was to determine and compare the cost-effectiveness of two models for hospital care (partial and traditional) at a psychiatric hospital of Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). a multicenter study with a prospective cohort of 374 patients was performed. We made a cost-effectiveness analysis from an institutional viewpoint with a six-month follow-up. Direct medical costs were analyzed, with quality of life gains as outcome measurement. A decision tree and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis were used. patient care in the partial model had a cost 50 % lower than the traditional one, with similar results in quality of life. The cost per successful unit in partial hospitalization was 3359 Mexican pesos while in the traditional it increased to 5470 Mexican pesos. treating patients in the partial hospitalization model is a cost-effective alternative compared with the traditional model. Therefore, the IMSS should promote the infrastructure that delivers the psychiatric services to the patient attending to who requires it.

Feasibility and impact of Creciendo Sanos, a clinic-based pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschool children in Mexico City

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Mexico has the highest adult overweight and obesity prevalence in the Americas; 23.8% of children <5 years old are at risk for overweight and 9.7% are already overweight or obese. Creciendo Sanos was a pilot intervention to prevent obesity among preschoolers in Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) clinics. Methods We randomized 4 IMSS primary care clinics to either 6 weekly educational sessions promoting healthful nutrition and physical activity or usual care. We recruited 306 parent-child pairs: 168 intervention, 138 usual care. Children were 2-5 years old with WHO body mass index (BMI) z-score 0-3. We measured children’s height and weight and parents reported children’s diet and physical activity at baseline and 3 and 6-month follow-up. We analyzed behavioral and BMI outcomes with generalized mixed models incorporating multiple imputation for missing values. Results 93 (55%) intervention and 96 (70%) usual care families completed 3 and 6-month follow-up. At 3 months, intervention v. usual care children increased vegetables by 6.3 servings/week (95% CI, 1.8, 10.8). In stratified analyses, intervention participants with high program adherence (5-6 sessions) decreased snacks and screen time and increased vegetables v. usual care. No further effects on behavioral outcomes or BMI were observed. Transportation time and expenses were barriers to adherence. 90% of parents who completed the post-intervention survey were satisfied with the program. Conclusions Although satisfaction was high among participants, barriers to participation and retention included transportation cost and time. In intention to treat analyses, we found intervention effects on vegetable intake, but not other behaviors or BMI. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01539070. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica del IMSS: 2009-785-120. PMID:24649831

[Historical exploration of Acapulco hospitals, Guerrero, Mexico].

PubMed

Fajardo-Ortiz, Guillermo; Salcedo-Alvarez, Rey Arturo

2006-01-01

This study attempts to recount the history of the main hospitals of the port of Acapulco from colonial times until the end of the 20th century. The Augustine friars began hospital care at the end of the first part of the 16th century. Later, Bernardino Alvarez (1514?-1584), with the support of the Spanish crown, founded the first formal hospital in Acapulco called Hospital de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación (Our Lady of Consolation Hospital). During the 16th and 17th centuries, the sick were attended by friars, and by the end of the 19th century there were physicians and surgeons. From the end of the Independence War until the end of the 19th century, the port did not have any true hospital. The first degreed physicians and surgeons arrived and resided in Acapulco in 1920. In 1938, the Hospital Civil Morelos (Morelos Civil Hospital) began providing services. It was replaced by the Hospital General de Acapulco (General Hospital of Acapulco). At the fourth decade of the past century the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) was created. In 1957 the hospital services of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS, Mexican Institute of Social Security), which was founded in 1963, was inaugurated with the Unidad Medico/Social (Medical and Social Unit) of the IMSS in Acapulco. This began the journey of modernity in Acapulco. In 1992, Hospital Regional Vicente Guerrero (Regional Hospital Vicente Guerrero) of the IMSS, initiated its services. In 1960, medical services for civil workers and their families were housed in the Hospital Civil Morelos (Morelos Civil Hospital). Shortly afterwards, the Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales para los Trabajadores del Estado (ISSSTE, Security and Social Services Institute for State Employees) had their own hospital. During the 20th century, Acapulco has added other hospital services to care for members of the navy and armed forces, as well as for those persons with financial resources for private care.

[Coverage for birth care in Mexico and its interpretation within the context of maternal mortality].

PubMed

Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Schiavon, Raffaela; Uribe-Zúñiga, Patricia; Walker, Dilys; Suárez-López, Leticia; Luna-Gordillo, Rufino; Ulloa-Aguirre, Alfredo

2013-01-01

To evaluate health coverage for birth care in Mexico within the frame of maternal mortality reduction. Two information sources were used: 1) The comparison between the results yield by the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Surveys 2006 and 2012 (ENSANUT 2006 and 2012), and 2) the databases monitoring maternal deaths during 2012 (up to December 26), and live births (LB) in Mexico as estimated by the Mexican National Population Council (Conapo). The national coverage for birth care by medical units is nearly 94.4% at the national level, but in some federal entities such as Chiapas (60.5%), Nayarit (87.8%), Guerrero (91.2%), Durango (92.5%), Oaxaca (92.6%), and Puebla (93.4%), coverage remains below the national average. In women belonging to any social security system (eg. IMSS, IMSS Oportunidades, ISSSTE), coverage is almost 99%, whereas in those affiliated to the Mexican Popular Health Insurance (which depends directly from the Federal Ministry of Health), coverage reached 92.9%. In terms of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), there are still large disparities among federal states in Mexico, with a national average of 47.0 per 100 000 LB (preliminary data for 2012, up to December 26). The MMR estimation has been updated using the most recent population projections. There is no correlation between the level of institutional birth care and the MMR in Mexico. It is thus necessary not only to guarantee universal birth care by health professionals, but also to provide obstetric care by qualified personnel in functional health services networks, to strengthen the quality of obstetric care, family planning programs, and to promote the implementation of new and innovative health policies that include intersectoral actions and human rights-based approaches targeted to reduce the enormous social inequity still prevailing in Mexico.

Plants used by Mexican traditional medicine with presumable sedative properties: an ethnobotanical approach.

PubMed

Tortoriello, J; Romero, O

1992-01-01

An ethnobotanical study of plants used in Mexican traditional medicine was made. The source was the national inquiry done by the IMSS-COPLAMAR health program (1983-1985) in which the plants used to treat mental disorders were selected and analyzed, in order to select the most frequent botanical species used in traditional medicine as sedatives, anticonvulsants and hypnotics.

[Protocol for the care of acute myocardial infarction in emergency: Código infarto (The Infarction Code)].

PubMed

Borrayo-Sánchez, Gabriela; Pérez-Rodríguez, Gilberto; Martínez-Montañez, Olga Georgina; Almeida-Gutiérrez, Eduardo; Ramírez-Arias, Erick; Estrada-Gallegos, Joel; Palacios-Jiménez, Norma Magdalena; Rosas-Peralta, Martín; Arizmendi-Uribe, Efraín; Arriaga-Dávila, Jesús

2017-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are a major public health problem because of their they impact on more than 30% of all deaths worldwide. In our country and in the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) are also the leading cause of death and the main cause of lost of healthy life years due to disability or premature death. 50% of deaths are premature; most of them are due to acute myocardial infarct. However, the investment for cardiovascular health is poor and there are no comprehensive cares programs focused on the treatment of this diseases or the control of their risk factors. To address this problem, the first institutional care program was developed, called "A todo corazón", which aims to strengthen actions to promote healthy habits, prevention and care of cardiovascular diseases. The initial approach is to implement a protocol of care emergency services called "Código infarto", which is intended to ensure the diagnosis and treatment of patients demanding emergency care for acute myocardial infarction and receive reperfusion treatment with primary angioplasty in the first 90 minutes, or fibrinolytic therapy in the first 30 minutes after the admission to the IMSS emergency services.

Composition of the Cayley Formation at Apollo 16 as inferred from impact melt splashes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Richard V.; Horz, Friedrich; See, Thomas H.

1986-01-01

Abundances of major and trace elements and magnetic properties of 50 impact melt splashes (IMSs) from the Apollo 16 landing site are analzyed to determine the composition of their meteoritic component. MgO-Sc and Ca-Sc variation diagrams and least-squares mixing models are utilized to analyze the IMS, soil, and rock data. Consideration is given to progenitor lithologies of the IMS, the number of impact events represented by the IMS, and the heterogeneity of impact melts from single events. It is observed that the IMSs are composed of either a mixture of anorthosite and low-Sc impact melt rocks or anorthositic norite. It is determined that the surface Cayley layer is composed of TiO2, MgO, Sc, and La concentrations of 0.69, and 7.1 wt pct and 10.5 and 21.2 microg/g, respectively and 0.38 and 5.9 wt pct and 6.1 and 11.8 microg/g, respectively, for the subsurface Cayley layer. The Descartes Formation composition is estimated as TiO2, MgO, Sc, and La concentrations of 0.25, and 3.5 wt pct and 7.7 and 2.2 microg/g, respectively.

[Bibliometric analysis of Revista Médica del IMSS in the Scopus database for the period between 2005-2013].

PubMed

García-Gómez, Francisco; Ramírez-Méndez, Fernando

2015-01-01

To analyze the number of articles of Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc) in the Scopus database and describe principal quantitative bibliometric indicators of scientific publications during the period between 2005 to 2013. Scopus database was used limited to the period between 2005 to 2013. The analysis cover mainly title of articles with the title of Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social and its possible modifications. For the analysis, Scopus, Excel and Access were used. 864 articles were published during the period between 2005 to 2013 in the Scopus database. We identified authors with the highest number of contributions including articles with the highest citation rate and forms of documents cited. We also divided articles by subjects, types of documents and other bibliometric indicators which characterize the publications. The use of Scopus brings the possibility of analyze with an external tool the visibility of the scientific production published in the Revista Médica del IMSS. The use of this database also contributes to identify the state of science in México, as well as in the developing countries.

[Direct costs of medical care for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Mexico micro-costing analysis].

PubMed

Rodríguez Bolaños, Rosibel de Los Ángeles; Reynales Shigematsu, Luz Myriam; Jiménez Ruíz, Jorge Alberto; Juárez Márquezy, Sergio Arturo; Hernández Ávila, Mauricio

2010-12-01

Estimate the direct cost of medical care incurred by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The clinical files of 497 patients who were treated in secondary and tertiary medical care units in 2002-2004 were reviewed. Costs were quantified using a disease costing approach (DCA) from the provider's perspective, a micro-costing technique, and a bottom-up methodology. Average annual costs by diagnosis, complication, and total cost were estimated. Total IMSS DM2 annual costs were US$452 064 988, or 3.1% of operating expenses. The annual average cost per patient was US$3 193.75, with US$2 740.34 per patient without complications and US$3 550.17 per patient with complications. Hospitalization and intensive care bed-days generated the greatest expenses. The high cost of providing medical care to patients with DM2 and its complications represents an economic burden that health institutions should consider in their budgets to enable them to offer quality service that is both adequate and timely. Using the micro-costing methodology allows an approximation to real data on utilization and management of the disease.

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS): First Year On-Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Edward J.

2012-01-01

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is a new satellite microwave sounding sensor designed to provide operational weather agencies with atmospheric temperature and moisture profile information for global weather forecasting and climate applications. A TMS will continue the microwave sounding capabilities first provided by its predecessors, the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU). The first flight unit was launched a year ago in October, 2011 aboard the Suomi-National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite, part of the new Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System (JPSS). Microwave soundings by themselves are the highest-impact input data used by Numerical Weather Prediction models; and A TMS, when combined with the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), forms the Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounding Suite (CrIMSS). The microwave soundings help meet sounding requirements under cloudy sky conditions and provide key profile information near the surface. ATMS was designed & built by Aerojet Corporation in Azusa, California, (now Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems). It has 22 channels spanning 23-183 GHz, closely following the channel set of the MSU, AMSU-AI/2, AMSU-B, Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), and Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB). It continues their cross-track scanning geometry, but for the first time, provides Nyquist sample spacing. All this is accomplished with approximately V. the volume, Y, the mass, and Y, the power of the three AMSUs. A description will be given of its performance from its first year of operation as determined by post-launch calibration activities. These activities include radiometric calibration using the on-board warm targets and cold space views, and geolocation determination. Example imagery and zooms of specific weather events will be shown. The second ATMS flight model is currently under construction and planned for launch on the "Jl" satellite of the JPSS program in approximately 2016. Additional units are expected on the J2 and 13 satellites, as well as potentially on future European METOP satellites.

Cloning and sequence determination of the gene coding for the pyruvate phosphate dikinase of Entamoeba histolytica.

PubMed

Saavedra-Lira, E; Pérez-Montfort, R

1994-05-16

We isolated three overlapping clones from a DNA genomic library of Entamoeba histolytica strain HM1:IMSS, whose translated nucleotide (nt) sequence shows similarities of 51, 48 and 47% with the amino acid (aa) sequences reported for the pyruvate phosphate dikinases from Bacteroides symbiosus, maize and Flaveria trinervia, respectively. The reading frame determined codes for a protein of 886 aa.

[Late primary abdominal pregnancy. Case report].

PubMed

Farías, Emigdio Torres; Gómez, Luis Guillermo Torres; Allegre, René Márquez; Higareda, Salvador Hernández

2008-09-01

Abdominal advanced pregnancy is an obstetric complication that put at risk maternal and fetal life. We report a case of advanced abdominal pregnancy with intact ovaries and fallopian tubes, without ureteroperitoneal fistulae and, late prenatal diagnosis, in a multiparous patient without risk factors, with alive newborn, and whose pregnancy was attended at Unidad Medica de Alta Especialidad, Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia, Centro Medico Nacional de Occidente del IMSS, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.

[Prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women from 20 to 35 years in a family medicine unit].

PubMed

Cervantes-Sánchez, Paulina; Delgado-Quiñones, Edna Gabriela; Nuño-Donlucas, María Olimpia; Sahagún-Cuevas, Minerva Natalia; Hernández-Calderón, Jéssica; Ramírez-Ramos, Joana Kareli

2016-01-01

Violence against women is one of the most important health problems in recent times. In Mexico, it is reported a prevalence of 21.5% during pregnancy; however, it seems to be underdiagnosed. The objective is to determine the prevalence of domestic violence in pregnant women from 20 to 35 years at the Unidad de Medicina Familiar (UMF) 171 of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). It was performed a cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample of 102 pregnant women to which we applied a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale (ISVP). 19 women (18.6%) suffered violence; of these, 10.8% (n=11) experienced physical violence, 5.9% (n=6) psychological violence, and 4% (n=4) sexual violence. We used chi squared between the variable violence and each of the sociodemographic factors: 52.6% women (n=10) were married (p=0.005), 26.3% (n=5) had a bachelor's degree (p=0.074), 57.8% (n=11) had planned their pregnancy, 47.3% (n=9) were in the third trimester of pregnancy, and 78.95% (n=15) worked as laborers, shop-keepers or professionals (p=0.016). Among pregnant women belonging in UMF 171 of IMSS, domestic violence is a problem with a prevalence of 18.6%.

Antigens in electron-dense granules from Entamoeba histolytica as possible markers for pathogenicity.

PubMed Central

Muñoz, M L; Lamoyi, E; León, G; Tovar, R; Pérez-García, J; De La Torre, M; Murueta, E; Bernal, R M

1990-01-01

In vitro interaction of Entamoeba histolytica with collagen induces intracellular formation and release of electron-dense granules (EDG) and stimulation of collagenolytic activity. Purified EDG contain 1.66 U of collagenase per mg of protein. Thus, EDG may participate in tissue destruction during invasive amebiasis. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) L1.1 and L7.1 reacted specifically with EDG in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. MAb L7.1 immunoprecipitated three polypeptides with molecular weights of 95,000, 68,000, and 28,000 from lysates of biosynthetically labeled E. histolytica. Both MAbs recognized the pathogenic E. histolytica axenic strains HM1:IMSS, HM38:IMSS, and HK-9 but failed to react in ELISA with Entamoeba moshkovskii, Entamoeba invadens, and E. histolytica-like Laredo. In addition, MAb L7.1 reacted with one E. histolytica isolate from a symptomatic patient but did not react with four of five isolates from asymptomatic patients. EDG antigens were detected by a MAb L7.1-based ELISA in E. histolytica-containing fecal samples from symptomatic, but not asymptomatic, individuals. These results suggest that the EDG antigen detected with MAb L7.1 may be differentially expressed in pathogenic and nonpathogenic E. histolytica. Images PMID:2174899

Did Universal Access to ARVT in Mexico Impact Suboptimal Antiretroviral Prescriptions?

PubMed Central

Caro-Vega, Yanink; Sierra-Madero, Juan; Colchero, M. Arantxa; Crabtree-Ramírez, Brenda; Bautista-Arredondo, Sergio

2013-01-01

Background. Universal access to antiretroviral therapy (ARVT) started in Mexico in 2001; no evaluation of the features of ARVT prescriptions over time has been conducted. The aim of the study is to document trends in the quality of ARVT-prescription before and after universal access. Methods. We describe ARVT prescriptions before and after 2001 in three health facilities from the following subsystems: the Mexican Social Security (IMSS), the Ministry of Health (SSA), and National Institutes of Health (INS). Combinations of drugs and reasons for change were classified according to current Mexican guidelines and state-of-the-art therapy. Comparisons were made using χ 2 tests. Results. Before 2001, 29% of patients starting ARVT received HAART; after 2001 it increased to 90%. The proportion of adequate prescriptions decreased within the two periods of study in all facilities (P value < 0.01). The INS and SSA were more likely to be prescribed adequately (P value < 0.01) compared to IMSS. The distribution of reasons for change was not significantly different during this time for all facilities (P value > 0.05). Conclusions. Universal ARVT access in Mexico was associated with changes in ARVT-prescription patterns over time. Health providers' performance improved, but not homogeneously. Training of personnel and guidelines updating is essential to improve prescription. PMID:24396592

[Use of health services by a population of 60-year olds and older in Mexico].

PubMed

Borges-Yáñez, S A; Gómez-Dantés, H

1998-01-01

To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and determinants of health services utilization by the Mexican population of 60 years of age or more. Information obtained from the National Health Survey II (ENSA-II) allowed analysis of 4,628 elderly people. Prevalence of chronic diseases was analyzed and the determinants of individuals who had used the health services in the two weeks prior to the interview. The chronic diseases most frequently reported were: hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. The utilization and hospitalization rates of that age group were 11.4 and 5.5%, respectively. The services most frequently used were: the private physician, social security (IMSS, ISSSTE) welfare services (Ministry of Health--SSA- and IMSS-Solidaridad). Interestingly, 25 to 45% of social security insurance holders did not use the services, instead they consulted a private physician. The most important explanatory variables for health services utilization were: the perceived illness, not having worked for the previous week and being a social security insurance holder. Gender, area of residence and level of education were not significant in the explanation of health services utilization. This study demonstrates the need to strengthen preventive and support programs for the elderly population, since they only demand health services when they feel sick.

Enhancing the calculation accuracy of performance characteristics of power-generating units by correcting general measurands based on matching energy balances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shchinnikov, P. A.; Safronov, A. V.

2014-12-01

General principles of a procedure for matching energy balances of thermal power plants (TPPs), whose use enhances the accuracy of information-measuring systems (IMSs) during calculations of performance characteristics (PCs), are stated. To do this, there is the possibility for changing values of measured and calculated variables within intervals determined by measurement errors and regulations. An example of matching energy balances of the thermal power plants with a T-180 turbine is made. The proposed procedure allows one to reduce the divergence of balance equations by 3-4 times. It is shown also that the equipment operation mode affects the profit deficiency. Dependences for the divergence of energy balances on the deviation of input parameters and calculated data for the fuel economy before and after matching energy balances are represented.

Costs of breast cancer care in Mexico: analysis of two insurance coverage scenarios

PubMed Central

González-Robledo, María Cecilia; Wong, Rebeca; Ornelas, Héctor Arreola; Knaul, Felicia Marie

2015-01-01

Background Breast cancer (BC) is a major cause of disease and death worldwide. In addition to its contribution to mortality and disability, it is a major economic burden both public and private. Objective To estimate the average direct medical cost/year of care for the diagnosis and treatment of BC in two coverage scenarios in Mexico: What is ‘ideal’ based on service usage patterns according to international guidelines and what is ‘current’ using the service usage patterns of suppliers in Mexico. Material and Methods The pattern and intensity of use of procedures for the care of BC in the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) for 2009 were identified and prices were associated using the guidelines from the System of Social Protection in Health (SPSS) and the IMSS for the current scenario and the ideal scenario, international patterns (Breast Health Global Initiative BHGI after its acronym in English) were used and prices were associated from the SPSS guidelines. Results The annual average direct medical cost per patient in the ‘current’ scenario was 8557 US$, while the cost in the ‘ideal’ scenario was 4554 US$. There are differences in costs between ‘what we do’ and ‘what should be done’, due to differences in the implementation of the interventions for the treatment of the different stages of the disease. A proportional increase in the average cost was also identified as the diagnosis stage advanced (from I to III). Conclusions Given that in Mexico there is universal insurance coverage for the treatment of BC, it is necessary to use economic resources more efficiently. It is necessary to continue to examine this topic in more depth and the next step will be to assess the effectiveness of both scenarios in order to provide enough evidence for the decision-making process. PMID:26557885

Parents perception of weight status of Mexican preschool children using different tools.

PubMed

Souto-Gallardo, M C; Jiménez-Cruz, A; Bacardí-Gascón, M

2011-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of parents to estimate the weight status of preschool children attending the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) day-care centers using three different tools. A total of 100 parent-child pairs attending to all the existing IMSS day-care centers in Ensenada (n = 9) completed a questionnaire on the perception of children's weight status using verbal description, sketches, and pictures. Chi squared test and univariate logistic regression was applied to assess the difference in perception between the tools used, the factors associated with the weight status perception and to identify predictors of parental underestimation of their child's weight. The sample size was estimated for a significance level of 0.05 with statistical power of 80%. No significant differences were found in the perception of weight status using different tools. The parents' underestimation of the child's weight status ranged from 51 to 59%, this percentage jumps to 79 to 84% in overweight children and 82 to 91% in obese children. Being a young mother and having a daughter increased the risk of underestimation. Higher odds of underestimation were found in > 2BMI z-score. The high underestimation found in this study shows that the ability of parents in signaling an alert to prevent childhood obesity might be highly reduced and preventive health programs should include increasing the weight status perception.

Direct medical costs for partial refractory epilepsy in Mexico.

PubMed

García-Contreras, Fernando; Constantino-Casas, Patricia; Castro-Ríos, Angélica; Nevárez-Sida, Armando; Estrada Correa, Gloria del Carmen; Carlos Rivera, Fernando; Guzmán-Caniupan, Jorge; Torres-Arreola, Laura del Pilar; Contreras-Hernández, Iris; Mould-Quevedo, Joaquin; Garduño-Espinosa, Juan

2006-04-01

The aim was to determine the direct medical costs in patients with partial refractory epilepsy at the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico. We carried out a multicenter, retrospective-cohort partial-economic evaluation study of partial refractory epilepsy (PRE) diagnosed patients and analyzed patient files from four secondary- and tertiary-level hospitals. PRE patients >12 years of age with two or more antiepileptic drugs and follow-up for at least 1 year were included. The perspective was institutional (IMSS). Only direct healthcare costs were considered, and the timeline was 1 year. Cost techniques were microcosting, average per-service cost, and per-day cost, all costs expressed in U.S. dollars (USD, 2004). We reviewed 813 files of PRE patients: 133 had a correct diagnosis, and only 72 met study inclusion criteria. Fifty eight percent were females, 64% were <35 years of age, 47% were students, in 73% maximum academic level achieved was high school, and 53% were single. Fifty one percent of cases experienced simple partial seizures and 94% had more than one monthly seizure. Annual healthcare cost of the 72 patients was 190,486 USD, ambulatory healthcare contributing 76% and hospital healthcare with 24%. Annual mean healthcare cost per PRE patient was 2,646 USD; time of disease evolution and severity of the patient's illness did not affect costs significantly.

[The Revista Médica del IMSS in the 2017 Healthcare Book Fair].

PubMed

Ramiro-H, Manuel; Acosta-Pérez, L; Cruz-Aranda, J E; García-Damián, J J; Miguel-Reyes, R; González-Martínez, R

2017-01-01

On August, the second edition of the Healthcare Book Fair took place, sponsored by the Facultad de Medicina of UNAM. Again, the Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social participated with a stand where we promoted it, talked about the different indexes where our journal is included, explained its objective and scope, and finally talked about its nature as an open access journal, which is aimed to the clinical staff of the different health institutions of our country.

Selected Manpower Statistics, FY-58

DTIC Science & Technology

1959-01-31

oro«nfn ■k i% « % A n «fc ^^^«s O m rtt r r-t vp O O CM H H o H H H H H H W HHHHHH «Or-lcot-t^t^ o«»^^«»!«^© irs...OOHriHH Ov O»«) rH rH HHHHHH CM HHHHHH 0\\ t~ ON ON IT ON H 0> ITi imss nail Is ►->•<« o a ö •-» ^ s par.60 t o s i |2

Skylab IMSS checklist application study for emergency medical care. [emergency medical care operations involving the use and operation of the portable ambulance module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carl, J. G.; Furukawa, S.

1975-01-01

A manual is presented that provides basic technical documentation to support the operation and utilization of the Portable Ambulance Module (PAM) in the field. The PAM is designed to be used for emergency resuscitation and victim monitoring. The functions of all the controls, displays, and stowed equipment of the unit are defined. Supportive medical and physiological data in those areas directly related to the uses of the PAM unit are presented.

Strengthening preventive care programs: a permanent challenge for healthcare systems; lessons from PREVENIMSS México

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background In 2001, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) carried out a major reorganization to provide comprehensive preventive care to reinforce primary care services through the PREVENIMSS program. This program divides the population into programmatic age groups that receive specific preventive services: children (0-9 years), adolescents (10-19 years), men (20-59 years), women (20-59 years) and older adults (> = 60 years). The objective of this paper is to describe the improvement of the PREVENIMSS program in terms of the increase of coverage of preventive actions and the identification of unmet needs of unsolved and emergent health problems. Methods From 2003 to 2006, four nation-wide cross-sectional probabilistic population based surveys were conducted using a four stage sampling design. Thirty thousand households were visited in each survey. The number of IMSS members interviewed ranged from 79,797 respondents in 2003 to 117,036 respondents in 2006. Results The four surveys showed a substantial increase in coverage indicators for each age group: children, completed schemes of vaccination (> 90%), iron supplementation (17.8% to 65.5%), newborn screening for metabolic disorders (60.3% to 81.6%). Adolescents, measles - rubella vaccine (52.4% to 71.4%), hepatitis vaccine (9.3% to 46.2%), use of condoms (17.9% to 59.9%). Women, measles-rubella vaccine (28.5% to 59-2%), cervical cancer screening (66.7% to 75%), breast cancer screening (> 2.1%). Men, type 2 diabetes screening (38.6% to 57.8%) hypertension screening (48-4% to 64.0%). Older adults, pneumococcal vaccine (13.2% to 24.9%), influenza vaccine (12.6% to 52.9) Regarding the unmet needs, the prevalence of anemia in children was 30% and a growing prevalence of overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension was found in men, women and older adults. Conclusion PREVENIMSS showed an important increase in the coverage of preventive services and stressed the magnitude of the old and new challenges that this healthcare system faces. The unsolved problems such as anemia, and the emerging ones such as overweight, obesity, among others, point out the need to strength preventive care through designing and implementing innovative programs aimed to attain effective coverage for those conditions in which prevention obtains substandard results. PMID:20626913

Linking quality of healthcare and health-related quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes: an evaluative study in Mexican family practice.

PubMed

Doubova, Svetlana V; Mino-León, Dolores; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo

2013-12-01

To assess the association between quality of care and health-related quality of life among type 2 diabetes patients. A cross-sectional study assessing the association between quality of care and quality of life using multiple linear regression analysis. Family medicine clinics (FMC) (n = 39) of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico City. Type 2 diabetes patients (n = 312), older than 19 years. Health-related quality of life was measured using the MOS Short-Form-12 (SF-12); quality of healthcare was measured as the percentage of recommended care received under each of four domains: early detection of diabetes complications, non-pharmacological treatment, pharmacological treatment and health outcomes. The average quality of life score was 41.4 points on the physical component and 47.9 points on the mental component. Assessment of the quality of care revealed deficiencies. The average percentages of recommended care received were 21.9 for health outcomes and 56.6 for early detection of diabetes complications and pharmacological treatment; for every 10 percent additional points on the pharmacological treatment component, quality of life improved by 0.4 points on the physical component (coefficient 0.04, 95% confidence intervals 0.01-0.07). There was a positive association between the quality of pharmacological care and the physical component of quality of life. The quality of healthcare for type 2 diabetes patients in FMC of the IMSS in Mexico City is not optimal.

[Direct service costs of diabetes mellitus hospitalisations in the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

PubMed

Salas-Zapata, Leonardo; Palacio-Mejía, Lina Sofía; Aracena-Genao, Belkis; Hernández-Ávila, Juan Eugenio; Nieto-López, Emmanuel Salvador

To estimate the direct costs related to hospitalizations for diabetes mellitus and its complications in the Mexican Institute of Social Security METHODS: The hospital care costs of patients with diabetes mellitus using diagnosis-related groups in the IMSS (Mexican Institute of Social Security) and the hospital discharges from the corresponding E10-E14 codes for diabetes mellitus were estimated between 2008-2013. Costs were grouped according to demographic characteristics and main condition, and were estimated in US dollars in 2013. 411,302 diabetes mellitus discharges were recorded, representing a cost of $1,563 million. 52.44% of hospital discharges were men and 77.26% were for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The biggest cost was attributed to peripheral circulatory complications (34.84%) and people from 45-64 years of age (47.1%). Discharges decreased by 3.84% and total costs by 1.75% in the period analysed. The complications that caused the biggest cost variations were ketoacidosis (50.7%), ophthalmic (22.6%) and circulatory (18.81%). Hospital care for diabetes mellitus represents an important financial challenge for the IMSS. The increase in the frequency of hospitalisations in the productive age group, which affects society as a whole, is an even bigger challenge, and suggests the need to strengthen monitoring of diabetics in order to prevent complications that require hospital care. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[Training of institutional research networks as a strategy of improvement].

PubMed

Galván-Plata, María Eugenia; Almeida-Gutiérrez, Eduardo; Salamanca-Gómez, Fabio Abdel

2017-01-01

The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) through the Coordinación de Investigación en Salud (Health Research Council) has promoted a strong link between the generation of scientific knowledge and the clinical care through the program Redes Institucionales de Investigación (Institutional Research Network Program), whose main aim is to promote and generate collaborative research between clinical, basic, epidemiologic, educational, economic and health services researchers, seeking direct benefits for patients, as well as to generate a positive impact on institutional processes. All of these research lines have focused on high-priority health issues in Mexico. The IMSS internal structure, as well as the sufficient health services coverage, allows the integration of researchers at the three levels of health care into these networks. A few years after their creation, these networks have already generated significant results, and these are currently applied in the institutional regulations in diseases that represent a high burden to health care. Two examples are the National Health Care Program for Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction "Código Infarto", and the Early Detection Program on Chronic Kidney Disease; another result is the generation of multiple scientific publications, and the promotion of training of human resources in research from the same members of our Research Networks. There is no doubt that the Coordinación de Investigación en Salud advances steadily implementing the translational research, which will keep being fruitful to the benefit of our patients, and of our own institution.

[Economic analysis of parecoxib in the management of postsurgical pain in gynecology].

PubMed

Muciño-Ortega, Emilio; Galindo-Suárez, Rosa María; Díaz-Ponce, Humberto; Walter-Tordecillas, Miguel Angel

2012-11-01

Poorly managed postoperative pain has a negative impact in healing patients and costs of care. A model to estimate economic and health consequences of parecoxib 40 mg and morphine 12 mg regarding ketorolac 30 mg, on the management of postoperative pain in gynecologic laparotomy surgery from the perspective of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) was developed. A systematic review to identify the proportion of patients that rated their analgesic treatment as "excellent" or "good" in the Patient Global Evaluation of Study Medication, 12 hours after administration of the analgesic (responders), was performed. The patients who rated "fair" or "poor" their treatment were administered additional 4 mg of morphine. Costs in the model correspond to the acquisition costs of analgesics in which the institution would incur. The proportion and cost per responder were: morphine: 14.44% and $192.79, ketorolac: 32.44% and $34.82, parecoxib: 35.51% and $121.25.Treatment with morphine was more expensive and less effective than both, ketorolac and parecoxib, while the cost per additional percent point of responders with parecoxib (compared to ketorolac) was $28.15. For the management of postoperative pain, ketorolac and parecoxib are more effective and less expensive than morphine, additionally parecoxib would be an alternative for patients with contraindication to ketorolac use. The management of postoperative pain with parecoxib is more effective and, in the context of IMSS, less expensive than morphine, also constitutes an alternative with a reasonable incremental cost compared to ketorolac.

[Experience in training in emergencies, Division of Special Projects in Health, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social].

PubMed

Cruz-Vega, Felipe; Loría-Castellanos, Jorge; Hernández-Olivas, Irma Patricia; Franco-Bey, Rubén; Ochoa-Avila, César; Sánchez-Badillo, Victoria

2016-01-01

There has been interest in the Division of Special Projects in Health to offer the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social personnel resources for training and quality thereby respond to potential contingencies. Presented here is their experience in this field. To describe and analyse the productivity in different training programs in emergencies and disasters developed by the Division of Special Projects in Health, Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Observational study in which different training activities conducted by the Division of Special Projects in Health between 1989 and 2014 are described. Descriptive statistics were used. In these 25 years have trained 20,674 participants; 19.451 IMSS and 1,223 other health institutions. The most productive courses were life support (BLS/ACLS) (47.17%), distance courses "Hospital medical evacuation plans and units" (14.17%), the workshop-run "Evacuation of hospital units with an emphasis on critical areas" (5.93%) and course "Programme Evaluators of Hospital Insurance" (8.43%). Although the Special Projects Division Health has primarily operational functions, it nevertheless has neglected its responsibility to maintain constantly trained and updated institute staff that every day is in a position to face any type of emergency and disaster. This increases the chance that the answer to any contingency is more organised and of higher quality, always to the benefit of the population. Copyright © 2015 Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Cancer risk among patients with multiple sclerosis: A cohort study in Isfahan, Iran.

PubMed

Etemadifar, Masoud; Jahanbani-Ardakani, Hamidreza; Ghaffari, Sara; Fereidan-Esfahani, Maboobeh; Changaei, Hossein; Aghadoost, Nazila; Jahanbani Ardakani, Ameneh; Moradkhani, Negin

2017-01-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS), a central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disorder, affects 2.3 million people around the world. Cancer kills around 7.5 million people annually. Both diseases have similar risks and intertwining molecular causes. Most studies focusing on MS and cancer have found an insignificant difference or reduction in the amount of cancer found in the MS community. We performed a cohort study using data from Isfahan Multiple Sclerosis Society (IMSS) and Isfahan cancer society and followed-up for 8 years on average (2006-2014). All of the 1718 MS patients were diagnosed according to McDonald's criteria, then standardized incidence ratio and the numbers of expected cancer case were calculated. While patients had an insignificant change in cancer prevalence, men had fewer cancer cases and women showed an increased prevalence of cancer. Certain types of cancer proved statistically significant. Breast cancer, nervous system cancers, and lymphoma were elevated in the cohort. Our results support the hypothesis that MS significantly affects certain cancers in a protective or associative manner. All cancer rates, except breast cancer, cancers located in the nervous system, and lymphomas were reduced in cohort, suggesting that unregulated immune function may provide protective effects to MS patients against cancer.

[Evaluation of patient satisfaction with the quality of health care received within the EORTC IN-PATSAT32 trial by patients with breast and colorectal cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma at different stages. Correlation with sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities and other procedural variables at the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

PubMed

Balderas-Peña, Luz-Ma-Adriana; Sat-Muñoz, Daniel; Contreras-Hernández, Iris; Solano-Murillo, Pedro; Hernández-Chávez, Guillermo-Allan; Mariscal-Ramírez, Ignacio; Lomelí-García, Martha; Díaz-Cortés, Margarita-Arimatea; Mould-Quevedo, Joaquín-Federico; Castro-Cervantes, Juan-Manuel; Garcés-Ruiz, Oscar-Miguel; Morgan-Villela, Gilberto

2011-01-01

In Mexico cancer is a public health burden. Nowadays the health care systems pay special attention to patient's perception and satisfaction of the health care received. Satisfaction with quality of health care has an impact in the adherence to the treatment. To evaluate the satisfaction with the quality of health care received at the IMSS in a group of cancer patients [non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), breast and colorectal cancer]. Socio-demographic features, co-morbid diseases, and attendance processes impact on satisfaction are also evaluated. 476 cancer patients were studied: 314 with breast cancer, 92 with NHL and 70 with colorectal cancer. In women with breast cancer the mean score to nurses' interpersonal skills in non-classified disease group and clinical stage III group were: 73.64 ± 32.53, 90.00 ± 18.25 respectively (p=0.005), nurses' availability in non-classified and clinical stage III group were: 69.71 ± 30.25, 89.21 ± 19.00 respectively (p=0.003). In subjects with NHL the mean scores for doctors' technical skills in clinical stage I and III groups, were: 63.69 ± 37.78, 80.30 ± 18.46 respectively (p=0.017), doctors' information provision scores in subject in clinical stage I and IV were: 49.40 ± 40.75, 79.49 ± 24.63 respectively (p=0.043). In the group of colorectal cancer patients the mean of the score to exchange of information between clinical stage II and clinical stage III group were 50.00 ± 41.83, 84.21 ± 22.37 respectively (p=0.036). Were not observed association between attendance processes features and general satisfaction. In Mexico 50% of cancer patients are attended at the IMSS. The continued evaluation of the satisfaction with health care received by the health care service users is important to enhance attention's quality. Copyright © 2011 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The training of healthcare personnel and the improvement in health care].

PubMed

Zerón-Gutiérrez, Lydia E; Montaño-Fernández, Gerardo

2017-01-01

As part of its commitment to improve healthcare services persistently, the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) takes part in the constant training of its healthcare personnel, since the Institute knows that this has an impact on creating a virtuous circle of higher quality and giving cordial attention to patients. That is the reason why the Unidad de Educación, Investigación y Políticas en Salud has set up different programs, which offer diverse oportunities of study, always in line with the needs of the Institute.

Cost of neurocysticercosis patients treated in two referral hospitals in Mexico City, Mexico.

PubMed

Bhattarai, Rachana; Carabin, Hélène; Proaño, Jefferson V; Flores-Rivera, Jose; Corona, Teresa; Flisser, Ana; Budke, Christine M

2015-08-01

To estimate annual costs related to the diagnosis, treatment and productivity losses among patients with neurocysticercosis (NCC) receiving treatment at two referral hospitals, the Instituto Nacional de Neurologia y Neurocirugia (INNN) and the Hospital de Especialidades of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (HE-IMSS), in Mexico City from July 2007 to August 2008. Information on presenting clinical manifestations, diagnostic tests, hospitalisations, surgical procedures and other treatments received by NCC outpatients was collected from medical charts, and supplemented by an individual questionnaire regarding productivity losses and out-of-pocket expenses related to NCC. The annual average per-patient direct costs were US$ 503 (95% CI: 414-592) and US$ 438 (95% CI: 322-571) for patients without a history of hospitalisation and/or surgery seen at the INNN and the HE-IMSS, respectively. These costs increased to US$ 2506 (95% CI: 1797-3215) and US$ 2170 (95% CI: 1303-3037), respectively, for patients with a history of hospitalisation and/or surgery. The average annual per-patient indirect costs were US$ 246 (95% CI: 165-324) and US$ 114 (95% CI: 51-178), respectively, using minimum salary wages for individuals not officially employed. The total annual cost for patients who had and had not been hospitalised and/or undergone a surgical procedure for the diagnosis or treatment of NCC corresponded to 212% and 41% of an annual minimum wage salary, respectively. The disease tends to affect rural socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and creates health disparities and significant economic losses in Mexico. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Handheld hyperspectral imager for standoff detection of chemical and biological aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinnrichs, Michele; Jensen, James O.; McAnally, Gerard

2004-08-01

Pacific Advanced Technology has developed a small hand held imaging spectrometer, Sherlock, for gas leak and aerosol detection and imaging. The system is based on a patented technique, (IMSS Image Multi-spectral Sensing), that uses diffractive optics and image processing algorithms to detect spectral information about objects in the scene of the camera. This cameras technology has been tested at Dugway Proving Ground and Dstl Porton Down facilities looking at Chemical and Biological agent simulants. In addition to Chemical and Biological detection, the camera has been used for environmental monitoring of green house gases and is currently undergoing extensive laboratory and field testing by the Gas Technology Institute, British Petroleum and Shell Oil for applications for gas leak detection and repair. In this paper we will present some of the results from the data collection at the TRE test at Dugway Proving Ground during the summer of 2002 and laboratory testing at the Dstl facility at Porton Down in the UK in the fall of 2002.

Distal esophageal hypercontractility is related to abnormal acid exposure.

PubMed

Soto-Pérez, Julio César; Sobrino-Cossío, Sergio; Higgins, Paul B; Comuzzie, Anthony G; Vargas Romero, Jose Antonio; Reding-Bernal, Arturo; López-Alvarenga, Juan Carlos

2011-02-01

Nutcracker esophagus (NE) is a frequent primary motility disorder of the distal esophagus, and the relationship with acid exposure remains controversial. We studied simultaneous distal esophageal hypercontractility (EH) using two sensors at 8 and 3 cm above the lower sphincter (LES) and abnormal exposure to acid (pH DeMeester score). From 400 screened patients with chest pain and heartburn, 54 (age 44.5 ± 8.8 years and 74% females) had abnormal manometry and underwent acid exposure measurement. Frequencies of the EH disorder were classic NE (EH(3 cm)) found in 29 (40.8%) patients, diffuse (EH(3,8 cm)) in 30 patients (42.3%), and upper segmental (EH(8 cm)) in 12 patients (16.9%). We found a positive correlation among age with high amplitude in EH(3 cm) and EH(3,8 cm). DeMeester's score (DMS) had the lowest value for EH(3,8 cm) (2.58 ± 0.23) compared with EH(8 cm) (3.78 ± 0.3, p <0.003) and EH(3 cm) (3.12 ± 0.2, p <0.06). Surface response for joint effect of age and DMS on amplitude at EH(3 cm) confirmed the highest amplitude was for older age and lower DMS. EH(3 cm) and EH(3,8 cm) were common for esophageal motility and were inversely associated with DMS. Meanwhile, acid exposure was higher in younger patients and hypercontractility was more frequent in older subjects. The former group may benefit more from proton pump inhibitors and the latter from visceral analgesics or possibly both. Copyright © 2011 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Dutch dairy farms using sensor systems for cow management.

PubMed

Steeneveld, W; Hogeveen, H

2015-01-01

To improve cow management in large dairy herds, sensors have been developed that can measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators on individual cows. Recently, the number of dairy farms using sensor systems has increased. It is not known, however, to what extent sensor systems are used on dairy farms, and the reasons why farmers invest or not in sensor systems are unclear. The first objective of this study was to give an overview of the sensor systems currently used in the Netherlands. The second objective was to investigate the reasons for investing or not investing in sensor systems. The third objective was to characterize farms with and without sensor systems. A survey was developed to investigate first, the reasons for investing or not in sensor systems and, then, how the sensor systems are used in daily cow management. The survey was sent to 1,672 Dutch dairy farmers. The final data set consisted of 512 dairy farms (response rate of 30.6%); 202 farms indicated that they had sensor systems and 310 farms indicated that they did not have sensor systems. A wide variety of sensor systems was used on Dutch dairy farms; those for mastitis detection and estrus detection were the most-used sensor systems. The use of sensor systems was different for farms using an automatic milking system (AMS) and a conventional milking system (CMS). Reasons for investing were different for different sensor systems. For sensor systems attached to the AMS, the farmers made no conscious decision to invest: they answered that the sensors were standard in the AMS or were bought for reduced cost with the AMS. The main reasons for investing in estrus detection sensor systems were improving detection rates, gaining insights into the fertility level of the herd, improving profitability of the farm, and reducing labor. Main reasons for not investing in sensor systems were economically related. It was very difficult to characterize farms with and without sensor systems. Farms with CMS and sensor systems had more cows than CMS farms without sensor systems. Furthermore, farms with sensor systems had fewer labor hours per cow compared with farms without sensor systems. Other farm characteristics (age of the farmer, availability of a successor, growth in herd size, milk production per cow, number of cows per hectare, and milk production per hectare) did not differ for farms with and without sensor systems. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Forensic medicine: a forgotten world of opportunities and challenges for research.

PubMed

Magalhães, Teresa; Santos, Agostinho; Dinis-Oliveira, Ricardo Jorge

2013-08-01

Forensic medicine deals with a wide variety of cases. To accomplish the main objectives, this professional field needs to adopt and apply findings from other sciences, namely, different medical specialties and other forensic sciences. The opposite is not yet entirely true due to the fact that forensic medicine deals with cases that are very far away from other medical and scientific interests. It is obvious that this forgotten world of forensic medicine … is also a new world of opportunities and challenges to research in all scientific areas. Copyright © 2013 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of sensor systems for cow management on milk production, somatic cell count, and reproduction.

PubMed

Steeneveld, W; Vernooij, J C M; Hogeveen, H

2015-06-01

To improve management on dairy herds, sensor systems have been developed that can measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators on individual cows. It is not known whether using sensor systems also improves measures of health and production in dairy herds. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using sensor systems on measures of health and production in dairy herds. Data of 414 Dutch dairy farms with (n=152) and without (n=262) sensor systems were available. For these herds, information on milk production per cow, days to first service, first calving age, and somatic cell count (SCC) was provided for the years 2003 to 2013. Moreover, year of investment in sensor systems was available. For every farm year, we determined whether that year was before or after the year of investment in sensor systems on farms with an automatic milking system (AMS) or a conventional milking system (CMS), or whether it was a year on a farm that never invested in sensor systems. Separate statistical analyses were performed to determine the effect of sensor systems for mastitis detection (color, SCC, electrical conductivity, and lactate dehydrogenase sensors), estrus detection for dairy cows, estrus detection for young stock, and other sensor systems (weighing platform, rumination time sensor, fat and protein sensor, temperature sensor, milk temperature sensor, urea sensor, β-hydroxybutyrate sensor, and other sensor systems). The AMS farms had a higher average SCC (by 12,000 cells/mL) after sensor investment, and CMS farms with a mastitis detection system had a lower average SCC (by 10,000 cells/mL) in the years after sensor investment. Having sensor systems was associated with a higher average production per cow on AMS farms, and with a lower average production per cow on CMS farms in the years after investment. The most likely reason for this lower milk production after investment was that on 96% of CMS farms, the sensor system investment occurred together with another major change at the farm, such as a new barn or a new milking system. Most likely, these other changes had led to a decrease in milk production that could not be compensated for by the use of sensor systems. Having estrus detection sensor systems did not improve reproduction performance. Labor reduction was an important reason for investing in sensor systems. Therefore, economic benefits from investments in sensor systems can be expected more from the reduction in labor costs than from improvements in measures of health and production in dairy herds. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method of calibrating a fluid-level measurement system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E. (Inventor); Taylor, Bryant D. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A method of calibrating a fluid-level measurement system is provided. A first response of the system is recorded when the system's sensor(s) is (are) not in contact with a fluid of interest. A second response of the system is recorded when the system's sensor(s) is (are) fully immersed in the fluid of interest. Using the first and second responses, a plurality of expected responses of the system's sensor(s) is (are) generated for a corresponding plurality of levels of immersion of the sensor(s) in the fluid of interest.

Role of the blood-brain barrier in multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Ortiz, Genaro Gabriel; Pacheco-Moisés, Fermín Paul; Macías-Islas, Miguel Ángel; Flores-Alvarado, Luis Javier; Mireles-Ramírez, Mario A; González-Renovato, Erika Daniela; Hernández-Navarro, Vanessa Elizabeth; Sánchez-López, Angélica Lizeth; Alatorre-Jiménez, Moisés Alejandro

2014-11-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system associated with demyelination and axonal loss eventually leading to neurodegeneration. MS exhibits many of the hallmarks of an inflammatory autoimmune disorder including breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a complex organization of cerebral endothelial cells, pericytes and their basal lamina, which are surrounded and supported by astrocytes and perivascular macrophages. In pathological conditions, lymphocytes activated in the periphery infiltrate the central nervous system to trigger a local immune response that ultimately damages myelin and axons. Cytotoxic factors including pro-inflammatory cytokines, proteases, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species accumulate and may contribute to myelin destruction. Dysregulation of the BBB and transendothelial migration of activated leukocytes are among the earliest cerebrovascular abnormalities seen in MS brains and parallel the release of inflammatory cytokines. In this review we establish the importance of the role of the BBB in MS. Improvements in our understanding of molecular mechanism of BBB functioning in physiological and pathological conditions could lead to improvement in the quality of life of MS patients. Copyright © 2015 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel Multiplex Fluorescent PCR-Based Method for HLA Typing and Preimplantational Genetic Diagnosis of β-Thalassemia.

PubMed

Khosravi, Sharifeh; Salehi, Mansour; Ramezanzadeh, Mahboobeh; Mirzaei, Hamed; Salehi, Rasoul

2016-05-01

Thalassemia is curable by bone marrow transplantation; however, finding suitable donors with defined HLA combination remains a major challenge. Cord blood stem cells with preselected HLA system through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) proved very useful for resolving scarce HLA-matched bone marrow donors. A thalassemia trait couple with an affected child was included in this study. We used informative STR markers at the HLA and beta globin loci to develop a single cell multiplex fluorescent PCR protocol. The protocol was extensively optimized on single lymphocytes isolated from the couple's peripheral blood. The optimized protocol was applied on single blastomeres biopsied from day 3 cleavage stage IVF embryos of the couple. Four IVF embryos biopsied on day 3 and a single blastomere of each were provided for genetic diagnosis of combined β-thalassemia mutations and HLA typing. Of these, one embryo was diagnosed as homozygous normal for the thalassemia mutation and HLA matched with the existing affected sibling. The optimized protocol worked well in PGD clinical cycle for selection of thalassemia-unaffected embryos with the desired HLA system. Copyright © 2016 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multidisciplinary strategies in the management of early chronic kidney disease.

PubMed

Martínez-Ramírez, Héctor R; Cortés-Sanabria, Laura; Rojas-Campos, Enrique; Hernández-Herrera, Aurora; Cueto-Manzano, Alfonso M

2013-11-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide epidemic especially in developing countries, with clear deficiencies in identification and treatment. Better care of CKD requires more than only economic resources, utilization of health research in policy-making and health systems changes that produce better outcomes. A multidisciplinary approach may facilitate and improve management of patients from early CKD in the primary health-care setting. This approach is a strategy for improving comprehensive care, initiating and maintaining healthy behaviors, promoting teamwork, eliminating barriers to achieve goals and improving the processes of care. A multidisciplinary intervention may include educational processes guided by health professional, use of self-help groups and the development of a CKD management plan. The complex and fragmented care management of patients with CKD, associated with poor outcome, enhances the importance of implementing a multidisciplinary approach in the management of this disease from the early stages. Multidisciplinary strategies should focus on the needs of patients (to increase their empowerment) and should be adapted to the resources and health systems prevailing in each country; its systematic implementation can help to improve patient care and slow the progression of CKD. Copyright © 2013 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aerospace Sensor Systems: From Sensor Development To Vehicle Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.

2008-01-01

This paper presents an overview of years of sensor system development and application for aerospace systems. The emphasis of this work is on developing advanced capabilities for measurement and control of aeropropulsion and crew vehicle systems as well as monitoring the safety of those systems. Specific areas of work include chemical species sensors, thin film thermocouples and strain gages, heat flux gages, fuel gages, SiC based electronic devices and sensors, space qualified electronics, and MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) as well as integrated and multifunctional sensor systems. Each sensor type has its own technical challenges related to integration and reliability in a given application. The general approach has been to develop base sensor technology using microfabrication techniques, integrate sensors with "smart" hardware and software, and demonstrate those systems in a range of aerospace applications. Descriptions of the sensor elements, their integration into sensors systems, and examples of sensor system applications will be discussed. Finally, suggestions related to the future of sensor technology will be given. It is concluded that smart micro/nano sensor technology can revolutionize aerospace applications, but significant challenges exist in maturing the technology and demonstrating its value in real-life applications.

Cancer risk among patients with multiple sclerosis: A cohort study in Isfahan, Iran

PubMed Central

Etemadifar, Masoud; Jahanbani-Ardakani, Hamidreza; Ghaffari, Sara; Fereidan-Esfahani, Maboobeh; Changaei, Hossein; Aghadoost, Nazila; Jahanbani Ardakani, Ameneh; Moradkhani, Negin

2017-01-01

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune disorder, affects 2.3 million people around the world. Cancer kills around 7.5 million people annually. Both diseases have similar risks and intertwining molecular causes. Most studies focusing on MS and cancer have found an insignificant difference or reduction in the amount of cancer found in the MS community. Methods: We performed a cohort study using data from Isfahan Multiple Sclerosis Society (IMSS) and Isfahan cancer society and followed-up for 8 years on average (2006-2014). All of the 1718 MS patients were diagnosed according to McDonald’s criteria, then standardized incidence ratio and the numbers of expected cancer case were calculated. Results: While patients had an insignificant change in cancer prevalence, men had fewer cancer cases and women showed an increased prevalence of cancer. Certain types of cancer proved statistically significant. Breast cancer, nervous system cancers, and lymphoma were elevated in the cohort. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that MS significantly affects certain cancers in a protective or associative manner. All cancer rates, except breast cancer, cancers located in the nervous system, and lymphomas were reduced in cohort, suggesting that unregulated immune function may provide protective effects to MS patients against cancer. PMID:28932368

A Brief Overview of NASA Glenn Research Center Sensor and Electronics Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.

2012-01-01

Aerospace applications require a range of sensing technologies. There is a range of sensor and sensor system technologies being developed using microfabrication and micromachining technology to form smart sensor systems and intelligent microsystems. Drive system intelligence to the local (sensor) level -- distributed smart sensor systems. Sensor and sensor system development examples: (1) Thin-film physical sensors (2) High temperature electronics and wireless (3) "lick and stick" technology. NASA GRC is a world leader in aerospace sensor technology with a broad range of development and application experience. Core microsystems technology applicable to a range of application environmentS.

Massively parallel diffuse optical tomography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sandusky, John V.; Pitts, Todd A.

Diffuse optical tomography systems and methods are described herein. In a general embodiment, the diffuse optical tomography system comprises a plurality of sensor heads, the plurality of sensor heads comprising respective optical emitter systems and respective sensor systems. A sensor head in the plurality of sensors heads is caused to act as an illuminator, such that its optical emitter system transmits a transillumination beam towards a portion of a sample. Other sensor heads in the plurality of sensor heads act as observers, detecting portions of the transillumination beam that radiate from the sample in the fields of view of themore » respective sensory systems of the other sensor heads. Thus, sensor heads in the plurality of sensors heads generate sensor data in parallel.« less

Selected examples of intelligent (micro) sensor systems: state-of-the-art and tendencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauptmann, Peter R.

2006-03-01

The capability of intelligent sensors to have more intelligence built into them continues to drive their application in areas including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial, intelligent house and wear, medical and homeland security. In principle it is difficult to overestimate the importance of intelligent (micro) sensors or sensor systems within advanced societies but one characteristic feature is the global market for sensors, which is now about 20 billion annually. Therefore sensors or sensor systems play a dominant role in many fields from the macro sensor in manufacturing industry down to the miniaturized sensor for medical applications. The diversity of sensors precludes a complete description of the state-of-the-art; selected examples will illustrate the current situation. MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) devices are of special interest in the context of micro sensor systems. In past the main requirements of a sensor were in terms of metrological performance. The electrical (or optical) signal produced by the sensor needed to match the measure relatively accurately. Such basic functionality is no longer sufficient. Data processing near the sensor, the extraction of more information than just the direct sensor information by signal analysis, system aspects and multi-sensor information are the new demands. A shifting can be observed away from aiming to design perfect single-function transducers and towards the utilization of system-based sensors as system components. In the ideal case such systems contain sensors, actuators and electronics. They can be realized in monolithic, hybrid or discrete form—which kind is used depends on the application. In this article the state-of-the-art of intelligent sensors or sensor systems is reviewed using selected examples. Future trends are deduced.

Costo Efectividad del Tratamiento de Tumores Neuroendócrinos Pancreáticos Avanzados no Operables con Sunitinib en México.

PubMed

Muciño Ortega, Emilio; Chi-Chan, Alfredo; Peniche-Otero, Gustavo; Gutiérrez-Colín, Consuelo I; Herrera-Rojas, Joaquín; Galindo-Suárez, Rosa María

2012-12-01

Sunitinib had showed a substantial clinical benefit in patients with non-resectable pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (NET). The objective of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of sunitinib in the treatment of non-resectable pancreatic NET, from the perspective of the Social Security Mexican Institute (IMSS). A Markov model (2-week cycles) was used to estimate the health and economic consequences of sunitinib 37.5mg/day+best supportive care (BSC) regarding placebo+BSC (ten-years horizon, discount rate: 5%). Effectiveness measures were: overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and quality adjusted life years (QALY). Resource utilization (BSC, adverse events management, medical follow-up) was estimated through a survey with Mexican oncologists (n=10). Unit costs of medication and medical resources were obtained from institutional sources. Sensitivity analyses were performed and acceptability curves were constructed. Sunitinib+BSC gained 0.49 years (PFS), 1.18 years (OS) and 0.70 QALY against placebo+BSC. Sunitinib+BSC increased medical direct costs (2011 US$) per patient in $20,854, which was driven by acquisition costs of sunitinib and medical follow up before progression. ICER's were $42,157, $17,662 and $29,808 per progression-free year, life-year and QALY gained, respectively, which remained robust through±25% changes in main parameters. At willingness to pay higher than $40,000, $22,400 and $37,600 sunitinib+BSC becomes the most cost-effective alternative in regards to PFS, OS and QALYs, respectively. At IMSS, sunitinib+BSC would provide substantial clinical benefits to patients suffering unresectable pancreatic NET, although the latter would increase medical costs of treatment and clinical follow up. Copyright © 2012 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energy Systems Sensor Laboratory | Energy Systems Integration Facility |

Science.gov Websites

NREL Sensor Laboratory Energy Systems Sensor Laboratory The Energy Systems Integration Facility's Energy Systems Sensor Laboratory is designed to support research, development, testing, and evaluation of advanced hydrogen sensor technologies to support the needs of the emerging hydrogen

Incidence of cancer in children residing in ten jurisdictions of the Mexican Republic: importance of the Cancer registry (a population-based study)

PubMed Central

Fajardo-Gutiérrez, Arturo; Juárez-Ocaña, Servando; González-Miranda, Guadalupe; Palma-Padilla, Virginia; Carreón-Cruz, Rogelio; Ortega-Alvárez, Manuel Carlos; Mejía-Arangure, Juan Manuel

2007-01-01

Background In 1996, Mexico started to register cases of childhood cancer. Here, we describe the incidence of cancer in children, residing in ten Mexican jurisdictions, who were treated by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Methods New cases of childhood cancer, which were registered prospectively in nine principal Medical Centers of IMSS during the periods 1998–2000 (five jurisdictions) and 1996–2002 (five jurisdictions), were analyzed. Personnel were specifically trained to register, capture, and encode information. For each of these jurisdictions, the frequency, average annual age-standardized incidence (AAS) and average annual incidence per period by sex and, age, were calculated (rates per 1,000,000 children/years). Results In total 2,615 new cases of cancer were registered, with the male/female ratio generally >1, but in some tumors there were more cases in females (retinoblastoma, germ cells tumors). The principal groups of neoplasms in seven jurisdictions were leukemias, central nervous system tumors (CNS tumors), and lymphomas, and the combined frequency for these three groups was 62.6 to 77.2%. Most frequently found (five jurisdictions) was the North American-European pattern (leukemias-CNS tumors-lymphomas). Eight jurisdictions had AAS within the range reported in the world literature. The highest incidence was found for children underless than five year of age. In eight jurisdictions, leukemia had high incidence (>50). The AAS of lymphomas was between 1.9 to 28.6. Chiapas and Guerrero had the highest AAS of CNS tumors (31.9 and 30.3, respectively). The frequency and incidence of neuroblastoma was low. Chiapas had the highest incidence of retinoblastoma (21.8). Germ-cell tumors had high incidence. Conclusion The North American-European pattern of cancers was the principal one found; the overall incidence was within the range reported worldwide. In general but particularly in two jurisdictions (Yucatán and Chiapas), it will be necessary to carry out studies concerning the causes of cancer in children. Due to the little that is known about the incidence of cancer in Mexican children, it will be necessary to develop a national program to establish a cancer registry for the whole of the country. PMID:17445267

A fiber optic multi-stress monitoring system for power transformer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dae-gil; Sampath, Umesh; Kim, Hyunjin; Song, Minho

2017-04-01

A fiber-optic multi-stress monitoring system which uses 4 FBG sensors and a fiber-optic mandrel acoustic emission sensor is proposed. FBG sensors and a mandrel sensor measure different types of stresses occurring in electrical power transformer, such as temperature and acoustic signals. The sensor system uses single broadband light source to address the outputs of both sensors using single fiber-optic circuitry. An athermal-packaged FBG is used to supply quasi-coherent light for the Sagnac interferometer demodulation which processes the mandrel sensor output. The proposed sensor system could simplify the optical circuit for the multi-stress measurements and enhance the cost-effectiveness of the sensor system.

An efficient management system for wireless sensor networks.

PubMed

Ma, Yi-Wei; Chen, Jiann-Liang; Huang, Yueh-Min; Lee, Mei-Yu

2010-01-01

Wireless sensor networks have garnered considerable attention recently. Networks typically have many sensor nodes, and are used in commercial, medical, scientific, and military applications for sensing and monitoring the physical world. Many researchers have attempted to improve wireless sensor network management efficiency. A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-based sensor network management system was developed that is a convenient and effective way for managers to monitor and control sensor network operations. This paper proposes a novel WSNManagement system that can show the connections stated of relationships among sensor nodes and can be used for monitoring, collecting, and analyzing information obtained by wireless sensor networks. The proposed network management system uses collected information for system configuration. The function of performance analysis facilitates convenient management of sensors. Experimental results show that the proposed method enhances the alive rate of an overall sensor node system, reduces the packet lost rate by roughly 5%, and reduces delay time by roughly 0.2 seconds. Performance analysis demonstrates that the proposed system is effective for wireless sensor network management.

Vehicle Fault Diagnose Based on Smart Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhining, Li; Peng, Wang; Jianmin, Mei; Jianwei, Li; Fei, Teng

In the vehicle's traditional fault diagnose system, we usually use a computer system with a A/D card and with many sensors connected to it. The disadvantage of this system is that these sensor can hardly be shared with control system and other systems, there are too many connect lines and the electro magnetic compatibility(EMC) will be affected. In this paper, smart speed sensor, smart acoustic press sensor, smart oil press sensor, smart acceleration sensor and smart order tracking sensor were designed to solve this problem. With the CAN BUS these smart sensors, fault diagnose computer and other computer could be connected together to establish a network system which can monitor and control the vehicle's diesel and other system without any duplicate sensor. The hard and soft ware of the smart sensor system was introduced, the oil press, vibration and acoustic signal are resampled by constant angle increment to eliminate the influence of the rotate speed. After the resample, the signal in every working cycle could be averaged in angle domain and do other analysis like order spectrum.

The Impact of the Assimilation of Hyperspectral Infrared Retrieved Profiles on Advanced Weather and Research Model Simulations of a Non-Convective Wind Event

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brendt. Emily; Zavodsky, Bradley; Jedlovec, Gary; Elmer, Nicholas

2014-01-01

Tropopause folds are identified by warm, dry, high-potential vorticity, ozone-rich air and are one explanation for damaging non-convective wind events. Could improved model representation of stratospheric air and associated tropopause folding improve non-convective wind forecasts and high wind warnings? The goal of this study is to assess the impact of assimilating Hyperspectral Infrared (IR) profiles on forecasting stratospheric air, tropopause folds, and associated non-convective winds: (1) AIRS: Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (2) IASI: Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (3) CrIMSS: Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounding Suite

[Day care and female employment in Mexico: descriptive evidence and policy considerations].

PubMed

Knaul, F; Parker, S

1996-01-01

"This paper analyzes the supply and organization of public day care in Mexico and presents a series of considerations as to the formulation of future policy. The research concentrates on the evolution of public policies to provide day care to working women in the formal sector through the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Data on the evolution of female labor force participation, changes in family structure, the supply of day care and patterns of child care arrangements, suggest that access to formal facilities falls short of demand.... Innovative policies for the reorganization and expansion of the provision of day care are presently under consideration." (EXCERPT)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sreedharan, Priya

The sudden release of toxic contaminants that reach indoor spaces can be hazardousto building occupants. To respond effectively, the contaminant release must be quicklydetected and characterized to determine unobserved parameters, such as release locationand strength. Characterizing the release requires solving an inverse problem. Designinga robust real-time sensor system that solves the inverse problem is challenging becausethe fate and transport of contaminants is complex, sensor information is limited andimperfect, and real-time estimation is computationally constrained.This dissertation uses a system-level approach, based on a Bayes Monte Carloframework, to develop sensor-system design concepts and methods. I describe threeinvestigations that explore complex relationships amongmore » sensors, network architecture,interpretation algorithms, and system performance. The investigations use data obtainedfrom tracer gas experiments conducted in a real building. The influence of individual sensor characteristics on the sensor-system performance for binary-type contaminant sensors is analyzed. Performance tradeoffs among sensor accuracy, threshold level and response time are identified; these attributes could not be inferred without a system-level analysis. For example, more accurate but slower sensors are found to outperform less accurate but faster sensors. Secondly, I investigate how the sensor-system performance can be understood in terms of contaminant transport processes and the model representation that is used to solve the inverse problem. The determination of release location and mass are shown to be related to and constrained by transport and mixing time scales. These time scales explain performance differences among different sensor networks. For example, the effect of longer sensor response times is comparably less for releases with longer mixing time scales. The third investigation explores how information fusion from heterogeneous sensors may improve the sensor-system performance and offset the need for more contaminant sensors. Physics- and algorithm-based frameworks are presented for selecting and fusing information from noncontaminant sensors. The frameworks are demonstrated with door-position sensors, which are found to be more useful in natural airflow conditions, but which cannot compensate for poor placement of contaminant sensors. The concepts and empirical findings have the potential to help in the design of sensor systems for more complex building systems. The research has broader relevance to additional environmental monitoring problems, fault detection and diagnostics, and system design.« less

POF-IMU sensor system: A fusion between inertial measurement units and POF sensors for low-cost and highly reliable systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leal-Junior, Arnaldo G.; Vargas-Valencia, Laura; dos Santos, Wilian M.; Schneider, Felipe B. A.; Siqueira, Adriano A. G.; Pontes, Maria José; Frizera, Anselmo

2018-07-01

This paper presents a low cost and highly reliable system for angle measurement based on a sensor fusion between inertial and fiber optic sensors. The system consists of the sensor fusion through Kalman filter of two inertial measurement units (IMUs) and an intensity variation-based polymer optical fiber (POF) curvature sensor. In addition, the IMU was applied as a reference for a compensation technique of POF curvature sensor hysteresis. The proposed system was applied on the knee angle measurement of a lower limb exoskeleton in flexion/extension cycles and in gait analysis. Results show the accuracy of the system, where the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between the POF-IMU sensor system and the encoder was below 4° in the worst case and about 1° in the best case. Then, the POF-IMU sensor system was evaluated as a wearable sensor for knee joint angle assessment without the exoskeleton, where its suitability for this purpose was demonstrated. The results obtained in this paper pave the way for future applications of sensor fusion between electronic and fiber optic sensors in movement analysis.

Rooftop package unit diagnostician

DOEpatents

Chassin, David P [Pasco, WA; Pratt, Robert G [Kennewick, WA; Reid, Larry Dean [Benton City, WA

2004-08-17

A diagnostic system for an HVAC system includes a number of sensors used to measure the operation of the HVAC system. Sensor readings are measured by timing the delay between when a strobe signal is sent to a sensor and when an interrupt signal from the sensor is received. A device driver used to measure the sensor readings stores the sensor readings in pseudo-character device files, which are universally accessible by different subsystems of the diagnostic system. Based on the readings from these sensors, this diagnostic system is able to determine the operational status of the HVAC system and if an economizer in the HVAC system is operating properly.

Advanced sensor-simulation capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cota, Stephen A.; Kalman, Linda S.; Keller, Robert A.

1990-09-01

This paper provides an overview of an advanced simulation capability currently in use for analyzing visible and infrared sensor systems. The software system, called VISTAS (VISIBLE/INFRARED SENSOR TRADES, ANALYSES, AND SIMULATIONS) combines classical image processing techniques with detailed sensor models to produce static and time dependent simulations of a variety of sensor systems including imaging, tracking, and point target detection systems. Systems modelled to date include space-based scanning line-array sensors as well as staring 2-dimensional array sensors which can be used for either imaging or point source detection.

Fiber Optic Control System Integration program: for optical flight control system development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, Thomas L.; Seal, Daniel W.

1994-10-01

Hardware and software were developed for optical feedback links in the flight control system of an F/A-18 aircraft. Developments included passive optical sensors and optoelectronics to operate the sensors. Sensors with different methods of operation were obtained from different manufacturers and integrated with common optoelectronics. The sensors were the following: Air Data Temperature; Air Data Pressure; and Leading Edge Flap, Nose Wheel Steering, Trailing Edge Flap, Pitch Stick, Rudder, Rudder Pedal, Stabilator, and Engine Power Lever Control Position. The sensors were built for a variety of aircraft locations and harsh environments. The sensors and optoelectronics were as similar as practical to a production system. The integrated system was installed by NASA for flight testing. Wavelength Division Multiplexing proved successful as a system design philosophy. Some sensors appeared to be better choices for aircraft applications than others, with digital sensors generally being better than analog sensors, and rotary sensors generally being better than linear sensors. The most successful sensor approaches were selected for use in a follow-on program in which the sensors will not just be flown on the aircraft and their performance recorded; but, the optical sensors will be used in closing flight control loops.

A Tactile Sensor Network System Using a Multiple Sensor Platform with a Dedicated CMOS-LSI for Robot Applications †

PubMed Central

Shao, Chenzhong; Tanaka, Shuji; Nakayama, Takahiro; Hata, Yoshiyuki; Bartley, Travis; Muroyama, Masanori

2017-01-01

Robot tactile sensation can enhance human–robot communication in terms of safety, reliability and accuracy. The final goal of our project is to widely cover a robot body with a large number of tactile sensors, which has significant advantages such as accurate object recognition, high sensitivity and high redundancy. In this study, we developed a multi-sensor system with dedicated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Large-Scale Integration (LSI) circuit chips (referred to as “sensor platform LSI”) as a framework of a serial bus-based tactile sensor network system. The sensor platform LSI supports three types of sensors: an on-chip temperature sensor, off-chip capacitive and resistive tactile sensors, and communicates with a relay node via a bus line. The multi-sensor system was first constructed on a printed circuit board to evaluate basic functions of the sensor platform LSI, such as capacitance-to-digital and resistance-to-digital conversion. Then, two kinds of external sensors, nine sensors in total, were connected to two sensor platform LSIs, and temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing data were acquired simultaneously. Moreover, we fabricated flexible printed circuit cables to demonstrate the multi-sensor system with 15 sensor platform LSIs operating simultaneously, which showed a more realistic implementation in robots. In conclusion, the multi-sensor system with up to 15 sensor platform LSIs on a bus line supporting temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing was successfully demonstrated. PMID:29061954

A Tactile Sensor Network System Using a Multiple Sensor Platform with a Dedicated CMOS-LSI for Robot Applications.

PubMed

Shao, Chenzhong; Tanaka, Shuji; Nakayama, Takahiro; Hata, Yoshiyuki; Bartley, Travis; Nonomura, Yutaka; Muroyama, Masanori

2017-08-28

Robot tactile sensation can enhance human-robot communication in terms of safety, reliability and accuracy. The final goal of our project is to widely cover a robot body with a large number of tactile sensors, which has significant advantages such as accurate object recognition, high sensitivity and high redundancy. In this study, we developed a multi-sensor system with dedicated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Large-Scale Integration (LSI) circuit chips (referred to as "sensor platform LSI") as a framework of a serial bus-based tactile sensor network system. The sensor platform LSI supports three types of sensors: an on-chip temperature sensor, off-chip capacitive and resistive tactile sensors, and communicates with a relay node via a bus line. The multi-sensor system was first constructed on a printed circuit board to evaluate basic functions of the sensor platform LSI, such as capacitance-to-digital and resistance-to-digital conversion. Then, two kinds of external sensors, nine sensors in total, were connected to two sensor platform LSIs, and temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing data were acquired simultaneously. Moreover, we fabricated flexible printed circuit cables to demonstrate the multi-sensor system with 15 sensor platform LSIs operating simultaneously, which showed a more realistic implementation in robots. In conclusion, the multi-sensor system with up to 15 sensor platform LSIs on a bus line supporting temperature, capacitive and resistive sensing was successfully demonstrated.

Optical fiber sensors: Systems and applications. Volume 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Culshaw, Brian; Dakin, John

State-of-the-art fiber-optic (FO) sensors and their applications are described in chapters contributed by leading experts. Consideration is given to interferometers, FO gyros, intensity- and wavelength-based sensors and optical actuators, Si in FO sensors, point-sensor multiplexing principles, and distributed FO sensor systems. Also examined are chemical, biochemical, and medical sensors; physical and chemical sensors for process control; FO-sensor applications in the marine and aerospace industries; FO-sensor monitoring systems for security and safety, structural integrity, NDE, and the electric-power industry; and the market situation for FO-sensor technology. Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and photographs are provided.

Open architecture of smart sensor suites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Wilmuth; Kuwertz, Achim; Grönwall, Christina; Petersson, Henrik; Dekker, Rob; Reinert, Frank; Ditzel, Maarten

2017-10-01

Experiences from recent conflicts show the strong need for smart sensor suites comprising different multi-spectral imaging sensors as core elements as well as additional non-imaging sensors. Smart sensor suites should be part of a smart sensor network - a network of sensors, databases, evaluation stations and user terminals. Its goal is to optimize the use of various information sources for military operations such as situation assessment, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, target recognition and tracking. Such a smart sensor network will enable commanders to achieve higher levels of situational awareness. Within the study at hand, an open system architecture was developed in order to increase the efficiency of sensor suites. The open system architecture for smart sensor suites, based on a system-of-systems approach, enables combining different sensors in multiple physical configurations, such as distributed sensors, co-located sensors combined in a single package, tower-mounted sensors, sensors integrated in a mobile platform, and trigger sensors. The architecture was derived from a set of system requirements and relevant scenarios. Its mode of operation is adaptable to a series of scenarios with respect to relevant objects of interest, activities to be observed, available transmission bandwidth, etc. The presented open architecture is designed in accordance with the NATO Architecture Framework (NAF). The architecture allows smart sensor suites to be part of a surveillance network, linked e.g. to a sensor planning system and a C4ISR center, and to be used in combination with future RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) for supporting a more flexible dynamic configuration of RPAS payloads.

Multidimensional System Analysis of Electro-Optic Sensors with Sampled Deterministic Output.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-18

System descriptions of scanning and staring electro - optic sensors with sampled output are developed as follows. Functions representing image...to complete the system descriptions. The results should be useful for designing electro - optic sensor systems and correcting data for instrumental...effects and other experimental conditions. Keywords include: Electro - optic system analysis, Scanning sensors, Staring sensors, Spatial sampling, and Temporal sampling.

A Brief Review of the Need for Robust Smart Wireless Sensor Systems for Future Propulsion Systems, Distributed Engine Controls, and Propulsion Health Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Behbahani, Alireza

2012-01-01

Smart Sensor Systems with wireless capability operational in high temperature, harsh environments are a significant component in enabling future propulsion systems to meet a range of increasingly demanding requirements. These propulsion systems must incorporate technology that will monitor engine component conditions, analyze the incoming data, and modify operating parameters to optimize propulsion system operations. This paper discusses the motivation towards the development of high temperature, smart wireless sensor systems that include sensors, electronics, wireless communication, and power. The challenges associated with the use of traditional wired sensor systems will be reviewed and potential advantages of Smart Sensor Systems will be discussed. A brief review of potential applications for wireless smart sensor networks and their potential impact on propulsion system operation, with emphasis on Distributed Engine Control and Propulsion Health Management, will be given. A specific example related to the development of high temperature Smart Sensor Systems based on silicon carbide electronics will be discussed. It is concluded that the development of a range of robust smart wireless sensor systems are a foundation for future development of intelligent propulsion systems with enhanced capabilities.

The CRISPR/Cas Immune System Is an Operon Regulated by LeuO, H-NS, and Leucine-Responsive Regulatory Protein in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi ▿ †

PubMed Central

Medina-Aparicio, L.; Rebollar-Flores, J. E.; Gallego-Hernández, A. L.; Vázquez, A.; Olvera, L.; Gutiérrez-Ríos, R. M.; Calva, E.; Hernández-Lucas, I.

2011-01-01

Prokaryotes have developed multiple strategies to survive phage attack and invasive DNA. Recently, a novel genetic program denominated the CRISPR/Cas system was demonstrated to have a role in these biological processes providing genetic immunity. This defense mechanism is widespread in the Archaea and Bacteria, suggesting an ancient origin. In the last few years, progress has been made regarding the functionality of the CRISPR/Cas system; however, many basic aspects of the system remain unknown. For instance, there are few studies about the conditions and regulators involved in its transcriptional control. In this work, we analyzed the transcriptional organization of the CRISPR/Cas system as well as the positive and negative regulators involved in its genetic expression in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. The results obtained show that in S. Typhi the CRISPR/Cas system is a LeuO-dependent operon silenced by the global regulator LRP, in addition to the previously known nucleoid-associated protein H-NS; both LRP and H-NS bind upstream and downstream of the transcriptional start site of casA. In this study, relevant nucleotides of the casA regulatory region that mediate its LeuO transcriptional activation were identified. Interestingly, specific growth conditions (N-minimal medium) were found for the LeuO-independent expression of the CRISPR/Cas system in S. Typhi. Thus, our work provides evidence that there are multiple modulators involved in the genetic expression of this immune system in S. Typhi IMSS-1. PMID:21398529

[Maternal-infant care as a basic instrument of medical services for the population in developing countries].

PubMed

MacGregor, C; Valdés Durón, J C; Arias Elenes, N; Villafán Sánchez, F

1986-01-01

Among the 18 million persons covered by the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) are 7 million under age 15 and 4.5 million fertile aged women. The strategy of medical attention based on the concept of risk permits the organization of health services to favor the groups most exposed to risk, who are identified and become the target of positive interventions designed to reduce risks. IMSS statistics were analyzed to identify the most frequent risks of the population under 15 and fertile aged women. The main reasons for consultations among children under 1 year were acute respiratory infections, intestinal infections, helminthiasis, bronchitis, and amoebiasis. The reasons were almost the same for older children but the order of importance was slightly altered. The 2 main causes of death of infants under 1 year and children 1-4 were intestinal infections and acute respiratory infections. Division of pregnant women into high risk and low risk categories based on well known risk factors has allowed medical care to be rationalized. High risk cases are seen more frequently. Rates of perinatal illness and death are higher in premature and low birth weight babies, those born following pathological pregnancies, and those experiencing fetal distress at any point. Medical care can modify all of these factors. Follow-up of women not attending appointments and provision of care by paramedical personnel in low risk cases can permit greater attention of the physician to high risk cases and new cases. The head of the clinical department is responsible for the quality of care and the director of the unit is responsible for quantitative aspects of service delivery. The fewest possible instructions should be given for making the risk-based strategy operational. A form with closed questions should be administered to identify risk factors in pregnant women and young children. Efforts should be made to contact a client if an appointment is missed, especially in high risk cases. Indicators should be developed for planning and evaluation. A-5 stage program of diffusion, implantation, consolidation, evaluation, and redirection was designed for IMSS maternal and child health services. The 1st phase was to be completed in 2 months, the next 3 phases would require 12 months each, and redirection would take place in the 4th year. A pilot study was organized in the Maya Peninsular Region to determine whether medical activities organized according to risk factors would improve the initial health profile. 11% of births occurring from January-September 1984 were analyzed. Rates of perinatal mortality and prematurity declined with increasing number of prenatal visits for both high risk and low risk populations. Through January 1985, only the subprogram for women had been implanted. It was expected to be consolidated in 1985 and evaluated in 1986. The child health program is expected to be implanted in 1985.

Sensor Webs as Virtual Data Systems for Earth Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moe, K. L.; Sherwood, R.

2008-05-01

The NASA Earth Science Technology Office established a 3-year Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) development program in late 2006 to explore the technical challenges associated with integrating sensors, sensor networks, data assimilation and modeling components into virtual data systems called "sensor webs". The AIST sensor web program was initiated in response to a renewed emphasis on the sensor web concepts. In 2004, NASA proposed an Earth science vision for a more robust Earth observing system, coupled with remote sensing data analysis tools and advances in Earth system models. The AIST program is conducting the research and developing components to explore the technology infrastructure that will enable the visionary goals. A working statement for a NASA Earth science sensor web vision is the following: On-demand sensing of a broad array of environmental and ecological phenomena across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, from a heterogeneous suite of sensors both in-situ and in orbit. Sensor webs will be dynamically organized to collect data, extract information from it, accept input from other sensor / forecast / tasking systems, interact with the environment based on what they detect or are tasked to perform, and communicate observations and results in real time. The focus on sensor webs is to develop the technology and prototypes to demonstrate the evolving sensor web capabilities. There are 35 AIST projects ranging from 1 to 3 years in duration addressing various aspects of sensor webs involving space sensors such as Earth Observing-1, in situ sensor networks such as the southern California earthquake network, and various modeling and forecasting systems. Some of these projects build on proof-of-concept demonstrations of sensor web capabilities like the EO-1 rapid fire response initially implemented in 2003. Other projects simulate future sensor web configurations to evaluate the effectiveness of sensor-model interactions for producing improved science predictions. Still other projects are maturing technology to support autonomous operations, communications and system interoperability. This paper will highlight lessons learned by various projects during the first half of the AIST program. Several sensor web demonstrations have been implemented and resulting experience with evolving standards, such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) among others, will be featured. The role of sensor webs in support of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations' Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) will also be discussed. The GEOSS vision is a distributed system of systems that builds on international components to supply observing and processing systems that are, in the whole, comprehensive, coordinated and sustained. Sensor web prototypes are under development to demonstrate how remote sensing satellite data, in situ sensor networks and decision support systems collaborate in applications of interest to GEO, such as flood monitoring. Furthermore, the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) has stepped up to the challenge to provide the space-based systems component for GEOSS. CEOS has proposed "virtual constellations" to address emerging data gaps in environmental monitoring, avoid overlap among observing systems, and make maximum use of existing space and ground assets. Exploratory applications that support the objectives of virtual constellations will also be discussed as a future role for sensor webs.

Distributed sensor coordination for advanced energy systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tumer, Kagan

Motivation: The ability to collect key system level information is critical to the safe, efficient and reliable operation of advanced power systems. Recent advances in sensor technology have enabled some level of decision making directly at the sensor level. However, coordinating large numbers of sensors, particularly heterogeneous sensors, to achieve system level objectives such as predicting plant efficiency, reducing downtime or predicting outages requires sophisticated coordination algorithms. Indeed, a critical issue in such systems is how to ensure the interaction of a large number of heterogenous system components do not interfere with one another and lead to undesirable behavior. Objectivesmore » and Contributions: The long-term objective of this work is to provide sensor deployment, coordination and networking algorithms for large numbers of sensors to ensure the safe, reliable, and robust operation of advanced energy systems. Our two specific objectives are to: 1. Derive sensor performance metrics for heterogeneous sensor networks. 2. Demonstrate effectiveness, scalability and reconfigurability of heterogeneous sensor network in advanced power systems. The key technical contribution of this work is to push the coordination step to the design of the objective functions of the sensors, allowing networks of heterogeneous sensors to be controlled. By ensuring that the control and coordination is not specific to particular sensor hardware, this approach enables the design and operation of large heterogeneous sensor networks. In addition to the coordination coordination mechanism, this approach allows the system to be reconfigured in response to changing needs (e.g., sudden external events requiring new responses) or changing sensor network characteristics (e.g., sudden changes to plant condition). Impact: The impact of this work extends to a large class of problems relevant to the National Energy Technology Laboratory including sensor placement, heterogeneous sensor coordination, and sensor network control in advanced power systems. Each application has specific needs, but they all share the one crucial underlying problem: how to ensure that the interactions of a large number of heterogenous agents lead to coordinated system behavior. This proposal describes a new paradigm that addresses that very issue in a systematic way. Key Results and Findings: All milestones have been completed. Our results demonstrate that by properly shaping agent objective functions, we can develop large (up to 10,000 devices) heterogeneous sensor networks with key desirable properties. The first milestone shows that properly choosing agent-specific objective functions increases system performance by up to 99.9% compared to global evaluations. The second milestone shows evolutionary algorithms learn excellent sensor network coordination policies prior to network deployment, and these policies can be refined online once the network is deployed. The third milestone shows the resulting sensor networks networks are extremely robust to sensor noise, where networks with up to 25% sensor noise are capable of providing measurements with errors on the order of 10⁻³. The fourth milestone shows the resulting sensor networks are extremely robust to sensor failure, with 25% of the sensors in the system failing resulting in no significant performance losses after system reconfiguration.« less

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

Smart Sensor Systems for Aerospace Applications: From Sensor Development to Application Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, G. W.; Xu, J. C.; Dungan, L. K.; Ward, B. J.; Rowe, S.; Williams, J.; Makel, D. B.; Liu, C. C.; Chang, C. W.

2008-01-01

The application of Smart Sensor Systems for aerospace applications is a multidisciplinary process consisting of sensor element development, element integration into Smart Sensor hardware, and testing of the resulting sensor systems in application environments. This paper provides a cross-section of these activities for multiple aerospace applications illustrating the technology challenges involved. The development and application testing topics discussed are: 1) The broadening of sensitivity and operational range of silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky gas sensor elements; 2) Integration of fire detection sensor technology into a "Lick and Stick" Smart Sensor hardware platform for Crew Exploration Vehicle applications; 3) Extended testing for zirconia based oxygen sensors in the basic "Lick and Stick" platform for environmental monitoring applications. It is concluded that that both core sensor platform technology and a basic hardware platform can enhance the viability of implementing smart sensor systems in aerospace applications.

Individually Identifiable Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors, Tags and Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hines, Jacqueline H. (Inventor); Solie, Leland P. (Inventor); Tucker, Dana Y. G. (Inventor); Hines, Andrew T. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A surface-launched acoustic wave sensor tag system for remotely sensing and/or providing identification information using sets of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor tag devices is characterized by acoustic wave device embodiments that include coding and other diversity techniques to produce groups of sensors that interact minimally, reducing or alleviating code collision problems typical of prior art coded SAW sensors and tags, and specific device embodiments of said coded SAW sensor tags and systems. These sensor/tag devices operate in a system which consists of one or more uniquely identifiable sensor/tag devices and a wireless interrogator. The sensor device incorporates an antenna for receiving incident RF energy and re-radiating the tag identification information and the sensor measured parameter(s). Since there is no power source in or connected to the sensor, it is a passive sensor. The device is wirelessly interrogated by the interrogator.

Microfabricated Hydrogen Sensor Technology for Aerospace and Commercial Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Bickford, R. L.; Jansa, E. D.; Makel, D. B.; Liu, C. C.; Wu, Q. H.; Powers, W. T.

1994-01-01

Leaks on the Space Shuttle while on the Launch Pad have generated interest in hydrogen leak monitoring technology. An effective leak monitoring system requires reliable hydrogen sensors, hardware, and software to monitor the sensors. The system should process the sensor outputs and provide real-time leak monitoring information to the operator. This paper discusses the progress in developing such a complete leak monitoring system. Advanced microfabricated hydrogen sensors are being fabricated at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and tested at NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) and Gencorp Aerojet (Aerojet). Changes in the hydrogen concentrations are detected using a PdAg on silicon Schottky diode structure. Sensor temperature control is achieved with a temperature sensor and heater fabricated onto the sensor chip. Results of the characterization of these sensors are presented. These sensors can detect low concentrations of hydrogen in inert environments with high sensitivity and quick response time. Aerojet is developing the hardware and software for a multipoint leak monitoring system designed to provide leak source and magnitude information in real time. The monitoring system processes data from the hydrogen sensors and presents the operator with a visual indication of the leak location and magnitude. Work has commenced on integrating the NASA LeRC-CWRU hydrogen sensors with the Aerojet designed monitoring system. Although the leak monitoring system was designed for hydrogen propulsion systems, the possible applications of this monitoring system are wide ranged. Possible commercialization of the system will also be discussed.

Sensor fusion display evaluation using information integration models in enhanced/synthetic vision applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foyle, David C.

1993-01-01

Based on existing integration models in the psychological literature, an evaluation framework is developed to assess sensor fusion displays as might be implemented in an enhanced/synthetic vision system. The proposed evaluation framework for evaluating the operator's ability to use such systems is a normative approach: The pilot's performance with the sensor fusion image is compared to models' predictions based on the pilot's performance when viewing the original component sensor images prior to fusion. This allows for the determination as to when a sensor fusion system leads to: poorer performance than one of the original sensor displays, clearly an undesirable system in which the fused sensor system causes some distortion or interference; better performance than with either single sensor system alone, but at a sub-optimal level compared to model predictions; optimal performance compared to model predictions; or, super-optimal performance, which may occur if the operator were able to use some highly diagnostic 'emergent features' in the sensor fusion display, which were unavailable in the original sensor displays.

Disbonding effects on elastic wave generation and reception by bonded piezoelectric sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackshire, James L.; Martin, Steven A.; Na, Jeong K.

2007-04-01

Durable integrated sensor systems are needed for long-term health monitoring evaluations of aerospace systems. For legacy aircraft the primary means of implementing a sensor system will be through surface mounting or bonding of the sensors to the structure. Previous work has shown that the performance of surface-bonded piezo sensors can degrade due to environmental effects such as vibrations, temperature fluctuations, and substrate flexure motions. This performance degradation included sensor cracking, disbonding, and general loss of efficiency over time. In this research effort, the bonding state of a piezo sensor system was systematically studied to understand and improve the long-term durability and survivability of the sensor system. Analytic and computational models were developed and used to understand elastic wave generation and reception performance for various states of sensor disbond. Experimental studies were also conducted using scanning laser vibrometry, pitch-catch ultrasound, and pulse-echo ultrasound methods to understand elastic wave propagation effects in thin plate materials. Significant performance loss was observed for increasing levels of sensor disbond as well as characteristic frequency signatures which may be useful in understanding sensor performance levels for future structural health monitoring systems.

Integrated active sensor system for real time vibration monitoring.

PubMed

Liang, Qijie; Yan, Xiaoqin; Liao, Xinqin; Cao, Shiyao; Lu, Shengnan; Zheng, Xin; Zhang, Yue

2015-11-05

We report a self-powered, lightweight and cost-effective active sensor system for vibration monitoring with multiplexed operation based on contact electrification between sensor and detected objects. The as-fabricated sensor matrix is capable of monitoring and mapping the vibration state of large amounts of units. The monitoring contents include: on-off state, vibration frequency and vibration amplitude of each unit. The active sensor system delivers a detection range of 0-60 Hz, high accuracy (relative error below 0.42%), long-term stability (10000 cycles). On the time dimension, the sensor can provide the vibration process memory by recording the outputs of the sensor system in an extend period of time. Besides, the developed sensor system can realize detection under contact mode and non-contact mode. Its high performance is not sensitive to the shape or the conductivity of the detected object. With these features, the active sensor system has great potential in automatic control, remote operation, surveillance and security systems.

Integrated active sensor system for real time vibration monitoring

PubMed Central

Liang, Qijie; Yan, Xiaoqin; Liao, Xinqin; Cao, Shiyao; Lu, Shengnan; Zheng, Xin; Zhang, Yue

2015-01-01

We report a self-powered, lightweight and cost-effective active sensor system for vibration monitoring with multiplexed operation based on contact electrification between sensor and detected objects. The as-fabricated sensor matrix is capable of monitoring and mapping the vibration state of large amounts of units. The monitoring contents include: on-off state, vibration frequency and vibration amplitude of each unit. The active sensor system delivers a detection range of 0–60 Hz, high accuracy (relative error below 0.42%), long-term stability (10000 cycles). On the time dimension, the sensor can provide the vibration process memory by recording the outputs of the sensor system in an extend period of time. Besides, the developed sensor system can realize detection under contact mode and non-contact mode. Its high performance is not sensitive to the shape or the conductivity of the detected object. With these features, the active sensor system has great potential in automatic control, remote operation, surveillance and security systems. PMID:26538293

Development of Microbiota in Infants and its Role in Maturation of Gut Mucosa and Immune System.

PubMed

Ximenez, Cecilia; Torres, Javier

2017-11-01

Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been associated with increasing numbers of diseases, including obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, allergy, cancer and even neurologic or behavioral disorders. The other side of the coin is that a healthy microbiota leads to a healthy human development, to a mature and well trained immune system and to an efficient metabolic machinery. What we have learned in adults is in the end the result of a good start, a programmed, healthy development of the microbiota that must occur in the early years of life, probably even starting during the fetal stage. This review aims to present and discuss reports that helps us understand what we have learned of the development of microbiota during the early times of life, from pregnancy to delivery to the early years after birth. The impact of the establishment of "healthy" bacterial communities on human surfaces in the maturation of epithelia, immune system and metabolism will also be discussed. The right process of maturation of the bacterial communities that establish a symbiosis with human surfaces depends on a number of environmental, genetic and temporal factors that need to be understand in order to have tools to monitor a healthy development and eventually intervene to correct undesired courses. Copyright © 2017 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A fabric wrist patch sensor for continuous and comprehensive monitoring of the cardiovascular system.

PubMed

Kwonjoon Lee; Kiseok Song; Taehwan Roh; Hoi-Jun Yoo

2016-08-01

The wrist patch-type ECG/APW sensor system is proposed for continuous and comprehensive monitoring of the patient's cardiovascular system. The wrist patch-type ECG/APW sensor system is consists of ECG/APW sensor, ECG/APW electrodes, and base station for real-time monitoring of the patient's status. The ECG/APW sensor and electrodes are composed of wrist patch, bandage-type ECG electrode and fabric APW electrode, respectively so that the patient's cardiovascular system can be continuously monitored in daily life with free hand-movement. Since the proposed wrist patchtype ECG/APW sensor simultaneously measures ECG/APW, the cardiac indicators, such as HR and PAT, can be extracted for comprehensive and accurate monitoring of the patient's cardiovascular system. The proposed wrist patch-type ECG/APW sensor system is successfully verified using the commercial PPG sensor (RP520) and demonstrated with the customized Android application on the smart phone.

An Interoperable Architecture for Air Pollution Early Warning System Based on Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samadzadegan, F.; Zahmatkesh, H.; Saber, M.; Ghazi khanlou, H. J.

2013-09-01

Environmental monitoring systems deal with time-sensitive issues which require quick responses in emergency situations. Handling the sensor observations in near real-time and obtaining valuable information is challenging issues in these systems from a technical and scientific point of view. The ever-increasing population growth in urban areas has caused certain problems in developing countries, which has direct or indirect impact on human life. One of applicable solution for controlling and managing air quality by considering real time and update air quality information gathered by spatially distributed sensors in mega cities, using sensor web technology for developing monitoring and early warning systems. Urban air quality monitoring systems using functionalities of geospatial information system as a platform for analysing, processing, and visualization of data in combination with Sensor Web for supporting decision support systems in disaster management and emergency situations. This system uses Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), which offers a standard framework that allows the integration of sensors and sensor data into spatial data infrastructures. SWE framework introduces standards for services to access sensor data and discover events from sensor data streams as well as definition set of standards for the description of sensors and the encoding of measurements. The presented system provides capabilities to collect, transfer, share, process air quality sensor data and disseminate air quality status in real-time. It is possible to overcome interoperability challenges by using standard framework. In a routine scenario, air quality data measured by in-situ sensors are communicated to central station where data is analysed and processed. The extracted air quality status is processed for discovering emergency situations, and if necessary air quality reports are sent to the authorities. This research proposed an architecture to represent how integrate air quality sensor data stream into geospatial data infrastructure to present an interoperable air quality monitoring system for supporting disaster management systems by real time information. Developed system tested on Tehran air pollution sensors for calculating Air Quality Index (AQI) for CO pollutant and subsequently notifying registered users in emergency cases by sending warning E-mails. Air quality monitoring portal used to retrieving and visualize sensor observation through interoperable framework. This system provides capabilities to retrieve SOS observation using WPS in a cascaded service chaining pattern for monitoring trend of timely sensor observation.

Real-Time Sensor Validation System Developed for Reusable Launch Vehicle Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jankovsky, Amy L.

1997-01-01

A real-time system for validating sensor health has been developed for the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) program. This system, which is part of the propulsion checkout and control system (PCCS), was designed for use in an integrated propulsion technology demonstrator testbed built by Rockwell International and located at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Work on the sensor health validation system, a result of an industry-NASA partnership, was completed at the NASA Lewis Research Center, then delivered to Marshall for integration and testing. The sensor validation software performs three basic functions: it identifies failed sensors, it provides reconstructed signals for failed sensors, and it identifies off-nominal system transient behavior that cannot be attributed to a failed sensor. The code is initiated by host software before the start of a propulsion system test, and it is called by the host program every control cycle. The output is posted to global memory for use by other PCCS modules. Output includes a list indicating the status of each sensor (i.e., failed, healthy, or reconstructed) and a list of features that are not due to a sensor failure. If a sensor failure is found, the system modifies that sensor's data array by substituting a reconstructed signal, when possible, for use by other PCCS modules.

Fiber optical sensor system for shape and haptics for flexible instruments in minimally invasive surgery: overview and status quo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ledermann, Christoph; Pauer, Hendrikje; Woern, Heinz

2014-05-01

In minimally invasive surgery, exible mechatronic instruments promise to improve the overall performance of surgical interventions. However, those instruments require highly developed sensors in order to provide haptic feedback to the surgeon or to enable (semi-)autonomous tasks. Precisely, haptic sensors and a shape sensor are required. In this paper, we present our ber optical sensor system of Fiber Bragg Gratings, which consists of a shape sensor, a kinesthetic sensor and a tactile sensor. The status quo of each of the three sensors is described, as well as the concept to integrate them into one ber optical sensor system.

Electron beam diagnostic system using computed tomography and an annular sensor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elmer, John W.; Teruya, Alan T.

2015-08-11

A system for analyzing an electron beam including a circular electron beam diagnostic sensor adapted to receive the electron beam, the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor having a central axis; an annular sensor structure operatively connected to the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor, wherein the sensor structure receives the electron beam; a system for sweeping the electron beam radially outward from the central axis of the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor to the annular sensor structure wherein the electron beam is intercepted by the annular sensor structure; and a device for measuring the electron beam that is intercepted by themore » annular sensor structure.« less

Electron beam diagnostic system using computed tomography and an annular sensor

DOEpatents

Elmer, John W.; Teruya, Alan T.

2014-07-29

A system for analyzing an electron beam including a circular electron beam diagnostic sensor adapted to receive the electron beam, the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor having a central axis; an annular sensor structure operatively connected to the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor, wherein the sensor structure receives the electron beam; a system for sweeping the electron beam radially outward from the central axis of the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor to the annular sensor structure wherein the electron beam is intercepted by the annular sensor structure; and a device for measuring the electron beam that is intercepted by the annular sensor structure.

Virulence of Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites. Effects of bacteria, microaerobic conditions, and metronidazole

PubMed Central

1984-01-01

The association of axenically grown trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica strains HK-9 or HM-1:IMSS with various types of gram- negative bacteria for relatively short periods markedly increased their virulence, as evidenced by their ability to destroy monolayers of tissue-cultured cells. Interaction of trophozoites with bacteria that were heat inactivated, glutaraldehyde fixed, or disrupted by sonication, or bacteria treated with inhibitors of protein synthesis, did not augment amebic virulence. Lethally irradiated bacteria, however, retained their stimulative properties and trophozoites that ingested bacteria were protected from the toxic effects of added hydrogen peroxide. An increase in virulent properties of amebae was also found in experiments carried out under microaerobic conditions (5% O2, 10% CO2). The augmentation of amebic virulence due to association with bacteria was specifically blocked by metronidazole, but not by tetracycline or aminoglycosides, and the rate of metronidazole uptake in stimulated trophozoites was two to three times higher. The results obtained suggest that virulence of axenically grown E. histolytica trophozoites may depend to a considerable extent on the cell's reducing power. Both microaerobic conditions and the association with bacteria apparently stimulate the electron transport system of the ameba. Bacteria may function as broad range scavengers for oxidized molecules and metabolites through the contribution of enzymatic systems, components, or products. PMID:6088660

Cyclodextrins, blood-brain barrier, and treatment of neurological diseases.

PubMed

Vecsernyés, Miklós; Fenyvesi, Ferenc; Bácskay, Ildikó; Deli, Mária A; Szente, Lajos; Fenyvesi, Éva

2014-11-01

Biological barriers are the main defense systems of the homeostasis of the organism and protected organs. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), formed by the endothelial cells of brain capillaries, not only provides nutrients and protection to the central nervous system but also restricts the entry of drugs, emphasizing its importance in the treatment of neurological diseases. Cyclodextrins are increasingly used in human pharmacotherapy. Due to their favorable profile to form hydrophilic inclusion complexes with poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients, they are present as excipients in many marketed drugs. Application of cyclodextrins is widespread in formulations for oral, parenteral, nasal, pulmonary, and skin delivery of drugs. Experimental and clinical data suggest that cyclodextrins can be used not only as excipients for centrally acting marketed drugs like antiepileptics, but also as active pharmaceutical ingredients to treat neurological diseases. Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin received orphan drug designation for the treatment of Niemann-Pick type C disease. In addition to this rare lysosomal storage disease with neurological symptoms, experimental research revealed the potential therapeutic use of cyclodextrins and cyclodextrin nanoparticles in neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, neuroinfections and brain tumors. In this context, the biological effects of cyclodextrins, their interaction with plasma membranes and extraction of different lipids are highly relevant at the level of the BBB. Copyright © 2015 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of wireless sensor network for landslide monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suryadi; Puranto, Prabowo; Adinanta, Hendra; Tohari, Adrin; Priambodo, Purnomo S.

2017-05-01

A wireless sensor network has been developed to monitor soil movement of some observed areas periodically. The system consists of four nodes and one gateway which installed on a scope area of 0.2 Km2. Each of nodehastwo types of sensor,an inclinometer and an extensometer. An inclinometer sensor is used to measure the tilt of a structure while anextensometer sensor is used to measure the displacement of soil movement. Each of nodeisalso supported by awireless communication device, a solar power supply unit, and a microcontroller unit called sensor module. In this system, there is also gateway module as a main communication system consistinga wireless communication device, power supply unit, and rain gauge to measure the rainfall intensity of the observed area. Each sensor of inclinometer and extensometer isconnected to the sensor module in wiring system but sensor module iscommunicating with gateway in a wireless system. Those four nodes are alsoconnectedeach other in a wireless system collecting the data from inclinometer and extensometer sensors. Module Gateway istransmitting the instruction code to each sensor module one by one and collecting the data from them. Gateway module is an important part to communicate with not only sensor modules but also to the server. This wireless system wasdesigned toreducethe electric consumption powered by 80 WP solar panel and 55Ah battery. This system has been implemented in Pangalengan, Bandung, which has high intensity of rainfall and it can be seen on the website.

The application of micromachined sensors to manned space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bordano, Aldo; Havey, Gary; Wald, Jerry; Nasr, Hatem

1993-01-01

Micromachined sensors promise significant system advantages to manned space vehicles. Vehicle Health Monitoring (VHM) is a critical need for most future space systems. Micromachined sensors play a significant role in advancing the application of VHM in future space vehicles. This paper addresses the requirements that future VHM systems place on micromachined sensors such as: system integration, performance, size, weight, power, redundancy, reliability and fault tolerance. Current uses of micromachined sensors in commercial, military and space systems are used to document advantages that are gained and lessons learned. Based on these successes, the future use of micromachined sensors in space programs is discussed in terms of future directions and issues that need to be addressed such as how commercial and military sensors can meet future space system requirements.

Development of an instrumentation system for measurement of degradation of lubricating oil using optical fiber sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laskar, S.; Bordoloi, S.

2016-01-01

This paper presents an instrumentation system to measure the degradation in lubricating oil using a bare, tapered and bent multi-mode optical fiber (BTBMOF) sensor probe and a temperature probe. The sensor system consists of (i) a bare, tapered and bent multi-mode optical fiber (BTBMOF) as optical sensor along with a laser source and a LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) as detector (ii) a temperature sensor (iii) a ATmega microcontroller based data acquisition system and (iv) a trained ANN for processing and calibration. The BTBMOF sensor and the temperature sensor are used to provide the measure of refractive index (RI) and the temperature of a lubricating oil sample. A microcontroller based instrumentation system with trained ANN algorithm has been developed to determine the degradation of the lubricating oil sample by sampling the readings of the optical fiber sensor, and the temperature sensor.

Development of Sic Gas Sensor Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, G. W.; Neudeck, P. G.; Okojie, R. S.; Beheim, G. M.; Thomas, V.; Chen, L.; Lukco, D.; Liu, C. C.; Ward, B.; Makel, D.

2002-01-01

Silicon carbide (SiC) based gas sensors have significant potential to address the gas sensing needs of aerospace applications such as emission monitoring, fuel leak detection, and fire detection. However, in order to reach that potential, a range of technical challenges must be overcome. These challenges go beyond the development of the basic sensor itself and include the need for viable enabling technologies to make a complete gas sensor system: electrical contacts, packaging, and transfer of information from the sensor to the outside world. This paper reviews the status at NASA Glenn Research Center of SiC Schottky diode gas sensor development as well as that of enabling technologies supporting SiC gas sensor system implementation. A vision of a complete high temperature microfabricated SiC gas sensor system is proposed. In the long-term, it is believed that improvements in the SiC semiconductor material itself could have a dramatic effect on the performance of SiC gas sensor systems.

Sense, decide, act, communicate (SDAC): next generation of smart sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, Nina; Davis, Jesse; Ko, Teresa H.; Kyker, Ron; Pate, Ron; Stark, Doug; Stinnett, Regan; Baker, James; Cushner, Adam; Van Dyke, Colin; Kyckelhahn, Brian

2004-09-01

The recent war on terrorism and increased urban warfare has been a major catalysis for increased interest in the development of disposable unattended wireless ground sensors. While the application of these sensors to hostile domains has been generally governed by specific tasks, this research explores a unique paradigm capitalizing on the fundamental functionality related to sensor systems. This functionality includes a sensors ability to Sense - multi-modal sensing of environmental events, Decide - smart analysis of sensor data, Act - response to environmental events, and Communication - internal to system and external to humans (SDAC). The main concept behind SDAC sensor systems is to integrate the hardware, software, and networking to generate 'knowledge and not just data'. This research explores the usage of wireless SDAC units to collectively make up a sensor system capable of persistent, adaptive, and autonomous behavior. These systems are base on the evaluation of scenarios and existing systems covering various domains. This paper presents a promising view of sensor network characteristics, which will eventually yield smart (intelligent collectives) network arrays of SDAC sensing units generally applicable to multiple related domains. This paper will also discuss and evaluate the demonstration system developed to test the concepts related to SDAC systems.

Characterization Test Report for the Mnemonics-UCS Wireless Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, Joshua J.; Youngquist, Robert C.

2013-01-01

The scope of this testing includes the Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor System delivered to KSC: two interrogator (transceiver) systems, four temperature sensors, with wooden mounting blocks, two antennas, two power supplies, network cables, and analysis software. Also included are a number of additional temperature sensors and newly-developed hydrogen sensors

A civil structural monitoring system based on fiber grating sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan; Cai, Haiwen; Pastore, Robert; Ju, Jing; Zeng, Debing; Yin, Zhifan; Cui, Hong-Liang

2003-08-01

Optical fiber sensors based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology have found many applications in the area of civil structural monitoring systems, such as in bridge monitoring and maintenance. FBG sensors can measure the deformation, overload and cracks on bridge with a high sensitivity. In this paper we report on our recent work a structural monitoring system using FBG sensors. Basic theoretical background and design of the system is described here, including the light source, FBG sensors, demodulator sensors, signal detection and processing schemes. The system will be installed on a major arch bridge currently under construction in Shanghai, China for long-term in situ health monitoring. The system schematic arrangement on the bridge is introduced in brief. Simulation experiments in the laboratory were carried out to test the performance of FBG strain sensors. The sensor response shows excellent linearity against the strain imposed on it. Traffic and overload monitoring on bridge using FBG sensors is also discussed and planned for the near future.

New virtual sonar and wireless sensor system concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houston, B. H.; Bucaro, J. A.; Romano, A. J.

2004-05-01

Recently, exciting new sensor array concepts have been proposed which, if realized, could revolutionize how we approach surface mounted acoustic sensor systems for underwater vehicles. Two such schemes are so-called ``virtual sonar'' which is formulated around Helmholtz integral processing and ``wireless'' systems which transfer sensor information through radiated RF signals. The ``virtual sonar'' concept provides an interesting framework through which to combat the dilatory effects of the structure on surface mounted sensor systems including structure-borne vibration and variations in structure-backing impedance. The ``wireless'' concept would eliminate the necessity of a complex wiring or fiber-optic external network while minimizing vehicle penetrations. Such systems, however, would require a number of advances in sensor and RF waveguide technologies. In this presentation, we will discuss those sensor and sensor-related developments which are desired or required in order to make practical such new sensor system concepts, and we will present several underwater applications from the perspective of exploiting these new sonar concepts. [Work supported by ONR.

Continued Development of Compact Multi-Gas Monitor for Life Support Systems Control in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado-Alonso, Jesus; Phillips, Straun; Berry, David; DiCarmine, Paul; Chullen, Cinda; Quinn, Gregory

2016-01-01

Miniature optical gas sensors based on luminescent materials have shown great potential as alternatives to NIR-based gas sensor systems for the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). The unique capability of luminescent sensors for carbon dioxide and oxygen monitoring under wet conditions has been reported, as has the fast recovery of humidity sensors after long periods of being wet. Lower volume and power requirements are also potential advantages over both traditional and advanced non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) gas sensors, which have so far shown longer life than luminescent sensors. In this paper we present the most recent results in the development and analytical validation of a compact multi-gas sensor unit based on luminescent sensors for the PLSS. Results of extensive testing are presented, including studies conducted in Intelligent Optical Systems laboratories, a United Technologies Corporation Aerospace Systems (UTC) laboratory, and a Johnson Space Center laboratory. The potential of this sensor technology for gas monitoring in PLSSs and other life support systems, and the advantages and limitations found through detailed sensor validation are discussed.

Airborne net-centric multi-INT sensor control, display, fusion, and exploitation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linne von Berg, Dale C.; Lee, John N.; Kruer, Melvin R.; Duncan, Michael D.; Olchowski, Fred M.; Allman, Eric; Howard, Grant

2004-08-01

The NRL Optical Sciences Division has initiated a multi-year effort to develop and demonstrate an airborne net-centric suite of multi-intelligence (multi-INT) sensors and exploitation systems for real-time target detection and targeting product dissemination. The goal of this Net-centric Multi-Intelligence Fusion Targeting Initiative (NCMIFTI) is to develop an airborne real-time intelligence gathering and targeting system that can be used to detect concealed, camouflaged, and mobile targets. The multi-INT sensor suite will include high-resolution visible/infrared (EO/IR) dual-band cameras, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors in the visible-to-near infrared, short-wave and long-wave infrared (VNIR/SWIR/LWIR) bands, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), electronics intelligence sensors (ELINT), and off-board networked sensors. Other sensors are also being considered for inclusion in the suite to address unique target detection needs. Integrating a suite of multi-INT sensors on a single platform should optimize real-time fusion of the on-board sensor streams, thereby improving the detection probability and reducing the false alarms that occur in reconnaissance systems that use single-sensor types on separate platforms, or that use independent target detection algorithms on multiple sensors. In addition to the integration and fusion of the multi-INT sensors, the effort is establishing an open-systems net-centric architecture that will provide a modular "plug and play" capability for additional sensors and system components and provide distributed connectivity to multiple sites for remote system control and exploitation.

Ontological Problem-Solving Framework for Dynamically Configuring Sensor Systems and Algorithms

PubMed Central

Qualls, Joseph; Russomanno, David J.

2011-01-01

The deployment of ubiquitous sensor systems and algorithms has led to many challenges, such as matching sensor systems to compatible algorithms which are capable of satisfying a task. Compounding the challenges is the lack of the requisite knowledge models needed to discover sensors and algorithms and to subsequently integrate their capabilities to satisfy a specific task. A novel ontological problem-solving framework has been designed to match sensors to compatible algorithms to form synthesized systems, which are capable of satisfying a task and then assigning the synthesized systems to high-level missions. The approach designed for the ontological problem-solving framework has been instantiated in the context of a persistence surveillance prototype environment, which includes profiling sensor systems and algorithms to demonstrate proof-of-concept principles. Even though the problem-solving approach was instantiated with profiling sensor systems and algorithms, the ontological framework may be useful with other heterogeneous sensing-system environments. PMID:22163793

Chemiresistive Graphene Sensors for Ammonia Detection.

PubMed

Mackin, Charles; Schroeder, Vera; Zurutuza, Amaia; Su, Cong; Kong, Jing; Swager, Timothy M; Palacios, Tomás

2018-05-09

The primary objective of this work is to demonstrate a novel sensor system as a convenient vehicle for scaled-up repeatability and the kinetic analysis of a pixelated testbed. This work presents a sensor system capable of measuring hundreds of functionalized graphene sensors in a rapid and convenient fashion. The sensor system makes use of a novel array architecture requiring only one sensor per pixel and no selector transistor. The sensor system is employed specifically for the evaluation of Co(tpfpp)ClO 4 functionalization of graphene sensors for the detection of ammonia as an extension of previous work. Co(tpfpp)ClO 4 treated graphene sensors were found to provide 4-fold increased ammonia sensitivity over pristine graphene sensors. Sensors were also found to exhibit excellent selectivity over interfering compounds such as water and common organic solvents. The ability to monitor a large sensor array with 160 pixels provides insights into performance variations and reproducibility-critical factors in the development of practical sensor systems. All sensors exhibit the same linearly related responses with variations in response exhibiting Gaussian distributions, a key finding for variation modeling and quality engineering purposes. The mean correlation coefficient between sensor responses was found to be 0.999 indicating highly consistent sensor responses and excellent reproducibility of Co(tpfpp)ClO 4 functionalization. A detailed kinetic model is developed to describe sensor response profiles. The model consists of two adsorption mechanisms-one reversible and one irreversible-and is shown capable of fitting experimental data with a mean percent error of 0.01%.

Operation of remote mobile sensors for security of drinking water distribution systems.

PubMed

Perelman, By Lina; Ostfeld, Avi

2013-09-01

The deployment of fixed online water quality sensors in water distribution systems has been recognized as one of the key components of contamination warning systems for securing public health. This study proposes to explore how the inclusion of mobile sensors for inline monitoring of various water quality parameters (e.g., residual chlorine, pH) can enhance water distribution system security. Mobile sensors equipped with sampling, sensing, data acquisition, wireless transmission and power generation systems are being designed, fabricated, and tested, and prototypes are expected to be released in the very near future. This study initiates the development of a theoretical framework for modeling mobile sensor movement in water distribution systems and integrating the sensory data collected from stationary and non-stationary sensor nodes to increase system security. The methodology is applied and demonstrated on two benchmark networks. Performance of different sensor network designs are compared for fixed and combined fixed and mobile sensor networks. Results indicate that complementing online sensor networks with inline monitoring can increase detection likelihood and decrease mean time to detection. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MAGID-II: a next-generation magnetic unattended ground sensor (UGS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, Paul A.; Mauriello, Fred; Huber, Philip

2012-06-01

A next generation magnetic sensor is being developed at L-3 Communications, Communication Systems East to enhance the ability of Army and Marine Corps unattended ground sensor (UGS) systems to detect and track targets on the battlefield. This paper describes a magnetic sensor that provides superior detection range for both armed personnel and vehicle targets, at a reduced size, weight, and level of power consumption (SWAP) over currently available magnetic sensors. The design integrates the proven technology of a flux gate magnetometer combined with advanced digital signal processing algorithms to provide the warfighter with a rapidly deployable, extremely low false-alarm-rate sensor. This new sensor improves on currently available magnetic UGS systems by providing not only target detection and direction information, but also a magnetic disturbance readout, indicating the size of the target. The sensor integrates with Government Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) systems such as the United States Army's Battlefield Anti-Intrusion System (BAIS) and the United States Marine Corps Tactical Remote Sensor System (TRSS). The system has undergone testing by the US Marine Corps, as well as extensive company testing. Results from these field tests are given.

Miniature low-power inertial sensors: promising technology for implantable motion capture systems.

PubMed

Lambrecht, Joris M; Kirsch, Robert F

2014-11-01

Inertial and magnetic sensors are valuable for untethered, self-contained human movement analysis. Very recently, complete integration of inertial sensors, magnetic sensors, and processing into single packages, has resulted in miniature, low power devices that could feasibly be employed in an implantable motion capture system. We developed a wearable sensor system based on a commercially available system-in-package inertial and magnetic sensor. We characterized the accuracy of the system in measuring 3-D orientation-with and without magnetometer-based heading compensation-relative to a research grade optical motion capture system. The root mean square error was less than 4° in dynamic and static conditions about all axes. Using four sensors, recording from seven degrees-of-freedom of the upper limb (shoulder, elbow, wrist) was demonstrated in one subject during reaching motions. Very high correlation and low error was found across all joints relative to the optical motion capture system. Findings were similar to previous publications using inertial sensors, but at a fraction of the power consumption and size of the sensors. Such ultra-small, low power sensors provide exciting new avenues for movement monitoring for various movement disorders, movement-based command interfaces for assistive devices, and implementation of kinematic feedback systems for assistive interventions like functional electrical stimulation.

Laser sensor system documentation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-01

Phase 1 of TxDOT Project 0-6873, True Road Surface Deflection Measuring Device, developed a : laser sensor system based on several sensors mounted on a rigid beam. : This sensor system remains with CTR currently, as the project is moving into Phase 2...

Activity Recognition Invariant to Sensor Orientation with Wearable Motion Sensors.

PubMed

Yurtman, Aras; Barshan, Billur

2017-08-09

Most activity recognition studies that employ wearable sensors assume that the sensors are attached at pre-determined positions and orientations that do not change over time. Since this is not the case in practice, it is of interest to develop wearable systems that operate invariantly to sensor position and orientation. We focus on invariance to sensor orientation and develop two alternative transformations to remove the effect of absolute sensor orientation from the raw sensor data. We test the proposed methodology in activity recognition with four state-of-the-art classifiers using five publicly available datasets containing various types of human activities acquired by different sensor configurations. While the ordinary activity recognition system cannot handle incorrectly oriented sensors, the proposed transformations allow the sensors to be worn at any orientation at a given position on the body, and achieve nearly the same activity recognition performance as the ordinary system for which the sensor units are not rotatable. The proposed techniques can be applied to existing wearable systems without much effort, by simply transforming the time-domain sensor data at the pre-processing stage.

Real-Time Performance of a Self-Powered Environmental IoT Sensor Network System.

PubMed

Wu, Fan; Rüdiger, Christoph; Yuce, Mehmet Rasit

2017-02-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play an increasingly important role in monitoring applications in many areas. With the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), many more lowpower sensors will need to be deployed in various environments to collect and monitor data about environmental factors in real time. Providing power supply to these sensor nodes becomes a critical challenge for realizations of IoT applications as sensor nodes are normally battery-powered and have a limited lifetime. This paper proposes a wireless sensor network that is powered by solar energy harvesting. The sensor network monitors the environmental data with low-power sensor electronics and forms a network using multiple XBee wireless modules. A detailed performance analysis of the network system under solar energy harvesting has been presented. The sensor network system and the proposed energy-harvesting techniques are configured to achieve a continuous energy source for the sensor network. The proposed energy-harvesting system has been successfully designed to enable an energy solution in order to keep sensor nodes active and reliable for a whole day. The paper also outlines some of our experiences in real-time implementation of a sensor network system with energy harvesting.

Real-Time Performance of a Self-Powered Environmental IoT Sensor Network System

PubMed Central

Wu, Fan; Rüdiger, Christoph; Yuce, Mehmet Rasit

2017-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play an increasingly important role in monitoring applications in many areas. With the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), many more low-power sensors will need to be deployed in various environments to collect and monitor data about environmental factors in real time. Providing power supply to these sensor nodes becomes a critical challenge for realizations of IoT applications as sensor nodes are normally battery-powered and have a limited lifetime. This paper proposes a wireless sensor network that is powered by solar energy harvesting. The sensor network monitors the environmental data with low-power sensor electronics and forms a network using multiple XBee wireless modules. A detailed performance analysis of the network system under solar energy harvesting has been presented. The sensor network system and the proposed energy-harvesting techniques are configured to achieve a continuous energy source for the sensor network. The proposed energy-harvesting system has been successfully designed to enable an energy solution in order to keep sensor nodes active and reliable for a whole day. The paper also outlines some of our experiences in real-time implementation of a sensor network system with energy harvesting. PMID:28157148

Monitoring industrial facilities using principles of integration of fiber classifier and local sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korotaev, Valery V.; Denisov, Victor M.; Rodrigues, Joel J. P. C.; Serikova, Mariya G.; Timofeev, Andrey V.

2015-05-01

The paper deals with the creation of integrated monitoring systems. They combine fiber-optic classifiers and local sensor networks. These systems allow for the monitoring of complex industrial objects. Together with adjacent natural objects, they form the so-called geotechnical systems. An integrated monitoring system may include one or more spatially continuous fiber-optic classifiers based on optic fiber and one or more arrays of discrete measurement sensors, which are usually combined in sensor networks. Fiber-optic classifiers are already widely used for the control of hazardous extended objects (oil and gas pipelines, railways, high-rise buildings, etc.). To monitor local objects, discrete measurement sensors are generally used (temperature, pressure, inclinometers, strain gauges, accelerometers, sensors measuring the composition of impurities in the air, and many others). However, monitoring complex geotechnical systems require a simultaneous use of continuous spatially distributed sensors based on fiber-optic cable and connected local discrete sensors networks. In fact, we are talking about integration of the two monitoring methods. This combination provides an additional way to create intelligent monitoring systems. Modes of operation of intelligent systems can automatically adapt to changing environmental conditions. For this purpose, context data received from one sensor (e.g., optical channel) may be used to change modes of work of other sensors within the same monitoring system. This work also presents experimental results of the prototype of the integrated monitoring system.

Transient multivariable sensor evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vilim, Richard B.; Heifetz, Alexander

A method and system for performing transient multivariable sensor evaluation. The method and system includes a computer system for identifying a model form, providing training measurement data, generating a basis vector, monitoring system data from sensor, loading the system data in a non-transient memory, performing an estimation to provide desired data and comparing the system data to the desired data and outputting an alarm for a defective sensor.

Sensor Systems for Prognostics and Health Management

PubMed Central

Cheng, Shunfeng; Azarian, Michael H.; Pecht, Michael G.

2010-01-01

Prognostics and health management (PHM) is an enabling discipline consisting of technologies and methods to assess the reliability of a product in its actual life cycle conditions to determine the advent of failure and mitigate system risk. Sensor systems are needed for PHM to monitor environmental, operational, and performance-related characteristics. The gathered data can be analyzed to assess product health and predict remaining life. In this paper, the considerations for sensor system selection for PHM applications, including the parameters to be measured, the performance needs, the electrical and physical attributes, reliability, and cost of the sensor system, are discussed. The state-of-the-art sensor systems for PHM and the emerging trends in technologies of sensor systems for PHM are presented. PMID:22219686

Sensor systems for prognostics and health management.

PubMed

Cheng, Shunfeng; Azarian, Michael H; Pecht, Michael G

2010-01-01

Prognostics and health management (PHM) is an enabling discipline consisting of technologies and methods to assess the reliability of a product in its actual life cycle conditions to determine the advent of failure and mitigate system risk. Sensor systems are needed for PHM to monitor environmental, operational, and performance-related characteristics. The gathered data can be analyzed to assess product health and predict remaining life. In this paper, the considerations for sensor system selection for PHM applications, including the parameters to be measured, the performance needs, the electrical and physical attributes, reliability, and cost of the sensor system, are discussed. The state-of-the-art sensor systems for PHM and the emerging trends in technologies of sensor systems for PHM are presented.

Overview of the U.S. DOE Hydrogen Safety, Codes and Standards Program. Part 4: Hydrogen Sensors; Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buttner, William J.; Rivkin, Carl; Burgess, Robert

Hydrogen sensors are recognized as a critical element in the safety design for any hydrogen system. In this role, sensors can perform several important functions including indication of unintended hydrogen releases, activation of mitigation strategies to preclude the development of dangerous situations, activation of alarm systems and communication to first responders, and to initiate system shutdown. The functionality of hydrogen sensors in this capacity is decoupled from the system being monitored, thereby providing an independent safety component that is not affected by the system itself. The importance of hydrogen sensors has been recognized by DOE and by the Fuel Cellmore » Technologies Office's Safety and Codes Standards (SCS) program in particular, which has for several years supported hydrogen safety sensor research and development. The SCS hydrogen sensor programs are currently led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The current SCS sensor program encompasses the full range of issues related to safety sensors, including development of advance sensor platforms with exemplary performance, development of sensor-related code and standards, outreach to stakeholders on the role sensors play in facilitating deployment, technology evaluation, and support on the proper selection and use of sensors.« less

Health Monitoring for Airframe Structural Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munns, Thomas E.; Kent, Renee M.; Bartolini, Antony; Gause, Charles B.; Borinski, Jason W.; Dietz, Jason; Elster, Jennifer L.; Boyd, Clark; Vicari, Larry; Ray, Asok;

A modular optical sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conklin, John Albert

This dissertation presents the design of a modular, fiber-optic sensor and the results obtained from testing the modular sensor. The modular fiber-optic sensor is constructed in such manner that the sensor diaphragm can be replaced with different configurations to detect numerous physical phenomena. Additionally, different fiber-optic detection systems can be attached to the sensor. Initially, the modular sensor was developed to be used by university of students to investigate realistic optical sensors and detection systems to prepare for advance studies of micro-optical mechanical systems (MOMS). The design accomplishes this by doing two things. First, the design significantly lowers the costs associated with studying optical sensors by modularizing the sensor design. Second, the sensor broadens the number of physical phenomena that students can apply optical sensing techniques to in a fiber optics sensor course. The dissertation is divided into seven chapters covering the historical development of fiber-optic sensors, a theoretical overview of fiber-optic sensors, the design, fabrication, and the testing of the modular sensor developed in the course of this work. Chapter 1 discusses, in detail, how this dissertation is organized and states the purpose of the dissertation. Chapter 2 presents an historical overview of the development of optical fibers, optical pressure sensors, and fibers, optical pressure sensors, and optical microphones. Chapter 3 reviews the theory of multi-fiber optic detection systems, optical microphones, and pressure sensors. Chapter 4 presents the design details of the modular, optical sensor. Chapter 5 delves into how the modular sensor is fabricated and how the detection systems are constructed. Chapter 6 presents the data collected from the microphone and pressure sensor configurations of the modular sensor. Finally, Chapter 7 discusses the data collected and draws conclusions about the design based on the data collected. Chapter 7 also presents future work needed to expand the functionality and utility of the modular sensor.

Sensor Failure Detection of FASSIP System using Principal Component Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudarno; Juarsa, Mulya; Santosa, Kussigit; Deswandri; Sunaryo, Geni Rina

2018-02-01

In the nuclear reactor accident of Fukushima Daiichi in Japan, the damages of core and pressure vessel were caused by the failure of its active cooling system (diesel generator was inundated by tsunami). Thus researches on passive cooling system for Nuclear Power Plant are performed to improve the safety aspects of nuclear reactors. The FASSIP system (Passive System Simulation Facility) is an installation used to study the characteristics of passive cooling systems at nuclear power plants. The accuracy of sensor measurement of FASSIP system is essential, because as the basis for determining the characteristics of a passive cooling system. In this research, a sensor failure detection method for FASSIP system is developed, so the indication of sensor failures can be detected early. The method used is Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimension of the sensor, with the Squarred Prediction Error (SPE) and statistic Hotteling criteria for detecting sensor failure indication. The results shows that PCA method is capable to detect the occurrence of a failure at any sensor.

78 FR 17187 - Notice of Intent To Grant Exclusive Patent License; Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-20

...; Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology Corporation AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DoD. ACTION: Notice..., 2012, announcing an intent to grant to Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology Corporation, a revocable... the Navy hereby gives notice of its intent to grant to Fiber Optic Sensor Systems Technology...

Fibre optic portable rail vehicle detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kepak, Stanislav; Cubik, Jakub; Zavodny, Petr; Hejduk, Stanislav; Nedoma, Jan; Davidson, Alan; Vasinek, Vladimir

2016-12-01

During track maintenance operations, the early detection of oncoming rail vehicles is critical for the safety of maintenance personnel. In addition, the detection system should be simple to install at the trackside by minimally qualified personnel. Fibre optic based sensor systems have the inherent advantages of being passive, unaffected by radio frequency interference (RFI) and suffering very low signal attenuation. Such a system therefore represents a good alternative to conventional approaches such as ultrasonic based sensor systems. The proposed system consists of one or more passive fibre trackside sensors and an x86 processing unit located at the work site. The solid fibre connection between sensors and processing unit eliminates the risk of RFI. In addition, the detection system sensors are easy to install with no requirement for electrical power at the sensor site. The system was tested on a tram line in Ostrava with the results obtained indicating the successful detection of all the trams in the monitoring windows using a single sensor. However, the platform allows flexibility in configuring multiple sensors where required by system users.

Smart sensor systems for human health breath monitoring applications.

PubMed

Hunter, G W; Xu, J C; Biaggi-Labiosa, A M; Laskowski, D; Dutta, P K; Mondal, S P; Ward, B J; Makel, D B; Liu, C C; Chang, C W; Dweik, R A

2011-09-01

Breath analysis techniques offer a potential revolution in health care diagnostics, especially if these techniques can be brought into standard use in the clinic and at home. The advent of microsensors combined with smart sensor system technology enables a new generation of sensor systems with significantly enhanced capabilities and minimal size, weight and power consumption. This paper discusses the microsensor/smart sensor system approach and provides a summary of efforts to migrate this technology into human health breath monitoring applications. First, the basic capability of this approach to measure exhaled breath associated with exercise physiology is demonstrated. Building from this foundation, the development of a system for a portable asthma home health care system is described. A solid-state nitric oxide (NO) sensor for asthma monitoring has been identified, and efforts are underway to miniaturize this NO sensor technology and integrate it into a smart sensor system. It is concluded that base platform microsensor technology combined with smart sensor systems can address the needs of a range of breath monitoring applications and enable new capabilities for healthcare.

Electro-optic architecture for servicing sensors and actuators in advanced aircraft propulsion systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poppel, G. L.; Glasheen, W. M.

1989-01-01

A detailed design of a fiber optic propulsion control system, integrating favored sensors and electro-optics architecture is presented. Layouts, schematics, and sensor lists describe an advanced fighter engine system model. Components and attributes of candidate fiber optic sensors are identified, and evaluation criteria are used in a trade study resulting in favored sensors for each measurand. System architectural ground rules were applied to accomplish an electro-optics architecture for the favored sensors. A key result was a considerable reduction in signal conductors. Drawings, schematics, specifications, and printed circuit board layouts describe the detailed system design, including application of a planar optical waveguide interface.

Intelligent Sensors: An Integrated Systems Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahajan, Ajay; Chitikeshi, Sanjeevi; Bandhil, Pavan; Utterbach, Lucas; Figueroa, Fernando

2005-01-01

The need for intelligent sensors as a critical component for Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) is fairly well recognized by now. Even the definition of what constitutes an intelligent sensor (or smart sensor) is well documented and stems from an intuitive desire to get the best quality measurement data that forms the basis of any complex health monitoring and/or management system. If the sensors, i.e. the elements closest to the measurand, are unreliable then the whole system works with a tremendous handicap. Hence, there has always been a desire to distribute intelligence down to the sensor level, and give it the ability to assess its own health thereby improving the confidence in the quality of the data at all times. This paper proposes the development of intelligent sensors as an integrated systems approach, i.e. one treats the sensors as a complete system with its own sensing hardware (the traditional sensor), A/D converters, processing and storage capabilities, software drivers, self-assessment algorithms, communication protocols and evolutionary methodologies that allow them to get better with time. Under a project being undertaken at the NASA Stennis Space Center, an integrated framework is being developed for the intelligent monitoring of smart elements. These smart elements can be sensors, actuators or other devices. The immediate application is the monitoring of the rocket test stands, but the technology should be generally applicable to the Intelligent Systems Health Monitoring (ISHM) vision. This paper outlines some fundamental issues in the development of intelligent sensors under the following two categories: Physical Intelligent Sensors (PIS) and Virtual Intelligent Sensors (VIS).

Multispectral image-fused head-tracked vision system (HTVS) for driving applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reese, Colin E.; Bender, Edward J.

2001-08-01

Current military thermal driver vision systems consist of a single Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) sensor mounted on a manually operated gimbal, which is normally locked forward during driving. The sensor video imagery is presented on a large area flat panel display for direct view. The Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate and Kaiser Electronics are cooperatively working to develop a driver's Head Tracked Vision System (HTVS) which directs dual waveband sensors in a more natural head-slewed imaging mode. The HTVS consists of LWIR and image intensified sensors, a high-speed gimbal, a head mounted display, and a head tracker. The first prototype systems have been delivered and have undergone preliminary field trials to characterize the operational benefits of a head tracked sensor system for tactical military ground applications. This investigation will address the advantages of head tracked vs. fixed sensor systems regarding peripheral sightings of threats, road hazards, and nearby vehicles. An additional thrust will investigate the degree to which additive (A+B) fusion of LWIR and image intensified sensors enhances overall driving performance. Typically, LWIR sensors are better for detecting threats, while image intensified sensors provide more natural scene cues, such as shadows and texture. This investigation will examine the degree to which the fusion of these two sensors enhances the driver's overall situational awareness.

Evaluation and Improvement of Eddy Current Position Sensors in Magnetically Suspended Flywheel Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dever, Timothy P.; Palazzolo, Alan B.; Thomas, Erwin M., III; Jansen, Ralph H.; McLallin, Kerry (Technical Monitor); Soeder, James (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Eddy current position sensor performance is evaluated for use in a high-speed flywheel development system. The flywheel utilizes a five axis active magnetic bearing system. The eddy current sensors are used for position feedback for the bearing controller. Measured characteristics include sensitivity to multiple target materials and susceptibility to noise from the magnetic bearings and from sensor-to-sensor crosstalk. Improvements in axial sensor configuration and techniques for noise reduction are described.

Concept and design of a fiber-optic and an I2C hybrid sensor bus system for telecommunication satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putzer, P.; Hurni, A.; Manhart, M.; Tiefenbeck, C.; Plattner, M.; Koch, A. W.

2012-04-01

In this paper the concept and design of the Hybrid Sensor Bus (HSB) system for telecommunication satellites is presented. The HSB development in the frame of an ESA-ARTES project has been started in 2011 and the system will be tested as flight demonstrator onboard the German Heinrich Hertz communication satellite (H2Sat) in 2016. In state-of-the-art telecommunication platforms hundreds of sensors are necessary for satellite control and monitoring. The sensors are wired point-to-point (p2p) to the satellite management unit (SMU) which results in a high mass impact but preliminary increases AIT effort and thereby the overall satellite costs. Sensor bus architectures reduce AIT cost by reduction of wiring effort, reduction in required test time and by providing a flexible sensor network topology. The HSB system is based on a modular concept including a controller module, a fiber-optic interrogator module and an I²C electric interrogator module The HSB system provides advanced performance which includes programmable and sensor specific alarm functions, averaging of dedicated sensor values and thereby a reduction of SMU processor load. The combination of electrical I2C sensors for punctual resolved measurements and fiber-optic sensors for e.g. thermal mapping of panels by embedding sensor fibers in the satellite structures results in a versatile system. In this paper we present the design of the HSB system taking into account the requirements from European platform manufacturers. The HSB design yields a product which can be implemented as replacement of standard p2p systems to build up a more cost efficient sensor system for geostationary satellites.

Application of the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy for Turbofan Engine Diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sowers, T. Shane; Kopasakis, George; Simon, Donald L.

2008-01-01

The data acquired from available system sensors forms the foundation upon which any health management system is based, and the available sensor suite directly impacts the overall diagnostic performance that can be achieved. While additional sensors may provide improved fault diagnostic performance, there are other factors that also need to be considered such as instrumentation cost, weight, and reliability. A systematic sensor selection approach is desired to perform sensor selection from a holistic system-level perspective as opposed to performing decisions in an ad hoc or heuristic fashion. The Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy is a methodology that optimally selects a sensor suite from a pool of sensors based on the system fault diagnostic approach, with the ability of taking cost, weight, and reliability into consideration. This procedure was applied to a large commercial turbofan engine simulation. In this initial study, sensor suites tailored for improved diagnostic performance are constructed from a prescribed collection of candidate sensors. The diagnostic performance of the best performing sensor suites in terms of fault detection and identification are demonstrated, with a discussion of the results and implications for future research.

Application of the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy for Turbofan Engine Diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sowers, T. Shane; Kopasakis, George; Simon, Donald L.

2008-01-01

The data acquired from available system sensors forms the foundation upon which any health management system is based, and the available sensor suite directly impacts the overall diagnostic performance that can be achieved. While additional sensors may provide improved fault diagnostic performance there are other factors that also need to be considered such as instrumentation cost, weight, and reliability. A systematic sensor selection approach is desired to perform sensor selection from a holistic system-level perspective as opposed to performing decisions in an ad hoc or heuristic fashion. The Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy is a methodology that optimally selects a sensor suite from a pool of sensors based on the system fault diagnostic approach, with the ability of taking cost, weight and reliability into consideration. This procedure was applied to a large commercial turbofan engine simulation. In this initial study, sensor suites tailored for improved diagnostic performance are constructed from a prescribed collection of candidate sensors. The diagnostic performance of the best performing sensor suites in terms of fault detection and identification are demonstrated, with a discussion of the results and implications for future research.

Continued Development of Compact Multi-gas Monitor for Life Support Systems Control in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado-Alonso, Jesús; Phillips, Straun; Chullen, Cinda; Quinn, Gregory

2016-01-01

Miniature optic gas sensors (MOGS) based on luminescent materials have shown great potential as alternatives to Near-Infrared-based gas sensor systems for the advanced space suit portable life support system (PLSS). The unique capability of MOGS for carbon dioxide and oxygen monitoring under wet conditions has been reported, as has the fast recovery of MOGS humidity sensors after long periods of being wet. Lower volume and power requirements are also potential advantages of MOGS over both traditional and advanced Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) gas sensors, which have shown so far longer life than luminescent sensors. This paper presents the most recent results in the development and analytical validation of a compact multi-gas sensor unit based on luminescent sensors for the PLSS. Results of extensive testing are presented, including studies conducted at Intelligent Optical Systems laboratories, a United Technology Corporation Aerospace Systems (UTAS) laboratory, and a Johnson Space Center laboratory. The potential of this sensor technology for gas monitoring in PLSSs and other life support systems and the advantages and limitations found through detailed sensor validation are discussed.

Generic Helicopter-Based Testbed for Surface Terrain Imaging Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, James; Goldberg, Hannah; Montgomery, James; Spiers, Gary; Liebe, Carl; Johnson, Andrew; Gromov, Konstantin; Konefat, Edward; Lam, Raymond; Meras, Patrick

2008-01-01

To be certain that a candidate sensor system will perform as expected during missions, we have developed a field test system and have executed test flights with a helicopter-mounted sensor platform over desert terrains, which simulate Lunar features. A key advantage to this approach is that different sensors can be tested and characterized in an environment relevant to the flight needs prior to flight. Testing the various sensors required the development of a field test system, including an instrument to validate the truth of the sensor system under test. The field test system was designed to be flexible enough to cover the test needs of many sensors (lidar, radar, cameras) that require an aerial test platform, including helicopters, airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or balloons. To validate the performance of the sensor under test, the dynamics of the test platform must be known with sufficient accuracy to provide accurate models for input into algorithm development. The test system provides support equipment to measure the dynamics of the field test sensor platform, and allow computation of the truth position, velocity, attitude, and time.

Continued Development of Compact Multi-Gas Monitor for Life Support Systems Control in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delgado, Jesus; Phillips, Straun; Chullen, Cinda

2015-01-01

Miniature optic gas sensors (MOGS) based on luminescent materials have shown great potential as alternatives to NIR-based gas sensor systems for the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). The unique capability of MOGS for carbon dioxide and oxygen monitoring under wet conditions has been reported, as has the fast recovery of MOGS humidity sensors after long periods of being wet. Lower volume and power requirements are also potential advantages of MOGS over both traditional and advanced Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) gas sensors, which have shown so far longer life than luminescent sensors. In this paper we present the most recent results in the development and analytical validation of a compact multi-gas sensor unit based on luminescent sensors for the PLSS. Results of extensive testing are presented, including studies conducted at Intelligent Optical Systems laboratories, a United Technology Corporation Aerospace Systems (UTAS) laboratory, and a Johnson Space Center laboratory. The potential of this sensor technology for gas monitoring in PLSSs and other life support systems and the advantages and limitations found through detailed sensor validation are discussed.

Uncooled microbolometer sensors for unattended applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohin, Margaret; Miller, James E.; Leary, Arthur R.; Backer, Brian S.; Swift, William; Aston, Peter

2003-09-01

BAE SYSTEMS has been developing and producing uncooled microbolometer sensors since 1995. Recently, uncooled sensors have been used on Pointer Unattended Aerial Vehicles and considered for several unattended sensor applications including DARPA Micro-Internetted Unattended Ground Sensors (MIUGS), Army Modular Acoustic Imaging Sensors (MAIS), and Redeployable Unattended Ground Sensors (R-UGS). This paper describes recent breakthrough uncooled sensor performance at BAE SYSTEMS and how this improved performance has been applied to a new Standard Camera Core (SCC) that is ideal for these unattended applications. Video imagery from a BAE SYSTEMS 640x480 imaging camera flown in a Pointer UAV is provided. Recent performance results are also provided.

A Fault Tolerant System for an Integrated Avionics Sensor Configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caglayan, A. K.; Lancraft, R. E.

1984-01-01

An aircraft sensor fault tolerant system methodology for the Transport Systems Research Vehicle in a Microwave Landing System (MLS) environment is described. The fault tolerant system provides reliable estimates in the presence of possible failures both in ground-based navigation aids, and in on-board flight control and inertial sensors. Sensor failures are identified by utilizing the analytic relationships between the various sensors arising from the aircraft point mass equations of motion. The estimation and failure detection performance of the software implementation (called FINDS) of the developed system was analyzed on a nonlinear digital simulation of the research aircraft. Simulation results showing the detection performance of FINDS, using a dual redundant sensor compliment, are presented for bias, hardover, null, ramp, increased noise and scale factor failures. In general, the results show that FINDS can distinguish between normal operating sensor errors and failures while providing an excellent detection speed for bias failures in the MLS, indicated airspeed, attitude and radar altimeter sensors.

Remote sensing data handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

A digest of information on remote sensor data systems is given. It includes characteristics of spaceborne sensors and the supportive systems immediately associated therewith. It also includes end-to-end systems information that will assist the user in appraising total data system impact produced by a sensor. The objective is to provide a tool for anticipating the complexity of systems and potential data system problems as new user needs are generated. Materials in this handbook span sensor systems from the present to those planned for use in the 1990's. Sensor systems on all planned missions are presented in digest form, condensed from data as available at the time of compilation. Projections are made of anticipated systems.

Manipulation based on sensor-directed control: An integrated end effector and touch sensing system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, J. W.; Sword, A. J.

1973-01-01

A hand/touch sensing system is described that, when mounted on a position-controlled manipulator, greatly expands the kinds of automated manipulation tasks that can be undertaken. Because of the variety of coordinate conversions, control equations, and completion criteria, control is necessarily dependent upon a small digital computer. The sensing system is designed both to be rugged and to sense the necessary touch and force information required to execute a wide range of manipulation tasks. The system consists of a six-axis wrist sensor, external touch sensors, and a pair of matrix jaw sensors. Details of the construction of the particular sensors, the integration of the end effector into the sensor system, and the control algorithms for using the sensor outputs to perform manipulation tasks automatically are discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tricaud, Christophe; Ernst, Timothy C.; Zigan, James A.

The disclosure provides a waste heat recovery system with a system and method for calculation of the net output torque from the waste heat recovery system. The calculation uses inputs from existing pressure and speed sensors to create a virtual pump torque sensor and a virtual expander torque sensor, and uses these sensors to provide an accurate net torque output from the WHR system.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of sensor location for optimal aeroelastic system state estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, G.

1985-01-01

One of the major concerns in the design of an active control system is obtaining the information needed for effective feedback. This involves the combination of sensing and estimation. A sensor location index is defined as the weighted sum of the mean square estimation errors in which the sensor locations can be regarded as estimator design parameters. The design goal is to choose these locations to minimize the sensor location index. The choice of the number of sensors is a tradeoff between the estimation quality based upon the same performance index and the total costs of installing and maintaining extra sensors. An experimental study for choosing the sensor location was conducted on an aeroelastic system. The system modeling which includes the unsteady aerodynamics model developed by Stephen Rock was improved. Experimental results verify the trend of the theoretical predictions of the sensor location index for different sensor locations at various wind speeds.

The Radio Frequency Health Node Wireless Sensor System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valencia, J. Emilio; Stanley, Priscilla C.; Mackey, Paul J.

2009-01-01

The Radio Frequency Health Node (RFHN) wireless sensor system differs from other wireless sensor systems in ways originally intended to enhance utility as an instrumentation system for a spacecraft. The RFHN can also be adapted to use in terrestrial applications in which there are requirements for operational flexibility and integrability into higher-level instrumentation and data acquisition systems. As shown in the figure, the heart of the system is the RFHN, which is a unit that passes commands and data between (1) one or more commercially available wireless sensor units (optionally, also including wired sensor units) and (2) command and data interfaces with a local control computer that may be part of the spacecraft or other engineering system in which the wireless sensor system is installed. In turn, the local control computer can be in radio or wire communication with a remote control computer that may be part of a higher-level system. The remote control computer, acting via the local control computer and the RFHN, cannot only monitor readout data from the sensor units but can also remotely configure (program or reprogram) the RFHN and the sensor units during operation. In a spacecraft application, the RFHN and the sensor units can also be configured more nearly directly, prior to launch, via a serial interface that includes an umbilical cable between the spacecraft and ground support equipment. In either case, the RFHN wireless sensor system has the flexibility to be configured, as required, with different numbers and types of sensors for different applications. The RFHN can be used to effect realtime transfer of data from, and commands to, the wireless sensor units. It can also store data for later retrieval by an external computer. The RFHN communicates with the wireless sensor units via a radio transceiver module. The modular design of the RFHN makes it possible to add radio transceiver modules as needed to accommodate additional sets of wireless sensor units. The RFHN includes a core module that performs generic computer functions, including management of power and input, output, processing, and storage of data. In a typical application, the processing capabilities in the RFHN are utilized to perform preprocessing, trending, and fusion of sensor data. The core module also serves as the unit through which the remote control computer configures the sensor units and the rest of the RFHN.

Optical-fibre sensor system for monitoring the performance of the gas propellant centrifuge separator of a spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romo-Medrano, Katya E.; Khotiaintsev, Sergei N.; García-Garduño, Victor

2004-08-01

An optical-fibre sensor system is presented for monitoring void fraction distribution in a spacecraft's gas and propellant centrifuge separator. The system could be used at the separator development stage or for monitoring, during ground tests, the elements of the spacecraft propulsion system. Our sensor system employs an array of point optical-fibre refractometric transducers installed in the form of several linear radial arrays on the separator rotating blades. We employed a small-size hemispherical optical detection element as the transducer and we optimized its parameters through numerical ray-tracing. The aim is to minimize the effect of the thin film of liquid that forms on the transducer's surface in this application. The features of this sensor system are: (1) an efficient matrix-type multiplexing scheme, (2) the installation of the main optoelectronic unit of the sensor in a hermetically sealed container inside the separator tank located on the rotating shaft and (3) the spark-proof and explosion-proof design of the sensor circuits and elements. The sensor is simple, reliable, low-cost and is capable of withstanding the factors involved during operation of the propulsion system such as cryogenic temperatures and chemically aggressive liquids. The novel elements and design concepts implemented in this sensor system can also find applications in other sensors for spacecraft propulsion systems and also in a variety of optical-fibre sensors used in scientific research and industry.

High pressure fiber optic sensor system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guida, Renato; Xia, Hua; Lee, Boon K

2013-11-26

The present application provides a fiber optic sensor system. The fiber optic sensor system may include a small diameter bellows, a large diameter bellows, and a fiber optic pressure sensor attached to the small diameter bellows. Contraction of the large diameter bellows under an applied pressure may cause the small diameter bellows to expand such that the fiber optic pressure sensor may measure the applied pressure.

Dulce Wireless Tijuana: A Randomized Control Trial Evaluating the Impact of Project Dulce and Short-Term Mobile Technology on Glycemic Control in a Family Medicine Clinic in Northern Mexico.

PubMed

Anzaldo-Campos, María Cecilia; Contreras, Sonia; Vargas-Ojeda, Adriana; Menchaca-Díaz, Rufino; Fortmann, Addie; Philis-Tsimikas, Athena

2016-04-01

The global epidemic of diabetes calls for innovative interventions. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Project Dulce model, with and without wireless technology, on glycemic control and other clinical and self-reported outcomes in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes in Mexico. Adults with type 2 diabetes and a glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of ≥8% were recruited from Family Medical Unit #27 of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) in Tijuana, México, and randomly assigned to one of three groups: Project Dulce-only (PD); Project Dulce technology-enhanced with mobile tools (PD-TE); or IMSS standard of care/control group (CG). Clinical and self-reported outcomes were assessed at baseline, Month 4, and Month 10. Time-by-group interactions and within-group changes were analyzed. HbA1c reductions from baseline to Month 10 were significantly greater in PD-TE (-3.0% [-33 mmol/mol]) and PD (-2.6% [-28.7 mmol/mol]) compared with CG (-1.3% [-14.2 mmol/mol]) (P = 0.009 and 0.001, respectively). PD-TE and PD also exhibited significant improvement in diabetes knowledge when compared with CG (P < 0.05 for both). No statistically significant differences were detected between PD and PD-TE on these indicators (P = 0.54 and 0.86, respectively). Several within-group improvements were observed on other clinical and self-report indicators but did not vary significantly across groups. Project Dulce with and without wireless technology substantially improved glycemic control and diabetes knowledge in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes in a Mexican family medical unit, suggesting that integrating peer-led education, nurse coordination, and 3G wireless technology is an effective approach for improving diabetes outcomes in high-risk populations.

Análisis de costo de la enfermedad, del tratamiento, las complicaciones e intervenciones de la hipercolesterolemia en México en 2016.

PubMed

Baeza-Cruz, German; Peniche-Otero, Gustavo; Alva-Esqueda, Mónica E; Naranjo-Muedano, Mariana; Soria-Suárez, Noé; Morales-Flores, Héctor J

2018-04-20

Describir los costos y el impacto económico de la atención de pacientes diagnosticados con hipercolesterolemia en México en el año 2016. METODOLOGíA: Se desarrolla una evaluación económica del tipo análisis de costo de la enfermedad donde se cuantifican los recursos médicos utilizados para el tratamiento de la hipercolesterolemia así como para sus complicaciones. Los costos de los recursos médicos utilizados son obtenidos de los costos unitarios por nivel de atención del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) así como de las licitaciones publicadas en el portal de compras del IMSS. El uso de recursos se obtiene mediante un panel de expertos y para el porcentaje de presencia de las complicaciones se efectúa una revisión de literatura. Los costos médicos directos son estimados multiplicando la frecuencia de uso por el costo unitario, agrupándolos y obteniendo así los costos individuales de cada recurso médico. Los casos de hipercolesterolemia en prevención secundaria con enfermedad coronaria y enfermedad cardiovascular representan un mayor costo promedio anual ($111,835.19, D.E. $84,276.37), seguido de la hipercolesterolemia en prevención secundaria con enfermedad coronaria sin enfermedad cardiovascular ($56,352.13, D.E. $29,004.04), los cuales no incluyen los costos generados por las complicaciones. El resto de los grupos de hipercolesterolemia representan una carga económica menor. La carga económica de la hipercolesterolemia representa en promedio por caso al año $258,761.37, esto traducido a los aproximadamente 445,075 de casos diagnosticados y tratados al año representaría un impacto económico en el sistema de salud de más de ciento quince mil millones ($115,168,331,355.11). Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Cost-effectiveness analysis for joint pain treatment in patients with osteoarthritis treated at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS): Comparison of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) vs. cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitors.

PubMed

Contreras-Hernández, Iris; Mould-Quevedo, Joaquín F; Torres-González, Rubén; Goycochea-Robles, María Victoria; Pacheco-Domínguez, Reyna Lizette; Sánchez-García, Sergio; Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Garduño-Espinosa, Juan

2008-11-12

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the main causes of disability worldwide, especially in persons >55 years of age. Currently, controversy remains about the best therapeutic alternative for this disease when evaluated from a cost-effectiveness viewpoint. For Social Security Institutions in developing countries, it is very important to assess what drugs may decrease the subsequent use of medical care resources, considering their adverse events that are known to have a significant increase in medical care costs of patients with OA. Three treatment alternatives were compared: celecoxib (200 mg twice daily), non-selective NSAIDs (naproxen, 500 mg twice daily; diclofenac, 100 mg twice daily; and piroxicam, 20 mg/day) and acetaminophen, 1000 mg twice daily. The aim of this study was to identify the most cost-effective first-choice pharmacological treatment for the control of joint pain secondary to OA in patients treated at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). A cost-effectiveness assessment was carried out. A systematic review of the literature was performed to obtain transition probabilities. In order to evaluate analysis robustness, one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Estimations were done for a 6-month period. Treatment demonstrating the best cost-effectiveness results [lowest cost-effectiveness ratio $17.5 pesos/patient ($1.75 USD)] was celecoxib. According to the one-way sensitivity analysis, celecoxib would need to markedly decrease its effectiveness in order for it to not be the optimal treatment option. In the probabilistic analysis, both in the construction of the acceptability curves and in the estimation of net economic benefits, the most cost-effective option was celecoxib. From a Mexican institutional perspective and probably in other Social Security Institutions in similar developing countries, the most cost-effective option for treatment of knee and/or hip OA would be celecoxib.

Cost-effectiveness analysis for joint pain treatment in patients with osteoarthritis treated at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS): Comparison of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) vs. cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitors

PubMed Central

Contreras-Hernández, Iris; Mould-Quevedo, Joaquín F; Torres-González, Rubén; Goycochea-Robles, María Victoria; Pacheco-Domínguez, Reyna Lizette; Sánchez-García, Sergio; Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Garduño-Espinosa, Juan

2008-01-01

Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the main causes of disability worldwide, especially in persons >55 years of age. Currently, controversy remains about the best therapeutic alternative for this disease when evaluated from a cost-effectiveness viewpoint. For Social Security Institutions in developing countries, it is very important to assess what drugs may decrease the subsequent use of medical care resources, considering their adverse events that are known to have a significant increase in medical care costs of patients with OA. Three treatment alternatives were compared: celecoxib (200 mg twice daily), non-selective NSAIDs (naproxen, 500 mg twice daily; diclofenac, 100 mg twice daily; and piroxicam, 20 mg/day) and acetaminophen, 1000 mg twice daily. The aim of this study was to identify the most cost-effective first-choice pharmacological treatment for the control of joint pain secondary to OA in patients treated at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Methods A cost-effectiveness assessment was carried out. A systematic review of the literature was performed to obtain transition probabilities. In order to evaluate analysis robustness, one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Estimations were done for a 6-month period. Results Treatment demonstrating the best cost-effectiveness results [lowest cost-effectiveness ratio $17.5 pesos/patient ($1.75 USD)] was celecoxib. According to the one-way sensitivity analysis, celecoxib would need to markedly decrease its effectiveness in order for it to not be the optimal treatment option. In the probabilistic analysis, both in the construction of the acceptability curves and in the estimation of net economic benefits, the most cost-effective option was celecoxib. Conclusion From a Mexican institutional perspective and probably in other Social Security Institutions in similar developing countries, the most cost-effective option for treatment of knee and/or hip OA would be celecoxib. PMID:19014495

[Opportunity cost for men who visit family medicine units in the city of Querétaro, Mexico].

PubMed

Martínez Carranza, Edith Olimpia; Villarreal Ríos, Enrique; Vargas Daza, Emma Rosa; Galicia Rodríguez, Liliana; Martínez González, Lidia

2010-12-01

To determine the opportunity cost for men who seek care in the family medicine units (FMU) of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) in the city of Querétaro. A sample was selected of 807 men, ages 20 to 59 years, who sought care through the family medicine, laboratory, and pharmacy services provided by the FMU at the IMSS in Querétaro. Patients referred for emergency services and those who left the facilities without receiving care were excluded. The sample (n = 807) was calculated using the averages for an infinite population formula, with a confidence interval of 95% (CI95%) and an average opportunity cost of US$5.5 for family medicine, US$3.1 for laboratory services, and US$2.3 for pharmacy services. Estimates included the amount of time spent on travel, waiting, and receiving care; the number of people accompanying the patient, and the cost per minute of paid and unpaid job activities. The opportunity cost was calculated using the estimated cost per minute for travel, waiting, and receiving care for patients and their companions. The opportunity cost for the patient travel was estimated at US$0.97 (CI95%: 0.81-1.15), while wait time was US$5.03 (CI95%: 4.08-6.09) for family medicine, US$0.06 (CI95%: 0.05-0.08) for pharmacy services, and US$1.89 (CI95%: 1.56-2.25) for laboratory services. The average opportunity cost for an unaccompanied patient visit varied between US$1.10 for pharmacy services alone and US$8.64 for family medicine, pharmacy, and laboratory services. The weighted opportunity cost for family medicine was US$6.24. Given that the opportunity cost for men who seek services in FMU corresponds to more than half of a minimum salary, it should be examined from an institutional perspective whether this is the best alternative for care.

Sensors-network and its application in the intelligent storage security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qingying; Nicolescu, Mihai; Jiang, Xia; Zhang, Ying; Yue, Weihong; Xiao, Weihong

2004-11-01

Intelligent storage systems run on different advanced technologies, such as linear layout, business intelligence and data mining. Security, the basic desire of the storage system, has been focused on with the indraught of multimedia communication technology and sensors" network. Along with the developing of science and the social demands, multifarious alarming system has been designed and improved to be intelligentized, modularized and have network connections. It is of great moment to make the storage, and further more, the logistics system more and more efficient and perfect with modern science and technology. Diversified information on the spot should be caught by different kinds of sensors. Those signals are treated and communicated to the control center to give the further actions. For fire-proofing, broad-spectrum gas sensors, fume sensors, flame sensors and temperature sensors are used to catch the information in their own ways. Once the fire is taken somewhere, the sensors work by the fume, temperature, and flame as well as gas immediately. Meanwhile the intelligent control system starts. It passes the tidings to the center unit. At the same time, it sets those movable walls on to work quickly to obstruct the fire"s spreading. While for guarding the warehouse against theft, cut-off sensors, body sensors, photoelectric sensors, microwave sensors and closed-circuit television as well as electronic clocks are available to monitor the warehouse reasonably. All of those sensors work in a net way. The intelligent control system is made with a digital circuit instead of traditional switch one. This system can work in a better way in many cases. Its reliability is high and the cost is low.

33 CFR 117.743 - Rahway River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... lights anytime the bridge is not in the full open position. (d) An infrared sensor system shall be... the infrared sensor system. (g) If the infrared sensors detect a vessel or other obstruction.... (j) In the event of a failure, or obstruction to the infrared sensor system, the bridge shall...

Development of a wireless MEMS multifunction sensor system and field demonstration of embedded sensors for monitoring concrete pavements, volume II

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

This two-pronged study evaluated the performance of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) micro-electromechanical sensors and systems (MEMS) embedded in concrete pavement (Final Report Volume I) and developed a wireless MEMS multifunctional sensor system f...

33 CFR 117.743 - Rahway River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... lights anytime the bridge is not in the full open position. (d) An infrared sensor system shall be... the infrared sensor system. (g) If the infrared sensors detect a vessel or other obstruction.... (j) In the event of a failure, or obstruction to the infrared sensor system, the bridge shall...

33 CFR 117.743 - Rahway River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... lights anytime the bridge is not in the full open position. (d) An infrared sensor system shall be... the infrared sensor system. (g) If the infrared sensors detect a vessel or other obstruction.... (j) In the event of a failure, or obstruction to the infrared sensor system, the bridge shall...

33 CFR 117.743 - Rahway River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... lights anytime the bridge is not in the full open position. (d) An infrared sensor system shall be... the infrared sensor system. (g) If the infrared sensors detect a vessel or other obstruction.... (j) In the event of a failure, or obstruction to the infrared sensor system, the bridge shall...

33 CFR 117.743 - Rahway River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... lights anytime the bridge is not in the full open position. (d) An infrared sensor system shall be... the infrared sensor system. (g) If the infrared sensors detect a vessel or other obstruction.... (j) In the event of a failure, or obstruction to the infrared sensor system, the bridge shall...

Intelligent Sensors: Strategies for an Integrated Systems Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chitikeshi, Sanjeevi; Mahajan, Ajay; Bandhil, Pavan; Utterbach, Lucas; Figueroa, Fernando

2005-01-01

This paper proposes the development of intelligent sensors as an integrated systems approach, i.e. one treats the sensors as a complete system with its own sensing hardware (the traditional sensor), A/D converters, processing and storage capabilities, software drivers, self-assessment algorithms, communication protocols and evolutionary methodologies that allow them to get better with time. Under a project being undertaken at the Stennis Space Center, an integrated framework is being developed for the intelligent monitoring of smart elements. These smart elements can be sensors, actuators or other devices. The immediate application is the monitoring of the rocket test stands, but the technology should be generally applicable to the Intelligent Systems Health Monitoring (ISHM) vision. This paper outlines progress made in the development of intelligent sensors by describing the work done till date on Physical Intelligent Sensors (PIS) and Virtual Intelligent Sensors (VIS).

A Soft Sensor-Based Three-Dimensional (3-D) Finger Motion Measurement System

PubMed Central

Park, Wookeun; Ro, Kyongkwan; Kim, Suin; Bae, Joonbum

2017-01-01

In this study, a soft sensor-based three-dimensional (3-D) finger motion measurement system is proposed. The sensors, made of the soft material Ecoflex, comprise embedded microchannels filled with a conductive liquid metal (EGaln). The superior elasticity, light weight, and sensitivity of soft sensors allows them to be embedded in environments in which conventional sensors cannot. Complicated finger joints, such as the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb are modeled to specify the location of the sensors. Algorithms to decouple the signals from soft sensors are proposed to extract the pure flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction joint angles. The performance of the proposed system and algorithms are verified by comparison with a camera-based motion capture system. PMID:28241414

Wearable sensor systems for infants.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhihua; Liu, Tao; Li, Guangyi; Li, Tong; Inoue, Yoshio

2015-02-05

Continuous health status monitoring of infants is achieved with the development and fusion of wearable sensing technologies, wireless communication techniques and a low energy-consumption microprocessor with high performance data processing algorithms. As a clinical tool applied in the constant monitoring of physiological parameters of infants, wearable sensor systems for infants are able to transmit the information obtained inside an infant's body to clinicians or parents. Moreover, such systems with integrated sensors can perceive external threats such as falling or drowning and warn parents immediately. Firstly, the paper reviews some available wearable sensor systems for infants; secondly, we introduce the different modules of the framework in the sensor systems; lastly, the methods and techniques applied in the wearable sensor systems are summarized and discussed. The latest research and achievements have been highlighted in this paper and the meaningful applications in healthcare and behavior analysis are also presented. Moreover, we give a lucid perspective of the development of wearable sensor systems for infants in the future.

Wearable Sensor Systems for Infants

PubMed Central

Zhu, Zhihua; Liu, Tao; Li, Guangyi; Li, Tong; Inoue, Yoshio

2015-01-01

Continuous health status monitoring of infants is achieved with the development and fusion of wearable sensing technologies, wireless communication techniques and a low energy-consumption microprocessor with high performance data processing algorithms. As a clinical tool applied in the constant monitoring of physiological parameters of infants, wearable sensor systems for infants are able to transmit the information obtained inside an infant's body to clinicians or parents. Moreover, such systems with integrated sensors can perceive external threats such as falling or drowning and warn parents immediately. Firstly, the paper reviews some available wearable sensor systems for infants; secondly, we introduce the different modules of the framework in the sensor systems; lastly, the methods and techniques applied in the wearable sensor systems are summarized and discussed. The latest research and achievements have been highlighted in this paper and the meaningful applications in healthcare and behavior analysis are also presented. Moreover, we give a lucid perspective of the development of wearable sensor systems for infants in the future. PMID:25664432

Circuits and Systems for Low-Power Miniaturized Wireless Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagaraju, Manohar

The field of electronic sensors has witnessed a tremendous growth over the last decade particularly with the proliferation of mobile devices. New applications in Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technology, are further expected to fuel the demand for sensors from current numbers in the range of billions to trillions in the next decade. The main challenges for a trillion sensors are continued miniaturization, low-cost and large-scale manufacturing process, and low power consumption. Traditional integration and circuit design techniques in sensor systems are not suitable for applications in smart dust, IoT etc. The first part of this thesis demonstrates an example sensor system for biosignal recording and illustrates the tradeoffs in the design of low-power miniaturized sensors. The different components of the sensor system are integrated at the board level. The second part of the thesis demonstrates fully integrated sensors that enable extreme miniaturization of a sensing system with the sensor element, processing circuitry, a frequency reference for communication and the communication circuitry in a single hermetically sealed die. Design techniques to reduce the power consumption of the sensor interface circuitry at the architecture and circuit level are demonstrated. The principles are used to design sensors for two of the most common physical variables, mass and pressure. A low-power wireless mass and pressure sensor suitable for a wide variety of biological/chemical sensing applications and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) respectively are demonstrated. Further, the idea of using high-Q resonators for a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) is proposed and a low-noise, wide bandwidth FBAR-based VCO is presented.

Effective Sensor Selection and Data Anomaly Detection for Condition Monitoring of Aircraft Engines

PubMed Central

Liu, Liansheng; Liu, Datong; Zhang, Yujie; Peng, Yu

2016-01-01

In a complex system, condition monitoring (CM) can collect the system working status. The condition is mainly sensed by the pre-deployed sensors in/on the system. Most existing works study how to utilize the condition information to predict the upcoming anomalies, faults, or failures. There is also some research which focuses on the faults or anomalies of the sensing element (i.e., sensor) to enhance the system reliability. However, existing approaches ignore the correlation between sensor selecting strategy and data anomaly detection, which can also improve the system reliability. To address this issue, we study a new scheme which includes sensor selection strategy and data anomaly detection by utilizing information theory and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). The sensors that are more appropriate for the system CM are first selected. Then, mutual information is utilized to weight the correlation among different sensors. The anomaly detection is carried out by using the correlation of sensor data. The sensor data sets that are utilized to carry out the evaluation are provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center and have been used as Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) challenge data in 2008. By comparing the two different sensor selection strategies, the effectiveness of selection method on data anomaly detection is proved. PMID:27136561

Simulating optoelectronic systems for remote sensing with SENSOR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boerner, Anko

2003-04-01

The consistent end-to-end simulation of airborne and spaceborne remote sensing systems is an important task and sometimes the only way for the adaptation and optimization of a sensor and its observation conditions, the choice and test of algorithms for data processing, error estimation and the evaluation of the capabilities of the whole sensor system. The presented software simulator SENSOR (Software ENvironment for the Simulation of Optical Remote sensing systems) includes a full model of the sensor hardware, the observed scene, and the atmosphere in between. It allows the simulation of a wide range of optoelectronic systems for remote sensing. The simulator consists of three parts. The first part describes the geometrical relations between scene, sun, and the remote sensing system using a ray tracing algorithm. The second part of the simulation environment considers the radiometry. It calculates the at-sensor radiance using a pre-calculated multidimensional lookup-table taking the atmospheric influence on the radiation into account. Part three consists of an optical and an electronic sensor model for the generation of digital images. Using SENSOR for an optimization requires the additional application of task-specific data processing algorithms. The principle of the end-to-end-simulation approach is explained, all relevant concepts of SENSOR are discussed, and examples of its use are given. The verification of SENSOR is demonstrated.

Effective Sensor Selection and Data Anomaly Detection for Condition Monitoring of Aircraft Engines.

PubMed

Liu, Liansheng; Liu, Datong; Zhang, Yujie; Peng, Yu

2016-04-29

In a complex system, condition monitoring (CM) can collect the system working status. The condition is mainly sensed by the pre-deployed sensors in/on the system. Most existing works study how to utilize the condition information to predict the upcoming anomalies, faults, or failures. There is also some research which focuses on the faults or anomalies of the sensing element (i.e., sensor) to enhance the system reliability. However, existing approaches ignore the correlation between sensor selecting strategy and data anomaly detection, which can also improve the system reliability. To address this issue, we study a new scheme which includes sensor selection strategy and data anomaly detection by utilizing information theory and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR). The sensors that are more appropriate for the system CM are first selected. Then, mutual information is utilized to weight the correlation among different sensors. The anomaly detection is carried out by using the correlation of sensor data. The sensor data sets that are utilized to carry out the evaluation are provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center and have been used as Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) challenge data in 2008. By comparing the two different sensor selection strategies, the effectiveness of selection method on data anomaly detection is proved.

Nonlinear effects of a modal domain optical fiber sensor in a vibration suppression control loop for a flexible structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindner, D. K.; Zvonar, G. A.; Baumann, W. T.; Delos, P. L.

1993-01-01

Recently, a modal domain optical fiber sensor has been demonstrated as a sensor in a control system for vibration suppression of a flexible cantilevered beam. This sensor responds to strain through a mechanical attachment to the structure. Because this sensor is of the interferometric type, the output of the sensor has a sinusoidal nonlinearity. For small levels of strain, the sensor can be operated in its linear region. For large levels of strain, the detection electronics can be configured to count fringes. In both of these configurations, the sensor nonlinearity imposes some restrictions on the performance of the control system. In this paper we investigate the effects of these sensor nonlinearities on the control system, and identify the region of linear operation in terms of the optical fiber sensor parameters.

Attitude measurement: Principles and sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duchon, P.; Vermande, M. P.

1981-01-01

Tools used in the measurement of satellite attitude are described. Attention is given to the elements that characterize an attitude sensor, the references employed (stars, moon, Sun, Earth, magnetic fields, etc.), and the detectors (optical, magnetic, and inertial). Several examples of attitude sensors are described, including sun sensors, star sensors, earth sensors, triaxial magnetometers, and gyrometers. Finally, sensor combinations that make it possible to determine a complete attitude are considered; the SPOT attitude measurement system and a combined CCD star sensor-gyrometer system are discussed.

NASA End-to-End Data System /NEEDS/ information adaptive system - Performing image processing onboard the spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, W. L.; Howle, W. M.; Meredith, B. D.

1980-01-01

The Information Adaptive System (IAS) is an element of the NASA End-to-End Data System (NEEDS) Phase II and is focused toward onbaord image processing. Since the IAS is a data preprocessing system which is closely coupled to the sensor system, it serves as a first step in providing a 'Smart' imaging sensor. Some of the functions planned for the IAS include sensor response nonuniformity correction, geometric correction, data set selection, data formatting, packetization, and adaptive system control. The inclusion of these sensor data preprocessing functions onboard the spacecraft will significantly improve the extraction of information from the sensor data in a timely and cost effective manner and provide the opportunity to design sensor systems which can be reconfigured in near real time for optimum performance. The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary design of the IAS and the plans for its development.

Concept and Design of the Hybrid Sensor Bus System for Telecommunication Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurni, Andreas; Tiefenbeck, Christoph; Manhart, Markus; Heyer, Heinz-Volker; Plattner, Markus; Putzer, Philipp; Roßner, Max; Koch, Alexander W.; Furano, Gianluca; McKenzie, Iain; Lam, King

2012-08-01

The Hybrid Sensor Bus (HSB) is a system for sensor interrogation in telecommunication satellites, which will be developed in the frame of the ESA ARTES program. The main target of the HSB system is the replacement of classical point-to-point wired sensors by sensors connected on bus networks. This will save mass and reduces efforts in assembly, integration and testing (AIT). The HSB system is able to manage an electrical I2C and a fiber-optical sensor network. The system consists of an intelligent power module, an electrical and a fiber-optical interrogator module in cold redundancy. Additional features of the HSB system are its modularity and the adaptability to different satellite platforms. The implementation of a HSB system allows platform manufacturers to build a more cost efficient satellite.This paper presents the concept and the design status of the HSB system.

Direction-sensitive smart monitoring of structures using heterogeneous smartphone sensor data and coordinate system transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozer, Ekin; Feng, Maria Q.

2017-04-01

Mobile, heterogeneous, and smart sensor networks produce pervasive structural health monitoring (SHM) information. With various embedded sensors, smartphones have emerged to innovate SHM by empowering citizens to serve as sensors. By default, smartphones meet the fundamental smart sensor criteria, thanks to the built-in processor, memory, wireless communication units and mobile operating system. SHM using smartphones, however, faces technical challenges due to citizen-induced uncertainties, undesired sensor-structure integration, and lack of control over the sensing platform. Previously, the authors presented successful applications of smartphone accelerometers for structural vibration measurement and proposed a monitoring framework under citizen-induced spatiotemporal uncertainties. This study aims at extending the capabilities of smartphone-based SHM with a special focus on the lack of control over the sensor (i.e., the phone) positioning by citizens resulting in unknown sensor orientations. Using smartphone gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer; instantaneous sensor orientation can be obtained with respect to gravitational and magnetic north directions. Using these sensor data, mobile operating system frameworks return processed features such as attitude and heading that can be used to correct misaligned sensor signals. For this purpose, a coordinate transformation procedure is proposed and illustrated on a two-story laboratory structural model and real-scale bridges with various sensor positioning examples. The proposed method corrects the sensor signals by tracking their orientations and improves measurement accuracy. Moreover, knowing structure’s coordinate system a priori, even the data from arbitrarily positioned sensors can automatically be transformed to the structural coordinates. In addition, this paper also touches some secondary mobile and heterogeneous data issues including imperfect sampling and geolocation services. The coordinate system transformation methods proposed in this study can be implemented in other non-smartphone-based SHM systems as long as similar instrumentation is available.

A system for activity recognition using multi-sensor fusion.

PubMed

Gao, Lei; Bourke, Alan K; Nelson, John

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a system for activity recognition using multi-sensor fusion. In this system, four sensors are attached to the waist, chest, thigh, and side of the body. In the study we present two solutions for factors that affect the activity recognition accuracy: the calibration drift and the sensor orientation changing. The datasets used to evaluate this system were collected from 8 subjects who were asked to perform 8 scripted normal activities of daily living (ADL), three times each. The Naïve Bayes classifier using multi-sensor fusion is adopted and achieves 70.88%-97.66% recognition accuracies for 1-4 sensors.

Induction of Inflammation In Vivo by Electrocardiogram Sensor Operation Using Wireless Power Transmission.

PubMed

Heo, Jin-Chul; Kim, Beomjoon; Kim, Yoon-Nyun; Kim, Dae-Kwang; Lee, Jong-Ha

2017-12-14

Prolonged monitoring by cardiac electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors is useful for patients with emergency heart conditions. However, implant monitoring systems are limited by lack of tissue biocompatibility. Here, we developed an implantable ECG sensor for real-time monitoring of ventricular fibrillation and evaluated its biocompatibility using an animal model. The implantable sensor comprised transplant sensors with two electrodes, a wireless power transmission system, and a monitoring system. The sensor was inserted into the subcutaneous tissue of the abdominal area and operated for 1 h/day for 5 days using a wireless power system. Importantly, the sensor was encapsulated by subcutaneous tissue and induced angiogenesis, inflammation, and phagocytosis. In addition, we observed that the levels of inflammation-related markers increased with wireless-powered transmission via the ECG sensor; in particular, levels of the Th-1 cytokine interleukin-12 were significantly increased. The results showed that induced tissue damage was associated with the use of wireless-powered sensors. We also investigated research strategies for the prevention of adverse effects caused by lack of tissue biocompatibility of a wireless-powered ECG monitoring system and provided information on the clinical applications of inflammatory reactions in implant treatment using the wireless-powered transmission system.

Induction of Inflammation In Vivo by Electrocardiogram Sensor Operation Using Wireless Power Transmission

PubMed Central

Heo, Jin-Chul; Kim, Beomjoon; Kim, Yoon-Nyun; Kim, Dae-Kwang; Lee, Jong-Ha

2017-01-01

Prolonged monitoring by cardiac electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors is useful for patients with emergency heart conditions. However, implant monitoring systems are limited by lack of tissue biocompatibility. Here, we developed an implantable ECG sensor for real-time monitoring of ventricular fibrillation and evaluated its biocompatibility using an animal model. The implantable sensor comprised transplant sensors with two electrodes, a wireless power transmission system, and a monitoring system. The sensor was inserted into the subcutaneous tissue of the abdominal area and operated for 1 h/day for 5 days using a wireless power system. Importantly, the sensor was encapsulated by subcutaneous tissue and induced angiogenesis, inflammation, and phagocytosis. In addition, we observed that the levels of inflammation-related markers increased with wireless-powered transmission via the ECG sensor; in particular, levels of the Th-1 cytokine interleukin-12 were significantly increased. The results showed that induced tissue damage was associated with the use of wireless-powered sensors. We also investigated research strategies for the prevention of adverse effects caused by lack of tissue biocompatibility of a wireless-powered ECG monitoring system and provided information on the clinical applications of inflammatory reactions in implant treatment using the wireless-powered transmission system. PMID:29240666

Fluidic Sensor Temperature Indicating System.

DTIC Science & Technology

A fluidic sensor temperature indicating system designed by Honeywell Inc was tested on a T56 engine during dynamometer calibration. It was also...based on the sensor being mounted in a T56 engine showed a hot gas temperature drop from 1970F at the sensor entrance to 1760F in the sensor pulsation

Proposed evaluation framework for assessing operator performance with multisensor displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foyle, David C.

1992-01-01

Despite aggressive work on the development of sensor fusion algorithms and techniques, no formal evaluation procedures have been proposed. Based on existing integration models in the literature, an evaluation framework is developed to assess an operator's ability to use multisensor, or sensor fusion, displays. The proposed evaluation framework for evaluating the operator's ability to use such systems is a normative approach: The operator's performance with the sensor fusion display can be compared to the models' predictions based on the operator's performance when viewing the original sensor displays prior to fusion. This allows for the determination as to when a sensor fusion system leads to: 1) poorer performance than one of the original sensor displays (clearly an undesirable system in which the fused sensor system causes some distortion or interference); 2) better performance than with either single sensor system alone, but at a sub-optimal (compared to the model predictions) level; 3) optimal performance (compared to model predictions); or, 4) super-optimal performance, which may occur if the operator were able to use some highly diagnostic 'emergent features' in the sensor fusion display, which were unavailable in the original sensor displays. An experiment demonstrating the usefulness of the proposed evaluation framework is discussed.

A Sensor System for Detection of Hull Surface Defects

PubMed Central

Navarro, Pedro; Iborra, Andrés; Fernández, Carlos; Sánchez, Pedro; Suardíaz, Juan

2010-01-01

This paper presents a sensor system for detecting defects in ship hull surfaces. The sensor was developed to enable a robotic system to perform grit blasting operations on ship hulls. To achieve this, the proposed sensor system captures images with the help of a camera and processes them in real time using a new defect detection method based on thresholding techniques. What makes this method different is its efficiency in the automatic detection of defects from images recorded in variable lighting conditions. The sensor system was tested under real conditions at a Spanish shipyard, with excellent results. PMID:22163590

Active weld control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Bradley W.; Burroughs, Ivan A.

1994-01-01

Through the two phases of this contract, sensors for welding applications and parameter extraction algorithms have been developed. These sensors form the foundation of a weld control system which can provide action weld control through the monitoring of the weld pool and keyhole in a VPPA welding process. Systems of this type offer the potential of quality enhancement and cost reduction (minimization of rework on faulty welds) for high-integrity welding applications. Sensors for preweld and postweld inspection, weld pool monitoring, keyhole/weld wire entry monitoring, and seam tracking were developed. Algorithms for signal extraction were also developed and analyzed to determine their application to an adaptive weld control system. The following sections discuss findings for each of the three sensors developed under this contract: (1) weld profiling sensor; (2) weld pool sensor; and (3) stereo seam tracker/keyhole imaging sensor. Hardened versions of these sensors were designed and built under this contract. A control system, described later, was developed on a multiprocessing/multitasking operating system for maximum power and flexibility. Documentation for sensor mechanical and electrical design is also included as appendices in this report.

Automatic Line Calling Badminton System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Affandi Saidi, Syahrul; Adawiyah Zulkiplee, Nurabeahtul; Muhammad, Nazmizan; Sarip, Mohd Sharizan Md

2018-05-01

A system and relevant method are described to detect whether a projectile impact occurs on one side of a boundary line or the other. The system employs the use of force sensing resistor-based sensors that may be designed in segments or assemblies and linked to a mechanism with a display. An impact classification system is provided for distinguishing between various events, including a footstep, ball impact and tennis racquet contact. A sensor monitoring system is provided for determining the condition of sensors and providing an error indication if sensor problems exist. A service detection system is provided when the system is used for tennis that permits activation of selected groups of sensors and deactivation of others.

Design and evaluation of a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing system.

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Yuan, Shenfang; Zhou, Genyuan; Ji, Sai; Wang, Zilong; Wang, Yang

2009-01-01

The verification of aerospace structures, including full-scale fatigue and static test programs, is essential for structure strength design and evaluation. However, the current overall ground strength testing systems employ a large number of wires for communication among sensors and data acquisition facilities. The centralized data processing makes test programs lack efficiency and intelligence. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology might be expected to address the limitations of cable-based aeronautical ground testing systems. This paper presents a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing (AST) system design and its evaluation on a real aircraft specimen. In this paper, a miniature, high-precision, and shock-proof wireless sensor node is designed for multi-channel strain gauge signal conditioning and monitoring. A cluster-star network topology protocol and application layer interface are designed in detail. To verify the functionality of the designed wireless sensor network for strength testing capability, a multi-point WSN based AST system is developed for static testing of a real aircraft undercarriage. Based on the designed wireless sensor nodes, the wireless sensor network is deployed to gather, process, and transmit strain gauge signals and monitor results under different static test loads. This paper shows the efficiency of the wireless sensor network based AST system, compared to a conventional AST system.

Design and Evaluation of a Wireless Sensor Network Based Aircraft Strength Testing System

PubMed Central

Wu, Jian; Yuan, Shenfang; Zhou, Genyuan; Ji, Sai; Wang, Zilong; Wang, Yang

2009-01-01

The verification of aerospace structures, including full-scale fatigue and static test programs, is essential for structure strength design and evaluation. However, the current overall ground strength testing systems employ a large number of wires for communication among sensors and data acquisition facilities. The centralized data processing makes test programs lack efficiency and intelligence. Wireless sensor network (WSN) technology might be expected to address the limitations of cable-based aeronautical ground testing systems. This paper presents a wireless sensor network based aircraft strength testing (AST) system design and its evaluation on a real aircraft specimen. In this paper, a miniature, high-precision, and shock-proof wireless sensor node is designed for multi-channel strain gauge signal conditioning and monitoring. A cluster-star network topology protocol and application layer interface are designed in detail. To verify the functionality of the designed wireless sensor network for strength testing capability, a multi-point WSN based AST system is developed for static testing of a real aircraft undercarriage. Based on the designed wireless sensor nodes, the wireless sensor network is deployed to gather, process, and transmit strain gauge signals and monitor results under different static test loads. This paper shows the efficiency of the wireless sensor network based AST system, compared to a conventional AST system. PMID:22408521

Noncontacting Optical Measurement And Inspection Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asher, Jeffrey A.; Jackson, Robert L.

1986-10-01

Product inspection continues to play a growing role in the improvement of quality and reduction of scrap. Recent emphasis on precision measurements and in-process inspection have been a driving force for the development of noncontacting sensors. Noncontacting sensors can provide long term, unattended use due to the lack of sensor wear. Further, in applications where, sensor contact can damage or geometrically change the part to be measured or inspected, noncontacting sensors are the only technical approach available. MTI is involved in the development and sale of noncontacting sensors and custom inspection systems. This paper will review the recent advances in noncontacting sensor development. Machine vision and fiber optics sensor systems are finding a wide variety of industrial inspection applications. This paper will provide detailed examples of several state-of-the-art applications for these noncontacting sensors.

A new method for registration of heterogeneous sensors in a dimensional measurement system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yan; Wang, Zhong; Fu, Luhua; Qu, Xinghua; Zhang, Heng; Liu, Changjie

2017-10-01

Registration of multiple sensors is a basic step in multi-sensor dimensional or coordinate measuring systems before any measurement. In most cases, a common standard is used to be measured by all sensors, and this may work well for general registration of multiple homogeneous sensors. However, when inhomogeneous sensors detect a common standard, it is usually very difficult to obtain the same information, because of the different working principles of the sensors. In this paper, a new method called multiple steps registration is proposed to register two sensors: a video camera sensor (VCS) and a tactile probe sensor (TPS). In this method, the two sensors measure two separated standards: a chrome circle on a reticle and a reference sphere with a constant distance between them, fixed on a steel plate. The VCS captures only the circle and the TPS touches only the sphere. Both simulations and real experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is robust and accurate in the registration of multiple inhomogeneous sensors in a dimensional measurement system.

Sensor Access to the Cellular Microenvironment Using the Sensing Cell Culture Flask.

PubMed

Kieninger, Jochen; Tamari, Yaara; Enderle, Barbara; Jobst, Gerhard; Sandvik, Joe A; Pettersen, Erik O; Urban, Gerald A

2018-04-26

The Sensing Cell Culture Flask (SCCF) is a cell culture monitoring system accessing the cellular microenvironment in 2D cell culture using electrochemical microsensors. The system is based on microfabricated sensor chips embedded in standard cell culture flasks. Ideally, the sensor chips could be equipped with any electrochemical sensor. Its transparency allows optical inspection of the cells during measurement. The surface of the sensor chip is in-plane with the flask surface allowing undisturbed cell growth on the sensor chip. A custom developed rack system allows easy usage of multiple flasks in parallel within an incubator. The presented data demonstrates the application of the SCCF with brain tumor (T98G) and breast cancer (T-47D) cells. Amperometric oxygen sensors were used to monitor cellular respiration with different incubation conditions. Cellular acidification was accessed with potentiometric pH sensors using electrodeposited iridium oxide films. The system itself provides the foundation for electrochemical monitoring systems in 3D cell culture.

NeXOS, developing and evaluating a new generation of insitu ocean observation systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delory, Eric; del Rio, Joaquin; Golmen, Lars; Roar Hareide, Nils; Pearlman, Jay; Rolin, Jean-Francois; Waldmann, Christoph; Zielinski, Oliver

2017-04-01

Ocean biological, chemical or physical processes occur over widely varying scales in space and time: from micro- to kilometer scales, from less than seconds to centuries. While space systems supply important data and information, insitu data is necessary for comprehensive modeling and forecasting of ocean dynamics. Yet, collection of in-situ observation on these scales is inherently challenging and remains generally difficult and costly in time and resources. This paper address the innovations and significant developments for a new generation of insitu sensors in FP7 European Union project "Next generation, Cost- effective, Compact, Multifunctional Web Enabled Ocean Sensor Systems Empowering Marine, Maritime and Fisheries Management" or "NeXOS" for short. Optical and acoustics sensors are the focus of NeXOS but NeXOS moves beyond just sensors as systems that simultaneously address multiple objectives and applications are becoming increasingly important. Thus NeXOS takes a perspective of both sensors and sensor systems with significant advantages over existing observing capabilities via the implementation of innovations such as multiplatform integration, greater reliability through better antifouling management and greater sensor and data interoperability through use of OGC standards. This presentation will address the sensor system development and field-testing of the new NeXOS sensor systems. This is being done on multiple platforms including profiling floats, gliders, ships, buoys and subsea stations. The implementation of a data system based on SWE and PUCK furthers interoperability across measurements and platforms. This presentation will review the sensor system capabilities, the status of field tests and recommendations for long-term ocean monitoring.

Systems and methods for detecting a flame in a fuel nozzle of a gas turbine

DOEpatents

Kraemer, Gilbert Otto; Storey, James Michael; Lipinski, John; Mestroni, Julio Enrique; Williamson, David Lee; Marshall, Jason Randolph; Krull, Anthony

2013-05-07

A system may detect a flame about a fuel nozzle of a gas turbine. The gas turbine may have a compressor and a combustor. The system may include a first pressure sensor, a second pressure sensor, and a transducer. The first pressure sensor may detect a first pressure upstream of the fuel nozzle. The second pressure sensor may detect a second pressure downstream of the fuel nozzle. The transducer may be operable to detect a pressure difference between the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor.

40 CFR 63.1012 - Compressor standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... fluid system degassing reservoir that is routed to a process or fuel gas system or connected by a closed... sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. Each sensor shall be... the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both. If the sensor indicates failure of the seal system...

40 CFR 63.1012 - Compressor standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... fluid system degassing reservoir that is routed to a process or fuel gas system or connected by a closed... sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. Each sensor shall be... the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both. If the sensor indicates failure of the seal system...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

Development and evaluation of a lightweight sensor system for aerial emission sampling from open area sources

EPA Science Inventory

A new sensor system for mobile and aerial emission sampling was developed for open area pollutant sources, such as prescribed forest burns. The sensor system, termed “Kolibri”, consists of multiple low-cost air quality sensors measuring CO2, CO, samplers for particulate matter wi...

Development and evaluation of a lightweight sensor system for aerial emission sampling from open area sources (Abstract)

EPA Science Inventory

A new sensor system for mobile and aerial emission sampling was developed for open area pollutant sources, such as prescribed forest burns. The sensor system, termed “Kolibri”, consists of multiple low-cost air quality sensors measuring CO2, CO, samplers for particulate matter wi...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

Development and evaluation of a lightweight sensor system for emission sampling from open area sources

EPA Science Inventory

A new sensor system for mobile and aerial emission sampling was developed for open area sources, such as open burning. The sensor system, termed “Kolibri”, consists of multiple low-cost air quality sensors measuring CO2, CO, and black carbon, samplers for particulate matter with ...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

30 CFR 75.1103-3 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-3 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; minimum requirements; general. Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems installed in belt haulageways of...

A Modular Plug-And-Play Sensor System for Urban Air Pollution Monitoring: Design, Implementation and Evaluation.

PubMed

Yi, Wei-Ying; Leung, Kwong-Sak; Leung, Yee

2017-12-22

Urban air pollution has caused public concern globally because it seriously affects human life. Modern monitoring systems providing pollution information with high spatio-temporal resolution have been developed to identify personal exposures. However, these systems' hardware specifications and configurations are usually fixed according to the applications. They can be inconvenient to maintain, and difficult to reconfigure and expand with respect to sensing capabilities. This paper aims at tackling these issues by adopting the proposed Modular Sensor System (MSS) architecture and Universal Sensor Interface (USI), and modular design in a sensor node. A compact MSS sensor node is implemented and evaluated. It has expandable sensor modules with plug-and-play feature and supports multiple Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Evaluation results show that MSS sensor nodes can easily fit in different scenarios, adapt to reconfigurations dynamically, and detect low concentration air pollution with high energy efficiency and good data accuracy. We anticipate that the efforts on system maintenance, adaptation, and evolution can be significantly reduced when deploying the system in the field.

Long wavelength fluorescence based biosensors for in vivo continuous monitoring of metabolites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Joseph; Ambroise, Arounaguiry; Birchfield, Kara; Cai, Wensheng; Sandmann, Christian; Singh, Sarabjit; Weidemaier, Kristin; Pitner, J. Bruce

2006-02-01

The early stage development studies of novel implantable continuous metabolite sensor systems for glucose, lactate and fatty acids are discussed. These sensors utilize non-enzymatic "reagentless" sensor systems based on NIR fluorophore-labeled binding proteins. For in vivo applications, NIR fluorescence based systems (beyond 600 nm) have the added benefit of reduced interference from background scattering, tissue and serum absorption and cell auto-fluorescence. The long wavelength emission facilitates implanted sensor disks to transmit fluorescence to an external reader through wireless connections and the resulting fluorescence signals can be correlated to metabolite concentrations. We have developed a prototype optical system that uses a bifurcated optical fiber to transmit excitation and read emission at the surface of the skin. With this system, fluorescence signals were read over time through animal skin. The changes in glucose concentration were studied using immobilized sensor proteins and were compared to non-immobilized sensors in solution. For sensors in solution, no response delay was observed. For immobilized systems, the fluorescence response showed a delay corresponding to the diffusion time for the metabolite to equilibrate within the sensor.

Development of an In-Situ Decommissioning Sensor Network Test Bed for Structural Condition Monitoring - 12156

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zeigler, Kristine E.; Ferguson, Blythe A.

2012-07-01

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has established an In Situ Decommissioning (ISD) Sensor Network Test Bed, a unique, small scale, configurable environment, for the assessment of prospective sensors on actual ISD system material, at minimal cost. The Department of Energy (DOE) is presently implementing permanent entombment of contaminated, large nuclear structures via ISD. The ISD end state consists of a grout-filled concrete civil structure within the concrete frame of the original building. Validation of ISD system performance models and verification of actual system conditions can be achieved through the development a system of sensors to monitor the materials andmore » condition of the structure. The ISD Sensor Network Test Bed has been designed and deployed to addresses the DOE-Environmental Management Technology Need to develop a remote monitoring system to determine and verify ISD system performance. Commercial off-the-shelf sensors have been installed on concrete blocks taken from walls of the P Reactor Building at the Savannah River Site. Deployment of this low-cost structural monitoring system provides hands-on experience with sensor networks. The initial sensor system consists of groutable thermistors for temperature and moisture monitoring, strain gauges for crack growth monitoring, tilt-meters for settlement monitoring, and a communication system for data collection. Baseline data and lessons learned from system design and installation and initial field testing will be utilized for future ISD sensor network development and deployment. The Sensor Network Test Bed at SRNL uses COTS sensors on concrete blocks from the outer wall of the P Reactor Building to measure conditions expected to occur in ISD structures. Knowledge and lessons learned gained from installation, testing, and monitoring of the equipment will be applied to sensor installation in a meso-scale test bed at FIU and in future ISD structures. The initial data collected from the sensors installed on the P Reactor Building blocks define the baseline materials condition of the P Reactor ISD external concrete structure. Continued monitoring of the blocks will enable evaluation of the effects of aging on the P Reactor ISD structure. The collected data will support validation of the material degradation model and assessment of the condition of the ISD structure over time. The following are recommendations for continued development of the ISD Sensor Network Test Bed: - Establish a long-term monitoring program using the concrete blocks with existing sensor and/or additional sensors for trending the concrete materials and structural condition; - Continue development of a stand-alone test bed sensor system that is self-powered and provides wireless transmission of data to a user-accessible dashboard; - Develop and implement periodic NDE/DE characterization of the concrete blocks to provide verification and validation for the measurements obtained through the sensor system and concrete degradation model(s). (authors)« less

Position and orientation determination system and method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harpring, Lawrence J.; Farfan, Eduardo B.; Gordon, John R.

A position determination system and method is provided that may be used for obtaining position and orientation information of a detector in a contaminated room. The system includes a detector, a sensor operably coupled to the detector, and a motor coupled to the sensor to move the sensor around the detector. A CPU controls the operation of the motor to move the sensor around the detector and determines distance and angle data from the sensor to an object. The method includes moving a sensor around the detector and measuring distance and angle data from the sensor to an object atmore » incremental positions around the detector.« less

Optimum Sensors Integration for Multi-Sensor Multi-Target Environment for Ballistic Missile Defense Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Imam, Neena; Barhen, Jacob; Glover, Charles Wayne

2012-01-01

Multi-sensor networks may face resource limitations in a dynamically evolving multiple target tracking scenario. It is necessary to task the sensors efficiently so that the overall system performance is maximized within the system constraints. The central sensor resource manager may control the sensors to meet objective functions that are formulated to meet system goals such as minimization of track loss, maximization of probability of target detection, and minimization of track error. This paper discusses the variety of techniques that may be utilized to optimize sensor performance for either near term gain or future reward over a longer time horizon.

Spectrum-modulating fiber-optic sensors for aircraft control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beheim, Glenn; Fritsch, Klaus

1987-01-01

A family of fiber-optic sensors for aircraft engine control systems is described. Each of these sensors uses a spectrum-modulation method to obtain an output which is largely independent of the fiber link transmissivity. A position encoder is described which uses a code plate to digitally modulate the sensor output spectrum. Also described are pressure and temperature sensors, each of which uses a Fabry-Perot cavity to modulate the sensor output spectrum as a continuous function of the measurand. A technique is described whereby a collection of these sensors may be effectively combined to perform a number of the measurements which are required by an aircraft-engine control system.

SENSOR++: Simulation of Remote Sensing Systems from Visible to Thermal Infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paproth, C.; Schlüßler, E.; Scherbaum, P.; Börner, A.

2012-07-01

During the development process of a remote sensing system, the optimization and the verification of the sensor system are important tasks. To support these tasks, the simulation of the sensor and its output is valuable. This enables the developers to test algorithms, estimate errors, and evaluate the capabilities of the whole sensor system before the final remote sensing system is available and produces real data. The presented simulation concept, SENSOR++, consists of three parts. The first part is the geometric simulation which calculates where the sensor looks at by using a ray tracing algorithm. This also determines whether the observed part of the scene is shadowed or not. The second part describes the radiometry and results in the spectral at-sensor radiance from the visible spectrum to the thermal infrared according to the simulated sensor type. In the case of earth remote sensing, it also includes a model of the radiative transfer through the atmosphere. The final part uses the at-sensor radiance to generate digital images by using an optical and an electronic sensor model. Using SENSOR++ for an optimization requires the additional application of task-specific data processing algorithms. The principle of the simulation approach is explained, all relevant concepts of SENSOR++ are discussed, and first examples of its use are given, for example a camera simulation for a moon lander. Finally, the verification of SENSOR++ is demonstrated.

Isolating Gas Sensor From Pressure And Temperature Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sprinkle, Danny R.; Chen, Tony T. D.; Chaturvedi, Sushi K.

1994-01-01

Two-stage flow system enables oxygen sensor in system to measure oxygen content of low-pressure, possibly-high-temperature atmosphere in test environment while protecting sensor against possibly high temperature and fluctuations in pressure of atmosphere. Sensor for which flow system designed is zirconium oxide oxygen sensor sampling atmospheres in high-temperature wind tunnels. Also adapted to other gas-analysis instruments that must be isolated from pressure and temperature effects of test environments.

Differences in glance behavior between drivers using a rearview camera, parking sensor system, both technologies, or no technology during low-speed parking maneuvers.

PubMed

Kidd, David G; McCartt, Anne T

2016-02-01

This study characterized the use of various fields of view during low-speed parking maneuvers by drivers with a rearview camera, a sensor system, a camera and sensor system combined, or neither technology. Participants performed four different low-speed parking maneuvers five times. Glances to different fields of view the second time through the four maneuvers were coded along with the glance locations at the onset of the audible warning from the sensor system and immediately after the warning for participants in the sensor and camera-plus-sensor conditions. Overall, the results suggest that information from cameras and/or sensor systems is used in place of mirrors and shoulder glances. Participants with a camera, sensor system, or both technologies looked over their shoulders significantly less than participants without technology. Participants with cameras (camera and camera-plus-sensor conditions) used their mirrors significantly less compared with participants without cameras (no-technology and sensor conditions). Participants in the camera-plus-sensor condition looked at the center console/camera display for a smaller percentage of the time during the low-speed maneuvers than participants in the camera condition and glanced more frequently to the center console/camera display immediately after the warning from the sensor system compared with the frequency of glances to this location at warning onset. Although this increase was not statistically significant, the pattern suggests that participants in the camera-plus-sensor condition may have used the warning as a cue to look at the camera display. The observed differences in glance behavior between study groups were illustrated by relating it to the visibility of a 12-15-month-old child-size object. These findings provide evidence that drivers adapt their glance behavior during low-speed parking maneuvers following extended use of rearview cameras and parking sensors, and suggest that other technologies which augment the driving task may do the same. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deep-brain stimulator and control of Parkinson's disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varadan, Vijay K.; Harbaugh, Robert; Abraham, Jose K.

2004-07-01

The design of a novel feedback sensor system with wireless implantable polymer MEMS sensors for detecting and wirelessly transmitting physiological data that can be used for the diagnosis and treatment of various neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, head injury, stroke, hydrocephalus, changes in pressure, patient movements, and tremors is presented in this paper. The sensor system includes MEMS gyroscopes, accelerometers, and pressure sensors. This feedback sensor system focuses on the development and integration of implantable systems with various wireless sensors for medical applications, particularly for the Parkinson's disease. It is easy to integrate and modify the sensor network feed back system for other neurological disorders mentioned above. The monitoring and control of tremor in Parkinson's disease can be simulated on a skeleton via wireless telemetry system communicating with electroactive polymer actuator, and microsensors attached to the skeleton hand and legs. Upon sensing any abnormal motor activity which represent the characteristic rhythmic motion of a typical Parkinson's (PD) patient, these sensors will generate necessary control pulses which will be transmitted to a hat sensor system on the skeleton head. Tiny inductively coupled antennas attached to the hat sensor system can receive these control pulses, demodulate and deliver it to actuate the parts of the skeleton to control the abnormal motor activity. This feedback sensor system can further monitor and control depending on the amplitude of the abnormal motor activity. This microsystem offers cost effective means of monitoring and controlling of neurological disorders in real PD patients. Also, this network system offers a remote monitoring of the patients conditions without visiting doctors office or hospitals. The data can be monitored using PDA and can be accessed using internet (or cell phone). Cellular phone technology will allow a health care worker to be automatically notified if monitoring indicates an emergency situation. The main advantage of such system is that it can effectively monitor large number of patients at the same time, which helps to compensate the present shortage of health care workers.

Erbium-doped fiber amplifier elements for structural analysis sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanna-Hawver, P.; Kamdar, K. D.; Mehta, S.; Nagarajan, S.; Nasta, M. H.; Claus, R. O.

1992-01-01

The use of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA's) in optical fiber sensor systems for structural analysis is described. EDFA's were developed for primary applications as periodic regenerator amplifiers in long-distance fiber-based communication systems. Their in-line amplification performance also makes them attractive for optical fiber sensor systems which require long effective lengths or the synthesis of special length-dependent signal processing functions. Sensor geometries incorporating EDFA's in recirculating and multiple loop sensors are discussed. Noise and polarization birefringence are also considered, and the experimental development of system components is discussed.

Flexural impact force absorption of mouthguard materials using film sensor system.

PubMed

Reza, Fazal; Churei, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Hidekazu; Iwasaki, Naohiko; Ueno, Toshiaki

2014-06-01

Several methods have been used to measure the impact force absorption capacities of mouthguard materials; however, the relationships among these measurement systems have not been clearly determined. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact force-absorbing capability of materials using a drop-ball system with film sensors and load cells to clarify the relationship between these two sensor systems. Disk-shaped specimens (1, 2, and 3 mm thick) were prepared using three commercial thermoplastic mouthguard materials (Bioplast, Impact Guard, MG 21) and one experimental mouthguard material [mixture of Poly (ethyl methacrylate)]. Impact force was applied by letting a stainless steel ball drop free-fall onto the specimens and then measuring the impact load under each specimen using a film sensor system and a load cell sensor system. The total load measured with the film sensor system decreased with an increase in mouthguard thickness, while almost none of the transmitted impact forces measured with the load cell system were statistically different. The film sensor system was considered to be superior to the load cell system because the maximum stress and stress area could be determined. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fiber optic (flight quality) sensors for advanced aircraft propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poppel, Gary L.

1994-01-01

Development of flight prototype, fiber-optic sensing system components for measuring nine sensed parameters (three temperatures, two speeds, three positions, and one flame) on an F404-400 aircraft engine is described. Details of each sensor's design, functionality, and environmental testing, and the electro-optics architecture for sensor signal conditioning are presented. Eight different optical sensing techniques were utilized. Design, assembly, and environmental testing of an engine-mounted, electro-optics chassis unit (EOU), providing MIL-C-1553 data output, are related. Interconnection cables and connectors between the EOU and the sensors are identified. Results of sensor/cable/circuitry integrated testing, and installation and ground testing of the sensor system on an engine in October 1993 and April 1994 are given, including comparisons with the engine control system's electrical sensors. Lessons learned about the design, fabrication, testing, and integration of the sensor system components are included.

Secured network sensor-based defense system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Sixiao; Shen, Dan; Ge, Linqiang; Yu, Wei; Blasch, Erik P.; Pham, Khanh D.; Chen, Genshe

2015-05-01

Network sensor-based defense (NSD) systems have been widely used to defend against cyber threats. Nonetheless, if the adversary finds ways to identify the location of monitor sensors, the effectiveness of NSD systems can be reduced. In this paper, we propose both temporal and spatial perturbation based defense mechanisms to secure NSD systems and make the monitor sensor invisible to the adversary. The temporal-perturbation based defense manipulates the timing information of published data so that the probability of successfully recognizing monitor sensors can be reduced. The spatial-perturbation based defense dynamically redeploys monitor sensors in the network so that the adversary cannot obtain the complete information to recognize all of the monitor sensors. We carried out experiments using real-world traffic traces to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed defense mechanisms. Our data shows that our proposed defense mechanisms can reduce the attack accuracy of recognizing detection sensors.

Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4) User Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sowers, T. Shane

2012-01-01

This paper describes a User Guide for the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4). S4 was developed to optimally select a sensor suite from a larger pool of candidate sensors based on their performance in a diagnostic system. For aerospace systems, selecting the proper sensors is important for ensuring adequate measurement coverage to satisfy operational, maintenance, performance, and system diagnostic criteria. S4 optimizes the selection of sensors based on the system fault diagnostic approach while taking conflicting objectives such as cost, weight and reliability into consideration. S4 can be described as a general architecture structured to accommodate application-specific components and requirements. It performs combinational optimization with a user defined merit or cost function to identify optimum or near-optimum sensor suite solutions. The S4 User Guide describes the sensor selection procedure and presents an example problem using an open source turbofan engine simulation to demonstrate its application.

Optimal Sensor Allocation for Fault Detection and Isolation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Azam, Mohammad; Pattipati, Krishna; Patterson-Hine, Ann

2004-01-01

Automatic fault diagnostic schemes rely on various types of sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, vibration, etc) to measure the system parameters. Efficacy of a diagnostic scheme is largely dependent on the amount and quality of information available from these sensors. The reliability of sensors, as well as the weight, volume, power, and cost constraints, often makes it impractical to monitor a large number of system parameters. An optimized sensor allocation that maximizes the fault diagnosibility, subject to specified weight, volume, power, and cost constraints is required. Use of optimal sensor allocation strategies during the design phase can ensure better diagnostics at a reduced cost for a system incorporating a high degree of built-in testing. In this paper, we propose an approach that employs multiple fault diagnosis (MFD) and optimization techniques for optimal sensor placement for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in complex systems. Keywords: sensor allocation, multiple fault diagnosis, Lagrangian relaxation, approximate belief revision, multidimensional knapsack problem.

A Novel Design of an Automatic Lighting Control System for a Wireless Sensor Network with Increased Sensor Lifetime and Reduced Sensor Numbers

PubMed Central

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a Lighting Automatic Control System (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane’s surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design. PMID:22164114

A Passive Wireless Multi-Sensor SAW Technology Device and System Perspectives

PubMed Central

Malocha, Donald C.; Gallagher, Mark; Fisher, Brian; Humphries, James; Gallagher, Daniel; Kozlovski, Nikolai

2013-01-01

This paper will discuss a SAW passive, wireless multi-sensor system under development by our group for the past several years. The device focus is on orthogonal frequency coded (OFC) SAW sensors, which use both frequency diversity and pulse position reflectors to encode the device ID and will be briefly contrasted to other embodiments. A synchronous correlator transceiver is used for the hardware and post processing and correlation techniques of the received signal to extract the sensor information will be presented. Critical device and system parameters addressed include encoding, operational range, SAW device parameters, post-processing, and antenna-SAW device integration. A fully developed 915 MHz OFC SAW multi-sensor system is used to show experimental results. The system is based on a software radio approach that provides great flexibility for future enhancements and diverse sensor applications. Several different sensor types using the OFC SAW platform are shown. PMID:23666124

A novel design of an automatic lighting control system for a wireless sensor network with increased sensor lifetime and reduced sensor numbers.

PubMed

Mohamaddoust, Reza; Haghighat, Abolfazl Toroghi; Sharif, Mohamad Javad Motahari; Capanni, Niccolo

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are currently being applied to energy conservation applications such as light control. We propose a design for such a system called a lighting automatic control system (LACS). The LACS system contains a centralized or distributed architecture determined by application requirements and space usage. The system optimizes the calculations and communications for lighting intensity, incorporates user illumination requirements according to their activities and performs adjustments based on external lighting effects in external sensor and external sensor-less architectures. Methods are proposed for reducing the number of sensors required and increasing the lifetime of those used, for considerably reduced energy consumption. Additionally we suggest methods for improving uniformity of illuminance distribution on a workplane's surface, which improves user satisfaction. Finally simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness of our design.

Design and integration of a generic disposable array-compatible sensor housing into an integrated disposable indirect microfluidic flow injection analysis system.

PubMed

Rapp, Bastian E; Schickling, Benjamin; Prokop, Jürgen; Piotter, Volker; Rapp, Michael; Länge, Kerstin

2011-10-01

We describe an integration strategy for arbitrary sensors intended to be used as biosensors in biomedical or bioanalytical applications. For such devices ease of handling (by a potential end user) as well as strict disposable usage are of importance. Firstly we describe a generic array compatible polymer sensor housing with an effective sample volume of 1.55 μl. This housing leaves the sensitive surface of the sensor accessible for the application of biosensing layers even after the embedding. In a second step we show how this sensor housing can be used in combination with a passive disposable microfluidic chip to set up arbitrary 8-fold sensor arrays and how such a system can be complemented with an indirect microfluidic flow injection analysis (FIA) system. This system is designed in a way that it strictly separates between disposable and reusable components- by introducing tetradecane as an intermediate liquid. This results in a sensor system compatible with the demands of most biomedical applications. Comparative measurements between a classical macroscopic FIA system and this integrated indirect microfluidic system are presented. We use a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor as an exemplary detector in this work.

3D sensor placement strategy using the full-range pheromone ant colony system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuo, Feng; Jingqing, Jia

2016-07-01

An optimized sensor placement strategy will be extremely beneficial to ensure the safety and cost reduction considerations of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. The sensors must be placed such that important dynamic information is obtained and the number of sensors is minimized. The practice is to select individual sensor directions by several 1D sensor methods and the triaxial sensors are placed in these directions for monitoring. However, this may lead to non-optimal placement of many triaxial sensors. In this paper, a new method, called FRPACS, is proposed based on the ant colony system (ACS) to solve the optimal placement of triaxial sensors. The triaxial sensors are placed as single units in an optimal fashion. And then the new method is compared with other algorithms using Dalian North Bridge. The computational precision and iteration efficiency of the FRPACS has been greatly improved compared with the original ACS and EFI method.

An RFID-based on-lens sensor system for long-term IOP monitoring.

PubMed

Hsu, Shun-Hsi; Chiou, Jin-Chern; Liao, Yu-Te; Yang, Tzu-Sen; Kuei, Cheng-Kai; Wu, Tsung-Wei; Huang, Yu-Chieh

2015-01-01

In this paper, an RFID-based on-lens sensor system is proposed for noninvasive long-term intraocular pressure monitoring. The proposed sensor IC, fabricated in a 0.18um CMOS process, consists of capacitive sensor readout circuitry, RFID communication circuits, and digital processing units. The sensor IC is integrated with electroplating capacitive sensors and a receiving antenna on the contact lens. The sensor IC can be wirelessly powered, communicate with RFID compatible equipment, and perform IOP measurement using on-lens capacitive sensor continuously from a 2cm distance while the incident power from an RFID reader is 20 dBm. The proposed system is compatible to Gen2 RFID protocol, extending the flexibility and reducing the self-developed firmware efforts.

Multisatellite attitude determination/optical aspect bias determination (MSAD/OABIAS) system description and operating guide. Volume 3: Operating guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joseph, M.; Keat, J.; Liu, K. S.; Plett, M. E.; Shear, M. A.; Shinohara, T.; Wertz, J. R.

1983-01-01

The Multisatellite Attitude Determination/Optical Aspect Bias Determination (MSAD/OABIAS) System, designed to determine spin axis orientation and biases in the alignment or performance of optical or infrared horizon sensors and Sun sensors used for spacecraft attitude determination, is described. MSAD/OABIAS uses any combination of eight observation models to process data from a single onboard horizon sensor and Sun sensor to determine simultaneously the two components of the attitude of the spacecraft, the initial phase of the Sun sensor, the spin rate, seven sensor biases, and the orbital in-track error associated with the spacecraft ephemeris information supplied to the system. In addition, the MSAD/OABIAS system provides a data simulator for system and performance testing, an independent deterministic attitude system for preprocessing and independent testing of biases determined, and a multipurpose data prediction and comparison system.

Multisatellite attitude determination/optical aspect bias determination (MSAD/OABIAS) system description and operating guide. Volume 1: Introduction and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joseph, M.; Ket, J. E.; Liu, K. S.; Plett, M. E.; Shear, M. A.; Shinohara, T.; Wertz, J. R.

1983-01-01

The Multisatellite Attitude Determination/Optical Aspect Bias Determination (MSAD/OABIAS) System, designed to determine spin axis orientation and biases in the alignment or performance of optical or infrared horizon sensors and Sun sensors used for spacecraft attitude determination is described. MSAD/OABIAS uses any combination of eight observation models to process data from a single onboard horizon sensor and Sun sensor to determine simultaneously the two components of the attitude of the spacecraft, the initial phase of the Sun sensor, the spin rate, seven sensor biases, and the orbital in-track error associated with the spacecraft ephemeris information supplied to the system. In addition, the MSAD/OABIAS System provides a data simulator for system and performance testing, an independent deterministic attitude system for preprocessing and independent testing of biases determined, and a multipurpose data prediction and comparison system.

Slush hydrogen liquid level system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamlet, J. F.; Adams, R. G.

1972-01-01

A discrete capacitance liquid level system developed is specifically for slush hydrogen, but applicable to LOX, LN2, LH2, and RP1 without modification is described. The signal processing portion of the system is compatible with conventional liquid level sensors. Compatibility with slush hydrogen was achieved by designing the sensor with adequate spacing, while retaining the electrical characteristics of conventional sensors. Tests indicate excellent stability of the system over a temperature range of -20 C to 70 C for the circuit and to cryogenic temperatures of the sensor. The sensor was tested up to 40 g's rms random vibration with no damage to the sensor. Operation with 305 m of cable between the sensor and signal processor was demonstrated. It is concluded that this design is more than adequate for most flight and ground applications.

Dense range map reconstruction from a versatile robotic sensor system with an active trinocular vision and a passive binocular vision.

PubMed

Kim, Min Young; Lee, Hyunkee; Cho, Hyungsuck

2008-04-10

One major research issue associated with 3D perception by robotic systems is the creation of efficient sensor systems that can generate dense range maps reliably. A visual sensor system for robotic applications is developed that is inherently equipped with two types of sensor, an active trinocular vision and a passive stereo vision. Unlike in conventional active vision systems that use a large number of images with variations of projected patterns for dense range map acquisition or from conventional passive vision systems that work well on specific environments with sufficient feature information, a cooperative bidirectional sensor fusion method for this visual sensor system enables us to acquire a reliable dense range map using active and passive information simultaneously. The fusion algorithms are composed of two parts, one in which the passive stereo vision helps active vision and the other in which the active trinocular vision helps the passive one. The first part matches the laser patterns in stereo laser images with the help of intensity images; the second part utilizes an information fusion technique using the dynamic programming method in which image regions between laser patterns are matched pixel-by-pixel with help of the fusion results obtained in the first part. To determine how the proposed sensor system and fusion algorithms can work in real applications, the sensor system is implemented on a robotic system, and the proposed algorithms are applied. A series of experimental tests is performed for a variety of configurations of robot and environments. The performance of the sensor system is discussed in detail.

Demonstration of a high speed hybrid electrical and optical sensing system for next generation launcher applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Selwan K.; O'Dowd, John A.; Honniball, Arthur; Bessler, Vivian; Farnan, Martin; O'Connor, Peter; Melicher, Milos; Gleeson, Danny

2017-09-01

The Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) has a goal of developing various launch vehicle system concepts and identifying the technologies required for the design of Europe's Next-Generation Launcher (NGL) while maintaining competitiveness on the commercial market. Avionics fiber optic sensing technology was investigated as part of the FLPP programme. Here we demonstrate and evaluate a high speed hybrid electrical/optical data acquisition system based on commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology capable of acquiring data from traditional electrical sensors and optical Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. The proposed system consists of the KAM-500 data acquisition system developed by Curtis-Wright and the I4 tunable laser based fiber optic sensor interrogator developed by FAZ Technology. The key objective was to demonstrate the capability of the hybrid system to acquire data from traditional electrical sensors used in launcher applications e.g. strain, temperature and pressure in combination with optical FBG sensors, as well as data delivery to spacecraft avionics systems. The KAM-500 was configured as the main acquisition unit (MAU) and provided a 1 kHz sampling clock to the I4 interrogator that was configured as the secondary acquisition unit (SAU) to synchronize the data acquisition sample rate between both systems. The SAU acquired data from an array of optical FBG sensors, while the MAU data acquisition system acquired data from the electrical sensors. Data acquired from the optical sensors was processed by the FAZ I4 interrogation system and then encapsulated into UDP/IP packets and transferred to the KAM-500. The KAM-500 encapsulated the optical sensor data together with the data acquired from electrical sensors and transmitted the data over MIL-STD-1553 and Ethernet data interface. The temperature measurements resulted in the optical and electrical sensors performing on a par with each other, with all sensors recording an accuracy within 0.35% FS over the full temperature range of -70°C to +180°C. The pressure measurements were performed over a 0 to 5 bar absolute pressure range and over different temperatures across a -40°C to +80°C range. The tests concluded that the optical pressure sensors performed on par with the electrical pressure sensor for each temperature set, where both sensor technologies measured a pressure accuracy of 1.2% FS. As for the strain measurements, the results show the optical and electrical sensors can measure to within 1% FS (Full Scale) of measurement range +/-1,200 μstrain. The proposed hybrid system can be potentially used for next generation launcher applications delivering weight reduction, improvement in measurement coverage and reduction in Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) over traditional electrical systems.

Wireless chemical sensor system based on electromagnetically energy-harvesting metamaterials (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wonwoo; Jung, Yonghee; Jung, Hyunseung; Lee, Hojin

2017-02-01

In the past decade, there have been many studies on metamaterial based chemical and biological sensors due to their exotic resonance properties in microwave ranges. However, in spite of their non-destructive and highly sensitive properties, they have suffered from the use of bulky and expensive external measurement systems like a network analyzer for measuring resonance properties in the microwave regime. In this study, to increase accessibility of the metamaterial-based sensors, we propose a novel wireless chemical sensor system based on energy harvesting metamaterials at the microwave frequencies. The proposed metamaterial chemical sensor consists of a single split ring resonator and rectifier circuit to harvest the energy at the specific frequency, so that the chemical composition of the specific solution can be distinguished by the proposed metamaterial sensor by using the resonance property between the source antenna and the metamaterial which induces the variation in the energy harvesting rate of our sensor system. In our experimental setup, we used a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi system as a source antenna. To verify the chemical sensitivity of the proposed sensor intuitively, we adopted a light emitting diode as an indicator of which luminescence is proportional to the energy harvesting rate determined by the ratio of ethanol and water in their binary mixture. With these results, it can be expected that our metamaterial-based wireless sensor can pave the way to the miniaturized wireless sensor systems and can be applied to not only for the chemical fluidic sensors but also for other dynamic environment sensing systems.

Review on the Traction System Sensor Technology of a Rail Transit Train.

PubMed

Feng, Jianghua; Xu, Junfeng; Liao, Wu; Liu, Yong

2017-06-11

The development of high-speed intelligent rail transit has increased the number of sensors applied on trains. These play an important role in train state control and monitoring. These sensors generally work in a severe environment, so the key problem for sensor data acquisition is to ensure data accuracy and reliability. In this paper, we follow the sequence of sensor signal flow, present sensor signal sensing technology, sensor data acquisition, and processing technology, as well as sensor fault diagnosis technology based on the voltage, current, speed, and temperature sensors which are commonly used in train traction systems. Finally, intelligent sensors and future research directions of rail transit train sensors are discussed.

Review on the Traction System Sensor Technology of a Rail Transit Train

PubMed Central

Feng, Jianghua; Xu, Junfeng; Liao, Wu; Liu, Yong

2017-01-01

The development of high-speed intelligent rail transit has increased the number of sensors applied on trains. These play an important role in train state control and monitoring. These sensors generally work in a severe environment, so the key problem for sensor data acquisition is to ensure data accuracy and reliability. In this paper, we follow the sequence of sensor signal flow, present sensor signal sensing technology, sensor data acquisition, and processing technology, as well as sensor fault diagnosis technology based on the voltage, current, speed, and temperature sensors which are commonly used in train traction systems. Finally, intelligent sensors and future research directions of rail transit train sensors are discussed. PMID:28604615

Sensor network based vehicle classification and license plate identification system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frigo, Janette Rose; Brennan, Sean M; Rosten, Edward J

Typically, for energy efficiency and scalability purposes, sensor networks have been used in the context of environmental and traffic monitoring applications in which operations at the sensor level are not computationally intensive. But increasingly, sensor network applications require data and compute intensive sensors such video cameras and microphones. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of two such systems: a vehicle classifier based on acoustic signals and a license plate identification system using a camera. The systems are implemented in an energy-efficient manner to the extent possible using commercially available hardware, the Mica motes and the Stargate platform.more » Our experience in designing these systems leads us to consider an alternate more flexible, modular, low-power mote architecture that uses a combination of FPGAs, specialized embedded processing units and sensor data acquisition systems.« less

Hybrid online sensor error detection and functional redundancy for systems with time-varying parameters.

PubMed

Feng, Jianyuan; Turksoy, Kamuran; Samadi, Sediqeh; Hajizadeh, Iman; Littlejohn, Elizabeth; Cinar, Ali

2017-12-01

Supervision and control systems rely on signals from sensors to receive information to monitor the operation of a system and adjust manipulated variables to achieve the control objective. However, sensor performance is often limited by their working conditions and sensors may also be subjected to interference by other devices. Many different types of sensor errors such as outliers, missing values, drifts and corruption with noise may occur during process operation. A hybrid online sensor error detection and functional redundancy system is developed to detect errors in online signals, and replace erroneous or missing values detected with model-based estimates. The proposed hybrid system relies on two techniques, an outlier-robust Kalman filter (ORKF) and a locally-weighted partial least squares (LW-PLS) regression model, which leverage the advantages of automatic measurement error elimination with ORKF and data-driven prediction with LW-PLS. The system includes a nominal angle analysis (NAA) method to distinguish between signal faults and large changes in sensor values caused by real dynamic changes in process operation. The performance of the system is illustrated with clinical data continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors from people with type 1 diabetes. More than 50,000 CGM sensor errors were added to original CGM signals from 25 clinical experiments, then the performance of error detection and functional redundancy algorithms were analyzed. The results indicate that the proposed system can successfully detect most of the erroneous signals and substitute them with reasonable estimated values computed by functional redundancy system.

Dealing with the Effects of Sensor Displacement in Wearable Activity Recognition

PubMed Central

Banos, Oresti; Toth, Mate Attila; Damas, Miguel; Pomares, Hector; Rojas, Ignacio

2014-01-01

Most wearable activity recognition systems assume a predefined sensor deployment that remains unchanged during runtime. However, this assumption does not reflect real-life conditions. During the normal use of such systems, users may place the sensors in a position different from the predefined sensor placement. Also, sensors may move from their original location to a different one, due to a loose attachment. Activity recognition systems trained on activity patterns characteristic of a given sensor deployment may likely fail due to sensor displacements. In this work, we innovatively explore the effects of sensor displacement induced by both the intentional misplacement of sensors and self-placement by the user. The effects of sensor displacement are analyzed for standard activity recognition techniques, as well as for an alternate robust sensor fusion method proposed in a previous work. While classical recognition models show little tolerance to sensor displacement, the proposed method is proven to have notable capabilities to assimilate the changes introduced in the sensor position due to self-placement and provides considerable improvements for large misplacements. PMID:24915181

Recent Progress of Self-Powered Sensing Systems for Wearable Electronics.

PubMed

Lou, Zheng; Li, La; Wang, Lili; Shen, Guozhen

2017-12-01

Wearable/flexible electronic sensing systems are considered to be one of the key technologies in the next generation of smart personal electronics. To realize personal portable devices with mobile electronics application, i.e., wearable electronic sensors that can work sustainably and continuously without an external power supply are highly desired. The recent progress and advantages of wearable self-powered electronic sensing systems for mobile or personal attachable health monitoring applications are presented. An overview of various types of wearable electronic sensors, including flexible tactile sensors, wearable image sensor array, biological and chemical sensor, temperature sensors, and multifunctional integrated sensing systems is provided. Self-powered sensing systems with integrated energy units are then discussed, separated as energy harvesting self-powered sensing systems, energy storage integrated sensing systems, and all-in-on integrated sensing systems. Finally, the future perspectives of self-powered sensing systems for wearable electronics are discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Feasibility study on sensor data fusion for the CP-140 aircraft: fusion architecture analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahbazian, Elisa

1995-09-01

Loral Canada completed (May 1995) a Department of National Defense (DND) Chief of Research and Development (CRAD) contract, to study the feasibility of implementing a multi- sensor data fusion (MSDF) system onboard the CP-140 Aurora aircraft. This system is expected to fuse data from: (a) attributed measurement oriented sensors (ESM, IFF, etc.); (b) imaging sensors (FLIR, SAR, etc.); (c) tracking sensors (radar, acoustics, etc.); (d) data from remote platforms (data links); and (e) non-sensor data (intelligence reports, environmental data, visual sightings, encyclopedic data, etc.). Based on purely theoretical considerations a central-level fusion architecture will lead to a higher performance fusion system. However, there are a number of systems and fusion architecture issues involving fusion of such dissimilar data: (1) the currently existing sensors are not designed to provide the type of data required by a fusion system; (2) the different types (attribute, imaging, tracking, etc.) of data may require different degree of processing, before they can be used within a fusion system efficiently; (3) the data quality from different sensors, and more importantly from remote platforms via the data links must be taken into account before fusing; and (4) the non-sensor data may impose specific requirements on the fusion architecture (e.g. variable weight/priority for the data from different sensors). This paper presents the analyses performed for the selection of the fusion architecture for the enhanced sensor suite planned for the CP-140 aircraft in the context of the mission requirements and environmental conditions.

Design Considerations For Imaging Charge-Coupled Device (ICCD) Star Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAloon, K. J.

1981-04-01

A development program is currently underway to produce a precision star sensor using imaging charge coupled device (ICCD) technology. The effort is the critical component development phase for the Air Force Multi-Mission Attitude Determination and Autonomous Navigation System (MADAN). A number of unique considerations have evolved in designing an arcsecond accuracy sensor around an ICCD detector. Three tiers of performance criteria are involved: at the spacecraft attitude determination system level, at the star sensor level, and at the detector level. Optimum attitude determination system performance involves a tradeoff between Kalman filter iteration time and sensor ICCD integration time. The ICCD star sensor lends itself to the use of a new approach in the functional interface between the attitude determination system and the sensor. At the sensor level image data processing tradeoffs are important for optimum sensor performance. These tradeoffs involve the sensor optic configuration, the optical point spread function (PSF) size and shape, the PSF position locator, and the microprocessor locator algorithm. Performance modelling of the sensor mandates the use of computer simulation programs. Five key performance parameters at the ICCD detector level are defined. ICCD error characteristics have also been isolated to five key parameters.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sword, Charles Keith

A scanner system and method for acquisition of position-based ultrasonic inspection data are described. The scanner system includes an inspection probe and a first non-contact linear encoder having a first sensor and a first scale to track inspection probe position. The first sensor is positioned to maintain a continuous non-contact interface between the first sensor and the first scale and to maintain a continuous alignment of the first sensor with the inspection probe. The scanner system may be used to acquire two-dimensional inspection probe position data by including a second non-contact linear encoder having a second sensor and a secondmore » scale, the second sensor positioned to maintain a continuous non-contact interface between the second sensor and the second scale and to maintain a continuous alignment of the second sensor with the first sensor.« less

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

30 CFR 75.1103-8 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-8 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; examination and test requirements. (a) Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems shall be examined at...

System Aware Cybersecurity: A Multi-Sentinel Scheme to Protect a Weapons Research Lab

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-07

In the simplified deployment scenario, some sensors report their output over a wireless link and other sensors are connected via CAT 5 (Ethernet...cable to reduce the chance of a wireless ‘jamming’ event impacting ALL sensors . In addition to this first sensor suite ( Sensor Suite “A”), the team...generating wind turbines , and video reconnaissance systems on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The most basic decision problem in designing a systems

Facility Monitoring: A Qualitative Theory for Sensor Fusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Figueroa, Fernando

2001-01-01

Data fusion and sensor management approaches have largely been implemented with centralized and hierarchical architectures. Numerical and statistical methods are the most common data fusion methods found in these systems. Given the proliferation and low cost of processing power, there is now an emphasis on designing distributed and decentralized systems. These systems use analytical/quantitative techniques or qualitative reasoning methods for date fusion.Based on other work by the author, a sensor may be treated as a highly autonomous (decentralized) unit. Each highly autonomous sensor (HAS) is capable of extracting qualitative behaviours from its data. For example, it detects spikes, disturbances, noise levels, off-limit excursions, step changes, drift, and other typical measured trends. In this context, this paper describes a distributed sensor fusion paradigm and theory where each sensor in the system is a HAS. Hence, given the reach qualitative information from each HAS, a paradigm and formal definitions are given so that sensors and processes can reason and make decisions at the qualitative level. This approach to sensor fusion makes it possible the implementation of intuitive (effective) methods to monitor, diagnose, and compensate processes/systems and their sensors. This paradigm facilitates a balanced distribution of intelligence (code and/or hardware) to the sensor level, the process/system level, and a higher controller level. The primary application of interest is in intelligent health management of rocket engine test stands.

Real-Time Wireless Data Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valencia, Emilio J.; Perotti, Jose; Lucena, Angel; Mata, Carlos

2007-01-01

Current and future aerospace requirements demand the creation of a new breed of sensing devices, with emphasis on reduced weight, power consumption, and physical size. This new generation of sensors must possess a high degree of intelligence to provide critical data efficiently and in real-time. Intelligence will include self-calibration, self-health assessment, and pre-processing of raw data at the sensor level. Most of these features are already incorporated in the Wireless Sensors Network (SensorNet(TradeMark)), developed by the Instrumentation Group at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). A system based on the SensorNet(TradeMark) architecture consists of data collection point(s) called Central Stations (CS) and intelligent sensors called Remote Stations (RS) where one or more CSs can be accommodated depending on the specific application. The CS's major function is to establish communications with the Remote Stations and to poll each RS for data and health information. The CS also collects, stores and distributes these data to the appropriate systems requiring the information. The system has the ability to perform point-to-point, multi-point and relay mode communications with an autonomous self-diagnosis of each communications link. Upon detection of a communication failure, the system automatically reconfigures to establish new communication paths. These communication paths are automatically and autonomously selected as the best paths by the system based on the existing operating environment. The data acquisition system currently under development at KSC consists of the SensorNet(TradeMark) wireless sensors as the remote stations and the central station called the Radio Frequency Health Node (RFHN). The RFF1N is the central station which remotely communicates with the SensorNet(TradeMark) sensors to control them and to receive data. The system's salient feature is the ability to provide deterministic sensor data with accurate time stamps for both time critical and non-time critical applications. Current wireless standards such as Zigbee(TradeMark) and Bluetooth(Registered TradeMark) do not have these capabilities and can not meet the needs that are provided by the SensorNet technology. Additionally, the system has the ability to automatically reconfigure the wireless communication link to a secondary frequency if interference is encountered and can autonomously search for a sensor that was perceived to be lost using the relay capabilities of the sensors and the secondary frequency. The RFHN and the SensorNet designs are based on modular architectures that allow for future increases in capability and the ability to expand or upgrade with relative ease. The RFHN and SensorNet sensors .can also perform data processing which forms a distributed processing architecture allowing the system to pass along information rather than just sending "raw data points" to the next higher level system. With a relatively small size, weight and power consumption, this system has the potential for both spacecraft and aircraft applications as well as ground applications that require time critical data.

Robotic Vehicle Communications Interoperability

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

starter (cold start) X X Fire suppression X Fording control X Fuel control X Fuel tank selector X Garage toggle X Gear selector X X X X Hazard warning...optic Sensors Sensor switch Video Radar IR Thermal imaging system Image intensifier Laser ranger Video camera selector Forward Stereo Rear Sensor control...optic sensors Sensor switch Video Radar IR Thermal imaging system Image intensifier Laser ranger Video camera selector Forward Stereo Rear Sensor

Development of an LSI for Tactile Sensor Systems on the Whole-Body of Robots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muroyama, Masanori; Makihata, Mitsutoshi; Nakano, Yoshihiro; Matsuzaki, Sakae; Yamada, Hitoshi; Yamaguchi, Ui; Nakayama, Takahiro; Nonomura, Yutaka; Fujiyoshi, Motohiro; Tanaka, Shuji; Esashi, Masayoshi

We have developed a network type tactile sensor system, which realizes high-density tactile sensors on the whole-body of nursing and communication robots. The system consists of three kinds of nodes: host, relay and sensor nodes. Roles of the sensor node are to sense forces and, to encode the sensing data and to transmit the encoded data on serial channels by interruption handling. Relay nodes and host deal with a number of the encoded sensing data from the sensor nodes. A sensor node consists of a capacitive MEMS force sensor and a signal processing/transmission LSI. In this paper, details of an LSI for the sensor node are described. We designed experimental sensor node LSI chips by a commercial 0.18µm standard CMOS process. The 0.18µm LSIs were supplied in wafer level for MEMS post-process. The LSI chip area is 2.4mm × 2.4mm, which includes logic, CF converter and memory circuits. The maximum clock frequency of the chip with a large capacitive load is 10MHz. Measured power consumption at 10MHz clock is 2.23mW. Experimental results indicate that size, response time, sensor sensitivity and power consumption are all enough for practical tactile sensor systems.

A New Miniaturized Inkjet Printed Solid State Electrolyte Sensor for Applications in Life Support Systems - First Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Christine; Stefanos Fasoulas, -; Eberhart, Martin; Berndt, Felix

New generations of integrated closed loop systems will combine life support systems (incl. biological components) and energy systems such as fuel cell and electrolysis systems. Those systems and their test beds also contain complex safety sensor monitoring systems. Especially in fuel cells and electrolysis systems, the hydrogen and oxygen flows and exchange into other areas due to diffusion processes or leaks need to be monitored. Knowledge of predominant gas concentrations at all times is essential to avoid explosive gas mixtures. Solid state electrolyte sensors are promising for use as safety sensors. They have already been developed and produced at various institutes, but the power consumption for heating an existing solid state electrolyte sensor element still lies between 1 to 1.5 W and the operational readiness still takes about 20 to 30 s. This is partially due to the current manufacturing process for the solid state electrolyte sensor elements that is based on screen printing technology. However this technology has strong limitations in flexibility of the layout and re-designs. It is therefore suitable for mass production, but not for a flexible development and the production of specific individual sensors, e.g. for space applications. Moreover a disadvantage is the relatively high material consumption, especially in combination with the sensors need of expensive noble metal and ceramic pastes, which leads to a high sensor unit price. The Inkjet technology however opens up completely new possibilities in terms of dimensions, geometries, structures, morphologies and materials of sensors. This new approach is capable of printing finer high-resolution layers without the necessity of meshes or masks for patterning. Using the Inkjet technology a design change is possible at any time on the CAD screen. Moreover the ink is only deposited where it is needed. Custom made sensors, as they are currently demanded in space sensor applications, are thus realized simply, economically and ecologically. Based on the knowledge of the screen printing sensor production a complete solid state electrolyte oxygen sensor could be produced using Inkjet technology. First measurements in oxygen environment already show promising results. A defined oxygen concentration could be seen during exposition of the Inkjet sensors in an oxygen environment. The obtained results demonstrate the potential to use the technology development in other applications such as in situ respiratory gas analysis systems for human spaceflight. Further approaches at the Institute of Space Systems include the implementation of Inkjet printed solid state electrolyte sensors for the use as redundant safety sensors for the Institute's hybrid life support test beds including fuel cells and algal photo bioreactor elements.

A Distributed Signature Detection Method for Detecting Intrusions in Sensor Systems

PubMed Central

Kim, Ilkyu; Oh, Doohwan; Yoon, Myung Kuk; Yi, Kyueun; Ro, Won Woo

2013-01-01

Sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks are easily exposed to open and unprotected regions. A security solution is strongly recommended to prevent networks against malicious attacks. Although many intrusion detection systems have been developed, most systems are difficult to implement for the sensor nodes owing to limited computation resources. To address this problem, we develop a novel distributed network intrusion detection system based on the Wu–Manber algorithm. In the proposed system, the algorithm is divided into two steps; the first step is dedicated to a sensor node, and the second step is assigned to a base station. In addition, the first step is modified to achieve efficient performance under limited computation resources. We conduct evaluations with random string sets and actual intrusion signatures to show the performance improvement of the proposed method. The proposed method achieves a speedup factor of 25.96 and reduces 43.94% of packet transmissions to the base station compared with the previously proposed method. The system achieves efficient utilization of the sensor nodes and provides a structural basis of cooperative systems among the sensors. PMID:23529146

A distributed signature detection method for detecting intrusions in sensor systems.

PubMed

Kim, Ilkyu; Oh, Doohwan; Yoon, Myung Kuk; Yi, Kyueun; Ro, Won Woo

2013-03-25

Sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks are easily exposed to open and unprotected regions. A security solution is strongly recommended to prevent networks against malicious attacks. Although many intrusion detection systems have been developed, most systems are difficult to implement for the sensor nodes owing to limited computation resources. To address this problem, we develop a novel distributed network intrusion detection system based on the Wu-Manber algorithm. In the proposed system, the algorithm is divided into two steps; the first step is dedicated to a sensor node, and the second step is assigned to a base station. In addition, the first step is modified to achieve efficient performance under limited computation resources. We conduct evaluations with random string sets and actual intrusion signatures to show the performance improvement of the proposed method. The proposed method achieves a speedup factor of 25.96 and reduces 43.94% of packet transmissions to the base station compared with the previously proposed method. The system achieves efficient utilization of the sensor nodes and provides a structural basis of cooperative systems among the sensors.

Workflow-Oriented Cyberinfrastructure for Sensor Data Analytics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orcutt, J. A.; Rajasekar, A.; Moore, R. W.; Vernon, F.

2015-12-01

Sensor streams comprise an increasingly large part of Earth Science data. Analytics based on sensor data require an easy way to perform operations such as acquisition, conversion to physical units, metadata linking, sensor fusion, analysis and visualization on distributed sensor streams. Furthermore, embedding real-time sensor data into scientific workflows is of growing interest. We have implemented a scalable networked architecture that can be used to dynamically access packets of data in a stream from multiple sensors, and perform synthesis and analysis across a distributed network. Our system is based on the integrated Rule Oriented Data System (irods.org), which accesses sensor data from the Antelope Real Time Data System (brtt.com), and provides virtualized access to collections of data streams. We integrate real-time data streaming from different sources, collected for different purposes, on different time and spatial scales, and sensed by different methods. iRODS, noted for its policy-oriented data management, brings to sensor processing features and facilities such as single sign-on, third party access control lists ( ACLs), location transparency, logical resource naming, and server-side modeling capabilities while reducing the burden on sensor network operators. Rich integrated metadata support also makes it straightforward to discover data streams of interest and maintain data provenance. The workflow support in iRODS readily integrates sensor processing into any analytical pipeline. The system is developed as part of the NSF-funded Datanet Federation Consortium (datafed.org). APIs for selecting, opening, reaping and closing sensor streams are provided, along with other helper functions to associate metadata and convert sensor packets into NetCDF and JSON formats. Near real-time sensor data including seismic sensors, environmental sensors, LIDAR and video streams are available through this interface. A system for archiving sensor data and metadata in NetCDF format has been implemented and will be demonstrated at AGU.

Electric-field sensors for bullet detection systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinci, Stephen; Hull, David; Ghionea, Simon; Ludwig, William; Deligeorges, Socrates; Gudmundsson, Thorkell; Noras, Maciej

2014-06-01

Research and experimental trials have shown that electric-field (E-field) sensors are effective at detecting charged projectiles. E-field sensors can likely complement traditional acoustic sensors, and help provide a more robust and effective solution for bullet detection and tracking. By far, the acoustic sensor is the most prevalent technology in use today for hostile fire defeat systems due to compact size and low cost, yet they come with a number of challenges that include multipath, reverberant environments, false positives and low signal-to-noise. Studies have shown that these systems can benefit from additional sensor modalities such as E-field sensors. However, E-field sensors are a newer technology that is relatively untested beyond basic experimental trials; this technology has not been deployed in any fielded systems. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has conducted live-fire experiments at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) to collect data from E-field sensors. Three types of E-field sensors were included in these experiments: (a) an electric potential gradiometer manufactured by Quasar Federal Systems (QFS), (b) electric charge induction, or "D-dot" sensors designed and built by the Army Research Lab (ARL), and (c) a varactor based E-field sensor prototype designed by University of North Carolina-Charlotte (UNCC). Sensors were placed in strategic locations near the bullet trajectories, and their data were recorded. We analyzed the performance of each E-field sensor type in regard to small-arms bullet detection capability. The most recent experiment in October 2013 allowed demonstration of improved versions of the varactor and D-dot sensor types. Results of new real-time analysis hardware employing detection algorithms were also tested. The algorithms were used to process the raw data streams to determine when bullet detections occurred. Performance among the sensor types and algorithm effectiveness were compared to estimates from acoustics signatures and known ground truth. Results, techniques and configurations that might work best for a given sensor platform are discussed.

Reactor protection system with automatic self-testing and diagnostic

DOEpatents

Gaubatz, Donald C.

1996-01-01

A reactor protection system having four divisions, with quad redundant sensors for each scram parameter providing input to four independent microprocessor-based electronic chassis. Each electronic chassis acquires the scram parameter data from its own sensor, digitizes the information, and then transmits the sensor reading to the other three electronic chassis via optical fibers. To increase system availability and reduce false scrams, the reactor protection system employs two levels of voting on a need for reactor scram. The electronic chassis perform software divisional data processing, vote 2/3 with spare based upon information from all four sensors, and send the divisional scram signals to the hardware logic panel, which performs a 2/4 division vote on whether or not to initiate a reactor scram. Each chassis makes a divisional scram decision based on data from all sensors. Automatic detection and discrimination against failed sensors allows the reactor protection system to automatically enter a known state when sensor failures occur. Cross communication of sensor readings allows comparison of four theoretically "identical" values. This permits identification of sensor errors such as drift or malfunction. A diagnostic request for service is issued for errant sensor data. Automated self test and diagnostic monitoring, sensor input through output relay logic, virtually eliminate the need for manual surveillance testing. This provides an ability for each division to cross-check all divisions and to sense failures of the hardware logic.

Reactor protection system with automatic self-testing and diagnostic

DOEpatents

Gaubatz, D.C.

1996-12-17

A reactor protection system is disclosed having four divisions, with quad redundant sensors for each scram parameter providing input to four independent microprocessor-based electronic chassis. Each electronic chassis acquires the scram parameter data from its own sensor, digitizes the information, and then transmits the sensor reading to the other three electronic chassis via optical fibers. To increase system availability and reduce false scrams, the reactor protection system employs two levels of voting on a need for reactor scram. The electronic chassis perform software divisional data processing, vote 2/3 with spare based upon information from all four sensors, and send the divisional scram signals to the hardware logic panel, which performs a 2/4 division vote on whether or not to initiate a reactor scram. Each chassis makes a divisional scram decision based on data from all sensors. Automatic detection and discrimination against failed sensors allows the reactor protection system to automatically enter a known state when sensor failures occur. Cross communication of sensor readings allows comparison of four theoretically ``identical`` values. This permits identification of sensor errors such as drift or malfunction. A diagnostic request for service is issued for errant sensor data. Automated self test and diagnostic monitoring, sensor input through output relay logic, virtually eliminate the need for manual surveillance testing. This provides an ability for each division to cross-check all divisions and to sense failures of the hardware logic. 16 figs.

Indexing film with a fluidic sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maciel, A., Jr.

1972-01-01

Fluidic sensor is used to measure passage of film without mechanical contact with counting device. Same sensor system may be used for different sizes of film. System has two fluidic sensors and operates on principle of electrically recording interruptions in air stream.

Wireless sensing and vibration control with increased redundancy and robustness design.

PubMed

Li, Peng; Li, Luyu; Song, Gangbing; Yu, Yan

2014-11-01

Control systems with long distance sensor and actuator wiring have the problem of high system cost and increased sensor noise. Wireless sensor network (WSN)-based control systems are an alternative solution involving lower setup and maintenance costs and reduced sensor noise. However, WSN-based control systems also encounter problems such as possible data loss, irregular sampling periods (due to the uncertainty of the wireless channel), and the possibility of sensor breakdown (due to the increased complexity of the overall control system). In this paper, a wireless microcontroller-based control system is designed and implemented to wirelessly perform vibration control. The wireless microcontroller-based system is quite different from regular control systems due to its limited speed and computational power. Hardware, software, and control algorithm design are described in detail to demonstrate this prototype. Model and system state compensation is used in the wireless control system to solve the problems of data loss and sensor breakdown. A positive position feedback controller is used as the control law for the task of active vibration suppression. Both wired and wireless controllers are implemented. The results show that the WSN-based control system can be successfully used to suppress the vibration and produces resilient results in the presence of sensor failure.

Smart Sensor Demonstration Payload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmalzel, John; Bracey, Andrew; Rawls, Stephen; Morris, Jon; Turowski, Mark; Franzl, Richard; Figueroa, Fernando

2010-01-01

Sensors are a critical element to any monitoring, control, and evaluation processes such as those needed to support ground based testing for rocket engine test. Sensor applications involve tens to thousands of sensors; their reliable performance is critical to achieving overall system goals. Many figures of merit are used to describe and evaluate sensor characteristics; for example, sensitivity and linearity. In addition, sensor selection must satisfy many trade-offs among system engineering (SE) requirements to best integrate sensors into complex systems [1]. These SE trades include the familiar constraints of power, signal conditioning, cabling, reliability, and mass, and now include considerations such as spectrum allocation and interference for wireless sensors. Our group at NASA s John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) works in the broad area of integrated systems health management (ISHM). Core ISHM technologies include smart and intelligent sensors, anomaly detection, root cause analysis, prognosis, and interfaces to operators and other system elements [2]. Sensor technologies are the base fabric that feed data and health information to higher layers. Cost-effective operation of the complement of test stands benefits from technologies and methodologies that contribute to reductions in labor costs, improvements in efficiency, reductions in turn-around times, improved reliability, and other measures. ISHM is an active area of development at SSC because it offers the potential to achieve many of those operational goals [3-5].

Lightning Protection and Detection System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mielnik, John J. (Inventor); Woodard, Marie (Inventor); Smith, Laura J. (Inventor); Wang, Chuantong (Inventor); Koppen, Sandra V. (Inventor); Dudley, Kenneth L. (Inventor); Szatkowski, George N. (Inventor); Nguyen, Truong X. (Inventor); Ely, Jay J. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A lightning protection and detection system includes a non-conductive substrate material of an apparatus; a sensor formed of a conductive material and deposited on the non-conductive substrate material of the apparatus. The sensor includes a conductive trace formed in a continuous spiral winding starting at a first end at a center region of the sensor and ending at a second end at an outer corner region of the sensor, the first and second ends being open and unconnected. An electrical measurement system is in communication with the sensor and receives a resonant response from the sensor, to perform detection, in real-time, of lightning strike occurrences and damage therefrom to the sensor and the non-conductive substrate material.

Design and implementation of PAVEMON: A GIS web-based pavement monitoring system based on large amounts of heterogeneous sensors data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahini Shamsabadi, Salar

A web-based PAVEment MONitoring system, PAVEMON, is a GIS oriented platform for accommodating, representing, and leveraging data from a multi-modal mobile sensor system. Stated sensor system consists of acoustic, optical, electromagnetic, and GPS sensors and is capable of producing as much as 1 Terabyte of data per day. Multi-channel raw sensor data (microphone, accelerometer, tire pressure sensor, video) and processed results (road profile, crack density, international roughness index, micro texture depth, etc.) are outputs of this sensor system. By correlating the sensor measurements and positioning data collected in tight time synchronization, PAVEMON attaches a spatial component to all the datasets. These spatially indexed outputs are placed into an Oracle database which integrates seamlessly with PAVEMON's web-based system. The web-based system of PAVEMON consists of two major modules: 1) a GIS module for visualizing and spatial analysis of pavement condition information layers, and 2) a decision-support module for managing maintenance and repair (Mℝ) activities and predicting future budget needs. PAVEMON weaves together sensor data with third-party climate and traffic information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) databases for an organized data driven approach to conduct pavement management activities. PAVEMON deals with heterogeneous and redundant observations by fusing them for jointly-derived higher-confidence results. A prominent example of the fusion algorithms developed within PAVEMON is a data fusion algorithm used for estimating the overall pavement conditions in terms of ASTM's Pavement Condition Index (PCI). PAVEMON predicts PCI by undertaking a statistical fusion approach and selecting a subset of all the sensor measurements. Other fusion algorithms include noise-removal algorithms to remove false negatives in the sensor data in addition to fusion algorithms developed for identifying features on the road. PAVEMON offers an ideal research and monitoring platform for rapid, intelligent and comprehensive evaluation of tomorrow's transportation infrastructure based on up-to-date data from heterogeneous sensor systems.

Evaluation of accelerometer based multi-sensor versus single-sensor activity recognition systems.

PubMed

Gao, Lei; Bourke, A K; Nelson, John

2014-06-01

Physical activity has a positive impact on people's well-being and it had been shown to decrease the occurrence of chronic diseases in the older adult population. To date, a substantial amount of research studies exist, which focus on activity recognition using inertial sensors. Many of these studies adopt a single sensor approach and focus on proposing novel features combined with complex classifiers to improve the overall recognition accuracy. In addition, the implementation of the advanced feature extraction algorithms and the complex classifiers exceed the computing ability of most current wearable sensor platforms. This paper proposes a method to adopt multiple sensors on distributed body locations to overcome this problem. The objective of the proposed system is to achieve higher recognition accuracy with "light-weight" signal processing algorithms, which run on a distributed computing based sensor system comprised of computationally efficient nodes. For analysing and evaluating the multi-sensor system, eight subjects were recruited to perform eight normal scripted activities in different life scenarios, each repeated three times. Thus a total of 192 activities were recorded resulting in 864 separate annotated activity states. The methods for designing such a multi-sensor system required consideration of the following: signal pre-processing algorithms, sampling rate, feature selection and classifier selection. Each has been investigated and the most appropriate approach is selected to achieve a trade-off between recognition accuracy and computing execution time. A comparison of six different systems, which employ single or multiple sensors, is presented. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed multi-sensor system can achieve an overall recognition accuracy of 96.4% by adopting the mean and variance features, using the Decision Tree classifier. The results demonstrate that elaborate classifiers and feature sets are not required to achieve high recognition accuracies on a multi-sensor system. Copyright © 2014 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of Open Garden Sensor on Hydroponic Maintenance Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasution, S.; Siregar, B.; Kurniawan, M.; Pranoto, H.; Andayani, U.; Fahmi, F.

2018-03-01

Hydroponic farming system is an agricultural system that uses direct water as a nutrient without using soil as a planting medium. This system allows smallholder farmers to have the opportunity to develop their crop production with less capital. In addition, hydroponic planting has also been widely adapted by individuals as a personal hobby. Application of technology has penetrated various fields including agricultural fields. One of the technologies that can be applied in a hydroponic farming system is the sensor. Sensors are devices that used to convert a physical quantity into a quantity of electricity so that it can be analyse with a certain electrical circuit. In this study, the technology to be applied is wireless sensor technology applied in human life to help get information quickly and accurately. Sensors to be used in this study are pH sensors, conductivity sensors, temperature sensors and humidity. In addition to sensors, the study also involved Arduino technology. Arduino is a microcontroller board that is used to interact with the environment based on programs that have been made. The final results of the application testing show that the system success to display diagram in real-time in an environment from Arduino board to database and web server.

A novel proposal of GPON-oriented fiber grating sensing data digitalization system for remote sensing network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yubao; Zhu, Zhaohui; Wang, Lu; Bai, Jian

2016-05-01

A novel GPON-oriented sensing data digitalization system is proposed to achieve remote monitoring of fiber grating sensing networks utilizing existing optical communication networks in some harsh environments. In which, Quick digitalization of sensing information obtained from the reflected lightwaves by fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor is realized, and a novel frame format of sensor signal is designed to suit for public transport so as to facilitate sensor monitoring center to receive and analyze the sensor data. The delay effect, identification method of the sensor data, and various interference factors which influence the sensor data to be correctly received are analyzed. The system simulation is carried out with OptiSystem/Matlab co-simulation approach. The theoretical analysis and simulation results verify the feasibility of the integration of the sensor network and communication network.

Invited review: sensors to support health management on dairy farms.

PubMed

Rutten, C J; Velthuis, A G J; Steeneveld, W; Hogeveen, H

2013-04-01

Since the 1980s, efforts have been made to develop sensors that measure a parameter from an individual cow. The development started with individual cow recognition and was followed by sensors that measure the electrical conductivity of milk and pedometers that measure activity. The aim of this review is to provide a structured overview of the published sensor systems for dairy health management. The development of sensor systems can be described by the following 4 levels: (I) techniques that measure something about the cow (e.g., activity); (II) interpretations that summarize changes in the sensor data (e.g., increase in activity) to produce information about the cow's status (e.g., estrus); (III) integration of information where sensor information is supplemented with other information (e.g., economic information) to produce advice (e.g., whether to inseminate a cow or not); and (IV) the farmer makes a decision or the sensor system makes the decision autonomously (e.g., the inseminator is called). This review has structured a total of 126 publications describing 139 sensor systems and compared them based on the 4 levels. The publications were published in the Thomson Reuters (formerly ISI) Web of Science database from January 2002 until June 2012 or in the proceedings of 3 conferences on precision (dairy) farming in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Most studies concerned the detection of mastitis (25%), fertility (33%), and locomotion problems (30%), with fewer studies (16%) related to the detection of metabolic problems. Many studies presented sensor systems at levels I and II, but none did so at levels III and IV. Most of the work for mastitis (92%) and fertility (75%) is done at level II. For locomotion (53%) and metabolism (69%), more than half of the work is done at level I. The performance of sensor systems varies based on the choice of gold standards, algorithms, and test sizes (number of farms and cows). Studies on sensor systems for mastitis and estrus have shown that sensor systems are brought to a higher level; however, the need to improve detection performance still exists. Studies on sensor systems for locomotion problems have shown that the search continues for the most appropriate indicators, sensor techniques, and gold standards. Studies on metabolic problems show that it is still unclear which indicator reflects best the metabolic problems that should be detected. No systems with integrated decision support models have been found. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toward sensor modular autonomy for persistent land intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Paul A.; Marshall, Gillian; Faulkner, David; Kent, Philip; Page, Scott; Islip, Simon; Oldfield, James; Breckon, Toby P.; Kundegorski, Mikolaj E.; Clark, David J.; Styles, Tim

2016-05-01

Currently, most land Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets (e.g. EO/IR cameras) are simply data collectors. Understanding, decision making and sensor control are performed by the human operators, involving high cognitive load. Any automation in the system has traditionally involved bespoke design of centralised systems that are highly specific for the assets/targets/environment under consideration, resulting in complex, non-flexible systems that exhibit poor interoperability. We address a concept of Autonomous Sensor Modules (ASMs) for land ISR, where these modules have the ability to make low-level decisions on their own in order to fulfil a higher-level objective, and plug in, with the minimum of preconfiguration, to a High Level Decision Making Module (HLDMM) through a middleware integration layer. The dual requisites of autonomy and interoperability create challenges around information fusion and asset management in an autonomous hierarchical system, which are addressed in this work. This paper presents the results of a demonstration system, known as Sensing for Asset Protection with Integrated Electronic Networked Technology (SAPIENT), which was shown in realistic base protection scenarios with live sensors and targets. The SAPIENT system performed sensor cueing, intelligent fusion, sensor tasking, target hand-off and compensation for compromised sensors, without human control, and enabled rapid integration of ISR assets at the time of system deployment, rather than at design-time. Potential benefits include rapid interoperability for coalition operations, situation understanding with low operator cognitive burden and autonomous sensor management in heterogenous sensor systems.

Affordable and personalized lighting using inverse modeling and virtual sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Chandrayee; Chen, Benjamin; Richards, Jacob; Dhinakaran, Aparna; Agogino, Alice; Martin, Rodney

2014-03-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) have great potential to enable personalized intelligent lighting systems while reducing building energy use by 50%-70%. As a result WSN systems are being increasingly integrated in state-ofart intelligent lighting systems. In the future these systems will enable participation of lighting loads as ancillary services. However, such systems can be expensive to install and lack the plug-and-play quality necessary for user-friendly commissioning. In this paper we present an integrated system of wireless sensor platforms and modeling software to enable affordable and user-friendly intelligent lighting. It requires ⇠ 60% fewer sensor deployments compared to current commercial systems. Reduction in sensor deployments has been achieved by optimally replacing the actual photo-sensors with real-time discrete predictive inverse models. Spatially sparse and clustered sub-hourly photo-sensor data captured by the WSN platforms are used to develop and validate a piece-wise linear regression of indoor light distribution. This deterministic data-driven model accounts for sky conditions and solar position. The optimal placement of photo-sensors is performed iteratively to achieve the best predictability of the light field desired for indoor lighting control. Using two weeks of daylight and artificial light training data acquired at the Sustainability Base at NASA Ames, the model was able to predict the light level at seven monitored workstations with 80%-95% accuracy. We estimate that 10% adoption of this intelligent wireless sensor system in commercial buildings could save 0.2-0.25 quads BTU of energy nationwide.

Estimate of accuracy of determining the orientation of the star sensor system according to the experimental data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avanesov, G. A.; Bessonov, R. V.; Kurkina, A. N.; Nikitin, A. V.; Sazonov, V. V.

2018-01-01

The BOKZ-M60 star sensor (Unit for Measuring Star Coordinates) is intended for determining the parameters of the orientation of the axes of the intrinsic coordinate system relative to the axes of the inertial system by observations of the regions of the stellar sky. It is convenient to characterize an error of the single determination of the orientation of the intrinsic coordinate system of the sensor by the vector of an infinitesimal turn of this system relative to its found position. Full-scale ground-based tests have shown that, for a resting sensor the root-mean-square values of the components of this vector along the axes of the intrinsic coordinate system lying in the plane of the sensor CCD matrix are less than 2″ and the component along the axis perpendicular to the matrix plane is characterized by the root-mean-square value of 15″. The joint processing of one-stage readings of several sensors installed on the same platform allows us to improve the indicated accuracy characteristics. In this paper, estimates of the accuracy of systems from BOKZ-M60 with two and four sensors performed from measurements carried out during the normal operation of these sensors on the Resurs-P satellite are given. Processing the measurements of the sensor system allowed us to increase the accuracy of determining the each of their orientations and to study random and systematic errors in these measurements.

Multi-Sensor Systems and Data Fusion for Telecommunications, Remote Sensing and Radar (les Systemes multi-senseurs et le fusionnement des donnees pour les telecommunications, la teledetection et les radars)

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-04-01

The result of the project is a demonstration of the fusion process, the sensors management and the real-time capabilities using simulated sensors...demonstrator (TAD) is a system that demonstrates the core ele- ment of a battlefield ground surveillance system by simulation in near real-time. The core...Management and Sensor/Platform simulation . The surveillance system observes the real world through a non-collocated heterogene- ous multisensory system

A Code Division Design Strategy for Multiplexing Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing Networks

PubMed Central

Varón, Margarita

2017-01-01

In this paper, an encoding strategy is used to design specialized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. The encoding of each sensor requires two binary codewords to define the amplitude and phase patterns of each sensor. The combined pattern (amplitude and phase) makes each sensor unique and therefore two or more sensors can be identified under spectral overlapping. In this way, we add another dimension to the multiplexing of FBG sensors, obtaining an increase factor ‘n’ to enhance the number of sensors that the system can handle. A proof-of-concept scenario with three sensors was performed, including the manufacturing of the encoded sensors. Furthermore, an interrogation setup to detect the sensors central wavelength was proposed and its working principle was theoretically developed. Results show that total identification of the central wavelength is performed under spectral overlapping between the manufactured sensors, achieving a three-time improvement of the system capacity. Finally, the error due to overlapping between the sensors was assessed obtaining approximately 3 pm, which makes the approach suitable for use in real measurement systems. PMID:29104231

A Novel Permanent Magnetic Angular Acceleration Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhao, Hao; Feng, Hao

2015-01-01

Angular acceleration is an important parameter for status monitoring and fault diagnosis of rotary machinery. Therefore, we developed a novel permanent magnetic angular acceleration sensor, which is without rotation angle limitations and could directly measure the instantaneous angular acceleration of the rotating system. The sensor rotor only needs to be coaxially connected with the rotating system, which enables convenient sensor installation. For the cup structure of the sensor rotor, it has a relatively small rotational inertia. Due to the unique mechanical structure of the sensor, the output signal of the sensor can be directed without a slip ring, which avoids signal weakening effect. In this paper, the operating principle of the sensor is described, and simulated using finite element method. The sensitivity of the sensor is calibrated by torsional pendulum and angle sensor, yielding an experimental result of about 0.88 mV/(rad·s−2). Finally, the angular acceleration of the actual rotating system has been tested, using both a single-phase asynchronous motor and a step motor. Experimental result confirms the operating principle of the sensor and indicates that the sensor has good practicability. PMID:26151217

Workshop proceedings: Sensor systems for space astrophysics in the 21st century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This proceedings provides a summary of the Astrotech 21 Sensor Technology Workshop. Topics covered include: high energy sensors, ultraviolet and visible sensors, direct infrared sensors, heterodyne submillimeter wave sensors, sensor readout electronics, and sensor cooler technology.

Fiber Optic Geophysics Sensor Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grochowski, Lucjan

1989-01-01

The distributed optical sensor arrays are analysed in view of specific needs of 3-D seismic explorations methods. There are compared advantages and disadventages of arrays supported by the sensors which are modulated in intensity and phase. In these systems all-fiber optic structures and their compabilities with digital geophysic formats are discussed. It was shown that the arrays based on TDM systems with the intensity modulated sensors are economically and technically the best matched for geophysic systems supported by a large number of the sensors.

Development and evaluation of a lightweight sensor system ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A new sensor system for mobile and aerial emission sampling was developed for open area pollutant sources, such as prescribed forest burns. The sensor system, termed “Kolibri”, consists of multiple low-cost air quality sensors measuring CO2, CO, samplers for particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This extended abstract, intended for oral presentation or poster presentation at this summer's AWMA conference, presents some of the first verification data from laboratory and burn calibration of a newly developed sensor and sampler system for ground and aerial sampling.

Optical Fiber Networks for Remote Fiber Optic Sensors

PubMed Central

Fernandez-Vallejo, Montserrat; Lopez-Amo, Manuel

2012-01-01

This paper presents an overview of optical fiber sensor networks for remote sensing. Firstly, the state of the art of remote fiber sensor systems has been considered. We have summarized the great evolution of these systems in recent years; this progress confirms that fiber-optic remote sensing is a promising technology with a wide field of practical applications. Afterwards, the most representative remote fiber-optic sensor systems are briefly explained, discussing their schemes, challenges, pros and cons. Finally, a synopsis of the main factors to take into consideration in the design of a remote sensor system is gathered. PMID:22666011

Composite-cavity-based Fabry-Perot interferometric strain sensors.

PubMed

Zhang, Jianzhong; Peng, G D; Yuan, Libo; Sun, Weimin

2007-07-01

A composite-cavity-based Fabry-Perot interferometric strain sensor system is proposed to gain the minimum cross sensitivity to temperature and a high multiplexing capability at the same time. The interrogation of the sensor system is based on a white-light interferometric technology, and the demodulation is achieved by analyzing the coherence spectra. A demonstration system with two sensors is presented and tested.

Low cost self-made pressure distribution sensors for ergonomic chair: Are they suitable for posture monitoring?

PubMed

Martinaitis, Arnas; Daunoraviciene, Kristina

2018-05-18

Long sitting causes many health problems for people. Healthy sitting monitoring systems, like real-time pressure distribution measuring, is in high demand and many methods of posture recognition were developed. Such systems are usually expensive and hardly available for the regular user. The aim of study is to develop low cost but sensitive enough pressure sensors and posture monitoring system. New self-made pressure sensors have been developed and tested, and prototype of pressure distribution measuring system was designed. Sensors measured at average noise amplitude of a = 56 mV (1.12%), average variation in sequential measurements of the same sensor s = 17 mV (0.34%). Signal variability between sensors averaged at 100 mV (2.0%). Weight to signal dependency graph was measured and hysteresis calculated. Results suggested the use of total sixteen sensors for posture monitoring system with accuracy of < 1.5% after relaxation and repeatability of around 2%. Results demonstrate that hand-made sensor sensitivity and repeatability are acceptable for posture monitoring, and it is possible to build low cost pressure distribution measurement system with graphical visualization without expensive equipment or complicated software.

The tsunami service bus, an integration platform for heterogeneous sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haener, R.; Waechter, J.; Kriegel, U.; Fleischer, J.; Mueller, S.

2009-04-01

1. INTRODUCTION Early warning systems are long living and evolving: New sensor-systems and -types may be developed and deployed, sensors will be replaced or redeployed on other locations and the functionality of analyzing software will be improved. To ensure a continuous operability of those systems their architecture must be evolution-enabled. From a computer science point of view an evolution-enabled architecture must fulfill following criteria: • Encapsulation of and functionality on data in standardized services. Access to proprietary sensor data is only possible via these services. • Loose coupling of system constituents which easily can be achieved by implementing standardized interfaces. • Location transparency of services what means that services can be provided everywhere. • Separation of concerns that means breaking a system into distinct features which overlap in functionality as little as possible. A Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as e. g. realized in the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the advantages of functional integration on the basis of services described below adopt these criteria best. 2. SENSOR INTEGRATION Integration of data from (distributed) data sources is just a standard task in computer science. From few well known solution patterns, taking into account performance and security requirements of early warning systems only functional integration should be considered. Precondition for this is that systems are realized compliant to SOA patterns. Functionality is realized in form of dedicated components communicating via a service infrastructure. These components provide their functionality in form of services via standardized and published interfaces which could be used to access data maintained in - and functionality provided by dedicated components. Functional integration replaces the tight coupling at data level by a dependency on loosely coupled services. If the interfaces of the service providing components remain unchanged, components can be maintained and evolved independently on each other and service functionality as a whole can be reused. In GITEWS the functional integration pattern was adopted by applying the principles of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) as a backbone. Four services provided by the so called Tsunami Service Bus (TSB) which are essential for early warning systems are realized compliant to services specified within the Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) initiative of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). 3. ARCHITECTURE The integration platform was developed to access proprietary, heterogeneous sensor data and to provide them in a uniform manner for further use. Its core, the TSB provides both a messaging-backbone and -interfaces on the basis of a Java Messaging Service (JMS). The logical architecture of GITEWS consists of four independent layers: • A resource layer where physical or virtual sensors as well as data or model storages provide relevant measurement-, event- and analysis-data: Utilizable for the TSB are any kind of data. In addition to sensors databases, model data and processing applications are adopted. SWE specifies encoding both to access and to describe these data in a comprehensive way: 1. Sensor Model Language (SensorML): Standardized description of sensors and sensor data 2. Observations and Measurements (O&M): Model and encoding of sensor measurements • A service layer to collect and conduct data from heterogeneous and proprietary resources and provide them via standardized interfaces: The TSB enables interaction with sensors via the following services: 1. Sensor Observation Service (SOS): Standardized access to sensor data 2. Sensor Planning Service (SPS): Controlling of sensors and sensor networks 3. Sensor Alert Service (SAS): Active sending of data if defined events occur 4. Web Notification Service (WNS): Conduction of asynchronous dialogues between services • An orchestration layer where atomic services are composed and arranged to high level processes like a decision support process: One of the outstanding features of service-oriented architectures is the possibility to compose new services from existing ones, which can be done programmatically or via declaration (workflow or process design). This allows e. g. the definition of new warning processes which could be adapted easily to new requirements. • An access layer which may contain graphical user interfaces for decision support, monitoring- or visualization-systems: To for example visualize time series graphical user interfaces request sensor data simply via the SOS. 4.BENEFIT The integration platform is realized on top of well known and widely used open source software implementing industrial standards. New sensors could be added easily to the infrastructure. Client components don't need to be adjusted if new sensor-types or -individuals are added to the system, because they access the sensors via standardized services. With implementing SWE fully compatible to the OGC specification it is possible to establish the "detection" and integration of sensors via the Web. Thus realizing a system of systems that combines early warning system functionality at different levels of detail (distant early warning systems, monitoring systems and any sensor system) is feasible.

Implementation of Sensor and Control Designs for Bioregenerative Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Pedro R. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The goal of the Spring 1990 EGM 4001 Design class was to design, fabricate, and test sensors and control systems for a closed loop life support system (CLLSS). The designs investigated were to contribute to the development of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Designs included a seed moisture content sensor, a porous medium wetness sensor, a plant health sensor, and a neural network control system. The seed group focused on the design and implementation of a sensor that could detect the moisture content of a seed batch. The porous medium wetness group concentrated on the development of a sensor to monitor the amount of nutrient solution within a porous plate incorporating either infrared reflectance or thermal conductance properties. The plant health group examined the possibility of remotely monitoring the health of the plants within the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) using infrared reflectance properties. Finally, the neural network group concentrated on the ability to use parallel processing in order to control a robot arm and analyze the data from the health sensor to detect regions of a plant.

Sliding Mode Observer-Based Current Sensor Fault Reconstruction and Unknown Load Disturbance Estimation for PMSM Driven System.

PubMed

Zhao, Kaihui; Li, Peng; Zhang, Changfan; Li, Xiangfei; He, Jing; Lin, Yuliang

2017-12-06

This paper proposes a new scheme of reconstructing current sensor faults and estimating unknown load disturbance for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)-driven system. First, the original PMSM system is transformed into two subsystems; the first subsystem has unknown system load disturbances, which are unrelated to sensor faults, and the second subsystem has sensor faults, but is free from unknown load disturbances. Introducing a new state variable, the augmented subsystem that has sensor faults can be transformed into having actuator faults. Second, two sliding mode observers (SMOs) are designed: the unknown load disturbance is estimated by the first SMO in the subsystem, which has unknown load disturbance, and the sensor faults can be reconstructed using the second SMO in the augmented subsystem, which has sensor faults. The gains of the proposed SMOs and their stability analysis are developed via the solution of linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme was verified by simulations and experiments. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can reconstruct current sensor faults and estimate unknown load disturbance for the PMSM-driven system.

Multiple incipient sensor faults diagnosis with application to high-speed railway traction devices.

PubMed

Wu, Yunkai; Jiang, Bin; Lu, Ningyun; Yang, Hao; Zhou, Yang

2017-03-01

This paper deals with the problem of incipient fault diagnosis for a class of Lipschitz nonlinear systems with sensor biases and explores further results of total measurable fault information residual (ToMFIR). Firstly, state and output transformations are introduced to transform the original system into two subsystems. The first subsystem is subject to system disturbances and free from sensor faults, while the second subsystem contains sensor faults but without any system disturbances. Sensor faults in the second subsystem are then formed as actuator faults by using a pseudo-actuator based approach. Since the effects of system disturbances on the residual are completely decoupled, multiple incipient sensor faults can be detected by constructing ToMFIR, and the fault detectability condition is then derived for discriminating the detectable incipient sensor faults. Further, a sliding-mode observers (SMOs) based fault isolation scheme is designed to guarantee accurate isolation of multiple sensor faults. Finally, simulation results conducted on a CRH2 high-speed railway traction device are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2016 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Modular Plug-And-Play Sensor System for Urban Air Pollution Monitoring: Design, Implementation and Evaluation

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Urban air pollution has caused public concern globally because it seriously affects human life. Modern monitoring systems providing pollution information with high spatio-temporal resolution have been developed to identify personal exposures. However, these systems’ hardware specifications and configurations are usually fixed according to the applications. They can be inconvenient to maintain, and difficult to reconfigure and expand with respect to sensing capabilities. This paper aims at tackling these issues by adopting the proposed Modular Sensor System (MSS) architecture and Universal Sensor Interface (USI), and modular design in a sensor node. A compact MSS sensor node is implemented and evaluated. It has expandable sensor modules with plug-and-play feature and supports multiple Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Evaluation results show that MSS sensor nodes can easily fit in different scenarios, adapt to reconfigurations dynamically, and detect low concentration air pollution with high energy efficiency and good data accuracy. We anticipate that the efforts on system maintenance, adaptation, and evolution can be significantly reduced when deploying the system in the field. PMID:29271952

Detection of Biological Pathogens Using Multiple Wireless Magnetoelastic Biosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wen

A number of recent, high-profile incidences of food-borne illness spreading through the food supply and the use of anthrax by terrorists after the September 11, 2001 attacks have demonstrated the need for new technologies that can rapidly detect the presence of biological pathogens. A bevy of biosensors show excellent detection sensitivity and specificity. However, false positive and false negative signals remain one of the primary reasons that many of these newly developed biosensors have not found application in the marketplace. The research described in this dissertation focuses on developing a free-standing magnetoelastic based bio-sensing system using a pulse method. This method allows fast detection, eliminates the bias magnetic field that is necessary in current methods, makes the system more simply and suitable for in-field detection. This system has two pairs of transformer coils, where a measurement sensor and a control sensor can be put in each pair of coils. The control sensor is used to compensate for environmental variables. The effect of pulse power on the performance of the magnetoelastic sensors in the pulse system is studied. The system is found to have excellent stability, good detection repeatability when used with multiple sensors. This research has investigated and demonstrated a multiple sensors approach. Because it will involve the simultaneous measurement of many sensors, it will significantly reduce problems encountered with false positive indications. The positioning and interference of sensors are investigated. By adding a multi-channel structure to the pulse detection system, the effect of sensor interference is minimized. The result of the repeatability test shows that the standard deviation when measuring three 1 mm magnetoelastic sensors is around 500 Hz, which is smaller than the minimum requirement for actual spores/bacteria detection. Magnetoelastic sensors immobilized with JRB7 phages and E2 phages have been used to specifically detect Bacillus anthracis spores and Salmonella typhimurium bacteria. The real-time monitoring of the detection of B. anthracis spores in a flowing system was performed using 2 mm sensors and 1 mm sensors. The detection of S. typhimurium in air has been performed using the pulse based system with both single and grouped sensors. Because grouped sensor detection involves the simultaneous measurement of many sensors, statistical evaluation shows that it can significantly reduce problems encountered with false positive indications. This method has been implemented in an investigation of a method that allows direct detection of S. typhimurium on cantaloupe surfaces. It has been demonstrated that multiple E2 phage based magnetoelastic sensors are able to detect Salmonella directly on fresh cantaloupe surfaces. Confirmation of the spore or bacteria binding to the sensor surfaces was achieved through SEM study of the sensor surfaces.

40 CFR 65.112 - Standards: Compressors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... barrier fluid system shall be equipped with a sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. Each sensor shall be observed daily or shall be equipped with an alarm unless the... criterion that indicates failure of the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both. If the sensor...

40 CFR 63.1031 - Compressors standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... service. Each barrier fluid system shall be equipped with a sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. Each sensor shall be observed daily or shall be equipped with an... both. If the sensor indicates failure of the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both based on...

40 CFR 61.242-3 - Standards: Compressors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... paragraphs (a)-(c) of this section shall be equipped with a sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. (e)(1) Each sensor as required in paragraph (d) of this section... system, or both. (f) If the sensor indicates failure of the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or...

Fiber Optic Control System integration for advanced aircraft. Electro-optic and sensor fabrication, integration, and environmental testing for flight control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seal, Daniel W.; Weaver, Thomas L.; Kessler, Bradley L.; Bedoya, Carlos A.; Mattes, Robert E.

1994-01-01

This report describes the design, development, and testing of passive fiber optic sensors and a multiplexing electro-optic architecture (EOA) for installation and flight test on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. This hardware was developed under the Fiber Optic Control Systems for Advanced Aircraft program, part of a multiyear NASA initiative to design, develop, and demonstrate through flight test 'fly-by-light' systems for application to advanced aircraft flight and propulsion control. This development included the design and production of 10 passive optical sensors and associated multiplexed EOA hardware based on wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) technology. A variety of sensor types (rotary position, linear position, temperature, and pressure) incorporating a broad range of sensor technologies (WDM analog, WDM digital, analog microbend, and fluorescent time rate of decay) were obtained from different manufacturers and functionally integrated with an independently designed EOA. The sensors were built for installation in a variety of aircraft locations, placing the sensors in a variety of harsh environments. The sensors and EOA were designed and built to have the resulting devices be as close as practical to a production system. The integrated system was delivered to NASA for flight testing on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. Development and integration testing of the system provided valuable information as to which sensor types were simplest to design and build for a military aircraft environment and which types were simplest to operate with a multiplexed EOA. Not all sensor types met the full range of performance and environmental requirements. EOA development problems provided information on directions to pursue in future fly-by-light flight control development programs. Lessons learned in the development of the EOA and sensor hardware are summarized.

Fiber Optic Control System integration for advanced aircraft. Electro-optic and sensor fabrication, integration, and environmental testing for flight control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seal, Daniel W.; Weaver, Thomas L.; Kessler, Bradley L.; Bedoya, Carlos A.; Mattes, Robert E.

1994-11-01

This report describes the design, development, and testing of passive fiber optic sensors and a multiplexing electro-optic architecture (EOA) for installation and flight test on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. This hardware was developed under the Fiber Optic Control Systems for Advanced Aircraft program, part of a multiyear NASA initiative to design, develop, and demonstrate through flight test 'fly-by-light' systems for application to advanced aircraft flight and propulsion control. This development included the design and production of 10 passive optical sensors and associated multiplexed EOA hardware based on wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) technology. A variety of sensor types (rotary position, linear position, temperature, and pressure) incorporating a broad range of sensor technologies (WDM analog, WDM digital, analog microbend, and fluorescent time rate of decay) were obtained from different manufacturers and functionally integrated with an independently designed EOA. The sensors were built for installation in a variety of aircraft locations, placing the sensors in a variety of harsh environments. The sensors and EOA were designed and built to have the resulting devices be as close as practical to a production system. The integrated system was delivered to NASA for flight testing on a NASA-owned F-18 aircraft. Development and integration testing of the system provided valuable information as to which sensor types were simplest to design and build for a military aircraft environment and which types were simplest to operate with a multiplexed EOA. Not all sensor types met the full range of performance and environmental requirements. EOA development problems provided information on directions to pursue in future fly-by-light flight control development programs. Lessons learned in the development of the EOA and sensor hardware are summarized.

Towards an autonomous sensor architecture for persistent area protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Paul A.; Marshall, Gillian F.; Stubbins, Daniel J.; Faulkner, David A.

2016-10-01

The majority of sensor installations for area protection (e.g. critical national infrastructure, military forward operating bases, etc.) make use of banks of screens each containing one or more sensor feeds, such that the burden of combining data from the various sources, understanding the situation, and controlling the sensors all lies with the human operator. Any automation in the system is generally heavily bespoke for the particular installation, leading to an inflexible system which is difficult to change or upgrade. We have developed a modular system architecture consisting of intelligent autonomous sensor modules, a high level decision making module, a middleware integration layer and an end-user GUI. The modules are all effectively "plug and play", and we have demonstrated that it is relatively simple to incorporate legacy sensors into the architecture. We have extended our previously-reported SAPIENT demonstration system to operate with a larger number and variety of sensor modules, over an extended area, detecting and classifying a wider variety of "threat activities", both vehicular and pedestrian. We report the results of a demonstration of the SAPIENT system containing multiple autonomous sensor modules with a range of modalities including laser scanners, radar, TI, EO, acoustic and seismic sensors. They operate from a combination of mains, generator and battery power, and communicate with the central "hub" over Ethernet, point-to-point wireless links and Wi-Fi. The system has been configured to protect an extended area in a complex semi-urban environment. We discuss the operation of the SAPIENT system in a realistic demonstration environment (which included significant activity not under trial control), showing sensor cueing, multi-modal sensor fusion, threat prioritisation and target hand-off.

Sensor Selection and Optimization for Health Assessment of Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maul, William A.; Kopasakis, George; Santi, Louis M.; Sowers, Thomas S.; Chicatelli, Amy

2007-01-01

Aerospace systems are developed similarly to other large-scale systems through a series of reviews, where designs are modified as system requirements are refined. For space-based systems few are built and placed into service. These research vehicles have limited historical experience to draw from and formidable reliability and safety requirements, due to the remote and severe environment of space. Aeronautical systems have similar reliability and safety requirements, and while these systems may have historical information to access, commercial and military systems require longevity under a range of operational conditions and applied loads. Historically, the design of aerospace systems, particularly the selection of sensors, is based on the requirements for control and performance rather than on health assessment needs. Furthermore, the safety and reliability requirements are met through sensor suite augmentation in an ad hoc, heuristic manner, rather than any systematic approach. A review of the current sensor selection practice within and outside of the aerospace community was conducted and a sensor selection architecture is proposed that will provide a justifiable, dependable sensor suite to address system health assessment requirements.

Sensor Selection and Optimization for Health Assessment of Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maul, William A.; Kopasakis, George; Santi, Louis M.; Sowers, Thomas S.; Chicatelli, Amy

2008-01-01

Aerospace systems are developed similarly to other large-scale systems through a series of reviews, where designs are modified as system requirements are refined. For space-based systems few are built and placed into service these research vehicles have limited historical experience to draw from and formidable reliability and safety requirements, due to the remote and severe environment of space. Aeronautical systems have similar reliability and safety requirements, and while these systems may have historical information to access, commercial and military systems require longevity under a range of operational conditions and applied loads. Historically, the design of aerospace systems, particularly the selection of sensors, is based on the requirements for control and performance rather than on health assessment needs. Furthermore, the safety and reliability requirements are met through sensor suite augmentation in an ad hoc, heuristic manner, rather than any systematic approach. A review of the current sensor selection practice within and outside of the aerospace community was conducted and a sensor selection architecture is proposed that will provide a justifiable, defendable sensor suite to address system health assessment requirements.

Development of Solar Powered Irrigation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelkerim, A. I.; Sami Eusuf, M. M. R.; Salami, M. J. E.; Aibinu, A.; Eusuf, M. A.

2013-12-01

Development of a solar powered irrigation system has been discussed in this paper. This system would be SCADA-based and quite useful in areas where there is plenty of sunshine but insufficient water to carry out farming activities, such as rubber plantation, strawberry plantation, or any plantation, that requires frequent watering. The system is powered by solar system as a renewable energy which uses solar panel module to convert Sunlight into electricity. The development and implementation of an automated SCADA controlled system that uses PLC as a controller is significant to agricultural, oil and gas monitoring and control purpose purposes. In addition, the system is powered by an intelligent solar system in which solar panel targets the radiation from the Sun. Other than that, the solar system has reduced energy cost as well as pollution. The system is equipped with four input sensors; two soil moisture sensors, two level detection sensors. Soil moisture sensor measures the humidity of the soil, whereas the level detection sensors detect the level of water in the tank. The output sides consist of two solenoid valves, which are controlled respectively by two moistures sensors.

A model-based reasoning approach to sensor placement for monitorability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Doyle, Richard; Homemdemello, Luiz

1992-01-01

An approach is presented to evaluating sensor placements to maximize monitorability of the target system while minimizing the number of sensors. The approach uses a model of the monitored system to score potential sensor placements on the basis of four monitorability criteria. The scores can then be analyzed to produce a recommended sensor set. An example from our NASA application domain is used to illustrate our model-based approach to sensor placement.

Magnetic Field Response Measurement Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.

2005-01-01

A measurement acquisition method that alleviates many shortcomings of traditional measurement systems is presented in this paper. The shortcomings are a finite number of measurement channels, weight penalty associated with measurements, electrical arcing, wire degradations due to wear or chemical decay and the logistics needed to add new sensors. The key to this method is the use of sensors designed as passive inductor-capacitor circuits that produce magnetic field responses. The response attributes correspond to states of physical properties for which the sensors measure. A radio frequency antenna produces a time-varying magnetic field used to power the sensor and receive the magnetic field response of the sensor. An interrogation system for discerning changes in the sensor response is presented herein. Multiple sensors can be interrogated using this method. The method eliminates the need for a data acquisition channel dedicated to each sensor. Methods of developing magnetic field response sensors and the influence of key parameters on measurement acquisition are discussed.

Wireless sensor network for irrigation application in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A wireless sensor network was deployed in a cotton field to monitor soil water status for irrigation. The network included two systems, a Decagon system and a microcontroller-based system. The Decagon system consists of soil volumetric water-content sensors, wireless data loggers, and a central data...

Sensor Systems for Space Life Sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Somps, Chris J.; Hines, John W.; Connolly, John P. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Sensors 2000! (S2K!) is a NASA Ames Research Center engineering initiative designed to provide biosensor and bio-instrumentation systems technology expertise to NASA's life sciences spaceflight programs. S2K! covers the full spectrum of sensor technology applications, ranging from spaceflight hardware design and fabrication to advanced technology development, transfer and commercialization. S2K! is currently developing sensor systems for space biomedical applications on BION (a Russian biosatellite focused on Rhesus Monkey physiology) and NEUROLAB (a Space Shuttle flight devoted to neuroscience). It's Advanced Technology Development-Biosensors (ATD-B) project focuses efforts in five principle areas: biotelemetry Systems, chemical and biological sensors, physiological sensors, advanced instrumentation architectures, and data and information management. Technologies already developed and tested included, application-specific sensors, preamplifier hybrids, modular programmable signal conditioners, power conditioning and distribution systems, and a fully implantable dual channel biotelemeter. Systems currently under development include a portable receiver system compatible with an off-the-shelf analog biotelemeter, a 4 channel digital biotelemetry system which monitors pH, a multichannel, g-processor based PCM biotelemetry system, and hand-held personal monitoring systems. S2K! technology easily lends itself to telescience and telemedicine applications as a front-end measurement and data acquisition device, suitable for obtaining and configuring physiological information, and processing that information under control from a remote location.

Inertial Motion Capture Costume Design Study

PubMed Central

Szczęsna, Agnieszka; Skurowski, Przemysław; Lach, Ewa; Pruszowski, Przemysław; Pęszor, Damian; Paszkuta, Marcin; Słupik, Janusz; Lebek, Kamil; Janiak, Mateusz; Polański, Andrzej; Wojciechowski, Konrad

2017-01-01

The paper describes a scalable, wearable multi-sensor system for motion capture based on inertial measurement units (IMUs). Such a unit is composed of accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer. The final quality of an obtained motion arises from all the individual parts of the described system. The proposed system is a sequence of the following stages: sensor data acquisition, sensor orientation estimation, system calibration, pose estimation and data visualisation. The construction of the system’s architecture with the dataflow programming paradigm makes it easy to add, remove and replace the data processing steps. The modular architecture of the system allows an effortless introduction of a new sensor orientation estimation algorithms. The original contribution of the paper is the design study of the individual components used in the motion capture system. The two key steps of the system design are explored in this paper: the evaluation of sensors and algorithms for the orientation estimation. The three chosen algorithms have been implemented and investigated as part of the experiment. Due to the fact that the selection of the sensor has a significant impact on the final result, the sensor evaluation process is also explained and tested. The experimental results confirmed that the choice of sensor and orientation estimation algorithm affect the quality of the final results. PMID:28304337

A Survey of Wireless Sensor Network Based Air Pollution Monitoring Systems

PubMed Central

Yi, Wei Ying; Lo, Kin Ming; Mak, Terrence; Leung, Kwong Sak; Leung, Yee; Meng, Mei Ling

2015-01-01

The air quality in urban areas is a major concern in modern cities due to significant impacts of air pollution on public health, global environment, and worldwide economy. Recent studies reveal the importance of micro-level pollution information, including human personal exposure and acute exposure to air pollutants. A real-time system with high spatio-temporal resolution is essential because of the limited data availability and non-scalability of conventional air pollution monitoring systems. Currently, researchers focus on the concept of The Next Generation Air Pollution Monitoring System (TNGAPMS) and have achieved significant breakthroughs by utilizing the advance sensing technologies, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). However, there exist potential problems of these newly proposed systems, namely the lack of 3D data acquisition ability and the flexibility of the sensor network. In this paper, we classify the existing works into three categories as Static Sensor Network (SSN), Community Sensor Network (CSN) and Vehicle Sensor Network (VSN) based on the carriers of the sensors. Comprehensive reviews and comparisons among these three types of sensor networks were also performed. Last but not least, we discuss the limitations of the existing works and conclude the objectives that we want to achieve in future systems. PMID:26703598

A Survey of Wireless Sensor Network Based Air Pollution Monitoring Systems.

PubMed

Yi, Wei Ying; Lo, Kin Ming; Mak, Terrence; Leung, Kwong Sak; Leung, Yee; Meng, Mei Ling

2015-12-12

The air quality in urban areas is a major concern in modern cities due to significant impacts of air pollution on public health, global environment, and worldwide economy. Recent studies reveal the importance of micro-level pollution information, including human personal exposure and acute exposure to air pollutants. A real-time system with high spatio-temporal resolution is essential because of the limited data availability and non-scalability of conventional air pollution monitoring systems. Currently, researchers focus on the concept of The Next Generation Air Pollution Monitoring System (TNGAPMS) and have achieved significant breakthroughs by utilizing the advance sensing technologies, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). However, there exist potential problems of these newly proposed systems, namely the lack of 3D data acquisition ability and the flexibility of the sensor network. In this paper, we classify the existing works into three categories as Static Sensor Network (SSN), Community Sensor Network (CSN) and Vehicle Sensor Network (VSN) based on the carriers of the sensors. Comprehensive reviews and comparisons among these three types of sensor networks were also performed. Last but not least, we discuss the limitations of the existing works and conclude the objectives that we want to achieve in future systems.

Infrastructure-Based Sensors Augmenting Efficient Autonomous Vehicle Operations: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jun, Myungsoo; Markel, Anthony J

Autonomous vehicle technology development relies on an on-board network of fused sensor inputs for safe and efficient operation. The fused sensors offer multiple perspectives of similar information aiding in system decision robustness. The high cost of full systems on individual vehicles is seen as a potential barrier to broad adoption and achieving system energy efficiency gains. Since traffic in autonomous vehicle technology development relies on an on-board network of fused sensor inputs for safe and efficient operation. The fused sensors offer multiple perspectives of similar information aiding in system decision robustness. The high cost of full systems on individual vehiclesmore » is seen as a potential barrier to broad adoption and achieving system energy efficiency gains.« less

NEEDS - Information Adaptive System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, W. L.; Benz, H. F.; Meredith, B. D.

1980-01-01

The Information Adaptive System (IAS) is an element of the NASA End-to-End Data System (NEEDS) Phase II and is focused toward onboard image processing. The IAS is a data preprocessing system which is closely coupled to the sensor system. Some of the functions planned for the IAS include sensor response nonuniformity correction, geometric correction, data set selection, data formatting, packetization, and adaptive system control. The inclusion of these sensor data preprocessing functions onboard the spacecraft will significantly improve the extraction of information from the sensor data in a timely and cost effective manner, and provide the opportunity to design sensor systems which can be reconfigured in near real-time for optimum performance. The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary design of the IAS and the plans for its development.

Ultrasonic Sensors in Urban Traffic Driving-Aid Systems

PubMed Central

Alonso, Luciano; Milanés, Vicente; Torre-Ferrero, Carlos; Godoy, Jorge; Oria, Juan P.; de Pedro, Teresa

2011-01-01

Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS), Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems. PMID:22346596

Ultrasonic sensors in urban traffic driving-aid systems.

PubMed

Alonso, Luciano; Milanés, Vicente; Torre-Ferrero, Carlos; Godoy, Jorge; Oria, Juan P; de Pedro, Teresa

2011-01-01

Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS), Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems.

Accurate and automatic extrinsic calibration method for blade measurement system integrated by different optical sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Wantao; Li, Zhongwei; Zhong, Kai; Shi, Yusheng; Zhao, Can; Cheng, Xu

2014-11-01

Fast and precise 3D inspection system is in great demand in modern manufacturing processes. At present, the available sensors have their own pros and cons, and hardly exist an omnipotent sensor to handle the complex inspection task in an accurate and effective way. The prevailing solution is integrating multiple sensors and taking advantages of their strengths. For obtaining a holistic 3D profile, the data from different sensors should be registrated into a coherent coordinate system. However, some complex shape objects own thin wall feather such as blades, the ICP registration method would become unstable. Therefore, it is very important to calibrate the extrinsic parameters of each sensor in the integrated measurement system. This paper proposed an accurate and automatic extrinsic parameter calibration method for blade measurement system integrated by different optical sensors. In this system, fringe projection sensor (FPS) and conoscopic holography sensor (CHS) is integrated into a multi-axis motion platform, and the sensors can be optimally move to any desired position at the object's surface. In order to simple the calibration process, a special calibration artifact is designed according to the characteristics of the two sensors. An automatic registration procedure based on correlation and segmentation is used to realize the artifact datasets obtaining by FPS and CHS rough alignment without any manual operation and data pro-processing, and then the Generalized Gauss-Markoff model is used to estimate the optimization transformation parameters. The experiments show the measurement result of a blade, where several sampled patches are merged into one point cloud, and it verifies the performance of the proposed method.

Novel wireless sensor system for dynamic characterization of borehole heat exchangers.

PubMed

Martos, Julio; Montero, Álvaro; Torres, José; Soret, Jesús; Martínez, Guillermo; García-Olcina, Raimundo

2011-01-01

The design and field test of a novel sensor system based in autonomous wireless sensors to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along a borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is presented. The system, by means of two special valves, inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors inside the pipes of the borehole, which are carried by the thermal fluid. Each sensor is embedded in a small sphere of just 25 mm diameter and 8 gr weight, containing a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a power supply. A wireless data processing unit transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration before the measurements, and also downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the BHE U-tube. This sensor system is intended to improve the conventional thermal response test (TRT) and it allows the collection of information about the thermal characteristics of the geological structure of subsurface and its influence in borehole thermal behaviour, which in turn, facilitates the implementation of TRTs in a more cost-effective and reliable way.

Novel Wireless Sensor System for Dynamic Characterization of Borehole Heat Exchangers

PubMed Central

Martos, Julio; Montero, Álvaro; Torres, José; Soret, Jesús; Martínez, Guillermo; García-Olcina, Raimundo

2011-01-01

The design and field test of a novel sensor system based in autonomous wireless sensors to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along a borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is presented. The system, by means of two specials valves, inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors inside the pipes of the borehole, which are carried by the thermal fluid. Each sensor is embedded in a small sphere of just 25 mm diameter and 8 gr weight, containing a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a power supply. A wireless data processing unit transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration before the measurements, and also downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the BHE U-tube. This sensor system is intended to improve the conventional thermal response test (TRT) and it allows the collection of information about the thermal characteristics of the geological structure of subsurface and its influence in borehole thermal behaviour, which in turn, facilitates the implementation of TRTs in a more cost-effective and reliable way. PMID:22164005

Subcellular Carrier-Based Optical Ion-Selective Nanosensors

PubMed Central

Carregal-Romero, Susana; Montenegro, Jose-Maria; Parak, Wolfgang J.; Rivera_Gil, Pilar

2012-01-01

In this review, two carrier systems based on nanotechnology for real-time sensing of biologically relevant analytes (ions or other biological molecules) inside cells in a non-invasive way are discussed. One system is based on inorganic nanoparticles with an organic coating, whereas the second system is based on organic microcapsules. The sensor molecules presented within this work use an optical read-out. Due to the different physicochemical properties, both sensors show distinctive geometries that directly affect their internalization patterns. The nanoparticles carry the sensor molecule attached to their surfaces whereas the microcapsules encapsulate the sensor within their cavities. Their different size (nano and micro) enable each sensors to locate in different cellular regions. For example, the nanoparticles are mostly found in endolysosomal compartments but the microcapsules are rather found in phagolysosomal vesicles. Thus, allowing creating a tool of sensors that sense differently. Both sensor systems enable to measure ratiometrically however, only the microcapsules have the unique ability of multiplexing. At the end, an outlook on how more sophisticated sensors can be created by confining the nano-scaled sensors within the microcapsules will be given. PMID:22557969

REVIEW ARTICLE: Sensors for automotive telematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, J. D.; Austin, L.

2000-02-01

This article reviews the current practice in sensors and sensor applications for automotive and traffic-control systems. Sensors to control engine fuelling, ignition and transmission (known as the powertrain) are reviewed and the likely course of future development is discussed in the light of regulatory and market requirements as well as trends in sensor design and manufacture. Sensor needs for suspension, braking and control of traction are also reviewed and the likely introduction of wheel and tyre sensors to enhance driving safety is discussed. The recent trend towards vehicle-mounted devices to sense the vehicle's environment (such as radar, optical, ultrasound, capacitive and image-based systems) and the implications of the introduction of safety-critical automotive systems such as adaptive cruise control are discussed. Sensors for initiating the deployment of safety systems such as airbags, together with transducers for disconnecting fuel pumps and vehicle batteries in the event of a crash, are reviewed. The paper includes a brief discussion of highway-based sensors for measuring vehicle speed and presence and concludes with a discussion of the likely future developments in the field.

Comparison of the Shack-Hartmann and plenoptic sensor in closed-loop adaptive optics system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Pengzhi; Xu, Jieping; Liang, Yonghui; Mao, Hongjun

2016-03-01

The wavefront sensor is used in adaptive optics (AO) to detect the atmospheric distortion, which feeds back to the deformable mirror to compensate for this distortion. While the Shack-Hartmann sensor has been widely used, the plenoptic sensor was proposed in recent years. The two different wavefront sensing methods have different interpretations and numerical consequences, though they are both slope-based. The plenoptic sensor is compared with the Shack-Hartmann sensor in a closed-loop AO system. Simulations are performed to investigate their performances under closed-loop conditions. The plenoptic sensors both without and with modulation are discussed. The results show that the closed-loop performance of the plenoptic sensor without modulation is worse than that of the Shack-Hartmann sensor when the star for observation is brighter than magnitude 7, but better when the star is fainter. The closed-loop performance of the plenoptic sensor could be improved by modulation, except for the faint star. In summary, the limiting magnitude of the astronomical AO system may be improved by using the plenoptic sensor instead of the Shack-Hartmann sensor, and the modulation of the plenoptic sensor is more suitable for the bright star.

Sensor validation and fusion for gas turbine vibration monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Weizhong; Goebel, Kai F.

2003-08-01

Vibration monitoring is an important practice throughout regular operation of gas turbine power systems and, even more so, during characterization tests. Vibration monitoring relies on accurate and reliable sensor readings. To obtain accurate readings, sensors are placed such that the signal is maximized. In the case of characterization tests, strain gauges are placed at the location of vibration modes on blades inside the gas turbine. Due to the prevailing harsh environment, these sensors have a limited life and decaying accuracy, both of which impair vibration assessment. At the same time bandwidth limitations may restrict data transmission, which in turn limits the number of sensors that can be used for assessment. Knowing the sensor status (normal or faulty), and more importantly, knowing the true vibration level of the system all the time is essential for successful gas turbine vibration monitoring. This paper investigates a dynamic sensor validation and system health reasoning scheme that addresses the issues outlined above by considering only the information required to reliably assess system health status. In particular, if abnormal system health is suspected or if the primary sensor is determined to be faulted, information from available "sibling" sensors is dynamically integrated. A confidence expresses the complex interactions of sensor health and system health, their reliabilities, conflicting information, and what the health assessment is. Effectiveness of the scheme in achieving accurate and reliable vibration evaluation is then demonstrated using a combination of simulated data and a small sample of a real-world application data where the vibration of compressor blades during a real time characterization test of a new gas turbine power system is monitored.

A Solar Position Sensor Based on Image Vision.

PubMed

Ruelas, Adolfo; Velázquez, Nicolás; Villa-Angulo, Carlos; Acuña, Alexis; Rosales, Pedro; Suastegui, José

2017-07-29

Solar collector technologies operate with better performance when the Sun beam direction is normal to the capturing surface, and for that to happen despite the relative movement of the Sun, solar tracking systems are used, therefore, there are rules and standards that need minimum accuracy for these tracking systems to be used in solar collectors' evaluation. Obtaining accuracy is not an easy job, hence in this document the design, construction and characterization of a sensor based on a visual system that finds the relative azimuth error and height of the solar surface of interest, is presented. With these characteristics, the sensor can be used as a reference in control systems and their evaluation. The proposed sensor is based on a microcontroller with a real-time clock, inertial measurement sensors, geolocation and a vision sensor, that obtains the angle of incidence from the sunrays' direction as well as the tilt and sensor position. The sensor's characterization proved how a measurement of a focus error or a Sun position can be made, with an accuracy of 0.0426° and an uncertainty of 0.986%, which can be modified to reach an accuracy under 0.01°. The validation of this sensor was determined showing the focus error on one of the best commercial solar tracking systems, a Kipp & Zonen SOLYS 2. To conclude, the solar tracking sensor based on a vision system meets the Sun detection requirements and components that meet the accuracy conditions to be used in solar tracking systems and their evaluation or, as a tracking and orientation tool, on photovoltaic installations and solar collectors.

A near-optimal low complexity sensor fusion technique for accurate indoor localization based on ultrasound time of arrival measurements from low-quality sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitilineos, Stelios A.; Argyreas, Nick D.; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

2009-05-01

A fusion-based localization technique for location-based services in indoor environments is introduced herein, based on ultrasound time-of-arrival measurements from multiple off-the-shelf range estimating sensors which are used in a market-available localization system. In-situ field measurements results indicated that the respective off-the-shelf system was unable to estimate position in most of the cases, while the underlying sensors are of low-quality and yield highly inaccurate range and position estimates. An extensive analysis is performed and a model of the sensor-performance characteristics is established. A low-complexity but accurate sensor fusion and localization technique is then developed, which consists inof evaluating multiple sensor measurements and selecting the one that is considered most-accurate based on the underlying sensor model. Optimality, in the sense of a genie selecting the optimum sensor, is subsequently evaluated and compared to the proposed technique. The experimental results indicate that the proposed fusion method exhibits near-optimal performance and, albeit being theoretically suboptimal, it largely overcomes most flaws of the underlying single-sensor system resulting in a localization system of increased accuracy, robustness and availability.

Optical technologies for space sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hu; Liu, Jie; Xue, Yaoke; Liu, Yang; Liu, Meiying; Wang, Lingguang; Yang, Shaodong; Lin, Shangmin; Chen, Su; Luo, Jianjun

2015-10-01

Space sensors are used in navigation sensor fields. The sun, the earth, the moon and other planets are used as frame of reference to obtain stellar position coordinates, and then to control the attitude of an aircraft. Being the "eyes" of the space sensors, Optical sensor system makes images of the infinite far stars and other celestial bodies. It directly affects measurement accuracy of the space sensor, indirectly affecting the data updating rate. Star sensor technology is the pilot for Space sensors. At present more and more attention is paid on all-day star sensor technology. By day and night measurements of the stars, the aircraft's attitude in the inertial coordinate system can be provided. Facing the requirements of ultra-high-precision, large field of view, wide spectral range, long life and high reliability, multi-functional optical system, we integration, integration optical sensors will be future space technology trends. In the meantime, optical technologies for space-sensitive research leads to the development of ultra-precision optical processing, optical and precision test machine alignment technology. It also promotes the development of long-life optical materials and applications. We have achieved such absolute distortion better than ±1um, Space life of at least 15years of space-sensitive optical system.

System Wide Joint Position Sensor Fault Tolerance in Robot Systems Using Cartesian Accelerometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aldridge, Hal A.; Juang, Jer-Nan

1997-01-01

Joint position sensors are necessary for most robot control systems. A single position sensor failure in a normal robot system can greatly degrade performance. This paper presents a method to obtain position information from Cartesian accelerometers without integration. Depending on the number and location of the accelerometers. the proposed system can tolerate the loss of multiple position sensors. A solution technique suitable for real-time implementation is presented. Simulations were conducted using 5 triaxial accelerometers to recover from the loss of up to 4 joint position sensors on a 7 degree of freedom robot moving in general three dimensional space. The simulations show good estimation performance using non-ideal accelerometer measurements.

Recent Advances of MEMS Resonators for Lorentz Force Based Magnetic Field Sensors: Design, Applications and Challenges.

PubMed

Herrera-May, Agustín Leobardo; Soler-Balcazar, Juan Carlos; Vázquez-Leal, Héctor; Martínez-Castillo, Jaime; Vigueras-Zuñiga, Marco Osvaldo; Aguilera-Cortés, Luz Antonio

2016-08-24

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators have allowed the development of magnetic field sensors with potential applications such as biomedicine, automotive industry, navigation systems, space satellites, telecommunications and non-destructive testing. We present a review of recent magnetic field sensors based on MEMS resonators, which operate with Lorentz force. These sensors have a compact structure, wide measurement range, low energy consumption, high sensitivity and suitable performance. The design methodology, simulation tools, damping sources, sensing techniques and future applications of magnetic field sensors are discussed. The design process is fundamental in achieving correct selection of the operation principle, sensing technique, materials, fabrication process and readout systems of the sensors. In addition, the description of the main sensing systems and challenges of the MEMS sensors are discussed. To develop the best devices, researches of their mechanical reliability, vacuum packaging, design optimization and temperature compensation circuits are needed. Future applications will require multifunctional sensors for monitoring several physical parameters (e.g., magnetic field, acceleration, angular ratio, humidity, temperature and gases).

Transparent Fingerprint Sensor System for Large Flat Panel Display.

PubMed

Seo, Wonkuk; Pi, Jae-Eun; Cho, Sung Haeung; Kang, Seung-Youl; Ahn, Seong-Deok; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Jeon, Ho-Sik; Kim, Jong-Uk; Lee, Myunghee

2018-01-19

In this paper, we introduce a transparent fingerprint sensing system using a thin film transistor (TFT) sensor panel, based on a self-capacitive sensing scheme. An armorphousindium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) TFT sensor array and associated custom Read-Out IC (ROIC) are implemented for the system. The sensor panel has a 200 × 200 pixel array and each pixel size is as small as 50 μm × 50 μm. The ROIC uses only eight analog front-end (AFE) amplifier stages along with a successive approximation analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC). To get the fingerprint image data from the sensor array, the ROIC senses a capacitance, which is formed by a cover glass material between a human finger and an electrode of each pixel of the sensor array. Three methods are reviewed for estimating the self-capacitance. The measurement result demonstrates that the transparent fingerprint sensor system has an ability to differentiate a human finger's ridges and valleys through the fingerprint sensor array.

Recent Advances of MEMS Resonators for Lorentz Force Based Magnetic Field Sensors: Design, Applications and Challenges

PubMed Central

Herrera-May, Agustín Leobardo; Soler-Balcazar, Juan Carlos; Vázquez-Leal, Héctor; Martínez-Castillo, Jaime; Vigueras-Zuñiga, Marco Osvaldo; Aguilera-Cortés, Luz Antonio

2016-01-01

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators have allowed the development of magnetic field sensors with potential applications such as biomedicine, automotive industry, navigation systems, space satellites, telecommunications and non-destructive testing. We present a review of recent magnetic field sensors based on MEMS resonators, which operate with Lorentz force. These sensors have a compact structure, wide measurement range, low energy consumption, high sensitivity and suitable performance. The design methodology, simulation tools, damping sources, sensing techniques and future applications of magnetic field sensors are discussed. The design process is fundamental in achieving correct selection of the operation principle, sensing technique, materials, fabrication process and readout systems of the sensors. In addition, the description of the main sensing systems and challenges of the MEMS sensors are discussed. To develop the best devices, researches of their mechanical reliability, vacuum packaging, design optimization and temperature compensation circuits are needed. Future applications will require multifunctional sensors for monitoring several physical parameters (e.g., magnetic field, acceleration, angular ratio, humidity, temperature and gases). PMID:27563912

Application of intelligent sensors in the integrated systems health monitoring of a rocket test stand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahajan, Ajay; Chitikeshi, Sanjeevi; Utterbach, Lucas; Bandhil, Pavan; Figueroa, Fernando

2006-05-01

This paper describes the application of intelligent sensors in the Integrated Systems Health Monitoring (ISHM) as applied to a rocket test stand. The development of intelligent sensors is attempted as an integrated system approach, i.e. one treats the sensors as a complete system with its own physical transducer, A/D converters, processing and storage capabilities, software drivers, self-assessment algorithms, communication protocols and evolutionary methodologies that allow them to get better with time. Under a project being undertaken at the NASA Stennis Space Center, an integrated framework is being developed for the intelligent monitoring of smart elements associated with the rocket tests stands. These smart elements can be sensors, actuators or other devices. Though the immediate application is the monitoring of the rocket test stands, the technology should be generally applicable to the ISHM vision. This paper outlines progress made in the development of intelligent sensors by describing the work done till date on Physical Intelligent sensors (PIS) and Virtual Intelligent Sensors (VIS).

Application of zonal model on indoor air sensor network design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y. Lisa; Wen, Jin

2007-04-01

Growing concerns over the safety of the indoor environment have made the use of sensors ubiquitous. Sensors that detect chemical and biological warfare agents can offer early warning of dangerous contaminants. However, current sensor system design is more informed by intuition and experience rather by systematic design. To develop a sensor system design methodology, a proper indoor airflow modeling approach is needed. Various indoor airflow modeling techniques, from complicated computational fluid dynamics approaches to simplified multi-zone approaches, exist in the literature. In this study, the effects of two airflow modeling techniques, multi-zone modeling technique and zonal modeling technique, on indoor air protection sensor system design are discussed. Common building attack scenarios, using a typical CBW agent, are simulated. Both multi-zone and zonal models are used to predict airflows and contaminant dispersion. Genetic Algorithm is then applied to optimize the sensor location and quantity. Differences in the sensor system design resulting from the two airflow models are discussed for a typical office environment and a large hall environment.

Transparent Fingerprint Sensor System for Large Flat Panel Display

PubMed Central

Seo, Wonkuk; Pi, Jae-Eun; Cho, Sung Haeung; Kang, Seung-Youl; Ahn, Seong-Deok; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Jeon, Ho-Sik; Kim, Jong-Uk

2018-01-01

In this paper, we introduce a transparent fingerprint sensing system using a thin film transistor (TFT) sensor panel, based on a self-capacitive sensing scheme. An armorphousindium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) TFT sensor array and associated custom Read-Out IC (ROIC) are implemented for the system. The sensor panel has a 200 × 200 pixel array and each pixel size is as small as 50 μm × 50 μm. The ROIC uses only eight analog front-end (AFE) amplifier stages along with a successive approximation analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC). To get the fingerprint image data from the sensor array, the ROIC senses a capacitance, which is formed by a cover glass material between a human finger and an electrode of each pixel of the sensor array. Three methods are reviewed for estimating the self-capacitance. The measurement result demonstrates that the transparent fingerprint sensor system has an ability to differentiate a human finger’s ridges and valleys through the fingerprint sensor array. PMID:29351218

Ontology-Based Architecture for Intelligent Transportation Systems Using a Traffic Sensor Network.

PubMed

Fernandez, Susel; Hadfi, Rafik; Ito, Takayuki; Marsa-Maestre, Ivan; Velasco, Juan R

2016-08-15

Intelligent transportation systems are a set of technological solutions used to improve the performance and safety of road transportation. A crucial element for the success of these systems is the exchange of information, not only between vehicles, but also among other components in the road infrastructure through different applications. One of the most important information sources in this kind of systems is sensors. Sensors can be within vehicles or as part of the infrastructure, such as bridges, roads or traffic signs. Sensors can provide information related to weather conditions and traffic situation, which is useful to improve the driving process. To facilitate the exchange of information between the different applications that use sensor data, a common framework of knowledge is needed to allow interoperability. In this paper an ontology-driven architecture to improve the driving environment through a traffic sensor network is proposed. The system performs different tasks automatically to increase driver safety and comfort using the information provided by the sensors.

Ontology-Based Architecture for Intelligent Transportation Systems Using a Traffic Sensor Network

PubMed Central

Fernandez, Susel; Hadfi, Rafik; Ito, Takayuki; Marsa-Maestre, Ivan; Velasco, Juan R.

2016-01-01

Intelligent transportation systems are a set of technological solutions used to improve the performance and safety of road transportation. A crucial element for the success of these systems is the exchange of information, not only between vehicles, but also among other components in the road infrastructure through different applications. One of the most important information sources in this kind of systems is sensors. Sensors can be within vehicles or as part of the infrastructure, such as bridges, roads or traffic signs. Sensors can provide information related to weather conditions and traffic situation, which is useful to improve the driving process. To facilitate the exchange of information between the different applications that use sensor data, a common framework of knowledge is needed to allow interoperability. In this paper an ontology-driven architecture to improve the driving environment through a traffic sensor network is proposed. The system performs different tasks automatically to increase driver safety and comfort using the information provided by the sensors. PMID:27537878

Sensor Networking Testbed with IEEE 1451 Compatibility and Network Performance Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gurkan, Deniz; Yuan, X.; Benhaddou, D.; Figueroa, F.; Morris, Jonathan

2007-01-01

Design and implementation of a testbed for testing and verifying IEEE 1451-compatible sensor systems with network performance monitoring is of significant importance. The performance parameters measurement as well as decision support systems implementation will enhance the understanding of sensor systems with plug-and-play capabilities. The paper will present the design aspects for such a testbed environment under development at University of Houston in collaboration with NASA Stennis Space Center - SSST (Smart Sensor System Testbed).

Development of a 300°C 3C Fiber Optic Downhole Seismic Receiver Array for Surveying and Monitoring of Geothermal Reservoirs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paulsson, Bjorn N.P.

2016-06-29

To address the critical site characterization and monitoring needs for Enhance Geothermal Systems (EGS) programs, US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Paulsson, Inc. in 2011 a contract to design, build and test a high temperature fiber optic based ultra-large bandwidth clamped borehole seismic vector array capable of deploying a large number of 3C sensor pods suitable for deployment into high temperature and high pressure boreholes. Paulsson, Inc. has completed a design or a unique borehole seismic system consisting of a novel drill pipe based deployment system that includes a hydraulic clamping mechanism for the sensor pods, a new sensor podmore » design and most important – a unique fiber optic seismic vector sensor with technical specifications and capabilities that far exceed the state of the art seismic sensor technologies. These novel technologies were all applied to the new borehole seismic system. In combination these technologies will allow for the deployment of up to 1,000 3C sensor pods in vertical, deviated or horizontal wells. Laboratory tests of the fiber optic seismic vector sensors developed during this project have shown that the new borehole seismic sensor technology is capable of generating outstanding high vector fidelity data with extremely large bandwidth: 0.01 – 6,000 Hz. Field tests have shown that the system can record events at magnitudes much smaller than M-4.0 at frequencies over 2,000 Hz. The sensors have also proved to be about 100 times more sensitive than the regular coil geophones that are used in borehole seismic systems today. The fiber optic seismic sensors have furthermore been qualified to operate at temperatures over 300°C (572°F). The data telemetry fibers used for the seismic vector sensors in the system are also used to simultaneously record Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) and Distributed Acoustic Sensor (DAS) data allowing additional value added data to be recorded simultaneously with the seismic vector sensor data.« less

Robust Operation of Tendon-Driven Robot Fingers Using Force and Position-Based Control Laws

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hargrave, Brian (Inventor); Abdallah, Muhammad E (Inventor); Reiland, Matthew J (Inventor); Diftler, Myron A (Inventor); Strawser, Philip A (Inventor); Platt, Jr., Robert J. (Inventor); Ihrke, Chris A. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A robotic system includes a tendon-driven finger and a control system. The system controls the finger via a force-based control law when a tension sensor is available, and via a position-based control law when a sensor is not available. Multiple tendons may each have a corresponding sensor. The system selectively injects a compliance value into the position-based control law when only some sensors are available. A control system includes a host machine and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a control process, which is executed by the host machine to control the finger via the force- or position-based control law. A method for controlling the finger includes determining the availability of a tension sensor(s), and selectively controlling the finger, using the control system, via the force or position-based control law. The position control law allows the control system to resist disturbances while nominally maintaining the initial state of internal tendon tensions.

Activity recognition using dynamic multiple sensor fusion in body sensor networks.

PubMed

Gao, Lei; Bourke, Alan K; Nelson, John

2012-01-01

Multiple sensor fusion is a main research direction for activity recognition. However, there are two challenges in those systems: the energy consumption due to the wireless transmission and the classifier design because of the dynamic feature vector. This paper proposes a multi-sensor fusion framework, which consists of the sensor selection module and the hierarchical classifier. The sensor selection module adopts the convex optimization to select the sensor subset in real time. The hierarchical classifier combines the Decision Tree classifier with the Naïve Bayes classifier. The dataset collected from 8 subjects, who performed 8 scenario activities, was used to evaluate the proposed system. The results show that the proposed system can obviously reduce the energy consumption while guaranteeing the recognition accuracy.

Sensor selection cost optimisation for tracking structurally cyclic systems: a P-order solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doostmohammadian, M.; Zarrabi, H.; Rabiee, H. R.

2017-08-01

Measurements and sensing implementations impose certain cost in sensor networks. The sensor selection cost optimisation is the problem of minimising the sensing cost of monitoring a physical (or cyber-physical) system. Consider a given set of sensors tracking states of a dynamical system for estimation purposes. For each sensor assume different costs to measure different (realisable) states. The idea is to assign sensors to measure states such that the global cost is minimised. The number and selection of sensor measurements need to ensure the observability to track the dynamic state of the system with bounded estimation error. The main question we address is how to select the state measurements to minimise the cost while satisfying the observability conditions. Relaxing the observability condition for structurally cyclic systems, the main contribution is to propose a graph theoretic approach to solve the problem in polynomial time. Note that polynomial time algorithms are suitable for large-scale systems as their running time is upper-bounded by a polynomial expression in the size of input for the algorithm. We frame the problem as a linear sum assignment with solution complexity of ?.

An Advanced Sensor Network Design For Subglacial Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, K.; Hart, J. K.; Elsaify, A.; Zou, G.; Padhy, P.; Riddoch, A.

2006-12-01

In the Glacsweb project a sensor network has been designed to take sensor measurements inside glaciers and send the data back to a web server autonomously. A wide range of experience was gained in the deployment of the earlier systems and this has been used to develop new hardware and software to better meet the needs of glaciologists using the data from the system. The system was reduced in size, new sensors (compass, light sensor) were added and the radio communications system completely changed. The new 173MHz radio system was designed with an antenna tuned to work in ice and a new network algorithm written to provide better data security. Probes can communicate data through each other (ad-hoc network) and store many months of data in a large buffer to cope with long term communications failures. New sensors include a light reflection measurement in order to provide data on the surrounding material. This paper will discuss the design decisions, the effectiveness of the final system and generic outcomes of use to sensor network designers deploying in difficult environments.

SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP). Volume 8: Aerothermodynamics Automation and Robotics (A/R) systems sensors, high-temperature superconductivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Viewgraphs of briefings presented at the SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP) on aerothermodynamics, automation and robotics systems, sensors, and high-temperature superconductivity are included. Topics covered include: aerothermodynamics; aerobraking; aeroassist flight experiment; entry technology for probes and penetrators; automation and robotics; artificial intelligence; NASA telerobotics program; planetary rover program; science sensor technology; direct detector; submillimeter sensors; laser sensors; passive microwave sensing; active microwave sensing; sensor electronics; sensor optics; coolers and cryogenics; and high temperature superconductivity.

SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP). Volume 8: Aerothermodynamics Automation and Robotics (A/R) systems sensors, high-temperature superconductivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Viewgraphs of briefings presented at the SSTAC/ARTS review of the draft Integrated Technology Plan (ITP) on aerothermodynamics, automation and robotics systems, sensors, and high-temperature superconductivity are included. Topics covered include: aerothermodynamics; aerobraking; aeroassist flight experiment; entry technology for probes and penetrators; automation and robotics; artificial intelligence; NASA telerobotics program; planetary rover program; science sensor technology; direct detector; submillimeter sensors; laser sensors; passive microwave sensing; active microwave sensing; sensor electronics; sensor optics; coolers and cryogenics; and high temperature superconductivity.

Energy storage management system with distributed wireless sensors

DOEpatents

Farmer, Joseph C.; Bandhauer, Todd M.

2015-12-08

An energy storage system having a multiple different types of energy storage and conversion devices. Each device is equipped with one or more sensors and RFID tags to communicate sensor information wirelessly to a central electronic management system, which is used to control the operation of each device. Each device can have multiple RFID tags and sensor types. Several energy storage and conversion devices can be combined.

Voltage Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Under a Lewis Research Center Small Business Innovation Research contract, SRICO, Inc. developed a fiber optic voltage sensor to measure voltage in electronic systems in spacecraft. The sensor uses glass and light to sense and transmit electricity, and is relatively safe and accurate. SRICO then commercialized the sensor for measurement of electric field and voltage in applications such as electric power systems and hazardous environments, lightning detection, and fiber optic communication systems.

A Fully Integrated Humidity Sensor System-on-Chip Fabricated by Micro-Stamping Technology

PubMed Central

Huang, Che-Wei; Huang, Yu-Jie; Lu, Shey-Shi; Lin, Chih-Ting

2012-01-01

A fully integrated humidity sensor chip was designed, implemented, and tested. Utilizing the micro-stamping technology, the pseudo-3D sensor system-on-chip (SSoC) architecture can be implemented by stacking sensing materials directly on the top of a CMOS-fabricated chip. The fabricated sensor system-on-chip (2.28 mm × 2.48 mm) integrated a humidity sensor, an interface circuit, a digital controller, and an On-Off Keying (OOK) wireless transceiver. With low power consumption, i.e., 750 μW without RF operation, the sensitivity of developed sensor chip was experimentally verified in the relative humidity (RH) range from 32% to 60%. The response time of the chip was also experimentally verified to be within 5 seconds from RH 36% to RH 64%. As a consequence, the implemented humidity SSoC paves the way toward the an ultra-small sensor system for various applications.

While drilling system and method

DOEpatents

Mayes, James C.; Araya, Mario A.; Thorp, Richard Edward

2007-02-20

A while drilling system and method for determining downhole parameters is provided. The system includes a retrievable while drilling tool positionable in a downhole drilling tool, a sensor chassis and at least one sensor. The while drilling tool is positionable in the downhole drilling tool and has a first communication coupler at an end thereof. The sensor chassis is supported in the drilling tool. The sensor chassis has a second communication coupler at an end thereof for operative connection with the first communication coupler. The sensor is positioned in the chassis and is adapted to measure internal and/or external parameters of the drilling tool. The sensor is operatively connected to the while drilling tool via the communication coupler for communication therebetween. The sensor may be positioned in the while drilling tool and retrievable with the drilling tool. Preferably, the system is operable in high temperature and high pressure conditions.

Procedures for the interpretation and use of elevation scanning laser/multi-sensor data for short range hazard detection and avoidance for an autonomous planetary rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Troiani, N.; Yerazunis, S. W.

1978-01-01

An autonomous roving science vehicle that relies on terrain data acquired by a hierarchy of sensors for navigation was one method of carrying out such a mission. The hierarchy of sensors included a short range sensor with sufficient resolution to detect every possible obstacle and with the ability to make fast and reliable terrain characterizations. A multilaser, multidetector triangulation system was proposed as a short range sensor. The general system was studied to determine its perception capabilities and limitations. A specific rover and low resolution sensor system was then considered. After studying the data obtained, a hazard detection algorithm was developed that accounts for all possible terrains given the sensor resolution. Computer simulation of the rover on various terrains was used to test the entire hazard detection system.

Innovative solutions in monitoring systems in flood protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekuła, Klaudia; Połeć, Marzena; Borecka, Aleksandra

2018-02-01

The article presents the possibilities of ISMOP - IT System of Levee Monitoring. This system is able to collecting data from the reference and experimental control and measurement network. The experimental levee is build in a 1:1 scale and located in the village of Czernichow, near Cracow. The innovation is the utilization of a series of sensors monitoring the changes in the body of levee. It can be done by comparing the results of numerical simulations with results from installed two groups of sensors: reference sensors and experimental sensors. The reference control and measurement sensors create network based on pore pressure and temperature sensors. Additionally, it contains the fiber-optic technology. The second network include design experimental sensors, constructed for the development of solutions that can be used in existing flood embankments. The results are important to create the comprehensive and inexpensive monitoring system, which could be helpful for state authorities and local governments in flood protection.

Electro-optical rendezvous and docking sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tubbs, David J.; Kesler, Lynn O.; Sirko, Robert J.

1991-01-01

Electro-optical sensors provide unique and critical functionality for space missions requiring rendezvous, docking, and berthing. McDonnell Douglas is developing a complete rendezvous and docking system for both manned and unmanned missions. This paper examines our sensor development and the systems and missions which benefit from rendezvous and docking sensors. Simulation results quantifying system performance improvements in key areas are given, with associated sensor performance requirements. A brief review of NASA-funded development activities and the current performance of electro-optical sensors for space applications is given. We will also describe current activities at McDonnell Douglas for a fully functional demonstration to address specific NASA mission needs.

Predictive sensor method and apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cambridge, Vivien J.; Koger, Thomas L.

1993-01-01

A microprocessor and electronics package employing predictive methodology was developed to accelerate the response time of slowly responding hydrogen sensors. The system developed improved sensor response time from approximately 90 seconds to 8.5 seconds. The microprocessor works in real-time providing accurate hydrogen concentration corrected for fluctuations in sensor output resulting from changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. Following the successful development of the hydrogen sensor system, the system and predictive methodology was adapted to a commercial medical thermometer probe. Results of the experiment indicate that, with some customization of hardware and software, response time improvements are possible for medical thermometers as well as other slowly responding sensors.

Wireless Biological Electronic Sensors.

PubMed

Cui, Yue

2017-10-09

The development of wireless biological electronic sensors could open up significant advances for both fundamental studies and practical applications in a variety of areas, including medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. One of the major challenges in the development of wireless bioelectronic sensors is the successful integration of biosensing units and wireless signal transducers. In recent years, there are a few types of wireless communication systems that have been integrated with biosensing systems to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors. To successfully construct wireless biological electronic sensors, there are several interesting questions: What types of biosensing transducers can be used in wireless bioelectronic sensors? What types of wireless systems can be integrated with biosensing transducers to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors? How are the electrical sensing signals generated and transmitted? This review will highlight the early attempts to address these questions in the development of wireless biological electronic sensors.

Combining engineered cell-sensors with multi-agent systems to realize smart environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Mei

2013-03-01

The connection of everything in a sensory and an intelligent way is a pursuit in smart environment. This paper introduces the engineered cell-sensors into the multi-agent systems to realize the smart environment. The seamless interface with the natural environment and strong information-processing ability of cell with the achievements of synthetic biology make the construction of engineered cell-sensors possible. However, the engineered cell-sensors are only simple-functional and unreliable computational entities. Therefore how to combine engineered cell-sensors with digital device is a key problem in order to realize the smart environment. We give the abstract structure and interaction modes of the engineered cell-sensors in order to introduce engineered cell-sensors into multi-agent systems. We believe that the introduction of engineered cell-sensors will push forward the development of the smart environment.

A Wireless Fluid-Level Measurement Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the application of a recently developed wireless measurement acquisition system to fluid-level measurement. This type of fluid-level measurement system alleviates many shortcomings of fluid-level measurement methods currently being used, including limited applicability of any one fluid-level sensor design. Measurement acquisition shortcomings include the necessity for power to be supplied to each sensor and for the measurement to be extracted from each sensor via a physical connection to the sensor. Another shortcoming is existing measurement systems require that a data channel and signal conditioning electronics be dedicated to each sensor. Use of wires results in other shortcomings such as logistics needed to add or replace sensors, weight, potential for electrical arcing and wire degradations. The fluid level sensor design is a simple passive inductor-capacitor circuit that is not subject to mechanical failure that is possible when float and lever-arm systems are used. Methods are presented for using the sensor in caustic, acidic or cryogenic fluids. Oscillating magnetic fields are used to power the sensor. Once electrically excited, the sensor produces a magnetic field response. The response frequency corresponds to the amount to fluid within the capacitor s electric field. The sensor design can be modified for measuring the level of any fluid or fluent substance that can be stored in a non-conductive reservoir. The interrogation method for discerning changes in the sensor response frequency is also presented.

In Situ Multi-Species (O2, N2, Fuel, Other) Fiber Optic Sensor for Fuel Tank Ullage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Quang-Viet

2007-01-01

A rugged and compact fiber optic sensor system for in situ real-time measurement of nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), hydrocarbon (HC) fuel vapors, and other gases has been developed over the past several years at Glenn Research Center. The intrinsically-safe, solid-state fiber optic sensor system provides a 1% precision measurement (by volume) of multiple gases in a 5-sec time window. The sensor has no consumable parts to wear out and requires less than 25 W of electrical power to operate. The sensor head is rugged and compact and is ideal for use in harsh environments such as inside an aircraft fuel tank, or as a feedback sensor in the vent-box of an on-board inert gas generation system (OBIGGS). Multiple sensor heads can be monitored with a single optical detection unit for a cost-effective multi-point sensor system. The present sensor technology is unique in its ability to measure N2 concentration directly, and in its ability to differentiate different types of HC fuels. The present sensor system provides value-added aircraft safety information by simultaneously and directly measuring the nitrogen-oxygen-fuel triplet, which provides the following advantages: (1) information regarding the extent of inerting by N2, (2) information regarding the chemical equivalence ratio, (3) information regarding the composition of the aircraft fuel, and (4) by providing a self-consistent calibration by utilizing a singular sensor for all species. Using the extra information made available by this sensor permits the ignitability of a fuel-oxidizer mixture to be more accurately characterized, which may permit a reduction in the amount of inerting required on a real-time basis, and yet still maintain a fire-safe fuel tank. This translates to an increase in fuel tank fire-safety through a better understanding of the physics of fuel ignition, and at the same time, a reduction in compressed bleed air usage and concomitant aircraft operational costs over the long-run. The present fiber optic sensor can also be used as a false-alarm-free engine/hidden/cargo space fire detector (by measuring increased CO2 and CO, and decreased O2), a multi-point in situ measurement and certification system for halogenated-compound fire protection systems, and for the testing and certification of other aircraft safety sensor systems. The technology (LEW-17826-1) developed in the present sensor system is patent pending.

Road Weather Systems [SD .WMV (720x480/29fps/25.2 MB)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Iowas road weather information system at work. The Iowa DOT will install new sensors and upgrades to most road weather information system (RWIS) sites. These include: : color cameras, new precipitation sensors, new speed sensors, revised weathervi...

A Decision Support System for Evaluating Systems of Undersea Sensors and Weapons

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

distribution is unlimited A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING SYSTEMS OF UNDERSEA SENSORS AND WEAPONS by Team Mental Focus Cohort 142O...A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING SYSTEMS OF UNDERSEA SENSORS AND WEAPONS 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Systems Engineering Cohort...undersea weapons, it requires the supporting tools to evaluate and predict the effectiveness of these system concepts. While current naval minefield

Service Oriented Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks in Agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawant, S. A.; Adinarayana, J.; Durbha, S. S.; Tripathy, A. K.; Sudharsan, D.

2012-08-01

Rapid advances in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for agricultural applications has provided a platform for better decision making for crop planning and management, particularly in precision agriculture aspects. Due to the ever-increasing spread of WSNs there is a need for standards, i.e. a set of specifications and encodings to bring multiple sensor networks on common platform. Distributed sensor systems when brought together can facilitate better decision making in agricultural domain. The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) through Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) provides guidelines for semantic and syntactic standardization of sensor networks. In this work two distributed sensing systems (Agrisens and FieldServer) were selected to implement OGC SWE standards through a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach. Online interoperable data processing was developed through SWE components such as Sensor Model Language (SensorML) and Sensor Observation Service (SOS). An integrated web client was developed to visualize the sensor observations and measurements that enables the retrieval of crop water resources availability and requirements in a systematic manner for both the sensing devices. Further, the client has also the ability to operate in an interoperable manner with any other OGC standardized WSN systems. The study of WSN systems has shown that there is need to augment the operations / processing capabilities of SOS in order to understand about collected sensor data and implement the modelling services. Also, the very low cost availability of WSN systems in future, it is possible to implement the OGC standardized SWE framework for agricultural applications with open source software tools.

Factory-Calibrated Continuous Glucose Sensors: The Science Behind the Technology.

PubMed

Hoss, Udo; Budiman, Erwin Satrya

2017-05-01

The use of commercially available continuous glucose monitors for diabetes management requires sensor calibrations, which until recently are exclusively performed by the patient. A new development is the implementation of factory calibration for subcutaneous glucose sensors, which eliminates the need for user calibrations and the associated blood glucose tests. Factory calibration means that the calibration process is part of the sensor manufacturing process and performed under controlled laboratory conditions. The ability to move from a user calibration to factory calibration is based on several technical requirements related to sensor stability and the robustness of the sensor manufacturing process. The main advantages of factory calibration over the conventional user calibration are: (a) more convenience for the user, since no more fingersticks are required for calibration and (b) elimination of use errors related to the execution of the calibration process, which can lead to sensor inaccuracies. The FreeStyle Libre ™ and FreeStyle Libre Pro ™ flash continuous glucose monitoring systems are the first commercially available sensor systems using factory-calibrated sensors. For these sensor systems, no user calibrations are required throughout the sensor wear duration.

Factory-Calibrated Continuous Glucose Sensors: The Science Behind the Technology

PubMed Central

Budiman, Erwin Satrya

2017-01-01

Abstract The use of commercially available continuous glucose monitors for diabetes management requires sensor calibrations, which until recently are exclusively performed by the patient. A new development is the implementation of factory calibration for subcutaneous glucose sensors, which eliminates the need for user calibrations and the associated blood glucose tests. Factory calibration means that the calibration process is part of the sensor manufacturing process and performed under controlled laboratory conditions. The ability to move from a user calibration to factory calibration is based on several technical requirements related to sensor stability and the robustness of the sensor manufacturing process. The main advantages of factory calibration over the conventional user calibration are: (a) more convenience for the user, since no more fingersticks are required for calibration and (b) elimination of use errors related to the execution of the calibration process, which can lead to sensor inaccuracies. The FreeStyle Libre™ and FreeStyle Libre Pro™ flash continuous glucose monitoring systems are the first commercially available sensor systems using factory-calibrated sensors. For these sensor systems, no user calibrations are required throughout the sensor wear duration. PMID:28541139

Photoacoustic CO2 sensor system: design and potential for miniaturization and integration in silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, J.; Wöllenstein, J.

2015-05-01

The detection of CO2 indoors has a large impact on today's sensor market. The ambient room climate is important for human health and wellbeing. The CO2 concentration is a main indicator for indoor climate and correlates with the number of persons inside a room. People in Europe spend more than 90% of their time indoors. This leads to a high demand for miniaturized and energy efficient CO2 sensors. To realize small and energy-efficient mass-market sensors, we develop novel miniaturized photoacoustic sensor systems with optimized design for real-time and selective CO2 detection. The sensor system consists of two chambers, a measurement and a detection chamber. The detection chamber consists of an integrated pressure sensor under special gas atmosphere. As pressure sensor we use a commercially available cell phone microphone. We describe a possible miniaturization process of the developed system by regarding the possibility of integration of all sensor parts. The system is manufactured in precision mechanics with IR-optical sapphire windows as optical connections. During the miniaturization process the sapphire windows are replaced by Si chips with a special IR anti-reflection coating. The developed system is characterized in detail with gas measurements and optical transmission investigations. The results of the characterization process offer a high potential for further miniaturization with high capability for mass market applications.

MicroSensors Systems: detection of a dismounted threat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Bill; Berglund, Victor; Falkofske, Dwight; Krantz, Brian

2005-05-01

The Micro Sensor System (MSS) is a layered sensor network with the goal of detecting dismounted threats approaching high value assets. A low power unattended ground sensor network is dependant on a network protocol for efficiency in order to minimize data transmissions after network establishment. The reduction of network 'chattiness' is a primary driver for minimizing power consumption and is a factor in establishing a low probability of detection and interception. The MSS has developed a unique protocol to meet these challenges. Unattended ground sensor systems are most likely dependant on batteries for power which due to size determines the ability of the sensor to be concealed after placement. To minimize power requirements, overcome size limitations, and maintain a low system cost the MSS utilizes advanced manufacturing processes know as Fluidic Self-Assembly and Chip Scale Packaging. The type of sensing element and the ability to sense various phenomenologies (particularly magnetic) at ranges greater than a few meters limits the effectiveness of a system. The MicroSensor System will overcome these limitations by deploying large numbers of low cost sensors, which is made possible by the advanced manufacturing process used in production of the sensors. The MSS program will provide unprecedented levels of real-time battlefield information which greatly enhances combat situational awareness when integrated with the existing Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) infrastructure. This system will provide an important boost to realizing the information dominant, network-centric objective of Joint Vision 2020.

Magnetic-Field-Response Measurement-Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2006-01-01

A measurement-acquisition system uses magnetic fields to power sensors and to acquire measurements from sensors. The system alleviates many shortcomings of traditional measurement-acquisition systems, which include a finite number of measurement channels, weight penalty associated with wires, use limited to a single type of measurement, wire degradation due to wear or chemical decay, and the logistics needed to add new sensors. Eliminating wiring for acquiring measurements can alleviate potential hazards associated with wires, such as damaged wires becoming ignition sources due to arcing. The sensors are designed as electrically passive inductive-capacitive or passive inductive-capacitive-resistive circuits that produce magnetic-field-responses. One or more electrical parameters (inductance, capacitance, and resistance) of each sensor can be variable and corresponds to a measured physical state of interest. The magnetic-field- response attributes (frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth) of the inductor correspond to the states of physical properties for which each sensor measures. For each sensor, the measurement-acquisition system produces a series of increasing magnetic-field harmonics within a frequency range dedicated to that sensor. For each harmonic, an antenna electrically coupled to an oscillating current (the frequency of which is that of the harmonic) produces an oscillating magnetic field. Faraday induction via the harmonic magnetic fields produces an electromotive force and therefore a current in the sensor. Once electrically active, the sensor produces its own harmonic magnetic field as the inductor stores and releases magnetic energy. The antenna of the measurement- acquisition system is switched from a transmitting to a receiving mode to acquire the magnetic-field response of the sensor. The rectified amplitude of the received response is compared to previous responses to prior transmitted harmonics, to ascertain if the measurement system has detected a response inflection. The "transmit-receive-compare" of sequential harmonics is repeated until the inflection is identified. The harmonic producing the amplitude inflection is the sensor resonant frequency. Resonant frequency and response amplitude are stored and then correlated to calibration data.

SENSOR: a tool for the simulation of hyperspectral remote sensing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Börner, Anko; Wiest, Lorenz; Keller, Peter; Reulke, Ralf; Richter, Rolf; Schaepman, Michael; Schläpfer, Daniel

The consistent end-to-end simulation of airborne and spaceborne earth remote sensing systems is an important task, and sometimes the only way for the adaptation and optimisation of a sensor and its observation conditions, the choice and test of algorithms for data processing, error estimation and the evaluation of the capabilities of the whole sensor system. The presented software simulator SENSOR (Software Environment for the Simulation of Optical Remote sensing systems) includes a full model of the sensor hardware, the observed scene, and the atmosphere in between. The simulator consists of three parts. The first part describes the geometrical relations between scene, sun, and the remote sensing system using a ray-tracing algorithm. The second part of the simulation environment considers the radiometry. It calculates the at-sensor radiance using a pre-calculated multidimensional lookup-table taking the atmospheric influence on the radiation into account. The third part consists of an optical and an electronic sensor model for the generation of digital images. Using SENSOR for an optimisation requires the additional application of task-specific data processing algorithms. The principle of the end-to-end-simulation approach is explained, all relevant concepts of SENSOR are discussed, and first examples of its use are given. The verification of SENSOR is demonstrated. This work is closely related to the Airborne PRISM Experiment (APEX), an airborne imaging spectrometer funded by the European Space Agency.

Battery management system with distributed wireless sensors

DOEpatents

Farmer, Joseph C.; Bandhauer, Todd M.

2016-02-23

A system for monitoring parameters of an energy storage system having a multiplicity of individual energy storage cells. A radio frequency identification and sensor unit is connected to each of the individual energy storage cells. The radio frequency identification and sensor unit operates to sense the parameter of each individual energy storage cell and provides radio frequency transmission of the parameters of each individual energy storage cell. A management system monitors the radio frequency transmissions from the radio frequency identification and sensor units for monitoring the parameters of the energy storage system.

Prototyping sensor network system for automatic vital signs collection. Evaluation of a location based automated assignment of measured vital signs to patients.

PubMed

Kuroda, T; Noma, H; Naito, C; Tada, M; Yamanaka, H; Takemura, T; Nin, K; Yoshihara, H

2013-01-01

Development of a clinical sensor network system that automatically collects vital sign and its supplemental data, and evaluation the effect of automatic vital sensor value assignment to patients based on locations of sensors. The sensor network estimates the data-source, a target patient, from the position of a vital sign sensor obtained from a newly developed proximity sensing system. The proximity sensing system estimates the positions of the devices using a Bluetooth inquiry process. Using Bluetooth access points and the positioning system newly developed in this project, the sensor network collects vital sign and its 4W (who, where, what, and when) supplemental data from any Bluetooth ready vital sign sensors such as Continua-ready devices. The prototype was evaluated in a pseudo clinical setting at Kyoto University Hospital using a cyclic paired comparison and statistical analysis. The result of the cyclic paired analysis shows the subjects evaluated the proposed system is more effective and safer than POCS as well as paper-based operation. It halves the times for vital signs input and eliminates input errors. On the other hand, the prototype failed in its position estimation for 12.6% of all attempts, and the nurses overlooked half of the errors. A detailed investigation clears that an advanced interface to show the system's "confidence", i.e. the probability of estimation error, must be effective to reduce the oversights. This paper proposed a clinical sensor network system that relieves nurses from vital signs input tasks. The result clearly shows that the proposed system increases the efficiency and safety of the nursing process both subjectively and objectively. It is a step toward new generation of point of nursing care systems where sensors take over the tasks of data input from the nurses.

Thin Film Heat Flux Sensor Development for Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrbanek, John D.; Fralick, Gustave C.; Hunter, Gary W.; Zhu, Dongming; Laster, Kimala L.; Gonzalez, Jose M.; Gregory, Otto J.

2010-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has an on-going effort for developing high temperature thin film sensors for advanced turbine engine components. Stable, high temperature thin film ceramic thermocouples have been demonstrated in the lab, and novel methods of fabricating sensors have been developed. To fabricate thin film heat flux sensors for Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) systems, the rough and porous nature of the CMC system posed a significant challenge for patterning the fine features required. The status of the effort to develop thin film heat flux sensors specifically for use on silicon carbide (SiC) CMC systems with these new technologies is described.

System-in Package of Integrated Humidity Sensor Using CMOS-MEMS Technology.

PubMed

Lee, Sung Pil

2015-10-01

Temperature/humidity microchips with micropump were fabricated using a CMOS-MEMS process and combined with ZigBee modules to implement a sensor system in package (SIP) for a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) and/or a wireless communication system. The current of a diode temperature sensor to temperature and a normalized current of FET humidity sensor to relative humidity showed linear characteristics, respectively, and the use of the micropump has enabled a faster response. A wireless reception module using the same protocol as that in transmission systems processed the received data within 10 m and showed temperature and humidity values in the display.

Remote sensing of oceanic phytoplankton - Present capabilities and future goals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esaias, W. E.

1980-01-01

A description is given of current work in the development of sensors, and their integration into increasingly powerful systems, for oceanic phytoplankton abundance estimation. Among the problems relevant to such work are phytoplankton ecology, the spatial and temporal domains, available sensor platforms, and sensor combinations. Among the platforms considered are satellites, aircraft, tethered balloons, helicopters, ships, and the Space Shuttle. Sensors discussed include microwave radiometers, laser fluorosensors, microwave scatterometers, multispectral scanners, Coastal Ocean Dynamics Radar (CODAR), and linear array detectors. Consideration is also given to the prospects for such future sensor systems as the National Oceanic Satellite System (NOSS) and the Airborne Integrated Mapping System (AIMS).

Semi autonomous mine detection system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Douglas Few; Roelof Versteeg; Herman Herman

2010-04-01

CMMAD is a risk reduction effort for the AMDS program. As part of CMMAD, multiple instances of semi autonomous robotic mine detection systems were created. Each instance consists of a robotic vehicle equipped with sensors required for navigation and marking, a countermine sensors and a number of integrated software packages which provide for real time processing of the countermine sensor data as well as integrated control of the robotic vehicle, the sensor actuator and the sensor. These systems were used to investigate critical interest functions (CIF) related to countermine robotic systems. To address the autonomy CIF, the INL developed RIKmore » was extended to allow for interaction with a mine sensor processing code (MSPC). In limited field testing this system performed well in detecting, marking and avoiding both AT and AP mines. Based on the results of the CMMAD investigation we conclude that autonomous robotic mine detection is feasible. In addition, CMMAD contributed critical technical advances with regard to sensing, data processing and sensor manipulation, which will advance the performance of future fieldable systems. As a result, no substantial technical barriers exist which preclude – from an autonomous robotic perspective – the rapid development and deployment of fieldable systems.« less

Scalable sensor management for automated fusion and tactical reconnaissance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walls, Thomas J.; Wilson, Michael L.; Partridge, Darin C.; Haws, Jonathan R.; Jensen, Mark D.; Johnson, Troy R.; Petersen, Brad D.; Sullivan, Stephanie W.

2013-05-01

The capabilities of tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads are expanding from single sensor imagers to integrated systems-of-systems architectures. Increasingly, these systems-of-systems include multiple sensing modalities that can act as force multipliers for the intelligence analyst. Currently, the separate sensing modalities operate largely independent of one another, providing a selection of operating modes but not an integrated intelligence product. We describe here a Sensor Management System (SMS) designed to provide a small, compact processing unit capable of managing multiple collaborative sensor systems on-board an aircraft. Its purpose is to increase sensor cooperation and collaboration to achieve intelligent data collection and exploitation. The SMS architecture is designed to be largely sensor and data agnostic and provide flexible networked access for both data providers and data consumers. It supports pre-planned and ad-hoc missions, with provisions for on-demand tasking and updates from users connected via data links. Management of sensors and user agents takes place over standard network protocols such that any number and combination of sensors and user agents, either on the local network or connected via data link, can register with the SMS at any time during the mission. The SMS provides control over sensor data collection to handle logging and routing of data products to subscribing user agents. It also supports the addition of algorithmic data processing agents for feature/target extraction and provides for subsequent cueing from one sensor to another. The SMS architecture was designed to scale from a small UAV carrying a limited number of payloads to an aircraft carrying a large number of payloads. The SMS system is STANAG 4575 compliant as a removable memory module (RMM) and can act as a vehicle specific module (VSM) to provide STANAG 4586 compliance (level-3 interoperability) to a non-compliant sensor system. The SMS architecture will be described and results from several flight tests and simulations will be shown.

Technologies for Fire and Damage Control and Condition Based Maintenance

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

sheathing, thermal and acoustic insulation, furnishing, bedding, mattresses, flooring , and wood fibre (paper and cardboard) and plastic packaging...Condition Based Maintenance”. The project objective was to develop an improved understanding of how materials, sensors and sensor systems choices impact the...ultraviolet spectral sensors and an acoustic sensor. The system also has data fusion software that analyses the sensor input and determines if the input

A Phase-Shifting Zernike Wavefront Sensor for the Palomar P3K Adaptive Optics System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, J. Kent; Crawford, Sam; Loya, Frank; Moore, James

2012-01-01

A phase-shifting Zernike wavefront sensor has distinct advantages over other types of wavefront sensors. Chief among them are: 1) improved sensitivity to low-order aberrations and 2) efficient use of photons (hence reduced sensitivity to photon noise). We are in the process of deploying a phase-shifting Zernike wavefront sensor to be used with the realtime adaptive optics system for Palomar. Here we present the current state of the Zernike wavefront sensor to be integrated into the high-order adaptive optics system at Mount Palomar's Hale Telescope.

Chemical preconcentrator with integral thermal flow sensor

DOEpatents

Manginell, Ronald P.; Frye-Mason, Gregory C.

2003-01-01

A chemical preconcentrator with integral thermal flow sensor can be used to accurately measure fluid flow rate in a microanalytical system. The thermal flow sensor can be operated in either constant temperature or constant power mode and variants thereof. The chemical preconcentrator with integral thermal flow sensor can be fabricated with the same MEMS technology as the rest of the microanlaytical system. Because of its low heat capacity, low-loss, and small size, the chemical preconcentrator with integral thermal flow sensor is fast and efficient enough to be used in battery-powered, portable microanalytical systems.

Compact survey and inspection day/night image sensor suite for small unmanned aircraft systems (EyePod)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Alan; Anderson, Scott A.; Linne von Berg, Dale; Davidson, Morgan; Holt, Niel; Kruer, Melvin; Wilson, Michael L.

2010-04-01

EyePod is a compact survey and inspection day/night imaging sensor suite for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). EyePod generates georeferenced image products in real-time from visible near infrared (VNIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) imaging sensors and was developed under the ONR funded FEATHAR (Fusion, Exploitation, Algorithms, and Targeting for High-Altitude Reconnaissance) program. FEATHAR is being directed and executed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in conjunction with the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) and FEATHAR's goal is to develop and test new tactical sensor systems specifically designed for small manned and unmanned platforms (payload weight < 50 lbs). The EyePod suite consists of two VNIR/LWIR (day/night) gimbaled sensors that, combined, provide broad area survey and focused inspection capabilities. Each EyePod sensor pairs an HD visible EO sensor with a LWIR bolometric imager providing precision geo-referenced and fully digital EO/IR NITFS output imagery. The LWIR sensor is mounted to a patent-pending jitter-reduction stage to correct for the high-frequency motion typically found on small aircraft and unmanned systems. Details will be presented on both the wide-area and inspection EyePod sensor systems, their modes of operation, and results from recent flight demonstrations.

Development and Test of a 1,000 Level 3C Fiber Optic Borehole Seismic Receiver Array Applied to Carbon Sequestration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paulsson, Bjorn N.P.

2015-02-28

To address the critical site characterization and monitoring needs for CCS programs, US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Paulsson, Inc. in 2010 a contract to design, build and test a fiber optic based ultra-large bandwidth clamped borehole seismic vector array capable of deploying up to one thousand 3C sensor pods suitable for deployment into high temperature and high pressure boreholes. Paulsson, Inc. has completed a design or a unique borehole seismic system consisting of a novel drill pipe based deployment system that includes a hydraulic clamping mechanism for the sensor pods, a new sensor pod design and most important –more » a unique fiber optic seismic vector sensor with technical specifications and capabilities that far exceed the state of the art seismic sensor technologies. These novel technologies were all applied to the new borehole seismic system. In combination these technologies will allow for the deployment of up to 1,000 3C sensor pods in vertical, deviated or horizontal wells. Laboratory tests of the fiber optic seismic vector sensors developed during this project have shown that the new borehole seismic sensor technology is capable of generating outstanding high vector fidelity data with extremely large bandwidth: 0.01 – 6,000 Hz. Field tests have shown that the system can record events at magnitudes much smaller than M-2.3 at frequencies up to 2,000 Hz. The sensors have also proved to be about 100 times more sensitive than the regular coil geophones that are used in borehole seismic systems today. The fiber optic seismic sensors have furthermore been qualified to operate at temperatures over 300°C (572°F). The fibers used for the seismic sensors in the system are used to record Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) data allowing additional value added data to be recorded simultaneously with the seismic vector sensor data.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, M; Kim, T; Kang, S

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to develop a new patient set-up monitoring system using force sensing resistor (FSR) sensors that can confirm pressure of contact surface and evaluate its feasibility. Methods: In this study, we focused on develop the patient set-up monitoring system to compensate for the limitation of existing optical based monitoring system, so the developed system can inform motion in the radiation therapy. The set-up monitoring system was designed consisting of sensor units (FSR sensor), signal conditioning devices (USB cable/interface electronics), a control PC, and a developed analysis software. The sensor unit was made by attachingmore » FSR sensor and dispersing pressure sponge to prevent error which is caused by concentrating specific point. Measured signal from the FSR sensor was sampled to arduino mega 2560 microcontroller, transferred to control PC by using serial communication. The measured data went through normalization process. The normalized data was displayed through the developed graphic user interface (GUI) software. The software was designed to display a single sensor unit intensity (maximum 16 sensors) and display 2D pressure distribution (using 16 sensors) according to the purpose. Results: Changes of pressure value according to motion was confirmed by the developed set-up monitoring system. Very small movement such as little physical change in appearance can be confirmed using a single unit and using 2D pressure distribution. Also, the set-up monitoring system can observe in real time. Conclusion: In this study, we developed the new set-up monitoring system using FSR sensor. Especially, we expect that the new set-up monitoring system is suitable for motion monitoring of blind area that is hard to confirm existing optical system and compensate existing optical based monitoring system. As a further study, an integrated system will be constructed through correlation of existing optical monitoring system. This work was supported by the Industrial R&D program of MOTIE/KEIT. [10048997, Development of the core technology for integrated therapy devices based on real-time MRI guided tumor tracking] and the Mid-career Researcher Program (2014R1A2A1A10050270) through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT&Future Planning.« less

Grinding Wheel System

DOEpatents

Malkin, Stephen; Gao, Robert; Guo, Changsheng; Varghese, Biju; Pathare, Sumukh

2003-08-05

A grinding wheel system includes a grinding wheel with at least one embedded sensor. The system also includes an adapter disk containing electronics that process signals produced by each embedded sensor and that transmits sensor information to a data processing platform for further processing of the transmitted information.

Grinding Wheel System

DOEpatents

Malkin, Stephen; Gao, Robert; Guo, Changsheng; Varghese, Biju; Pathare, Sumukh

2006-01-10

A grinding wheel system includes a grinding wheel with at least one embedded sensor. The system also includes an adapter disk containing electronics that process signals produced by each embedded sensor and that transmits sensor information to a data processing platform for further processing of the transmitted information.

Technical consultation on the use of satellite communications for remote monitoring of field instrumentation systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

The increasing emphasis on the maintenance of existing infrastructure systems have led to : greater use of advanced sensors and condition monitoring systems. Wireless sensors and : sensor networks are emerging as sensing paradigms that the structural...

An evaluation of the first four LANDSAT-D thematic mapper reflective sensors for monitoring vegetation: A comparison with other satellite sensor systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.

1978-01-01

The first four LANDSAT-D thematic mapper sensors were evaluated and compared to: the return beam vidicon (RBV) and multispectral scanners (MSS) sensors from LANDSATS 1, 2, and 3; Colvocoresses' proposed 'operational LANDSAT' three band system; and the French SPOT three band system using simulation/intergration techniques and in situ collected spectral reflectance data. Sensors were evaluated by their ability to discriminate vegetation biomass, chlorophyll concentration, and leaf water content. The thematic mapper and SPOT bands were found to be superior in a spectral resolution context to the other three sensor systems for vegetational applications. Significant improvements are expected for most vegetational analyses from LANDSAT-D thematic mapper and SPOT imagery over MSS and RBV imagery.

Preparation and measurement of FBG-based length, temperature, and vibration sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikel, Bretislav; Helan, Radek; Buchta, Zdenek; Jelinek, Michal; Cip, Ondrej

2016-12-01

We present system of structure health measurement by optical fiber sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings. Our system is focused to additionally install to existing buildings. We prepared first set-up of the system to monitoring of the nuclear power plant containment shape deformation. The presented system can measure up to several tens of sensors simultaneously. Each sensor contains optical fiber grating to measurement of change of length and the other independed fiber grating to monitor the temperature and the other ineligible effects.

Sensor system for web inspection

DOEpatents

Sleefe, Gerard E.; Rudnick, Thomas J.; Novak, James L.

2002-01-01

A system for electrically measuring variations over a flexible web has a capacitive sensor including spaced electrically conductive, transmit and receive electrodes mounted on a flexible substrate. The sensor is held against a flexible web with sufficient force to deflect the path of the web, which moves relative to the sensor.

Development of a wireless air pollution sensor package for aerial-sampling of emissions

EPA Science Inventory

A new sensor system for mobile and aerial emission sampling was developed for open area pollutant sources, such as prescribed forest burns. The sensor system, termed “Kolibri”, consists of multiple low-cost air quality sensors measuring CO2, CO, samplers for particulate matter wi...

Integration of Fiber-Optic Sensor Arrays into a Multi-Modal Tactile Sensor Processing System for Robotic End-Effectors

PubMed Central

Kampmann, Peter; Kirchner, Frank

2014-01-01

With the increasing complexity of robotic missions and the development towards long-term autonomous systems, the need for multi-modal sensing of the environment increases. Until now, the use of tactile sensor systems has been mostly based on sensing one modality of forces in the robotic end-effector. The use of a multi-modal tactile sensory system is motivated, which combines static and dynamic force sensor arrays together with an absolute force measurement system. This publication is focused on the development of a compact sensor interface for a fiber-optic sensor array, as optic measurement principles tend to have a bulky interface. Mechanical, electrical and software approaches are combined to realize an integrated structure that provides decentralized data pre-processing of the tactile measurements. Local behaviors are implemented using this setup to show the effectiveness of this approach. PMID:24743158

A versatile fibre optic sensor interrogation system for the Ariane Launcher based on an electro-optically tuneable laser diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plattner, M. P.; Hirth, F.; Müller, M. S.; Hoffmann, L.; Buck, T. C.; Koch, A. W.

2017-11-01

Availability of reliable flight sensor data and knowledge of the structural behaviour are essential for safe operation of the Ariane launcher. The Ariane launcher is currently monitored by hundreds of electric sensors during test and qualification. Fibre optic sensors are regarded as a potential technique to overcome limitations of recent monitoring systems for the Ariane launcher [1]. These limitations include cumbersome application of sensors and harness as well as a very limited degree of distributed sensing capability. But, in order to exploit the various advantages of fibre optic sensors (high degree of multiplexing, distributed sensing capability, lower mass impact, etc.) dedicated measurement systems have to be developed and investigated. State-of-the-art fibre optic measurement systems often use free beam setups making them bulky and sensitive to vibration impact. Therefore a new measurement system is developed as part of the ESAstudy [2].

Smart Sensors for Launch Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ray, Sabooj; Mathews, Sheeja; Abraham, Sheena; Pradeep, N.; Vinod, P.

2017-12-01

Smart Sensors bring a paradigm shift in the data acquisition mechanism adopted for launch vehicle telemetry system. The sensors integrate signal conditioners, digitizers and communication systems to give digital output from the measurement location. Multiple sensors communicate with a centralized node over a common digital data bus. An in-built microcontroller gives the sensor embedded intelligence to carry out corrective action for sensor inaccuracies. A smart pressure sensor has been realized and flight-proven to increase the reliability as well as simplicity in integration so as to obtain improved data output. Miniaturization is achieved by innovative packaging. This work discusses the construction, working and flight performance of such a sensor.

40 CFR 63.164 - Standards: Compressors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... with a sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. (e)(1) Each sensor as required in paragraph (d) of this section shall be observed daily or shall be equipped with an... indicates failure of the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both. (f) If the sensor indicates failure...

40 CFR 63.164 - Standards: Compressors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... with a sensor that will detect failure of the seal system, barrier fluid system, or both. (e)(1) Each sensor as required in paragraph (d) of this section shall be observed daily or shall be equipped with an... indicates failure of the seal system, the barrier fluid system, or both. (f) If the sensor indicates failure...

Integration of a sensor based multiple robot environment for space applications: The Johnson Space Center Teleoperator Branch Robotics Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hwang, James; Campbell, Perry; Ross, Mike; Price, Charles R.; Barron, Don

1989-01-01

An integrated operating environment was designed to incorporate three general purpose robots, sensors, and end effectors, including Force/Torque Sensors, Tactile Array sensors, Tactile force sensors, and Force-sensing grippers. The design and implementation of: (1) the teleoperation of a general purpose PUMA robot; (2) an integrated sensor hardware/software system; (3) the force-sensing gripper control; (4) the host computer system for dual Robotic Research arms; and (5) the Ethernet integration are described.

Active Hearing Mechanisms Inspire Adaptive Amplification in an Acoustic Sensor System.

PubMed

Guerreiro, Jose; Reid, Andrew; Jackson, Joseph C; Windmill, James F C

2018-06-01

Over many millions of years of evolution, nature has developed some of the most adaptable sensors and sensory systems possible, capable of sensing, conditioning and processing signals in a very power- and size-effective manner. By looking into biological sensors and systems as a source of inspiration, this paper presents the study of a bioinspired concept of signal processing at the sensor level. By exploiting a feedback control mechanism between a front-end acoustic receiver and back-end neuronal based computation, a nonlinear amplification with hysteretic behavior is created. Moreover, the transient response of the front-end acoustic receiver can also be controlled and enhanced. A theoretical model is proposed and the concept is prototyped experimentally through an embedded system setup that can provide dynamic adaptations of a sensory system comprising a MEMS microphone placed in a closed-loop feedback system. It faithfully mimics the mosquito's active hearing response as a function of the input sound intensity. This is an adaptive acoustic sensor system concept that can be exploited by sensor and system designers within acoustics and ultrasonic engineering fields.

Fly Ear Inspired Miniature Acoustic Sensors for Detection and Localization

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-31

Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechnical-System ( MOEMS ) sensor platform that is capable of integrating multiplexed Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometer based sensors. A...on a single MOEMS chip is shown in Figure 8. Light from a low coherence light source with a coherence length Lc is first sent to the reference...towards developing a low coherence interferometer based MOEMS detection system. An optical Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) sensor platform was

Localization and Tracking of Implantable Biomedical Sensors

PubMed Central

Umay, Ilknur; Fidan, Barış; Barshan, Billur

2017-01-01

Implantable sensor systems are effective tools for biomedical diagnosis, visualization and treatment of various health conditions, attracting the interest of researchers, as well as healthcare practitioners. These systems efficiently and conveniently provide essential data of the body part being diagnosed, such as gastrointestinal (temperature, pH, pressure) parameter values, blood glucose and pressure levels and electrocardiogram data. Such data are first transmitted from the implantable sensor units to an external receiver node or network and then to a central monitoring and control (computer) unit for analysis, diagnosis and/or treatment. Implantable sensor units are typically in the form of mobile microrobotic capsules or implanted stationary (body-fixed) units. In particular, capsule-based systems have attracted significant research interest recently, with a variety of applications, including endoscopy, microsurgery, drug delivery and biopsy. In such implantable sensor systems, one of the most challenging problems is the accurate localization and tracking of the microrobotic sensor unit (e.g., robotic capsule) inside the human body. This article presents a literature review of the existing localization and tracking techniques for robotic implantable sensor systems with their merits and limitations and possible solutions of the proposed localization methods. The article also provides a brief discussion on the connection and cooperation of such techniques with wearable biomedical sensor systems. PMID:28335384

Noise Modeling From Conductive Shields Using Kirchhoff Equations.

PubMed

Sandin, Henrik J; Volegov, Petr L; Espy, Michelle A; Matlashov, Andrei N; Savukov, Igor M; Schultz, Larry J

2010-10-09

Progress in the development of high-sensitivity magnetic-field measurements has stimulated interest in understanding the magnetic noise of conductive materials, especially of magnetic shields based on high-permeability materials and/or high-conductivity materials. For example, SQUIDs and atomic magnetometers have been used in many experiments with mu-metal shields, and additionally SQUID systems frequently have radio frequency shielding based on thin conductive materials. Typical existing approaches to modeling noise only work with simple shield and sensor geometries while common experimental setups today consist of multiple sensor systems with complex shield geometries. With complex sensor arrays used in, for example, MEG and Ultra Low Field MRI studies, knowledge of the noise correlation between sensors is as important as knowledge of the noise itself. This is crucial for incorporating efficient noise cancelation schemes for the system. We developed an approach that allows us to calculate the Johnson noise for arbitrary shaped shields and multiple sensor systems. The approach is efficient enough to be able to run on a single PC system and return results on a minute scale. With a multiple sensor system our approach calculates not only the noise for each sensor but also the noise correlation matrix between sensors. Here we will show how the algorithm can be implemented.

Development of a commercially viable piezoelectric force sensor system for static force measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jun; Luo, Xinwei; Liu, Jingcheng; Li, Min; Qin, Lan

2017-09-01

A compensation method for measuring static force with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor is proposed to disprove the theory that piezoelectric sensors and generators can only operate under dynamic force. After studying the model of the piezoelectric force sensor measurement system, the principle of static force measurement using a piezoelectric material or piezoelectric force sensor is analyzed. Then, the distribution law of the decay time constant of the measurement system and the variation law of the measurement system’s output are studied, and a compensation method based on the time interval threshold Δ t and attenuation threshold Δ {{u}th} is proposed. By calibrating the system and considering the influences of the environment and the hardware, a suitable Δ {{u}th} value is determined, and the system’s output attenuation is compensated based on the Δ {{u}th} value to realize the measurement. Finally, a static force measurement system with a piezoelectric force sensor is developed based on the compensation method. The experimental results confirm the successful development of a simple compensation method for static force measurement with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor. In addition, it is established that, contrary to the current perception, a piezoelectric force sensor system can be used to measure static force through further calibration.

Multi-sensor calibration of low-cost magnetic, angular rate and gravity systems.

PubMed

Lüken, Markus; Misgeld, Berno J E; Rüschen, Daniel; Leonhardt, Steffen

2015-10-13

We present a new calibration procedure for low-cost nine degrees-of-freedom (9DOF) magnetic, angular rate and gravity (MARG) sensor systems, which relies on a calibration cube, a reference table and a body sensor network (BSN). The 9DOF MARG sensor is part of our recently-developed "Integrated Posture and Activity Network by Medit Aachen" (IPANEMA) BSN. The advantage of this new approach is the use of the calibration cube, which allows for easy integration of two sensor nodes of the IPANEMA BSN. One 9DOF MARG sensor node is thereby used for calibration; the second 9DOF MARG sensor node is used for reference measurements. A novel algorithm uses these measurements to further improve the performance of the calibration procedure by processing arbitrarily-executed motions. In addition, the calibration routine can be used in an alignment procedure to minimize errors in the orientation between the 9DOF MARG sensor system and a motion capture inertial reference system. A two-stage experimental study is conducted to underline the performance of our calibration procedure. In both stages of the proposed calibration procedure, the BSN data, as well as reference tracking data are recorded. In the first stage, the mean values of all sensor outputs are determined as the absolute measurement offset to minimize integration errors in the derived movement model of the corresponding body segment. The second stage deals with the dynamic characteristics of the measurement system where the dynamic deviation of the sensor output compared to a reference system is Sensors 2015, 15 25920 corrected. In practical validation experiments, this procedure showed promising results with a maximum RMS error of 3.89°.

Improving the in-flight security by employing seat occupancy sensors based on Fiber Bragg grating technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hongtao; Wang, Pengfei

2012-06-01

The current schemes of detecting the status of passengers in airplanes cannot satisfy the more strict regulations recently released by the United States Transportation Security Administration. In basis of investigation on the current seat occupancy sensors for vehicles, in this paper we present a novel scheme of seat occupancy sensors based on Fiber Bragg Grating technology to improve the in-flight security of airplanes. This seat occupancy sensor system can be used to detect the status of passengers and to trigger the airbags to control the inflation of air bags, which have been installed in the airplanes of some major airlines under the new law. This scheme utilizes our previous research results of Weight-In- Motion sensor system based on optical fiber Bragg grating. In contrast to the current seat occupancy sensors for vehicles, this new seat occupancy sensor has so many merits that it is very suitable to be applied in aerospace industry or high speed railway system. Moreover, combined with existing Fiber Bragg Grating strain or temperature sensor systems built in airplanes, this proposed method can construct a complete airline passenger management system.

Sliding Mode Observer-Based Current Sensor Fault Reconstruction and Unknown Load Disturbance Estimation for PMSM Driven System

PubMed Central

Li, Xiangfei; Lin, Yuliang

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a new scheme of reconstructing current sensor faults and estimating unknown load disturbance for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)-driven system. First, the original PMSM system is transformed into two subsystems; the first subsystem has unknown system load disturbances, which are unrelated to sensor faults, and the second subsystem has sensor faults, but is free from unknown load disturbances. Introducing a new state variable, the augmented subsystem that has sensor faults can be transformed into having actuator faults. Second, two sliding mode observers (SMOs) are designed: the unknown load disturbance is estimated by the first SMO in the subsystem, which has unknown load disturbance, and the sensor faults can be reconstructed using the second SMO in the augmented subsystem, which has sensor faults. The gains of the proposed SMOs and their stability analysis are developed via the solution of linear matrix inequality (LMI). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme was verified by simulations and experiments. The results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can reconstruct current sensor faults and estimate unknown load disturbance for the PMSM-driven system. PMID:29211017

A pressure and shear sensor system for stress measurement at lower limb residuum/socket interface.

PubMed

Laszczak, P; McGrath, M; Tang, J; Gao, J; Jiang, L; Bader, D L; Moser, D; Zahedi, S

2016-07-01

A sensor system for measurement of pressure and shear at the lower limb residuum/socket interface is described. The system comprises of a flexible sensor unit and a data acquisition unit with wireless data transmission capability. Static and dynamic performance of the sensor system was characterised using a mechanical test machine. The static calibration results suggest that the developed sensor system presents high linearity (linearity error ≤ 3.8%) and resolution (0.9 kPa for pressure and 0.2 kPa for shear). Dynamic characterisation of the sensor system shows hysteresis error of approximately 15% for pressure and 8% for shear. Subsequently, a pilot amputee walking test was conducted. Three sensors were placed at the residuum/socket interface of a knee disarticulation amputee and simultaneous measurements were obtained during pilot amputee walking test. The pressure and shear peak values as well as their temporal profiles are presented and discussed. In particular, peak pressure and shear of approximately 58 kPa and 27 kPa, respectively, were recorded. Their temporal profiles also provide dynamic coupling information at this critical residuum/socket interface. These preliminary amputee test results suggest strong potential of the developed sensor system for exploitation as an assistive technology to facilitate socket design, socket fit and effective monitoring of lower limb residuum health. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Object detection system using SPAD proximity detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, Laurence; Raynor, Jeffrey M.; Henderson, Robert K.

2011-10-01

This paper presents an object detection system based upon the use of multiple single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) proximity sensors operating upon the time-of-flight (ToF) principle, whereby the co-ordinates of a target object in a coordinate system relative to the assembly are calculated. The system is similar to a touch screen system in form and operation except that the lack of requirement of a physical sensing surface provides a novel advantage over most existing touch screen technologies. The sensors are controlled by FPGA-based firmware and each proximity sensor in the system measures the range from the sensor to the target object. A software algorithm is implemented to calculate the x-y coordinates of the target object based on the distance measurements from at least two separate sensors and the known relative positions of these sensors. Existing proximity sensors were capable of determining the distance to an object with centimetric accuracy and were modified to obtain a wide field of view in the x-y axes with low beam angle in z in order to provide a detection area as large as possible. Design and implementation of the firmware, electronic hardware, mechanics and optics are covered in the paper. Possible future work would include characterisation with alternative designs of proximity sensors, as this is the component which determines the highest achievable accur1acy of the system.

An Expert System And Simulation Approach For Sensor Management & Control In A Distributed Surveillance Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leon, Barbara D.; Heller, Paul R.

1987-05-01

A surveillance network is a group of multiplatform sensors cooperating to improve network performance. Network control is distributed as a measure to decrease vulnerability to enemy threat. The network may contain diverse sensor types such as radar, ESM (Electronic Support Measures), IRST (Infrared search and track) and E-0 (Electro-Optical). Each platform may contain a single sensor or suite of sensors. In a surveillance network it is desirable to control sensors to make the overall system more effective. This problem has come to be known as sensor management and control (SM&C). Two major facets of network performance are surveillance and survivability. In a netted environment, surveillance can be enhanced if information from all sensors is combined and sensor operating conditions are controlled to provide a synergistic effect. In contrast, when survivability is the main concern for the network, the best operating status for all sensors would be passive or off. Of course, improving survivability tends to degrade surveillance. Hence, the objective of SM&C is to optimize surveillance and survivability of the network. Too voluminous data of various formats and the quick response time are two characteristics of this problem which make it an ideal application for Artificial Intelligence. A solution to the SM&C problem, presented as a computer simulation, will be presented in this paper. The simulation is a hybrid production written in LISP and FORTRAN. It combines the latest conventional computer programming methods with Artificial Intelligence techniques to produce a flexible state-of-the-art tool to evaluate network performance. The event-driven simulation contains environment models coupled with an expert system. These environment models include sensor (track-while-scan and agile beam) and target models, local tracking, and system tracking. These models are used to generate the environment for the sensor management and control expert system. The expert system, driven by a forward chaining inference engine, makes decisions based on the global database. The global database contains current track and sensor information supplied by the simulation. At present, the rule base emphasizes the surveillance features with rules grouped into three main categories: maintenance and enhancing track on prioritized targets; filling coverage holes and countering jamming; and evaluating sensor status. The paper will describe the architecture used for the expert system and the reasons for selecting the chosen methods. The SM&C simulation produces a graphical representation of sensors and their associated tracks such that the benefits of the sensor management and control expert system are evident. Jammer locations are also part of the display. The paper will describe results from several scenarios that best illustrate the sensor management and control concepts.

Relative gravimeter prototype based on micro electro mechanical system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozy, A. S. A.; Nugroho, H. A.; Yusuf, M.

2018-03-01

This research to make gravity measurement system by utilizing micro electro mechanical system based sensor in Gal order. System design consists of three parts, design of hardware, software, and interface. The design of the hardware include of designing the sensor design to measure the value of a stable gravity acceleration. The ADXL345 and ADXL335 sensors are tuned to obtain stable measurements. The design of the instrumentation system the next stage by creating a design to integrate between the sensor, microcontroller, and GPS. The design of programming algorithm is done with Arduino IDE software. The interface design uses a 20x4 LCD display to display the gravity acceleration value and store data on the storage media. The system uses a box made of iron and plate leveling to minimize measurement errors. The sensor test shows the ADXL345 sensor has a more stable value. The system is examined by comparing with gravity measurement of gravimeter A-10 results in Bandung observation post. The result of system test resulted the average of system correction value equal to 0.19 Gal. The system is expected to use for mineral exploration, water supply analyze, and earthquake precursor.

A multi-sensor land mine detection system: hardware and architectural outline of the Australian RRAMNS CTD system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abeynayake, Canicious; Chant, Ian; Kempinger, Siegfried; Rye, Alan

2005-06-01

The Rapid Route Area and Mine Neutralisation System (RRAMNS) Capability Technology Demonstrator (CTD) is a countermine detection project undertaken by DSTO and supported by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The limited time and budget for this CTD resulted in some difficult strategic decisions with regard to hardware selection and system architecture. Although the delivered system has certain limitations arising from its experimental status, many lessons have been learned which illustrate a pragmatic path for future development. RRAMNS a similar sensor suite to other systems, in that three complementary sensors are included. These are Ground Probing Radar, Metal Detector Array, and multi-band electro-optic sensors. However, RRAMNS uses a unique imaging system and a network based real-time control and sensor fusion architecture. The relatively simple integration of each of these components could be the basis for a robust and cost-effective operational system. The RRAMNS imaging system consists of three cameras which cover the visible spectrum, the mid-wave and long-wave infrared region. This subsystem can be used separately as a scouting sensor. This paper describes the system at its mid-2004 status, when full integration of all detection components was achieved.

Intelligent Sensors Security

PubMed Central

Bialas, Andrzej

2010-01-01

The paper is focused on the security issues of sensors provided with processors and software and used for high-risk applications. Common IT related threats may cause serious consequences for sensor system users. To improve their robustness, sensor systems should be developed in a restricted way that would provide them with assurance. One assurance creation methodology is Common Criteria (ISO/IEC 15408) used for IT products and systems. The paper begins with a primer on the Common Criteria, and then a general security model of the intelligent sensor as an IT product is discussed. The paper presents how the security problem of the intelligent sensor is defined and solved. The contribution of the paper is to provide Common Criteria (CC) related security design patterns and to improve the effectiveness of the sensor development process. PMID:22315571

Integrating Metal-Oxide-Decorated CNT Networks with a CMOS Readout in a Gas Sensor

PubMed Central

Lee, Hyunjoong; Lee, Sanghoon; Kim, Dai-Hong; Perello, David; Park, Young June; Hong, Seong-Hyeon; Yun, Minhee; Kim, Suhwan

2012-01-01

We have implemented a tin-oxide-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) network gas sensor system on a single die. We have also demonstrated the deposition of metallic tin on the CNT network, its subsequent oxidation in air, and the improvement of the lifetime of the sensors. The fabricated array of CNT sensors contains 128 sensor cells for added redundancy and increased accuracy. The read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) was combined with coarse and fine time-to-digital converters to extend its resolution in a power-efficient way. The ROIC is fabricated using a 0.35 μm CMOS process, and the whole sensor system consumes 30 mA at 5 V. The sensor system was successfully tested in the detection of ammonia gas at elevated temperatures. PMID:22736966

Ultrasensitive surveillance of sensors and processes

DOEpatents

Wegerich, Stephan W.; Jarman, Kristin K.; Gross, Kenneth C.

2001-01-01

A method and apparatus for monitoring a source of data for determining an operating state of a working system. The method includes determining a sensor (or source of data) arrangement associated with monitoring the source of data for a system, activating a method for performing a sequential probability ratio test if the data source includes a single data (sensor) source, activating a second method for performing a regression sequential possibility ratio testing procedure if the arrangement includes a pair of sensors (data sources) with signals which are linearly or non-linearly related; activating a third method for performing a bounded angle ratio test procedure if the sensor arrangement includes multiple sensors and utilizing at least one of the first, second and third methods to accumulate sensor signals and determining the operating state of the system.

Ultrasensitive surveillance of sensors and processes

DOEpatents

Wegerich, Stephan W.; Jarman, Kristin K.; Gross, Kenneth C.

1999-01-01

A method and apparatus for monitoring a source of data for determining an operating state of a working system. The method includes determining a sensor (or source of data) arrangement associated with monitoring the source of data for a system, activating a method for performing a sequential probability ratio test if the data source includes a single data (sensor) source, activating a second method for performing a regression sequential possibility ratio testing procedure if the arrangement includes a pair of sensors (data sources) with signals which are linearly or non-linearly related; activating a third method for performing a bounded angle ratio test procedure if the sensor arrangement includes multiple sensors and utilizing at least one of the first, second and third methods to accumulate sensor signals and determining the operating state of the system.

Remotely controlled sensor apparatus for use in dig-face characterization system

DOEpatents

Josten, N.E.; Svoboda, J.M.

1999-05-25

A remotely controlled sensor platform apparatus useful in a dig-face characterization system is deployed from a mobile delivery device such as standard heavy construction equipment. The sensor apparatus is designed to stabilize sensors against extraneous motions induced by heavy equipment manipulations or other outside influences, and includes a terrain sensing and sensor elevation control system to maintain the sensors in close ground proximity. The deployed sensor apparatus is particularly useful in collecting data in work environments where human access is difficult due to the presence of hazardous conditions, rough terrain, or other circumstances that prevent efficient data collection by conventional methods. Such work environments include hazardous waste sites, unexploded ordnance sites, or construction sites. Data collection in these environments by utilizing the deployed sensor apparatus is desirable in order to protect human health and safety, or to assist in planning daily operations to increase efficiency. 13 figs.

Remotely controlled sensor apparatus for use in dig-face characterization system

DOEpatents

Josten, Nicholas E.; Svoboda, John M.

1999-01-01

A remotely controlled sensor platform apparatus useful in a dig-face characterization system is deployed from a mobile delivery device such as standard heavy construction equipment. The sensor apparatus is designed to stabilize sensors against extraneous motions induced by heavy equipment manipulations or other outside influences, and includes a terrain sensing and sensor elevation control system to maintain the sensors in close ground proximity. The deployed sensor apparatus is particularly useful in collecting data in work environments where human access is difficult due to the presence of hazardous conditions, rough terrain, or other circumstances that prevent efficient data collection by conventional methods. Such work environments include hazardous waste sites, unexploded ordnance sites, or construction sites. Data collection in these environments by utilizing the deployed sensor apparatus is desirable in order to protect human health and safety, or to assist in planning daily operations to increase efficiency.

Wireless Biological Electronic Sensors

PubMed Central

Cui, Yue

2017-01-01

The development of wireless biological electronic sensors could open up significant advances for both fundamental studies and practical applications in a variety of areas, including medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and defense applications. One of the major challenges in the development of wireless bioelectronic sensors is the successful integration of biosensing units and wireless signal transducers. In recent years, there are a few types of wireless communication systems that have been integrated with biosensing systems to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors. To successfully construct wireless biological electronic sensors, there are several interesting questions: What types of biosensing transducers can be used in wireless bioelectronic sensors? What types of wireless systems can be integrated with biosensing transducers to construct wireless bioelectronic sensors? How are the electrical sensing signals generated and transmitted? This review will highlight the early attempts to address these questions in the development of wireless biological electronic sensors. PMID:28991220

Scanning Seismic Intrusion Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, R. D.

1982-01-01

Scanning seismic intrusion detector employs array of automatically or manually scanned sensors to determine approximate location of intruder. Automatic-scanning feature enables one operator to tend system of many sensors. Typical sensors used with new system are moving-coil seismic pickups. Detector finds uses in industrial security systems.

Performance Evaluation of Wearable Sensor Systems: A Case Study in Moderate-Scale Deployment in Hospital Environment.

PubMed

Sun, Wen; Ge, Yu; Zhang, Zhiqiang; Wong, Wai-Choong

2015-09-25

A wearable sensor system enables continuous and remote health monitoring and is widely considered as the next generation of healthcare technology. The performance, the packet error rate (PER) in particular, of a wearable sensor system may deteriorate due to a number of factors, particularly the interference from the other wearable sensor systems in the vicinity. We systematically evaluate the performance of the wearable sensor system in terms of PER in the presence of such interference in this paper. The factors that affect the performance of the wearable sensor system, such as density, traffic load, and transmission power in a realistic moderate-scale deployment case in hospital are all considered. Simulation results show that with 20% duty cycle, only 68.5% of data transmission can achieve the targeted reliability requirement (PER is less than 0.05) even in the off-peak period in hospital. We then suggest some interference mitigation schemes based on the performance evaluation results in the case study.

Real-Time Sensor Validation, Signal Reconstruction, and Feature Detection for an RLV Propulsion Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jankovsky, Amy L.; Fulton, Christopher E.; Binder, Michael P.; Maul, William A., III; Meyer, Claudia M.

1998-01-01

A real-time system for validating sensor health has been developed in support of the reusable launch vehicle program. This system was designed for use in a propulsion testbed as part of an overall effort to improve the safety, diagnostic capability, and cost of operation of the testbed. The sensor validation system was designed and developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center and integrated into a propulsion checkout and control system as part of an industry-NASA partnership, led by Rockwell International for the Marshall Space Flight Center. The system includes modules for sensor validation, signal reconstruction, and feature detection and was designed to maximize portability to other applications. Review of test data from initial integration testing verified real-time operation and showed the system to perform correctly on both hard and soft sensor failure test cases. This paper discusses the design of the sensor validation and supporting modules developed at LeRC and reviews results obtained from initial test cases.

Weld Nugget Temperature Control in Thermal Stir Welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ding, R. Jeffrey (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A control system for a thermal stir welding system is provided. The control system includes a sensor and a controller. The sensor is coupled to the welding system's containment plate assembly and generates signals indicative of temperature of a region adjacent and parallel to the welding system's stir rod. The controller is coupled to the sensor and generates at least one control signal using the sensor signals indicative of temperature. The controller is also coupled to the welding system such that at least one of rotational speed of the stir rod, heat supplied by the welding system's induction heater, and feed speed of the welding system's weld material feeder are controlled based on the control signal(s).

Design and test of a biosensor-based multisensorial system: a proof of concept study.

PubMed

Santonico, Marco; Pennazza, Giorgio; Grasso, Simone; D'Amico, Arnaldo; Bizzarri, Mariano

2013-12-04

Sensors are often organized in multidimensional systems or networks for particular applications. This is facilitated by the large improvements in the miniaturization process, power consumption reduction and data analysis techniques nowadays possible. Such sensors are frequently organized in multidimensional arrays oriented to the realization of artificial sensorial systems mimicking the mechanisms of human senses. Instruments that make use of these sensors are frequently employed in the fields of medicine and food science. Among them, the so-called electronic nose and tongue are becoming more and more popular. In this paper an innovative multisensorial system based on sensing materials of biological origin is illustrated. Anthocyanins are exploited here as chemical interactive materials for both quartz microbalance (QMB) transducers used as gas sensors and for electrodes used as liquid electrochemical sensors. The optical properties of anthocyanins are well established and widely used, but they have never been exploited as sensing materials for both gas and liquid sensors in non-optical applications. By using the same set of selected anthocyanins an integrated system has been realized, which includes a gas sensor array based on QMB and a sensor array for liquids made up of suitable Ion Sensitive Electrodes (ISEs). The arrays are also monitored from an optical point of view. This embedded system, is intended to mimic the working principles of the nose, tongue and eyes. We call this setup BIONOTE (for BIOsensor-based multisensorial system for mimicking NOse, Tongue and Eyes). The complete design, fabrication and calibration processes of the BIONOTE system are described herein, and a number of preliminary results are discussed. These results are relative to: (a) the characterization of the optical properties of the tested materials; (b) the performance of the whole system as gas sensor array with respect to ethanol, hexane and isopropyl alcohol detection (concentration range 0.1-7 ppm) and as a liquid sensor array (concentration range 73-98 μM).

Design of inductive sensors for tongue control system for computers and assistive devices.

PubMed

Lontis, Eugen R; Struijk, Lotte N S A

2010-07-01

The paper introduces a novel design of air-core inductive sensors in printed circuit board (PCB) technology for a tongue control system. The tongue control system provides a quadriplegic person with a keyboard and a joystick type of mouse for interaction with a computer or for control of an assistive device. Activation of inductive sensors was performed with a cylindrical, soft ferromagnetic material (activation unit). Comparative analysis of inductive sensors in PCB technology with existing hand-made inductive sensors was performed with respect to inductance, resistance, and sensitivity to activation when the activation unit was placed in the center of the sensor. Optimisation of the activation unit was performed in a finite element model. PCBs with air-core inductive sensors were manufactured in a 10 layers, 100 microm and 120 microm line width technology. These sensors provided quality signals that could drive the electronics of the hand-made sensors. Furthermore, changing the geometry of the sensors allowed generation of variable signals correlated with the 2D movement of the activation unit at the sensors' surface. PCB technology for inductive sensors allows flexibility in design, automation of production and ease of possible integration with supplying electronics. The basic switch function of the inductive sensor can be extended to two-dimensional movement detection for pointing devices.

A Real Time AI Approach to Discrimination Boost Phase Optical Sensor Systems in SDI Architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sloggett, David R.

1990-04-01

Interest has been rekindled in the potential utility of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) systems 1,2 and their ability to enhance the existing NATO strategic defence posture 3,4. Whereas in the past BMD systems have been thought to be vulnerable to relatively simple offence countermeasures, technological developments that have occurred over the past 20 years offer the potential to solve some of the main criticisms that have bedeviled BMD research since its inception in the early 1950s. One of the key areas where dramatic developments have taken place is in the field of electro-optic sensor technologies where developments in device sensitivity and packing density offer new solutions to threat detection, tracking and discrimination that complement data traditionally associated with radar based systems. Analysis has shown 5 that optical sensor systems can make a significant contribution to threat analysis in the boost and mid course phases of flight of ballistic missile systems. In the Boost phase the large amounts of energy contained within the plume of a ballistic missile system provides a signature that must be detected against cloud and earth backgrounds - necessitating viewing from space. The process of detection is complicated by reflected sunlight and other sources of false alarms. The optical sensor systems must therefore be adaptable and capable of reasoning about the location of the signatures, their persistence and temporal variations. Much of this processing is ideally carried out at the sensor system - in order to eliminate false alarms and reduce the communications bandwidths required to transfer the sensor data to centralised early warning and battle management facilities. In the mid course phase optical sensor systems can be used to detect warm objects against the background of deep space. These sensor systems can form tracks on these objects that can be merged into 3D tracks as data from individual sensor systems are combined. As closely spaced objects are resolved by sensor systems feature data can be extracted on individual objects that can be used by the defence system to attempt to discriminate between warheads, decoys and other penetration aids. This paper reviews work that has arisen from joint US SDIO and UK MOD research programmes into the feasibility of Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) systems that would be suitable for deploy ment and operation in a European theatre. The paper focuses on the problems of threat classification and discrimination in TtD systems and highlights the role of optical sensors. The paper discusses the integration of data derived from optical and radar sensors 6 and expands upon work previously reported into the use of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach to object classification and discrimination.

Infrared-Proximity-Sensor Modules For Robot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parton, William; Wegerif, Daniel; Rosinski, Douglas

1995-01-01

Collision-avoidance system for articulated robot manipulators uses infrared proximity sensors grouped together in array of sensor modules. Sensor modules, called "sensorCells," distributed processing board-level products for acquiring data from proximity-sensors strategically mounted on robot manipulators. Each sensorCell self-contained and consists of multiple sensing elements, discrete electronics, microcontroller and communications components. Modules connected to central control computer by redundant serial digital communication subsystem including both serial and a multi-drop bus. Detects objects made of various materials at distance of up to 50 cm. For some materials, such as thermal protection system tiles, detection range reduced to approximately 20 cm.

Autonomous sensor manager agents (ASMA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osadciw, Lisa A.

2004-04-01

Autonomous sensor manager agents are presented as an algorithm to perform sensor management within a multisensor fusion network. The design of the hybrid ant system/particle swarm agents is described in detail with some insight into their performance. Although the algorithm is designed for the general sensor management problem, a simulation example involving 2 radar systems is presented. Algorithmic parameters are determined by the size of the region covered by the sensor network, the number of sensors, and the number of parameters to be selected. With straight forward modifications, this algorithm can be adapted for most sensor management problems.

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network

PubMed Central

Brennan, Robert W.

2017-01-01

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network. PMID:28906452

Causal simulation and sensor planning in predictive monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, Richard J.

1989-01-01

Two issues are addressed which arise in the task of detecting anomalous behavior in complex systems with numerous sensor channels: how to adjust alarm thresholds dynamically, within the changing operating context of the system, and how to utilize sensors selectively, so that nominal operation can be verified reliably without processing a prohibitive amount of sensor data. The approach involves simulation of a causal model of the system, which provides information on expected sensor values, and on dependencies between predicted events, useful in assessing the relative importance of events so that sensor resources can be allocated effectively. The potential applicability of this work to the execution monitoring of robot task plans is briefly discussed.

Micro sensor node for air pollutant monitoring: hardware and software issues.

PubMed

Choi, Sukwon; Kim, Nakyoung; Cha, Hojung; Ha, Rhan

2009-01-01

Wireless sensor networks equipped with various gas sensors have been actively used for air quality monitoring. Previous studies have typically explored system issues that include middleware or networking performance, but most research has barely considered the details of the hardware and software of the sensor node itself. In this paper, we focus on the design and implementation of a sensor board for air pollutant monitoring applications. Several hardware and software issues are discussed to explore the possibilities of a practical WSN-based air pollution monitoring system. Through extensive experiments and evaluation, we have determined the various characteristics of the gas sensors and their practical implications for air pollutant monitoring systems.

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network.

PubMed

Taboun, Mohammed S; Brennan, Robert W

2017-09-14

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network.

Wireless, Room Temperature Volatile Organic Compound Sensor Based on Polypyrrole Nanoparticle Immobilized Ultrahigh Frequency Radio Frequency Identification Tag.

PubMed

Jun, Jaemoon; Oh, Jungkyun; Shin, Dong Hoon; Kim, Sung Gun; Lee, Jun Seop; Kim, Wooyoung; Jang, Jyongsik

2016-12-07

Due to rapid advances in technology which have contributed to the development of portable equipment, highly sensitive and selective sensor technology is in demand. In particular, many approaches to the modification of wireless sensor systems have been studied. Wireless systems have many advantages, including unobtrusive installation, high nodal densities, low cost, and potential commercial applications. In this study, we fabricated radio frequency identification (RFID)-based wireless sensor systems using carboxyl group functionalized polypyrrole (C-PPy) nanoparticles (NPs). The C-PPy NPs were synthesized via chemical oxidation copolymerization, and then their electrical and chemical properties were characterized by a variety of methods. The sensor system was composed of an RFID reader antenna and a sensor tag made from a commercially available ultrahigh frequency RFID tag coated with C-PPy NPs. The C-PPy NPs were covalently bonded to the tag to form a passive sensor. This type of sensor can be produced at a very low cost and exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity to ammonia, detecting concentrations as low as 0.1 ppm. These sensors operated wirelessly and maintained their sensing performance as they were deformed by bending and twisting. Due to their flexibility, these sensors may be used in wearable technologies for sensing gases.

Analysis of three-dimensionally proliferated sensor architectures for flexible SSA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunio, Phillip M.; Flewelling, Brien

2018-05-01

The evolution of space into a congested, contested, and competitive regime drives a commensurate need for awareness of events there. As the number of systems on orbit grows, so will the need for sensing and tracking these systems. One avenue for advanced sensing capability is a widespread network of small but capable Space Situational Awareness (SSA) sensors, proliferated widely in the three-dimensional volume extending from the Earth's surface to the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) belt, incorporating multiple different varieties and types of sensors. Due to the freedom of movement afforded by solid surfaces and atmosphere, some of these sensors may have substantial mobility. Accordingly, designing a network for maximum SSA coverage at reasonable cost may entail heterogeneous architectures with common logistics (including modular sensor packages or mobility platforms, which may be flexibly re-assigned). Smaller mobile sensors leveraging Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components and software are appealing for their ability to simplify logistics versus large, monolithic, uniquely-exquisite sensor systems. This paper examines concepts for such sensor systems, and analyzes the costs associated with their use, while assessing the benefits (including reduced gap time, weather resilience, and multiple-sensor coverage) that such an architecture enables. Recommendations for preferred modes and mixes of fielding sensors in a heterogeneous architecture are made, and directions for future related research are suggested.

Magnetic Field Response Measurement Acquisition System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodard, Stanley E.; Taylor,Bryant D.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a measurement acquisition method that alleviates many shortcomings of traditional measurement systems. The shortcomings are a finite number of measurement channels, weight penalty associated with measurements, electrical arcing, wire degradations due to wear or chemical decay and the logistics needed to add new sensors. Wire degradation has resulted in aircraft fatalities and critical space launches being delayed. The key to this method is the use of sensors designed as passive inductor-capacitor circuits that produce magnetic field responses. The response attributes correspond to states of physical properties for which the sensors measure. Power is wirelessly provided to the sensing element by using Faraday induction. A radio frequency antenna produces a time-varying magnetic field used to power the sensor and receive the magnetic field response of the sensor. An interrogation system for discerning changes in the sensor response frequency, resistance and amplitude has been developed and is presented herein. Multiple sensors can be interrogated using this method. The method eliminates the need for a data acquisition channel dedicated to each sensor. The method does not require the sensors to be near the acquisition hardware. Methods of developing magnetic field response sensors and the influence of key parameters on measurement acquisition are discussed. Examples of magnetic field response sensors and the respective measurement characterizations are presented. Implementation of this method on an aerospace system is discussed.

RF Energy Harvesting Peel-and-Stick Sensors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lalau-Keraly, Christopher; Schwartz, David; Daniel, George

PARC, a Xerox Company, is developing a low-cost system of peel-and-stick wireless sensors that will enable widespread building environment sensor deployment with the potential to deliver up to 30% energy savings. The system is embodied by a set of RF hubs that provide power to the automatically located sensor nodes, and relays data wirelessly to the building management system (BMS). The sensor nodes are flexible electronic labels powered by rectified RF energy transmitted by a RF hub and can contain multiple printed and conventional sensors. The system design overcomes limitations in wireless sensors related to power delivery, lifetime, and costmore » by eliminating batteries and photovoltaic devices. The sensor localization is performed automatically by the inclusion of a programmable multidirectional antenna array in the RF hub. Comparison of signal strengths when the RF beam is swept allows for sensor localization, further reducing installation effort and enabling automatic recommissioning of sensors that have been relocated, overcoming a significant challenge in building operations. PARC has already demonstrated wireless power and temperature data transmission up to a distance of 20m with a duty cycle less than a minute between measurements, using power levels well within the FCC regulation limits in the 902-928 MHz ISM band. The sensor’s RF energy harvesting antenna dimensions was less than 5cmx9cm, demonstrating the possibility of small form factor for the sensor nodes.« less

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) vibration sensors.

PubMed

Filipiak, Jerzy; Solarz, Lech; Steczko, Grzegorz

2011-01-01

In the paper a feasibility study on the use of surface acoustic wave (SAW) vibration sensors for electronic warning systems is presented. The system is assembled from concatenated SAW vibration sensors based on a SAW delay line manufactured on a surface of a piezoelectric plate. Vibrations of the plate are transformed into electric signals that allow identification of the sensor and localization of a threat. The theoretical study of sensor vibrations leads us to the simple isotropic model with one degree of freedom. This model allowed an explicit description of the sensor plate movement and identification of the vibrating sensor. Analysis of frequency response of the ST-cut quartz sensor plate and a damping speed of its impulse response has been conducted. The analysis above was the basis to determine the ranges of parameters for vibrating plates to be useful in electronic warning systems. Generally, operation of electronic warning systems with SAW vibration sensors is based on the analysis of signal phase changes at the working frequency of delay line after being transmitted via two circuits of concatenated four-terminal networks. Frequencies of phase changes are equal to resonance frequencies of vibrating plates of sensors. The amplitude of these phase changes is proportional to the amplitude of vibrations of a sensor plate. Both pieces of information may be sent and recorded jointly by a simple electrical unit.

Wearable sensor glove based on conducting fabric using electrodermal activity and pulse-wave sensors for e-health application.

PubMed

Lee, Youngbum; Lee, Byungwoo; Lee, Myoungho

2010-03-01

Improvement of the quality and efficiency of health in medicine, both at home and the hospital, calls for improved sensors that might be included in a common carrier such as a wearable sensor device to measure various biosignals and provide healthcare services that use e-health technology. Designed to be user-friendly, smart clothes and gloves respond well to the end users for health monitoring. This study describes a wearable sensor glove that is equipped with an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor, pulse-wave sensor, conducting fabric, and an embedded system. The EDA sensor utilizes the relationship between drowsiness and the EDA signal. The EDA sensors were made using a conducting fabric instead of silver chloride electrodes, as a more practical and practically wearable device. The pulse-wave sensor measurement system, which is widely applied in oriental medicinal practices, is also a strong element in e-health monitoring systems. The EDA and pulse-wave signal acquisition module was constructed by connecting the sensor to the glove via a conductive fabric. The signal acquisition module is then connected to a personal computer that displays the results of the EDA and pulse-wave signal processing analysis and gives accurate feedback to the user. This system is designed for a number of applications for the e-health services, including drowsiness detection and oriental medicine.

Suitability of Smartphone Inertial Sensors for Real-Time Biofeedback Applications.

PubMed

Kos, Anton; Tomažič, Sašo; Umek, Anton

2016-02-27

This article studies the suitability of smartphones with built-in inertial sensors for biofeedback applications. Biofeedback systems use various sensors to measure body functions and parameters. These sensor data are analyzed, and the results are communicated back to the user, who then tries to act on the feedback signals. Smartphone inertial sensors can be used to capture body movements in biomechanical biofeedback systems. These sensors exhibit various inaccuracies that induce significant angular and positional errors. We studied deterministic and random errors of smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes, primarily focusing on their biases. Based on extensive measurements, we determined accelerometer and gyroscope noise models and bias variation ranges. Then, we compiled a table of predicted positional and angular errors under various biofeedback system operation conditions. We suggest several bias compensation options that are suitable for various examples of use in real-time biofeedback applications. Measurements within the developed experimental biofeedback application show that under certain conditions, even uncompensated sensors can be used for real-time biofeedback. For general use, especially for more demanding biofeedback applications, sensor biases should be compensated. We are convinced that real-time biofeedback systems based on smartphone inertial sensors are applicable to many similar examples in sports, healthcare, and other areas.

Observability-Based Guidance and Sensor Placement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinson, Brian T.

Control system performance is highly dependent on the quality of sensor information available. In a growing number of applications, however, the control task must be accomplished with limited sensing capabilities. This thesis addresses these types of problems from a control-theoretic point-of-view, leveraging system nonlinearities to improve sensing performance. Using measures of observability as an information quality metric, guidance trajectories and sensor distributions are designed to improve the quality of sensor information. An observability-based sensor placement algorithm is developed to compute optimal sensor configurations for a general nonlinear system. The algorithm utilizes a simulation of the nonlinear system as the source of input data, and convex optimization provides a scalable solution method. The sensor placement algorithm is applied to a study of gyroscopic sensing in insect wings. The sensor placement algorithm reveals information-rich areas on flexible insect wings, and a comparison to biological data suggests that insect wings are capable of acting as gyroscopic sensors. An observability-based guidance framework is developed for robotic navigation with limited inertial sensing. Guidance trajectories and algorithms are developed for range-only and bearing-only navigation that improve navigation accuracy. Simulations and experiments with an underwater vehicle demonstrate that the observability measure allows tuning of the navigation uncertainty.

Suitability of Smartphone Inertial Sensors for Real-Time Biofeedback Applications

PubMed Central

Kos, Anton; Tomažič, Sašo; Umek, Anton

2016-01-01

This article studies the suitability of smartphones with built-in inertial sensors for biofeedback applications. Biofeedback systems use various sensors to measure body functions and parameters. These sensor data are analyzed, and the results are communicated back to the user, who then tries to act on the feedback signals. Smartphone inertial sensors can be used to capture body movements in biomechanical biofeedback systems. These sensors exhibit various inaccuracies that induce significant angular and positional errors. We studied deterministic and random errors of smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes, primarily focusing on their biases. Based on extensive measurements, we determined accelerometer and gyroscope noise models and bias variation ranges. Then, we compiled a table of predicted positional and angular errors under various biofeedback system operation conditions. We suggest several bias compensation options that are suitable for various examples of use in real-time biofeedback applications. Measurements within the developed experimental biofeedback application show that under certain conditions, even uncompensated sensors can be used for real-time biofeedback. For general use, especially for more demanding biofeedback applications, sensor biases should be compensated. We are convinced that real-time biofeedback systems based on smartphone inertial sensors are applicable to many similar examples in sports, healthcare, and other areas. PMID:26927125

Novel High Temperature Capacitive Pressure Sensor Utilizing SiC Integrated Circuit Twin Ring Oscillators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scardelletti, M.; Neudeck, P.; Spry, D.; Meredith, R.; Jordan, J.; Prokop, N.; Krasowski, M.; Beheim, G.; Hunter, G.

2017-01-01

This paper describes initial development and testing of a novel high temperature capacitive pressure sensor system. The pressure sensor system consists of two 4H-SiC 11-stage ring oscillators and a SiCN capacitive pressure sensor. One oscillator has the capacitive pressure sensor fixed at one node in its feedback loop and varies as a function of pressure and temperature while the other provides a pressure-independent reference frequency which can be used to temperature compensate the output of the first oscillator. A two-day repeatability test was performed up to 500C on the oscillators and the oscillator fundamental frequency changed by only 1. The SiCN capacitive pressure sensor was characterized at room temperature from 0 to 300 psi. The sensor had an initial capacitance of 3.76 pF at 0 psi and 1.75 pF at 300 psi corresponding to a 54 change in capacitance. The integrated pressure sensor system was characterized from 0 to 300 psi in steps of 50 psi over a temperature range of 25 to 500C. The pressure sensor system sensitivity was 0.113 kHzpsi at 25C and 0.026 kHzpsi at 500C.

Sensor Web Dynamic Measurement Techniques and Adaptive Observing Strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talabac, Stephen J.

2004-01-01

Sensor Web observing systems may have the potential to significantly improve our ability to monitor, understand, and predict the evolution of rapidly evolving, transient, or variable environmental features and events. This improvement will come about by integrating novel data collection techniques, new or improved instruments, emerging communications technologies and protocols, sensor mark-up languages, and interoperable planning and scheduling systems. In contrast to today's observing systems, "event-driven" sensor webs will synthesize real- or near-real time measurements and information from other platforms and then react by reconfiguring the platforms and instruments to invoke new measurement modes and adaptive observation strategies. Similarly, "model-driven" sensor webs will utilize environmental prediction models to initiate targeted sensor measurements or to use a new observing strategy. The sensor web concept contrasts with today's data collection techniques and observing system operations concepts where independent measurements are made by remote sensing and in situ platforms that do not share, and therefore cannot act upon, potentially useful complementary sensor measurement data and platform state information. This presentation describes NASA's view of event-driven and model-driven Sensor Webs and highlights several research and development activities at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Sensor Selection and Data Validation for Reliable Integrated System Health Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Melcher, Kevin J.

2008-01-01

For new access to space systems with challenging mission requirements, effective implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) must be available early in the program to support the design of systems that are safe, reliable, highly autonomous. Early ISHM availability is also needed to promote design for affordable operations; increased knowledge of functional health provided by ISHM supports construction of more efficient operations infrastructure. Lack of early ISHM inclusion in the system design process could result in retrofitting health management systems to augment and expand operational and safety requirements; thereby increasing program cost and risk due to increased instrumentation and computational complexity. Having the right sensors generating the required data to perform condition assessment, such as fault detection and isolation, with a high degree of confidence is critical to reliable operation of ISHM. Also, the data being generated by the sensors needs to be qualified to ensure that the assessments made by the ISHM is not based on faulty data. NASA Glenn Research Center has been developing technologies for sensor selection and data validation as part of the FDDR (Fault Detection, Diagnosis, and Response) element of the Upper Stage project of the Ares 1 launch vehicle development. This presentation will provide an overview of the GRC approach to sensor selection and data quality validation and will present recent results from applications that are representative of the complexity of propulsion systems for access to space vehicles. A brief overview of the sensor selection and data quality validation approaches is provided below. The NASA GRC developed Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4) is a model-based procedure for systematically and quantitatively selecting an optimal sensor suite to provide overall health assessment of a host system. S4 can be logically partitioned into three major subdivisions: the knowledge base, the down-select iteration, and the final selection analysis. The knowledge base required for productive use of S4 consists of system design information and heritage experience together with a focus on components with health implications. The sensor suite down-selection is an iterative process for identifying a group of sensors that provide good fault detection and isolation for targeted fault scenarios. In the final selection analysis, a statistical evaluation algorithm provides the final robustness test for each down-selected sensor suite. NASA GRC has developed an approach to sensor data qualification that applies empirical relationships, threshold detection techniques, and Bayesian belief theory to a network of sensors related by physics (i.e., analytical redundancy) in order to identify the failure of a given sensor within the network. This data quality validation approach extends the state-of-the-art, from red-lines and reasonableness checks that flag a sensor after it fails, to include analytical redundancy-based methods that can identify a sensor in the process of failing. The focus of this effort is on understanding the proper application of analytical redundancy-based data qualification methods for onboard use in monitoring Upper Stage sensors.

Phase discriminating capacitive array sensor system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vranish, John M. (Inventor); Rahim, Wadi (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A phase discriminating capacitive sensor array system which provides multiple sensor elements which are maintained at a phase and amplitude based on a frequency reference provided by a single frequency stabilized oscillator. Sensor signals provided by the multiple sensor elements are controlled by multiple phase control units, which correspond to the multiple sensor elements, to adjust the sensor signals from the multiple sensor elements based on the frequency reference. The adjustment made to the sensor signals is indicated by output signals which indicate the proximity of the object. The output signals may also indicate the closing speed of the object based on the rate of change of the adjustment made, and the edges of the object based on a sudden decrease in the adjustment made.

Robust optical sensors for safety critical automotive applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Locht, Cliff; De Knibber, Sven; Maddalena, Sam

2008-02-01

Optical sensors for the automotive industry need to be robust, high performing and low cost. This paper focuses on the impact of automotive requirements on optical sensor design and packaging. Main strategies to lower optical sensor entry barriers in the automotive market include: Perform sensor calibration and tuning by the sensor manufacturer, sensor test modes on chip to guarantee functional integrity at operation, and package technology is key. As a conclusion, optical sensor applications are growing in automotive. Optical sensor robustness matured to the level of safety critical applications like Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) and Drive-by-Wire by optical linear arrays based systems and Automated Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Change Assist and Driver Classification/Smart Airbag Deployment by camera imagers based systems.

30 CFR 75.1103-4 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-4 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements. (a) Effective December 31, 2009, automatic fire sensor and warning device...

30 CFR 75.1103-4 - Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensor and warning device...-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Fire Protection § 75.1103-4 Automatic fire sensor and warning device systems; installation; minimum requirements. (a) Effective December 31, 2009, automatic fire sensor and warning device...

Unattended wireless proximity sensor networks for counterterrorism, force protection, littoral environments, PHM, and tamper monitoring ground applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forcier, Bob

2003-09-01

This paper describes a digital-ultrasonic ground network, which forms an unique "unattended mote sensor system" for monitoring the environment, personnel, facilities, vehicles, power generation systems or aircraft in Counter-Terrorism, Force Protection, Prognostic Health Monitoring (PHM) and other ground applications. Unattended wireless smart sensor/tags continuously monitor the environment and provide alerts upon changes or disruptions to the environment. These wireless smart sensor/tags are networked utilizing ultrasonic wireless motes, hybrid RF/Ultrasonic Network Nodes and Base Stations. The network is monitored continuously with a 24/7 remote and secure monitoring system. This system utilizes physical objects such as a vehicle"s structure or a building to provide the media for two way secure communication of key metrics and sensor data and eliminates the "blind spots" that are common in RF solutions because of structural elements of buildings, etc. The digital-ultrasonic sensors have networking capability and a 32-bit identifier, which provide a platform for a robust data acquisition (DAQ) for a large amount of sensors. In addition, the network applies a unique "signature" of the environment by comparing sensor-to-sensor data to pick up on minute changes, which would signal an invasion of unknown elements or signal a potential tampering in equipment or facilities. The system accommodates satellite and other secure network uplinks in either RF or UWB protocols. The wireless sensors can be dispersed by ground or air maneuvers. In addition, the sensors can be incorporated into the structure or surfaces of vehicles, buildings, or clothing of field personnel.

Calibration and characterization of UV sensors for water disinfection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larason, T.; Ohno, Y.

2006-04-01

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USA is participating in a project with the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) to develop new guidelines for ultraviolet (UV) sensor characteristics to monitor the performance of UV water disinfection plants. The current UV water disinfection standards, ÖNORM M5873-1 and M5873-2 (Austria) and DVGW W294 3 (Germany), on the requirements for UV sensors for low-pressure mercury (LPM) and medium-pressure mercury (MPM) lamp systems have been studied. Additionally, the characteristics of various types of UV sensors from several different commercial vendors have been measured and analysed. This information will aid in the development of new guidelines to address issues such as sensor requirements, calibration methods, uncertainty and traceability. Practical problems were found in the calibration methods and evaluation of spectral responsivity requirements for sensors designed for MPM lamp systems. To solve the problems, NIST is proposing an alternative sensor calibration method for MPM lamp systems. A future calibration service is described for UV sensors intended for low- and medium-pressure mercury lamp systems used in water disinfection applications.

Applications of artificial intelligence to space station: General purpose intelligent sensor interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, James W.

1988-01-01

This final report describes the accomplishments of the General Purpose Intelligent Sensor Interface task of the Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Space Station grant for the period from October 1, 1987 through September 30, 1988. Portions of the First Biannual Report not revised will not be included but only referenced. The goal is to develop an intelligent sensor system that will simplify the design and development of expert systems using sensors of the physical phenomena as a source of data. This research will concentrate on the integration of image processing sensors and voice processing sensors with a computer designed for expert system development. The result of this research will be the design and documentation of a system in which the user will not need to be an expert in such areas as image processing algorithms, local area networks, image processor hardware selection or interfacing, television camera selection, voice recognition hardware selection, or analog signal processing. The user will be able to access data from video or voice sensors through standard LISP statements without any need to know about the sensor hardware or software.