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Biomedical subjects

T Togawa

Publications and source records attributed to T Togawa.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

A bed temperature monitoring system for assessing body movement during sleep.

A method of monitoring and analysing temperature distribution in a patient's bed during bed rest and sleep is described. The system consists of 16 temperature sensors, a solid-state recorder and a personal computer. The temperature sensors are attached on the surface of a bed mat. The temperature of the 16 measurement points are recorded and stored on a multichannel solid-state recorder, where a programmable read-only memory (PROM) is used as the memory device. The PROM is detachable from the recorder, and the temperature data is read by a computer. A two-dimensional temperature distribution pattern is obtained by interpolating the temperature between measured points. The system was effective for long-term temperature monitoring without patient discomfort, and it proved reliable and easy to use. The temperature distribution and changes in the distribution indicated body movement and hence periods of sleep.

Beds↗

Method of formation of artificial organ components using a plastic dispenser system manipulated by a robot.

In order to produce an artificial organ component having a complicated structure, a plastic-forming method was proposed in which small amounts of material were accumulated successively by using a dispenser system manipulated by a robot; a preliminary experiment with silicone rubber was conducted. Components of different shapes were produced, including straight tubes, tapered tubes, bifurcating tubes, tubes having leaflets on the inside, cones, spiral tubes, and tubes with a sack. This method provides the possibility of producing complicated artificial organ components, which are difficult to produce by conventional plastic-processing methods.

Artificial Organs↗

Clinical experiences using pneumatic massage therapy for edematous limbs over the last 10 years.

UNLABELLED: A pneumatic massage apparatus has been developed for the treatment of peripheral lymphedema. The stagnant lymph and venous blood are displaced toward the heart by this pneumatic massage. It has been applied to more than 650 patients with edematous limbs in the authors' Hadomer clinic over the last ten years. Satisfactory results were obtained, including decrease in swelling, pain, and induration. The authors' clinical experiences and statistical analysis of the patients are reported here. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: 9 primary (4 males and 5 females) and 646 secondary (28 males and 618 females) patients with lymphatic edema of extremities have been treated. The majority of the patients had postmastectomy edema of the upper extremity. CLINICAL STUDIES: The circumference of the edematous limb was measured before and after pneumatic massage treatment of forty to sixty minutes, daily or every second day. (Formula: see text). The rate of swelling was calculated by the formula described above. Twenty-six cases, treated with pneumatic massage for more than fifteen months, have been investigated. A decrease in the rate of swelling was observed in 14 cases (54%), there was no change in 7 (27%), and an increase was seen in 5 (19%). Electric impedance plethysmographic analysis of peripheral lymph volume and blood flow indicated that pneumatic massage was effective in the treatment of edema of the limbs, and its effectiveness was confirmed also by core temperature measurement of the hand during pneumatic massage. The decreased circumference of the edematous limb was kept constant for a long period of time by daily repeated pneumatic massage and ordinary conservative treatments. In conclusion, most lymphedema is of a secondary type. Pneumatic massage was effective in the treatment of peripheral lymph edema, and the improvement was maintained by repeated daily pneumatic massage and ordinary conservative treatment. Therefore, before it becomes worse, lymphedema of the limb should be treated by use of conservative treatments, including pneumatic massage continued as a long-term schedule.

Adult↗

Five patients with painless thyroiditis simultaneously developed in a nursery school.

Painless (silent) thyroiditis (PT) occurred simultaneously in 1 male and 4 females aged 21 to 52 years working at a nursery school. Clinical symptoms did not include goiter, or pain or tenderness of the neck in any of the patients but were characterized by edema of the lower legs as well as palpitation and loss of body weight as observed in subacute thyroiditis. General blood analysis showed that all patients were negative for C-reactive protein (CRP) and 3 had mild impairment of liver function. Examination of thyroid function suggested transient thyrotoxicosis accompanied by a marked reduction in radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), but antithyroglobulin hemagglutination antibody (TGHA) and antithyroid microsomal hemagglutination antibody (MCHA) were negative in all patients. Examination of various viral antibodies showed no significant changes in their titers. Thyrotoxicosis was transient and disappeared without treatment or by glucocorticoid administration. Our results suggested that PT observed in this study was caused by some environmental factor. The possibility of an unidentified virus as a factor cannot be ruled out.

Adult↗

Sintered hydroxyapatite for a percutaneous device and its clinical application.

The sintered hydroxyapatite was designed to be utilized as a percutaneous device. The device was percutaneously fixed through the back skin of mongrel dogs. The tissue reaction around the implants was examined histologically. At 1 month the sintered hydroxyapatite was closely contacted with the skin tissue and downgrowth of epidermis was not observed. The long-term implantation ranging from 3 to 17 months showed that the depth of epidermis downgrowth was limited to only 1 mm. The amino acid composition of fibrous capsule formed around the hydroxyapatite showed close resemblance to vertebrate periosteum. It was confirmed that the sintered hydroxyapatite had good compatibility and long-term stability with skin tissue.

Amino Acids↗

201Tl/67Ga uptake ratio in small cell carcinoma of the lung: with special reference to serum neuron-specific enolase and prognosis.

201Tl/67Ga crude uptake ratio (CUR) was measured in 12 patients with small cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL); it was further compared with serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and the actual survival times. A significant inverse correlation was observed between CUR and serum NSE (r = 0.610; p less than 0.05); CUR also correlated with actual survival time (r = 0.605; p less than 0.05). Oat cell-type SCCL having a low CUR and highly raised serum NSE, showed a poorer prognosis than the other subtype which has a high CUR whose serum NSE was not raised as much as in oat cell-type SCCL. This preliminary study suggests that 201Tl/67Ga uptake ratio is a possible prognostic indicator of SCCL.

Adenocarcinoma↗