An apparatus includes a sensor configured to capture an image of an affected part, and a processor configured to obtain information about a size of the affected part in the captured image, and control timing to capture an image of the affected part or control timing to prompt a user to perform an imaging operation based on the information about the size of the affected part.

A method for determining a muscle section of a body part. The muscle section (S) is determined as a function of: at least two electrical resistance values measured through different electrodes located on different locations of the body, at least two electrodes being located along the body part, and a muscle conductivity constant (σ), and a permittivity constant of the muscle (ε).

The invention provides an apparatus for use in determining the three-dimensional shape of an object, which apparatus comprises: an article, comprising a stretchable material, and a plurality of strain sensors positioned in contact with the material such that stretching of the material is detectable by the sensors; a computing device operatively coupled to the article and configured to receive output data from the sensors and to process the data to determine the three dimensional shape of the object. The invention also provides a method for providing a customized orthotic product using the apparatus.

A gate apparatus includes an upper light that emits light from above a user, a lower light that emits light from below the user, a light control unit, and an acquisition unit. The acquisition unit acquires biological information about the user. The light control unit changes the luminance of the light emitted from the upper light and the luminance of the light emitted from the lower light when the biological information about the user is acquired.

A blood pressure detection method is provided. The method comprising: obtaining wrist circumference data, wrist fat thickness data, and blood pressure data and correcting the blood pressure data based on the wrist circumference data and the wrist fat thickness data.

Systems and methods for detecting physical characteristics of a multilayered tissue of a subject, such as a tear film including analyzing received detector-output indicative of optical properties of light reflected or deflected from the respective multilayered tissue, to determine spectral properties of the multilayered tissue; and determining physical characteristics of the multilayered tissue by using multiple spectral models of the of the multilayered tissue, each model being associated with spectral properties indicative of different tissue characteristics, wherein physical characteristics of the multilayered tissue are determined by hierarchal determination of a best-fit model from the multiple spectral models.

Systems and methods of valve quantification are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of mitral valve quantification is provided. The method includes generating a 3-D heart model, defining a 3-D mitral valve annulus, fitting a plane through the 3-D mitral valve annulus, measuring the distance between at least two papillary muscle heads, defining an average diameter of at least one cross section around the micro valve annulus, and determining a size of an implant to be implanted.

A method and an apparatus for estimating a geometric thickness of a breast in mammography/tomosynthesis or in other x-ray procedures, by imaging markers that are in the path of x-rays passing through the imaged object. The markings can be selected to be visible or to be invisible when the composite markings/breast image is viewed in clinical settings. If desired, the contribution of the markers to the image can be removed through further processing. The resulting information can be used determining the geometric thickness of the body being x-rayed and thus setting imaging parameters that are thickness-related, and for other purposes. The method and apparatus also have application in other types of x-ray imaging.

Methods for treating bestrophinopathies are provided herein. The method includes, administering to an eye of the subject a dose of a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a human BEST1 protein, wherein the subject has two mutant BEST1 alleles. Also provided are methods for evaluating treatments for retinal degeneration.

Methods and devices for monitoring and changing the physical orientation of an individual are provided. A method includes providing a wearable device that monitors the physical orientation of an individual, monitoring the physical orientation over time using the wearable device, and issuing an alert from the wearable device to change the physical orientation by a prescribed amount when the individual has maintained the physical orientation for a duration exceeding a maximum length. The wearable device is optionally configured to issue subsequent alerts upon determining that the physical orientation has not changed following the duration. The alerts are optionally of varying natures and issued to, for example, the individual, people nearby, and/or caregivers outside the individual's room.