Devices, kits, systems and methods described herein may be for treatment to skin, including but not limited to wound healing, the treatment, amelioration, and/or prevention of scars or keloids. Devices kits, systems and methods described herein may be used to select treatment parameters or devices for treating skin in a zone or region of skin having particular mechanical or other properties.

A device can detect and retrieve a blood clot by advancing a catheter with a clot sensing element through a patient’s vascular system. The catheter can map, using an electromagnetic sensor disposed at a distal end of the clot sensing element, the patient’s vascular system. A force sensor can generate a position signal indicating the clot sensing element contacted the clot in the patient’s vascular system. Once located, a blood clot retrieval device can be deployed through the catheter and a lumen in the clot sensing element to remove the clot from the patient’s vascular system.

A larger number of emotions are expressed by a contact stimulus. An input unit into which a type of an emotion and a degree of a strength of the emotion are input, and a calculation unit that calculates a presentation pattern of a contact stimulus and a degree of a strength of the contact stimulus in accordance with content input into the input unit are included.

A displacement measurement apparatus includes an ultrasound sensor transmitting ultrasounds to an object in accordance with a drive signal, and detecting ultrasound echo signals generated in the object to output echo signals; a driving and processing unit supplying the drive signal to the sensor, and processing the echo signals from the sensor to obtain ultrasound echo data; and a controller controlling the driving and processing unit to yield an ultrasound echo data frame at each of plural different temporal phases based on the ultrasound echo data obtained by scanning the object. The ultrasound echo data has one of local single octant spectra, local single quadrant spectra, and local single half-band-sided spectra in a frequency domain. The ultrasound echo data is obtained from plural same bandwidth spectra. A data processing unit calculates a displacement at each local position or distribution thereof in at least one of axial, lateral, and elevational directions by solving simultaneous equations derived at each local position via implementing a predetermined displacement measurement method on the ultrasound echo data yielded at the plural different temporal phases with respect to at least one of the axial, lateral, and elevational carrier frequencies and the phase, or the one of the local single octant spectra, the local single quadrant spectra, and the local single half-band-sided spectra.

Systems, methods, and interfaces are described herein for noninvasively determining an optimal coronary sinus branch to cannulate for a medical electrical lead. One exemplary method involves applying an electrode apparatus having a plurality of electrodes to a torso of a patient. One of a right ventricular (RV) lead is introduced to a right ventricle or a right atrial (RA) lead is introduced to a right atrium. Noninvasively ultrasonic energy is introduced to a target tissue selected from a set of target tissues. In response to delivering ultrasonic energy to the cardiac tissue, a processing unit receives a torso-surface potential signal from each of a plurality of electrodes distributed on a torso of a patient for the target tissue. Signals are sensed from one of the RA lead and the RV lead in response to delivering ultrasonic energy. For at least a subset of the plurality of electrodes, calculating, with the processing unit, a torso-surface activation time based on the signal sensed from the electrode. Determining whether the tissue site or the another tissue site provides optimal cardiac resynchronization.

Systems, methods, and interfaces are described herein for noninvasively determining an optimal coronary sinus branch to cannulate for a medical electrical lead. One exemplary method involves applying an electrode apparatus having a plurality of electrodes to a torso of a patient. One of a right ventricular (RV) lead is introduced to a right ventricle or a right atrial (RA) lead is introduced to a right atrium. Noninvasively ultrasonic energy is introduced to a target tissue selected from a set of target tissues. In response to delivering ultrasonic energy to the cardiac tissue, a processing unit receives a torso-surface potential signal from each of a plurality of electrodes distributed on a torso of a patient for the target tissue. Signals are sensed from one of the RA lead and the RV lead in response to delivering ultrasonic energy. For at least a subset of the plurality of electrodes, calculating, with the processing unit, a torso-surface activation time based on the signal sensed from the electrode. Determining whether the tissue site or the another tissue site provides optimal cardiac resynchronization.

It is disclosed an apparatus for restoring voluntary control of locomotion in a subject suffering from a neuromotor impairment comprising a multidirectional trunk support system and a device for epidural electrical stimulation. The robotic interface is capable of evaluating, enabling and training motor pattern generation and balance across a variety of natural walking behaviors in subjects with neuromotor impairments. Optionally, pharmacological cocktails can be administered to enhance rehabilitation results. It is also disclosed a method for the evaluation, enablement and training of a subject suffering from neuromotor impairments by combining robotically assisted evaluation tools with sophisticated neurobiomechanical and statistical analyses. A method for the rehabilitation (by this term also comprising restoring voluntary control of locomotion) of a subject suffering from a neuromotor impairment in particular partial or total paralysis of limbs, is also disclosed.

Systems and methods are provided for employing informational models trained using the Autoprogressive Algorithm to learn the mechanical behavior of biological materials using a sparse sampling of force and displacement measurements. The constitutive matrix normally used to solve the inverse problem is replaced with ANNs.

Described herein is a method to detect perfusion and brain functional activity using Hyperpolarized xenon-129 (.sup.129Xe) Time-of-Flight (TOF) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Specifically, this method uses hyperpolarized .sup.129Xe MRI to detect blood flow and perfusion changes in the region of interest. In addition, this method can be used to detect blood flow changes in brain tissue that corresponds to the brain functional activities by detecting the amount of .sup.129Xe dissolved in blood and brain tissue per unit of time.

In one aspect, an elastography system includes an elastography device and a position sensing device connected to the elastography device. The elastography device includes a housing, a probing element removably attached to the housing, and a force sensor attached within the housing, where the force sensor is connected to the probing element. In another aspect, an elastography) method includes inserting a probing element into a material, producing, by a force sensor connected to a base of the probing element a signal indicative of a force applied to the probing element upon insertion of the probing element into the material, and based on the signal, deriving a mapping of spatial variations of a material property within the material.