Sensory Mapping BME 300 Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison October 22, 2008 Colleen Farrell, BSAC Adam Pala, BWIG Jeremy Schaefer, Team Leader Steve Wyche, Communicator Client Dr. Miroslav Backonja, M.D Department of Neurology, UW-Hospital Advisor Dr. Mitch Tyler, Professor Department of Biomedical EngineeringTable of Contents Problem Statement…………………………………………………………………… 2 Design Motivation……………………………………………………………………. 2 Background Information…………………………………………………………….. 3 Competition…………………………………………………………………………... 3 Client Requirements…………………………………………………………………. 4 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………. 5 Design Alternatives…………………………………………………………………... 8 Active Infrared Motion Capture......................................................................... 8 Passive Infrared Motion Capture.......................................................................10 Laser Distance Meter......................................................................................... 12 Design Matrix…………………………………………………………………………13 Final Design………………………………………………………………………….. 13 Future Work…………………………………………………………………………. 15 Potential Problems……………………………………………………………………16 References……………………………………………………………………………. 17 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………… Appendix A: Heron’s Formula……………………………………………….. 18Problem Statement Dr. Miroslav Backonja, a neurologist who works in pain medicine at UW Hospital, has expressed the need for a more accurate method to measure the surface area of cutaneous sensory abnormalities. Currently, tracing paper is used to trace the affected area and a plenimeter is used to measure surface area. Dr. Backonja is looking to be able to measure surface area on contoured regions of the body in a more accurate and repeatable manner. Design Motivation Patients who suffer from various forms of neuropathic pain suffer sensory abnormalities due to damaged nerve fibers. This pain may become increasingly more intense over time and can prove to be debilitating in many patients. In order for this pain to be monitored, there must be a reliable way of tracking the area of each particular sensory anomaly. When it comes to managing such pain it becomes even more important to have an accurate recording of changes that occur due to treatments that are administered. The current method that clinics used to record the area of pain is to place tracing paper on the affected are as best as possible and trace the markings of abnormalities. This method becomes even more inaccurate when dealing with surfaces of the body such as an armpit or face, where paper cannot successfully cover the skin. Dr. Backonja has presented the challenge of finding a more reliable and accurate means for measuring the surface area of even the most contoured regions of the body in order to hopefully better treat patients with painful sensory abnormalities.Background Information Neuropathic pain presents as various forms of abnormal cutaneous sensations. These abnormalities can present as shooting pains, tingling, burning or numbness on the skin’s surface (Pain 1). Neuropathic pain can be a result of many different illnesses or the treatments for these diseases. It can be painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) or painful HIV-associated neuropathy (HIV-DSP) or it can also be a result of illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, and spinal cord injuries (Neuropathic 1). The pain intensity ranges from that of a sunburn to intense shooting pains. Due to the fact that neuropathic pain tends to be caused by other illnesses, the pain can prove debilitating on top of the symptoms from the disease the patient already suffers from. Clinicians must monitor the changes in a patient’s neuropathy in order to track the progress or effectiveness of various treatments. The way in which a doctor maps out the sensory abnormalities is to first use various brushes and tools to stimulate the skin and mark areas which patients indicate as abnormal. These markings are then traced over using tracing paper and a plenimeter is used to find the surface area of each affected area. To treat milder pain the patient may be given non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs while more severe pain may be treated with stronger painkillers such as morphine (Neuropathic 2). Management of the disease which is causing the neuropathic pain, such as diabetes, can help to alleviate some of the symptoms. Competition There doesn’t appear to be a commercial product which deals directly with the problem of finding the surface area of a patient’s skin. There is, however, a software program called BurnCase 3D which deals with burn victims (BurnCase 1). The softwareallows the doctor to trace on a 3D body the areas which are burned and differentiate between the severity of the burns. It then calculates the percentage of the body which is covered by each type of burn. The problem with this, however, the program doesn’t provide any way in which to alter the given model. Without being able to change the body type or characteristics of the patient, tracing the affected regions on this model will not give very effective results. The only other programs which make 3D models from 2D pictures are very basic and don’t involve dimensions. Client Requirements Dr. Backonja has specified several requirements regarding the design prototype. The first general area involves the patient and clinical usage. Given the fact that many of the client’s patients have sensory abnormalities involving hypersensitivity, it is imperative that the proposed design does not induce excessive harm on the patient during clinical testing and usage. Accordingly, the prototype should also be conducive to the
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