There is growing evidence of the clinical significance of daytime masked hypertension (MHT) and blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV). Recently, watch‐type wearable devices for self‐BP measurement have become available. Such devices might be promising tools to identify patients with daytime MHT or large BPV in their real‐life conditions. The present study aimed to validate the accuracy of the Omron HEM‐6410T‐ZM and the Omron HEM‐6410T‐ZL, which are automatic watch‐type wearable devices for self‐BP measurement, according to the American National Standards Institute, Inc/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/International Organization for Standardization (ANSI/AAMI/ISO) 81060‐2:2013 guideline. Watches were held with the wrist at heart level. The mean differences between reference BPs and HEM‐6410T‐ZM readings were −0.9 ± 7.6/‐1.1 ± 6.1 mm Hg for systolic BP (SBP)/diastolic BP (DBP) for criterion 1, and −0.9 ± 6.8/‐1.1 ± 5.5 mm Hg for SBP/DBP for criterion 2. The mean differences between reference BPs and HEM‐6410T‐ZL readings were 2.4 ± 7.3/0.7 ± 7.0 mm Hg for SBP/DBP for criterion 1, and 2.4 ± 6.5/0.7 ± 6.5 mm Hg for SBP/DBP for criterion 2. The Omron HEM‐6410T‐ZM and the Omron HEM‐6410T‐ZL both fulfilled both validation criteria 1 and 2 of the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060‐2:2013 guidelines.

This paper reports preliminary results on design and fabrication of a cutting tool with an integrated triaxial force sensor to be applied in fetal surgery procedures. The outer diameter of the proposed device is 7.4 mm, but a scaled down design can be easily achieved. Linearity and hysteresis tests have been performed for both normal and tangential loadings. A linear transformation relating the sensor output to the external applied force is introduced and discussed. The typical working range for the conceived instrument is around 0.3 N, while 20 N and 1 N are, respectively, maximum normal and tangential forces for which the device robustness has been assessed.

This study aimed to validate the accuracy of the Omron HEM‐9601T, an automatic wrist‐type device for self‐blood pressure (BP) measurement with a timer function for automatic measurement of nocturnal BP, in the sitting position according to the American National Standards Institute/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/International Organization for Standardization (ANSI/AAMI/ISO) 81060‐2:2013 guidelines, and to assess its performance in the supine position by applying the same protocol as conducted in the sitting position. The mean differences between the reference BPs and HEM‐9601T readings were 1.2 ± 6.9/1.1 ± 5.5 mmHg, 2.2 ± 6.5/1.8 ± 5.7 mmHg, 0.1 ± 6.6/1.5 ± 6.2 mmHg, and −0.8 ± 7.2/0.5 ± 6.4 mmHg for systolic BP/diastolic BP for criterion 1 in the sitting position, supine with sideways palm position, supine with upward palm position, and supine with downward palm position, respectively. In addition, the mean differences and their standard deviations for systolic BP and diastolic BP calculated according to criterion 2 in the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060‐2:2013 guidelines were acceptable in all four positions. In conclusion, the Omron HEM‐9601T fulfilled the validation criteria of the ANSI/AAMI/ISO81060‐2:2013 guidelines when used in the sitting position with the wrist at heart level, and its accuracy in the supine position was acceptable and roughly equivalent to that in the sitting position. The wrist‐type home BP monitor could be a more suitable tool for repeated nocturnal BP measurements at home than upper‐arm devices, and could improve the reliability of diagnosis and management of nocturnal hypertension.

We propose a new surgical robotic system for intrauterine fetal surgery in an Open MRI. The target disease of the fetal surgery is spina bifida or myelomeningocele that is incomplete closure in the spinal column and one of the common fetal diseases. In the proposed surgical process, the abdominal wall and uterine wall would not widely be opened but rather surgical instruments inserted through the small holes in both walls to perform minimally invasive surgery. In this paper, a prototype of the micro manipulator of diameter is 2.4mm and bending radius 2.45 mm is presented. The diameter and bending radius of this manipulator is one of the smallest ever developed among surgical robots to the best of the knowledge of the investigating authors.The mechanism of the manipulator includes two ball joints and is driven using four wires able to bend through 90 degrees in any direction. The features of the mechanism include a small diameter, small bending radius, ease of fabrication, high rigidity and applicability for other surgical applications. Although the manipulator is not yet MRI compatible, the feature of the prototype demonstrated the feasibility of robotic intrauterine fetal surgery.

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