Volume 24, Issue 4
Electrocardiogram Signal Denoising by Hilbert Transform and Synchronous Detection323-336
Mohammed Assam Ouali, Asma Tinouna, Mouna Ghanai, Kheireddine Chafaa
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000549
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Mohammed Assam Ouali, Asma Tinouna, Mouna Ghanai, Kheireddine Chafaa (2020) Electrocardiogram Signal Denoising by Hilbert Transform and Synchronous Detection, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 323-336, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000549
Abstract: An efficient method for Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal denoising based on synchronous detection and Hilbert transform techniques is presented. The goal of the method is to decompose a noisy ECG signal into two components classified according to their energy: (1) component with high energy representing the dominant component which is the clean ECG signal, and (2) component with low energy representing the sub-dominant component which is the contaminant noise. The investigated approach is validated through out some experimentations on MIT-BIH ECG database. Experimental results show that random noises can be effectively suppressed from ECG signals.

Keywords: ECG signals, ECG denoising, Hilbert transform, Synchronous detection
Optimizing Multiple Drug Administration from Depot by Applying Pharmacokinetic Concepts337-348
Krasimira Prodanova
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000593
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Krasimira Prodanova (2020) Optimizing Multiple Drug Administration from Depot by Applying Pharmacokinetic Concepts, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 337-348, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000593
Abstract: For the multiple drug administration from therapeutic reasons it is important to maintain the concentration in the blood plasma in an appropriate range. In the present paper an optimization approach is developed to determine drug dosage regimen to achieve the desired plasma concentrations after application from depot, i.e. oral, muscular, subcutant. The developed methodology allows the optimization of both the dose and the dosage interval. Performance of the developed methodology is evaluated by computing bias and precision of the estimated trough and peak drug concentrations that are reached after dosage regimen determinations. This article focuses on an optimal impulsive control of compartment model to individualise dosage regimens of Amikacin in the context of extended dosage intervals. Amikacin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic used to treat various bacterial infections.

Keywords: Compartment modelling, Optimization of multiple drug administration, Individualization of drug therapy
In silico Structure Prediction and Functional Annotation of Ananas comosus Hypothetical Protein OAY63476.1349-358
Zainab Bibi, Aqsa Khalid, Iqra Iftikhar, Muhammad Rizwan, Azhar Mehmood, Sajid Khan, Anum Munir
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000600
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Zainab Bibi, Aqsa Khalid, Iqra Iftikhar, Muhammad Rizwan, Azhar Mehmood, Sajid Khan, Anum Munir (2020) In silico Structure Prediction and Functional Annotation of Ananas comosus Hypothetical Protein OAY63476.1, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 349-358, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000600
Abstract: Hypothetical proteins (HPs) are those whose sequence is present but nothing is known about their structural and functional annotations. Elucidation of structural and functional insights would be effective enough in perceiving the protein interactions and their involvement in various pathways and networks. Ananas comosus is considered as third most essential tropical fruit and is given more consideration from the commercial point of view; therefore, in this research, it is taken for analysis using different approaches of bioinformatics. On the basis of subcellular localization and secondary structure analysis, it was suggested that HP is the nuclear protein consisting of α helices and more abundant coils. Homology modeling has been done through Swiss Model to determine their template structure but template identity score is not enough which uncover the fact that the protein OAY63476.1 is unpredicted in-vitro. In order to predict the 3D structure of protein, Phyre 2 server is utilized. Results are validated by different strategies revealing the stability of the developed model. The quality factor of this protein is 45.28. Functional analysis and domain identification have been performed by using NCBI-CDD and Pfam which suggested that protein contains ring variant domain. Comparative genome analysis has been performed with other proteins of plants which demonstrate that the selected protein has the highest similarity. This study paves the way in order to determine the structural and functional annotations of other uncharacterized proteins and effective in exploring other novel proteins along with their functions in the same way as that of this research study.

Keywords: Ananas comosus, Homology modeling, Ab initio method, Functional annotation
Numerical Solution of a Fractional Model for HIV Infection of CD4+T Cells via Legendre Multiwavelet Functions359-370
Ensiyeh Sokhanvar, Ataollah Askari Hemmat
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000634
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Ensiyeh Sokhanvar, Ataollah Askari Hemmat (2020) Numerical Solution of a Fractional Model for HIV Infection of CD4+T Cells via Legendre Multiwavelet Functions, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 359-370, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000634
Abstract: In this paper, we introduce a Galerkin method based on Legendre multiwavelet functions to obtain approximate solutions of a fractional model for HIV infection of CD4+T cells corresponding to a class of systems of nonlinear fractional differential equations. The method converts the model problem into a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. A numerical example is included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the technique and the results are compared with those obtained by existing methods.

Keywords: Galerkin method, Legendre multiwavelet functions, Fractional model for HIV infection of CD4+T cells
Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery CogniSoft for Assessment of Cognition in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis371-380
Lyudmila Todorova, Valentina Ignatova, Jivko Surchev
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000754
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Lyudmila Todorova, Valentina Ignatova, Jivko Surchev (2020) Computerized Neuropsychological Test Battery CogniSoft for Assessment of Cognition in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 371-380, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000754
Abstract: Cognitive dysfunction is a leading cause of disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) and is associated with unemployment, need of assistance with daily activities and poor quality of life. The introduction of neuropsychological testing and monitoring of cognitive status as part of the overall evaluation of MS patients in parallel with clinical and paraclinical parameters is highly recommended. Recent studies have demonstrated a better perception and preference for computerized cognitive tests than classic variants, with no significant difference in results. In accordance with global trends, a bilingual computer system CogniSoft for assessment and rehabilitation of cognitive status in persons with MS has been developed, including: 1) a set of diagnostic tests for evaluation of memory and executive functions based on the nature of Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS); 2) a set of games for cognitive rehabilitation. Questionnaire for depression (Beck Depression Inventory – BDI-II) will be filled before conduction of the neuropsychological tests for differentiation of possible depression which could interfere with the results. The CogniSoft information system will incorporate two approaches for evaluation of neuropsychological results which will allow early detection of cognitive impairments in these patients, which will initiate timely cognitive rehabilitation.

Keywords: Computerized cognitive test, Multiple sclerosis, Cognitive impairment, Cognitive rehabilitation
Power-line Interference Removal from High Sampled ECG Signals Using Modified Version of the Subtraction Procedure381-392
Ivan Dotsinsky, Todor Stoyanov, Georgy Mihov
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000802
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Ivan Dotsinsky, Todor Stoyanov, Georgy Mihov (2020) Power-line Interference Removal from High Sampled ECG Signals Using Modified Version of the Subtraction Procedure, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 381-392, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000802
Abstract: The acquired ECG signals are often contaminated by residual Power-line Interference (PLI). A lot of methods, algorithms and techniques for PLI reduction have been published over the last few decades. The so called subtraction procedure is known to eliminate almost totally the interference without affecting the signal spectrum. The goal of our research was to develop a heuristic version of the procedure intended for ECG signals with high Sampling Rate (SR) up to 128 kHz. The PLI is extracted from the corrupted signal by technique similar to second order band-pass filter but with practically zero phase error. The sample number as well as the left and right parts outside the samples belonging to a current sine wave, which is extracted from the contaminated signal, are counted and measured. They are used to compensate the error arising with the shift between the moving averaged free of PLI signal samples and their real position along the linear segments (usually PQ and TP intervals having frequency band near to zero). The here calculated PLI components are appropriately interpolated to ‘clean’ the dynamically changed in amplitude and position contaminated samples within the non-linear segments (QRS complexes and high T waves). The reported version of the subtraction procedure is tested with 5 and 128 kHz sampled ECG signals. The maximum absolute error is about 20 μV except for the ends of the recordings. Finally, an approach to PLI elimination from paced ECG signals is proposed. It includes pace pulse extraction, signal re-sampling down to 4 kHz and subtraction procedure implementation followed by adding back the removed pace pulses.

Keywords: Power-line interference, Subtraction procedure, High sampled ECG signals, Paced ECG signals
Recruitment Curves during Different Types of Muscle Activity in Non-dominant Hand: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study393-402
Kapka Mancheva, Teodora Vukova, Georgi Atanasov, Andon Kossev
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000755
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Kapka Mancheva, Teodora Vukova, Georgi Atanasov, Andon Kossev (2020) Recruitment Curves during Different Types of Muscle Activity in Non-dominant Hand: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 393-402, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000755
Abstract: Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from first dorsal interosseous muscle of non-dominant hand in response to contralateral transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in seven right-handed healthy volunteers during relaxed muscles (without electromyorgaphic activity and zero force production), isometric index finger abduction (20% of individual measured maximum voluntary contraction in direction of abduction) and co-activation of antagonist muscles (simultaneously activated antagonist muscles, matching level equal to 20% of individual measured maximum voluntary contraction in direction of abduction by increasing the angle stiffness without producing of external force). The excitability of motor cortex was assessed by the amplitudes of MEPs recorded in response to increasing stimulation intensity: 100%, 110%, 120%, 130%, 140% of individually measured motor threshold at relax (RMT). The aim of the present study was using the method of transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate the effect of different types of muscle activity in non-dominant hand. The secondary purpose was to compare new collected data with our previous data about dominant hand. At non-dominant hand we found significant changes between relax condition and each of the two active motor tasks almost at all five investigated TMS intensities. Also, we found that MEP amplitudes during abduction were significantly bigger than MEP amplitudes during co-activation of antagonist muscles, both in non-dominant hand and in dominant hand. We observed changes between MEP amplitudes of non-dominant and dominant hand during the performance of the same motor task.

Keywords: Computerized cognitive test, Multiple sclerosis, Cognitive impairment, Cognitive rehabilitation
A Smart Laparoscopic Instrument with Different Applications403-417
Veronika Ivanova, Ditchko Batchvarov, Ani Boneva
doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000723
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Veronika Ivanova, Ditchko Batchvarov, Ani Boneva (2020) A Smart Laparoscopic Instrument with Different Applications, Int J Bioautomation, 24 (4), 403-417, doi: 10.7546/ijba.2020.24.4.000723
Abstract: The main target of everyone engineering work associated with minimally-invasive surgery is to provide adequate tool-tissue force information to the surgeons so that they can regain the sense of touch that has been lost through laparoscopic surgery. In this context the main objective of the work design novel family laparoscopic tools with better technical characteristics, and incorporation of force and other sensors and elements in construction of tools for restore sense of touch in the process of laparoscopy. Thus it is improving some technical side of this laparoscopic instruments. In contrast to daVinchi robots by Intuitive Surgical Incorporation which instruments are designed for manipulation and imaging we offer family tools with additional functions such as diagnosis and therapeutics tasks. Therefore we decide two main problems: i) we designed and produced an original construction of an adequate experimental module for robots, where was incorporated two force sensors to provide tool-tissue information (some of which was described and discussed at previous works); and ii) we realized hardware and program resources for control and monitoring of this module which is the object of this work. The computer program includes information about various measurements of the tip tool – surface contact interactions and data obtained from the experimental module that is used to find the difference between date from previous measuring and received information in real time. Another signification advantage of the proposed program solution is the graphical visualization of the measuring and comparing the results. Therefore, the surgeon can give the adequate command to force interaction between the instrument and tissue. For verification of the functionality and working capacity of the experimental module with force feedback capabilities for robots were conducted different experiments with the designed control system.

Keywords: Robot system, Therapeutics tasks, Designed control system

Sponsored by National Science Fund of Bulgaria, Grant No KP-06-NP/1/13, 2019

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