Recurring Meeting of Cleveland Clinic Core Team

Date: May 6, 2014

Time: 10:30 AM EST

Means: In person meeting

Attendees:

1. Ahmet Erdemir
2. Jason Halloran
3. Craig Bennetts
4. Snehal Chokhandre
5. Elvis Danso
6. Robb Colbrunn
7. Tara Bonner

Agenda:

1. Discuss immediate action items from the last meeting.
2. Update on robotics maintenance for joint mechanical testing.
3. Review of tissue testing specifications.
4. Review of specimen preparation specifications.
5. Decide immediate action items for the next meeting.
6. Other.

Immediate Action Items:

• Ahmet
  • Follow-up with Jason on patella marker assembly coordinate systems; divot based or spherical marker based.
• Snehal
  • Update tissue testing specifications to reflect discussion on tissue thickness measurement.
  • Start providing protocol details for tissue testing.
  • Provide quantitative information on image-based tissue thickness measurement.
  • Order base plate for confined compression and tall bath with flat walls.
• Elvis
  • Provide specific protocol details for indentation testing.
• Jason
  • Provide quantitative information on patella marker assembly in the relevant infrastructure page.
• Tara
  • Respond to Ahmet's request for information in joint testing specifications.

• Craig & Ahmet

  • Meet to define a test problem for cloud computing incorporating post-processing.

• Jason & Robb

  • Meet to conduct actual calibration of the pressure measurement system.
  • Finalize documentation of pressure measurement calibration.
• Ahmet
  • Setup biweekly meetings with Jason and Craig to work on modeling specifications.

Notes:

1. Discuss immediate action items from the last meeting.
   • Shannon sent an email that they don't currently have time to acquire all imaging specifications.
     • This issue is pending though in the meantime Ahmet updated the imaging specifications page for tidiness.
     • A /Discussion page now includes all the previous iterations and trials for the previous imaging test sessions.
     • The final procedure and specifications should be near completion.
     • The imaging settings were broken up into individual protocols and the corresponding tables will be filled in once the settings are acquired from the UH imaging facility.
   • Ahmet also updated the registration page, which focuses solely on solving for the transformations between the image and experimental coordinate frames.
     • Essentially, the needs are to develop a Python script that fits point clouds to a sphere (for MRI and Optotrak probing based coordinate systems).
     • Jason will add the divot to sphere center transformation, which is a fixed transformation based on the CAD geometry of the registration marker.
     • A method will be developed to account for this in the MRI registration as well as the Optotrak registration. Ahmet will follow up with Jason on the details.
   • Snehal updated a list of tissue testing accessories, fixtures, clamps and the relevant infrastructure.
   • The eye wash station is in process, the table has arrived, chairs have not arrived but are ordered.
   • The lab setup is progressing.
   • Pilot testing is still moving along, minus some of the lab setup.
   • A taller bath was made for tensile test and a metal base plate to glue the compression specimens down.
   • Indenters were also made yesterday and the spherical indenter may or may not be manufactured and included in the testing (TBD).
   • The confined compression base plate is pending but needed soon for testing.
   • Both of Elvis's specimens were delivered yesterday.
     • The plan is to finish one before Elvis leaves.
     • The specimens are “fairly young” with one female (46 yrs old) and one male (56 yrs old). Snehal and Elvis performed some preliminary tests last week.
     • The protocols appear to be working fine minus the “random” data points (it seems to be negative values of what is real) that show up periodically.

     • This only occurs in the displacement data. Snehal reached out to BioMomentum about this issue.

   • The tissue testing machine may report filtered data, which can induce a phase shift.
     • Ahmet collected data with the filter off.
     • The raw data should be collected at all times.
     • If a threshold type test is desired, the threshold value should be specified considering the resolution of the system.
   • Elvis updated the group on his medial meniscus testing.
     • Because the force values were quite small and resulted in a fair amount of noise.
     • Elvis thinks the results may be in the toe region, though a precompression value of 50 grams was applied.
     • Ahmet asked if the force transducer (load cell) could be calibrated to a lower range.
     • The meniscus loading data appears to be near the resolution of the transducer.

     • Various solutions were discussed including talking with BioMomentum about this issue.

     • Robb and Tara thought there may be a parameter in the config files that may help with this issue, which essentially acquires the data in a lower range of force values at the higher sampling resolution.
   • Summary: tensile testing appears to be working well.
     • The related specifications need to be populated so that there are no questions during the testing for Elvis.
     • Compression testing, and the related resolution issue, needs to be worked out.
     • One solution is the acquire larger meniscus specimens in order to apply higher loads.
     • This may be logistically challenging as the meniscus samples are difficult to acquire, especially if they're larger. This will be explored.
     • Elvis will update his protocol and Snehal will reflect this to the Open Knees specifications.
     • Related to Elvis's testing, the tissue adhesive was ordered and the image processing for specimen geometry measurements needs to be finished.
     • Elvis may need to change is protocol to confined/unconfined compression of prepared samples instead of bone-cartilage regional samples that are compressed with the indenter.
     • Snehal will update the specifications to reflect discussions on the image based tissue thickness measurements and ligament related updates, including protocols for previous trials.
     • Snehal will talk with Tony (prototype core) about the base plate for confined compression tests.
   • Jason and Robb will meet this week to finish the pressure measurement equilibration/calibration routine.
   • Regarding registration, Jason will write a report to summarize the patella registration issue (this should be included in the infrastructure page).
   • Craig probed points on the MRI of the patella registration maker.
   • Tara and Dylan uploaded documentation on robot control and execution reproducibility.
   • Last Friday Dylan and the visiting high school students did some testing on repeatability of the cameras, repeatability of probing a given point and creation of a world coordinate frame based on multiple probed points.
     • Minus creation of the world coordinate frame, the errors were quite small.
     • This may be a field of view issue and a report will follow to try and address this.
     • Tara is working on the gravity compensation issue.
     • The motor brake fix needs to be updated, as in the manufacturer will be contacted to find out when the new motors will be delivered.
   • Theoretically, the motors will arrive on June 3 (Robb looked in his email during the meeting).
   • The roadmap timeline will be updated by Ahmet. Theoretically, the schedule will be pushed back by three months.
2. Update on robotics maintenance for joint mechanical testing.
   • See above for the update.
3. Review of tissue testing specifications.
   • See above for the update.
4. Review of specimen preparation specifications.
   • The group needs to read this page individually. Next week we will go over this page all together and decide on the final action items.
   • Ahmet and Craig will meet to discuss incorporating post-processing into the cloud computing infrastructure. The next meeting with Stanford is in two weeks.
5. Decide immediate action items for the next meeting.
   • Immediate action items were assigned and approved on.
6. Other.
   • Ahmet will schedule bi-weekly with Craig and Jason about starting to be more organized about the modeling specifications.