Using extracorporeal circulation for cardiopulmonary bypass is the first step for the successful cardiac surgery, and the blood pump is the key component in extracorporeal circulation devices, the control and measurement of mechanical-fluid parameters such as flow rate and pressure are very important to guarantee the successful cardiac surgery. This paper reviews several control methods of the blood pump based on the flow rate/pressure, heart rate, ventricular work and blood assist index, and also discusses the direct and indirect measurements of the flow rate and pressure. This review concludes with the main possible trends for the further development of the blood pump control and testing methods.
Equipment Design ; Extracorporeal Circulation ; instrumentation ; Heart-Assist Devices

Objective:To investigate the clinical, pathological, and prognostic characteristics of luminal B breast cancer patients with diabetes. Methods:A total of 479 luminal B breast cancer patients with diabetes and 3 392 luminal B breast cancer patients without diabetes who were treated between January 2002 and December 2006 were enrolled in this study. The luminal B breast cancer patients were further divided into the luminal B (high ki67) and luminal B (Her-2/neu+) subgroups. Each subgroup was further grouped into metformin-treated, non-metformin-treated, and non-diabetic groups. The indicators included cancer-specific mortality, clinical, pathological stage, lymph node status, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy. The survival analysis of each group was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the significance was determined using the logrank test. Cox proportional hazard model was used to examine the correlation between each factor and the prognosis. Results:The Kaplan-Meier analysis results revealed that the breast cancer mortality rates in the metformin-treated, non-metformin-treated, and non-diabetic groups were significantly different in both luminal B (high ki67) and luminal B (Her-2/neu+) subgroups (logrank test:P<0.001, P=0.035), and the respective five-year survival rates were 93.5%, 81%, and 89%for the luminal B (high ki67) subgroup and 84%, 77%, and 83%for the luminal B (Her-2/neu+) subgroup. The Cox multifactorial regression analysis results showed that compared with the metformin-treated group, the non-metformin-treated group was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality (P<0.001, P=0.044) in the two subgroups. Meanwhile, the non-diabetic group was associated with an increased risk of mortality (P=0.038) in the luminal B (high ki67) subgroup only. The percentage of elderly (P<0.001), menopausal (P<0.001), obese (P<0.001), and patients with cardio-cerebrovascular complications (P<0.001) tended to be higher in the metformin-treated and non-metformin-treated groups than in the diabetic group. Moreover, the metformin-and non-metformin-treated groups in the luminal B (high ki67) subgroup were associated with high percentages of T3/4 pathological stage (P<0.001), lymph node metastasis (P=0.001). The non-metformin-treated group was associated with a lower percentage of invasive ductal carcinoma (P=0.001) compared with the other two groups. Conclusion:The non-metformin-treated group resulted in worse clinical outcomes in both subgroups compared with the metformin-treated group. Meanwhile, the non-diabetic group resulted in the worst prognosis among the three groups in the luminal B (high ki67) subgroup. These findings suggest that the choice of different anti-diabetic drugs may influence the prognosis of luminal B breast cancer patients with diabetes.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the additive effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) plus traditional radiotherapy (RT) for patients with breast cancer and chest wall recurrence. METHODS: A total of 40 patients with recurrent breast cancer were prospectively randomized to receive RT alone (group A, n=20) or PDT and RT in combination (group B, n=20). Traditional RT at a dose of 50 Gy was delivered in 25 fractions with or without exposure to 5-aminolevulinic acid and red light as PDT. RESULTS: The response rates were not statistically different between the groups, but more patients achieved a complete response (CR) in group B (50%) than in group A (20%). The median time to CR in group B was significantly shorter than that in group A (109.6 days vs. 175.2 days, p=0.001). Adverse event profiles were not different between the groups. CONCLUSION: An additive antitumor effect is demonstrated with additional PDT to RT. This combination therapy might reduce the duration of exposure to RT, but further investigation is warranted.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Photochemotherapy* ; Prospective Studies ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence* ; Thoracic Wall*