Mahrous, A. A., M. H. Mousa, and S. M. Elbasiouny, The Mechanistic Basis for Successful Spinal Cord Stimulation to Generate Steady Motor Outputs, , vol. 13, pp. 359, 2019. AbstractWebsite

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is a promising rehabilitation intervention to restore/augment motor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). Combining sensory feedback with stimulation of remaining motor circuits has been shown to be a prerequisite for the functional improvement of SCI patients. However, little is known about the cellular mechanisms potentially underlying this functional benefit in the injured spinal cord. Here, we combine computer simulations with an isolated whole-tissue adult mouse spinal cord preparation to examine synaptic, cellular, and system potentials measured from single motoneurons and ventral roots. The stimulation protocol included separate and combined activation of the sensory inputs (evoked by dorsal root stimulation) and motor inputs (evoked by stimulation of spinal cord tissue) at different frequencies, intensities, and neuromodulatory states. Our data show that, while sensory inputs exhibit short-term depression in response to a train of stimulation, motor inputs exhibit short-term facilitation. However, the concurrent activation of both inputs elicits a stronger and steadier motor output. This effect is enhanced by the application of pharmacological neuromodulators. Furthermore, sensorimotor excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) summate sublinearly (i.e., their combination produces an excitatory potential smaller than the sum of the excitatory potentials they would individually produce). However, ventral root compound action potentials (CoAPs) summate supralinearly generating much higher outputs. Computer simulations revealed that the contrasting summation and disproportionality in plasticity between the excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and CoAPs result from the motoneuronal firing threshold acting as an amplitude-selective filter. Together, these results provide the mechanistic basis for the cellular processes contributing to the generation of steady motor outputs using spinal stimulation. This data has great potential to guide the design of more effective stimulation protocols in SCI patients.

Elbasiouny, S. M., and M. H. Mousa, "Morphologically Detailed Cellular and Pool Motoneuron Models", Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience, New York, NY, Springer New York, pp. 1 - 6, 2020. Abstract
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Data Structure and Algorithms

Semester: 
Spring

Computer Vision

Semester: 
Spring
Elbially, M. S., M. S. Ahmed, Y. M. Kadah, F. S. Botros, F. A. Ali, and M. H. Abdelgawwad, "Hand-Held Computer Aided Diagnosis System with Application in Mammography", Radio Science Conference (NRSC), 2013 30th National , 16 April , 2013. Abstract

In the recent decades, Egypt has witnessed an increase in the number of mammogram scans, raising the need for cheap and portable systems for computer aided diagnosis (CAD) to reduce examination cost and time which can be achieved through embedded systems. In this work, we introduce an early prototype of a low-cost high-performance hand-held CAD system with an application in diagnosingabnormalities in mammography which can be extended in the future for other modalities such as ultrasound imaging. For this application, we used the BeagleBoard-xM which is known for its high performance andequipped with many peripherals. Specifications of the system are described and the results are presented including the diagnostic performance of the CAD system and the comparison between the computational performance of a reference PC and the new embedded system. The new system has the potential for allowing such high technology to be available at low cost thus providing cost-effective healthcare.

Tourism