Related Hardware Research Articles

A Total Dose Irradiation Test System

In this paper, a set of generalized test system for total dose irradiation test is designed. Through the establishment of related hardware platform and related test chip according to the adaptation requirements, the device can be observed in real time under the radiation environment. The total dose test was irradiated with the 60Co source, and it worked normally when different total doses were selected. In this article, a unit library test chip based on 130nm SOI technology is selected for testing. During the test, the system works stably and functions normally.

Intelligent Security Monitoring System Based on RISC-V SoC

With the development of the economy and society, the demand for social security and stability increases. However, traditional security systems rely too much on human resources and are affected by uncontrollable community security factors. An intelligent security monitoring system can overcome the limitations of traditional systems and save human resources, contributing to public security. To build this system, a RISC-V SoC is first designed in this paper and implemented on the Nexys-Video Artix-7 FPGA. Then, the Linux operating system is transplanted and successfully run. Meanwhile, the driver of related hardware devices is designed independently. After that, three OpenCV-based object detection models including YOLO (You Only Look Once), Haar (Haar-like features), and LBP (Local Binary Pattern) are compared, and the LBP model is chosen to design applications. Finally, the processing speed of 1.25 s per frame is realized to detect and track moving objects. To sum up, we build an intelligent security monitoring system with real-time detection, tracking, and identification functions through hardware and software collaborative design. This paper also proposes a video downsampling technique. Based on this technique, the BRAM resource usage on the hardware side is reduced by 50% and the amount of pixel data that needs to be processed on the software side is reduced by 75%. A video downsampling technology is also proposed in this paper to achieve better video display effects under limited hardware resources. It provides conditions for future function expansion and improves the models’ processing speed. Additionally, it reduces the run time of the application and improves the system performance.

Intelligent Drying Rack System based on Internet of Things

With the innovation and development of science and technology, the convenience and intelligence of home life has become a trend. This intelligent drying rack system based on the Internet of Things uses the OneNET cloud platform as the information port, and selects the STM32F103C8T6 single-chip microcomputer as the main control chip to read, judge and output the execution signal from the signal collected by the sensor. The smart drying rack can be operated manually and remotely through the touch screen, related hardware circuits and mobile phone APP, which can control the extension and recycling of the clothes drying rod, and the automatic drying and storage of clothes. It is convenient to use and improves the intelligent level of the drying rack. The problem that the drying rack cannot dry the wet clothes and needs to be stored manually is solved.

A novel robot-assisted electrical impedance scanning system for subsurface object detection

Submerged elements, such as cracks inside concrete material or hidden pathological tissue, can potentially threaten safety and health. Thus, the detection of abnormal objects internally is of importance and frequently required. In this study, we propose a novel electrical impedance measurement method with the assistance of a robotic system. Specifically, the proposed measurement method is able to perform subsurface object detection effectively, noninvasively, flexibly and autonomously. The measurement system is developed based on a tripolar impedance sensing configuration. Specifically, a current-source electrode and a voltage-measurement electrode are attached to different robots, and directed to a series of preset positions on the object’s surface. By injecting current into the object and measuring voltages around the current source, the apparent resistivity of the internal structure of the object can be calculated using the proposed algorithm. The related circuit hardware and autonomous control strategy are developed. Subsequently, the proposed system is evaluated through a series of water tank experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can detect a subsurface heterogeneous object effectively and efficiently. In addition, the reconstructed results allow us to discriminate the location of the subsurface object with about 90% accuracy.

Research and design of VR-based mechanical simulation interaction and network experiment platform

This article takes mechanical basic experimental courses as the research object, and makes full use of virtual simulation, computer graphics, Internet and other technologies to innovate experimental teaching content and methods. First, construct a mechanical basic experiment teaching system based on four levels: guided cognition, basic experiment, comprehensive design experiment and research and innovation experiment. Then, combined with the existing virtual simulation related hardware equipment of the college, a software and hardware virtual experiment platform integrating virtual 3D display and interaction is built. Finally, with the help of Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and network technology, a Web-based 3D virtual experiment platform is designed. Through the research of this article, a basic mechanical experiment system can be constructed, the experimental teaching training program can be improved, and the engineering practice education level can be further improved. The virtual reality (VR) experiment platform proposed in this paper can improve existing teaching methods, expand experiment content, solve problems such as insufficient educational resources, and improve students’ interest and initiative in learning. The research of the network virtual p latform enables students to break through the limitations of time and space, and realize different levels of mechanical experimental courses, such as online learning and hands-on operation of guided cognition, basic experiments, comprehensive design experiments, etc.

A facility for the research, development, and translation of advanced technologies for ion-beam therapies

This article describes the updated GSI radiotherapy research facility (Cave M) located at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. This facility was upgraded by modernizing the beamline that supported a pilot project in carbon ion cancer therapy in Europe from 1997 to 2008. Descriptions are provided of the modernized beamline, related hardware components and treatment delivery system. The performance specifications and general characteristics for each major component are described, along with example pre-clinical test results of selected components. These upgrades to Cave M allow for investigating novel therapy methods. The radiotherapy research facility is located on a beamline of the heavy ion synchrotron (Schwer-Ionen-Synchrotron, or SIS-18) accelerator complex, capable of delivering 0.1 to 2 GeV/u charged particle beams, ranging from protons to uranium. This beamline contains components for fast beam gating, aborting, focusing, scanning, monitoring, and shifting the range of the beam. The beam scanning magnets, position detectors, and beam monitors are described, along with tests of functionality and performance. A dose delivery system (DDS) was adapted from a clinical unit at the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO), Pavia, Italy, and consists of modular real-time hardware and software. The DDS was modified to enable research on adaptively-managed patient motion through the use of libraries of 4D-optimized radiation treatment plans, an unsolved problem of importance for treating moving tumors. The system is modular and is designed to support future research studies, such as high dose rate (Flash) radiotherapy and radioactive ion beams. A series of validation tests confirmed the functionality and performance of various key components and systems. For example, an end-to-end test revealed that dosimetric spatial homogeneity of over 95% was achieved for square treatment fields. More generally, all performance characteristics that were tested satisfied anticipated clinical requirements.

E-sports organizations with franchised networks: formalization of technological and economic development based on optimal operation and upgrade of the hardware

The paper focuses on the priority given to the technological and economic development of e-sports organizations with franchised networks. Attention is paid to the specificity of the process of timely upgrading of e-sports hardware, which involves the upgrading and introduction of new, more sophisticated and advanced gaming and other devices, which determines the number of e-sports disciplines and available e-sports events for the е-sports arena. The success of franchising networks depends on the quantity of the c-sports hardware, which should be similar to the hardware used by the main arena in order to ensure the functionality of a well-structured state-of-the-art training process for e-sport athletes. The purpose of the study is to present a basis for the technological and economic development of e-sports organizations with a franchising network within the formalized system in terms of finding optimal solutions to the problem of hardware upgrades. The study presents a model of technological and economic development of all e-sports organizations with franchised networks as а content area, posing the rules of operation, regulating the process of hardware upgrades and focusing on the sustainability of development. Dynamic programming methods based on Bellman’s equations and the formalization of the problem of hardware replacement through graphic notations, cloud computing in the AnyLogic environment are used to identify and illustrate the features of such solutions. The result of the research is a description of technological development of e-sports organizations with a franchise network with the use of a model that approximates the optimal way of operation and upgrade of related hardware. This development illustrates the optimal way of operation and hardware upgrade of Blizzard Arena and Overwatch League, represented by participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Korea and Ukraine. The franchised Overwatch League includes the main arena (Blizzard Arena), as well as Florida Mayhem Club (Miami-Orlando, USA), New York Excelsior Club (New York, USA), London Spitfire Club (London, UK), Vault Club 15 (Kyiv, Ukraine), Immortals Club (Los Angeles, USA), NRG E-sports Club (Berlin, Germany), Misfits Club (Seoul, South Korea), PS4 Training Base (Beijing, China) and Xbox One Training Base (Paris, France). According to the obtained data, the formalization of the technological and economic development of Blizzard Arena suggests a solution to the problem of finding an optimal strategy relevant to optimization of hardware up to the moment of its transfer to the franchised network. Such formalization is highly relevant. They rely on the possible state of the system proposed in our research. That system state identifies the functional Bellman equations. Naturally, emerges a possibility to significantly reduce investment in the e-sports environment of the main arena and the franchise while controlling the quality and functionality of e-sports hardware. The organizations’ focus on two-stage upgrades will reduce investment in major hardware. The study illustrates the formalization of the techno-economic development of the Blizzard Arena through a two-stage upgrade of the Aerocool Advanced Technologies franchise (primary franchise - from producer, secondary franchise - from franchise Blizzard Arena operator). Based on the specific features of the Bellman equations, the development of the Blizzard Arena must take into account the model which determines the feasibility of hardware transferring to a franchised network during the third period of operation, where it operated as long as franchisees enter the maximum profit area. When using the Bellman equations, we suggest that the arena focus on the moment when the function values will correspond to the replacement state of the hardware and the franchise member on the stability of the environment. The formalization of the technical development will make it possible to orient the e-sport organizations with franchised networks to search for conditions sufficient for optimal operation and upgrade of their hardware. As a result, there will appear an optimized system with a content area, which will provide a stable environment for e-sports events at the arena and athletes’ training in franchise clubs.

A static beam delivery device for fast scanning proton arc-therapy

Arc-therapy is a dose delivery technique regularly applied in photon radiation therapy, and is currently subject of great interest for proton therapy as well. In this technique, proton beams are aimed at a tumor from different continuous ranges of incident directions (so called ‘arcs’). This technique can potentially yield a better dose conformity around the tumor and a very low dose in the surrounding healthy tissue. Currently, proton-arc therapy is performed by rotating a proton gantry around the patient, adapting the normally used dose-delivery method to the arc-specific motion of the gantry. Here we present first results from a feasibility study of the conceptual design of a new static fast beam delivery device/system for proton-arc therapy, which could be used instead of a gantry. In this novel concept, the incident angle of proton beams can be set rapidly by only changing field strengths of small magnets. This device eliminates the motion of the heavy gantry and related hardware. Therefore, a reduction of the total treatment time is expected. In the feasibility study presented here, we concentrate on the concept of the beam transport. Based on several simple, but realistic assumptions and approximations, proton tracking calculations were performed in a 3D magnetic field map, to calculate the beam transport in this device and to investigate and address several beam-optics challenges. We propose and simulate corresponding solutions and discuss their outcomes. To enable the implementation of some usually applied techniques in proton therapy, such as pencil beam scanning, energy modulation and beam shaping, we present and discuss our proposals. Here we present the concept of a new idea to perform fast proton arc-scanning and we report on first results of a feasibility study. Based on these results, we propose several options and next steps in the design.

Development of IoT Module with AI Function Using STM32 Chip

The application of Internet of Things (IoT) has been widely used in our lives with the advancement of related software and hardware technologies. In order to make these IoT modules more intelligent, many IoT modules have begun to incorporate artificial intelligence algorithms. Therefore, this paper develops IoT module with STM32 chip as main controller. This module uses fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy-AHP) and adaptive fusion method (AFM) to improve the correctness and self-learning ability of the sensor. In terms of communication, the IoT module has Ethernet, Wi-Fi, LoRa, etc. communication interfaces. We also built a web server on this module, so the IoT module can operate directly in the browser. Finally, we developed a monitoring system. Through this monitoring system, multiple IoT modules can be constructed into a sensor network. This monitoring system can also use same algorithm to correct and isolate data from modules or sensors in the network to make this module more intelligent and applicable in different areas.

Injecting Reliable Radio Frequency Fingerprints Using Metasurface for the Internet of Things

In Internet of Things, where billions of devices with limited resources are communicating with each other, security has become a major stumbling block affecting the progress of this technology. Existing authentication schemes based on digital signatures have overhead costs associated with them in terms of computation time, battery power, bandwidth, memory, and related hardware costs. Radio frequency fingerprint (RFF), utilizing the unique device-based information, can be a promising solution for IoT. However, traditional RFFs have become obsolete because of low reliability and reduced user capability. Our proposed solution, Metasurface RF-Fingerprinting Injection (MeRFFI), is to inject a carefully-designed radio frequency fingerprint into the wireless physical layer that can increase the security of a stationary IoT device with minimal overhead. The injection of fingerprint is implemented using a low cost metasurface developed and fabricated in our lab, which is designed to make small but detectable perturbations in the specific frequency band in which the IoT devices are communicating. We have conducted comprehensive system evaluations including distance, orientation, multiple channels where the feasibility, effectiveness, and reliability of these fingerprints are validated. The proposed MeRFFI system can be easily integrated into the existing authentication schemes. The security vulnerabilities are analyzed for some of the most threatening wireless physical layer-based attacks.

Incidence of Sacroiliac Screw Implant Pain and Results of Screw Removal

Introduction: Percutaneous sacroiliac(SI) screw fixation of pelvic fractures has become commonplace. Routine removal of SI screws has been recommended by some physicians while others remove only symptomatic implants citing risks associated with this procedure. Few publications exist documenting the incidence of SI screw related hardware pain, rates of SI screw removal, the results of implant removal and the risks and complications associated with this procedure. Our objective is to document the incidence and clinical impact of symptomatic sacroiliac drew removal at a community level II trauma centers over a 12-year period. Methods: Operative records were queried to identify 250 patients with pelvic ring injuries treated with SI screw placement at our institution. Records were analyzed to identify fracture classification, implant removal, reason for implant removal, analogue pain scales before and after implant removal and complications after implant removal. Results: During the 12 year study period from 2006-2018, 300 posterior pelvic ring screws were placed in 250 patients. 46/250 (18.4%) patients underwent implant removal, accounting for 66 screws. 43 patients cited painful hardware as the reason for removal and 3 patients cited infection. Average time to removal was 6.7 months. Mean analog pain scales were 4.91 and 0.51 before and after removal respectively. No intra-operative or post-operative complications were encountered. All patients reported improvement in pain with screw removal Conclusions: Postoperative pain following SI screw placement attributed to retained implant occurs in 18% of patients. Despite the previously documented proximity of neuromuscular structures, no intra-operative or postoperative complications were observed in patients who underwent screw removal. All patients reported significant relief of symptoms following implant removal. In patients experiencing pain following SI screw placement, screw removal 6 months following initial fixation is a safe and effective procedure.

Design of the HEPS booster lattice

The high energy photon source (HEPS) is a diffraction-limited storage ring light source being built in China. Along with the deeper studies of booster and the evolution of the lattice design and injection scheme of the storage ring, four versions of the booster lattices have been proposed from the project proposal stage. Unlike the design of the storage ring, in the booster design, more effort was made to realize stable and reliable operation rather than advanced performance. A FODO structure lattice and the “high-energy accumulation” scheme was adopted in the HEPS booster design. To find the ultimate performance of the lattice, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) were used to optimize the emittance and the dynamic aperture. In the latest booster lattice design, the emittance was reduced to 16.3 nm rad. At the same time, the single-bunch charge limit was increased by minimizing the average vertical beta function and reducing the chromaticity. Through multi iterations with the hardware system, the current lattice was basically frozen and can be used as a basis for related physics studies, hardware and engineering design of the booster. In the future, more detailed physical studies will be performed based on this lattice.

Structured illumination microscopy based on asymmetric three-beam interference

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is a rapidly developing super-resolution technology. It has been widely used in various application fields of biomedicine due to its excellent two- and three-dimensional imaging capabilities. Furthermore, faster three-dimensional imaging methods are required to help enable more research-oriented living cell imaging. In this paper, a fast and sensitive three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy based on asymmetric three-beam interference is proposed. An innovative time-series acquisition method is employed to halve the time required to obtain each raw image. A segmented half-wave plate as a substantial linear polarization modulation method is applied to the three-dimensional SIM system for the first time. Although it needs to acquire 21 raw images instead of 15 to reconstruct one super-resolution image, the SIM setup proposed in this paper is 30% faster than the traditional spatial light modulator-SIM (SLM-SIM) in imaging each super-resolution image. The related theoretical derivation, hardware system, and verification experiment are elaborated in this paper. The stable and fast 3D super-resolution imaging method proposed in this paper is of great significance to the research of organelle interaction, intercellular communication, and other biomedical fields.

Research on University Energy Environmental Protection Monitoring System Based on Computer Network Technology

The issue of campus energy and environment has become one of our increasing concerns. Environmental issues have become an important assessment index restricting the development of schools and students’ self-improvement. Only the sustainable development of the environment can ensure the smooth implementation of school education. For this reason, the development of an efficient energy environment monitoring system based on computer networks is imperative. Based on this research background, the paper analyses the needs of an efficient micro-energy environment monitoring system, and discusses the functions of the monitoring system and related hardware and software. Finally, the system was tested to verify the feasibility of the system.

Simultaneous measurement of target distance and azimuth in four quadrant detection

Realize the synchronous solution of target azimuth information and distance information in narrow pulse laser high-speed detection process to improve the time efficiency of detection system. A high-speed analog-to-digital (A/D) sampling chip, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and related hardware circuit are used to establish a high-speed sampling and signal processing hardware system by performing related program configuration on each chip. Related algorithms such as pulse laser ranging method and azimuth resolution method based on four-quadrant detector are applied. At the same time, the denoising method based on Gauss white noise is adopted. Related simulation experiments and measured experiments are carried out. The simulation and experimental results show that the system realizes the synchronous solution of target azimuth information and distance information during the narrow pulse laser high-speed detection process, in which the distance error is not more than 1% and the azimuth error is not more than 5% and improve resource utilization rate.

Intelligent management of hybrid energy systems for techno-economic performances maximisation

The great diffusion of renewable energy sources in the latest decades led to a pervasive diffusion of hybrid energy systems (HESs), in which several sources of energy are combined to fulfil the user demand. As the number of HES sources and related hardware components raise, the number of interconnections between these latter increases more than proportionately. Such condition determines high HES complexity, that can be exploited to achieve greater overall efficiency. This research deals with the HES designed to meet the electricity load required by a single user. Furthermore, the considered HESs leverage single or multiple components in charge of electricity production (e.g. PV module, wind turbine, etc.) a battery energy storage system (BES) and a connection with the national grid that allows the electricity purchase and sale processes. A two-step approach is proposed to deal firstly with the HES sizing, by exploiting an iterative method to identify the optimal size of each energy component. The second step consists in the energy flows management, i.e. the hourly dispatching between the HES components. Indeed, two different strategies are proposed to intelligently manage the hourly electricity flows. On the one hand, the proposed heuristic algorithm (HA) aims to minimize the purchased energy from grid imposing a constant dispatching of the electricity flows according to the amount of produced energy, the state of charge of the BES and the user request. On the other hand, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model leverages the short-time forecasts of environmental parameters, energy tariffs, and load request to optimise in real-time the electricity trade process from an economic point of view. The overall approach, including the comparison between the HA and the MILP, has been tested and validated on several case studies, concerning specific HES architectures, a range of European countries, both domestic and non-domestic users as well as multiple values of energy request. The results justify the HES installation in all the considered case studies, leading to an economic saving greater than 35% compared to electricity purchase from grid uniquely. However, the MILP adoption for the management of energy flows is recommended only for HESs fuelled by multiple energy sources.

Internet of Things (IoT) to Study the Wild Life: A Review

: Internet of Things (IOT) has emerged as an efficient technical support for the biological researchers. Present study has been focused on four applications of IOT used for wildlife monitoring; location tracking, habitat, in situ observation, and behavioral studies. IOT based monitoring unit for wildlife studies mainly includes sensing, communication, software and relative hardware components.

EDSSA: An Encoder-Decoder Semantic Segmentation Networks Accelerator on OpenCL-Based FPGA Platform

Visual semantic segmentation, which is represented by the semantic segmentation network, has been widely used in many fields, such as intelligent robots, security, and autonomous driving. However, these Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based networks have high requirements for computing resources and programmability for hardware platforms. For embedded platforms and terminal devices in particular, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-based computing platforms cannot meet these requirements in terms of size and power consumption. In contrast, the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based hardware system not only has flexible programmability and high embeddability, but can also meet lower power consumption requirements, which make it an appropriate solution for semantic segmentation on terminal devices. In this paper, we demonstrate EDSSA—an Encoder-Decoder semantic segmentation networks accelerator architecture which can be implemented with flexible parameter configurations and hardware resources on the FPGA platforms that support Open Computing Language (OpenCL) development. We introduce the related technologies, architecture design, algorithm optimization, and hardware implementation of the Encoder-Decoder semantic segmentation network SegNet as an example, and undertake a performance evaluation. Using an Intel Arria-10 GX1150 platform for evaluation, our work achieves a throughput higher than 432.8 GOP/s with power consumption of about 20 W, which is a 1.2× times improvement the energy-efficiency ratio compared to a high-performance GPU.

Risk Factors for Arthrofibrosis in Tibial Spine Fractures: A National 10-Site Multicenter Study

Objectives:To identify risk factors for developing arthrofibrosis after TSF treatment.Methods:This was a retrospective, multi-center study across ten institutions of 448 patients <25 years old who presented to care with a tibial spine fracture between 1/2000 and 2/2019. Patient records were reviewed for a multitude of pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative characteristics. Patients were then separated into two cohorts based on if they suffered from post-treatment arthrofibrosis.Results:Chart review demonstrated that 43 (9.6%) of the patients suffered from post-treatment arthrofibrosis. There were no demographic differences observed between the two groups. However, based on MRIs at the time of injury, distal femoral and proximal tibial growth plates were more frequently closed in the arthrofibrosis group (17.6% vs 4.4%, p=0.023 for both comparisons). Additionally, there was no difference in Meyers & McKeever (MM) classification (p=0.597). All arthrofibrosis patients received operative treatment (p=0.003), though there was no difference in fixation technique (p=0.734). Intraoperatively, a higher number of screws were used in the arthrofibrosis group (p=0.002) with the placement of hardware more likely to be epiphyseal (p=0.007). Other operative parameters including number of sutures were not different. Post-operatively, arthrofibrosis patients were more likely to have been immobilized in a cast (p<0.001) with no difference observed for weight-bearing status. After multivariate regression, screw number (OR 8.9, CI 1.9-41.7, p=0.005) and immobilization in a cast (OR 7.8, CI 1.0-60.4, p=0.049) remained significant predictors of post-treatment arthrofibrosis.Conclusion:This serves as the largest study of tibial spine fractures to analyze risk factors for the development of post-treatment arthrofibrosis. Our study demonstrates that pre-operative factors were largely similar between groups, but that intra-operative decisions, including the number of screws used for fixation and placement of hardware in relation to the physis, were significant predictors of post-treatment arthrofibrosis. These findings may influence operative decision-making in tibial spine fracture patients. Additionally, post-operative immobilization in a cast should be avoided given the high risk of arthrofibrosis.Table 1.Characteristics of patients with post-operative arthrofibrosis Arthrofibrosis (N=43) No Arthrofibrosis (N=405) P-value Demographic Age (years)11.112.00.065Male: Female ration24:19282:1230.064BMI20.220.40.824 Injury Sports-related (%)13 (30.2)205 (50.4) 0.012 MM classification III/IV20 (64.5)134 (59.6)0.597Concomitant ACL injury (%)5 (22.7)46 (21.6)0.902Delay to surgery (days)24.224.30.989 Operative Received surgery (%)43 (100.0)325 (78.5) 0.003 Operative time (min)142.0123.90.209Treatment type (%) ARIF36 (83.7)269 (82.8)0.734ORIF7 (16.3)45 (13.8) Screws (%)22 (51.2)114 (35.5) 0.046 Number of Screws1.81.4 0.002 Screw/Suture Placement (%) 0.005 Transphyseal5 (17.9)94 (44.5) 0.007 Epiphyseal23 (82.1)117 (55.5) Post-operative 41 (97.6)305 (97.8) Immobilized21 (51.2)72 (23.7)0.955Cast immobilization16 (39.0)208 (68.2) <0.001 Non-weightbearing11 (34.4)72 (25.4)0.277

RISK FACTORS FOR ARTHROFIBROSIS IN TIBIAL SPINE FRACTURES: A NATIONAL 10-SITE MULTICENTER STUDY

Background:Tibial spine fractures are common pediatric injuries with similar mechanism of injury to anterior cruciate ligament tears. Post-operative arthrofibrosis remains the most common complication following treatment of this injury, and many patients require subsequent manipulation under anesthesia. Several prior studies have examined risk factors for the development of arthrofibrosis, but with small patient populations and varying reported predictors. Therefore, our objective was to identify risk factors for arthrofibrosis in the largest known cohort of pediatric tibial spine patients.Hypothesis/Purpose:Identify risk factors for developing arthrofibrosis after TSF treatment.Methods:This was a retrospective, multi-center study across ten institutions of 448 patients <25 years old who presented to care with a tibial spine fracture between 1/2000 and 2/2019. Patient records were reviewed for a multitude of pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative characteristics. Patients were then separated into two cohorts based on if they suffered from post-treatment arthrofibrosis.Results:Chart review demonstrated that 43 (9.6%) of the patients suffered from post-treatment arthrofibrosis. There were no demographic differences observed between the two groups. However, based on MRIs at the time of injury, distal femoral and proximal tibial growth plates were more frequently closed in the arthrofibrosis group (17.6% vs 4.4%, p=0.023 for both comparisons). Additionally, there was no difference in Meyers & McKeever (MM) classification (p=0.597). All arthrofibrosis patients received operative treatment (p=0.003), though there was no difference in fixation technique (p=0.734). Intraoperatively, a higher number of screws were used in the arthrofibrosis group (p=0.002) with the placement of hardware more likely to be epiphyseal (p=0.007). Other operative parameters including number of sutures were not different. Post-operatively, arthrofibrosis patients were more likely to have been immobilized in a cast (p<0.001) with no difference observed for weight-bearing status. After multivariate regression, screw number (OR 8.9, CI 1.9-41.7, p=0.005) and immobilization in a cast (OR 7.8, CI 1.0-60.4, p=0.049) remained significant predictors of post-treatment arthrofibrosis.Conclusion:This serves as the largest study of tibial spine fractures to analyze risk factors for the development of post-treatment arthrofibrosis. Our study demonstrates that pre-operative factors were largely similar between groups, but that intra-operative decisions, including the number of screws used for fixation and placement of hardware in relation to the physis, were significant predictors of post-treatment arthrofibrosis. These findings may influence operative decision-making in tibial spine fracture patients. Additionally, post-operative immobilization in a cast should be avoided given the high risk of arthrofibrosis.Table 1.Characteristics of patients with post-operative arthrofibrosis Arthrofibrosis (N=43)No Arthrofibrosis (N=405)P-valueDemographicAge (years)Male: Female ratioBMI11.124:1920.212.0282:12320.40.0650.0640.824InjurySports-related (%)MM classification III/IVConcomitant ACL injury (%)Delay to surgery (days)13 (30.2)20 (64.5)5 (22.7)24.2205 (50.4)134 (59.6)46 (21.6)24.3 0.0120.5970.9020.989OperativeReceived surgery (%)Operative time (min)Treatment type (%)ARIFORIFScrews (%)Number of ScrewsScrew/Suture Placement (%)TransphysealEpiphyseal43 (100.0)142.0 36 (83.7)7 (16.3)22 (51.2)1.8 5 (17.9)23 (82.1)325 (78.5)123.9 269 (82.8)45 (13.8)114 (35.5)1.4 94 (44.5)117 (55.5) 0.0030.209 0.734 0.0460.0020.0050.007Post-operativeImmobilizedCast immobilizationNon-weightbearing41 (97.6)21 (51.2)16 (39.0)11 (34.4)305 (97.8)72 (23.7)208 (68.2)72 (25.4) 0.955<0.0010.277