Introduction:
High impact respiratory conditions are common amongst preterm infants. Measuring the electromyogram of the diaphragm (dEMG) is a very promising technique to accurately measure respiratory state. However, the currently used Ag/AgCl electrodes are reported to be big and thick, making them less suitable to measure dEMG in preterm infants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to create a prototype for a thin, flexible electrode that could measure dEMG in preterm infants with at least the same signal quality as the currently used Ag/AgCl electrode.
Methods:
To do so, design requirements and wishes were set. Literature and three tests were used to assess whether a certain prototype met the design requirements. If one of the design requirements was not met, an iteration cycle was started and the prototype was redesigned. With the final version of the prototype, a proof of principle test was performed, where dEMG measurements were conducted on a healthy female adult using the prototype and the standard Ag/AgCl electrodes simultaneously.
Results:
The final design was created from two layers of Shieldit conductive fabric ironed onto cotton and one insulating layer of TPU. These layers were connected to a shielded cable by weaving the copper wire through the fabric.
Ultimately, not all design requirements were met. The frequency plot of the final prototype still showed a peak at 50 Hz, indicating insufficient shielding from electromagnetic interference. However, the final prototype was indeed dry, thinner, and more flexible than the Ag/AgCl electrode. The RMSE value for the prototype (0,5984 mV) was smaller than that for the Ag/AgCl electrode (0,5998 mV), although the opposite was true for the SD (prototype: 0,1031 mV, Ag/AgCl: 0,0316 mV). In addition, it was proven that the final prototype could be used to measure dEMG in healthy adults. The breathing frequency measured by the final prototype was equal to the breathing frequency measured by the Ag/AgCl electrode, whilst showing no significant difference in amplitude of the peaks of the breathing curve (p = 0,0830).
Discussion:
Design improvements could be made by eliminating the 50 Hz peak, decreasing diameter even further, creating a new version where the cable could pivot around the electrode or exploring wireless options.
Conclusion:
In this paper, it has been proven that a textile prototype is well capable of measuring dEMG in humans and offers several improvements over the Ag/AgCl electrode.

3D Printing is an emerging manufacturing technology that is in a research and prototyping stage in the construction industry. This research presents a governance framework for construction projects in which large scale freeform 3D printing is applied, based on empirical data of 7 case studies. The observed governance in the case studies is a combination of existing governance models for construction projects, product design and innovation. Traditional project governance was found to be invalid for 3D printed objects. For these objects a product design approach is required. Based on the best practices and challenges observed in the case studies, governance structures were designed for two types of projects: construction projects in which 3D printed components are applied, and a building in which the majority is 3D printed. Both scenario's will be competitive with traditional practice for specific projects and/or components, and are expected to be introduced in the construction industry in the medium term future (2-5 years).

‘Agile1’ or ‘Agility’ currently is a popular expression within project management. Agile project management is a method to meet the ever-changing needs and requirements throughout a project. An agile approach requires small multi-disciplinary development teams, working iteratively and in close collaboration with the client. This project management approach is developed in the information technology (IT) industry in the 1990’s. Since then, agile gets more and more attention from different industries; the construction industry is no exception. More and more guidelines and tools appear in literature to manage projects in an agile manner. Yet, contractual guidelines suited for an agile approach in construction industry are currently missing. Ample research has been conducted on contracts for projects that use conventional project management, like the ‘waterfall approach’. But due to a different management style, agile project management may not be compatible with these existing construction contracts. This gap in knowledge resulted in the following research question. How to effectively enable agile project management through construction contracts? The scope of this research is the front-end development phase of construction projects between client – engineer, consultant or architect (hereafter referred to as supplier). The following activities were conducted to find an answer to the research question: literature review, exploratory interviews, development of an agile contract proposal, validation and synthesis of the findings.