| 1. |
- Nydahl, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Building Refurbishment from a Life Cycle Perspective - An Environmental Return on Investment Approach
- 2018
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Ingår i: Cold Climate HVAC 2018. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030006617 - 9783030006624 ; , s. 253-263
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study applies an environmental return on investment approach to evaluate building refurbishment from a life cycle perspective. The used methodology focuses on the changes introduced by refurbishment, i.e. added embodied environmental impact and changed operational environmental impact, from a life cycle perspective with the technical service life of the refurbishment measure as a time limit. The methodology is applied to a case study in Umeå, located 455 km south of the Arctic Circle, with a unique set of data on reduction in operational energy. The result show the environmental impact, energy (Joule) and GWP (CO2-eq), in terms of environmental return on investment of the case study refurbishment measures. The case study shows that the methodology is a useable approach to compare refurbishment measures from a life cycle perspective. It is possible to use the methodology as a tool at an early stage in planning of sustainable building refurbishment from a life cycle perspective. For a widespread use of a tool based on an environmental return on investment approach, further research on guidelines for sustainable environmental return on investment values is required.
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| 2. |
- Nydahl, Helena, 1990-
(författare)
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Communication of life cycle assessment results : life cycle key performance indicators
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The global warming that we are on track for will result in a severe loss of natural capital leading to significant losses in economic capital when urban infrastructure is destroyed, agricultural productivity declines and poverty spread among other disasters. Climate change due to emissions does not only affect the polluter, the hazardous effects becomes evident on a global level. An essential tool to enable decision‑making with concern to the welfare of the global commons is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA compile and evaluate the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The reviewed literature frames a gap regarding interpretation of LCA-results and inquire for guidelines that address a wide range of stakeholders to enable informed decision-making with regard to the welfare of the global commons. Some studies even argue that an apparent weakness of LCA-result communication is the understanding of what the results mean for the economic key performance indicators (KPIs) of the stakeholder. Thus, this thesis aims to contribute to the development of guidelines for interpretation of LCA-results by introducing an approach for communicating LCA-results that is compatible with the economically driven nature of stakeholders. The specific research questions (RQ) of this thesis are: (RQ1) How can well-established economic KPIs be utilised to quantify environmental impact? and (RQ2) How does incorporation of monetary valuation of environmental impacts and related environmental aspects affect the LCA-result and communication of results?These research questions have led to life cycle key performance indicators (LC‑KPIs) that quantify life cycle economic and environmental impacts in a way that take after the traditional economic KPIs of the stakeholders, which is outlined as essential to improve the understanding of LCA-results. The LC‑KPIs utilize the traditional economic KPIs of return on investment (ROI) and annual yield (AY). Additionally, to manage the large amount of non-commensurate units of holistic life cycle sustainability assessment, monetary valuation has been applied. Hence, contributing to the research area of monetary valuation in LCA by introducing and testing new approaches.The introduced LC-KPIs have been specified for building LCA and exemplified by applying them to a number of Swedish case buildings. The result show that the climate-economic assessment of building refurbishment differs compared to the traditional economic assessment when monetary valuation is utilized in LCA with the LC-KPI of ROIEconomy+. However, in the comparative assessment of building refurbishment and new construction, the LCA‑result does not change compared to the traditional economic assessment when monetary valuation is utilized in LCA with the LC-KPI of ELCCA. This is explained by the high costs associated with the investment and energy use of buildings and may not be the case if products with lower investment and energy use costs and high life cycle greenhouse-gas emissions would be studied. Still, if a purely environmental assessment of a product is wished for, the LC-KPI should only include monetary valuation of environmental impact factors and exclude traditional economic performance. Thus, the case study result defines further scope for research on the subject of monetary valuation in LCA and inquire for a wider spectrum of LC-KPIs that utilizes monetary valuation.The introduced approach of this thesis contribute to the development of guidelines for interpretation of LCA-results. Nevertheless, there are still challenges that needs to be addressed in the development of robust LCA-result interpretation. Still, the LC‑KPIs used in this thesis address the “cognitive logics” of a wide range of stakeholders and provide an approach for communication of LCA-results which improve the understanding of LCA-results.
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| 3. |
- Nydahl, Helena, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Performance Measures to Assess Building Refurbishment from a Life Cycle Perspective
- 2019
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI. - 1996-1073. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy efficiency investments in existing buildings are an effective way of reducing the environmental impact of the building stock. Even though policies in the European Union and elsewhere promote a unilateral focus on operational energy reduction, scientific studies highlight the importance of applying a life cycle perspective to energy refurbishment. However, life cycle assessment is often perceived as being complicated and the results difficult to interpret by the construction sector. There is also a lack of guidelines regarding the sustainable ratio between the embodied and accumulated operational impact. The scope of this study is to introduce a life cycle assessment method for building refurbishment that utilizes familiar economic performance tools, namely return on investment and annual yield. The aim is to use the introduced method to analyze a case building with a sustainability profile. The building was refurbished in order to reduce its operational energy use. The introduced method is compatible with a theory of minimum sustainable environmental performance that may be developed through backcasting from defined energy and GHG emissions objectives. The proposed approach will hopefully allow development of sustainable refurbishment objectives that can support the choice of refurbishment investments.
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| 4. |
- Nydahl, Helena, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
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Extended building life cycle cost assessment with the inclusion of monetary evaluation of climate risk and opportunities
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sustainable cities and society. - : Elsevier. - 2210-6707. ; 76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The buildings and construction sector account for a significant part of the total energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions. However, climate change mitigation often becomes secondary or completely disregarded in building design assessment as the primary concern of building owners are economic tenability. Therefore, this study introduces an Extended Life Cycle Cost Assessment that include monetary evaluation of climate risk and opportunities in terms of Social Cost of Carbon (SCC). SCC could function as a tax to promote climate change mitigation within e.g. the construction industry. The purpose is to provide a more holistic assessment approach that is easy to relate to if economic tenability is of primary concern in decision making, which can be used to assess building design. Return on invested greenhouse gas emissions is used as an additional or standalone indicator for climate change mitigation. The introduced approach is exemplified by a case study where renovation and new construction are compared with keeping buildings in its original design. The case study show that with or without a flat greenhouse gas tax, renovation is the most climate and cost efficient alternative.
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| 5. |
- Nydahl, Helena, 1990-, et al.
(författare)
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Including future climate induced cost when assessing building refurbishment performance
- 2019
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Ingår i: Energy and Buildings. - : Elsevier. - 0378-7788 .- 1872-6178. ; 203
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Improving energy efficiency in the existing buildings stock is essential to limit climate change and the economic assessment of measures are traditionally only based on the reduction of energy costs: However, future financial benefits of limiting climate change are rarely included in the evaluation of refurbishment investments. Although, the costs associated with global warming are expected to be extensive. This study introduces a method for the financial evaluation of energy efficiency investments that merge the reduction of life cycle energy costs with the reduction of future climate induced costs. A case study is used to exemplify the method. The case study shows that when reduced future costs due to mitigated life cycle greenhouse gas emissions are included in the analysis, the ranking between different measures can change and traditionally non-profitable measures may become financially sound investments. The introduced Economy+ indicator is shown to be an accessible performance measure to assess building refurbishment and may also be used in the design stage of new construction. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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| 6. |
- Åstrand, Anders P.
(författare)
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A flexible resonance sensor system for detection of cancer tissue : evaluation on silicon
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The most common form of cancer among men in Europe and the US is prostate cancer. When a radical prostatectomy has been found necessary, it is of interest to examine the prostate, as tumour tissue on the capsule might indicate that the cancer has metastased. This is commonly done by a microscope-based morphometric investigation. Tumour tissue is normally stiffer than healthy tissue. Sensors based on piezoelectric resonance technology have been introduced into the medical field during the last decade. By studying the change in resonance frequency when a sensor comes into contact with a material, conclusions can be drawn about the material.A new and flexible measurement system using a piezoelectric resonance sensor has been evaluated. Three translation stages, two for horizontal movements and one for vertical movement, with stepper motors are controlled from a PC. A piezoelectric resonance element and a force sensor are integrated into a sensor head that is mounted on the vertical translation stage. The piezoelectric element is connected to a feed-back circuit and resonating at its resonance frequency until it comes into contact with a material, when a frequency shift can be observed. The force sensor is used to measure the applied force between the sensor and the material. These two parameters are combined into a third, called the stiffness parameter, which is important for stiffness evaluation. For measurements on objects with different geometries, the vertical translation stage can be aimed at a platform for flat objects or a fixture for spherical objects. The vertical translation stage is mounted on a manual rotational stage with which the contact angle between the sensor and the measured surface can be adjusted. The contact angles covered are between 0° and 35° from a line perpendicular to the surface of the measured object. The measured objects used were made from silicones of different stiffness and in the shape of flat discs and spheres. The indentation velocity of the sensor can be set at 1 mm/s to 5 mm/s. In the three papers that are the base for this licentiate thesis, we have investigated the dependence of the frequency shift, the applied force and the stiffness parameter on the contact angle, and the indentation velocity at different impression depths. The maximum error for the measurement system has also been determined.The results of the measurements indicate that great care must be taken when aiming the sensor against the surface of the point where the measurements are to be performed. Deviations in contact angle of more than iv±10° from a line perpendicular to the surface will result in an underestimation of the frequency shift, meaning that the tissue will be regarded as stiffer than it really is. This result is important as the flat silicone models have a very even surface, which makes a controlled contact angle possible. Biological tissue can have a rough and uneven surface, which can lead to unintentional deviations in the contact angle. The magnitude of the stiffness parameter is favoured by a high indentation velocity compared to a low.The evaluation of this measurement system has shown that it is possible to distinguish between soft and stiff silicone models, which have been used in this initial phase of the study. A new feature in this measurement system is the fixture that makes measurements on spherical objects possible and the possibility to vary the angle of contact. This is promising for future studies and measurements on whole prostate in vitro. A future application for this measurement system is to aid surgeons performing radical prostatectomy in the search for tumour tissue on the capsule of the prostate, as the presence of tumour tissue can indicate that the cancer has spread to the surrounding tissue.
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| 7. |
- Åstrand, Anders P., et al.
(författare)
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A flexible sensor system using resonance technology for soft tissue stiffness measurements : evaluation on silicone
- 2011
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Ingår i: 15th Nordic Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics. - Berlin : Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology/Springer Verlag. - 9783642216824 ; , s. 21-24
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the most common forms of cancer among men in Europe and the United States is prostate cancer. The cancerous tissue is less soft, and has different biomechanical properties compared to healthy tissue. It has been shown that tactile sensors can be used to distinguish this difference. If a piezoelectric sensor is set to oscillate at its resonance frequency through a feed back circuit, a frequency shift is observed when the sensor comes in contact with a surface. This shift can be correlated to the stiffness of the tissue. A flexible instrument has been developed, with which it is possible to scan both flat and spherical bodies and where the sensor can be tilted to have different contact angles. Measurements performed in this study on flat silicone discs of different stiffness showed a relationship between both the frequency shift and the impression depth for the different silicone discs, when a constant force was applied. The results are promising for future studies on silicone with different geometries and finally on prostate tissue to complete the evaluation.
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| 8. |
- Åstrand, Anders P., et al.
(författare)
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A flexible sensor system using resonance technology for soft tissue stiffness measurements : evaluation on silicone
- 2011
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Ingår i: 15TH NORDIC-BALTIC CONFERENCE ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AND MEDICAL PHYSICS (NBC 2011). - Aalborg : Springer. - 9783642216824 ; , s. 21-24
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the most common forms of cancer amongmen in Europe and the United States is prostate cancer. Thecancerous tissue is less soft, and has different biomechanicalproperties compared to healthy tissue. It has been shown thattactile sensors can be used to distinguish this difference. If apiezoelectric sensor is set to oscillate at its resonance frequencythrough a feed back circuit, a frequency shift is observed whenthe sensor comes in contact with a surface. This shift can becorrelated to the stiffness of the tissue. A flexible instrumenthas been developed, with which it is possible to scan both flatand spherical bodies and where the sensor can be tilted to havedifferent contact angles. Measurements performed in thisstudy on flat silicone discs of different stiffness showed arelationship between both the frequency shift and theimpression depth for the different silicone discs, when aconstant force was applied. The results are promising forfuture studies on silicone with different geometries and finallyon prostate tissue to complete the evaluation.
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| 9. |
- Åstrand, Anders P, 1961-
(författare)
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A Tactile Resonance Sensor System for Detection of Prostate Cancer ex vivo : Design and Evaluation on Tissue Models and Human Prostate
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background The most common form of cancer among males in Europe and the USA is prostate cancer, PCa. Surgical removal of the prostate is the most common form of curative treatment. PCa can be suspected by a blood test for a specific prostate antigen, a PSA-test, and a digital rectal examination, DRE where the physician palpates the prostate through the rectum. Stiff nodules that can be detected during the DRE, and elevated levels of PSA are indications for PCa, and a reason for further examination. Biopsies are taken from the prostate by guidance of a transrectal ultrasound. Superficial cancer tumours can indicate that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Tactile resonance sensors can be used to detect areas of different stiffness in soft tissue. Healthy prostate tissue is usually of different stiffness compared to tissue with PCa.AimThe general aim of this doctoral thesis was to design and evaluate a flexible tactile resonance sensor system (TRSS) for detection of cancer in soft human tissue, specifically prostate cancer. The ability to detect cancer tumours located under the surface was evaluated through measurements on tissue phantoms such as silicone and biological tissues. Finally measurements on resected whole prostate glands were made for the detection of cancer tumours.Methods The sensor principle was based on an oscillating piezoelectric element that was indented into the soft tissue. The measured parameters were the change in resonance frequency, Δf, and the contact force F during indentation. From these, a specific stiffness parameter was obtained. The overall accuracy of the TRSS was obtained and the performance of the TRSS was also evaluated on tissue models made of silicone, biological tissue and resected whole human prostates in order to detect presence of PCa. Prostate glands are generally spherical and a special rotatable sample holder was included in the TRSS. Spherically shaped objects and uneven surfaces call for special attention to the contact angle between the sensor-tip and the measured surface, which has been evaluated. The indentation velocity and the depth sensitivity of the sensor were evaluated as well as the effect on the measurements caused by the force with which spherical samples were held in place in the sample holder. Measurements were made on silicone models and biological tissue of chicken and pork muscles, with embedded stiff silicone nodules, both on flat and spherical shaped samples. Finally, measurements were made on two excised whole human prostates.ResultsA contact angle deviating ≤ 10° from the perpendicular of the surface of the measured object was acceptable for reliable measurements of the stiffness parameter. The sensor could detect stiff nodules ≤ 4 mm under the surface with a small indentation depth of 0.4 to 0.8 mm.Measurements on the surface of resected human prostate glands showed that the TRSS could detect stiff areas (p < 0.05), which were confirmed by histopathological evaluation to be cancer tumours on, and under the surface.Conclusions A flexible resonance sensor system was designed and evaluated on soft tissue models as well as resected whole prostate glands. Evaluations on the tissue models showed that the TRSS can detect stiffer volumes hidden below the surface on both flat and spherical samples. The measurements on resected human prostate glands showed that PCa could be detected both on and under the surface of the gland. Thus the TRSS provides a promising instrument aimed for stiffness measurements of soft human tissue that could contribute to a future quantitative palpation method with the purpose of diagnosing cancer.
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| 10. |
- Åstrand, Anders P, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of stiff nodules embedded in soft tissue phantoms, mimicking cancer tumours, using a tactile resonance sensor
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering. - : Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.. - 1937-6871 .- 1937-688X. ; 7, s. 181-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundProstate cancer (PCa) is the most common form of cancer among males in Europe and in the USA and the most common curative treatment is removal of the prostate, i.e. prostatectomy. After the removal, the prostate is histopathologically analysed. One area of interest is to examine the capsule of the prostate, as tumours on and near the surface can indicate that the PCa has spread to other parts of the body. There are no current methods to examine the surface of the prostate at the time of surgery. Tactile resonance sensors can be used for detecting areas of different stiffness in soft tissue. Human prostate tissue affected by cancer is usually stiffer than healthy tissue, and for this purpose a tactile resonance sensor was developed. The aim of this study was to investigate the depth at which embedded stiffer volumes could be detected, using soft tissue phantoms.MethodsWith the tactile resonance sensor used in this study, the shift of the resonance frequency and the force at contact with tissue can be measured, and combined into a tissue stiffness parameter. The detection sensitivity of the sensor at impression depths, 0.4 and 0.8 mm, was measured for detection of an inserted nodules of stiff silicone in softer silicone and in chicken muscle tissue, mimicking prostate tissue with cancer tumours.ResultsMeasurements on the silicone samples detected the hidden stiffer object at a depth of 1-4 mm with a difference in the stiffness parameter of 80 – 900 mN/kHz (p < 0.028, n = 48). At the depth 5-6 mm the difference was smaller but still significant < 30 mN/kHz (p < 0.05, n = 24). For the measurements on chicken muscle, the detectable depth was 4 mm (p < 0.05, n = 24).ConclusionThis model study suggests that, with only a small impression depth of ≤ 1 mm, the resonance sensor system described here can detect stiffness variations located at least 4 mm in silicone and chicken muscle, mimicking tumours in prostate tissue.
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| 11. |
- Åstrand, Anders P., et al.
(författare)
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Initial measurements on whole human prostate ex vivo with a tactile resonance sensor in order to detect prostate cancer
- 2015
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Ingår i: 16th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319129662 - 9783319129679 ; , s. 120-123
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common form of cancer among the male population in Europe and the USA. PCa can be suspected by a blood test for a specific prostate antigen, a PSA-test, followed by a digital rectal examination (DRE). The objective with the DRE is to investigate the presence of stiff nodules on the prostate. Stiff nodules can indicate PCa and biopsies are taken from the suspicious parts of the prostate using guidance of a transrectal ultrasound. Microscopic evaluation of the biopsies is used for final diagnosis. Superficial tumor growth on, and beneath the surface of the gland is of special interest as it suggests that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.Tactile resonance sensors can be used to distinguish between areas of different stiffness in soft tissue. The aim was to detect tumors on, and beneath the surface of a whole human prostate ex vivo.A tactile resonance sensor system (TRSS) based on a piezoelectric resonance sensor and a force sensor has been used to detect areas with increased stiffness in soft tissue. The TRSS has a rotatable sample holder for measurements on spherical shaped samples. Stiffness measurements were made on samples of porcine muscle tissue with embedded stiff silicone nodules placed under the surface. Further measurements were made on a resected whole human prostate with PCa.The results showed that through the measured stiffness parameter, the stiff silicone nodules placed down to 4 mm under the surface could be detected. The measurements on the prostate showed that elevated values of the stiffness parameter correlated (p < 0.05) with areas in the anterior of the prostate where cancer tumors were detected by histopathological evaluation. The tumors were significantly stiffer than the healthy tissue in the dorsal region.The results are promising for further development of a clinically useful instrument to detect superficial PCa.
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| 12. |
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