scholarly journals Measurement and Correction of Stooped Posture during Gait Using Wearable Sensors in Patients with Parkinsonism: A Preliminary Study

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2379
Author(s):  
Se Hoon Kim ◽  
Seo Jung Yun ◽  
Quoc Khanh Dang ◽  
Youngjoon Chee ◽  
Sun Gun Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Spinous Process ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Walk Test ◽  
Sensor Module ◽  
Average Change ◽  
Continuous Feedback ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Stooped Posture

Stooped posture, which is usually aggravated during walking, is one of the typical postural deformities in patients with parkinsonism. However, the degree of stooped posture is difficult to quantitatively measure during walking. Furthermore, continuous feedback on posture is also difficult to provide. The purpose of this study is to measure the degree of stooped posture during gait and to investigate whether vibration feedback from sensor modules can improve a patient’s posture. Parkinsonian patients with stooped posture were recruited for this study. Two wearable sensors with three-axis accelerometers were attached, one at the upper neck and the other just below the C7 spinous process of the patients. After being calibrated in the most upright posture, the sensors continuously recorded the sagittal angles at 20 Hz and averaged the data at every second during a 6 min walk test. In the control session, the patients walked with the sensors as usual. In the vibration session, sensory feedback was provided through vibrations from the neck sensor module when the sagittal angle exceeded a programmable threshold value. Data were collected and analyzed successfully in a total of 10 patients. The neck flexion and back flexion were slightly aggravated during gait, although the average change was <10° in most patients in both measurement sessions. Therefore, it was difficult to evaluate the effect of sensory feedback through vibration. However, some patients showed immediate response to the feedback and corrected their posture during gait. In conclusion, this preliminary study suggests that stooped posture could be quantitatively measured during gait by using wearable sensors in patients with parkinsonism. Sensory feedback through vibration from sensor modules may help in correcting posture during gait in selected patients.

scholarly journals Training with Agency-Inspired Feedback from an Instrumented Glove to Improve Functional Grasp Performance

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1173
Author(s):  
Mingxiao Liu ◽  
Samuel Wilder ◽  
Sean Sanford ◽  
Soha Saleh ◽  
Noam Y. Harel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Small Object ◽  
Intentional Binding ◽  
Audio Feedback ◽  
Instrumented Glove ◽  
Sensory Consequence ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Flex Sensors ◽  
Functional Task

Sensory feedback from wearables can be effective to learn better movement through enhanced information and engagement. Facilitating greater user cognition during movement practice is critical to accelerate gains in motor function during rehabilitation following brain or spinal cord trauma. This preliminary study presents an approach using an instrumented glove to leverage sense of agency, or perception of control, to provide training feedback for functional grasp. Seventeen able-bodied subjects underwent training and testing with a custom-built sensor glove prototype from our laboratory. The glove utilizes onboard force and flex sensors to provide inputs to an artificial neural network that predicts achievement of “secure” grasp. Onboard visual and audio feedback was provided during training with progressively shorter time delay to induce greater agency by intentional binding, or perceived compression in time between an action (grasp) and sensory consequence (feedback). After training, subjects demonstrated a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in movement pathlength and completion time for a functional task involving grasp-move-place of a small object. Future work will include a model-based algorithm to compute secure grasp, virtual reality immersion, and testing with clinical populations.

Numerical Simulation on Concrete Median Barrier for Reducing Concrete Fragment Under Harsh Impact Loading of a 25-ton Truck

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaeha Lee ◽  
Goangseup Zi ◽  
Ilkeun Lee ◽  
Yoseok Jeong ◽  
Kyeongjin Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Loading ◽  
Traffic Accident ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Rigid Wall ◽  
Wire Mesh ◽  
Element Size ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Controlling Behaviors

Recently, there was a collision accident involving vehicle–concrete median barrier in South Korea, and unfortunately, passengers on the opposite direction road were killed by the flying broken pieces of concrete generated by the collision. Primarily after this accident, we felt the need for developing an improved concrete median barrier up to level of SB6 impact severity in order to minimize the amount of broken pieces of concrete and any possibility of traffic accident casualty under the impact loading of truck. Accordingly, in this study, several designs of concrete median barriers have been examined, and a preliminary study has been conducted for developing and verifying appropriate collision model. First, type of vehicle was selected based on impact analysis on rigid wall. Then, the effects of element size and other key parameters on the capacity of the concrete median barrier under impact were studied. It was found that the key parameters for controlling behaviors of the median barrier under impact loading were contact option, threshold value, and mesh and boundary conditions. Furthermore, as a parametric study, effect of geometry and amount of wire-mesh or steel rebar in concrete median barrier on impact resistances of median barrier for reducing the collision debris were investigated. The amount of volume loss after the collision of truck was compared for various reinforcement ratios.

scholarly journals P-Ergonomics Platform: Toward Precise, Pervasive, and Personalized Ergonomics using Wearable Sensors and Edge Computing

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Vega-Barbas ◽  
Jose Diaz-Olivares ◽  
Ke Lu ◽  
Mikael Forsman ◽  
Fernando Seoane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Cloud Platform ◽  
Preventive Healthcare ◽  
Work Related ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
Amazon Web Services ◽  
Continuous Feedback ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Preventive healthcare has attracted much attention recently. Improving people’s lifestyles and promoting a healthy diet and wellbeing are important, but the importance of work-related diseases should not be undermined. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the most common work-related health problems. Ergonomists already assess MSD risk factors and suggest changes in workplaces. However, existing methods are mainly based on visual observations, which have a relatively low reliability and cover only part of the workday. These suggestions concern the overall workplace and the organization of work, but rarely includes individuals’ work techniques. In this work, we propose a precise and pervasive ergonomic platform for continuous risk assessment. The system collects data from wearable sensors, which are synchronized and processed by a mobile computing layer, from which exposure statistics and risk assessments may be drawn, and finally, are stored at the server layer for further analyses at both individual and group levels. The platform also enables continuous feedback to the worker to support behavioral changes. The deployed cloud platform in Amazon Web Services instances showed sufficient system flexibility to affordably fulfill requirements of small to medium enterprises, while it is expandable for larger corporations. The system usability scale of 76.6 indicates an acceptable grade of usability.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of interpersonal sway synchrony and stability

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (101) ◽  
pp. 20140751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond F. Reynolds ◽  
Callum J. Osler
Keyword(s):  
Postural Control ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Inverted Pendulum ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Small Contribution ◽  
Visual Contact ◽  
Sensory Weighting ◽  
Continuous Feedback ◽  
Mechanical Linkage ◽  
Weighted Combination

Here we explain the neural and mechanical mechanisms responsible for synchronizing sway and improving postural control during physical contact with another standing person. Postural control processes were modelled using an inverted pendulum under continuous feedback control. Interpersonal interactions were simulated either by coupling the sensory feedback loops or by physically coupling the pendulums with a damped spring. These simulations precisely recreated the timing and magnitude of sway interactions observed empirically. Effects of firmly grasping another person's shoulder were explained entirely by the mechanical linkage. This contrasted with light touch and/or visual contact, which were explained by a sensory weighting phenomenon; each person's estimate of upright was based on a weighted combination of veridical sensory feedback combined with a small contribution from their partner. Under these circumstances, the model predicted reductions in sway even without the need to distinguish between self and partner motion. Our findings explain the seemingly paradoxical observation that touching a swaying person can improve postural control.

scholarly journals Shoe-Type Wearable Sensors Measure Gait Parameters in Vestibular Neuritis: A Preliminary Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
Jun Sang Cha ◽  
Dong Young Kim ◽  
Hye Soon Lee ◽  
Nambeom Kim ◽  
Hwan Ho Lee
Keyword(s):  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Vestibular Neuritis ◽  
Gait Parameters ◽  
Preliminary Study

scholarly journals Preliminary validity study comparing the prone lumbar hypermobility test against the prone instability test*

2021 ◽  
pp. 397-414
Author(s):  
Gordon Lawson ◽  
David Gryfe
Keyword(s):  
Low Back Pain ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
Spinous Process ◽  
Patient Positioning ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Patient Comfort ◽  
Entire Body ◽  
Low Back ◽  
Prone Instability Test ◽  
Preliminary Study

Abstract: Objective: The Prone Instability Test (PIT) is an established orthopaedic test that predicts the probability of low back pain patients responding positively to a spinal stabilization program (.71 sensitivity, .57 specificity for PIT). This preliminary study suggests the Prone Lumbar Hypermobility Test (PLHT) as an effective alternative to the PIT that is more suitable for a wider population due to the modified patient positioning. In contrast to the PIT, the PLHT has the patient's entire body supported by the examination table. This is hypothesized to maximize patient comfort while still maintaining clinical effectiveness for the chronic low back pain population. The purpose of this preliminary study is to determine whether the PLHT is comparable to the PIT in diagnostic effectiveness when predicting the benefits of stabilization interventions. Methods: To compare the clinical effectiveness of the PLHT to the PIT, each subject underwent parts I and II (relaxed and contracted) of each test (PIT and PLHT). 36 subjects received both parts of PIT and PLHT (in a randomized order). Subjects assumed each of the four positions and 4 kg/cm2 of pressure was applied directly on the skin over the L4 spinous process, using an algometer. The subjects verbally indicated perceived pain following each of the 4 positions. Results: Of the 36 participants included in the study, 23 participants had a negative PIT and a negative PLHT and six had a positive PIT and a positive PLHT. Three participants had a positive PIT and negative PLHT and four had a positive PLHT and negative PIT. This indicates that the PIT and PLHT have a statistically significant level of agreement. Conclusions: This study found that the PLHT is valid in identifying negative results in the predicted negative population, as well as positive results in the predicted positive population. For future investigations, a larger sample size is advantageous - particularly with an evenly distributed and accurate sample of positive and negative participants. This will more accurately determine the validity of the PLHT and broaden the application of the PLHT to the population for which the test is aimed to identify in clinical practice. 

Preliminary Study for the Developing Sensor Module for Estimating Occupant Metabolic Rate

KIEAE Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 193-197
Author(s):  
Bo Rang Park ◽  
Eun Ji Choi ◽  
Young Kwon Yang ◽  
Tae Won Kim ◽  
Jin Woo Moon
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Sensor Module ◽  
Preliminary Study
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