scholarly journals Skill Transference of a Probe-Tube Placement Training Simulator

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (01) ◽  
pp. 040-049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Koch ◽  
Hasan Saleh ◽  
Paula Folkeard ◽  
Sheila Moodie ◽  
Conner Janeteas ◽  
...  

AbstractProbe-tube placement is a necessary step in hearing aid verification which needs ample hands-on experience and confidence before performing in clinic. To improve the methods of training in probe-tube placement, a manikin-based training simulator was developed consisting of a 3D-printed head, a flexible silicone ear, and a mounted optical tracking system. The system is designed to provide feedback to the user on the depth and orientation of the probe tube, and the time required to finish the task. Although a previous validation study was performed to determine its realism and teachability with experts, further validation is required before implementation into educational settings.This study aimed to examine the skill transference of a newly updated probe-tube placement training simulator to determine if skills learned on this simulator successfully translate to clinical scenarios.All participants underwent a pretest in which they were evaluated while performing a probe-tube placement and real-ear-to-coupler difference (RECD) measurement on a volunteer. Participants were randomized into one of two groups: the simulator group or the control group. During a two-week training period, all participants practiced their probe-tube placement according to their randomly assigned group. After two weeks, each participant completed a probe-tube placement on the same volunteer as a posttest scenario.Twenty-five novice graduate-level student clinicians.Participants completed a self-efficacy questionnaire and an expert observer completed a questionnaire evaluating each participant’s performance during the pre- and posttest sessions. RECD measurements were taken after placing the probe tube and foam tip in the volunteer’s ear. Questionnaire results were analyzed through nonparametric t-tests and analysis of variance, whereas RECD results were analyzed using a nonlinear mixed model method.Results suggested students in the simulator group were less likely to contact the tympanic membrane when placing a probe tube, appeared more confident, and had better use of the occluding foam tip, resulting in more improved RECD measurements.The improved outcomes for trainees in the simulator group suggest that supplementing traditional training with the simulator provides useful benefits for the trainees, thereby encouraging its usage and implementation in educational settings.

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Pacilli ◽  
Marco Germanotta ◽  
Stefano Rossi ◽  
Paolo Cappa

Background: Although robotic therapy is at the forefront of upper limb rehabilitation, there is limited information about the importance of selecting age-matched subjects to evaluate recovery of arm movement during rehabilitation.Objective: This study aims to quantify differences in the arm motion of healthy children and adults when they interact with a planar robot, in order to determine whether an age-matched control group is necessary in clinical studies involving pediatric patients.Methods: Ten children (aged 7 to 10 years) and ten adults (aged 23 to 25 years) performed, at self-selected speed and accuracy, planar-reaching and circle-drawing movements with a robotic device. We analyzed the motor performances for the two groups quantifying the participants' dexterity in completing two chosen tasks. The measurement of the entire upper limb was obtained by merging the data provided by the robot with that of an optical tracking system.Results: Children drew circles with less smoothness than adults but with the same accuracy and joint coordination. During planar reaching task, children optimized only the coordination but performed the movement with less accuracy and smoothness than adults.Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that age-matched healthy children should be used to quantify the recovery of robot-mediated therapy in children with upper limb impairments.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 6843
Author(s):  
José C. Ponce-Bordón ◽  
Jesús Díaz-García ◽  
Miguel A. López-Gajardo ◽  
David Lobo-Triviño ◽  
Roberto López del López del Campo ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of time winning and time losing on position-specific match physical demands with and without ball possession in the top Spanish professional soccer league. All matches played in the First Spanish soccer league over four consecutive seasons (from 2015/16 to 2018/19) were recorded using an optical tracking system (i.e., ChyronHego), and the data were analyzed via Mediacoach®. Total distance (TD), and TD > 21 km·h−1 covered with and without ball possession were analyzed using a Linear Mixed Model, taking into account the contextual variables time winning and losing. Results showed that TD and TD > 21 km·h−1 covered by central midfielders (0.01 and 0.005 m/min, respectively), wide midfielders (0.02 and 0.01 m/min, respectively), and forwards (0.03 and 0.02 m/min, respectively) significantly increased while winning (p < 0.05). By contrast, TD and TD > 21 km·h−1 covered by central defenders (0.01 and 0.008 m/min, respectively) and wide defenders (0.06 and 0.008 m/min, respectively) significantly increased while losing (p < 0.05). In addition, for each minute that teams were winning, total distance with ball possession (TDWP) decreased, while, for each minute that teams were losing, TDWP increased. Instead, TDWP > 21 km·h−1 obtained opposite results. Total distance without ball possession increased when teams were winning, and decreased when teams were losing. Therefore, the evolution of scoreline significantly influences tactical–technical and physical demands on soccer matches.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3947
Author(s):  
Marco Farronato ◽  
Gianluca M. Tartaglia ◽  
Cinzia Maspero ◽  
Luigi M. Gallo ◽  
Vera Colombo

Clinical use of portable optical tracking system in dentistry could improve the analysis of mandibular movements for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A new workflow for the acquisition of mandibular kinematics was developed. Reproducibility of measurements was tested in vitro and intra- and inter-rater repeatability were assessed in vivo in healthy volunteers. Prescribed repeated movements (n = 10) in three perpendicular directions of the tracking-device coordinate system were performed. Measurement error and coefficient of variation (CV) among repetitions were determined. Mandibular kinematics of maximum opening, left and right laterality, protrusion and retrusion of five healthy subjects were recorded in separate sessions by three different operators. Obtained records were blindly examined by three observers. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to estimate inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Maximum in vitro measurement error was 0.54 mm and CV = 0.02. Overall, excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC > 0.90) for each variable, general excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC = 1.00) for all variables, and good reliability (ICC > 0.75) for inter-rater tests were obtained. A lower score was obtained for retrusion with “moderate reliability” (ICC = 0.557) in the inter-rater tests. Excellent repeatability and reliability in optical tracking of primary movements were observed using the tested portable tracking device and the developed workflow.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2528
Author(s):  
Songlin Bi ◽  
Yonggang Gu ◽  
Jiaqi Zou ◽  
Lianpo Wang ◽  
Chao Zhai ◽  
...  

A high precision optical tracking system (OTS) based on near infrared (NIR) trinocular stereo vision (TSV) is presented in this paper. Compared with the traditional OTS on the basis of binocular stereo vision (BSV), hardware and software are improved. In the hardware aspect, a NIR TSV platform is built, and a new active tool is designed. Imaging markers of the tool are uniform and complete with large measurement angle (>60°). In the software aspect, the deployment of extra camera brings high computational complexity. To reduce the computational burden, a fast nearest neighbor feature point extraction algorithm (FNNF) is proposed. The proposed method increases the speed of feature points extraction by hundreds of times over the traditional pixel-by-pixel searching method. The modified NIR multi-camera calibration method and 3D reconstruction algorithm further improve the tracking accuracy. Experimental results show that the calibration accuracy of the NIR camera can reach 0.02%, positioning accuracy of markers can reach 0.0240 mm, and dynamic tracking accuracy can reach 0.0938 mm. OTS can be adopted in high-precision dynamic tracking.


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