Search results for: wearable knee exoskeletons

Authors: Shinji Kawakura, Ryosuke Shibasaki

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We have been grouping and developing various kinds of practical, promising sensing applied systems concerning agricultural advancement and technical tradition (guidance). These include advanced devices to secure real-time data related to worker motion, and we analyze by methods of various advanced statistics and human dynamics (e.g. primary component analysis, Ward system based cluster analysis, and mapping). What is more, we have been considering worker daily health and safety issues. Targeted fields are mainly common farms, meadows, and gardens. After then, we observed and discussed time-line style, changing data. And, we made some suggestions. The entire plan makes it possible to improve both the aforementioned applied systems and farms.

Keywords: advanced statistical analysis, wearable sensing system, tradition of skill, supporting for workers, detecting crisis

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Authors: Guebli Abdelkader, Zerf Mohammed, Mekkades Moulay Idriss, BenGoua Ali, Atouti Nouredinne, Habchi Nawel

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The paper aims to show the influence of angles in the results of triple jump. Whereas our background confirms that a series of motions are characterized by complex angles in the properties phase (hop, step, and jump) as a combination of the pushed phase on ultimate phases in the result. For the purpose, our results are obtained from the National Athletics Championship 2013, which was filmed and analysis by the software kinovea. Based on the statistical analysis we confirm: there is a positive relationship between angle of the leg, hip angle, angle of the trunk in the collision during (hop, step, and jump), and there is a negative correlation to the angle of the knee relationship in a collision during.

Keywords: kinematics variables, the triple jump, the finale results, digital achievement

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Authors: Lucia Billeci, Gennaro Tartarisco, Maurizio Varanini

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Fetal cardiac monitoring by fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) can provide significant clinical information about the healthy condition of the fetus. Despite this potentiality till now the use of fECG in clinical practice has been quite limited due to the difficulties in its measuring. The recovery of fECG from the signals acquired non-invasively by using electrodes placed on the maternal abdomen is a challenging task because abdominal signals are a mixture of several components and the fetal one is very weak. This paper presents an approach for fECG extraction from abdominal maternal recordings, which exploits the characteristics of pseudo-periodicity of fetal ECG. It consists of devising a quality index (fQI) for fECG and of finding the linear combinations of preprocessed abdominal signals, which maximize these fQI (quality index optimization - QIO). It aims at improving the performances of the most commonly adopted methods for fECG extraction, usually based on maternal ECG (mECG) estimating and canceling. The procedure for the fECG extraction and fetal QRS (fQRS) detection is completely unsupervised and based on the following steps: signal pre-processing; maternal ECG (mECG) extraction and maternal QRS detection; mECG component approximation and canceling by weighted principal component analysis; fECG extraction by fQI maximization and fetal QRS detection. The proposed method was compared with our previously developed procedure, which obtained the highest at the Physionet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2013. That procedure was based on removing the mECG from abdominal signals estimated by a principal component analysis (PCA) and applying the Independent component Analysis (ICA) on the residual signals. Both methods were developed and tuned using 69, 1 min long, abdominal measurements with fetal QRS annotation of the dataset A provided by PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2013. The QIO-based and the ICA-based methods were compared in analyzing two databases of abdominal maternal ECG available on the Physionet site. The first is the Abdominal and Direct Fetal Electrocardiogram Database (ADdb) which contains the fetal QRS annotations thus allowing a quantitative performance comparison, the second is the Non-Invasive Fetal Electrocardiogram Database (NIdb), which does not contain the fetal QRS annotations so that the comparison between the two methods can be only qualitative. In particular, the comparison on NIdb was performed defining an index of quality for the fetal RR series. On the annotated database ADdb the QIO method, provided the performance indexes Sens=0.9988, PPA=0.9991, F1=0.9989 overcoming the ICA-based one, which provided Sens=0.9966, PPA=0.9972, F1=0.9969. The comparison on NIdb was performed defining an index of quality for the fetal RR series. The index of quality resulted higher for the QIO-based method compared to the ICA-based one in 35 records out 55 cases of the NIdb. The QIO-based method gave very high performances with both the databases. The results of this study foresees the application of the algorithm in a fully unsupervised way for the implementation in wearable devices for self-monitoring of fetal health.

Keywords: fetal electrocardiography, fetal QRS detection, independent component analysis (ICA), optimization, wearable

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Authors: A. Alzahrani, G. Arnold, W. Wang

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Background: Stroke commonly occurs in middle-aged and elderly populations, and the diagnosis of early stroke is still difficult. Patients who have suffered a stroke have different balance and gait patterns from healthy people. Advanced techniques of motion analysis have been routinely used in the clinical assessment of cerebral palsy. However, so far, little research has been done on the direct diagnosis of early stroke patients using motion analysis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether patients with stroke have different balance and gait from healthy people and which biomechanical parameters could be used to predict and diagnose potential patients who are at a potential risk to stroke. Methods: Thirteen patients with stroke were recruited as subjects whose gait and balance was analysed. Twenty normal subjects at the matched age participated in this study as a control group. All subjects’ gait and balance were collected using Vicon Nexus® to obtain the gait parameters, kinetic, and kinematic parameters of the hip, knee, and ankle joints in three planes of both limbs. Participants stood on force platforms to perform a single leg balance test. Then, they were asked to walk along a 10 m walkway at their comfortable speed. Participants performed 6 trials of single-leg balance for each side and 10 trials of walking. From the recorded trials, three good ones were analysed using the Vicon Plug-in-Gait model to obtain gait parameters, e.g., walking speed, cadence, stride length, and joint parameters, e.g., joint angle, force, moments, etc. Result: The temporal-spatial variables of Stroke subjects were compared with the healthy subjects; it was found that there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the groups. The step length, speed, cadence were lower in stroke subjects as compared to the healthy groups. The stroke patients group showed significantly decreased in gait speed (mean and SD: 0.85 ± 0.33 m/s), cadence ( 96.71 ± 16.14 step/min), and step length (0.509 ± 017 m) in compared to healthy people group whereas the gait speed was 1.2 ± 0.11 m/s, cadence 112 ± 8.33 step/min, and step length 0.648 ± 0.43 m. Moreover, it was observed that patients with stroke have significant differences in the ankle, hip, and knee joints’ kinematics in the sagittal and coronal planes. Also, the result showed that there was a significant difference between groups in the single-leg balance test, e.g., maintaining single-leg stance time in the stroke patients showed shorter duration (5.97 ± 6.36 s) in compared to healthy people group (14.36 ± 10.20 s). Conclusion: Our result showed that there are significantly differences between stroke patients and healthy subjects in the various aspects of gait analysis and balance test, as a consequences of these findings some of the biomechanical parameters such as joints kinematics, gait parameters, and single-leg stance balance test could be used in clinical practice to predict and diagnose potential patients who are at a high risk of further stroke.

Keywords: gait analysis, kinetics, kinematics, single-leg stance, Stroke

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Authors: Mansour Eslami, Fereshte Habibi

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Limb length discrepancy (LLD), or anisomeric, is defined as a condition in which paired limbs are noticeably unequal. Individuals with LLD during walking use compensatory mechanisms to dynamically lengthen the short limb and shorten the long limb to minimize the displacement of the body center of mass and consequently reduce body energy expenditure. Due to the compensatory movements created, LLD greater than 1 cm increases the odds of creating lumbar problems and hip and knee osteoarthritis. Insoles are non-surgical therapies that are recommended to improve the walking pattern, pain and create greater symmetry between the two lower limbs. However, it is not yet clear what effect insoles have on the variables related to injuries during walking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of internal and external heel lift insoles on pelvic kinematic in sagittal and frontal planes and lower extremity joint moments in individuals with mild leg length discrepancy during the stance phase of walking. Biomechanical data of twenty-eight men with structural leg length discrepancy of 10-25 mm were collected while they walked under three conditions: shoes without insole (SH), with internal heel lift insoles (IHLI) in shoes, and with external heal lift insole (EHLI). The tests were performed for both short and long legs. The pelvic kinematic and joint moment were measured with a motion capture system and force plate. Five walking trials were performed for each condition. The average value of five successful trials was used for further statistical analysis. Repeated measures ANCOVA with Bonferroni post hoc test were used for between-group comparisons (p ≤ 0.05). In both internal and external heel lift insoles (IHLI, EHLI), there was a significant decrease in the peak values of lateral and anterior pelvic tilts of the long leg, hip, and knee moments of a long leg and ankle moment of short leg (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, significant increases in peak values of lateral and anterior pelvic tilt of short leg in IHLI and EHLI were observed as compared to Shoe (SH) condition (p ≤ 0.01). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the IHLI and EHLI conditions in peak anterior pelvic tilt of long leg and plantar flexor moment of short leg (p=0.04; p= 0.04 respectively). Our findings indicate that both IHLI and EHLI can play an important role in controlling excessive pelvic movements in the sagittal and frontal planes in individuals with mild LLD during walking. Furthermore, the EHLI may have a better effect in preventing musculoskeletal injuries compared to the IHLI.

Keywords: kinematic, leg length discrepancy, shoe insole, walking

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Authors: Nirav Vaghela, Sanket Parekh

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Objective: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) represent one of the most common and important occupational health problems in working populations, being responsible for a substantial impact on quality of life and incurring a major economic burden in compensation cost and lost wages. School teachers represent an occupational group among which there appears to be a high prevalence of MSD. Design: Three hundred and fourteen teachers were enrolled in this study. Teachers were interview with the Modified Nordic Questionnaire. Result: In current study total 314 participants have been recruited in that minimum age of participants is 22 and maximum age is 59 with mean 40.5± 9.88. Total prevalence of the MSD is 71.95% among the teachers. In that Female were more affected with 72% than the males with 28%. Conclusion: The teachers here in reported a high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder, knee and back.

Keywords: repetitive stress injury, pain, occupational hazards, disability, abneetism, physical health, quality of life

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Authors: Po-Chen Chen, Tsung-Han Yang, Zhi-Wei Zheng, Shih-Tsang Tang

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Falls are the most common accidents during mountain hiking, especially in high-altitude environments with unstable terrain or adverse weather. Balance ability is a crucial factor in hiking, effectively ensuring hiking safety and reducing the risk of injuries. If balance ability can be assessed simply and effectively, hikers can identify their weaknesses and conduct targeted training to improve their balance ability, thereby reducing injury risks. With the widespread use of smartphones and their built-in inertial sensors, this project aims to develop a simple Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) balance measurement technique based on smartphones. This will provide hikers with an easy-to-use, low-cost tool for assessing balance ability, monitoring training effects in real-time, and continuously tracking balance ability through uploading cloud data uploads, facilitating personal athletic performance.

Keywords: balance, IMU, smartphone, wearable devices

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Authors: Chinlun Lai, Yu-Mei Chang

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In this paper, an augmented reality learning support system is proposed to replace the traditional teaching tool thus to help students improve their learning motivation, effectiveness, and efficiency. The system can not only reduce the exhaust of educational hardware and realistic material, but also provide an eco-friendly and self-learning practical environment in any time and anywhere with immediate practical experiences feedback. To achieve this, an interactive self-training methodology which containing step by step operation directions is designed using virtual 3D scenario and wearable device platforms. The course of nasogastric tube care of nursing skills is selected as the test example for self-learning and online test. From the experimental results, it is observed that the support system can not only increase the student’s learning interest but also improve the learning performance than the traditional teaching methods. Thus, it fulfills the strategy of learning by practice while reducing the related cost and effort significantly and is practical in various fields.

Keywords: augmented reality technology, learning support system, self-learning, simulation learning method

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Authors: Cesar Ferreira Amorim, Tamotsu Hirata, Runer Augusto Marson

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of strength ramp isometric contraction on changes in surface electromyography (sEMG) signal characteristics of the hamstrings muscles. All measurements were obtained from 20 healthy well trained healthy adults (age 19.5 ± 0.8 yrs, body mass 63.4 ± 1.5 kg, height: 1.65 ± 0.05 m). Subjects had to perform isometric ramp contractions in knee flexion with the force gradually increasing from 0 to 40% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in a 20s period. The root mean square (RMS) amplitude of sEMG signals obtained from the biceps femoris (caput longum) were calculated at four different strength levels (10, 20, 30, and 40% MVC) from the ramp isometric contractions (5s during the 20s task %MVC). The main results were a more pronounced increase non-linear in sEMG-RMS amplitude for the muscles. The protocol described here may provide a useful index for measuring of strength neuromuscular fatigue.

Keywords: biosignal, surface electromyography, ramp contractions, strength

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Authors: Sallama Resen, Celal Öztürk

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Distance estimation between tow nodes has wide scope of surveillance and tracking applications. This paper suggests a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology as a media for transceiver and receiver signal in small indoor areas. As an example, BLE communication technologies used in child safety domains. Local network is designed to detect child position in indoor school area consisting Mobile Beacons (MB), Access Points (AP) and Smart Phones (SP) where MBs stuck in children’s shoes as wearable sensors. This paper presents a technique that can detect mobile beacons’ position and help finding children’s location within dynamic environment. By means of bluetooth beacons that are attached to child’s shoes, the distance between the MB and teachers SP is estimated with an accuracy of less than one meter. From the simulation results, it is shown that high accuracy of position coordinates are achieved for multi-mobile beacons in different environments.

Keywords: bluetooth low energy, child safety, mobile beacons, received signal strength

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Authors: Surbhi Kaura, Sachin Kandhari, Shahiduz Zafar

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Chronic stroke, characterized by persistent motor deficits, often necessitates comprehensive rehabilitation interventions to improve functional outcomes and mitigate long-term dependency. Luna neurorobotic devices, integrated with EMG feedback systems, provide an innovative platform for facilitating neuroplasticity and functional improvement in stroke survivors. This retrospective study aims to investigate the impact of EMG-based Luna neurorobotic interventions on the strengthening of the affected side in chronic stroke patients. In rehabilitation, active patient participation significantly activates the sensorimotor network during motor control, unlike passive movement. Stroke is a debilitating condition that, when not effectively treated, can result in significant deficits and lifelong dependency. Common issues like neglecting the use of limbs can lead to weakness in chronic stroke cases. In rehabilitation, active patient participation significantly activates the sensorimotor network during motor control, unlike passive movement. This study aims to assess how electromyographic triggering (EMG-triggered) robotic treatments affect walking, ankle muscle force after an ischemic stroke, and the coactivation of agonist and antagonist muscles, which contributes to neuroplasticity with the assistance of biofeedback using robotics. Methods: The study utilized robotic techniques based on electromyography (EMG) for daily rehabilitation in long-term stroke patients, offering feedback and monitoring progress. Each patient received one session per day for two weeks, with the intervention group undergoing 45 minutes of robot-assisted training and exercise at the hospital, while the control group performed exercises at home. Eight participants with impaired motor function and gait after stroke were involved in the study. EMG-based biofeedback exercises were administered through the LUNA neuro-robotic machine, progressing from trigger and release mode to trigger and hold, and later transitioning to dynamic mode. Assessments were conducted at baseline and after two weeks, including the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, a 10-meter walk test (10m), Berg Balance Scale (BBG), and gait parameters like cadence, step length, upper limb strength measured by EMG threshold in microvolts, and force in Newton meters. Results: The study utilized a scale to assess motor strength and balance, illustrating the benefits of EMG-biofeedback following LUNA robotic therapy. In the analysis of the left hemiparetic group, an increase in strength post-rehabilitation was observed. The pre-TUG mean value was 72.4, which decreased to 42.4 ± 0.03880133 seconds post-rehabilitation, with a significant difference indicated by a p-value below 0.05, reflecting a reduced task completion time. Similarly, in the force-based task, the pre-knee dynamic force in Newton meters was 18.2NM, which increased to 31.26NM during knee extension post-rehabilitation. The post-student t-test showed a p-value of 0.026, signifying a significant difference. This indicated an increase in the strength of knee extensor muscles after LUNA robotic rehabilitation. Lastly, at baseline, the EMG value for ankle dorsiflexion was 5.11 (µV), which increased to 43.4 ± 0.06 µV post-rehabilitation, signifying an increase in the threshold and the patient's ability to generate more motor units during left ankle dorsiflexion. Conclusion: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of EMG and dynamic force-based rehabilitation devices on walking and strength of the affected side in chronic stroke patients without nominal data comparisons among stroke patients. Additionally, it provides insights into the inclusion of EMG-triggered neurorehabilitation robots in the daily rehabilitation of patients.

Keywords: neurorehabilitation, robotic therapy, stroke, strength, paralysis

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Authors: A. Khosrozadeh, M. A. Darabi, M. Xing, Q. Wang

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Fabrication of a high-performance supercapacitor (SC) using a flexible cellulose-based composite film of polyaniline (PANI), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and silver nanowires (AgNWs) is reported. The flexibility, high capacitive behaviour, and cyclic stability of the entire device make it a good candidate for wearable SCs. The results show that a capacitance as high as 73.4 F/g (1.6 F/cm2) at a discharge rate of 1.1 A/g is achieved by the device. In addition, the SC demonstrates a power density up to 468.8 W/kg and an energy density up to 5.1 wh/kg. The flexibility of the composite film is attributed to the binding effect of cellulose fibers as well as reinforcing effect of AgNWs. The excellent electrochemical performance of the device is found to be owing to the synergistic effect between PANI/RGO/AgNWs ternary in a cushiony cellulose matrix and porous structure of the composite.

Keywords: cellulose, polyaniline, reduced graphene oxide, silver, super capacitor

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Authors: Vasile Simulescu, Jakub Mondek, Miloslav Pekař

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Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an anionic glycosaminoglycan distributed throughout connective, epithelial and neural tissues. The importance of hyaluronic acid increased in the last decades. It has many applications in medicine and cosmetics. Hyaluronic acid has been used in attempts to treat osteoarthritis of the knee via injecting it into the joint. Bovine serum albumin (also known as BSA) is a protein derived from cows, which has many biochemical applications. The aim of our research work was to compare the thermal degradation of hyaluronic acid and BSA in powder and in solution, by determining changes in molar mass and conformation, by using SEC-MALLS (size exclusion chromatography -multi angle laser light scattering). The aim of our research work was to observe the degradation in powder and in solution of different molar mass hyaluronic acid samples, at different temperatures for certain periods. The degradation of the analyzed samples was mainly observed by modifications in molar mass.

Keywords: thermal degradation, hyaluronic acid, BSA, SEC-MALLS

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Authors: Aboussalih Amira, Zarza Tahar, Fedaoui Kamel, Baroura Lazhar, Hammoudi Salah

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316 L steel is a stainless steel frequently used in orthopedic surgery; in the design of implants (hip, knee, shoulder, ankle, etc.), in dental surgery, cardiology, ophthalmology. Before any use, it is essential to predict the macroscopic phenomenological behavior of the material, and to analyze its response. The behavior of 316 L steel in low cycle fatigue, under uniaxial cyclic loading of tension/compression, producing significant plastic deformations leading to material damage. This investigation allowed us to characterize the behavior of the 316L steel employed in the locking of the compression plates (LCP), of which they are generally used in orthopedics to stabilize the fractured bone parts. And to perceive the phenomenon of Ratcheting leading to the damage of LCP by an excess of plastic deformation under nonsymmetrical alternated imposed constraint in low cycle fatigue.

Keywords: 316L SS, locking compression plate, low cycle fatigue, ratcheting

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Authors: Qinghua Zhang, Yanhe Zhu, Xiang Zhao, Yeqin Yang, Hongwei Jing, Guoan Zhang, Jie Zhao

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This paper presents a wearable reconfigurable supernumerary robotic limb with differential actuated joints, which is lightweight, compact and comfortable for the wearers. Compared to the existing supernumerary robotic limbs which mostly adopted series structure with large movement space but poor carrying capacity, a prototype with the series-parallel configuration to better adapt to different task requirements has been developed in this design. To achieve a compact structure, two kinds of cable-driven mechanical structures based on guide pulleys and differential actuated joints were designed. Moreover, two different tension devices were also designed to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the cable-driven transmission. The proposed device also employed self-designed bearings which greatly simplified the structure and reduced the cost.

Keywords: cable-driven, differential actuated joints, reconfigurable, supernumerary robotic limb

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Authors: Junaid Hamid Bhat

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Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the main causes of occupational illness. Mechanisms and the factors like repetitive work, physical effort and posture, endangering the risk of musculoskeletal disorders would now appear to have been properly identified. Teacher’s exposure to work-related musculoskeletal disorders appears to be insufficiently described in the literature. Little research has investigated the prevalence and risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in teaching profession. Very few studies are available in this regard and there are no studies evident in India. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and to identify and measure the association of such risk factors responsible for developing musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. Methodology: An observational cross sectional study was carried out. 500 school teachers from primary, middle, high and secondary schools were selected, based on eligibility criteria. A signed consent was obtained and a self-administered, validated questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics was used to compute the statistical mean and standard deviation, frequency and percentage to estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. The data analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Results indicated higher pain prevalence (99.6%) among school teachers during the past 12 months. Neck pain (66.1%), low back pain (61.8%) and knee pain (32.0%) were the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints of the subjects. Prevalence of shoulder pain was also found to be high among school teachers (25.9%). 52.0% subjects reported pain as disabling in nature, causing sleep disturbance (44.8%) and pain was found to be associated with work (87.5%). A significant association was found between musculoskeletal disorders and sick leaves/absenteeism. Conclusion: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders particularly neck pain, low back pain, and knee pain, is highly prevalent and risk factors are responsible for the development of same in school teachers. There is little awareness of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers, due to work load and prolonged/static postures. Further research should concentrate on specific risk factors like repetitive movements, psychological stress, and ergonomic factors and should be carried out all over the country and the school teachers should be studied carefully over a period of time. Also, an ergonomic investigation is needed to decrease the work-related musculoskeletal disorder problems. Implication: Recall bias and self-reporting can be considered as limitations. Also, cause and effect inferences cannot be ascertained. Based on these results, it is important to disseminate general recommendations for prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders with regards to the suitability of furniture, equipment and work tools, environmental conditions, work organization and rest time to school teachers. School teachers in the early stage of their careers should try to adapt the ergonomically favorable position whilst performing their work for a safe and healthy life later. Employers should be educated on practical aspects of prevention to reduce musculoskeletal disorders, since changes in workplace and work organization and physical/recreational activities are required.

Keywords: work related musculoskeletal disorders, school teachers, risk factors funding, medical and health sciences

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Authors: Surita Maini, Sanjay Dhanka

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Machine learning (ML) involves developing algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to learn and make predictions or decisions based on data without being explicitly programmed. Because of its unlimited abilities ML is gaining popularity in medical sectors; Medical Imaging, Electronic Health Records, Genomic Data Analysis, Wearable Devices, Disease Outbreak Prediction, Disease Diagnosis, etc. In the last few decades, many researchers have tried to diagnose Breast Cancer (BC) using ML, because early detection of any disease can save millions of lives. Working in this direction, the authors have proposed a hybrid ML technique RBF SVM, to predict the BC in earlier the stage. The proposed method is implemented on the Breast Cancer UCI ML dataset with 569 instances and 32 attributes. The authors recorded performance metrics of the proposed model i.e., Accuracy 98.24%, Sensitivity 98.67%, Specificity 97.43%, F1 Score 98.67%, Precision 98.67%, and run time 0.044769 seconds. The proposed method is validated by K-Fold cross-validation.

Keywords: breast cancer, support vector classifier, machine learning, hyper parameter tunning

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Authors: T. Hirata, M. G. Silva, L. M. Rosa

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The balance ability during task kick in soccer is a determining factor in the execution of functional movements that require a high-performance motor coordination. The current experiment explored it during an instep soccer kick and functional task kicking. Their kicking performance was measured in terms of the sway characteristics using lateral and antero-posterior balance of the center of pressure (COP) for the supporting leg and the kinematic data, the supporting leg’s knee angle. The motion was realized with one-legged stance of five male indoor soccer players and using the trigger device ball controller. The results showed large balance in antero-posterior direction than in lateral direction. However, each player adopts a different way to kick the ball, and the media-lateral displacement of the COP showed no correlation with the balance skill.

Keywords: kicking performance, center of pressure, one-legged stance, balance ability

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Authors: S. F. Fakhouri, M.M. Shimano, D. Maranho, C. A. Araújo, M. V. Guimarães, A. C. Shimano, J. B. Volpon

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Pathological deviations of the mechanical axis of the lower limbs deeply alter the stress distributions on the femur and tibia and the hip, knee, and ankle articulations. The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of pathological deviations in different levels of the lower limbs in the distribution of stress in the proximal femur region using photoelasticity of plane transmission. For most of the types of deviations studied, the results showed that the internal stress was generally higher in the calcar region than in the trochanteric region, followed by the third distal of the femur head. This study allowed for the development of better criteria for the correction of angular deviations and helped identify the deviations that are most harmful to the mechanical axis in terms of the effects on the bone and the articular effort of the lower limbs. These results will lead to future improvements in studies on prostheses.

Keywords: alignment, deviations, inferior limbs, mechanical axis, photoelasticity, stress

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Authors: Sarah Pasala, Elizabeth Zacharias

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Vital sign monitoring is crucial for both everyday health and medical diagnosis. A significant factor in assessing a human's health is their vital signs, which include heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. Vital sign monitoring has been the focus of many system and method innovations recently. Piezoelectrics are materials that convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and can be used for vital sign monitoring. Piezoelectric energy harvesters that are stretchable and flexible can detect very low frequencies like airflow, heartbeat, etc. Current advancements in piezoelectric materials and flexible sensors have made it possible to create wearable and implantable medical devices that can continuously monitor physiological signals in humans. But because of their non-biocompatible nature, they also produce a large amount of e-waste and require another surgery to remove the implant. This paper presents a biocompatible and flexible piezoelectric composite material for wearable and implantable devices that offers a high-performance platform for seamless and continuous monitoring of human physiological signals and tactile stimuli. It also addresses the issue of e-waste and secondary surgery. A Lead-free piezoelectric, SrBi4Ti4O15, is found to be suitable for this application because the properties can be tailored by suitable substitutions and also by varying the synthesis temperature protocols. In the present work, SrBi4Ti4O15 modified by rare-earth has been synthesized and studied. Coupling factors are calculated from resonant (fr) and anti-resonant frequencies (fa). It is observed that Samarium substitution in SBT has increased the Curie temperature, dielectric and piezoelectric properties. From impedance spectroscopy studies, relaxation, and non-Debye type behaviour are observed. The composite of bioresorbable poly(l-lactide) and Lead-free rare earth modified Bismuth Layered Ferroelectrics leads to a flexible piezoelectric device for non-invasive measurement of vital signs, such as heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram (ECG) readings and also artery pulse signals in near-surface arteries. These composites are suitable to detect slight movement of the muscles and joints. This Lead-free rare earth modified Bismuth Layered Ferroelectrics – polymer composite is synthesized using a ball mill and the solid-state double sintering method. XRD studies indicated the two phases in the composite. SEM studies revealed the grain size to be uniform and in the range of 100 nm. The electromechanical coupling factor is improved. The elastic constants are calculated and the mechanical flexibility is found to be improved as compared to the single-phase rare earth modified Bismuth Latered piezoelectric. The results indicate that this composite is suitable for the non-invasive detection of multiple vital signs of humans.

Keywords: composites, flexible, non-invasive, piezoelectric

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Authors: N. Ahmadi, H. Yousefnia, A. Bahrami-Samani

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Chitosan is a natural and biodegradable polysaccharide with special characteristic for application in intracavital therapy. 166Ho-chitosan has been reported for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and RSV with promising results. The aim of this study was to prepare 186/188Re-chitosan for radiosynovectomy purposes and investigate the probability of its leakage from the knee joint. 186/188Re was produced by neutron irradiation of the natural rhenium in a research reactor. Chemical processing was performed to obtain (186/188Re)-NaReO4- according to the IAEA manual. A stock solution of chitosan was prepared by dissolving in 1 % acetic acid aqueous solution (10 mg/mL). 1.5 mL of this stock solution was added to the vial containing the activity and the mixture was stirred for 5 min in the room temperature. The radiochemical purity of the complex was checked by the ITLC method, showing the purity of higher than 98%. Distribution of the radiolabeled complex was determined after intra-articular injection into the knees of rats. Excellent retention was observed in the joint with approximately no activity in the other organs.

Keywords: chitosan, leakage, radiosynovectomy, rhenium

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Authors: Beste Ozcan, Valerio Sperati, Laura Romano, Tania Moretta, Simone Scaffaro, Noemi Faedda, Federica Giovannone, Carla Sogos, Vincenzo Guidetti, Gianluca Baldassarre

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+me is an experimental interactive toy with the appearance of a soft, pillow-like, panda. Shape and consistency are designed to arise emotional attachment in young children: a child can wear it around his/her neck and treat it as a companion (i.e. a transitional object). When caressed on paws or head, the panda emits appealing, interesting outputs like colored lights or amusing sounds, thanks to embedded electronics. Such sensory patterns can be modified through a wirelessly connected tablet: by this, an adult caregiver can adapt +me responses to a child's reactions or requests, for example, changing the light hue or the type of sound. The toy control is therefore shared, as it depends on both the child (who handles the panda) and the adult (who manages the tablet and mediates the sensory input-output contingencies). These features make +me a potential tool for therapy with children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ND), characterized by impairments in the social area, like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Language Disorders (LD): as a proposal, the toy could be used together with a therapist, in rehabilitative play activities aimed at encouraging simple social interactions and reinforcing basic relational and communication skills. +me was tested in two pilot experiments, the first one involving 15 Typically Developed (TD) children aged in 8-34 months, the second one involving 7 children with ASD, and 7 with LD, aged in 30-48 months. In both studies a researcher/caregiver, during a one-to-one, ten-minute activity plays with the panda and encourages the child to do the same. The purpose of both studies was to ascertain the general acceptability of the device as an interesting toy that is an object able to capture the child's attention and to maintain a high motivation to interact with it and with the adult. Behavioral indexes for estimating the interplay between the child, +me and caregiver were rated from the video recording of the experimental sessions. Preliminary results show how -on average- participants from 3 groups exhibit a good engagement: they touch, caress, explore the panda and show enjoyment when they manage to trigger luminous and sound responses. During the experiments, children tend to imitate the caregiver's actions on +me, often looking (and smiling) at him/her. Interesting behavioral differences between TD, ASD, and LD groups are scored: for example, ASD participants produce a fewer number of smiles both to panda and to a caregiver with respect to TD group, while LD scores stand between ASD and TD subjects. These preliminary observations suggest that the interactive toy +me is able to raise and maintain the interest of toddlers and therefore it can be reasonably used as a supporting tool during therapy, to stimulate pivotal social skills as imitation, turn-taking, eye contact, and social smiles. Interestingly, the young age of participants, along with the behavioral differences between groups, seem to suggest a further potential use of the device: a tool for early differential diagnosis (the average age of a child

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, interactive toy, social interaction, therapy, transitional wearable companion

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Authors: Vinesh Janarthanan, Mohammad H. Rahman

Abstract:

There are numerous neurological conditions that may result in a loss of motor function. Such conditions may include cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, stroke or multiple sclerosis. Due to impaired motor function, specifically in the hand and arm, living independently becomes tremendously more difficult. Rehabilitation programs are the main method to treat these kinds of disabled individuals. However, these programs require longtime commitment from the clinicians/therapists, demand person to person caring, and typically the treatment duration is usually very long. Aside from the treatment received from the therapist, the continuation of neuroplasticity at home is essential to maximizing development and restoring the biological function. To contribute in this area, we have researched and developed a portable and comfortable hand glove for fine motor skills rehabilitation. The glove provides interactive home-based therapy to engage the patient with simple games. The key to this treatment is the repetition of moving the hand and being capable of positioning the hand in various ways.

Keywords: home based, wearable sensors, glove, rehabilitation, motor function, video games

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Authors: Murad Almadani, Khalil Abu-Hantash, Xinyu Wang, Herbert Jelinek, Kinda Khalaf

Abstract:

Gait analysis is used by healthcare professionals as a tool to gain a better understanding of the movement impairment and track progress. In most circumstances, monitoring patients in their real-life environments with low-cost equipment such as cameras and wearable sensors is more important. Inertial sensors, on the other hand, cannot provide enough information on angular dynamics. This research offers a method for tracking 2D joint coordinates using cutting-edge vision algorithms and a single RGB camera. We provide an end-to-end comprehensive deep learning pipeline for marker-less gait parameter estimation, which, to our knowledge, has never been done before. To make our pipeline function in real-time for real-world applications, we leverage the AlphaPose human posture prediction model and a deep learning transformer. We tested our approach on the well-known GPJATK dataset, which produces promising results.

Keywords: gait analysis, human pose estimation, deep learning, real time gait estimation, AlphaPose, transformer

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Authors: Mawuli M. Sedegah, Emmanuel O. Sarpong, Ernest Y. Acheampong

Abstract:

Sports injuries among student-athletes in high schools have become prevalent in most developing countries. The study explores the risk factors influencing sports injuries and identify those sustained among high schools’ competitions in the Akuapem Municipality. Drawing on literature from sports injuries, 610 student-athletes were used to understand how they sustained various injuries during schools’ sports and games. Using a cross-sectional survey, the study reveals how wounds, knee injury, muscle cramps, and thigh injury are common injuries in the municipality. The physiological factor was rampant, resulting from the number of games played by student-athletes, which significantly influenced sprain, strain, dislocation, and nose bleeding injuries among them. Results recorded a low correlation accounting for 9% occurrence of sports injuries in the Akuapem Municipality. Further study can be done in the other districts to have a general approach to remedy some of these sports injuries.

Keywords: common injuries, physiological factors, sports injuries, student-athletes

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Authors: Mohsin Talib Mohammed, Zahid A. Khan, Arshad N. Siddiquee

Abstract:

Biometallic materials are the most important materials for use in biomedical applications especially in manufacturing a variety of biological artificial replacements in a modern worlds, e.g. hip, knee or shoulder joints, due to their advanced characteristics. Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are used extensively in biomedical applications based on their high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. Beta-Ti alloys containing completely biocompatible elements are exceptionally prospective materials for manufacturing of bioimplants. They have superior mechanical, chemical and electrochemical properties for use as biomaterials. These biomaterials have the ability to introduce the most important property of biochemical compatibility which is low elastic modulus. This review examines current information on the recent developments in alloying elements leading to improvements of beta Ti alloys for use as biomaterials. Moreover, this paper focuses mainly on the evolution, evaluation and development of the modulus of elasticity as an effective factor on the performance of beta alloys.

Keywords: beta alloys, biomedical applications, titanium alloys, Young's modulus

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Authors: Laribi-Habchi Hasiba, Bouanane-Darenfed Amel, Drouiche Nadjib, Pausse André, Mameri Nabil

Abstract:

Chitin, a linear 1, 4-linked N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) polysaccharide is the major structural component of fungal cell walls, insect exoskeletons and shells of crustaceans. It is one of the most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharides and has attracted tremendous attention in the fields of agriculture, pharmacology and biotechnology. Each year, a vast amount of chitin waste is released from the aquatic food industry, where crustaceans (prawn, crab, Shrimp and lobster) constitute one of the main agricultural products. This creates a serious environmental problem. This linear polymer can be hydrolyzed by bases, acids or enzymes such as chitinase. In this context an extracellular chitinase (ChiA-65) was produced and purified from a newly isolated LHH100. Pure protein was obtained after heat treatment and ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. Based on matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) analysis, the purified enzyme is a monomer with a molecular mass of 65,195.13 Da. The sequence of the 27 N-terminal residues of the mature ChiA-65 showed high homology with family-18 chitinases. Optimal activity was achieved at pH 4 and 75◦C. Among the inhibitors and metals tested p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, N-ethylmaleimide, Hg2+ and Hg + completelyinhibited enzyme activity. Chitinase activity was high on colloidal chitin, glycol chitin, glycol chitosane, chitotriose and chitooligosaccharide. Chitinase activity towards synthetic substrates in the order of p-NP-(GlcNAc) n (n = 2–4) was p-NP-(GlcNAc)2> p-NP-(GlcNAc)4> p-NP-(GlcNAc)3. Our results suggest that ChiA-65 preferentially hydrolyzed the second glycosidic link from the non-reducing end of (GlcNAc) n. ChiA-65 obeyed Michaelis Menten kinetics the Km and kcat values being 0.385 mg, colloidal chitin/ml and5000 s−1, respectively. ChiA-65 exhibited remarkable biochemical properties suggesting that this enzyme is suitable for bioconversion of chitin waste.

Keywords: Bacillus licheniformis LHH100, characterization, extracellular chitinase, purification

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Authors: Kun Qi, Yuman Zhou, Jianxin He

Abstract:

A facile fabrication strategy via electrospinning and followed by in situ polymerization to fabricate a highly stretchable and conductive Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/Polyurethane (PEDOT/PU) nanofibrous membrane is reported. PU nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and then PEDOT was coated on the plasma modified PU nanofiber surface via in-situ polymerization to form flexible PEDOT/PU composite nanofibers with conductivity. The results show PEDOT is successfully synthesized on the surface of PU nanofiber and PEDOT/PU composite nanofibers possess skin-core structure. Furthermore, the experiments indicate the optimal technological parameters of the polymerization process are as follow: The concentration of EDOT monomers is 50 mmol/L, the polymerization time is 24 h and the temperature is 25℃. The PEDOT/PU nanofibers exhibit excellent electrical conductivity ( 27.4 S/cm). In addition, flexible sensor made from conductive PEDOT/PU nanofibers shows highly sensitive response towards tensile strain and also can be used to detect finger motion. The results demonstrate promising application of the as-obtained nanofibrous membrane in flexible wearable electronic fields.

Keywords: electrospinning, polyurethane, PEDOT, conductive nanofiber, flexible senor

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Authors: Elsa Kosmack Vaara, Cheryl Akner Koler, Yusuf Mulla, Parivash Ranjbar, Anneli Nöu

Abstract:

This transdisciplinary research weaves together an aesthetic perspective with a technical one to develop human sensitivity for vibration and construct flexible, wearable devices that are miniature, lightweight, and energy efficient. By applying methods from artistic research, performative arts, audio science, nanotechnology, and interaction design, we created working prototypes with actuators that were specifically positioned in various places on the body. The vibrotactile prototypes were tested by our research team, design students, and people with deafblindness and blindness, each with different intentions. Some tests supported connoisseurship for vibrotactile musical expression. Others aimed for precise navigational instructions. Our results and discussion concern problems in establishing standards for vibrotactility because standards minimize diversity and narrow possible ways vibration can be experienced. Human bodies vary significantly in ‘where’ vibrotactile signals can be sensed and ‘how’ they awaken emotions. We encourage others to embrace the dynamic exchange between new haptic technology and aesthetic complexity.

Keywords: aesthetics, vibration, music, interaction design, deafblindness

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Authors: Nessreen Elmelegy

Abstract:

Fashion is all about being fun, stylish and looking beautiful in your own way, whether it is with clothes, accessories, hairstyles, and even furniture. There are never ending ways and sources when wanting to seek inspiration. Fashion designers can get inspired by anything and everything that encompasses them in their everyday lives. When getting inspired, there are no boundaries or limits to when it comes to exploring one's originality and fashion sense. All designers focus on being unique, original and trendy when taking inspiration and transforming that into fashionable and wearable garments. Ebru is a Turkish art. The actual word 'Ebru' in Turkish means marbling. Marbling is the art which help designers to create innovative and rich and colorful patterns in fashion designs. By using this technique we will have countless unique designs in fashion because each design can never be repeated. It is a traditional Turkish art which is designated as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2014. Ebru art has spread from the East to the West by way of Silk Road and other trade routes. So this research is focused on studying the history and the techniques of Ebru art in fashion as an amazing trend of fashion, which is still stranger to the Egyptian Fashion industry; also how we can benefit from the incorporation of Ebru art as into the garments designs while still maintaining the functional and beauty purpose of the design.

Keywords: Ebru Art, Ebru techniques, fashion inspiration, fashion trends

Procedia PDF Downloads 311