Sit-to-Stand Movement Recognition Using Kinect

This paper examines the application of machine-learning techniques to human movement data in order to recognise and compare movements made by different people. Data from an experimental set-up using a sit-to-stand movement are first collected using the Microsoft Kinect input sensor, then normalized and subsequently compared using the assigned labels for correct and incorrect movements. We show that attributes can be extracted from the time series produced by the Kinect sensor using a dynamic time-warping technique. The extracted attributes are then fed to a random forest algorithm, to recognise anomalous behaviour in time series of joint measurements over the whole movement. For comparison, the k-Nearest Neighbours algorithm is also used on the same attributes with good results. Both methods’ results are compared using Multi-Dimensional Scaling for clustering visualisation

An Overview of Self-Adaptive Technologies Within Virtual Reality Training

This overview presents the current state-of-the-art of self-adaptive technologies within virtual reality (VR) training. Virtual reality training and assessment is increasingly used for five key areas: medical, industrial & commercial training, serious games, rehabilitation and remote training such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Adaptation can be applied to five core technologies of VR including haptic devices, stereo graphics, adaptive content, assessment and autonomous agents. Automation of VR training can contribute to automation of actual procedures including remote and robotic assisted surgery which reduces injury and improves accuracy of the procedure. Automated haptic interaction can enable tele-presence and virtual artefact tactile interaction from either remote or simulated environments. Automation, machine learning and data driven features play an important role in providing trainee-specific individual adaptive training content. Data from trainee assessment can form an input to autonomous systems for customised training and automated difficulty levels to match individual requirements. Self-adaptive technology has been developed previously within individual technologies of VR training. One of the conclusions of this research is that while it does not exist, an enhanced portable framework is needed and it would be beneficial to combine automation of core technologies, producing a reusable automation framework for VR training

Desenvolvimento e Avaliação de um Sistema de Monitorização de Fisioterapia

Quando um individuo apresenta uma limitação a nível cinético-funcional do seu corpo é provável que o seu médico de família o encaminhe para a fisioterapia. Estes problemas podem ser de origem genética ou resultado de traumas. Independentemente do tipo de reabilitação, existe um objetivo comum: o de tornar o tratamento o mais eficaz possível. A força de vontade e a motivação por parte do paciente são fatores importantes e influenciadores na recuperação. Um paciente motivado e empenhado na execução dos seus tratamentos tem maior probabili-dade de recuperar mais rapidamente do que um paciente desanimado. Assim, surge a neces-sidade de tornar os tratamentos não só eficazes como também interessantes e apelativos ao paciente, motivando-o a seguir rigorosamente os exercícios que lhe são prescritos e deste modo, obter resultados positivos na sua recuperação. O biofeedback pode ser utilizado como auxílio ao processo de reabilitação. Esta técnica pode ser aplicada a qualquer exercício e permite que o paciente tenha uma melhor perceção dos seus movimentos durante a execução das sessões, e, por conseguinte, corrigir possíveis falhas nos movimentos ou más posturas. Posto isto, o sistema implementado consiste num software de exercícios de fisioterapia rela-tivos a reabilitação ao nível dos ombros com uma componente de biofeedback, isto é, permitir ao paciente ter um feedback relativo à execução dos exercícios, em tempo real, e com isto compreender o impacto desta técnica no processo de recuperação

Enhanced Living Environments

This open access book was prepared as a Final Publication of the COST Action IC1303 “Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE)”. The concept of Enhanced Living Environments (ELE) refers to the area of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) that is more related with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Effective ELE solutions require appropriate ICT algorithms, architectures, platforms, and systems, having in view the advance of science and technology in this area and the development of new and innovative solutions that can provide improvements in the quality of life for people in their homes and can reduce the financial burden on the budgets of the healthcare providers. The aim of this book is to become a state-of-the-art reference, discussing progress made, as well as prompting future directions on theories, practices, standards, and strategies related to the ELE area. The book contains 12 chapters and can serve as a valuable reference for undergraduate students, post-graduate students, educators, faculty members, researchers, engineers, medical doctors, healthcare organizations, insurance companies, and research strategists working in this area

Proceedings of the 10th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2014)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Front-Line Physicians' Satisfaction with Information Systems in Hospitals

Day-to-day operations management in hospital units is difficult due to continuously varying situations, several actors involved and a vast number of information systems in use. The aim of this study was to describe front-line physicians' satisfaction with existing information systems needed to support the day-to-day operations management in hospitals. A cross-sectional survey was used and data chosen with stratified random sampling were collected in nine hospitals. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The response rate was 65 % (n = 111). The physicians reported that information systems support their decision making to some extent, but they do not improve access to information nor are they tailored for physicians. The respondents also reported that they need to use several information systems to support decision making and that they would prefer one information system to access important information. Improved information access would better support physicians' decision making and has the potential to improve the quality of decisions and speed up the decision making process.Peer reviewe

Usability analysis of contending electronic health record systems

In this paper, we report measured usability of two leading EHR systems during procurement. A total of 18 users participated in paired-usability testing of three scenarios: ordering and managing medications by an outpatient physician, medicine administration by an inpatient nurse and scheduling of appointments by nursing staff. Data for audio, screen capture, satisfaction rating, task success and errors made was collected during testing. We found a clear difference between the systems for percentage of successfully completed tasks, two different satisfaction measures and perceived learnability when looking at the results over all scenarios. We conclude that usability should be evaluated during procurement and the difference in usability between systems could be revealed even with fewer measures than were used in our study. © 2019 American Psychological Association Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Actas de SABI2020

Los temas salientes incluyen un marcapasos pulmonar que promete complementar y eventualmente sustituir la conocida ventilación mecánica por presión positiva (intubación), el análisis de la marchaespontánea sin costosos equipamientos, las imágenes infrarrojas y la predicción de la salud cardiovascular en temprana edad por medio de la biomecánica arterial

A Distributed System Using MS Kinect and Event Calculus for Adaptive Physiotherapist Rehabilitation

In many countries of the world, the life expectancy increases but the population ages so rapidly that it is expected that soon it will be difficult to ensure a good life quality to the elder people when health issues arise. In this paper, we consider this problem from the point of view of the physiotherapy rehabilitation which nowadays is perceived as costly and inconvenient for the elder patients. In order to lessen these problems, we propose a distributed architecture to allow the physiotherapists to remotely assist their patients while they comfortably do exercises from home. As in other proposals, the Human Pose Recognition is delegated to a computer equipped with MS Kinect and neural networks. Our approach, however, differs from others because it includes a logical framework based on Event Calculus augmented with Expectations which provides a higher-level description of the exercises and a mean to measure how well they were done

A novel parametric scale for determining rehabilitation progress in the upper limb

PhD ThesisThe process of sensorimotor rehabilitation depends upon the clinical condition, age and circumstances of the patient and is unlikely to be continuous or predictable in nature. Mapping progress in conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury relies upon a variety of qualitative assessments, each resulting in different scales of measurement. Most current assessments are elaborate, specific to certain participants and/or stages of a condition, and subject to inter-rater and intra-rater variability. A simple and reliable measuring system is required that can capture rehabilitation progress from an initial state through to complete rehabilitation. It must be believable, flexible, understandable and accessible if the patient is to benefit from its use. Two-dimensional reaching tasks reflect movements made in typical therapies and activities of daily living. This thesis hypothesises that valuable parameters exist within positional and temporal data gathered from simple reaching tasks. Such parameters should be able to identify movement quality and hence measure state and progress during rehabilitation. They should correlate well with a variety of clinical scales to be meaningful and, as quantifiable measurands, they should be extendable beyond the range of established clinical scales. This thesis proposes a novel solution for the assessment of upper limb rehabilitation. An affordable desktop computer assessment system was developed and used with juvenile patient participants (N=11) to compare simple desktop reaching parameters with a clinical scale. A control group of normal juvenile participants (N=10) provided baseline data. The results indicated good correlation with the clinical scale based upon a weighted combination of pre-selected movement parameters. The methodology developed permits assessment against further clinical scales and additional participant groups allowing rapid, accurate, reliable and extendable assessments. The potential for mass data acquisition from clinical and domestic settings is identified to support the development of further assessments and, potentially, new therapies to address limited therapist availability and innovative treatments