A new IMMU-based data glove for hand motion capture with optimized sensor layout

The number of people with hand disabilities caused by stroke is increasing every year. Developing a low-cost and easy-to-use data glove to capture the human hand motion can be used to assess the patient’s hand ability in home environment. While a majority of existing hand motion capture methods are too complex to be used for patients in residential settings. This paper proposes a new sensor layout strategy using the inertial and magnetic measurement units and designs a multi-sensor Kalman data fusion algorithm. The sensor layout strategy is optimized according to the inverse kinematics and the developed hand model, and the number of sensors can be significantly reduced from 12 in conventional systems to 6 in our system with the hand motion being completely and accurately reconstructed. Hand motion capture experiments were conducted on a healthy subject using the developed data glove. The hand motion can be restored completely and the hand gesture can be recognized with an accuracy of 85%. The results of a continuous hand movement indicate an average error under 15% compared with the common glove with full sensors. This new set with optimized sensor layout is promising for lower-cost and residential medical applications

Wearable Movement Sensors for Rehabilitation: From Technology to Clinical Practice

This Special Issue shows a range of potential opportunities for the application of wearable movement sensors in motor rehabilitation. However, the papers surely do not cover the whole field of physical behavior monitoring in motor rehabilitation. Most studies in this Special Issue focused on the technical validation of wearable sensors and the development of algorithms. Clinical validation studies, studies applying wearable sensors for the monitoring of physical behavior in daily life conditions, and papers about the implementation of wearable sensors in motor rehabilitation are under-represented in this Special Issue. Studies investigating the usability and feasibility of wearable movement sensors in clinical populations were lacking. We encourage researchers to investigate the usability, acceptance, feasibility, reliability, and clinical validity of wearable sensors in clinical populations to facilitate the application of wearable movement sensors in motor rehabilitation

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

GSI Scientific Report 2009 [GSI Report 2010-1]

Displacement design response spectrum is an essential component for the currently-developing displacement-based seismic design and assessment procedures. This paper proposes a new and simple method for constructing displacement design response spectra on soft soil sites. The method takes into account modifications of the seismic waves by the soil layers, giving due considerations to factors such as the level of bedrock shaking, material non-linearity, seismic impedance contrast at the interface between soil and bedrock, and plasticity of the soil layers. The model is particularly suited to applications in regions with a paucity of recorded strong ground motion data, from which empirical models cannot be reliably developed

NASA Tech Briefs, May 2002

Topics include: a technology focus on engineering materials, electronic components and circuits, software, mechanics, machinery/automation, manufacturing, physical sciences, information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs