87 research outputs found
Measurement of bimanual coordination in rehabilitation for poststroke individuals: a systematic review
A stroke can result in a decreased ability to coordinate the upper limbs, which leads to
difficulty in performing the activities of daily living (ADLs). As a result, upper-extremity
rehabilitation has been frequently implemented to improve impaired bimanual coordination.
Many studies have examined the nature of bimanual coordination during two-handed discrete
tasks such as reaching and grasping in many different populations. Over the past few decades,
much research has been devoted to examining the nature of bimanual coordination. Foundational
research examining bimanual coordination (i.e., inter-limb coordination) and control, has focused
on how different constraints (e.g., task, individual) affect the degree and stability of spatial and
temporal coupling between the end effectors or joints. This was done in the context of different
philosophical paradigms, in the field of motor control and coordination, such as coordinative
structures (Kugler et al., 1980), and synergies (Haken, 1983). However, in rehabilitation studies,
the issue of bimanual coordination, along with the theoretical relevance of the emerging
inferences have not been systematically addressed. Therefore, the first purpose of this project
was to systematically review the methodological approaches used in the literature that examine
changes in coordination and control in those who have had a stroke following upper-limb
rehabilitation that aimed to improve bimanual function. Another objective was to classify these
approaches in regards to their theoretical and conceptual basis. From this, suggestions were made
as to how to potentially enhance the existing approaches to measuring inter-limb coordination
during bimanual rehabilitation. [...
Upper limb movement control after stroke and in healthy ageing: does intensive upper limb neurorehabilitation improve motor control and reduce motor impairment in the chronic phase of stroke?
Stroke affects people of all ages, but many are in the elderly population. 75% of stroke survivors have residual upper limb motor impairment and resultant disability. This thesis firstly examines upper limb motor control in chronic stroke.
Evidence is emerging that high dose, high intensity complex neurorehabilitation interventions in chronic stroke patients produce unprecedented gains on clinical outcome scores of motor impairment, function and activity. But whether these clinical improvements represent behavioural repair or merely behavioural compensation remains undetermined. To address this question, upper limb movement kinematics, strength and joint range and clinical scores were measured in 52 chronic stroke patients before and after an intensive three-week treatment intervention. 29 chronic stroke patients who had not undergone treatment were similarly assessed, three-weeks apart. Significant improvements in motor control, arm strength and joint range in addition to gains on clinical scores were observed in the impaired arm of the intervention group. Crucially, changes in motor control occurred independently of changes in strength and joint range. Improvements in motor control were retained in a cohort of 28 patients in the intervention group, also assessed 6-weeks and 6-months after treatment had ended, demonstrating persistent changes in motor behaviour. These results suggest that behavioural restitution has occurred.
Secondly, knowledge of the effects of normal healthy ageing on upper limb motor control is essential to informing research and delivery of clinical services. To this end, movement kinematics were measured in both arms of 57 healthy adults aged 22 to 82 years. A decline in motor control was observed as age increased, particularly in the non-dominant arm. However, motor control in healthy adults of all ages remained significantly better than in chronic stroke patients pre- and post-intervention.
This thesis provides new evidence that treatment-driven improvements in motor control are achievable in the chronic post-stroke upper limb, which strongly suggests that motor control should remain a therapeutic target well beyond the current three to six-month post-stroke window. It will inform the continued development and delivery of high dose, high intensity upper limb neurorehabilitation treatment interventions for stroke patients of all ages
Estimating hand-grip forces causing Cumulative Trauma Disorder
Wearable sensors have garnered considerable interest because of their potential for various applications. However, much less has been studied about the Stretchsense pressure sensor characteristics and its workability for industrial application to prevent potential risk situations such as accidents and injuries. The proposed study helps investigate Stretchsense pressure sensors\u27 applicability for measuring hand-handle interface forces under static and dynamic conditions. The BendLabs sensors - a multi-axis, soft, flexible sensing system was attached to the wrist to evaluate the wrist angle deviations. In addition, the StretchSense stretch sensors were attached to the elbow joint to help estimate the elbow flexion/extension. The research tests and evaluates the real-time pressure distribution across the hand while performing given tasks and investigates the relationship between the wrist and elbow position and grip strength. The research provides objective means to assess the magnitudes of high pressures that may cause pressure-induced discomfort and pain, thereby increasing the hand\u27s stress. The experiment\u27s most significant benefit lies in its applicability to the actual tool handles outside the laboratory settings
Touching on elements for a non-invasive sensory feedback system for use in a prosthetic hand
Hand amputation results in the loss of motor and sensory functions, impacting activities of daily life and quality of life. Commercially available prosthetic hands restore the motor function but lack sensory feedback, which is crucial to receive information about the prosthesis state in real-time when interacting with the external environment. As a supplement to the missing sensory feedback, the amputee needs to rely on visual and audio cues to operate the prosthetic hand, which can be mentally demanding. This thesis revolves around finding potential solutions to contribute to an intuitive non-invasive sensory feedback system that could be cognitively less burdensome and enhance the sense of embodiment (the feeling that an artificial limb belongs to one’s own body), increasing acceptance of wearing a prosthesis.A sensory feedback system contains sensors to detect signals applied to the prosthetics. The signals are encoded via signal processing to resemble the detected sensation delivered by actuators on the skin. There is a challenge in implementing commercial sensors in a prosthetic finger. Due to the prosthetic finger’s curvature and the fact that some prosthetic hands use a covering rubber glove, the sensor response would be inaccurate. This thesis shows that a pneumatic touch sensor integrated into a rubber glove eliminates these errors. This sensor provides a consistent reading independent of the incident angle of stimulus, has a sensitivity of 0.82 kPa/N, a hysteresis error of 2.39±0.17%, and a linearity error of 2.95±0.40%.For intuitive tactile stimulation, it has been suggested that the feedback stimulus should be modality-matched with the intention to provide a sensation that can be easily associated with the real touch on the prosthetic hand, e.g., pressure on the prosthetic finger should provide pressure on the residual limb. A stimulus should also be spatially matched (e.g., position, size, and shape). Electrotactile stimulation has the ability to provide various sensations due to it having several adjustable parameters. Therefore, this type of stimulus is a good candidate for discrimination of textures. A microphone can detect texture-elicited vibrations to be processed, and by varying, e.g., the median frequency of the electrical stimulation, the signal can be presented on the skin. Participants in a study using electrotactile feedback showed a median accuracy of 85% in differentiating between four textures.During active exploration, electrotactile and vibrotactile feedback provide spatially matched modality stimulations, providing continuous feedback and providing a displaced sensation or a sensation dispatched on a larger area. Evaluating commonly used stimulation modalities using the Rubber Hand Illusion, modalities which resemble the intended sensation provide a more vivid illusion of ownership for the rubber hand.For a potentially more intuitive sensory feedback, the stimulation can be somatotopically matched, where the stimulus is experienced as being applied on a site corresponding to their missing hand. This is possible for amputees who experience referred sensation on their residual stump. However, not all amputees experience referred sensations. Nonetheless, after a structured training period, it is possible to learn to associate touch with specific fingers, and the effect persisted after two weeks. This effect was evaluated on participants with intact limbs, so it remains to evaluate this effect for amputees.In conclusion, this thesis proposes suggestions on sensory feedback systems that could be helpful in future prosthetic hands to (1) reduce their complexity and (2) enhance the sense of body ownership to enhance the overall sense of embodiment as an addition to an intuitive control system
Human Health Engineering Volume II
In this Special Issue on “Human Health Engineering Volume II”, we invited submissions exploring recent contributions to the field of human health engineering, i.e., technology for monitoring the physical or mental health status of individuals in a variety of applications. Contributions could focus on sensors, wearable hardware, algorithms, or integrated monitoring systems. We organized the different papers according to their contributions to the main parts of the monitoring and control engineering scheme applied to human health applications, namely papers focusing on measuring/sensing physiological variables, papers highlighting health-monitoring applications, and examples of control and process management applications for human health. In comparison to biomedical engineering, we envision that the field of human health engineering will also cover applications for healthy humans (e.g., sports, sleep, and stress), and thus not only contribute to the development of technology for curing patients or supporting chronically ill people, but also to more general disease prevention and optimization of human well-being
Kinematics and Robot Design IV, KaRD2021
This volume collects the papers published on the special issue “Kinematics and Robot Design IV, KaRD2021” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/robotics/special_issues/KaRD2021), which is the forth edition of the KaRD special-issue series, hosted by the open-access journal “MDPI Robotics”. KaRD series is an open environment where researchers can present their works and discuss all the topics focused on the many aspects that involve kinematics in the design of robotic/automatic systems. Kinematics is so intimately related to the design of robotic/automatic systems that the admitted topics of the KaRD series practically cover all the subjects normally present in well-established international conferences on “mechanisms and robotics”. KaRD2021, after the peer-review process, accepted 12 papers. The accepted papers cover some theoretical and many design/applicative aspects
A Kinematic Analysis of Joint Angle and Center of Mass Kinematics in Automotive Manufacturing Tasks
This research aimed to determine if participants of varying anthropometrics (i.e., height) would perform automotive manufacturing tasks significantly differently based on joint angle and center of mass (COM) data. Twenty-four participants between the ages of 18 and 65 (ÂŻx = 24.1 years, SD = 7.3) completed 14 manufacturing tasks, and their motions were recorded using two inertial motion capture (IMC) systems. Participants were chosen based on their measured height, including the 5th percentile female (Group 1-5F), 50th percentile female (Group 2-50F), or 95th percentile male (Group 3-95M) (Fryar, Gu, Ogden & Flegal, 2016). The tasks used for this study were identified as common final automotive assembly tasks by Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and Statistical non-Parametric Mapping (SnPM) were used to compare joint angles between the three percentile groups and COM data within the 5F group. SPM compared the biomechanical data throughout the entire time series of data collected. SPM one-way ANOVAs (
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