Review of control strategies for robotic movement training after neurologic injury

There is increasing interest in using robotic devices to assist in movement training following neurologic injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury. This paper reviews control strategies for robotic therapy devices. Several categories of strategies have been proposed, including, assistive, challenge-based, haptic simulation, and coaching. The greatest amount of work has been done on developing assistive strategies, and thus the majority of this review summarizes techniques for implementing assistive strategies, including impedance-, counterbalance-, and EMG- based controllers, as well as adaptive controllers that modify control parameters based on ongoing participant performance. Clinical evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of different types of robotic therapy controllers is limited, but there is initial evidence that some control strategies are more effective than others. It is also now apparent there may be mechanisms by which some robotic control approaches might actually decrease the recovery possible with comparable, non-robotic forms of training. In future research, there is a need for head-to-head comparison of control algorithms in randomized, controlled clinical trials, and for improved models of human motor recovery to provide a more rational framework for designing robotic therapy control strategies

Mechatronic Systems

Mechatronics, the synergistic blend of mechanics, electronics, and computer science, has evolved over the past twenty five years, leading to a novel stage of engineering design. By integrating the best design practices with the most advanced technologies, mechatronics aims at realizing high-quality products, guaranteeing at the same time a substantial reduction of time and costs of manufacturing. Mechatronic systems are manifold and range from machine components, motion generators, and power producing machines to more complex devices, such as robotic systems and transportation vehicles. With its twenty chapters, which collect contributions from many researchers worldwide, this book provides an excellent survey of recent work in the field of mechatronics with applications in various fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education. We would like to thank all the authors who have invested a great deal of time to write such interesting chapters, which we are sure will be valuable to the readers. Chapters 1 to 6 deal with applications of mechatronics for the development of robotic systems. Medical and assistive technologies and human-machine interaction systems are the topic of chapters 7 to 13.Chapters 14 and 15 concern mechatronic systems for autonomous vehicles. Chapters 16-19 deal with mechatronics in manufacturing contexts. Chapter 20 concludes the book, describing a method for the installation of mechatronics education in schools

Driving ergonomics for an elevated seat position in a light commercial vehicle

With more legislation being enforced to achieve a reduction in road transport CO2 emissions, automotive companies are having to research and develop technologies that deliver greener driving . Whilst emissions from passenger vehicles have dropped over recent years, there has been an increase in emissions from light commercial vehicles (LCVs). The nature of LCV delivery work is a routine of ingress/egress of the vehicle, changing from a standing to a seated posture repetitively throughout the day. One research focus is packaging occupants in to a smaller vehicle space, in order to reduce the amount of vehicle emissions over its lifecycle. For LCVs, benefits from space saving technology could be an increase in overall loading space (with the same vehicle length) or a reduction in the overall length/weight of the vehicle. Furthermore, an elevated seat posture could reduce the strain on drivers during ingress/egress, as it is closer than that of a conventional seat to a standing posture. Whilst space saving technology has obvious benefits, current driving conventions and standards are not inclusive of new and novel seated postures when packaging a driver in to a vehicle. The fundamental purpose of a vehicle driver s seat is to be comfortable and safe for the occupant and to facilitate driving. It has been shown that a seat needs both good static and dynamic factors to contribute to overall seat comfort. Additionally, comfortable body angles have been identified and ratified by studies investigating comfortable driving postures; however, this knowledge only applies to conventional driving postures. For an elevated posture , defined as having the driver s knee point below the hip point, there is little research or guidance. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify the ergonomic requirements of a wide anthropometric range of drivers in an elevated driving posture for LCVs, which was investigated using a series of laboratory based experiments. An iterative fitting trial was designed to identify key seat parameters for static comfort in an elevated posture seat. The results showed that in comparison with a conventional seat: Seat base length was preferred to be shorter (380mm compared with 460mm); Seat base width was preferred to be wider (560mm compared with 480mm); Backrest height was preferred to be longer (690mm compared with 650mm). These findings provided a basis for a seat design specification for an elevated posture concept seat, which was tested in two subsequent laboratory studies. A long-term discomfort evaluation was conducted, using a driving simulator and a motion platform replicating real road vibration. Discomfort scores were collected at 10-minute intervals (50-minutes overall) using a body map and rating scale combination. The results indicated that in comparison with the conventional posture, the elevated posture performed as well, or better (significantly lower discomfort for right shoulder and lower back; p<0.05, two-tailed), in terms of long-term discomfort. Furthermore, the onset of discomfort (i.e. the time taken for localised discomfort ratings to be significantly higher than the baseline ratings reported before the trial) occurred after as little as 10 minutes (conventional posture) and 20 minutes (elevated posture) respectively. A lateral stability evaluation was conducted using low-frequency lateral motion on a motion platform (platform left and right rolls of 14.5°). Stability scores were reported after each sequence of rolls, comparing scores on a newly developed lateral stability scale between three seats: Conventional posture seat; Elevated posture concept seat (EPS1); Elevated posture concept seat with modifications aimed at improving stability (EPS2). Participants reported being more unstable in EPS1, compared with the conventional posture seat (p<0.05, Wilcoxon). However, the EPS2 seat performed equally to the conventional posture seat. These findings suggest that the elevated posture seat developed in this research is a feasible and comfortable alternative to a conventional posture seat. Furthermore, the final elevated seating positions showed that real space saving can be achieved in this posture thus allowing for more compact and lighter vehicles and potentially reducing strain on drivers during ingress/egress

Smartphone Based Tele-Rehabilitation

Lefebvre Thierry, Mattei Jean-Pierre, Marie Michel, Bleys Jean-Pierre. Les Journées du cinéma muet de Pordenone. In: 1895, revue d'histoire du cinéma, n°14, 1993. pp. 103-113

Proceedings of the 5th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2004)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Vision and Driving after Stroke

Driving a car is often an essential part of maintaining mobility and quality of life, but after a stroke many are forced to cease driving. Homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) and unilateral spatial neglect (USN) are common sequelae of stroke. For people with HVFDs a legal threshold for extent of field loss exists beyond which a person is not allowed to drive, and most people with clinically detectable USN are also censured from driving. However, some people with HVFDs have been deemed safe to drive, and some with USN have shown normal performance on other skilled visuo-motor tasks. It seems that there is great variation in abilities across individuals with HVFDs and USN, and driving performance cannot be predicted from simple measures such as extent of visual field loss. Several studies have suggested that compensatory eye-movement strategies (particularly saccades into the affected visual field) may be linked with functional improvements post-stroke. This thesis investigates whether eye-movement behaviours are important for stroke patients performing skilled actions such as driving. To test this theory 18 people with HVFDs and/or USN following a stroke and 18 older adult controls were recruited. A series of behavioural measures were taken using a battery of tests: Cognitive and visuospatial measures from classic pen and paper tasks and visual field mapping, saccadic and smooth pursuit accuracy, visual search, simulated steering and simulated hazard perception measures. Across these measures there was a consistent theme that impairments to perception-action functions varied considerably across participants with stroke, but that some individuals were able to function remarkably well. Compensatory eye movement patterns were observed in many, and driving performance was predicted to some extent by saccadic accuracy and visual search performance. The implications are discussed with respect to using eye-movements as a potential target for rehabilitation treatment

Advances in Robot Navigation

Robot navigation includes different interrelated activities such as perception - obtaining and interpreting sensory information; exploration - the strategy that guides the robot to select the next direction to go; mapping - the construction of a spatial representation by using the sensory information perceived; localization - the strategy to estimate the robot position within the spatial map; path planning - the strategy to find a path towards a goal location being optimal or not; and path execution, where motor actions are determined and adapted to environmental changes. This book integrates results from the research work of authors all over the world, addressing the abovementioned activities and analyzing the critical implications of dealing with dynamic environments. Different solutions providing adaptive navigation are taken from nature inspiration, and diverse applications are described in the context of an important field of study: social robotics

Clinical Pathways in Stroke Rehabilitation

This open access book focuses on practical clinical problems that are frequently encountered in stroke rehabilitation. Consequences of diseases, e.g. impairments and activity limitations, are addressed in rehabilitation with the overall goal to reduce disability and promote participation. Based on the available best external evidence, clinical pathways are described for stroke rehabilitation bridging the gap between clinical evidence and clinical decision-making. The clinical pathways answer the questions which rehabilitation treatment options are beneficial to overcome specific impairment constellations and activity limitations and are well acceptable to stroke survivors, as well as when and in which settings to provide rehabilitation over the course of recovery post stroke. Each chapter starts with a description of the clinical problem encountered. This is followed by a systematic, but concise review of the evidence (RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analyses) that is relevant for clinical decision-making, and comments on assessment, therapy (training, technology, medication), and the use of technical aids as appropriate. Based on these summaries, clinical algorithms / pathways are provided and the main clinical-decision situations are portrayed. The book is invaluable for all neurorehabilitation team members, clinicians, nurses, and therapists in neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and related fields. It is a World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR) educational initiative, bridging the gap between the rapidly expanding clinical research in stroke rehabilitation and clinical practice across societies and continents. It can be used for both clinical decision-making for individuals and as well as clinical background knowledge for stroke rehabilitation service development initiatives. ; Provides evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for stroke rehabilitation Discusses clinical problems and evidence, comments on assessment, therapy and technical aids Written by experienced experts with a background in clinical practic

Clinical Pathways in Stroke Rehabilitation

This open access book focuses on practical clinical problems that are frequently encountered in stroke rehabilitation. Consequences of diseases, e.g. impairments and activity limitations, are addressed in rehabilitation with the overall goal to reduce disability and promote participation. Based on the available best external evidence, clinical pathways are described for stroke rehabilitation bridging the gap between clinical evidence and clinical decision-making. The clinical pathways answer the questions which rehabilitation treatment options are beneficial to overcome specific impairment constellations and activity limitations and are well acceptable to stroke survivors, as well as when and in which settings to provide rehabilitation over the course of recovery post stroke. Each chapter starts with a description of the clinical problem encountered. This is followed by a systematic, but concise review of the evidence (RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analyses) that is relevant for clinical decision-making, and comments on assessment, therapy (training, technology, medication), and the use of technical aids as appropriate. Based on these summaries, clinical algorithms / pathways are provided and the main clinical-decision situations are portrayed. The book is invaluable for all neurorehabilitation team members, clinicians, nurses, and therapists in neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and related fields. It is a World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR) educational initiative, bridging the gap between the rapidly expanding clinical research in stroke rehabilitation and clinical practice across societies and continents. It can be used for both clinical decision-making for individuals and as well as clinical background knowledge for stroke rehabilitation service development initiatives. ; Provides evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for stroke rehabilitation Discusses clinical problems and evidence, comments on assessment, therapy and technical aids Written by experienced experts with a background in clinical practic

An experimental approach for the characterization of prolonged sitting postures using pressure sensitive mats

The adoption of prolonged sitting posture,which is a condition commonly encountered in several working tasks,is known to induce a wide range of negative effects,including discomfort,which has been recognized as an early predictor for musculoskeletal disorders (particularly low back pain).In this regard,the continuous monitoring of worker’s psychophysical state while sitting for long periods of time, may result useful in to preventing and managing potentially risky situations and to promote ergonomics and macroergonomics interventions,aimed to better organize work shifts and workplaces.The aim of this dissertation is to provide and test the reliability of a set of monitoring parameters,based on the use of quantitative information derived from body-seat contact pressure sensors.In particular, he study was focused on the assessment of trunk postural sway (the small oscillations resulting from the stabilization control system) and the number of In Chair Movements (ICM) or postural shifts performed while sitting, proven as a reliable tool for discomfort prediction. This thesis is articulated into four experimental campaigns.The first is a pilot study which aimed to define the most reliable algorithm and the set of parameters useful to assess the performed postural shifts or In chair Movements (ICM), which result useful to characterize postural strategies in the long term-monitoring. In this regard, a pilot study was conducted in which two different algorithms for the ICM computing were tested, based on different parameters and having different thresholds. The chosen algorithm was used, together with trunk sway parameters, to evaluate postural strategies in the other three experiments of this thesis. The second and the third studies evaluated sitting postural strategies among bus drivers during regular, long-term work shifts performed on urban and extra-urban routes. The results, in this case, showed that, all drivers reported a constant increase in perceived discomfort levels and a correspondent increase in trunk sway and overall number of ICM performed. This may indicate the adoption of specific strategies in order to cope with discomfort onset, a fatigue-induced alteration of postural features, or both simultaneously. However, it was interesting to observe differences in ICM vs trunk sway trend considering the single point-to-point route in the case of urban drivers. This difference between may indicate that these parameters refer to different aspects of sitting postural strategies: ICM may be more related to discomfort while sway may be more representative of task-induced fatigue. Trunk sway monitoring, as well as the count of ICM performed by bus drivers may thus be a useful tool in detecting postural behaviors potentially associated with deteriorating performance and onset of discomfort. Finally, the last experiment aimed to characterize modifications in sitting behavior, in terms of trunk sway and ICM among office workers during actual shifts. Surprisingly, results showed a decreasing trend in trunk sway parameters and ICM performed over time, with significant modifications in sitting posture in terms of trunk flexion-extension. Subjects were also stratified basing on their working behavior (staying seated or making short breaks during the trial) and significant differences were identified among these two groups in terms of postural sway and perceived discomfort. This may indicate that the adoption of specific working strategies can significantly influence sitting behavior and discomfort onset. In conclusion, the trunk sway monitoring and the ICM assessment in actual working environments may represent a useful tool to detect specific postural behaviors potentially associated with deteriorating performance and onset of discomfort, both among professional drivers and office workers.They might effectively support the evaluation of specific working strategies,as well as the set-up of macroergonomics interventions