19,342 research outputs found

    Factors associated with self-rated health in older adults receiving oral prosthetic rehabilitation

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    Objectives: To assess factors associated with self-perception of health in older adults submitted to oral prosthetic rehabilitation in order to contribute to a more contextualized planning of public policies, actions and health services aimed at healthy aging. Design: Analytical cross-sectional study. Setting: Dental specialty centers. Participants: 244 people aged 60 years and older enrolled for oral prosthetic rehabilitation. Intervention: Interviews, oral examination and anthropometric measurements. Measurements: A questionnaire assessed demographic and economic data, general health and oral health and self-perception of oral health-related quality of life was measured by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Performance in instrumental activities of daily living was assessed by the Lawton and Brody scale, mood was assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale and nutritional status was assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that factors such as hospitalization in the previous year, diabetes and risk of malnutrition determined the negative self-perception of general health and current health status compared with 12 months ago. Needing assistance to perform AIDL significantly influenced self-perception of general health while income and vision problems interfered with older adults’ perception of their current health status compared with 12 months ago. Conclusion: Older adults who needed oral prosthetic rehabilitation exhibited a predominantly negative self-perception of oral health.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    A robot hand testbed designed for enhancing embodiment and functional neurorehabilitation of body schema in subjects with upper limb impairment or loss.

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    Many upper limb amputees experience an incessant, post-amputation "phantom limb pain" and report that their missing limbs feel paralyzed in an uncomfortable posture. One hypothesis is that efferent commands no longer generate expected afferent signals, such as proprioceptive feedback from changes in limb configuration, and that the mismatch of motor commands and visual feedback is interpreted as pain. Non-invasive therapeutic techniques for treating phantom limb pain, such as mirror visual feedback (MVF), rely on visualizations of postural changes. Advances in neural interfaces for artificial sensory feedback now make it possible to combine MVF with a high-tech "rubber hand" illusion, in which subjects develop a sense of embodiment with a fake hand when subjected to congruent visual and somatosensory feedback. We discuss clinical benefits that could arise from the confluence of known concepts such as MVF and the rubber hand illusion, and new technologies such as neural interfaces for sensory feedback and highly sensorized robot hand testbeds, such as the "BairClaw" presented here. Our multi-articulating, anthropomorphic robot testbed can be used to study proprioceptive and tactile sensory stimuli during physical finger-object interactions. Conceived for artificial grasp, manipulation, and haptic exploration, the BairClaw could also be used for future studies on the neurorehabilitation of somatosensory disorders due to upper limb impairment or loss. A remote actuation system enables the modular control of tendon-driven hands. The artificial proprioception system enables direct measurement of joint angles and tendon tensions while temperature, vibration, and skin deformation are provided by a multimodal tactile sensor. The provision of multimodal sensory feedback that is spatiotemporally consistent with commanded actions could lead to benefits such as reduced phantom limb pain, and increased prosthesis use due to improved functionality and reduced cognitive burden

    Myoelectric forearm prostheses: State of the art from a user-centered perspective

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    User acceptance of myoelectric forearm prostheses is currently low. Awkward control, lack of feedback, and difficult training are cited as primary reasons. Recently, researchers have focused on exploiting the new possibilities offered by advancements in prosthetic technology. Alternatively, researchers could focus on prosthesis acceptance by developing functional requirements based on activities users are likely to perform. In this article, we describe the process of determining such requirements and then the application of these requirements to evaluating the state of the art in myoelectric forearm prosthesis research. As part of a needs assessment, a workshop was organized involving clinicians (representing end users), academics, and engineers. The resulting needs included an increased number of functions, lower reaction and execution times, and intuitiveness of both control and feedback systems. Reviewing the state of the art of research in the main prosthetic subsystems (electromyographic [EMG] sensing, control, and feedback) showed that modern research prototypes only partly fulfill the requirements. We found that focus should be on validating EMG-sensing results with patients, improving simultaneous control of wrist movements and grasps, deriving optimal parameters for force and position feedback, and taking into account the psychophysical aspects of feedback, such as intensity perception and spatial acuity

    Sensory Changes in Adults with Unilateral Transtibial Amputation

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    The purpose of this study was to describe the sensory changes in adults with unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA), as any loss of sensation may have significant impact on the successful use of a prosthesis. Sensory modalities of light touch, deep pressure, vibration, and superficial pain (pinprick) were examined on the residual and contralateral limbs of 16 veterans with TTA. Six subjects demonstrated normal sensation on the contralateral limb and impaired sensation of superficial pain, vibration, and/or light touch on the residual limb. Superficial pain was the most frequently impaired sensation, and vibration and superficial pain sensation appeared to be age-dependent, with increased impairment observed in the elderly. Deep pressure sensation was intact in all subjects. These preliminary data suggest that although neither the amputation nor the prosthetic rehabilitation resulted in impaired deep pressure sensation, these two factors contributed to minimal impairment of light touch and vibration, and significant impairment of the superficial pain sensation

    Monolithic zirconia and digital impression: case report

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    The aim of this study is to present a clinical case of a full arch prosthetic rehabilitation on natural teeth, combining both digital work-flow and monolithic zirconi

    The normalization of the cyborg: from futuristic artistic expression of mutilation to daily aesthetic beauty

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    The concept of mutilation as a permanent scarring of the integrity of the body has been overcome by the representation in visual culture of the cyborg, the bionic human and the genetically and bionically engineered mutant. Mutants with bionic prosthetics in the X-Men film trilogy, the bionic man in The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) and his companion The Bionic Woman (1976) as well as The Terminator (1984) with its sequels have contributed to create a new aesthetic perception of the artificial. From the Cyborg Manifesto to theories of Post-humanism and Trans-humanism, the arts have embraced the opportunity of realizing the conjunction between human and machine envisaged at first by Tommaso Marinetti in the Futurist Manifesto. Stelarc has contributed with his performances and body implants to explore new aesthetic forms that conceive the prosthesis as an evolutionary empowering design. If in the arts this approach has created aesthetic debates and polarizations between bioconservatism and technoprogressivism, how is the reality of mutilation approached by people in their daily lives? The paper analyzes whether the aesthetic perception of prosthetics is that of a permanent sign of mutilation or that of a new technological empowerment. “In the last two to three years many men have asked to have prosthetics without coverage, leaving the metal part visible. They tell me that a leg like this is more futuristic! Maybe they feel more masculine because the metallic leg gives them the sensation of being bionic, half human and half machine. Men under fifty especially request it. At the opposite end of the spectrum, women ask for symmetric prosthetics very similar to the one they lost.” Interview with Dr. X at the Limb Fitting Centre, London. If the visual arts have created an experience and imagination of post-humanity as the futuristic merging of human and machine that the public perceives as increasingly achievable, what are the new frontiers of aesthetic exploration? Are the aesthetics of post-humanity becoming those of a ‘normalization’ of cyborgology? The paper will argue that the contemporary aesthetics of futuristic empowerment look to artists and designers in order to deliver new modes of aesthetic consumption for a technology no longer perceived as reconstruction of a mutilation but as the empowering necessary framework to facilitate the transition from human to super-human

    Osseointegrated prostheses for rehabilitation following amputation : The pioneering Swedish model.

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    The direct attachment of osseointegrated (OI) prostheses to the skeleton avoids the inherent problems of socket suspension. It also provides physiological weight bearing, improved range of motion in the proximal joint, as well as osseoperceptive sensory feedback, enabling better control of the artificial limbs by amputees. The present article briefly reviews the pioneering efforts on extremity osseointegration surgeries in Sweden and the development of the OPRA (Osseointegrated Prostheses for the Rehabilitation of Amputees) program. The standard implant design of the OPRA system and surgical techniques are described as well as the special rehabilitation protocols based on surgical sites. The results of long-term follow-up for transradial, transhumeral, and thumb amputee operations are briefly reported including the prospective study of transfemoral amputees according to OPRA protocol. The importance of refinement on implant designs and surgical techniques based on the biomechanical analysis and early clinical trials is emphasized. Future aspects on osseointegration surgery are briefly described, including novel treatment options using implanted electrodes

    Custom Total Occlusal Convergence Angle Sticker Fabrication

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    This article describes a method of fabricating a custom total occlusal convergence angle sticker with photo editing software and label stickers. The custom total occlusal convergence angle sticker can help clinicians achieve an accurate degree of taper during axial wall reduction of tooth preparation
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