285 research outputs found
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Gestural human-machine interaction using neural networks for people with severe speech and motor impairment due to cerebral palsy
The long-term aim of this research is the development of a robust and appropriate method of high efferent bandwidth gestural human-machine interaction (HMI) that enhances and extends the multimodal expressive abilities of people with severe speech and motor impairment due to cerebral palsy (SSMICP). A human-factors driven approach was adopted to generate and identify candidate behaviour for gestural HMI. Neural methods were applied to investigate the automatic recognition of human move-ment with a high noise component using spastic-athetoid cerebral palsy arm movement data.
Human-machine interaction was considered as an emergent property leading to the development of a methodology based on human-human interaction to elicit a wide range of spontaneous or near spontaneous gestures. Twelve subjects with SSMICP aged five to 18 years took part in a gestural ability pilot study. From 30 to 141 concepts presented verbally were used to elicit a wide range of spontaneous or near spontaneous gestural responses. Subjects were encouraged to express each concept in any way they wished. Frequently gestural ability was beyond that anticipated by therapists, educators, parents and physicians. Therapeutic, educational, and medical records did not predict gestural ability observed in the study. Analysis of video-taped sessions indicated that gestures were frequently articulated using multiple parts of the body. Nine out of ten subjects used either the right or left arm more frequently that any other body part.
Instrumented gestural data comprising a subset of 27 gestures from a 17 years old subject with spastic-athetoid quadriplegia was used to investigate automatic gesture recognition. Co-articulated dynamic arm gestures were elicited in random order and gestural data recorded at 100 samples/second using a six-degree-of-freedom magnetic tracker attached distally to one forearm. The gestural data stream was examined using a simple body
model developed using MATLAB * and animated on a Silicon Graphics Workstation. In the absence of suitable features to automatically segment the gestural data stream, gestures were manually segmented.
Low-pass filtering was used to remove ājerkinessā and data reduction was achieved through re-sampling. The use of time-delay feedforward neural networks was investigated using features extracted over a fixed time interval as input. Neural network classifiers outperformed two k-nearest neighbour methods. Time windows of 160ms to 1120 ms were compared. A span of 640ms comprising four time samples yielded the optimum rate of recognition. Feature sets containing measures of position, forearm orientation, scalar and vector velocity, curvature and plane of motion were compared. A feature set comprising four time intervals of x,y,z position gave highest recognition rate. 12 gestures were recognised at or above 80% with an average recognition rate of 90%. Maximum results for all 26 gestures was 55%. Results suggest that the fixed time window approach coupled with low pass filtering may be a feasible method for the computer recognition of noisy gestural movement. Conversely, the results show that is possible for people classed as having no functional use of upper extremities by traditional assessment techniques to produce a repertoire of dynamic arm gestures with sufficient consistency to be recognised by machine
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Cognition in action C-i-A: Rethinking gesture in neuro-atypical young people: A conceptual framework for embodied, embedded, extended and enacted intentionality
The three aims of my interdisciplinary thesis are:
-To develop a conceptual framework for re-thinking the gestures of neuro-atypical young people, that is non-traditional and non-representational
-To develop qualitative analytical tools for the annotation and interpretation of gesture that can be applied inclusively to both neuro-atypical and neuro-typical young people
-To consider the conceptual framework in terms of its theoretical implications and practical applications
Learning to communicate and work with neuro-atypical young people provides the rationale and continued impetus for my work. My approach is influenced by the limited social, physical and communicative experiences of young people with severe speech and motor impairment, due to cerebral palsy (SSMI-CP). CP is described as: a range of non-progressive syndromes of posture and motor impairment. The aetiology is thought to result from damage to the developing central nervous system during gestation or in the neonate. Brain lesions involve the basal ganglia and the cerebellum; both these sites are known to support motor control and integration.
However, gaps in theoretical research and empirical data in the study of corporeal expression in young people with SSMI-CP necessitated the development of both an alternative theoretical framework and new tools. Biological Dynamic Systems Theory is proposed as the best candidate structure for the reconsideration of gesture. It encompasses the global, synthetic and embodied nature of gesture. Gesture is redefined and considered part of an emergent dynamic, complex, non-linear and self-organizing system.
My construct of Cognition-in-Action (C-i-A) is derived from the notion of knowing-as-doing influenced by socio-biological paradigms; it places the Action-Ready-Body centre stage. It is informed by a theoretical synthesis of knowledge from the domains of Philosophy, Science and Technology, including practices in the clinical, technology design and performance arts arenas. The C-i-A is a descriptive, non-computational feature-based framework. Its development centred around two key questions that served as operational starting points: What can gestures reveal about childrenās cognition-in-action? and Is there the potential to influence gestural capacity in children? These are supported by my research objectives.
Three case studies are presented that focus on the annotation and interpretative analyses of corporeal exemplars from two adolescent males aged 16.9 and 17.9 years, and one female girl aged 10.7 years. These exemplars were contributed to the Child Gesture Corpus by these young people with SSMI-CP. The Gesture-Action-Entity (GAE) is proposed as a unit of interest for the analysis of procedural, semantic and episodic aspects of our corporeal knowledge. A body-based-action-annotation-system (G-ABAS) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology is applied for the first time to gesture (G-IPA). These tools facilitate fine-grained corporeal dynamic and narrative gesture feature analyses.
Phenomenal data reveal that these young people have latent resources, capacities and capabilities that they can express corporeally. Iteration of these interpretative findings with the Cognition-in-Action framework allows for the inference of processes that may underlie the strategies they use to achieve such social-motor-cognitive functions. In summary, their Cognition-in-Action is brought-forth, carried forward and has the potential to be culturally embodied.
The utility of C-i-A framework lies in its explanatory power to contribute to a deeper understanding of child gesture. Furthermore, I discuss and illustrate its potential to influence practice in the domains of pedagogy, rehabilitation and the design of future intimate, assistive and perceptually sensitive technologies. Such technologies are increasingly mediating our social interactions. My work offers an ecologically valid alternative to tradition conceptualization of perception, cognition and action. My thesis contributes both new knowledge and carries implications across the domains of movement science, gesture studies and applied participatory performance arts and health practices
How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRRās Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers
Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a ātotal approach to rehabilitationā, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970ās, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program
Guidelines for guidance programmes for Xhosa parents with children with cerebral palsy : and orthopedagogical perspective
This research investigated the need of Xhosa parents with children with cerebral palsy in the
Eastern Cape for support through specially designed parent guidance programmes. The
research problem that was investigated was: Do Xhosa parents with children with cerebral
palsy need guidance programmes, and what guidelines can be given pertaining to such
programmes? The aim was to determine whether Xhosa parents needed guidance
programmes and if so, to provide guidelines that addressed this need. A literature study was
done and thereafter a survey was conducted using a questionnaire with closed items to
collect data from 180 Xhosa parents with children with cerebral palsy living in the rural areas
of the Eastern Cape's former Transkei. They were sampled by using a non-random
(purposive) sampling method. One hundred and two (102) parents (out of the total of 180)
answered the questions in the questionnaires and returned them by mail. The same types of
questions were used to interview 54 parents. The data was analyzed by a statistical analyst
by Microsoft Excel spread sheets. Data was presented in the form of tables and pie charts
and the researcher interpreted the outcomes in the light of the literature and her own
indigenous knowledge of the Xhosa community.
The implications of findings for all Xhosa parents with children with cerebral palsy are that
they lack knowledge of issues such as cerebral palsy, inclusive education and how to deal
with their children with cerebral palsy. Relationships within the family and the community are
affected because of the children's cerebral palsy. Moreover, Xhosa parent guidance
programmes are not available in the Eastern Cape or in other provinces in South Africa. As
a result, guidelines are provided which may be used for constructing Xhosa parent guidance
programmes.Educaional Studies(D.Ed. ( Education Management)
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Health Technology Case Study 26: Assistive Devices for Severe Speech Impairments
A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that is "about the revolution in communication aids that has since changed the outlook for this population [nonspeaking population], its accomplishments to date, its promise for the future, and its problems" (p. 3)
Corporal diagnostic work and diagnostic spaces: Clinicians' use of space and bodies during diagnosis
Ā© 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness Ā© 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.An emerging body of literature in sociology has demonstrated that diagnosis is a useful focal point for understanding the social dimensions of health and illness. This article contributes to this work by drawing attention to the relationship between diagnostic spaces and the way in which clinicians use their own bodies during the diagnostic process. As a case study, we draw upon fieldwork conducted with a multidisciplinary clinical team providing deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat children with a movement disorder called dystonia. Interviews were conducted with team members and diagnostic examinations were observed. We illustrate that clinicians use communicative body work and verbal communication to transform a material terrain into diagnostic space, and we illustrate how this diagnostic space configures forms of embodied 'sensing-and-acting' within. We argue that a 'diagnosis' can be conceptualised as emerging from an interaction in which space, the clinician-body, and the patient-body (or body-part) mutually configure one another. By conceptualising diagnosis in this way, this article draws attention to the corporal bases of diagnostic power and counters Cartesian-like accounts of clinical work in which the patient-body is objectified by a disembodied medical discourse.The Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Trust Biomedical Strategic Award 086034
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A Formative Evaluation Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication Approaches To Promote Literacy In Young Children With Severe Speech And Physical Impairments
This thesis describes an educational intervention with three children with severe speech and physical impairments. The intervention focused on storybook reading experiences for early literacy development through the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication technologies and methods. The review of literature focused on the main aspects relating to children with SSPI, and in particular on the difficulties they experience in developing emergent literacy skills. This review suggests the hypothesis that the use of AAC Techniques in storytelling achievement can provide emergent literacy experiences, which can promote the development of literacy in children with SSPI. In particular the study set out to enquire whether AAC techniques can be used to enhance participation with SSPI in storytelling activities, and whether such activities improve a pupilās opportunities to become emergent readers.
A six-month intervention was designed which included strategies proposed for increasing the childrenās participation during storybook reading sessions, like repeated readings of the same story, abundant use of graphic symbols and access to AAC techniques.
Qualitative data were gathered from the professionals at the Centre, and from the mothers. Storybook reading sessions with the teacher at school and with the mothers or significant other at home were videotaped, at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Quantitative data were collected by videotape analysis. Communicative acts of children and adults were divided into communication categories, and their meaning was discussed as to form, use and content. One of the main conclusions of the study was that the use of stories promoting communication and language learning in storybook reading sessions can develop literacy skills if carried out in conjunction with AAC techniques, including graphic symbols and the technology to generate them. A second conclusion is that there is no automatic transfer of the improvement of communicative skills in the classroom to the interaction with the mothers
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