116 research outputs found

    Can spatial filtering separate voluntary and involuntary components in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy?

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    The design of myocontrolled devices faces particular challenges in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy because the electromyographic signal for control contains both voluntary and involuntary components. We hypothesized that voluntary and involuntary components of movements would be uncorrelated and thus detectable as different synergistic patterns of muscle activity, and that removal of the involuntary components would improve online EMG-based control. Therefore, we performed a synergy-based decomposition of EMG-guided movements, and evaluated which components were most controllable using a Fitts' Law task. Similarly, we also tested which muscles were most controllable. We then tested whether removing the uncontrollable components or muscles improved overall function in terms of movement time, success rate, and throughput. We found that removal of less controllable components or muscles did not improve EMG control performance, and in many cases worsened performance. These results suggest that abnormal movement in dyskinetic CP is consistent with a pervasive distortion of voluntary movement rather than a superposition of separable voluntary and involuntary components of movement

    High motor variability in DYT1 dystonia is associated with impaired visuomotor adaptation.

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    For the healthy motor control system, an essential regulatory role is maintaining the equilibrium between keeping unwanted motor variability in check whilst allowing informative elements of motor variability. Kinematic studies in children with generalised dystonia (due to mixed aetiologies) show that movements are characterised by increased motor variability. In this study, the mechanisms by which high motor variability may influence movement generation in dystonia were investigated. Reaching movements in the symptomatic arm of 10 patients with DYT1 dystonia and 12 age-matched controls were captured using a robotic manipulandum and features of motor variability were extracted. Given that task-relevant variability and sensorimotor adaptation are related in health, markers of variability were then examined for any co-variance with performance indicators during an error-based learning visuomotor adaptation task. First, we confirmed that motor variability on a trial-by-trial basis was selectively increased in the homogenous and prototypical dystonic disorder DYT1 dystonia. Second, high baseline variability predicted poor performance in the subsequent visuomotor adaptation task offering insight into the rules which appear to govern dystonic motor control. The potential mechanisms behind increased motor variability and its corresponding implications for the rehabilitation of patients with DYT1 dystonia are highlighted

    A Systematic Review of EMG Applications for the Characterization of Forearm and Hand Muscle Activity during Activities of Daily Living: Results, Challenges, and Open Issues

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    The role of the hand is crucial for the performance of activities of daily living, thereby ensuring a full and autonomous life. Its motion is controlled by a complex musculoskeletal system of approximately 38 muscles. Therefore, measuring and interpreting the muscle activation signals that drive hand motion is of great importance in many scientific domains, such as neuroscience, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, robotics, prosthetics, and biomechanics. Electromyography (EMG) can be used to carry out the neuromuscular characterization, but it is cumbersome because of the complexity of the musculoskeletal system of the forearm and hand. This paper reviews the main studies in which EMG has been applied to characterize the muscle activity of the forearm and hand during activities of daily living, with special attention to muscle synergies, which are thought to be used by the nervous system to simplify the control of the numerous muscles by actuating them in task-relevant subgroups. The state of the art of the current results are presented, which may help to guide and foster progress in many scientific domains. Furthermore, the most important challenges and open issues are identified in order to achieve a better understanding of human hand behavior, improve rehabilitation protocols, more intuitive control of prostheses, and more realistic biomechanical models

    Why orthotic devices could be of help in the management of Movement Disorders in the young

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    BACKGROUND: Movement Disorders (MD) are a class of disease that impair the daily activities of patients, conditioning their sensorimotor, cognitive and behavioural capabilities. Nowadays, the general management of patients with MD is based on rehabilitation, pharmacological treatments, surgery, and traditional splints. Although some attempts have been made to devise specific orthoses for the rehabilitation of patients affected by MD, especially the younger ones, those devices have received limited attention. MAIN BODY: This paper will principally discuss the case of upper limb rehabilitation in Childhood Dyskinesia (CD), a complex motor disease that affects paediatric patients. Through a critical review of the present solutions and a discussion about the neurophysiological characteristics of the disease, the study will lead to the formulation of desirable features of a possible new upper-limb orthosis. CONCLUSIONS: Design principles will be derived to provide specialised orthoses for the dynamic control of posture and the stabilisation of voluntary movements: those include using biomechanical actions and enhanced proprioception to support the sensorimotor rehabilitation of the children affected by CD. A similar approach could be advantageously applied in other MD-related conditions, especially with hyperkinetic and/or hypertonic traits

    Gait analysis in neurological populations: Progression in the use of wearables

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    Gait assessment is an essential tool for clinical applications not only to diagnose different neurological conditions but also to monitor disease progression as it contributes to the understanding of underlying deficits. There are established methods and models for data collection and interpretation of gait assessment within different pathologies. This narrative review aims to depict the evolution of gait assessment from observation and rating scales to wearable sensors and laboratory technologies, and provide possible future directions. In this context, we first present an extensive review of current clinical outcomes and gait models. Then, we demonstrate commercially available wearable technologies with their technical capabilities along with their use in gait assessment studies for various neurological conditions. In the next sections, a descriptive knowledge for existing inertial based algorithms and a sign based guide that shows the outcomes of previous neurological gait assessment studies are presented. Finally, we state a discussion for the use of wearables in gait assessment and speculate the possible research directions by revealing the limitations and knowledge gaps in the literature

    Proceedings XXII Congresso SIAMOC 2022

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    Il congresso annuale della Società Italiana di Analisi del Movimento in Clinica dà l’occasione a tutti i professionisti, dell’ambito clinico e ingegneristico, di incontrarsi, presentare le proprie ricerche e rimanere aggiornati sulle più recenti innovazioni nell’ambito dell’applicazione clinica dei metodi di analisi del movimento, al fine di promuoverne lo studio e le applicazioni cliniche per migliorare la valutazione dei disordini motori, aumentare l’efficacia dei trattamenti attraverso l’analisi quantitativa dei dati e una più focalizzata pianificazione dei trattamenti, ed inoltre per quantificare i risultati delle terapie correnti

    Proceedings SIAMOC 2019

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    Il congresso annuale della Società Italiana di Analisi del Movimento in Clinica, giunto quest'anno alla sua ventesima edizione, ritorna a Bologna, che già ospitò il terzo congresso nazionale nel 2002. Il legame tra Bologna e l'analisi del movimento è forte e radicato, e trova ampia linfa sia nel contesto accademico che nel ricco panorama di centri clinici d'eccellenza. Il congresso SIAMOC, come ogni anno, è l’occasione per tutti i professionisti dell’ambito clinico, metodologico ed industriale di incontrarsi, presentare le proprie ricerche e rimanere aggiornati sulle più recenti innovazioni nell’ambito dell’applicazione clinica dei metodi di analisi del movimento. Questo ha contribuito, in questi venti anni, a fare avanzare sensibilmente la ricerca italiana nel settore, conferendole un respiro ed un impatto internazionale, e a diffonderne l'applicazione clinica per migliorare la valutazione dei disordini motori, aumentare l'efficacia dei trattamenti attraverso l'analisi quantitativa dei dati e una più focalizzata pianificazione dei trattamenti, ed inoltre per quantificare i risultati delle terapie correnti

    Proceedings SIAMOC 2019

    Get PDF
    Il congresso annuale della Società Italiana di Analisi del Movimento in Clinica, giunto quest'anno alla sua ventesima edizione, ritorna a Bologna, che già ospitò il terzo congresso nazionale nel 2002. Il legame tra Bologna e l'analisi del movimento è forte e radicato, e trova ampia linfa sia nel contesto accademico che nel ricco panorama di centri clinici d'eccellenza. Il congresso SIAMOC, come ogni anno, è l’occasione per tutti i professionisti dell’ambito clinico, metodologico ed industriale di incontrarsi, presentare le proprie ricerche e rimanere aggiornati sulle più recenti innovazioni nell’ambito dell’applicazione clinica dei metodi di analisi del movimento. Questo ha contribuito, in questi venti anni, a fare avanzare sensibilmente la ricerca italiana nel settore, conferendole un respiro ed un impatto internazionale, e a diffonderne l'applicazione clinica per migliorare la valutazione dei disordini motori, aumentare l'efficacia dei trattamenti attraverso l'analisi quantitativa dei dati e una più focalizzata pianificazione dei trattamenti, ed inoltre per quantificare i risultati delle terapie correnti
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