The Possibilities of Kinect as an Access Device for People with Cerebral Palsy A Preliminary Study

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a general term for a group of permanent, nonprogressive movement disorders that cause physical disability in development, mainly in the areas of body movement but it might also affect intellectual capabilities. Among all this diversity of profiles, we find that, for some of them, access to a computer application is almost impossible in spite of the great variety of commercial devices based of different technologies. Kinect might be a viable possibility in order to facilitate access to games and computer applications that help users improve their skills or communication

Kinect as an access device for people with cerebral palsy: A preliminary study

Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of disorders affecting the development of movement and posture, causingactivity limitation. Access to technology can alleviate some of these limitations. Many studies have used vision- based movement capture systems to overcome problems related to discomfort and fear of wearing devices. Incontrast, there has been no research assessing the behavior of vision-based movement capture systems in peoplewith involuntary movements. In this paper, we look at the potential of the Kinect sensor as an assistive technologyfor people with cerebral palsy. We developed a serious game, called KiSens Números, to study the behavior ofKinect in this context and eighteen subjects with cerebral palsy used it to complete a set of sessions. The resultsof the experiments show that Kinect filters some of peoples involuntary movements, confirming the potential ofKinect as an assistive technology for people with motor disabilities

Low-Cost Sensors and Biological Signals

Many sensors are currently available at prices lower than USD 100 and cover a wide range of biological signals: motion, muscle activity, heart rate, etc. Such low-cost sensors have metrological features allowing them to be used in everyday life and clinical applications, where gold-standard material is both too expensive and time-consuming to be used. The selected papers present current applications of low-cost sensors in domains such as physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and affective technologies. The results cover various aspects of low-cost sensor technology from hardware design to software optimization

Smart Sensors for Healthcare and Medical Applications

This book focuses on new sensing technologies, measurement techniques, and their applications in medicine and healthcare. Specifically, the book briefly describes the potential of smart sensors in the aforementioned applications, collecting 24 articles selected and published in the Special Issue “Smart Sensors for Healthcare and Medical Applications”. We proposed this topic, being aware of the pivotal role that smart sensors can play in the improvement of healthcare services in both acute and chronic conditions as well as in prevention for a healthy life and active aging. The articles selected in this book cover a variety of topics related to the design, validation, and application of smart sensors to healthcare

Current Rehabilitation Methods for Cerebral Palsy

In rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP), varying approaches and techniques are used, ranging from very conservative and conventional techniques, such as muscle strengthening, manual stretching, and massage, to more complex motor learning-based theories, such as neurodevelopmental treatment, conductive education, and several others. The motor disorders seen in CP are frequently accompanied by disturbances of sensation, cognition, communication, perception, and/or behavior disorders; thus, therapy approaches are arranged to meet the individual child’s needs. The approaches can be divided into two groups as with equipment and without equipment. Examples for without equipment rehabilitation approaches are neurodevelopmental treatment, conductive education constraint-induced movement therapy, and task-oriented therapy, whereas robotic therapy, virtual reality, and horse-back riding therapy are the examples of rehabilitation approaches with equipment. CP is a prevalent, disabling condition. Application of evidence-based methods ensures maximum gains in children. The concept that intense, task-specific exercises capitalize on the potential plasticity of the CNS and thus improve motor recovery has led to the development of several successful interventions for children with CP. Also approaches that improve the patient’s motivation and target the activities of daily living and participation are the most effective approaches for functional recovery of the children with CP

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s 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 “total approach to rehabilitation”, 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 1970’s, 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

Cerebral Palsy

Nowadays, cerebral palsy (CP) rehabilitation, along with medical and surgical interventions in children with CP, leads to better motor and postural control and can ensure ambulation and functional independence. In achieving these improvements, many modern practices may be used, such as comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment, clinical decision making, multilevel surgery, botulinum toxin applications, robotic ambulation applications, treadmill, and other walking aids to increase the quality and endurance of walking. Trainings are based on neurodevelopmental therapy, muscle training and strength applications, adaptive equipment and orthotics, communication, technological solves, and many others beyond the scope of this book. In the years of clinical and academic experiences, children with cerebral palsy have shown us that the world needs a book to give clinical knowledge to health professionals regarding these important issue. This book is an attempt to fulfill and to give “current steps” about CP. The book is intended for use by physicians, therapists, and allied health professionals who treat/rehabilitate children with CP. We focus on the recent concepts in the treatment of body and structure problems and describe the associated disability, providing suggestions for further reading. All authors presented the most frequently used and accepted treatment methods with scientifically proven efficacy and included references at the end of each chapter

International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation 2012

This volume 3, number 2 gathers a set of articles based on the most outstanding research on accessibility and disability issues that was presented in the International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation 2012 (ICNR).The articles’ research present in this number is centred on the analysis and/or rehabilitation of body impairment most due to brain injury and neurological disorders.JACCES thanks the collaboration of the ICNR members and the research authors and reviewers that have collaborated for making possible that issue

Proceedings of the 9th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2012)

The proceedings of the conferenc