Controller-observer design and dynamic parameter identification for model-based control of an electromechanical lower-limb rehabilitation system

[EN] Rehabilitation is a hazardous task for a mechanical system, since the device has to interact with the human extremities without the hands-on experience the physiotherapist acquires over time. A gap needs to be filled in terms of designing effective controllers for this type of devices. In this respect, the paper describes the design of a model-based control for an electromechanical lower-limb rehabilitation system based on a parallel kinematic mechanism. A controller-observer was designed for estimating joint velocities, which are then used in a hybrid position/force control scheme. The model parameters are identified by customising an approach based on identifying only the relevant system dynamics parameters. Findings obtained through simulations show evidence of improvement in tracking performance compared with those where the velocity was estimated by numerical differentiation. The controller is also implemented in an actual electromechanical system for lower-limb rehabilitation tasks. Findings based on rehabilitation tasks confirm the findings from simulations.This work was partially financed by the Plan Nacional de I+D, Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia (FEDERCICYT) under the project DPI2013-44227-R and by the Instituto U. de Automatica e Informatica Industrial (ai2) of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Valera Fernández, Á.; Díaz-Rodríguez, M.; Vallés Miquel, M.; Oliver, E.; Mata Amela, V.; Page Del Pozo, AF. (2017). Controller-observer design and dynamic parameter identification for model-based control of an electromechanical lower-limb rehabilitation system. International Journal of Control. 90(4):702-714. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207179.2016.1215529S702714904Åström, K. J., & Murray, R. M. (2010). Feedback Systems. doi:10.2307/j.ctvcm4gdkAtkeson, C. G., An, C. H., & Hollerbach, J. M. (1986). Estimation of Inertial Parameters of Manipulator Loads and Links. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 5(3), 101-119. doi:10.1177/027836498600500306Chia Bejarano, N., Maggioni, S., De Rijcke, L., Cifuentes, C. A., & Reinkensmeyer, D. J. (2015). Robot-Assisted Rehabilitation Therapy: Recovery Mechanisms and Their Implications for Machine Design. Emerging Therapies in Neurorehabilitation II, 197-223. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-24901-8_8Berghuis, H., & Nijmeijer, H. (1993). A passivity approach to controller-observer design for robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, 9(6), 740-754. doi:10.1109/70.265918Briot, S., & Gautier, M. (2013). Global identification of joint drive gains and dynamic parameters of parallel robots. Multibody System Dynamics, 33(1), 3-26. doi:10.1007/s11044-013-9403-6Canudas de Wit, C., & Fixot, N. (1991). Robot control via robust estimated state feedback. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 36(12), 1497-1501. doi:10.1109/9.106170Canudas de Wit, C., & Slotine, J.-J. E. (1991). Sliding observers for robot manipulators. Automatica, 27(5), 859-864. doi:10.1016/0005-1098(91)90041-yCao, J., Xie, S. Q., Das, R., & Zhu, G. L. (2014). Control strategies for effective robot assisted gait rehabilitation: The state of art and future prospects. Medical Engineering & Physics, 36(12), 1555-1566. doi:10.1016/j.medengphy.2014.08.005Carretero, J. A., Podhorodeski, R. P., Nahon, M. A., & Gosselin, C. M. (1999). Kinematic Analysis and Optimization of a New Three Degree-of-Freedom Spatial Parallel Manipulator. Journal of Mechanical Design, 122(1), 17-24. doi:10.1115/1.533542Cazalilla, J., Vallés, M., Mata, V., Díaz-Rodríguez, M., & Valera, A. (2014). Adaptive control of a 3-DOF parallel manipulator considering payload handling and relevant parameter models. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 30(5), 468-477. doi:10.1016/j.rcim.2014.02.003De Jalon, J.G. & Bayo, E. (1994). Kinematic and dynamic simulation of multibody systems: the real-time challenge. New York: Springer Verlag.Díaz, I., Gil, J. J., & Sánchez, E. (2011). Lower-Limb Robotic Rehabilitation: Literature Review and Challenges. Journal of Robotics, 2011, 1-11. doi:10.1155/2011/759764Díaz-Rodríguez, M., Iriarte, X., Mata, V., & Ros, J. (2009). On the Experiment Design for Direct Dynamic Parameter Identification of Parallel Robots. Advanced Robotics, 23(3), 329-348. doi:10.1163/156855308x397550Díaz-Rodríguez, M., Mata, V., Valera, Á., & Page, Á. (2010). A methodology for dynamic parameters identification of 3-DOF parallel robots in terms of relevant parameters. Mechanism and Machine Theory, 45(9), 1337-1356. doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2010.04.007Gautier, M. (1991). Numerical calculation of the base inertial parameters of robots. Journal of Robotic Systems, 8(4), 485-506. doi:10.1002/rob.4620080405Gautier, M., & Khalil, W. (s. f.). On the identification of the inertial parameters of robots. Proceedings of the 27th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control. doi:10.1109/cdc.1988.194738Jamwal, P. K., Hussain, S., & Xie, S. Q. (2013). Review on design and control aspects of ankle rehabilitation robots. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 10(2), 93-101. doi:10.3109/17483107.2013.866986Janabi-Sharifi, F., Hayward, V., & Chen, C.-S. J. (2000). Discrete-time adaptive windowing for velocity estimation. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 8(6), 1003-1009. doi:10.1109/87.880606Janot, A., Gautier, M., Jubien, A., & Vandanjon, P. O. (2014). Comparison Between the CLOE Method and the DIDIM Method for Robots Identification. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 22(5), 1935-1941. doi:10.1109/tcst.2014.2299544Janot, A., Vandanjon, P.-O., & Gautier, M. (2016). A revised Durbin-Wu-Hausman test for industrial robot identification. Control Engineering Practice, 48, 52-62. doi:10.1016/j.conengprac.2015.12.017Jiménez-Fabián, R., & Verlinden, O. (2012). Review of control algorithms for robotic ankle systems in lower-limb orthoses, prostheses, and exoskeletons. Medical Engineering & Physics, 34(4), 397-408. doi:10.1016/j.medengphy.2011.11.018Khalil, W., Vijayalingam, A., Khomutenko, B., Mukhanov, I., Lemoine, P., & Ecorchard, G. (2014). OpenSYMORO: An open-source software package for symbolic modelling of robots. 2014 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics. doi:10.1109/aim.2014.6878246Marchal-Crespo, L., & Reinkensmeyer, D. J. (2009). Review of control strategies for robotic movement training after neurologic injury. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 6(1). doi:10.1186/1743-0003-6-20Meng, W., Liu, Q., Zhou, Z., Ai, Q., Sheng, B., & Xie, S. (Shane). (2015). Recent development of mechanisms and control strategies for robot-assisted lower limb rehabilitation. Mechatronics, 31, 132-145. doi:10.1016/j.mechatronics.2015.04.005Page, A., Candelas, P., & Belmar, F. (2006). On the use of local fitting techniques for the analysis of physical dynamic systems. European Journal of Physics, 27(2), 273-279. doi:10.1088/0143-0807/27/2/010Raibert, M. H., & Craig, J. J. (1981). Hybrid Position/Force Control of Manipulators. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 103(2), 126-133. doi:10.1115/1.3139652Ramsay, J. O., & Silverman, B. W. (2005). Functional Data Analysis. Springer Series in Statistics. doi:10.1007/b98888Saglia, J. A., Tsagarakis, N. G., Dai, J. S., & Caldwell, D. G. (2013). Control Strategies for Patient-Assisted Training Using the Ankle Rehabilitation Robot (ARBOT). IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 18(6), 1799-1808. doi:10.1109/tmech.2012.2214228Vallés, M., Cazalilla, J., Valera, Á., Mata, V., Page, Á., & Díaz-Rodríguez, M. (2015). A 3-PRS parallel manipulator for ankle rehabilitation: towards a low-cost robotic rehabilitation. Robotica, 35(10), 1939-1957. doi:10.1017/s0263574715000120Vallés, M., Cazalilla, J. I., Valera, Á., Mata, V., & Page, Á. (2013). Implementación basada en el middleware OROCOS de controladores dinámicos pasivos para un robot paralelo. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática Industrial RIAI, 10(1), 96-103. doi:10.1016/j.riai.2012.11.009Vallés, M., Díaz-Rodríguez, M., Valera, Á., Mata, V., & Page, Á. (2012). Mechatronic Development and Dynamic Control of a 3-DOF Parallel Manipulator. Mechanics Based Design of Structures and Machines, 40(4), 434-452. doi:10.1080/15397734.2012.687292Wu, F. X., Zhang, W. J., Li, Q., & Ouyang, P. R. (2002). Integrated Design and PD Control of High-Speed Closed-loop Mechanisms. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 124(4), 522-528. doi:10.1115/1.1513179Yang, C., Huang, Q., & Han, J. (2012). Decoupling control for spatial six-degree-of-freedom electro-hydraulic parallel robot. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 28(1), 14-23. doi:10.1016/j.rcim.2011.06.002Yoon, J., Ryu, J., & Lim, K.-B. (2006). Reconfigurable ankle rehabilitation robot for various exercises. Journal of Robotic Systems, 22(S1), S15-S33. doi:10.1002/rob.2015

Recent advances in food allergy

Food allergy is a public health issue that has significantly increased worldwide in the past decade, affecting consumers’ quality of life and making increasing demands on health service resources. Despite recent advances in many areas of diagnosis and treatment, our general knowledge of the basic mechanisms of the disease remain limited i.e., not at pace with the exponential number of new cases and the explosion of new technologies. Many important key questions remain: What defines a major allergen? Why do some individuals develop food allergies and others do not? Which are the environmental factors? Could the environmental factors be monitored through epigenetics or modified by changes in the microbiome? Can tolerance to food be induced? Why are some foods more likely to trigger allergies than others? Does the route and timing of exposure have any role on sensitization? These and many other related questions remain unanswered. In this short review some of these topics are addressed in the light of recent advances in the area

Use of humanised rat basophilic leukaemia cell line RS-ATL8 for the assessment of allergenicity of Schistosoma mansoni proteins.

BACKGROUND Parasite-specific IgE is thought to correlate with protection against Schistosoma mansoni infection or re-infection. Only a few molecular targets of the IgE response in S. mansoni infection have been characterised. A better insight into the basic mechanisms of anti-parasite immunity could be gained from a genome-wide characterisation of such S. mansoni allergens. This would have repercussions on our understanding of allergy and the development of safe and efficacious vaccinations against helminthic parasites. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A complete medium- to high-throughput amenable workflow, including important quality controls, is described, which enables the rapid translation of S. mansoni proteins using wheat germ lysate and subsequent assessment of potential allergenicity with a humanised Rat Basophilic Leukemia (RBL) reporter cell line. Cell-free translation is completed within 90 minutes, generating sufficient amounts of parasitic protein for rapid screening of allergenicity without any need for purification. Antigenic integrity is demonstrated using Western Blotting. After overnight incubation with infected individuals' serum, the RS-ATL8 reporter cell line is challenged with the complete wheat germ translation mixture and Luciferase activity measured, reporting cellular activation by the suspected allergen. The suitability of this system for characterization of novel S. mansoni allergens is demonstrated using well characterised plant and parasitic allergens such as Par j 2, SmTAL-1 and the IgE binding factor IPSE/alpha-1, expressed in wheat germ lysates and/or E. coli. SmTAL-1, but not SmTAL2 (used as a negative control), was able to activate the basophil reporter cell line. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE This method offers an accessible way for assessment of potential allergenicity of anti-helminthic vaccine candidates and is suitable for medium- to high-throughput studies using infected individual sera. It is also suitable for the study of the basis of allergenicity of helminthic proteins

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Effects of alirocumab on types of myocardial infarction: insights from the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial

Aims  The third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (MI) Task Force classified MIs into five types: Type 1, spontaneous; Type 2, related to oxygen supply/demand imbalance; Type 3, fatal without ascertainment of cardiac biomarkers; Type 4, related to percutaneous coronary intervention; and Type 5, related to coronary artery bypass surgery. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction with statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin–kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors reduces risk of MI, but less is known about effects on types of MI. ODYSSEY OUTCOMES compared the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab with placebo in 18 924 patients with recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and elevated LDL-C (≥1.8 mmol/L) despite intensive statin therapy. In a pre-specified analysis, we assessed the effects of alirocumab on types of MI. Methods and results  Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Myocardial infarction types were prospectively adjudicated and classified. Of 1860 total MIs, 1223 (65.8%) were adjudicated as Type 1, 386 (20.8%) as Type 2, and 244 (13.1%) as Type 4. Few events were Type 3 (n = 2) or Type 5 (n = 5). Alirocumab reduced first MIs [hazard ratio (HR) 0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77–0.95; P = 0.003], with reductions in both Type 1 (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99; P = 0.032) and Type 2 (0.77, 0.61–0.97; P = 0.025), but not Type 4 MI. Conclusion  After ACS, alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy favourably impacted on Type 1 and 2 MIs. The data indicate for the first time that a lipid-lowering therapy can attenuate the risk of Type 2 MI. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction below levels achievable with statins is an effective preventive strategy for both MI types.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz299</p