A Therapeutic Vibrating Insole Device for Postural Instability in Older People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Control Study

Introduction Frail older people with diabetes often present with or develop walking impairments, in part due to lower-limb sensory-motor neuropathy. Several studies suggest a possible improvement of balance control using somatosensory stimulation. We undertook a novel randomized control trial, the aim of which was to observe whether use of this device for 1 month improves walking speed as measured in the 10-m fast walking speed test standardized to body size at month 1 (M1) (FWS). Secondary outcomes were the differences between intervention (VS) and control (C) in the 10-m normal walking speed test, step length, short physical performance battery, timed up and go test, and posturographic measures. Methods Subjects were aged ≥ 70 years and had had type 2 diabetes for at least 2 years. The intervention (VS) at home consisted of 22-min daily vibrating sequences with noise intensity set at 90% of the tactile threshold for each foot. The same device was used in group C but noise was set to 0. Compliance was retrieved from the device. Results Among 56 subjects, 27 were in the VS group and 29 in the C group; 35 subjects were frail, 15 were prefrail ,and 6 were non-frail. Bilateral neuropathy was present in 17 subjects. More than half of sessions were done in 36 subjects with no discernible difference according to intervention. At M1 there were no discernible differences in FWS between the groups [VS: 0.96 (0.53) cm s−1 cm−1, C: 0.94 (0.47) cm s−1 cm−1]. There were also no discernible differences in other outcomes, irrespective of the presence of bilateral neuropathy. Conclusion In a cohort of frail, prefrail, or non-frail older subjects with diabetes, a 1-month intervention using a vibrating insole device did not alter measures of walking speed and related measures. Larger studies with longer term and different stimulation protocols are required to test this hypothesis more fully.Sponsorship was received for this study from EU 7th Framework Programme (contract no. 278803). CHU of Bordeaux paid the journal’s Rapid Service Fe

Making Bipedal Robot Experiments Reproducible and Comparable: The Eurobench Software Approach

This study describes the software methodology designed for systematic benchmarking of bipedal systems through the computation of performance indicators from data collected during an experimentation stage. Under the umbrella of the European project Eurobench, we collected approximately 30 protocols with related testbeds and scoring algorithms, aiming at characterizing the performances of humanoids, exoskeletons, and/or prosthesis under different conditions. The main challenge addressed in this study concerns the standardization of the scoring process to permit a systematic benchmark of the experiments. The complexity of this process is mainly due to the lack of consistency in how to store and organize experimental data, how to define the input and output of benchmarking algorithms, and how to implement these algorithms. We propose a simple but efficient methodology for preparing scoring algorithms, to ensure reproducibility and replicability of results. This methodology mainly constrains the interface of the software and enables the engineer to develop his/her metric in his/her favorite language. Continuous integration and deployment tools are then used to verify the replicability of the software and to generate an executable instance independent of the language through dockerization. This article presents this methodology and points at all the metrics and documentation repositories designed with this policy in Eurobench. Applying this approach to other protocols and metrics would ease the reproduction, replication, and comparison of experiments.This study is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement no 779963, project Eurobench

Classification et Fusion de Données Actimétriques pour la Télévigilance Médicale : Elaboration et<br />Validation Expérimentale chez la Personne Jeune et Agée

Remote monitoring of elderly at home requires adapted tools to assess their autonomy. This study proposes a package ofmethods to evaluate some autonomy criteria which is usually estimated by a doctor using a questionnaire.Firstly, we developed methods of detection and classification (postures, transfers, walk) from an wearable sensor. Ouralgorithms were validated in experiments on young and elderly people.Secondly, these data were combined with those collected by ambient sensors, installed in a smart environnement. Thus, amethod of multisensor data fusion was elaborated and validated during experiments in this special environement. Thismonitoring system is able to detect autonomy criteria such as sleeping, relaxing, dressing, using the bathroom,breakfast, lunch, dinner and walking. It is, therefore, possible to evaluate five of the six criteria of the ADL scale.La prise en charge à domicile des personnes âgées rend nécessaire de disposer d'un outil d'évaluation de leursautonomie. Les travaux effectués proposent une méthode globale évaluant certains critères d'autonomie jusqu'alorsévaluées manuellement par un médecin.Nous avons, dans un premier temps, développé des méthodes de détection et classification (postures, transferts,marche) appliquées à des signaux accélérométriques issus d'un système embarqué. Des expérimentations ont permisd'évaluer et valider les différents algorithmes sur des sujets jeunes et âgées.Dans un second temps, l'objectif était de combiner ces informations avec celles recueillies par d'autres capteurspouvant être présents dans l'appartement de la personne. Une méthode de fusion de données multicapteurs a étéélaborée et validée. Elle permet d'évaluer cinq des six critères ADL

Classification et fusion de données actimétriques pour la télévigilance médicale (élaboration et validation expérimentale chez la personne jeune et âgée)

La prise en charge à domicile des personnes âgées rend nécessaire de disposer d'un outil d'évaluation de leurs autonomie. Les travaux effectués proposent une méthode globale évaluant certains critères d'autonomie jusqu'alors évaluées manuellement par un médecin. Nous avons, dans un premier temps, développé des méthodes de détection et classification (postures, transferts, marche) appliquées à des signaux accélérométriques issus d'un système embarqué. Des expérimentations ont permis d'évaluer et valider les différents algorithmes sur des sujets jeunes et âgées. Dans un second temps, l'objectif était de combiner ces informations avec celles recueillies par d'autres capteurs pouvant être présents dans l'appartement de la personne. Une méthode de fusion de données multicapteurs a été élaborée et validée. Elle permet d'évaluer cinq des six critères ADL.GRENOBLE1-BU Sciences (384212103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Equimetrix Device: Criteria Based Validation and Reliability Analysis of the Center of Mass and Base of Support of a Human Postural Assessment System

Human postural control is a fundamental ability for static and dynamic tasks, especially in hiper- and hipo-functional populations, such as the elderly. The Equimetrix is a clinical device developed to assess both the base of support (BoS) and the center of mass (CoM) dynamics, thus allowing their use as new evaluation and training tools. This study aims to perform a criteria based validation of Equimetrix by comparing the BoS and CoM data with gold-standard equipment. A motion capture system, force platform, and pressure mat were used to calculate the CoM, center of pressure (CoP) and BoS during bipedal, unipedal, feet together and full tandem stances. Results demonstrate an excellent reliability of Equimetrix in terms of spatial accuracy of the CoM, although over-estimating the CoM height. Differences were found when comparing Mean velocity Path with the CoM, but not with the CoP, indicating a lower reliability in time-based parameters. The Equimetrix presents a tendency to overestimate the BoS, with mixed reliability values, which may be related to the different size of sensing elements between the Equimetrix and the pressure sensing mat. These are encouraging results that should be further explored during dynamic tasks.This research was funded by the individual project BABEN under the Centro Internacional sobre el Envejecimiento (CENIE), Fundación General de la Universidad de Salamanca project 0348_CIE_6_E and the Programa de Cooperación Interreg V-A, España–Portugal (POCTEP) 2014–2020 from the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)

Robot-supported assessment of balance in standing and walking

Clinically useful and efficient assessment of balance during standing and walking is especially challenging in patients with neurological disorders. However, rehabilitation robots could facilitate assessment procedures and improve their clinical value. We present a short overview of balance assessment in clinical practice and in posturography. Based on this overview, we evaluate the potential use of robotic tools for such assessment. The novelty and assumed main benefits of using robots for assessment are their ability to assess ‘severely affected’ patients by providing assistance-as-needed, as well as to provide consistent perturbations during standing and walking while measuring the patient’s reactions. We provide a classification of robotic devices on three aspects relevant to their potential application for balance assessment: 1) how the device interacts with the body, 2) in what sense the device is mobile, and 3) on what surface the person stands or walks when using the device. As examples, nine types of robotic devices are described, classified and evaluated for their suitability for balance assessment. Two example cases of robotic assessments based on perturbations during walking are presented. We conclude that robotic devices are promising and can become useful and relevant tools for assessment of balance in patients with neurological disorders, both in research and in clinical use. Robotic assessment holds the promise to provide increasingly detailed assessment that allows to individually tailor rehabilitation training, which may eventually improve training effectiveness.ISSN:1743-000