The when, where, and how: an adaptive robotic info-terminal for care home residents – a long-term study

Adapting to users' intentions is a key requirement for autonomous robots in general, and in care settings in particular. In this paper, a comprehensive long-term study of a mobile robot providing information services to residents, visitors, and staff of a care home is presented with a focus on adapting to the when and where the robot should be offering its services to best accommodate the users' needs. Rather than providing a fixed schedule, the presented system takes the opportunity of long-term deployment to explore the space of possibilities of interaction while concurrently exploiting the model learned to provide better services. But in order to provide effective services to users in a care home, not only then when and where are relevant, but also the way how the information is provided and accessed. Hence, also the usability of the deployed system is studied specifically, in order to provide a most comprehensive overall assessment of a robotic info-terminal implementation in a care setting. Our results back our hypotheses, (i) that learning a spatiotemporal model of users' intentions improves efficiency and usefulness of the system, and (ii) that the specific information sought after is indeed dependent on the location the info-terminal is offered

Patterns of use: how older adults with progressed dementia interact with a robot

Older adults represent a new user group of robots that are deployed in their private homes or in care facilities. In the presented study tangible aspects of older adults' interaction with an autonomous robot were focused. The robot was deployed as a companion in physical therapy for older adults with progressed dementia. Interaction was possible via a mounted touch screen. The menu was structured in a single layer and icons were big and with strong contrast. Employing a detailed observation protocol, interaction frequencies and contexts were assessed. Thereby, it was found that most of the interaction was encouraged by the therapists and that two out of 12 older adults with progressed dementia showed self-inducted interactions

What do staff in eldercare want a robot for? An assessment of potential tasks and user requirements for a long-term deployment

Robotic aids could help to overcome the gap between rising numbers of older adults and at the same time declining numbers of care staff. Assessments of end-user requirements, especially focusing on staff in eldercare facilities are still sparse. Contributing to this field of research this study presents end-user requirements and task analysis gained from a methodological combination of interviews and focus group discussions. The findings suggest different tasks robots in eldercare could engage in such as “fetch and carry” tasks, specific entertainment and information tasks, support in physical and occupational therapy, and in security. Furthermore this paper presents an iterative approach that closes the loop between requirements-assessments and subsequent implementations that follow the found requirements

MUG Mel3 Cell Lines Reflect Heterogeneity in Melanoma and Represent a Robust Model for Melanoma in Pregnancy

Melanomas are aggressive tumors with a high metastatic potential and an increasing incidence rate. They are known for their heterogeneity and propensity to easily develop therapy-resistance. Nowadays they are one of the most common cancers diagnosed during pregnancy. Due to the difficulty in balancing maternal needs and foetal safety, melanoma is challenging to treat. The aim of this study was to provide a potential model system for the study of melanoma in pregnancy and to illustrate melanoma heterogeneity. For this purpose, a pigmented and a non-pigmented section of a lymph node metastasis from a pregnant patient were cultured under different conditions and characterized in detail. All four culture conditions exhibited different phenotypic, genotypic as well as tumorigenic properties, and resulted in four newly established melanoma cell lines. To address treatment issues, especially in pregnant patients, the effect of synthetic human lactoferricin-derived peptides was tested successfully. These new BRAF-mutated MUG Mel3 cell lines represent a valuable model in melanoma heterogeneity and melanoma pregnancy research. Furthermore, treatment with anti-tumor peptides offers an alternative to conventionally used therapeutic options—especially during pregnancy

The STRANDS project: long-term autonomy in everyday environments

Thanks to the efforts of the robotics and autonomous systems community, the myriad applications and capacities of robots are ever increasing. There is increasing demand from end users for autonomous service robots that can operate in real environments for extended periods. In the Spatiotemporal Representations and Activities for Cognitive Control in Long-Term Scenarios (STRANDS) project (http://strandsproject.eu), we are tackling this demand head-on by integrating state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and robotics research into mobile service robots and deploying these systems for long-term installations in security and care environments. Our robots have been operational for a combined duration of 104 days over four deployments, autonomously performing end-user-defined tasks and traversing 116 km in the process. In this article, we describe the approach we used to enable long-term autonomous operation in everyday environments and how our robots are able to use their long run times to improve their own performance

Influence of the weld thermal cycle on the grain structure of friction-stir joined 6061 aluminum alloy

In this work, the relationship between the thermal cycle generated during friction-stir welding (FSW) of a 6061 aluminum alloy and the resulting grain structure was studied. To this end, FSW was conducted at measured welding temperatures from 340 to 450 ◦C and cooling rates from 15 to 70 ◦C/s, and the evolved microstructures were systematically examined using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In all cases, the evolution of the grain structure was governed by continuous recrystallization. At elevated temperatures, however, a competitive recovery retarded the recrystallization kinetic

Robot deployment in long-term care: a case study of a mobile robot in physical therapy

Background. Healthcare systems in industrialised countries are challenged to provide care for a growing number of older adults. Information technology holds the promise of facilitating this process by providing support for care staff, and improving wellbeing of older adults through a variety of support systems. Goal. Little is known about the challenges that arise from the deployment of technology in care settings; yet, the integration of technology into care is one of the core determinants of successful support. In this paper, we discuss challenges and opportunities associated with technology integration in care using the example of a mobile robot to support physical therapy among older adults with cognitive impairment in the European project STRANDS. Results and discussion. We report on technical challenges along with perspectives of physical therapists, and provide an overview of lessons learned which we hope will help inform the work of researchers and practitioners wishing to integrate robotic aids in the caregiving process

The Risk of Severe Infections Following Rituximab Administration in Patients With Autoimmune Kidney Diseases: Austrian ABCDE Registry Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the incidence, type, and risk factors of severe infections (SI) in patients with autoimmune kidney diseases treated with rituximab (RTX). METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of adult patients with immune-related kidney diseases treated with at least one course of RTX between 2015 and 2019. As a part of the ABCDE Registry, detailed data on RTX application and SI were collected. SI were defined by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0 as infectious complications grade 3 and above. Patients were dichotomized between "nephrotic" and "nephritic" indications. The primary outcome was the incidence of SI within 12 months after the first RTX application. RESULTS: A total of 144 patients were included. Twenty-five patients (17.4%) presented with SI, mostly within the first 3 months after RTX administration. Most patients in the nephritic group had ANCA-associated vasculitis, while membranous nephropathy was the leading entity in the nephrotic group. Respiratory infections were the leading SI (n= 10, 40%), followed by urinary tract (n=3, 12%) and gastrointestinal infections (n=2, 8%). On multivariable analysis, body mass index (BMI, 24.6 kg/m2versus 26.9 kg/m2, HR: 0.88; 95%CI: 0.79-0.99; p=0.039) and baseline creatinine (HR: 1.25; 95%CI: 1.04-1.49; p=0.017) were significantly associated with SI. All patients in the nephritic group (n=19; 100%) who experienced a SI received oral glucocorticoid (GC) treatment at the time of infection. Hypogammaglobulinemia was frequent (58.5%) but not associated with SI. CONCLUSIONS: After RTX administration, impaired kidney function and lower BMI are independent risk factors for SI. Patients with nephritic glomerular diseases having concomitant GC treatment might be at higher risk of developing SI