Cognitive-motor interventions based on virtual reality and instrumental activities of daily living (iADL): an overview

Non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions utilizing virtual reality (VR) represent a promising approach to enhancing cognitive function in patients with degenerative cognitive disorders. Traditional “pen and paper” therapies often lack the practical engagement in everyday activities that older individuals encounter in their environment. These activities pose both cognitive and motor challenges, underscoring the necessity of understanding the outcomes of such combined interventions. This review aimed to assess the advantages of VR applications that integrate cognitive-motor tasks, simulating instrumental activities of daily living (iADLs). We systematically searched five databases–Scopus, Web of Science, Springer Link, IEEE Xplore, and PubMed, from their inception until January 31, 2023. Our review revealed that motor movements, coupled with VR-based cognitive-motor interventions, activate specific brain areas and foster improvements in general cognition, executive function, attention, and memory. VR applications that meld cognitive-motor tasks and simulate iADLs can offer significant benefits to older adults. Enhanced cognitive and motor performance can promote increased independence in daily activities, thereby contributing to improved quality of life

Influence of hand tracking in immersive virtual reality for memory assessment

Few works analyze the parameters inherent to immersive virtual reality (IVR) in applications for memory evaluation. Specifically, hand tracking adds to the immersion of the system, placing the user in the first person with full awareness of the position of their hands. Thus, this work addresses the influence of hand tracking in memory assessment with IVR systems. For this, an application based on activities of daily living was developed, where the user must remember the location of the elements. The data collected by the application are the accuracy of the answers and the response time; the participants are 20 healthy subjects who pass the MoCA test with an age range between 18 to 60 years of age; the application was evaluated with classic controllers and with the hand tracking of the Oculus Quest 2. After the experimentation, the participants carried out presence (PQ), usability (UMUX), and satisfaction (USEQ) tests. The results indicate no difference with statistical significance between both experiments; controller experiments have 7.08% higher accuracy and 0.27 ys. faster response time. Contrary to expectations, presence was 1.3% lower for hand tracking, and usability (0.18%) and satisfaction (1.43%) had similar results. The findings indicate no evidence to determine better conditions in the evaluation of memory in this case of IVR with hand tracking

The cupboard task: An immersive virtual reality-based system for everyday memory assessment

Background and objective Virtual Reality (VR) has the capacity to be used in cognitive rehabilitation interventions for diagnostic and training purposes. This technology allows the development of proposals that traditionally have been only implemented using physical elements that imply greater resources and a lesser degree of automation. This work presents an immersive virtual reality (IVR) application (the Cupboard task) for the evaluation of memory in a more ecological way and based on an activity of daily living (ADL). Methods To appraise its construct validity, we have carried out a comparative study with a traditional method of memory assessment (method of loci). To check for any association between performance and age, performance with years of education, and reaction time with age, the Pearson's correlation was used. One-way ANOVA was used to check for differences in performance by gender. We also performed a reliability analysis with a two way mixed effects model where people effects are random and measures effects are fixed. Therefore, intra-class correlation coefficient with absolute agreement was reckoned to assess the consistency or concordance of the measures made by both the method of loci and the cupboard IVR task. Results Both tasks were evaluated on a sample of 22 healthy participants who voluntarily took part in the experiment. The results obtained showed a high degree of concordance between both memory performance measures, which assumes good clinical relevance. In addition, other age-related effects were found, common to memory assessment tasks. Conclusions This work showed that it is possible to use an IVR application to successfully assess everyday memory. We have also demonstrated the potential of IVR to develop valid tests that assess memory functions reliably and efficiently and within ecologically valid contexts. The results obtained open the door to its use in clinical settings for cognitive training (and promoting cognitive health) of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), severe cognitive impairment (SCI) such as Alzheimer or Dementia, etc., with full guarantees of application, although it must first be validated through a randomized control trial (RCT). The degree of usability of the Cupboard task was very high according to the test carried out by the participants

La situación socioeconómica de los adultos mayores en la ciudadela 9 de Mayo perteneciente al cantón El Guabo provincia El Oro

El presente estudio está enfocado en conocer cuántas personas de la localidad objeto de estudio gozan de una mejor calidad de vida y, por ende, pueden ser partícipes en la inclusión social y mejorar sus condiciones sociales, de manera que aporten al modelo de desarrollo sostenible propuesto por la ONU.The present study is focused on knowing how many people in the location under study have good quality of life and, therefore, they can participate in social inclusion to improve their conditions, so that they contribute to the sustainable development model proposed by the UN

Cognitive-motor interventions based on virtual reality and instrumental activities of daily living (iADL): an overview

Non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions utilizing virtual reality (VR) represent a promising approach to enhancing cognitive function in patients with degenerative cognitive disorders. Traditional “pen and paper” therapies often lack the practical engagement in everyday activities that older individuals encounter in their environment. These activities pose both cognitive and motor challenges, underscoring the necessity of understanding the outcomes of such combined interventions. This review aimed to assess the advantages of VR applications that integrate cognitive-motor tasks, simulating instrumental activities of daily living (iADLs). We systematically searched five databases–Scopus, Web of Science, Springer Link, IEEE Xplore, and PubMed, from their inception until January 31, 2023. Our review revealed that motor movements, coupled with VR-based cognitive-motor interventions, activate specific brain areas and foster improvements in general cognition, executive function, attention, and memory. VR applications that meld cognitive-motor tasks and simulate iADLs can offer significant benefits to older adults. Enhanced cognitive and motor performance can promote increased independence in daily activities, thereby contributing to improved quality of life

Sistema de Desinfección de Virus Remoto: Un Caso de Estudio en un País en Vías de Desarrollo

Germs and viruses are present on all surface's humans touch, including their clothing and bodies. Homeless people are highly predisposed to carry these viruses and suffer from diseases. This motivated the development of the present study that describes the design of a control system for a disinfection booth. Low-cost components were used, which can be acquired locally and maintain the physical characteristics of the existing booth, which was donated by the community. The Arduino Uno embedded board, and the NodeMCU board for remote control were used as the processing unit. The data acquisition element is an infrared presence sensor that detects when a person enters the cabin. This also controls the spraying of the disinfectant liquid automatically. The operation of this mechanism provides continuous and stable spraying, whose ignition can be controlled from a mobile application through a local network. Experimental tests show that implementing five nebulizers allows a high percentage of disinfectant coverage. A usability test (SUS) was also applied, offering 81% acceptance, which validated its use and allowed receiving feedback to improve this prototype

Construction of a Low-Cost Semi-automatic Machine for Tensile Testing

Tensile tests make it possible to determine the resistance and other relevant parameters of the materials. These procedures are usually performed with equipment that is expensive and inaccessible to higher education centers with limited budgets. In the case of acquiring this hardware, the disadvantage is that this are purely manual machines that make the use and learning process difficult. That is why this document shows the construction of a machine that allows this type of testing, but using low-cost materials. The mechanical and electronic design and programming that has been used to implement and semi-automate the machine is briefly but clearly described. To validate the functionality, the respective tests have been carried out, although it is a limited version that requires improvements, the results are satisfactory. The curve obtained when carrying out tests with A36 steel has shown a similarity with the theory. Thus, students obtain a technological tool that contributes to academic training, strengthening knowledge in the study of materials

Análisis de los sistemas de puesta a tierra en los estados transitorio y subtransitorio de transformadores de MT/BT, redes secundarias y usuario final para la Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur C.A.

El presente trabajo trata de manera general, el estudio de los sistemas de puesta a tierra frente a los diversos tipos de perturbaciones electromagnéticas presentes en las redes de distribución de energía eléctrica, además se analiza su constitución, tipos y características de aterrizamiento. Como herramienta de investigación, para demostrar el comportamiento de los sistemas de puesta a tierra bajo condiciones de fallas eléctricas, se utiliza el programa de transitorios electromagnéticos EMTP/ATP el cual nos permite determinar los distintos criterios y métodos de selección para un adecuado sistema de aterrizaje. La combinación del estudio de la parte teórica y simulación, permite presentar de manera global las respectivas conclusiones y recomendaciones.Ingeniero EléctricoCuenc

Maintenance Plan Based on TPM for Turbine Recovery Machinery

The maintenance and repair of the components of hydroelectric turbines require the use of specialized equipment. To keep these teams operational, it is proposed to design a master plan in order to develop a TPM philosophy for a vertical turning lathe. This project develops five of the twelve steps established by JIPM for the TPM implementation. This paper also provides the necessary documentation for 5S and autonomous maintenance applications. Also, some safety, health and environmental suggestions are provided. PM activities are chosen based on RCM techniques like CA and FMEA. And predictive maintenance activities are established following ISO 3655, 2006. All these activities including automotive maintenance ones are organized and scheduled. Finally, OEE rate is applied to the lathe to identify the principal losses on the machine. After applying this proposal there is an increase of 27.84% and 39.71% in availability and performance respectively. The OEE calculation has increased by 29.97%, thereby motivating readers to implement this methodology in other industrie

Automation of a Lathe to Increase Productivity in the Manufacture of Stems of a Metalworking Company

This project performs the optimization of the process for the manufacture of stems for the gas passage valves produced by the company INDUMETAL M&M, the problem is generated in the process of the elaboration of stems due to the lack of machinery for perform the machining of sufficient stems, the process had a working productivity of 59 units processed/hour of production of stems, which were not sufficient to meet the production requirement, so it was proposed to implement an automated system that solve the problem of production deficiency in the area of stems. The proposal was to reinvigorate the semi-automatic lathe Hardinge AHC (TH-05) existing in the area in very bad conditions, which occupied physical space and could fulfill the required work. For the implementation, a Programmable Logic Controller (SIEMENS S7 1200 PLC) and a Human Machine Interface (HMI DELTA) are used, increasing productivity to 89 units processed/hour of stems, fulfilling the objective set. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG