2D Video Analysis for Active shoulder ROM

Aging and its associated problems related to movement impacts the care of people with psychiatric disorders. This study sought to clarify the usefulness of 2D video analysis for evaluating shoulder range of motion (ROM) during upper limb exercises in patients with psychiatric disorders. Subjects (N=54) were patients with psychiatric disorders categorized as the following : having either a high or low activities of daily living (ADL) score using the Barthel Index ; experiencing shoulder ROM limitation, and whether or not compensatory movements were exhibited. Compensatory movement was also considered in patients with Parkinsonism, cerebrovascular disease, and cognitive dysfunction. Shoulder joint ROM was measured using a goniometer and active ROM was captured using ImageJ. No significant difference between passive ROM measured by a goniometer and active ROM measured by ImageJ considering disease groups, ADL level, and shoulder ROM limitation was found. Factoring in compensatory movements, however, significant differences were found between passive and active ROM : existence compensatory movement group, left side (z=-2.30, p=0.02) ; nonexistence compensatory movement group, right side (z=-2.63, p<0.001). Image-evaluating devices help assess ROM in patients with psychiatric disorders, enhancing the development of physical rehabilitation programs to regain critical ADL, sustaining self-care capabilities

Neurophysiological Analysis of Intermanual Transfer in Motor Learning

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of motor training on motor imagery (MI), by comparing motor performance and motor cortex excitability changes with and without intermanual transfer of motor learning. Intermanual transfer was investigated in terms of excitability changes in the motor cortex and motor performance from right hand training to left hand performance. Participants were assigned to a transfer training group and a control group. We recorded motor evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), applied to the left extensor carpi radialis (ECR) both with and without intermanual transfer. The results showed that after learning by the right hand, MEPs decreased during left hand MI. MEPs during MI were significantly decreased by unilateral training in the transfer training group. Since intermanual transfer plays an important role in stabilizing performance by the contralateral side, this result suggests that unilateral training decreases MEPs during MI on the contralateral side. In the control group, without right hand training, MEPs significantly increased after left hand training during MI. In the trained side, we found increased excitability in the agonist muscle area of the primary motor cortex. However, in the untrained side, excitability decreased in the homonymous muscle area of the primary motor cortex. This constitutes an increase in inhibitory effects and suggests that excitability changes in the respective neural circuit contribute to skilled performance by the ipsilateral and contralateral sides in the same motor task

A walking support/evaluation machine for patients with parkinsonism

Various walk supporting systems have been devised and developed. However, they have not been designed for supporting or evaluating the gait of parkinsonian patients, and not much consideration has been given to gait disturbances of parkinsonian patients. In this study : (a) We prepared a tentative model of walk supporting and monitoring system in consideration of typical symptoms of parkinsonism. (b) We conducted gait rehabilitation in a parkinsonian patient using the walk supporting and monitoring system and confirmed (i) the occurrence of frozen gait during walking, (ii) brachybasia, (iii) the absence of anterior tilting of the posture, pulsion symptom, and festination, and (iv) occurrence of hesitation to start walking. Therefore, typical symptoms of parkinsonism can be detected by the use of this system. (c) The medical staff can evaluate the state of recovery of patients on the basis of the data obtained from this system and use them for purposes such as guidance of rehabilitation

Comparing movement-related cortical potential between real and simulated movement tasks from an ecological validity perspective

IntroductionConcerns regarding the ecological validity of movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) experimental tasks that are related to motor learning have recently been growing. Therefore, we compared MRCP during real movement task (RMT) and simulated movement task (SMT) from an ecological validity perspective.MethodsThe participants performed both RMT and SMT, and MRCP were measured using electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG was based on the 10-20 method, with electrodes placed in the motor cortex (C3 and C4) and supplementary motor cortex (FCz [between Fz and Cz] and Cz) areas. This experiment examined the MRCP using Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and negative slope (NS’) onset times, and BP, NS’, and motor potential (MP) amplitudes during the task.ResultsThe results revealed that the SMT exhibited later BP and NS’ onset times and smaller BP, NS’, and MP amplitudes than the RMT. Furthermore, in RMT, the onset time of MRCP was delayed, and the amplitude of MRCP was smaller in the second half of the 200 times task than in the first half, whereas in SMT, there was no change in onset time and amplitude. The SMT showed a different MRCP than the RMT, suggesting that the ecological validity of the task should be fully considered when investigating the cortical activity associated with motor skill learning using MRCP.ConclusionEcological validity of the study should be fully considered when investigating the cortical activity associated with motor skill learning using MRCP. Moreover, it is important to understand the differences between the two methods when applied clinically

Real-time measurement of frozen gait in patient with parkinsonism using a sensor-controlled walker

Patients with Parkinson’s disease develop gait disturbances. Although the use of walkers is very effective for maintaining locomotive ability, patients who have symptoms such as frozen gait (FG) and festinating gait may fall even with a walker equipped with a brake as they cannot use the brake well in an emergency and fail to follow the accelerating walker. None of the studies on walking aids to date have addressed real-time detection of FG or the use of this information for the control of the walking aid, monitoring of the state of improvement in the ambulatory function, or evaluation of the effect of the use of a walker. In this study, we evaluated whether the state called FG, a characteristic symptom of Parkinson’s disease, can be detected by the use of a sensor-controlled walker with heel-to-toe pressure sensors. The following two measurements were carried out in one male healthy and a one male patient with stage 3 Parkinson’s disease by the Hoehn-Yahr scale showing mild muscle rigidity, hypokinesia, and FG. In the healthy subject, the heel-to-toe pressure showed smooth heel-to-toe shifts during the standing phase. In the patient with Parkinson’s disease, the heel-to-toe response time was about 2.4 times longer than in the healthy subject at the beginning of walking, and FG could be recorded as the difficulty in lifting the foot by the toes. Also, when FG was observed during walking, the pressure waves recorded by the same sensors showed two peaks occurring at a short interval, indicating double landings

Enhanced diagnostic accuracy for quantitative bone scan using an artificial neural network system: A Japanese multi-center database project

Background Artificial neural network (ANN)-based bone scan index (BSI), a marker of the amount of bone metastasis, has been shown to enhance diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility but is potentially affected by training databases. The aims of this study were to revise the software using a large number of Japanese databases and to validate its diagnostic accuracy compared with the original Swedish training database. Methods The BSI was calculated with EXINIbone (EB; EXINI Diagnostics) using the Swedish training database (n = 789). The software using Japanese training databases from a single institution (BONENAVI version 1, BN1, n = 904) and the revised version from nine institutions (version 2, BN2, n = 1,532) were compared. The diagnostic accuracy was validated with another 503 multi-center bone scans including patients with prostate (n = 207), breast (n = 166), and other cancer types. The ANN value (probability of abnormality) and BSI were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and net reclassification improvement (NRI) analyses were performed. Results The ROC analysis based on the ANN value showed significant improvement from EB to BN1 and BN2. In men (n = 296), the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.877 for EB, 0.912 for BN1 (p = not significant (ns) vs. EB) and 0.934 for BN2 (p = 0.007 vs. EB). In women (n = 207), the AUC was 0.831 for EB, 0.910 for BN1 (p = 0.016 vs. EB), and 0.932 for BN2 (p < 0.0001 vs. EB). The optimum sensitivity and specificity based on BN2 was 90% and 84% for men and 93% and 85% for women. In patients with prostate cancer, the AUC was equally high with EB, BN1, and BN2 (0.939, 0.949, and 0.957, p = ns). In patients with breast cancer, the AUC was improved from EB (0.847) to BN1 (0.910, p = ns) and BN2 (0.924, p = 0.039). The NRI using ANN between EB and BN1 was 17.7% (p = 0.0042), and that between EB and BN2 was 29.6% (p < 0.0001). With respect to BSI, the NRI analysis showed downward reclassification with total NRI of 31.9% (p < 0.0001). Conclusion In the software for calculating BSI, the multi-institutional database significantly improved identification of bone metastasis compared with the original database, indicating the importance of a sufficient number of training databases including various types of cancers. © 2013 Nakajima et al

Epitaxially regrown quantum dot photonic crystal surface emitting lasers

Quantum dot-based epitaxially regrown photonic crystal surface emitting lasers are demonstrated at room temperature. The GaAs-based devices, which are monolithically integrated on the same wafer, exhibit ground state lasing at ∼1230 nm and excited state lasing at ∼1140 nm with threshold current densities of 0.69 and 1.05 kA/cm2, respectively