Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Towards a Taxonomy of Feedback Factors Affecting the User Experience of Augmented Reality Exposure Therapy Systems for Small-Animal Phobias

Small-animal phobias has been treated using in vivo exposure therapies (IVET) and virtual reality exposure therapies (VRET). Recently, augmented reality for exposure therapies (ARET) has also been presented and validated as a suitable tool. In this work we identified an ensemble of feedback factors that affect the user experience of patients using ARET systems for the treatment of small-animal phobias, and propose a taxonomy to characterize this kind of applications according to the feedback factors used in the application. Further, we present a customized version of the taxonomy by considering factors/attributes specific to the visual stimuli. To the best of our knowledge, no other work has identified nor provided an explicit classification or taxonomy of factors that affect the user experience of patients using this kind of systems for the treatment of small-animal phobias. Our final aim is to two-fold: (i) provide a tool for the design, classification and evaluation of this kind of systems, and (ii) inspire others to conduct further work on this topic

Adquisición de competencias matemáticas en niños preescolares con discapacidad intelectual, a través de sistemas multimedios

Las instancias del sector educativo dedicadas a la atención de niños y niñas con necesidades educativas especiales (NEE), se han visto en la necesidad de buscar nuevas herramientas que apoyen el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, así como de explorar las posibilidades pedagógicas de las tecnologías de la información y de comunicaciones (TIC). El propósito de este trabajo es presentar el prototipo de un sistema basado en gráficos interactivos tridimensionales y multimedia que sirva como herramienta de aprendizaje para apoyar al niño con necesidades educativas especiales en la adquisición de las competencias del campo formativo de Pensamiento Matemático establecidas en el Programa de Educación Preescolar 2004 (PEP) en sus dos aspectos relacionados con la construcción de nociones matemáticas básicas: número y forma, espacio y medida. Los sistemas multimedia tienen un enorme potencial en el ámbito educativo en relación a los tres aspectos que contemplan las competencias: conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes, así mismo favorecen al desarrollo social y psicológico de los alumnos de educación especial

Redesign and Evaluation of AffectiVest, a Wearable Tool to Convey Affection Gestures between Geographically-Separated Grandparents and Grandchildren †

Motivated by the need to improve communication between grandparents and grandchildren who are geographically separated, this paper presents the redesign and evaluation of AffectiVest, a wearable affective device that allows the transmission of affection gestures between grandparents and grandchildren. The redesign consisted of modifying the architecture of AffectiVest to allow wireless connectivity and mobility, and modifying the implementation of the stimuli that represent the affection gestures to make them more similar to the real ones. AffectiVest was evaluated by 10 grandparent-grandchild pairs who interacted using the device for several minutes, actually wearing the device while communicating in a separated environment. The results of the Software Usability Scale (SUS) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) on-exit questionnaires, as well as the questionnaire of fidelity of the affection gestures, allowed us to establish that the redesign of the device was successful, since it was perceived by its users as having a high usability, and as being adequate and intuitive at evoking all the affection gestures as real enough. In addition, it allowed identifying a set of specific recommendations from the group of target users regarding the adjustment of the vest and the location of the actuators considering the differences in the size of the users, and the possibility of using the vest while carrying out the activities of daily living

Resolving Issues of Content Uniformity and Low Permeability Using Eutectic Blend of Camphor and Menthol

The aim of present study were to arrest the problem of content uniformity without the use of harmful organic solvent and to improve ex vivo permeability of captopril, a low dose class III drug as per biological classification system. Eutectic mixture of camphor and menthol was innovatively used in the work. Captopril solution in eutectic mixture was blended with Avicel PH 102 and then the mixture was blended with mannitol in different ratios. Formulated batches were characterized for angle of repose and Carr's index. A selected batch was filled in hard gelatin capsule. Tablet dosage form was also developed. Capsules and tablets were characterized for in vitro drug release in 0.1N HCl. Additionally, the captopril tablets were analyzed for content uniformity and ex vivo drug permeation study using rat ileum in modified apparatus. The measurement of angle of repose and Carr's index revealed that the powder blend exhibited good flow property and compressibility. The captopril capsules and tablets exhibited immediate drug release in 0.1 N HCl. The captopril tablets passed content uniformity test as per IP 1996. Ex vivo permeation of captopril, formulated with eutectic mixture, was faster than control. The permeation was increased by 15% at the end of 3 h. Tablets and capsule exhibited reasonable short term stability with no considerable change in performance characteristics

Massage Therapy of the Back Using a Real-Time Haptic-Enhanced Telerehabilitation System

We present the usability evaluation of a haptic-enhanced telerehabilitation system for massage therapy of the back using the Vybe haptic gaming pad and the gesture sensor LEAP motion controller. The evaluated system includes features that allow for (i) administering online therapy programs, (ii) providing self-adjustable and safety treatment of back massages using a virtual environment, and (iii) saving and replaying massage sessions according to a patient’s therapy program. The usability evaluation with 25 older adults and 10 specialists suggests that the haptic telerehabilitation system is perceived with high usability and pleasurable user experience, while providing personalized intensity of haptic therapy in a supervised, real-time, and secure way to treat the patient. Moreover, the specialists totally agree that the system design features, such as save and play, and delimiting therapy zones are the most important for back massage therapy, while the features of regulating feedback intensity and providing/receiving a massage remotely are also important. Finally, based on their comments, five design insights aiming at improving the current version of the system were generated