Low-Cost Robotic Guide Based on a Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface for Arm Assisted Rehabilitation

[EN] Motor imagery has been suggested as an efficient alternative to improve the rehabilitation process of affected limbs. In this study, a low-cost robotic guide is implemented so that linear position can be controlled via the user¿s motor imagination of movement intention. The patient can use this device to move the arm attached to the guide according to their own intentions. The first objective of this study was to check the feasibility and safety of the designed robotic guide controlled via a motor imagery (MI)-based brain¿computer interface (MI-BCI) in healthy individuals, with the ultimate aim to apply it to rehabilitation patients. The second objective was to determine which are the most convenient MI strategies to control the different assisted rehabilitation arm movements. The results of this study show a better performance when the BCI task is controlled with an action¿action MI strategy versus an action¿relaxation one. No statistically significant difference was found between the two action-action MI strategies.This research has been partially funded by Instituto de Automatica e Informatica Industrial AI2, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. The APC was funded by Facultat de Educacion, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja.Quiles Cucarella, E.; Suay, F.; Candela, G.; Chio-Cho, N.; Jiménez, M.; Alvarez-Kurogi, L. (2020). Low-Cost Robotic Guide Based on a Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface for Arm Assisted Rehabilitation. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health (Online). 17(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1703069917

Compact Microstrip to Empty Substrate Integrated Coaxial Line Transition

[EN] Substrate integrated waveguides are increasingly being used due to their capability of combining the advantages of planar circuits and traditional waveguides. The development of empty substrate integrated waveguides has substantially reduced the related insertion losses, since waves propagate through air instead of propagating through a lossy dielectric medium. Recently, a new empty coaxial structure, completely built with printed circuit boards and integrated in a substrate, has been proposed. It has been named empty substrate integrated coaxial Line (ESICL). The resulting coaxial line has low cost, easy manufacturing, low radiation, low losses, high-quality factor, and is non dispersive. A transition from grounded coplanar waveguide to ESICL already exists. In this work, a transition from microstrip to ESICL is presented for the first time. In order to demonstrate its feasibility, a back-to-back structure and a bandpass filter have been manufactured and measured.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spanish Government, under Research Project TEC2016-75934-C4-3-R and Research Project TEC2016-75934-C4-1-R.Quiles, F.; Belenguer Martínez, Á.; Martínez-Zamora, JÁ.; Nova-Giménez, V.; Esteban González, H.; Boria Esbert, VE. (2018). Compact Microstrip to Empty Substrate Integrated Coaxial Line Transition. IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters. 28(12):1080-1082. https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWC.2018.2874280S10801082281

Dietary intake in pregnant women in a Spanish Mediterranean area: as good as it is supposed to be?

Objective To assess food and nutrient intakes and compliance with nutritional recommendations in pregnant women according to selected sociodemographic characteristics. Design Cross-sectional study based on data from the INMA-Valencia cohort (Spain), which recruited pregnant women between 2004 and 2005. Information on maternal sociodemographics and anthropometry was collected. Dietary intake was assessed through an FFQ. Intakes of foods were compared with Spanish food-based dietary guidelines. Intake inadequacy for nutrients was assessed using the Dietary Reference Intakes of the US Institute of Medicine. Setting Valencia, Spain. Subjects We studied 822 pregnant women who had information on dietary intake during their first trimester of pregnancy. Results More than 50 % of pregnant women did not meet the guidelines for cereals and legumes; reported intakes of carbohydrates, n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were below recommendations and exceeded the total fat intake according to dietary references. Dietary inadequacy for folate, Fe and vitamin E ranged from 99 % to 68 %. Vegetable intake was related to age only. Younger and less educated women showed lower intakes of protein and n-3 fatty acids and higher intakes of trans-fatty acids as well as greater inadequacy for micronutrients. Spanish women reported lower intakes of fruit and carbohydrates and higher intakes of protein, total fat, SFA, MUFA and n-3 fatty acids compared with their foreign-born counterparts. Conclusions Women in the studied area have inadequate intakes of several nutrients relevant during pregnancy. Age, education and country of origin are factors significantly related to dietary intake and adequacy

Compact Microstrip to Empty Substrate Integrated Coaxial Line Transition

Substrate integrated waveguides are increasingly being used due to their capability of combining the advantages of planar circuits and traditional waveguides. The development of empty substrate integrated waveguides has substantially reduced the related insertion losses, since waves propagate through air instead of propagating through a lossy dielectric medium. Recently, a new empty coaxial structure, completely built with printed circuit boards and integrated in a substrate, has been proposed. It has been named empty substrate integrated coaxial Line (ESICL). The resulting coaxial line has low cost, easy manufacturing, low radiation, low losses, high-quality factor, and is non dispersive. A transition from grounded coplanar waveguide to ESICL already exists. In this work, a transition from microstrip to ESICL is presented for the first time. In order to demonstrate its feasibility, a back-to-back structure and a bandpass filter have been manufactured and measured

Diseño de un filtro de cavidades acopadas en tecnología de guía coaxial vacía integrada en sustrato

Recientemente se está investigando mucho en líneas de transmisión integradas en sustrato. Éstas proporcionan ventajas frente a la tecnología planar clásica (menores pérdidas, mejores factores de calidad), y mantienen su bajo coste y facilidad de fabricación. Las primeras líneas integradas en substrato estaban rellenas de dieléctrico. Recientemente han aparecido líneas integradas en sustrato, pero vacías, sin dieléctrico. En éstas las ondas se propagan por el vacío, lo que hace que las pérdidas sean mucho menores. Una de estas líneas es la línea coaxial vacía integrada en sustrato (ESICL). En esta línea se propaga el modo TEM, lo que permite evitar la dispersión y la limitación de ancho de banda de otras líneas vacías integradas en sustrato (como es el caso de la ESIW). El objetivo de este trabajo es diseñar un filtro de cavidades acopladas en ESICL. Las especificaciones de este filtro serán las de otros filtros en SIW y ESICL para, en un futuro, analizar el comportamiento en temperatura de los mismos, y comparar sus prestaciones pensando en una aplicación a bordo de satélites de pequeñas dimensiones. El alumno deberá ponerse al día de estas nuevas tecnologías, deberá aprender a manejar las técnicas de síntesis de filtros en línea, deberá aprender a manejar simuladores electromagnéticos, y deberá aprender a fabricar y medir. El resultado final esperado es un prototipo que demuestre las prestaciones de un filtro de cavidades acopladas en ESICL.Quiles Rodas, F. (2017). Diseño de un filtro de cavidades acopadas en tecnología de guía coaxial vacía integrada en sustrato. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/91704TFG

Evaluating the Effect of Stimuli Color and Frequency on SSVEP

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) can extract information about the subject’s intentions by registering and processing electroencephalographic (EEG) signals to generate actions on physical systems. Steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEP) are produced when the subject stares at flashing visual stimuli. By means of spectral analysis and by measuring the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of its harmonic contents, the observed stimulus can be identified. Stimulus color matters, and some authors have proposed red because of its ability to capture attention, while others refuse it because it might induce epileptic seizures. Green has also been proposed and it is claimed that white may generate the best signals. Regarding frequency, middle frequencies are claimed to produce the best SNR, although high frequencies have not been thoroughly studied, and might be advantageous due to the lower spontaneous cerebral activity in this frequency band. Here, we show white, red, and green stimuli, at three frequencies: 5 (low), 12 (middle), and 30 (high) Hz to 42 subjects, and compare them in order to find which one can produce the best SNR. We aim to know if the response to white is as strong as the one to red, and also if the response to high frequency is as strong as the one triggered by lower frequencies. Attention has been measured with the Conner’s Continuous Performance Task version 2 (CPT-II) task, in order to search for a potential relationship between attentional capacity and the SNR previously obtained. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows the best SNR with the middle frequency, followed by the low, and finally the high one. White gives as good an SNR as red at 12 Hz and so does green at 5 Hz, with no differences at 30 Hz. These results suggest that middle frequencies are preferable and that using the red color can be avoided. Correlation analysis also show a correlation between attention and the SNR at low frequency, so suggesting that for the low frequencies, more attentional capacity leads to better results

Low‐Cost Robotic Guide Based on a Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface for Arm Assisted Rehabilitation robotic rehabilitation; robot‐assisted therapy; brain computer interfaces in neurorehabilitation; EEG sensors

Motor imagery has been suggested as an efficient alternative to improve the rehabilitation process of affected limbs. In this study, a low‐cost robotic guide is implemented so that linear position can be controlled via the user's motor imagination of movement intention. The patient can use this device to move the arm attached to the guide according to their own intentions. The first objective of this study was to check the feasibility and safety of the designed robotic guide controlled via a motor imagery (MI)‐based brain-computer interface (MI‐BCI) in healthy individuals, with the ultimate aim to apply it to rehabilitation patients. The second objective was to determine which are the most convenient MI strategies to control the different assisted rehabilitation arm movements. The results of this study show a better performance when the BCI task is controlled with an action- action MI strategy versus an action-relaxation one. No statistically significant difference was found between the two action-action MI strategies