Brain Computer Interface on Track to Home.

The novel BackHome system offers individuals with disabilities a range of useful services available via brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), to help restore their independence. This is the time such technology is ready to be deployed in the real world, that is, at the target end users' home. This has been achieved by the development of practical electrodes, easy to use software, and delivering telemonitoring and home support capabilities which have been conceived, implemented, and tested within a user-centred design approach. The final BackHome system is the result of a 3-year long process involving extensive user engagement to maximize effectiveness, reliability, robustness, and ease of use of a home based BCI system. The system is comprised of ergonomic and hassle-free BCI equipment; one-click software services for Smart Home control, cognitive stimulation, and web browsing; and remote telemonitoring and home support tools to enable independent home use for nonexpert caregivers and users. BackHome aims to successfully bring BCIs to the home of people with limited mobility to restore their independence and ultimately improve their quality of life

A Field Guide to Pandemic, Epidemic and Sporadic Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a truly global challenge. In addition to the long-known healthcare-associated clones, novel strains have also emerged outside of the hospital settings, in the community as well as in livestock. The emergence and spread of virulent clones expressing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an additional cause for concern. In order to provide an overview of pandemic, epidemic and sporadic strains, more than 3,000 clinical and veterinary isolates of MRSA mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Malta, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago as well as some reference strains from the United States have been genotyped by DNA microarray analysis. This technique allowed the assignment of the MRSA isolates to 34 distinct lineages which can be clearly defined based on non-mobile genes. The results were in accordance with data from multilocus sequence typing. More than 100 different strains were distinguished based on affiliation to these lineages, SCCmec type and the presence or absence of PVL. These strains are described here mainly with regard to clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance- and virulence-associated markers, but also in relation to epidemiology and geographic distribution. The findings of the study show a high level of biodiversity among MRSA, especially among strains harbouring SCCmec IV and V elements. The data also indicate a high rate of genetic recombination in MRSA involving SCC elements, bacteriophages or other mobile genetic elements and large-scale chromosomal replacements

A Field Guide to Pandemic, Epidemic and Sporadic Clones of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

In recent years, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have become a truly global challenge. In addition to the long-known healthcare-associated clones, novel strains have also emerged outside of the hospital settings, in the community as well as in livestock. The emergence and spread of virulent clones expressing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an additional cause for concern. In order to provide an overview of pandemic, epidemic and sporadic strains, more than 3,000 clinical and veterinary isolates of MRSA mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Malta, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago as well as some reference strains from the United States have been genotyped by DNA microarray analysis. This technique allowed the assignment of the MRSA isolates to 34 distinct lineages which can be clearly defined based on non-mobile genes. The results were in accordance with data from multilocus sequence typing. More than 100 different strains were distinguished based on affiliation to these lineages, SCCmec type and the presence or absence of PVL. These strains are described here mainly with regard to clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance- and virulence-associated markers, but also in relation to epidemiology and geographic distribution. The findings of the study show a high level of biodiversity among MRSA, especially among strains harbouring SCCmec IV and V elements. The data also indicate a high rate of genetic recombination in MRSA involving SCC elements, bacteriophages or other mobile genetic elements and large-scale chromosomal replacements

iCognos: Cognitive stimulation through task-oriented telerobotics

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Informàtica, Facultat de Matemàtiques, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2013, Director: Petia RadevaThe project presented here consists of a flexible platform to assist end-users in performing a series of mental tasks with a sensitized mobile telerobotic platform, in order to mitigate the problems associate with a cognitive disorder. Such platform is expected to increase the motivation of the subject which, therefore, improves performance of the cognitive stimulation. CSTT (Cognitive Stimulation Through Task-oriented Telerobotics) is composed by the Telerobotic platform along with the CognitiveTask UI application which guides the user through the different steps of the task

Monitoring and supporting people that need assistance: the backhome experience

People that need assistance,as for instance elderly or disabled people,may be affected by a decline in daily functioning that usually involves the reduction and discontinuity in daily routines and a worsening in the overall quality of life. Thus,there is the need to intelligent systems able to monitor indoor and outdoor activities of users to detect emergencies,recognize activities,send notifications,and provide a summary of all the relevant information. In this chapter,we present a sensor-based telemonitoring system that addresses all that issues. Its goal is twofold: (i) helping and supporting people (e.g. elderly or disabled) at home; and (ii) giving a feedback to therapists,caregivers,and relatives about the evolution of the status,behavior and habits of each monitored user. The proposed system is part of the EU project BackHome and it is currently running in three end-user’s homes in Belfast. Our experience in applying the system to monitor and assist people with severe disabilities is illustrated

Automatically assessing movement capabilities through a sensor-based telemonitoring system

Telemonitoring makes possible to remotely assess health status and quality of life of individuals. By acquiring heterogeneous data coming from sensors (physiological, biometric, environmental; non-invasive, adaptive and transparent to user) and data coming from other sources to become aware of user context; by inferring user behaviour and detecting anomalies from this data; and by providing elaborated and smart knowledge to clinicians, therapists, carers, families, and the patients themselves, we will be able to foster preventive, predictive and personalized care actions, decisions and support. In this paper, by relying on a novel sensor-based telemonitoring and home support system, the authors are focused on monitoring mobility activities; the ultimate goal being to automatically assess quality of life of people. In particular, the authors are aimed at answering to an item of a quality-oflife questionnaire, namely "Mobility". Although the authors are interested in assisting disabled people, they performed preliminary experiments with a healthy user, as a proof of concept. Results show that the approach is promising. Thus, the authors are now in the process to install the final system in a number of disabled people's homes under the umbrella of the BackHome project