Systematic assessment of training-induced changes in corticospinal output to hand using frameless stereotaxic transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Measuring changes in the characteristics of corticospinal output has become a critical part of assessing the impact of motor experience on cortical organization in both the intact and injured human brain. In this protocol we describe a method for systematically assessing training-induced changes in corticospinal output that integrates volumetric anatomical MRI with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A TMS coil is sited to a target grid superimposed onto a 3D MRI of cortex using a stereotaxic neuronavigation system. Subjects are then required to exercise the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle on two different tasks for a total of 30 min. The protocol allows for reliably and repeatedly detecting changes in corticospinal output to FDI muscle in response to brief periods of motor training

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A LOW-COST TRIANGULATION-BASED 3D CAMERA: MICROSOFT KINECT SYSTEM

Recent technological advancements have made active imaging sensors popular for 3D modelling and motion tracking. The 3D coordinates of signalised targets are traditionally estimated by matching conjugate points in overlapping images. Current 3D cameras can acquire point clouds at video frame rates from a single exposure station. In the area of 3D cameras, Microsoft and PrimeSense have collaborated and developed an active 3D camera based on the triangulation principle, known as the Kinect system. This off-the-shelf system costs less than $150 USD and has drawn a lot of attention from the robotics, computer vision, and photogrammetry disciplines. In this paper, the prospect of using the Kinect system for precise engineering applications was evaluated. The geometric quality of the Kinect system as a function of the scene (i.e. variation of depth, ambient light conditions, incidence angle, and object reflectivity) and the sensor (i.e. warm-up time and distance averaging) were analysed quantitatively. This system's potential in human body measurements was tested against a laser scanner and 3D range camera. A new calibration model for simultaneously determining the exterior orientation parameters, interior orientation parameters, boresight angles, leverarm, and object space features parameters was developed and the effectiveness of this calibration approach was explored