Review paper on nutritional information using mobile augmented reality technology

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016. The use of mobile technology became more widespread and popular. It is important to provide correct useful nutritional information to diabetic patient which can access by mobile technology easily. However, providing such information to patients using mobile application are limited or not easy enough to understand. One way is to use Augmented Reality (AR) technology environments which is very effective method in the expansion of information process visually, especially in health-related area by using mobile devices. Therefore, the integration of AR in mobile application that can provide health information is needed. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state of the art on mobile application in health

An extranet in action: Globally networked academics and students

The vexed issue of keeping staff and students up-to-date in the fast moving world of internetworking has been exercising the minds of many tertiary institutions for several years. One Australian Faculty of IT has partnered with industry in an attempt to keep the course materials up-to-date and relevant. This has led to major changes in the culture of the faculty as staff too have been trained in the certification subjects and must pass rigorous industry level examinations in order to be qualified to teach the material. This paper describes the programs and reports as well on the results of student surveys which were undertaken to see if the policy was meeting the needs of the students. The paper refers to previous staff surveys as well

MoteCare: An adaptive smart BAN health monitoring system

An increasing aged population worldwide promises to test medical capabilities everywhere. A growing number of groups - research and commercial - have taken on this challenge of alleviating a potentially unmanageable situation. They are looking at existing and novel ways to care for the aged; however, it will still be some time before the medical profession will accept such new solutions. In this paper, the authors propose a smart, adaptive remote health monitoring system as a solution. They describe the building of a third implementation of a remote health monitoring prototype using Motes, a PDA, a personal server and a network management application to show that commodity-based hardware can be a viable solution. In addition, they describe their intent to use the prototype in developing a system that can adapt to the patient's condition and situation. Such an adaptive, smart body area network (BAN) system requires a number of issues to be addressed before commencing development; these will also be discussed

Visual categorization of brain computer interface technologies

The multidisciplinary nature of Brain Computer Interfaces technologies demands scientists and researchers in the area to develop a homogeneous framework and classification of the existent BCI technologies in order to identify, facilitate and accelerate the natural incorporation of the state-of-the-art techniques from the different areas of knowledge. The researchers discuss an extensive literature review and classification of BCI technologies based on Wolpaw's architecture. The paper utilizes data visualization tools in an effort to improve the understanding, trends and relationships of the current work in the area and actively contribute to the visualization of a suitable homogeneous framework for BCI technologies. The researchers also discuss the future applicability of Bluetooth and Wireless Sensor Networks to BCI research

Improving health outcomes for the elderly an analytic framework

The authors present an analytic framework for investigating interactive gaming technologies and integrating a number of such technologies into a remote healthcare monioring system (ReMoteCare) to help improve the quality of life of the elderly, the chronically unwell and infirm whether they are living in their own homes or in aged care facilities. The framework covers population characteristics of the cohort, the interactive technologies as well as economic and environmental factors. It is anticipated that a series of interactive exercises, developed in conjunction with a Feldenkrais movement therapist who specializes in exercises for the elderly, will help to improve the physical and mental health outcomes of this cohort

Assessing the kinect’s capabilities to perform a time-based clinical test for fall risk assessment in older people

© 2014 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing. The Choice Stepping Reaction Time (CSRT) task is time-based clinical test that has shown to reliably predict falls in older adults. Its current mode of delivery involves the use of a custom-made dance mat device. This mat is a measurement tool that can reliably obtain step data to discriminate between fallers and non-fallers. One of the pitfalls of this test is that the technology in use still imposes an obstacle on the degree of freedom to be able to perform adaptive exercises suitable for the elderly. In this paper, we describe a Kinect-based system that measures stepping performance through the use of a hybrid version of the CSRT task. This study focuses on assessing this system’s capabilities to reliably measure a time-based clinical test of fall risk. Results showed a favorable correspondence and agreement between the two systems, suggesting that this platform could be potentially useful in the clinical practice

Awareness of wireless sensor network potential in healthcare industry: A second UTAUT study

This study concentrates on investigating the degree of awareness, future adoption and uptake of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) (in particular Motes) in the Health Monitoring arena via the use of our second Web-based survey. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) has been applied to determine how viable this technology will be for health monitoring in healthcare institutions and patients' homes. Results from our study show positive support for the acceptance of the technology yet reveal some real concerns about the issues of security, privacy, ethics and safety

Towards Assistive Healthcare: prototyping advances in wireless sensor network (WSN) system integration and application

The large increase in Australia’s aging population promises to be major economic and social issue for local, state and federal Government bodies. The healthcare budget is expected to increase dramatically and the burden on healthcare services will require not only a massive injection of capital funds but an increase in qualified care givers. The authors believe that assistive healthcare monitoring is one viable and cost-effective solution to alleviate the burden of the healthcare system today and in the future. The authors in this paper describe their third Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) prototype called MoteCare and anticipate the implementation of the next, more advanced prototype. Details of the improvements are covered followed by an objective system evaluation and conclusion

A Bespoke Kinect Stepping Exergame for Improving Physical and Cognitive Function in Older People: A Pilot Study

© 2016 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Background: Systematic review evidence has shown that step training reduces the number of falls in older people by half. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of a bespoke Kinect stepping exergame in an unsupervised home-based setting. Materials and Methods: An uncontrolled pilot trial was conducted in 12 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 79.3 ± 8.7 years, 10 females). The stepping game comprised rapid stepping, attention, and response inhibition. Participants were recommended to exercise unsupervised at home for a minimum of three 20-minute sessions per week over the 12-week study period. The outcome measures were choice stepping reaction time (CSRT) (main outcome measure), standing balance, gait speed, five-time sit-to-stand (STS), timed up and go (TUG) performance, and neuropsychological function (attention: letter-digit and executive function:Stroop tests) assessed at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and trial end (12 weeks). Results: Ten participants (83%) completed the trial and reassessments. A median 8.2 20-minute sessions were completed and no adverse events were reported. Across the trial period, participants showed significant improvements in CSRT (11%), TUG (13%), gait speed (29%), standing balance (7%), and STS (24%) performance (all P < 0.05). There were also nonsignificant, but meaningful, improvements for the letter-digit (13%) and Stroop tests (15%). Conclusions: This study found that a bespoke Kinect step training program was safe and feasible for older people to undertake unsupervised at home and led to improvements in stepping, standing balance, gait speed, and mobility. The home-based step training program could therefore be included in exercise programs designed to prevent falls

SocialCycle: What can a mobile app do to encourage cycling?

Traffic congestion presents significant environmental, social and economic costs. Encouraging people to cycle and use other forms of alternate transportation is one important aspect of addressing these problems. However, many city councils face significant difficulties in educating citizens and encouraging them to form new habits around these alternate forms of transport. Mobile devices present a great opportunity to effect such positive behavior change. In this paper we discuss the results of a survey aimed at understanding how mobile devices can be used to encourage cycling and/or improve the cycling experience. We use the results of the survey to design and develop a mobile app called SocialCycle, which purpose is to encourage users to start cycling and to increase the number of trips that existing riders take by bicycle. © 2013 IEEE