scholarly journals Robotic System for Physical Training of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omri Avioz-Sarig ◽  
Samuel Olatunji ◽  
Vardit Sarne-Fleischmann ◽  
Yael Edan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
User Preferences ◽  
Robotic Systems ◽  
Intention To Use ◽  
Physical Exercises ◽  
Python Programming

Abstract Physical exercise has many physical, psychological and social health benefits leading to improved life quality. This paper presents a robotic system developed as a personal coach for older adults aiming to motivate older adults to participate in physical activities. The robot instructs the participants, demonstrates the exercises and provides real-time corrective and positive feedback according to the participant’s performance as monitored by an RGB-D camera. Two robotic systems based on two different humanoid robots (Nao, toy-like and Poppy, mechanical-like) were developed and implemented using the Python programming language. Experimental studies with 32 older adults were conducted, to determine the preferable mode and timing of the feedback provided to the user to accommodate user preferences, motivate the users and improve their interaction with the system. Additionally, user preferences with regards to the two different humanoid robots used were explored. The results revealed that the system motivated the older adults to engage more in physical exercises. The type and timing of feedback influenced this engagement. Most of these older adults also perceived the system as very useful, easy to use, had a positive attitude towards the system and noted their intention to use it. Most users preferred the more mechanical looking robot (Poppy) over the toy-like robot (Nao).

scholarly journals Multidirectional Overground Robotic Training Leads to Improvements in Balance in Older Adults

Robotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Lara A. Thompson ◽  
Mehdi Badache ◽  
Joao Augusto Renno Brusamolin ◽  
Marzieh Savadkoohi ◽  
Jelani Guise ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Support Surface ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Robotic Training ◽  
Balance Confidence ◽  
Balance Ability ◽  
Abc Scale

For the rapidly growing aging demographic worldwide, robotic training methods could be impactful towards improving balance critical for everyday life. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that non-bodyweight supportive (nBWS) overground robotic balance training would lead to improvements in balance performance and balance confidence in older adults. Sixteen healthy older participants (69.7 ± 6.7 years old) were trained while donning a harness from a distinctive NaviGAITor robotic system. A control group of 11 healthy participants (68.7 ± 5.0 years old) underwent the same training but without the robotic system. Training included 6 weeks of standing and walking tasks while modifying: (1) sensory information (i.e., with and without vision (eyes-open/closed), with more and fewer support surface cues (hard or foam surfaces)) and (2) base-of-support (wide, tandem and single-leg standing exercises). Prior to and post-training, balance ability and balance confidence were assessed via the balance error scoring system (BESS) and the Activities specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, respectively. Encouragingly, results showed that balance ability improved (i.e., BESS errors significantly decreased), particularly in the nBWS group, across nearly all test conditions. This result serves as an indication that robotic training has an impact on improving balance for healthy aging individuals.

Development of an autonomous robotic system for beard shaving assistance of disabled people based on an adaptive force tracking impedance control

2021 ◽  
pp. 095440622098482
Author(s):  
Oladayo S Ajani ◽  
Samy FM Assal
Keyword(s):  
Impedance Control ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Robotic Systems ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Robotic Assistance ◽  
Head Pose ◽  
Detection And Tracking ◽  
Control Scheme ◽  
Force Tracking

Recently, people with upper arm disabilities due to neurological disorders, stroke or old age are receiving robotic assistance to perform several activities such as shaving, eating, brushing and drinking. Although the full potential of robotic assistance lies in the use of fully autonomous robotic systems, these systems are limited in design due to the complexities and the associated risks. Hence, rather than the shared controlled or active robotic systems used for such tasks around the head, an adaptive compliance control scheme-based autonomous robotic system for beard shaving assistance is proposed. The system includes an autonomous online face detection and tracking as well as selected geometrical features-based beard region estimation using the Kinect RGB-D camera. Online trajectory planning for achieving the shaving task is enabled; with the capability of online re-planning trajectories in case of unintended head pose movement and occlusion. Based on the dynamics of the UR-10 6-DOF manipulator using ADAMS and MATLAB, an adaptive force tracking impedance controller whose parameters are tuned using Genetic Algorithm (GA) with force/torque constraints is developed. This controller can regulate the contact force under head pose changing and varying shaving region stiffness by adjusting the target stiffness of the controller. Simulation results demonstrate the system capability to achieve beard shaving autonomously with varying environmental parameters that can be extended for achieving other tasks around the head such as feeding, drinking and brushing.

scholarly journals Self-perception of oral health in older adults from an urban population in Lisbon, Portugal

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Carvalho ◽  
Ana Cristina Manso ◽  
Ana Escoval ◽  
Francisco Salvado ◽  
Carla Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze if the self-perception of oral health in the urban context is associated with sociodemographic factors that interfere in the life quality of oral health. METHODS Cross-sectional study with convenience sample of older individuals (65 years old or more) enrolled in the Agrupamento de Centros de Saúde de Lisboa Norte (ACES Lisboa Norte – Health Centers Groupings North Lisbon). The self-perception of oral health and associated life quality was evaluated by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index and the individuals were classified according to sociodemographic characteristics. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha (α). Later, we used binary logistic regression models to characterize the factors associated with the self-perception of oral health, considering the sociodemographic variables and the older adults’ clinical conditions of oral health and establishing the crude and adjusted (to age) odds ratios and their 90% confidence intervals. RESULTS A total of 369 older adults participated in this study, with an average age of 74.2 years (SD = 6.75); 62.9% were female. On average, the index was moderated, with tendency to be high: 32.9 (SD = 3.6; 12-36 interval). The Cronbach’s alpha was high: 0.805. Age, marital status, and the last dental appointment were the factors significantly associated with self-perception of oral health. CONCLUSIONS The study shows that these individuals have a moderate, with tendency to high, self-perception of oral health. The self-perception of oral health assessment allowed us to identify the main associated sociodemographic factors. This instrument can help guiding planning strategies and oral health promotion directed toward a better life quality for this population group.

scholarly journals Some Results of Experimentation with the Anthropomorphic Robotic System in Remote Control Master-Slave Mode.

2019 ◽  
pp. 106-121
Author(s):  
Vladimir Gennadievich Sorokin ◽  
Sergey Vladimirovich Kud-Sverchkov ◽  
Yuri Sergeevich Chebotarev
Keyword(s):  
Remote Control ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
System Environment ◽  
Operational Quality ◽  
Manned Space ◽  
Slave Mode

At present, the requirements for the characteristics of the “cosmonaut-anthropomorphic robotic system-environment” ergatic system, the procedure for evaluating the performance of a cosmonaut-operator when using anthropomorphic robots, proposals for the functionality of this ergatic system and the ways of its application in order to increase the operational quality of existing and future manned space complexes can be determined and substantiated only as a result of carrying out experimental studies using an anthropomorphic robotic system.

scholarly journals The Effect of Physiotherapy in the Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Auksė Arbačiauskaitė ◽  
Vilma Dudonienė
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Physical Performance ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Exercise Program ◽  
Aquatic Therapy ◽  
Physical Exercises ◽  
General Physical

Background. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common and most diffcult chronic rheumatic disease in children. Exercise helps to avoid joint deformities or corrects them, also reduces pain and disease activity, normalizes physical function, growth and development, improves the patient’s quality of life. So far, there is no consensus on what kind of exercise is appropriate for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Goal of the research. To defne the most often applied physiotherapy techniques and their impact on the treatment of children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis analysing and summarizing scientifc articles. Methods. Twelve articles have been analysed. Systemic literature overview involved the articles on clinical research which were selected in the light of the following criteria: children with juvenile’s idiopathic arthritis; classic clinical tests performed; application of different physical exercises and survey of their accessibility; Childhood Health Assessment questionnaire; language and year of publication (2000–2015). Results. Research participants in the selected articles were 525 research children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Their mean age ± SD was 11.2 ± 2.9 years (range 4–21 years). There were 348 (66%) girls and 177 (34%) boys. Aquatic therapy and Pilates workout had the strongest effect on pain relief, general physical performance and life quality, whereas balance and proprioception exercises had the best effect on balance and mobility. The results showed that regular physical exercises did not increase pain, they reduced the number of swollen joints, they were safe and effcient, also, that high-intensity aerobic exercises did not provide additional benefts, so it may suggest that low-intensity exercise program is more suitable for children with JIA because it is a slow and mild. Conclusion. Analysis of 12 articles have shown that general physical exercises (33.5%) and aquatic therapy (33.5%) are used most often, whereas balance-proprioception exercises are less frequent (17%), Pilates workout (8%) and Qigong relaxation (8%) are used very rarely. The most effcient methods for the improvement of general physical performance, quality of life, and reducing pain include aquatic therapy, Pilates workout and Qigong therapy. Balance-proprioception exercises are proved to be most effective in the improvement of mobility and balance.Keywords: juvenile idiopathic arthritis, physical exercises, training, physiotherapy, physical condition, life quality.

THE FEASIBILITY OF STANDARDISED GERIATRIC ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND PHYSICAL EXERCISES IN FRAIL OLDER ADULTS

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
A.D. Jadczak ◽  
N. Mahajan ◽  
R. Visvanathan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Geriatric Assessment ◽  
Nutritional Assessment ◽  
Mini Nutritional Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Geriatric Population ◽  
Frail Older Adults ◽  
Physical Exercises ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Cognitive Screen

Geriatric assessment tools are applicable to the general geriatric population; however, their feasibility in frail older adults is yet to be determined. The study aimed to determine the feasibility of standardised geriatric assessment tools and physical exercises in hospitalised frail older adults. Various assessment tools including the FRAIL Screen, the Charlson Comorbidity Index, the SF-36, the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Rapid Cognitive Screen, the Self Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF) and the Lawton iADL as well as standard physical exercises were assessed using observational protocols. The FRAIL Screen, MNA-SF, Rapid Cognitive Screen, Lawton iADL and the physical exercises were deemed to be feasible with only minor comprehension, execution and safety issues. The TMT was not considered to be feasible and the SF-36 should be replaced by its shorter form, the SF-12. In order to ensure the validity of these findings a study with a larger sample size should be undertaken.

Predictors of adherence to prescribed exercise programs for older adults with non-musculoskeletal indications for exercise: a systematic review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia F Shaw ◽  
Sophie Pilon ◽  
Matthieu Vierula ◽  
Daniel I McIsaac
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Adherence Rate ◽  
Exercise Programs ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
Moderate Quality ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Predictors Of Adherence ◽  
Quality Evidence

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Prescribed exercise to treat medical conditions and to prepare for surgery is a promising intervention to prevent adverse health outcomes for older adults; however, adherence to exercise programs may be low. Our objective was to identify and grade the quality of predictors of adherence to prescribed exercise in older adults.METHODS: After registration (CRD42018108242), prospective experimental studies were identified using a peer-reviewed search strategy applied to MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and CINAHL from inception until April 23, 2019. Following independent and duplicate review of titles, abstracts and full texts, we included prospective studies with an average population age >65 years, where exercise was formally prescribed for a medical or surgical condition. We excluded studies where exercise was prescribed for a chronic musculoskeletal condition. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognostic studies tool or Cochrane risk of bias tool, as appropriate. Predictors of adherence were identified, pooled, and graded for quality using an adaptation of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework for predictor studies.RESULTS: We included 19 observational studies and 4 randomized controlled trials (n=5785) Indications for exercise included cardiac (n=6), pulmonary rehabilitation (n=7), or other (n=10; surgical, medical, and neurologic). Overall adherence rate was reported in 20 studies (range 21%-93%; mean 68%, standard deviation 23%). Moderate-quality evidence suggested that positive predictors of adherence were self-efficacy and good self-rated mental health; negative predictors were depression (high quality) and distance from the exercise facility. Moderate-quality evidence suggested that comorbidity and age were not predictive of adherence.CONCLUSIONS: These findings can inform design of future exercise programs as well as identification of individuals who may require extra support to benefit from prescribed exercise.

Efficient Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning With Embodiment of Muscle Tone for Posture Stabilization of the Human Arm

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-156
Author(s):  
Masami Iwamoto ◽  
Daichi Kato
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Muscle Tone ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ◽  
Learning Efficiency ◽  
Human Arm ◽  
Posture Stabilization

This letter proposes a new idea to improve learning efficiency in reinforcement learning (RL) with the actor-critic method used as a muscle controller for posture stabilization of the human arm. Actor-critic RL (ACRL) is used for simulations to realize posture controls in humans or robots using muscle tension control. However, it requires very high computational costs to acquire a better muscle control policy for desirable postures. For efficient ACRL, we focused on embodiment that is supposed to potentially achieve efficient controls in research fields of artificial intelligence or robotics. According to the neurophysiology of motion control obtained from experimental studies using animals or humans, the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTn) induces muscle tone suppression, and the midbrain locomotor region (MLR) induces muscle tone promotion. PPTn and MLR modulate the activation levels of mutually antagonizing muscles such as flexors and extensors in a process through which control signals are translated from the substantia nigra reticulata to the brain stem. Therefore, we hypothesized that the PPTn and MLR could control muscle tone, that is, the maximum values of activation levels of mutually antagonizing muscles using different sigmoidal functions for each muscle; then we introduced antagonism function models (AFMs) of PPTn and MLR for individual muscles, incorporating the hypothesis into the process to determine the activation level of each muscle based on the output of the actor in ACRL. ACRL with AFMs representing the embodiment of muscle tone successfully achieved posture stabilization in five joint motions of the right arm of a human adult male under gravity in predetermined target angles at an earlier period of learning than the learning methods without AFMs. The results obtained from this study suggest that the introduction of embodiment of muscle tone can enhance learning efficiency in posture stabilization disorders of humans or humanoid robots.

Prototyping of Robotic Systems in Surgical Procedures and Automated Manufacturing Processes

2012 ◽  
pp. 356-378
Author(s):  
Zheng (Jeremy) Li
Keyword(s):  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
System Design ◽  
Surgical Procedures ◽  
Biomedical Engineering ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Robotic Systems ◽  
Manufacturing Processes ◽  
Automated Manufacturing ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Computer Aided

The prototyping and implementation of robotic system is a scientific and technological integrating of robotic system design, development, testing, and application. This chapter describes the recent development and applications of robotic systems to surgery procedures in biomedical engineering and automated manufacturing processes in industry. It includes the design and development, computer-aided modeling and simulation, prototype analysis, and testing of robotic systems in these two different applications.

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