Controlling a motorized electric wheelchair based on face tilting

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan M. Qassim ◽  
Abdulrahman K. Eesee ◽  
Omar T. Osman ◽  
Mohammed S. Jarjees
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Excellent Performance ◽  
Electric Wheelchair ◽  
Real Time Tracking

AbstractDisability, specifically impaired upper and/or lower limbs, has a direct impact on the patients’ quality of life. Nowadays, motorized wheelchairs supported by a mobility-aided technique have been devised to improve the quality of life of these patients by increasing their independence. This study aims to present a platform to control a motorized wheelchair based on face tilting. A real-time tracking system of face tilting using a webcam and a microcontroller circuit has been designed and implemented. The designed system is dedicated to control the movement directions of the motorized wheelchair. Four commands were adequate to perform the required movements for the motorized wheelchair (forward, right, and left, as well as stopping status). The platform showed an excellent performance regarding controlling the motorized wheelchair using face tilting, and the position of the eyes was shown as the most useful face feature to track face tilting.

scholarly journals The impact of symptoms on daily life as perceived by patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Tozza ◽  
Dario Bruzzese ◽  
Daniele Severi ◽  
Emanuele Spina ◽  
Rosa Iodice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth ◽  
Rank Analysis ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Tooth Type ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction In Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A (CMT1A) patients, daily life is mainly influenced by mobility and ambulation dysfunctions. The aim of our work was to evaluate the perception of disturbances that mostly impact on daily life in CMT1A patients and its difference on the basis of age, gender, disability, and quality of life. Methods Forty-one CMT1A patients underwent neurological assessment focused on establishing clinical disability through the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy Score (CMTNS) and quality of life through the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. We identified from CMT disturbances 5 categories [weakness in lower limbs (WLL), weakness in upper limbs (WUL), skeletal deformities (SD), sensory symptoms (SS), balance (B)] and patients classified the categories from the highest to the lowest impact on daily life (1: highest; 5: lowest). Ranking of the 5 categories, in the overall sample and in the different subgroups (dividing by gender, median of age and disease duration, CMTNS, domains of SF-36), was obtained and differences among subgroups were assessed using a bootstrap approach. Results Rank analysis showed that WLL was the most important disturbance on daily life whereas WUL had the lowest impact. In the older CMT1A group, the most important disturbance on daily life was B that was also the most relevant disturbance in patients with a greater disability. SD influenced daily life in younger patients. SS had less impact on daily life, with the exception of patients with a milder disability. Discussion Our findings demonstrated that the perception of disturbances that mostly impact on CMT1A patients’ daily life changes over the lifetime and with degree of disability.

scholarly journals Utilization of laser interstitial thermotherapy guided by real-time thermal MRI as an alternative to separation surgery in the management of spinal metastasis

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio E. Tatsui ◽  
R. Jason Stafford ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Jonathan N. Sellin ◽  
Behrang Amini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Spinal Cord Compression ◽  
Spinal Metastasis ◽  
Cord Compression ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Interstitial Thermotherapy

OBJECT High-grade malignant spinal cord compression is commonly managed with a combination of surgery aimed at removing the epidural tumor, followed by spinal stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) aimed at local tumor control. The authors here introduce the use of spinal laser interstitial thermotherapy (SLITT) as an alternative to surgery prior to SSRS. METHODS Patients with a high degree of epidural malignant compression due to radioresistant tumors were selected for study. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain and quality of life were obtained before and within 30 and 60 days after treatment. A laser probe was percutaneously placed in the epidural space. Real-time thermal MRI was used to monitor tissue damage in the region of interest. All patients received postoperative SSRS. The maximum thickness of the epidural tumor was measured, and the degree of epidural spinal cord compression (ESCC) was scored in pre- and postprocedure MRI. RESULTS In the 11 patients eligible for study, the mean VAS score for pain decreased from 6.18 in the preoperative period to 4.27 within 30 days and 2.8 within 60 days after the procedure. A similar VAS interrogating the percentage of quality of life demonstrated improvement from 60% preoperatively to 70% within both 30 and 60 days after treatment. Imaging follow-up 2 months after the procedure demonstrated a significant reduction in the mean thickness of the epidural tumor from 8.82 mm (95% CI 7.38–10.25) before treatment to 6.36 mm (95% CI 4.65–8.07) after SLITT and SSRS (p = 0.0001). The median preoperative ESCC Grade 2 was scored as 4, which was significantly higher than the score of 2 for Grade 1b (p = 0.04) on imaging follow-up 2 months after the procedure. CONCLUTIONS The authors present the first report on an innovative minimally invasive alternative to surgery in the management of spinal metastasis. In their early experience, SLITT has provided local control with low morbidity and improvement in both pain and the quality of life of patients.

Implementation of Digital Technologies Into the Educational Process

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 385-391
Author(s):  
Eva Panulinova ◽  
Slavka Harabinova ◽  
Renata Baskova
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Planning Implementation

Revolutionary changes in society are linked to digital technologies and affect all areas of social life, not excluding construction industry. This requires not only knowledge reform, but above all skills reform. The current demand of practice is to increase the knowledge and competences of graduates of civil engineering faculties in the field of introduction and use of digital technologies in the process of planning, implementation, and maintenance of buildings, as well as to support the skills development of civil engineers in teamwork while using BIM technologies. The presented, currently implemented project contributes to meeting the above-described Practice Needs. The expected direct impact of the project is to increase the competitiveness, employability, and quality of life of graduates entering practice.

scholarly journals The effect of functional limitations and fatigue on the quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis

2009 ◽  
Vol 67 (3b) ◽  
pp. 812-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro Alberto Calazans Nogueira ◽  
Felipe Resende Nóbrega ◽  
Kátia Nogueira Lopes ◽  
Luiz Claudio Santos Thuler ◽  
Regina Maria Papais Alvarenga
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Functional Limitations ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
Modified Ashworth Scale ◽  
Mild Disability ◽  
Fatigue Severity

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of functional limitations and fatigue on the quality of life (QoL) in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). A descriptive case series study at Lagoa Hospital - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was carried. The main outcome measurements were demographic variables, QoL (SF-36 v.1), disability (EDSS), motor function of the upper limb (Box & Blocks test), Tone (Modified Ashworth Scale), gait (Hauser ambulatory index) and fatigue (Fatigue Severity Scale). Sixty one patients fulfilled the study criteria. The mean age of patients was 39 years and 74% of patients were female. The most of cases presented mild disability (EDSS<3.5). A decrease was found in all domains of QoL. It was found association between physical functioning and the variables of EDSS, fatigue, lower limb tone and gait. Gait, disability, hypertonia of the lower limbs and fatigue negatively affected QoL in people with MS.

scholarly journals Real-Time Primitives for CoAP: Extending the Use of IoT for Time Constraint Applications for Social Good

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (19) ◽  
pp. 1257
Author(s):  
Gabriel Eggly ◽  
Mariano Finochietto ◽  
Emmanouil Dimogerontakis ◽  
Rodrigo Santos ◽  
Javier Orozco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Wireless Sensors ◽  
Communication Protocols ◽  
Social Good ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
The Social

Internet of Things (IoT) have become a hot topic since the official introduction of IPv6. Research on Wireless Sensors Networks (WSN) move towards IoT as the communication platform and support provided by the TCP/UDP/IP stack provides a wide variety of services. The communication protocols need to be designed in such a way that even simple microcontrollers with small amount of memory and processing speed can be interconnected in a network. For this different protocols have been proposed. The most extended ones, MQTT and CoAP, represent two different paradigms. In this paper, we present a CoAP extension to support soft real-time communications among sensors, actuators and users. The extension facilitates the instrumentation of applications oriented to improve the quality of life of vulnerable communities contributing to the social good.

scholarly journals Experimental Validation of Real-Time Ski Jumping Tracking System Based on Wearable Sensors

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 7780
Author(s):  
Johannes Link ◽  
Sébastien Guillaume ◽  
Bjoern M. Eskofier
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Wearable Sensors ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Opening Angle ◽  
National Team ◽  
Ski Jumping ◽  
Accuracy And Precision ◽  
Real Time Tracking ◽  
Flight Parameters

For sports scientists and coaches, its crucial to have reliable tracking systems to improve athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the validity of a wearable real-time tracking system (WRRTS) for the quantification of ski jumping. The tracking system consists of wearable trackers attached to the ski bindings of the athletes and fixed antennas next to the jumping hill. To determine the accuracy and precision of the WRRTS, four athletes of the German A or B National Team performed 35 measured ski jumps. The WRRTS was used to measure the 3D positions and ski angles during the jump. The measurements are compared with camera measurements for the in-flight parameters and the official video distance for the jumping distance to assess their accuracy. We statistically evaluated the different methods using Bland–Altman plots. We thereby find a mean absolute error of 0.46 m for the jumping distance, 0.12 m for the in-flight positions, and 0.8°, and 3.4° for the camera projected pitch and V-style opening angle, respectively. We show the validity of the presented WRRTS to measure the investigated parameters. Thus, the system can be used as a tracking system during training and competitions for coaches and sports scientists. The real-time feature of the tracking system enables usage during live TV broadcasting.

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