Adapting and Evaluating an AI-Based Chatbot Through Patient and Stakeholder Engagement to Provide Information for Different Health Conditions: Master Protocol for an Adaptive Platform Trial (the MARVIN Chatbots Study).

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots could help address some of the challenges patients face in acquiring information essential to their self-health management, including unreliable sources and overburdened health care professionals. Research to ensure the proper design, implementation, and uptake of chatbots is imperative. Inclusive digital health research and responsible AI integration into health care require active and sustained patient and stakeholder engagement, yet corresponding activities and guidance are limited for this purpose.

Upper-Limb Rehabilitation of Patients with Neuromotor Deficits Using Impedance-Based Control of a 6-DOF Robot.

This paper presents a study on the use of impedance-based control of a 6-degree-of-freedom robot for upper-limb rehabilitation of patients with neuromotor deficits. The control strategy is based on impedance and does not require external force sensors at the end-effector for implementation. The experimental setup involved using the control algorithm to move the robot to a desired position, follow a desired trajectory while being moved out of the trajectory by the user, and reproduce three different rehabilitation exercises (passive, isometric, and ADL).

Non-Intrusive Real Time Eye Tracking Using Facial Alignment for Assistive Technologies.

Most affordable eye tracking systems use either intrusive setup such as head-mounted cameras or use fixed cameras with infrared corneal reflections via illuminators. In the case of assistive technologies, using intrusive eye tracking systems can be a burden to wear for extended periods of time and infrared based solutions generally do not work in all environments, especially outside or inside if the sunlight reaches the space. Therefore, we propose an eye-tracking solution using state-of-the-art convolutional neural network face alignment algorithms that is both accurate and lightweight for assistive tasks such as selecting an object for use with assistive robotics arms.

A preliminary study in classification of the severity of spine deformation in adolescents with lumbar/thoracolumbar idiopathic scoliosis using machine learning algorithms based on lumbosacral joint efforts during gait.

To assess the severity and progression of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), radiography with X-rays is usually used. The methods based on statistical observations have been developed from 3D reconstruction of the trunk or topography. Machine learning has shown great potential to classify the severity of scoliosis on imaging data, generally on X-ray measurements.

Implementation of an electronic patient-reported measure of barriers to antiretroviral therapy adherence with the Opal patient portal: Protocol for a mixed method type 3 hybrid pilot study at a large Montreal HIV clinic.

Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains problematic. Regular monitoring of its barriers is clinically recommended, however, patient-provider communication around adherence is often inadequate. Our team thus decided to develop a new electronically administered patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) of barriers to ART adherence (the I-Score) to systematically capture this data for physician consideration in routine HIV care.

Current Trends and Challenges in Pediatric Access to Sensorless and Sensor-Based Upper Limb Exoskeletons.

Sensorless and sensor-based upper limb exoskeletons that enhance or support daily motor function are limited for children. This review presents the different needs in pediatrics and the latest trends when developing an upper limb exoskeleton and discusses future prospects to improve accessibility. First, the principal diagnoses in pediatrics and their respective challenge are presented.

Second-order simultaneous components model for the overshoot and "slow component" in V̇O kinetics.

The human oxygen uptake responses to exercise step on-transients present different shapes depending on the overshoot and/or the "slow component" manifestations. The conventional First-Order Multi-Exponential (FOME) model incorporates delayed add-on terms to comprise these phenomena, increasing parameter quantity, requiring a delayed recruitment of type II fibers to explain the "slow component," and not offering a unified structure for different individuals and intensity domains. We hypothesized that a model composed of two Second-Order Simultaneous Components (SOSC) would present a better overall fitting performance than the FOME.

Identification of the most relevant intervertebral effort indicators during gait of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

The intervertebral efforts, i.e., forces and torques, during gait have been recognized as influencing the progression of scoliosis, due to the mechanical modulations according to the Hueter-Volkmann Law.

Development of a multibody model to assess efforts along the spine for the rehabilitation of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

Introduction: Gait analysis has often been recognized as helpful for the therapeutic follow-up of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (IS).

Methods: A multibody model of the human body was developed to display the intervertebral efforts along the spine of each adolescent with IS, and highlight the efforts that significantly differ from typical age-matched healthy adolescents. The intervertebral efforts of one adolescent with IS and an age-matched adolescent during a complete gait cycle were computed and compared.

Using a cost function based on kinematics and electromyographic data to quantify muscle forces.

A reliable evaluation of muscle forces in the human body is highly desirable for several applications in both clinical and research contexts. Several models of muscle force distribution based on non-invasive measurements have been proposed since 1836 (Weber and Weber, 1836), amongst which Crowninshield's model (Crowninshield and Brand, 1981), which maximizes a cost-function representing the muscle fiber endurance, is the most popular. It is worth noting that Crowninshield's model is the most widely adopted notwithstanding its major limitations of physiological coherence.

Second-order modeling for the pulmonary oxygen uptake on-kinetics: a comprehensive solution for overshooting and nonovershooting responses to exercise.

The human oxygen uptake (V̇o) response to step-like increases in work rate is currently modeled by a First Order System Multi-Exponential (FOME) arrangement. Because of their first-order nature, none of FOME model's exponentials is able to model an overshoot in the oxygen uptake kinetics (OV̇oK). Nevertheless, OV̇oK phenomena are observed in the fundamental component of trained individuals' step responses.

Socioeconomic disparities and difficulties to access to healthcare services among Canadian children with neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to identify the associations of levels of severity of neurodevelopmental disorders and disabilities (NDD/D) in children with their household socioeconomic status (SES) and their frequency of visits to a healthcare provider, and to examine how the severity of disability varied with these determinants among NDD/D subgroups, in order to inform possible social policy changes and to improve access to the healthcare system.

Methods: Data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey on children aged 5-14 years, collected by Statistics Canada, were analyzed (n=7,072 and weighted n=340,340). Children with NDD/D constituted those with impairments in motor, speech, neurosensory, and psychological functioning, as well as those who had issues with learning/cognition and social interactions.

Decomposition of three-dimensional ground-reaction forces under both feet during gait.

Unlabelled: Three-dimensional ground reaction forces (3D-GRF) are essential for functional evaluation for rehabilitation. A platform path is required to obtain the 3D-GRF. The main shortcoming of these platform paths is that during double stance phases of gait, both feet can be placed on the same force platform causing the need for decomposing the 3D-GRF under each foot.

Classification of upper limb disability levels of children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy using K-means algorithm.

Treatment for cerebral palsy depends upon the severity of the child's condition and requires knowledge about upper limb disability. The aim of this study was to develop a systematic quantitative classification method of the upper limb disability levels for children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy based on upper limb movements and muscle activation. Thirteen children with spastic unilateral cerebral palsy and six typically developing children participated in this study.

Custom sizing of lower limb exoskeleton actuators using gait dynamic modelling of children with cerebral palsy.

The use of exoskeletons as an aid for people with musculoskeletal disorder is the subject to an increasing interest in the research community. These devices are expected to meet the specific needs of users, such as children with cerebral palsy (CP) who are considered a significant population in pediatric rehabilitation. Although these exoskeletons should be designed to ease the movement of people with physical shortcoming, their design is generally based on data obtained from healthy adults, which leads to oversized components that are inadequate to the targeted users.

[Urinary calculi in a geriatric setting].

The authors report a retrospective series of 174 patients with urolithiasis. They were all age between 65 and 88 years. This group represents one tenth of all patients treated for urinary stones in the Urology department of Sfax over the last decade.