Estimation of the Number of Active Sweat Glands Through Discrete Sweat Sensing.

Sweat is a biomarker-rich fluid with potential for continuous patient monitoring via wearable devices. However, biomarker concentrations vary with the sweat rate per gland, posing a challenge for sweat sensing. To address this, we propose an algorithm to compute both the number of active sweat glands and their individual sweat rates.

Optimizing wearable single-channel EEG sleep staging in a heterogeneous sleep-disordered population using transfer learning.

Study Objectives: While various wearable EEG devices have been developed, performance evaluation of the devices and their associated automated sleep stage classification models is mostly limited to healthy subjects. A major barrier for applying automated wearable EEG sleep staging in clinical populations is the need for large-scale data for model training. We therefore investigated transfer learning as strategy to overcome limited data availability and optimize automated single-channel EEG sleep staging in people with sleep disorders.

Increasing accuracy of pulse arrival time estimation in low frequency recordings.

Wearable devices that measure vital signals using photoplethysmography are becoming more commonplace. To reduce battery consumption, computational complexity, memory footprint or transmission bandwidth, companies of commercial wearable technologies are often looking to minimize the sampling frequency of the measured vital signals. One such vital signal of interest is the pulse arrival time (PAT), which is an indicator of blood pressure.

Deep transfer learning for automated single-lead EEG sleep staging with channel and population mismatches.

Automated sleep staging using deep learning models typically requires training on hundreds of sleep recordings, and pre-training on public databases is therefore common practice. However, suboptimal sleep stage performance may occur from mismatches between source and target datasets, such as differences in population characteristics (e.g.

Automatic Optimization of Multichannel Electrode Configurations for Robust Fetal Heart Rate Detection by Blind Source Separation.

Objective: Fetal heart rate (fHR) evaluation is fundamental to guarantee timely medical intervention in case of pregnancy complications. Due to the limitations of traditional cardiotocography, multichannel electrophysiological recording was proposed as a viable alternative, which requires Blind Source Separation (BSS) techniques. Yet effective and reliable separation of the fetal ECG remains challenging due to multiple noise sources and the effects of varying fetal position.

An Overview of the Sensors for Heart Rate Monitoring Used in Extramural Applications.

This work presents an overview of the main strategies that have been proposed for non-invasive monitoring of heart rate (HR) in extramural and home settings. We discuss three categories of sensing according to what physiological effect is used to measure the pulsatile activity of the heart, and we focus on an illustrative sensing modality for each of them. Therefore, electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, and mechanocardiography are presented as illustrative modalities to sense electrical activity, mechanical activity, and the peripheral effect of heart activity.

Dedicated Algorithm for Unobtrusive Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring Using Multiple Dry Electrodes.

Multi-channel measurements from the maternal abdomen acquired by means of dry electrodes can be employed to promote long-term monitoring of fetal heart rate (fHR). The signals acquired with this type of electrode have a lower signal-to-noise ratio and different artifacts compared to signals acquired with conventional wet electrodes. Therefore, starting from the benchmark algorithm with the best performance for fHR estimation proposed by Varanini et al.

Singular Value Decomposition for Removal of Cardiac Interference from Trunk Electromyogram.

A new algorithm based on singular value decomposition (SVD) to remove cardiac contamination from trunk electromyography (EMG) is proposed. Its performance is compared to currently available algorithms at different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). The algorithm is applied on individual channels.

Comparative Review of the Algorithms for Removal of Electrocardiographic Interference from Trunk Electromyography.

Surface electromyogram (EMG) is a noninvasive measure of muscle electrical activity and has been widely used in a variety of applications. When recorded from the trunk, surface EMG can be contaminated by the cardiac electrical activity, i.e.

Changes in leg cycling muscle synergies after training augmented by functional electrical stimulation in subacute stroke survivors: a pilot study.

Background: Muscle synergies analysis can provide a deep understanding of motor impairment after stroke and of changes after rehabilitation. In this study, the neuro-mechanical analysis of leg cycling was used to longitudinally investigate the motor recovery process coupled with cycling training augmented by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in subacute stroke survivors.

Methods: Subjects with ischemic subacute stroke participated in a 3-week training of FES-cycling with visual biofeedback plus usual care.

Motor Improvement in Adolescents Affected by Ataxia Secondary to Acquired Brain Injury: A Pilot Study.

Aim: To assess changes in locomotion and balance in adolescents affected by ataxia secondary to acquired brain injury after a rehabilitation treatment with physiotherapy and the Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL), an immersive virtual reality platform.

Methods: 11 ataxic adolescents (16(5) years old, 4.7(6.

A multimodal training with visual biofeedback in subacute stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Early interventions maximizing patient's involvement are essential to promote gait restoration and motor recovery after stroke.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of a multimodal biofeedback training involving cycling augmented by functional electrical stimulation (FES) and balance exercises on walking ability and motor recovery.

Design: Randomized controlled trial (NCT02439515).

Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity questionnaire in upper-extremity nerve repair.

Background: In upper-limb peripheral nerve injured patients, cold intolerance is the most bothersome, prolonged and disabling symptom, negatively affecting work and leisure activities. The Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) questionnaire is widely used to assess this symptom, though its psychometric properties have not been examined in depth and no validated Italian version exists.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine in depth the psychometric properties of the Italian version of CISS (CISS-It) in a sample of patients with upper-limb peripheral nerve injury.

Movement Velocity and Fluidity Improve after Armeo®Spring Rehabilitation in Children Affected by Acquired and Congenital Brain Diseases: An Observational Study.

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) and acquired brain injury (ABI) often exhibit upper limb impairment, with repercussions in their daily activities. Robotic rehabilitation may promote their functional recovery, but evidence of its effectiveness is often based on qualitative functional scales. The primary aim of the present work was to assess movement precision, velocity, and smoothness using numerical indices from the endpoint trajectory of Armeo®Spring.

Assessment of Malnutrition in Community-dwelling Elderly People: Cooperation among General Practitioners and Public Health.

Background: Malnutrition, a very common condition in the elderly, is known to increase their vulnerability to adverse health events. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition in the over 75-yr-old community-dwelling population in the "Chiavarese" Local Health Unit district (North West Italy).

Methods: The short version of the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF) was used by General Practitioners (GP) as a screening tool to investigate the nutritional status of elderly people (1039 subjects).

Intra and inter-session reliability of rapid Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation stimulus-response curves of tibialis anterior muscle in healthy older adults.

Objective: The clinical use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as a technique to assess corticospinal excitability is limited by the time for data acquisition and the measurement variability. This study aimed at evaluating the reliability of Stimulus-Response (SR) curves acquired with a recently proposed rapid protocol on tibialis anterior muscle of healthy older adults.

Methods: Twenty-four neurologically-intact adults (age:55-75 years) were recruited for this test-retest study.

Effects of dose and duration of Robot-Assisted Gait Training on walking ability of children affected by cerebral palsy.

Background: Robot-Assisted Gait Training (RAGT) is a widespread approach for locomotion rehabilitation but information about intervention frequency and duration is still lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of frequency and duration of a RAGT on motor outcome of children affected by Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Methods: Forty-four CP children (age 4-17) underwent one among four different intensive trainings with equal dose of intervention, combining Task-Oriented Physiotherapy (TOP) and RAGT: 40 sessions (4 sessions/week) over 10 weeks of sole TOP (group1) or RAGT (group2) or RAGT and TOP (2 + 2 sessions/week; group3); 40 sessions in shorter period (4 weeks) of RAGT and TOP (5 + 5 sessions/week; group4).

Can FES-Augmented Active Cycling Training Improve Locomotion in Post-Acute Elderly Stroke Patients?

Recent studies advocated the use of active cycling coupled with functional electrical stimulation to induce neuroplasticity and enhance functional improvements in stroke adult patients. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the benefits induced by such a treatment are superior to standard physiotherapy. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial has been performed on post-acute elderly stroke patients.

Can new technologies improve upper limb performance in grown-up diplegic children?

Background: Few systematic studies describe rehabilitation trainings for upper limb in diplegic children with cerebral palsy (CP), who - especially once grown up - are often not considered as a target for rehabilitation interventions.

Aim: In this pilot study, we describe the details and the effectiveness of an intensive, technology assisted intervention for upper limb.

Setting: The treatment combines the utilization of Armeo® Spring with a training focused on hand/finger fluency and dexterity in a pre-post treatment experimental design.