Publications by authors named "Gearoid O Laighin"

Article Synopsis
  • The research team developed a waist-worn accelerometry device to detect dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients during daily activities.
  • The study involved 13 symptomatic patients who wore the device and had their activities recorded on video while a physician assessed their dyskinesia using the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS).
  • Results showed a strong correlation (0.70) between the device's output and physician assessments, particularly a higher correlation (0.91) for specific body parts (trunk and legs) being monitored.
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Background: Our group earlier developed a small monitoring device, which uses accelerometer measurements to accurately detect motor fluctuations in patients with Parkinson's (On and Off state) based on an algorithm that characterizes gait through the frequency content of strides. To further validate the algorithm, we studied the correlation of its outputs with the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part-III (UPDRS-III).

Method: Seventy-five patients suffering from Parkinson's disease were asked to walk both in the Off and the On state while wearing the inertial sensor on the waist.

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Background: After several years of treatment, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) tend to have, as a side effect of the medication, dyskinesias. Close monitoring may benefit patients by enabling doctors to tailor a personalised medication regimen. Moreover, dyskinesia monitoring can help neurologists make more informed decisions in patient's care.

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Freezing of gait (FOG) is a common motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), which presents itself as an inability to initiate or continue gait. This paper presents a method to monitor FOG episodes based only on acceleration measurements obtained from a waist-worn device. Three approximations of this method are tested.

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Background And Purpose: Orthostatic intolerance and falls differ between sexes and change with age. However, it remains unclear what role cerebral autoregulation may play in this response. This study was designed to determine whether cerebral autoregulation, assessed using transcranial Doppler ultrasound, is more effective in elderly females than in males.

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Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive neurological disorder caused by disturbances to the developing brain. Physical and occupational therapy, if started at a young age, can help minimizing complications such as joint contractures, and can improve limb range of motion and coordination. While current forms of therapy for children with cerebral palsy are effective in minimizing symptoms, many children find them boring or repetitive.

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In this study, the role of cardiac output in Cerebral Autoregulation was assessed. Mean arterial pressure, cerebral blood flow velocity (middle and anterior cerebral artery), stroke volume, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance and cerebral autoregulatory index were assessed in 3 healthy young males and 4 healthy young females during seated and upright thigh cuff testing. Two different methods (long axis left ventricular echocardiography and Modelflow) of evaluating stroke volume and cardiac output were compared.

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The skin electrical properties are identified using a standard NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) voltage pulse. The three component series equivalent electrical model was chosen to account for the skin electrical properties. The values of each of these three electrical components of the equivalent electrical model were identified and compared throughout 40 minute daily NMES sessions and over 5 days.

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An assessment of the use of Doppler ultrasound for the measurement of venous blood expelled at the site of the popliteal vein was made. Ten subjects underwent colour Doppler ultrasonography and measurements for peak venous velocities and venous blood volume expelled were taken for each subject when standing and during voluntary contractions. The study shows that only a weak correlation exists between peak venous velocities and venous blood volume expelled, indicating that peak venous velocity alone, is not an accurate measure of the performance of the calf muscle pump either naturally or via artificial means.

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Recent advances in mobile positioning systems and telecommunications are providing the technology needed for the development of location-aware tele-care applications. This paper introduces CAALYX--Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment, an EU-funded project that aims at increasing older people's autonomy and self-confidence by developing a wearable light device capable of measuring specific vital signs of the elderly, detecting falls and location, and communicating automatically in real-time with his/her care provider in case of an emergency, wherever the older person happens to be, at home or outside.

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