Multi-Scale 3D Cephalometric Landmark Detection Based on Direct Regression with 3D CNN Architectures.

Background: Cephalometric analysis is important in diagnosing and planning treatments for patients, traditionally relying on 2D cephalometric radiographs. With advancements in 3D imaging, automated landmark detection using deep learning has gained prominence. However, 3D imaging introduces challenges due to increased network complexity and computational demands.

For a clinical application of optical triangulation to assess respiratory rate using an RGB camera and a line laser.

This paper presents a non-contact and unrestrained respiration monitoring system based on the optical triangulation technique. The proposed system consists of a red-green-blue (RGB) camera and a line laser installed to face the frontal thorax of a human body. The underlying idea of the work is that the camera and line laser are mounted in opposite directions, unlike other research.

Influence of Anterior-Posterior External Surface Perturbation on Trunk Stability During Abdominal Stabilization Strategies While Sitting.

BACKGROUND Spinal and pelvic injuries during an unexpected perturbation are closely related to spinal stability, which is known to be controlled by abdominal stabilization maneuvers. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of unexpected perturbations on trunk stability and abdominal stabilization strategies in 42 sedentary adults while sitting. MATERIAL AND METHODS Abdominal stabilization strategies consisted of bracing and hollowing maneuvers.

Feasibility of a Smartphone-Based Exercise Program for Office Workers With Neck Pain: An Individualized Approach Using a Self-Classification Algorithm.

Objective: To explore the feasibility of a newly developed smartphone-based exercise program with an embedded self-classification algorithm for office workers with neck pain, by examining its effect on the pain intensity, functional disability, quality of life, fear avoidance, and cervical range of motion (ROM).

Design: Single-group, repeated-measures design.

Setting: The laboratory and participants' home and work environments.

Patient perspectives on virtual reality-based rehabilitation after knee surgery: Importance of level of difficulty.

This article explored the perspectives of 25 patients regarding virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation following knee surgery and identified the important factors that allowed patients to immerse themselves in rehabilitation. Qualitative analysis of data collected via open-ended questionnaire and quantitative analysis of data from physical assessments and surveys were conducted. In the open-ended questionnaire, the majority of participants mentioned level of difficulty as the most common reason for selecting both the most and the least immersive exercise programs.

Individualized feedback-based virtual reality exercise improves older women's self-perceived health: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Individualized feedback-based virtual reality (IFVR) exercise is gaining attention as a cost-effective self-management strategy, however little is known about whether older adults themselves perceive IFVR exercise effective in improving their health. Therefore, we studied the effect of IFVR exercise on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in older women.

Methods: Fifty-four older women aged ≥65 years were randomized to either IFVR exercise group (IFVRG, n=26) or group-based exercise group (GG, n=28).

A novel semi-automatic snake robot for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery: preclinical tests in animal and human cadaver models (with video).

Background And Study Aims: Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is an emerging surgical technique. We aimed to design, create, and evaluate a new semi-automatic snake robot for NOTES.

Materials And Methods: The snake robot employs the characteristics of both a manual endoscope and a multi-segment snake robot.

A neuromuscular strategy to prevent spinal torsion: backward perturbation alters asymmetry of transversus abdominis muscle thickness into symmetry.

Symmetric co-contraction of the transversus abdominis (TrA) muscle is beneficial in terms of increasing trunk stability. The aim of this study was to investigate the symmetry of lateral abdominal muscle thickness during static and dynamic conditions. Fifteen male subjects (27.

Unsupervised virtual reality-based exercise program improves hip muscle strength and balance control in older adults: a pilot study.

Objective: To assess the effects of an unsupervised virtual reality (VR)-based exercise program on hip muscle strength and balance control in older adults.

Design: Controlled cohort repeated-measures experimental design, a pilot study.

Setting: University research laboratory.

Intensive unilateral neuromuscular training on non-dominant side of low back improves balanced muscle response and spinal stability.

Effective stabilization is important to increase sports performance. Imbalanced spinal muscle responses between the left and right sides increase the risk of spinal buckling and microtrauma at the intervertebral joints. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether intensive unilateral neuromuscular training (IUNT) focusing on the non-dominant side of the low back improves balanced muscle responses and spinal stability.

Analysis of the anatomical characteristics of the pelvis in Koreans to aid in development of a NOTES platform.

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) is a minimally invasive technique affording full-thickness resection of rectal tumors and can also be used as a platform for transrectal access to the peritoneal cavity for NOTES (natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) procedures. The authors investigated the anatomical characteristics of the pelvis in Koreans to develop an ergonomically designed NOTES platform. A total of 256 patients (156 men and 100 women) who underwent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging for evaluating rectal neoplasms were enrolled for analysis.

Clinical research on the ophthalmic factors affecting 3D asthenopia.

Purpose: Watching three-dimensional (3D) images is known to induce ocular and non-ocular symptoms, such as eye discomfort, fatigue, headache, and nausea, which can be referred to as "3D asthenopia". This study investigated ophthalmic factors associated with 3D asthenopia.

Methods: One hundred fifteen volunteers, aged 18 to 55 years, were enrolled in this study.

The recent progress in quantitative medical image analysis for computer aided diagnosis systems.

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has become one of the major research subjects in medical imaging and diagnostic radiology. Many different CAD schemes are being developed for use in the detection and/or characterization of various lesions found through various types of medical imaging. These imaging technologies employ conventional projection radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, etc.

Do ankle orthoses improve ankle proprioceptive thresholds or unipedal balance in older persons with peripheral neuropathy?

Objective: To determine whether ankle orthoses that provide medial and lateral support, and have been found to decrease gait variability in older persons with peripheral neuropathy, decrease (improve) frontal plane ankle proprioceptive thresholds or increase unipedal stance time in that same population.

Design: Observational study in which unipedal stance time was determined with a stopwatch, and frontal plane ankle (inversion and eversion) proprioceptive thresholds were quantified during bipedal stance using a foot cradle system and a series of 100 rotational stimuli, in 11 older neuropathic subjects (8 men; age 72 +/- 7.1 yr) with and without ankle orthoses.

Polarization dependence suppression of optical fiber grating sensor in a π-shifted Sagnac loop interferometer.

In the sensing applications of optical fiber grating, it is necessary to reduce the transmission-type polarization dependence to isolate the sensing parameter. It is experimentally shown that the polarization-dependent spectrum of acousto-optic long-period fiber grating sensors can be suppressed in the transmission port of a π-shifted Sagnac loop interferometer. General expressions for the transmittance and reflectance are derived for transmission-type, reflection-type, and partially reflecting/transmitting-type polarization-dependent optical devices.

Frontal plane ankle proprioceptive thresholds and unipedal balance.

Reliable unipedal balance is fundamental to safe ambulation. Accordingly, older persons with peripheral neuropathy (PN), who are at increased risk for falls, demonstrate impaired unipedal balance. To explore the relationship between afferent function and unipedal balance, frontal plane proprioceptive thresholds at the ankle were quantified in 22 subjects (72.