Effects of infant care posture and weight on static postural balance.

Background: Studies investigating postural balance during various infant care postures have not been reported yet.

Objective: The aim of this study was to measure static postural balance when holding an infant dummy in-arms and carrying an infant dummy on back according to different infant dummy weights.

Methods: Sixteen healthy young subjects participated in a balance test.

Ground Force Precision Calibration Method for Customized Piezoresistance Sensing Flexible Force Measurement Mat.

A force plate is mainly used in biomechanics; it aims to measure the ground reaction force in a person's walking or standing position. In this study, a large-area force mat of the piezoresistance sensing type was developed, and a deep-learning-based weight measurement calibration method was applied to solve the problem in which measurements are not normalized because of physical limitations in hardware and signal processing. The test set was composed of the values measured at each point by weight and the value of the center of the pressure variable, and the measured value was predicted using a deep neural network (DNN) regression model.

Adaptive Control Method for Gait Detection and Classification Devices with Inertial Measurement Unit.

Cueing and feedback training can be effective in maintaining or improving gait in individuals with Parkinson's disease. We previously designed a rehabilitation assist device that can detect and classify a user's gait at only the swing phase of the gait cycle, for the ease of data processing. In this study, we analyzed the impact of various factors in a gait detection algorithm on the gait detection and classification rate (GDCR).

Quantitative Analysis of Postural Balance in Faller and Nonfaller Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Postural instability has been identified as a fall risk factor with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to compare the center of pressure (COP) between faller and nonfaller patients with PD during static standing.

Methods: Thirty-two faller patients and 32 nonfaller patients with PD participated in this study.

Comparison of resting tremor at the upper limb joints between patients with Parkinson's disease and scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit.

Background: A representative symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) is resting tremor. The clinical manifestation of scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD) is similar to it of PD, though the phenomenology of SWEDD is not well known.

Objective: In the present study, the resting tremor of 9 SWEDD patients was quantitatively compared with that of 11 PD patients.

Age-related differences in the quantitative analysis of the finger tapping task.

Background: Quantitative measures of the finger tapping task is important for objective assessment of bradykinesia. However, age-related changes in quantitative measures are still unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantitatively investigate age-related group differences in finger tapping performance.

Gait Disorder Detection and Classification Method Using Inertia Measurement Unit for Augmented Feedback Training in Wearable Devices.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease, one of the symptoms of which is a gait disorder, which decreases gait speed and cadence. Recently, augmented feedback training has been considered to achieve effective physical rehabilitation. Therefore, we have devised a numerical modeling process and algorithm for gait detection and classification (GDC) that actively utilizes augmented feedback training.

Quantitative measures of postural tremor at the upper limb joints in patients with essential tremor.

Background: It is important to quantitatively assess tremor for accurate diagnosis and evaluation of the response to interventions in patients with essential tremor (ET).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between quantitative measures of postural tremor and clinical rating scale in patients with ET.

Methods: 18 ET patients performed a postural tremor task that required them to hold their arms outstretched parallel to the floor while wearing a gyro sensor based measurement system.

Design and fabrication of auxetic PCL nanofiber membranes for biomedical applications.

The main objective of this study was to fabricate poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based auxetic nanofiber membranes and characterize them for their mechanical and physicochemical properties. As a first step, the PCL nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning with two different thicknesses of 40μm (called PCL thin membrane) and 180μm (called PCL thick membrane). In the second step, they were tailored into auxetic patterns using femtosecond laser cut technique.

Biomaterial Strategies for Delivering Stem Cells as a Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury.

Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating the use of stem cells as a way to treat traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the inhibitory environment present in the injured spinal cord makes it challenging to achieve the survival of these cells along with desired differentiation into the appropriate phenotypes necessary to regain function. Transplanting stem cells along with an instructive biomaterial scaffold can increase cell survival and improve differentiation efficiency.

Electrospun biomaterial scaffolds with varied topographies for neuronal differentiation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells.

In this study, we investigated the effect of micro and nanoscale scaffold topography on promoting neuronal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and directing the resulting neuronal outgrowth in an organized manner. We used melt electrospinning to fabricate poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds with loop mesh and biaxial aligned microscale topographies. Biaxial aligned microscale scaffolds were further functionalized with retinoic acid releasing PCL nanofibers using solution electrospinning.

Fabrication of poly (ϵ-caprolactone) microfiber scaffolds with varying topography and mechanical properties for stem cell-based tissue engineering applications.

Highly porous poly (ϵ-caprolactone) microfiber scaffolds can be fabricated using electrospinning for tissue engineering applications. Melt electrospinning produces such scaffolds by direct deposition of a polymer melt instead of dissolving the polymer in a solvent as performed during solution electrospinning. The objective of this study was to investigate the significant parameters associated with the melt electrospinning process that influence fiber diameter and scaffold morphology, including processing temperature, collection distance, applied, voltage and nozzle size.

Towards high throughput tissue engineering: development of chitosan-calcium phosphate scaffolds for engineering bone tissue from embryonic stem cells.

Tissue engineering strategies have shown promise for the repair of damaged organs, including bone. One of the major challenges associated with tissue engineering is how to scale up such processes for high throughput manufacturing of biomaterial scaffolds used to support stem cell culture. Generation of certain types of 3D biomaterial scaffolds, including chitosan-calcium phosphate blends, involves a slow fabrication process followed by a lengthy required freeze drying step.