Assessing Pain Levels Using Bioelectrical Impedance in Low Back Pain Patients: Clinical Performance Evaluation.

Background/objectives: Musculoskeletal pain is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability worldwide and has a negative impact on daily life and quality of life.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to analyze the electrical characteristics of back pain by measuring and calculating bioelectrical impedance variables (R, Z, PA) in 85 subjects (45 in the Healthy group and 40 in the LBP group). Additionally, impedance measurements were conducted on 20 subjects (10 in the Young group and 10 in the Older group) to assess the impact of aging.

Expiratory Flow and Volume Estimation Through Thermal-CO[Formula: see text] Imaging.

Objective: In this work, we introduce a quantitative non-contact respiratory evaluation method for fine-grain exhale flow and volume estimation through Thermal- CO imaging. This provides a form of respiratory analysis that is driven by visual analytics of exhale behaviors, creating quantitative metrics for exhale flow and volume modeled as open-air turbulent flows. This approach introduces a novel form of effort-independent pulmonary evaluation enabling behavioral analysis of natural exhale behaviors.

Customized Textile Capacitive Insole Sensor for Center of Pressure Analysis.

Center of pressure refers to the centroid of the ground reaction force vector detected underneath the walking foot, which is a summary measure representing body segment movements during human locomotion. In this study, we developed a cost-effective, lightweight insole-type textile capacitive sensor (I-TCPs) to analyze plantar pressure (PP) distribution and center of pressure (COP) trajectory. To test the accuracy of I-TCPs, the measured pressure data was compared with that of F-scan.

Estimation of Knee Joint Angle Using Textile Capacitive Sensor and Artificial Neural Network Implementing with Three Shoe Types at Two Gait Speeds: A Preliminary Investigation.

The lower limb joints might be affected by different shoe types and gait speeds. Monitoring joint angles might require skill and proper technique to obtain accurate data for analysis. We aimed to estimate the knee joint angle using a textile capacitive sensor and artificial neural network (ANN) implementing with three shoe types at two gait speeds.

Synchrotron radiation-based analysis of fatigue in dental restorative materials.

Few studies performed a microstructural analysis of dental restorations to evaluate fatigue impact under various tensions, because of a lack of analytical equipment. In this study, the fatigue of restorative materials was evaluated using the force tester's fatigue method at 0.30, 0.

Preliminary Clinical Application of Textile Insole Sensor for Hemiparetic Gait Pattern Analysis.

Post-stroke gait dysfunction occurs at a very high prevalence. A practical method to quantitatively analyze the characteristics of hemiparetic gait is needed in both clinical and community settings. This study developed a 10-channeled textile capacitive pressure sensing insole (TCPSI) with a real-time monitoring system and tested its performance through hemiparetic gait pattern analysis.

Soft-Material-Based Smart Insoles for a Gait Monitoring System.

Spatiotemporal analysis of gait pattern is meaningful in diagnosing and prognosing foot and lower extremity musculoskeletal pathologies. Wearable smart sensors enable continuous real-time monitoring of gait, during daily life, without visiting clinics and the use of costly equipment. The purpose of this study was to develop a light-weight, durable, wireless, soft-material-based smart insole (SMSI) and examine its range of feasibility for real-time gait pattern analysis.

Development of A Textile Capacitive Proximity Sensor and Gait Monitoring System for Smart Healthcare.

Gait is not only one of the most important functions and activities in daily life but is also a parameter to monitor one's health status. We propose a single channel capacitive proximity pressure sensor (TCPS) and gait monitoring system for smart healthcare. Insole-type TCPS (270 mm in length) was designed consisting of three layers including two shield layers and a sensor layer.

Feasibility study for the non-invasive blood pressure estimation based on ppg morphology: normotensive subject study.

Background: Blood pressure is a critical bio-signal and its importance has been increased with the aged society and the growth of cardiovascular disease population. However, most of hypertensive patients have been suffered the inconvenience in monitoring blood pressure in daily life because the measurement of the blood pressure depends on the cuff-based technique. Nowadays there are many trials to measure blood pressure without cuff, especially, photoplethysmography (PPG) based research is carried out in various ways.

Development of an eye tracking medical headlamp.

This study investigates a medical headlamp which is designed to adjust LED light automatically on the X axis and Y axis plane as determined a surgeon during a surgery. The needs of surgeons are determined through a CMOS camera which detects the movement of the eye. The system is composed of a mechanical actuator and an electrical control center.

An arrhythmia classification algorithm using a dedicated wavelet adapted to different subjects.

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted regarding a heartbeat classification algorithm over the past several decades. However, many algorithms have also been studied to acquire robust performance, as biosignals have a large amount of variation among individuals. Various methods have been proposed to reduce the differences coming from personal characteristics, but these expand the differences caused by arrhythmia.

The e-health landscape: current status and future prospects in Korea.

The e-health infrastructure in Korea has come a long way within a short period since the establishment of the Korea e-Health Association in 2003 by the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. Since then, four related government departments in the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Information and Communication, Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Science and Technology have also started planning and promoting their own strategies for e-Health applications. We have defined standardization, law and policy planning, human resources development, research and development for e-health products, and international collaboration as the five core pillars for the development of a successful e-health industry.

Adaptive motion artifacts reduction using 3-axis accelerometer in e-textile ECG measurement system.

The electro-conductive fabric (e-textile or e-fabric) as an electrode for ECG measurement is one of the best application for ubiquitous healthcare system. However, it is difficult to measure the bio-signal due to its sensitivity variation caused by impedance change, especially by motion of the subject. In this paper, adaptive motion artifacts reduction using motion information from 3-axis accelerometer is proposed and analyzed in quantitative manner.

A study on a non-contacting respiration signal monitoring system using Doppler ultrasound.

We proposed non-contacting respiration signal monitoring system for sleep apnea syndrome. Experiments were conducted by emitting 40 kHz ultrasound beam, which is set tone burst mode by 1 ms period to a subject chest. Normal respiration condition and a simulated sleep apnea syndrome condition were measured while subjects were holding breath.