Is personal physiology-based rapid prediction digital twin for minimal effective fentanyl dose better than standard practice: a pilot study protocol.

Introduction: Patients with advanced cancer frequently suffer from chronic, severe disabling pain. Opioids such as morphine and fentanyl are commonly used to manage this pain. Transdermal drug delivery systems are important technologies for administering drugs in a non-invasive, continuous and controlled manner.

Innovative air mattress for the prevention of pressure ulcers in neonates.

Objective: Pressure ulcers (PUs) severely impact health outcomes in neonatal intensive care, with up to 28% prevalence and doubled mortality rates. Due to their only partially developed stratum corneum, neonates are highly susceptible to PUs because of a lack of adequate support surfaces. The occipital region of the head and hip are the main risk areas due to immobility and newborn body proportions.

Assessment of compression forces in a digitally modified short leg cast for pressure injury risk monitoring in healthy children.

Introduction: Casting is an essential treatment for neuro-orthopedic conditions in children with cognitive, sensory, and communicational disabilities. However, a main side-effect is the development of pressure injuries resulting in additional (wound) therapies and prolongation of the hospital stay. The primary aim of our study was to investigate the potential of objective pressure measurements in casts to assess the risk for pressure injury development.

A modelling framework for local thermal comfort assessment related to bicycle helmet use.

Thermal discomfort due to accumulated sweat increasing head skin wettedness may contribute to low wearing rates of bicycle helmets. Using curated data on human head sweating and helmet thermal properties, a modelling framework for the thermal comfort assessment of bicycle helmet use is proposed. Local sweat rates (LSR) at the head were predicted as the ratio to the gross sweat rate (GSR) of the whole body or by sudomotor sensitivity (SUD), the change in LSR per change in body core temperature (Δt).

Clothing air gaps in various postures in firefighters' work.

Both the physical properties of the fabric materials used in clothing and the effective design of the clothing, primarily in terms of the air gap thickness, restrict the transmission of the thermal energy from the heat source to the firefighter's body. The air gap distribution over the body in real deployment conditions of firefighters will vary, and is likely to be different from the air gap distribution in standardised manikin tests in standing upright posture. In this study, we investigated differences in the distribution of air layers in firefighters' clothing in three postures reflecting realistic on-duty exposure conditions (crawling, hose-holding, and standing upright used in laboratory tests) using 3D body scanning technology.

How long and effective does a mask protect you from an infected person who emits virus-laden particles: By implementing one-dimensional physics-based modeling.

SARS-CoV-2 spreads droplets, aerosols, and smear infection. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a facemask in different locations was recommended to slow down the spread of the virus. To evaluate facemasks' performance, masks' filtration efficiency is tested for a range of particle sizes.

Modeling and Prediction of Thermophysiological Comfort Properties of a Single Layer Fabric System Using Single Sector Sweating Torso.

Thermophysiological comfort is known to play a primary role in maintaining thermal balance, which corresponds to a person's satisfaction with their immediate thermal environment. Among the existing test methods, sweating torsos are one of the best tools to provide a combined measurement of heat and moisture transfer using non-isothermal conditions. This study presents a preliminary numerical model of a single sector sweating torso to predict the thermophysiological comfort properties of fabric systems.

Community Masks - from an Emergency Solution to an Innovation Booster for the Textile Industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment and medical devices in the initial phase. Agile small and medium-sized enterprises from regional textile industries reacted quickly. They delivered alternative products such as textile-based community masks in collaboration with industrial partners and research institutes from various sectors.

Fatigue Monitoring Through Wearables: A State-of-the-Art Review.

The objective measurement of fatigue is of critical relevance in areas such as occupational health and safety as fatigue impairs cognitive and motor performance, thus reducing productivity and increasing the risk of injury. Wearable systems represent highly promising solutions for fatigue monitoring as they enable continuous, long-term monitoring of biomedical signals in unattended settings, with the required comfort and non-intrusiveness. This is a p rerequisite for the development of accurate models for fatigue monitoring in real-time.

Influence of Measurement Location on Reflectance Pulse Oximetry in Sleep Apnea Patients: Wrist vs. Upper Arm.

Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) plays a key role in diagnosing sleep apnea. It is mainly measured via transmission pulse oximetry at the fingertip, an approach less suited for long-term monitoring over several nights.In this study we tested a more patient-friendly solution via a reflectance pulse oximetry device.

A Thermal Skin Model for Comparing Contact Skin Temperature Sensors and Assessing Measurement Errors.

To improve the measurement and subsequent use of human skin temperature () data, there is a need for practical methods to compare sensors and to quantify and better understand measurement error. We sought to develop, evaluate, and utilize a skin model with skin-like thermal properties as a tool for benchtop sensor comparisons and assessments of local temperature disturbance and sensor bias over a range of surface temperatures. Inter-sensor comparisons performed on the model were compared to measurements performed in vivo, where 14 adult males completed an experimental session involving rest and cycling exercise.

Body Temperature Is Associated With Cognitive Performance in Older Adults With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Cross-sectional Analysis.

Wearable devices for remote and continuous health monitoring in older populations frequently include sensors for body temperature measurements (i.e., skin and core body temperatures).

Heart Rate Variability Mainly Relates to Cognitive Executive Functions and Improves Through Exergame Training in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of a 6-Month Randomized Controlled Trial.

Heart rate variability (HRV) mirrors autonomic nervous system activities and might serve as a parameter to monitor health status in older adults. However, it is currently unknown which functional health measures, including cognitive, physical, and gait performance parameters, are most strongly related to HRV indices. This knowledge would enable implementing HRV assessments into health monitoring routines and training planning for older adults.

Classification of Sleep Apnea Severity by Electrocardiogram Monitoring Using a Novel Wearable Device.

Sleep apnea (SA) is a prevalent disorder diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG) based on the number of apnea-hypopnea events per hour of sleep (apnea-hypopnea index, AHI). PSG is expensive and technically complex; therefore, its use is rather limited to the initial diagnostic phase and simpler devices are required for long-term follow-up. The validity of single-parameter wearable devices for the assessment of sleep apnea severity is still debated.

Changes in skin-physiology after local heat application using two different methods in individuals with complete paraplegia: a feasibility and safety trial.

Study Design: Interventional feasibility study.

Objectives: To evaluate safety and effects of local heat preconditioning on skin physiology using water-filtered infrared-A radiation (wIRA) or warm water therapy (wWT) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Acute and rehabilitation center, specialized in SCI.

Applicability of a Textile ECG-Belt for Unattended Sleep Apnoea Monitoring in a Home Setting.

Sleep monitoring in an unattended home setting provides important information complementing and extending the clinical polysomnography findings. The validity of a wearable textile electrocardiography (ECG)-belt has been proven in a clinical setting. For evaluation in a home setting, ECG signals and features were acquired from 12 patients (10 males and 2 females, showing an interquartile range for age of 48-59 years and for body mass indexes (BMIs) of 28.

Evaluation of the effect of cooling strategies on recovery after surgical intervention.

Introduction: Different cooling strategies exist for emergency treatments immediately after sports trauma or after surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three cooling regimen during the immediate postoperative phase as well as in the rehabilitation phase.

Methods: 36 patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction received either no cooling (control-group, Con, N=12), were cooled with a menthol-containing cooling bandage (Mtl, N=12) or cooled with an ice containing cold pack (CP, N=12).

Clinical Applicability of a Textile 1-Lead ECG Device for Overnight Monitoring.

Even for 1-lead electrocardiography (ECG), single-use gel conductive electrodes are employed in a clinical setting. However, gel electrodes show limited applicability for long-term monitoring due to skin irritation and detachment. In the present study, we investigated the validity of a textile ECG-belt suitable for long-term measurements in clinical use.

Prediction of Core Body Temperature Based on Skin Temperature, Heat Flux, and Heart Rate Under Different Exercise and Clothing Conditions in the Heat in Young Adult Males.

Non-invasive, multi-parameter methods to estimate core body temperature offer several advantages for monitoring thermal strain, although further work is required to identify the most relevant predictor measures. This study aimed to compare the validity of an existing and two novel multi-parameter rectal temperature prediction models. Thirteen healthy male participants (age 30.

Validity of contact skin temperature sensors under different environmental conditions with and without fabric coverage: characterisation and correction.

Contact skin temperature (T) sensors are calibrated under uniform thermal conditions but used in the presence of a skin-to-environment temperature gradient. We aimed to characterise the validity of contact T sensors when measuring surface temperature under a range of environmental and fabric coverage conditions, to estimate practical temperature limits for a given measurement bias and to explore correcting for bias. Using two types of contact T sensors (thermistors, n = 5; iButtons, n = 5), we performed experiments in three phases: (1) conventional calibration (uniform thermal environment) over 15-40 °C in 5 °C steps (at t = 0, and 24 h, 12 weeks later), (2) surface temperature measurements of a purpose-made aluminium plate (also 15-40 °C) at different environmental temperatures (15, 25, 35 °C) with different sensor attachments and fabric coverings to assess measurement bias and calculate correction factors that account for the next-to-surface microclimate temperature and (3) surface measurements (33.

The Influence of Backpack Weight and Hip Belt Tension on Movement and Loading in the Pelvis and Lower Limbs during Walking.

The introduction of hip belts to backpacks has caused a shift of loading from the spine to the hips with reported improvements in musculoskeletal comfort. Yet the effects of different hip belt tensions on gait biomechanics remain largely unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of backpack weight and hip belt tension on gait biomechanics.

Contact skin temperature measurements and associated effects of obstructing local sweat evaporation during mild exercise-induced heat stress.

Objective: Locally increasing evaporative resistance is one mechanism by which contact skin temperature (T ) sensors and their attachments may disturb the temperature of the skin site being measured. We aimed to determine the extent to which an obstruction of evaporation affects local T during exercise-induced sweating and how this compares to the T measured using a conventional contact T sensor.

Approach: Twelve adult males each completed one experimental session (~24 °C, ~46% relative humidity) involving seated rest and exercise (cycle ergometer).

Local air gap thickness and contact area models for realistic simulation of human thermo-physiological response.

To evaluate the quality of new energy-saving and performance-supporting building and urban settings, the thermal sensation and comfort models are often used. The accuracy of these models is related to accurate prediction of the human thermo-physiological response that, in turn, is highly sensitive to the local effect of clothing. This study aimed at the development of an empirical regression model of the air gap thickness and the contact area in clothing to accurately simulate human thermal and perceptual response.

Skin Temperature Measurement Using Contact Thermometry: A Systematic Review of Setup Variables and Their Effects on Measured Values.

Skin temperature () is commonly measured using sensors affixed directly to the skin surface, although the influence of setup variables on the measured outcome requires clarification. The two distinct objectives of this systematic review were (1) to examine measurements from contact sensors considering equilibrium temperature and temperature disturbance, sensor attachments, pressure, environmental temperature, and sensor type, and (2) to characterise the contact sensors used, conditions of use, and subsequent reporting in studies investigating sports, exercise, and other physical activity. For the measurement comparison objective, Ovid Medline and Scopus were used (1960 to July 2016) and studies comparing contact sensor measurements or using appropriate physical models were included.