Long-term monitoring of stimulated lower leg skeletal muscle forces compared with voluntary contractions in myopathy patients - A five-year follow-up report on 5 adults.

Objective: Long-term assessments of lower leg muscle forces in ambulant patients with distal myopathies.

Methods And Materials: Over a five-year period, we measured involuntary, nerve-stimulated, isometric torques of the ankle dorsiflexors in a group of ambulant patients with myopathies and compared results with voluntary Manual Muscle Tests (MMT).

Results: From ten recruited patients, five could finish the five-year protocol.

Face anthropometry for filtering facepiece respirators: analysis of the association between facial dimensions and respirator fit.

Objective: Ensuring proper respirator fit for individuals remains a persistent challenge in occupational environments, yet there is limited knowledge about how respirators interact with the face to "'fit." Previous studies have attempted to understand the association between face dimensions and respirator fit using traditional head/face anthropometry not specifically tailored for respirators. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the ability of filtering facepiece respirator (FFR)-specific face anthropometry with traditional head/face anthropometry in exploring the relationship between facial dimensions and the fit of FFR.

Design considerations for protective mask development: A remote mask usability evaluation.

The design of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) continues to pose usability concerns for healthcare workers, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to develop a holistic model to guide mask design improvement. Dental students (n = 38) with experience wearing N95 FFRs participated in a randomized wear trial of three alternative protective masks.

Protective Masks Utilizing Nonendangered Components.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when traditional N95 respirators were in short supply in the United States, there was a need for alternative products that did not rely on traditional avenues of sourcing and manufacturing. The purpose of this research was to develop and test alternatives to N95 respirators that could be produced locally without specialized materials and processes. Through an interdisciplinary team of experts, new mask designs that use repurposed filtration media and commercially available components were developed and tested for filtration and fit against current N95 standards.

A video game based hand grip system for measuring muscle force in children.

Background: While new therapies are continuously introduced to treat muscular dystrophy, current assessment tests are challenging to quantify, cannot be used in non-ambulatory patients, or can de-motivate pediatric patients. We developed a simple, engaging, upper-limb assessment tool that measures muscle strength and fatigue in children, including children with muscular dystrophy. The device is a bio-feedback grip sensor that motivates children to complete maximal and fatiguing grip protocols through a game-based interface.

Bone-Inspired Bending Soft Robot.

Bending soft robots must be structured and predictable to be used in applications such as a grasping hand. We developed soft robot fingers with embedded bones to improve the performance of a puppetry robot with haptic feedback. The manufacturing process for bone-inspired soft robots is described, and two mathematical models are reported: one to predict the stiffness and natural frequency of the robot finger and the other for trajectory planning.

Crystal structures of {1,1,1-tris-[(salicylaldimino)-meth-yl]ethane}-gallium as both a pyridine solvate and an aceto-nitrile 0.75-solvate and {1,1,1-tris[(salicylaldimino)-meth-yl]ethane}-indium di-chloro-methane solvate.

The sexa-dentate ligand 1,1,1-tris-[(salicyl-idene-amino)-meth-yl]ethane has been reported numerous times in its triply deprotonated form coordinated to transition metals and lanthanides, yet it has been rarely employed with main-group elements, including in substituted forms. Its structures with gallium and indium are reported as solvates, namely, ({[(2,2-bis-{[(2-oxido-benzyl-idene)amino-κ ,]meth-yl}prop-yl)imino]-meth-yl}phenololato-κ ,)gallium(III) pyridine monosolvate, [Ga(CHNO3)]·CHN, the aceto-nitrile 0.75-solvate, [Ga(CHNO)]·0.

Cardiac patient-specific three-dimensional models as surgical planning tools.

Background: Three-dimensional printing is an additive manufacturing method that builds objects from digitally generated computational models. Core technologies behind three-dimensional printing are evolving rapidly with major advances in materials, resolution, and speed that enable greater realism and higher accuracy. These improvements have led to novel applications of these processes in the medical field.

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation plus tracking training therapy in people with stroke: an open-label feasibility study.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective neuromodulation adjunct to repetitive motor training in promoting motor recovery post-stroke. Finger tracking training is motor training whereby people with stroke use the impaired index finger to trace waveform-shaped lines on a monitor. Our aims were to assess the feasibility and safety of a telerehabilitation program consisting of tDCS and finger tracking training through questionnaires on ease of use, adverse symptoms, and quantitative assessments of motor function and cognition.

Preliminary design of a new device to measure muscle function.

A description and early results are presented for a novel device to estimate the torque-angle and torque-angular velocity properties of the quadriceps muscle group using electrical stimulation. The device straps to the shin and is moved by the operator while pulses of stimulation are applied to the motor point of the quadriceps. During stimulation, the operator raises and lowers the leg to the desired angle, and also can oscillate the leg to generate a rich velocity profile.

Isometric skeletal muscle force measurement in primary myopathies.

Introduction: In myopathy patients, it is useful to measure skeletal muscle forces. Conventional methods require voluntary muscle activation, which can be unreliable. We evaluated a device for nonvoluntary force assessment.

Ipsilesional motor-evoked potential absence in pediatric hemiparesis impacts tracking accuracy of the less affected hand.

This study analyzed the relationship between electrophysiological responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), finger tracking accuracy, and volume of neural substrate in children with congenital hemiparesis. Nineteen participants demonstrating an ipsilesional motor-evoked potential (MEP) were compared with eleven participants showing an absent ipsilesional MEP response. Comparisons of finger tracking accuracy from the affected and less affected hands and ipsilesional/contralesional (I/C) volume ratio for the primary motor cortex (M1) and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) were done using two-sample t-tests.

Preliminary design of an energy storing orthosis for providing gait to people with spinal cord injury.

A new design is proposed for an energy storing orthosis (ESO) that restores walking to people with spinal cord injury by combining functional electrical stimulation of the quadriceps muscle with a mechanical brace that uses elastic elements to store and transfer energy between hip and knee joints. The new ESO is a variation of a previous design and uses constant force springs for energy storage. Based on the detailed design and on dynamic simulations, the concept has demonstrated preliminary technical feasibility.

Design of a portable hydraulic ankle-foot orthosis.

Small-scale hydraulics is ideal for powered human assistive devices including powered ankle foot orthoses because a large torque can be generated with an actuator that is small and light. A portable hydraulic ankle foot orthosis has been designed and is undergoing preliminary prototyping and engineering bench test evaluation. The device provides 90 Nm of ankle torque and has an operating pressure of 138 bar (2,000 psi).

Inter-electrode tissue resistance is not affected by tissue oedema when electrically stimulating the lower limb of sepsis patients.

ICU patients typically are given large amounts of fluid and often develop oedema. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the oedema would change inter-electrode resistance and, thus, require a different approach to using non-invasive electrical stimulation of nerves to assess muscle force. Inter-electrode tissue resistance in the lower leg was measured by applying a 300 µs constant current pulse and measuring the current through and voltage across the stimulating electrodes.

MCD spectroscopy and TD-DFT calculations of low symmetry subnaphthalocyanine analogs.

Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations are used to analyze the electronic structure and optical properties of low-symmetry subnaphthalocyanine analogs with AAB and ABB structures formed during mixed condensations of tetrafluorophthalonitrile and 2,3-naphthalenedicarbonitrile. The results demonstrate that trends observed in the properties of phthalocyanine analogs can be used to fine tune the optical properties so that the Q(0,0) bands lie in the red region, in a manner that does not significantly destabilize the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy relative to that of the parent subphthalocyanine ligand. Attempts to study the spectroscopy of anion radical species proved unsuccessful, since they proved to be unstable.

Combined statistical analysis method assessing fast versus slow movement training in a patient with cerebellar stroke: a single-case study.

Background: Gold standards of data analysis for single-case research do not currently exist.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a combined statistical analysis method is more effective in assessing movement training effects in a patient with cerebellar stroke.

Design: A crossover single-case research design was conducted.

Optimizing the effectiveness of a mechanical suture-based anulus fibrosus repair construct in an acute failure laboratory simulation.

Study Design: In vitro comparative, laboratory experiments.

Objective: This study developed a laboratory apparatus that measured resistance to failure using pressures similar to intradiscal pressure of a lumbar spinal disk. Various combinations of an anular repair device were compared.

Tiny hydraulics for powered orthotics.

Untethered, powered orthotics require an actuation system with power supply and control, transmission line and actuator. Fluid power has unmatched force-to-weight and power-to-weight compared to electromechanical systems, but it is unclear if those same advantages hold for small systems in the 10 to 100 W range. A systems analysis approach suggests that a fluid power system will be lighter than an electromechanical system with the same output power and efficiency if the fluid power is run at pressures over about 200 psi.

Home-based system for stroke rehabilitation.

A system was developed for home-based stroke motor rehabilitation of the ankle. A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that moving while concentrating will lead to greater recovery than movement alone. Sixteen post-stroke subjects participated, one half in a tracking training group and the other have in a move group.

Complex versus simple ankle movement training in stroke using telerehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Telerehabilitation allows rehabilitative training to continue remotely after discharge from acute care and can include complex tasks known to create rich conditions for neural change.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were: (1) to explore the feasibility of using telerehabilitation to improve ankle dorsiflexion during the swing phase of gait in people with stroke and (2) to compare complex versus simple movements of the ankle in promoting behavioral change and brain reorganization.

Design: This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial.

A portable powered ankle-foot orthosis for rehabilitation.

Innovative technological advancements in the field of orthotics, such as portable powered orthotic systems, could create new treatment modalities to improve the functional out come of rehabilitation. In this article, we present a novel portable powered ankle-foot orthosis (PPAFO) to provide untethered assistance during gait. The PPAFO provides both plantar flexor and dorsiflexor torque assistance by way of a bidirectional pneumatic rotary actuator.

Low-cost, take-home, beating heart simulator for health-care education.

Intended for medical students studying the evaluation and diagnosis of heart arrhythmias, the beating heart arrhythmia simulator combines visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli to enhance the student's retention of the subtle differences between various conditions of the heart necessary for diagnosis. Unlike existing heart arrhythmia simulators, our simulator is low cost and easily deployable in the classroom setting. A design consisting of solenoid actuators, a silicon heart model, and a graphical user interface has been developed and prototyped.

Engineering evaluation of the energy-storing orthosis FES gait system.

A system to restore walking in the vicinity of a wheelchair for people with paraplegia resulting from spinal cord injury is under development. The approach combines single channel surface electrical stimulation with an orthosis. The orthosis is spring loaded and contains a pneumatic system that stores energy during knee extension caused by quadriceps stimulation and transfers it to hip joint for hip extension.

Non-invasive muscle force assessment apparatus for use in the intensive care unit.

Muscle function assessment is important for diagnosing muscular disorders, developing treatment plans, and tracking patient progress over time. The muscle force assessment system (MFAS) can provide quantitative results versus the traditional qualitative results that are obtained from manual tests. A new MFAS was developed for measuring force in the tibialis anterior muscle in response to electrical stimulation.