Abstract: Bipartite medial cuneiforms are relatively rare but may play a significant role in biomechanical and gait abnormalities. It is believed that a bipartite medial cuneiform may alter the available range of motion due to its larger morphological variant, thus limiting the metatarsal plantarflexion needed to achieve adequate hallux dorsiflexion for normal gait. Radiographic and clinical assessment were performed on two patients who reported with foot pain along the first ray. Both patients had visible bipartite medial cuneiforms on MRI. Using gait plate and Metascan ™ analysis, both were noted to have four measurements far beyond the expected range. Medial and lateral heel peak pressure, hallux peak pressure, and 1st metatarsal peak pressure were all noted to be increased. These measurements are believed to be increased due to the hindrance placed on the available ROM of the first ray by the increased size of the medial cuneiform. A larger patient population would be needed to fully understand this developmental anomaly.
Abstract: In this study, a comparison of Range Of Motion (ROM) of middle and long-distance runners and swimmers has been made. The mobility of the various joints is essential for the quick movement of any sportsman. Knowledge of a ROM helps in preventing injuries, in repeating the movement, and in generating speed and power. ROM varies among individuals, and it is influenced by factors such as gender, age, and whether the motion is performed actively or passively. ROM for running and swimming, both performed with due consideration on speed, plays an important role. The time of generation of speed and mobility of the particular joints are very important for both kinds of athletes. The difficulties that happen during running and swimming in the direction of motion is changed. In this study, data were collected for a total of 102 subjects divided into three groups: control group (22), middle and long-distance runners (40), and swimmers (40), and their ages are between 12 to 18 years. The swimmers have higher ROM in shoulder joint flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction movement. Middle and long-distance runners have significantly greater ROM from Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with a 5.82 mean difference. Swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with 24.84 mean difference and swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Middle and Long distance runners in left shoulder flexion with 19.02 mean difference. The picture will be clear after a more detailed investigation.
Abstract: This paper deals with a robust model free terminal sliding mode with gravity compensation approach used to control an exoskeleton-upper limb system. The considered system is a 2-DoF robot in interaction with an upper limb used for rehabilitation. The aim of this paper is to control the flexion/extension movement of the shoulder and the elbow joints in presence of matched disturbances. In the first part, we present the exoskeleton-upper limb system modeling. Then, we controlled the considered system by the model free terminal sliding mode with gravity compensation. A stability study is realized. To prove the controller performance, a robustness analysis was needed. Simulation results are provided to confirm the robustness of the gravity compensation combined with to the Model free terminal sliding mode in presence of uncertainties.
Abstract: Classical matrix calculus and Routh-Hurwitz stability conditions, applied to the snake-like motion of the conical wheel axle, lead to the conclusion that the hunting mode is inherently unstable, and its natural frequency is a complex number. In order to analytically solve such a complicated vibration model, either the inertia terms were neglected, in the model designated as geometrical, or restrictions on the creep coefficients and yawing diameter were imposed, in the so-called dynamical model. Here, an alternative solution is proposed to solve the hunting mode, based on the observation that the bullet train wheel axle is equipped with cylindrical wheels. One argues that for such wheel treads, the geometrical hunting is irrelevant, since its natural frequency becomes nil, but the dynamical hunting is significant since its natural frequency reduces to a real number. Moreover, one illustrates that the geometrical simplification of the wheel causes the stabilization of the hunting mode, since the characteristic quartic equation, derived for conical wheels, reduces to a quadratic equation of positive coefficients, for cylindrical wheels. Quite simple analytical expressions for the damping ratio and natural frequency are obtained, without applying restrictions into the model of contact. Graphs of the time-depending hunting lateral perturbation, including the maximal and inflexion points, are presented both for the critically-damped and the over-damped wheel axles.
Abstract: This paper presents a home-based robot-rehabilitation
instrument, called ”MAGNI Dynamics”, that utilized a vision-based
kinematic/dynamic module and an adaptive haptic feedback
controller. The system is expected to provide personalized
rehabilitation by adjusting its resistive and supportive behavior
according to a fuzzy intelligence controller that acts as an inference
system, which correlates the user’s performance to different stiffness
factors. The vision module uses the Kinect’s skeletal tracking to
monitor the user’s effort in an unobtrusive and safe way, by estimating
the torque that affects the user’s arm. The system’s torque estimations
are justified by capturing electromyographic data from primitive
hand motions (Shoulder Abduction and Shoulder Forward Flexion).
Moreover, we present and analyze how the Barrett WAM generates
a force-field with a haptic controller to support or challenge the
users. Experiments show that by shifting the proportional value,
that corresponds to different stiffness factors of the haptic path, can
potentially help the user to improve his/her motor skills. Finally,
potential areas for future research are discussed, that address how
a rehabilitation robotic framework may include multisensing data, to
improve the user’s recovery process.
Abstract: The major contributor to the human locomotion is the knee flexion and extension. During heel strike, a huge amount of energy is transmitted through the leg towards knee joint, which in fact is damped at heel and leg muscles. During high shocks, although it is damped to a certain extent, the balance force transmits towards knee joint which could damage the knee. Due to the vital function of the knee joint, it should be protected against damage due to additional load acting on it. This work concentrates on the development of spring mass damper system which exactly replicates the stiffness at the heel and muscles and the objective function is optimized to minimize the force acting at the knee joint. Further, the data collected using force plate are put into the model to verify its integrity and are found to be in good agreement.
Abstract: As one of the convenient and noninvasive sensing
approaches, the automatic limb girth measurement has been applied
to detect intention behind human motion from muscle deformation.
The sensing validity has been elaborated by preliminary researches
but still need more fundamental studies, especially on kinetic
contraction modes. Based on the novel fabric strain sensors, a soft
and smart limb girth measurement system was developed by the
authors’ group, which can measure the limb girth in-motion.
Experiments were carried out on elbow isometric flexion and elbow
isokinetic flexion (biceps’ isokinetic contractions) of 90°/s, 60°/s, and
120°/s for 10 subjects (2 canoeists and 8 ordinary people). After
removal of natural circumferential increments due to elbow position,
the joint torque is found not uniformly sensitive to the limb
circumferential strains, but declining as elbow joint angle rises,
regardless of the angular speed. Moreover, the maximum joint torque
was found as an exponential function of the joint’s angular speed.
This research highly contributes to the application of the automatic
limb girth measuring during kinetic contractions, and it is useful to
predict the contraction level of voluntary skeletal muscles.
Abstract: Background: The effectiveness of mirror therapy
(MT) has been investigated in acute hemiplegia. The present study
examines whether MT, given during chronic stroke, was more
effective in promoting motor recovery of the lower extremity and
walking speed than standard rehabilitation alone. Methods: The study
enrolled 30 patients with chronic stroke. Fifteen patients each were
assigned to the treatment group and the control group. All patients
received a conventional rehabilitation program for a 4-week period.
In addition to this rehabilitation program, patients in the treatment
group received mirror therapy for 4 weeks, 5 days a week. Main
measures: Passive ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion, gait
speed, Brunnstrom stages of motor recovery, plantar flexor muscle
tone by Modified Ashworth Scale. Results: No significant difference
was found in the outcome measures among groups before treatment.
When compared with standard rehabilitation, mirror therapy
improved Ankle ROM, Brunnstrom stages and waking speed
(p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences between
two groups on MAS (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Mirror therapy combined
with a conventional stroke rehabilitation program enhances lowerextremity
motor recovery and walking speed in chronic stroke
patients.
Abstract: A novel hybrid model of the lumbar spine, allowing
fast static and dynamic simulations of the disc pressure
and the spine mobility, is introduced in this work. Our
contribution is to combine rigid bodies, deformable finite
elements, articular constraints, and springs into a unique model
of the spine. Each vertebra is represented by a rigid body
controlling a surface mesh to model contacts on the facet
joints and the spinous process. The discs are modeled using
a heterogeneous tetrahedral finite element model. The facet
joints are represented as elastic joints with six degrees of
freedom, while the ligaments are modeled using non-linear
one-dimensional elastic elements. The challenge we tackle
is to make these different models efficiently interact while
respecting the principles of Anatomy and Mechanics.
The mobility, the intradiscal pressure, the facet joint force and
the instantaneous center of rotation of the lumbar spine are
validated against the experimental and theoretical results of
the literature on flexion, extension, lateral bending as well as
axial rotation.
Our hybrid model greatly simplifies the modeling task and
dramatically accelerates the simulation of pressure within the
discs, as well as the evaluation of the range of motion and the
instantaneous centers of rotation, without penalizing precision.
These results suggest that for some types of biomechanical
simulations, simplified models allow far easier modeling and
faster simulations compared to usual full-FEM approaches
without any loss of accuracy.
Abstract: Musculoskeletal injuries in school children could be
reduced improving trunk strength and hamstring flexibility. Low
levels of trunk muscle strength and hamstring flexibility may result in
acute and musculoskeletal chronic diseases. The Pilates Method can
be appropriate to improve these physical condition attributes and has
been rarely employed by this social group. On the other hand, it has
been shown that trunk strength and flexibility are different between
genders, but there is no evidence about the effect of exercise
programs designed to improve both items in school children.
Therefore the objective of this study was to measure the effect of a
six-week Pilates-based exercise program in 14 year old school
children trunk strength and hamstring flexibility, establishing
differences in gender. The sample was composed of 57 students
divided into experimental group (EG; n=30) and control group (CG;
n=27). Bench Trunk Curl test (BTC), Sörensen test and Toe-touch
test (TT) were used to measure dynamic muscular resistance in trunk
flexion, isometric strength in trunk extension and hamstring
flexibility, respectively. EG utilized the Pilates exercise program
during six-weeks (2 days/week, 55minutes/session). After this period
of training, EG improved trunk strength and hamstring flexibility
significantly but there were no significant differences within CG.
Although boys were better in BTC test and girls were better in TT
test, there were no significant differences between them.
Abstract: Nowadays spinal deformities are very frequent
problems among teenagers. Scheuermann disease is a one
dimensional deformity of the spine, but it has prevalence over 11% of
the children. A traditional technology, the moiré method was used by
us for screening and diagnosing this type of spinal deformity. A
LabVIEW program has been developed to evaluate the moiré pictures
of patients with Scheuermann disease. Two different solutions were
tested in this computer program, the extreme and the inflexion point
calculation methods. Effects using these methods were compared and
according to the results both solutions seemed to be appropriate.
Statistical results showed better efficiency in case of the extreme
search method where the average difference was only 6,09⁰.
Abstract: The centre of rotation of the hip joint is needed for an
accurate simulation of the joint performance in many applications
such as pre-operative planning simulation, human gait analysis, and
hip joint disorders. In human movement analysis, the hip joint center
can be estimated using a functional method based on the relative
motion of the femur to pelvis measured using reflective markers
attached to the skin surface. The principal source of errors in
estimation of hip joint centre location using functional methods is
soft tissue artefacts due to the relative motion between the markers
and bone. One of the main objectives in human movement analysis is
the assessment of soft tissue artefact as the accuracy of functional
methods depends upon it. Various studies have described the
movement of soft tissue artefact invasively, such as intra-cortical
pins, external fixators, percutaneous skeletal trackers, and Roentgen
photogrammetry. The goal of this study is to present a non-invasive
method to assess the displacements of the markers relative to the
underlying bone using optical motion capture data and tissue
thickness from ultrasound measurements during flexion, extension,
and abduction (all with knee extended) of the hip joint. Results show
that the artefact skin marker displacements are non-linear and larger
in areas closer to the hip joint. Also marker displacements are
dependent on the movement type and relatively larger in abduction
movement. The quantification of soft tissue artefacts can be used as a
basis for a correction procedure for hip joint kinematics.
Abstract: Hand exoskeletons have been developed in order to assist daily activities for disabled and elder people. A figure exoskeleton was developed using ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) actuators, and the performance of it was evaluated in this study. In order to study dynamic performance of a finger dummy performing pinching motion, force generating characteristics of an IPMC actuator and pinching motion of a thumb and index finger dummy actuated by IMPC actuators were analyzed. The blocking force of 1.54 N was achieved under 4 V of DC. A thumb and index finger dummy, which has one degree of freedom at the proximal joint of each figure, was manufactured by a three dimensional rapid prototyping. Each figure was actuated by an IPMC actuator, and the maximum fingertip force was 1.18 N. Pinching motion of a dummy was analyzed by two video cameras in vertical top and horizontal left end view planes. A figure dummy powered by IPMC actuators could perform flexion and extension motion of an index figure and a thumb.
Abstract: Background: Core stability training has recently attracted attention for improving muscle balance and optimizing performance in healthy and unhealthy individuals. Purpose: This study investigated the effect of beginner’s core stability exercises on trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio and trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques. Methods: Thirty five healthy individuals participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental “group I, n=20” and control “group II, n=15”. Their mean age, weight and height were 20.7±2.4 vs. 20.3±0.61 years, 66.5±12.1 vs. 68.57±12.2 kg and 166.7±7.8 vs. 164.28 ±7.59 cm. for group I vs. group II. Data were collected using the Biodex Isokinetic system. The participants were tested twice; before and after a 6-week period during which group I performed a core stability training program. Results: The 2x2 Mixed Design ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio between the pre-test and post-test conditions for either group. Moreover, there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexion/extension ratios between both groups at either condition. However, the 2x2 Mixed Design MANOVA revealed significant increases (p0.025) in group II. Moreover, there was a significant increase (p
Abstract: The purpose of the research is to investigate the energetic feature of the backpack load on soldier’s gait with variation of the trunk flexion angle. It is believed that the trunk flexion variation of the loaded gait may cause a significant difference in the energy cost which is often in practice in daily life. To this end, seven healthy Korea military personnel participated in the experiment and are tested under three different walking postures comprised of the small, natural and large trunk flexion. There are around 5 degree differences of waist angle between each trunk flexion. The ground reaction forces were collected from the force plates and motion kinematic data are measured by the motion capture system. Based on these data, the impulses, momentums and mechanical works done on the center of body mass (COM) during the double support phase were computed. The result shows that the push-off and heel strike impulse are not relevant to the trunk flexion change, however the mechanical work by the push-off and heel strike were changed by the trunk flexion variation. It is because the vertical velocity of the COM during the double support phase is increased significantly with an increase in the trunk flexion. Therefore, we can know that the gait efficiency of the loaded gait depends on the trunk flexion angle. Also, even though the gravitational impulse and pre-collision momentum are changed by the trunk flexion variation, the after-collision momentum is almost constant regardless of the trunk flexion variation.
Abstract: The understanding of knee movement during swing
importance for golf swing improving and preventing injury. Thirty
male professional and amateur golfers were assigned to swing time
by time for 3 times. Data from a vedio-based motion capture were
used to compute knee joint movement variables. The results showed
that professional and amateur golfers were significantly in left knee
flexion angle at the impact point and mid follow through phase.
Nevertheless, left knee external rotation in both groups was also
significant. The right knee were no significant different in all
variable. However, pattern of knee joint movement are also likely
between professional and amateur golfers.
Abstract: Ten percent of the population will develop plantar
fasciitis (PF) during their lifetime. Two million people are treated
yearly accounting for 11-15% of visits to medical professionals.
Treatment ranges from conservative to surgical intervention. The
purpose of this study was to assess the effects of extracorporeal
shockwave therapy (ECSWT) on heel pain, function, range of motion
(ROM), and strength in patients with PF. One hundred subjects were
treated with ECSWT and measures were taken before and three
months after treatment. There was significant differences in visual
analog scale scores for pain at rest (p=0.0001); after activity (p=
0.0001) and; overall improvement (p=0.0001). There was also
significant improvement in Lower Extremity Functional Scale scores
(p=0.0001); ankle plantarflexion (p=0.0001), dorsiflexion (p=0.001),
and eversion (p=0.017),and first metatarsophalangeal joint flexion
(p=0.002) and extension (p=0.003) ROM. ECSWT is an effective
treatment improving heel pain, function and ROM in patients with
PF.
Abstract: In the paper, the energetic features of the loaded gait
are newly analyzed depending on the trunk flexion change. To
investigate the loaded gait, walking experiments are performed for five
subjects and, the ground reaction forces and kinematic data are
measured. Based on these information, we compute the impulse,
momentum and mechanical works done on the center of body mass,
through the trunk flexion change. As a result, it is shown that the trunk
flexion change does not affect the impulses and momentums during
the step-to-step transition as well. However, the direction of the
pre-collision momentum does change depending on the trunk flexion
change, which is degenerated just after (or during) the collision period.
Abstract: Aircraft propulsion systems often use Y-shaped
subsonic diffusing ducts as twin air-intakes to supply the ambient air
into the engine compressor for thrust generation. Due to space
constraint, the diffusers need to be curved, which causes severe flow
non-uniformity at the engine face. The present study attempt to
control flow in a mild-curved Y-duct diffuser using trapezoidalshaped
vortex generators (VG) attached on either both the sidewalls
or top and bottom walls of the diffuser at the inflexion plane. A
commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code is modified
and is used to simulate the effects of SVG in flow of a Y-duct
diffuser. A few experiments are conducted for CFD code validation,
while the rest are done computationally. The best combination of Yduct
diffuser is found with VG-2 arranged in co-rotating sequence
and attached to both the sidewalls, which ensures highest static
pressure recovery, lowest total pressure loss, minimum flow
distortion and less flow separation in Y-duct diffuser. The decrease in
VG height while attached to top and bottom walls further improves
axial flow uniformity at the diffuser outlet by a great margin as
compared to the bare duct.
Abstract: This article explores the self-identity of the Kazakh
people by way of identifying the roots of self-understanding in
Kazakh culture. Unfortunately, Western methods of ethno
psychology cannot fully capture what is unique about identity in
Kazakh culture. Although Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in
terms of geographical space, Kazakh cultural identity is not wellknown
in the West. In this article we offer an account of the national
psychological features of the Kazakh people, in order to reveal the
spiritual, mental, ethical dimensions of modern Kazakhs. These
factors play a central role in the revival of forms of identity that are
central to the Kazakh people.