Technology and Health Care最新文献

Background: This study presents a comprehensive comparison between a marker-based motion capture system (MMC) and a video-based motion capture system (VMC) in the context of kinematic analysis using musculoskeletal models.

Objective: Focusing on joint angles, the study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of VMC as a viable alternative for biomechanical research.

Methods: Eighteen healthy subjects performed isolated movements with 17 joint degrees of freedom, and their kinematic data were collected using both an MMC and a VMC setup. The kinematic data were entered into the AnyBody Modelling System, which enables the calculation of joint angles. The mean absolute error (MAE) was calculated to quantify the deviations between the two systems.

Results: The results showed good agreement between VMC and MMC at several joint angles. In particular, the shoulder, hip and knee joints showed small deviations in kinematics with MAE values of 4.8∘, 6.8∘ and 3.5∘, respectively. However, the study revealed problems in tracking hand and elbow movements, resulting in higher MAE values of 13.7∘ and 27.7∘. Deviations were also higher for head and thoracic movements.

Conclusion: Overall, VMC showed promising results for lower body and shoulder kinematics. However, the tracking of the wrist and pelvis still needs to be refined. The research results provide a basis for further investigations that promote the fusion of VMC and musculoskeletal models.

Background: Medical imaging techniques have improved to the point where security has become a basic requirement for all applications to ensure data security and data transmission over the internet. However, clinical images hold personal and sensitive data related to the patients and their disclosure has a negative impact on their right to privacy as well as legal ramifications for hospitals.

Objective: In this research, a novel deep learning-based key generation network (Deep-KEDI) is designed to produce the secure key used for decrypting and encrypting medical images.

Methods: Initially, medical images are pre-processed by adding the speckle noise using discrete ripplet transform before encryption and are removed after decryption for more security. In the Deep-KEDI model, the zigzag generative adversarial network (ZZ-GAN) is used as the learning network to generate the secret key.

Results: The proposed ZZ-GAN is used for secure encryption by generating three different zigzag patterns (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) of encrypted images with its key. The zigzag cipher uses an XOR operation in both encryption and decryption using the proposed ZZ-GAN. Encrypting the original image requires a secret key generated during encryption. After identification, the encrypted image is decrypted using the generated key to reverse the encryption process. Finally, speckle noise is removed from the encrypted image in order to reconstruct the original image.

Conclusion: According to the experiments, the Deep-KEDI model generates secret keys with an information entropy of 7.45 that is particularly suitable for securing medical images.

Background: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is one of the most prevalent musculoskeletal symptoms in individuals engaged in strenuous exercise programs.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of wearable low-intensity continuous ultrasound on muscle biomechanical properties during DOMS.

Methods: Twenty volunteers were distributed into a wearable ultrasound stimulation group (WUG) (n= 10) and medical ultrasound stimulation group (MUG) (n= 10). All subjects performed wrist extensor muscle strength exercises to induce DOMS. At the site of pain, ultrasound of frequency 3 MHz was applied for 1 h or 5 min in each subject of the WUG or MUG, respectively. Before and after ultrasound stimulation, muscle biomechanical properties (tone, stiffness, elasticity, stress relaxation time, and creep) and body temperature were measured, and pain was evaluated.

Results: A significant decrease was found in the tone, stiffness, stress relaxation time, and creep in both groups after ultrasound stimulation (all p< 0.05). A significant decrease in the pain and increases in temperature were observed in both groups (all p< 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the groups in most evaluations.

Conclusion: The stiffness and pain caused by DOMS were alleviated using a wearable ultrasound stimulator. Furthermore, the effects of the wearable ultrasound stimulator were like those of a medical ultrasound stimulator.

Background: The Selfit system was developed to improve the mobility and gait-related functions of stroke patients by providing digital exercises and augmented reality training system.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a digital exercise and augmented reality training system on mobility, gait-related functions and self-efficacy outcomes in stroke patients.

Methods: A randomized control trial was conducted on 25 men and women diagnosed with an early sub-acute stroke. Patients were randomly assigned to either the intervention (N= 11) or the control groups (N= 14). Patients in the intervention group received a digital exercise and augmented reality training using the Selfit system in addition to the standard physical therapy treatment. Patients in the control group were treated with a conventional physical therapy program. Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, 10-meter walk test, the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and the Activity-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale were completed before and after the intervention. Feasibility and satisfaction among patients and therapists were also assessed after the completion of the study.

Results: The intervention group practiced proportionally more time per session than the control group with a mean change of 19.7% following 6 sessions (p= 0.002). The intervention group showed better improvement in post-TUG score compared to the control group (p= 0.04). ABC, DGI, and the 10-meter walk test scores were not significantly different between the groups. Both therapists and participants demonstrated high satisfaction with the Selfit system.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that Selfit holds promise as an effective intervention for improving mobility and gait-related functions among patients with an early sub-acute stroke as compared to conventional physical therapy treatments.

Background: White spot lesions (WSLs) appear as white, opaque areas on the teeth and are caused by a demineralization of the enamel.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine whether casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) has beneficial effects on WSLs and provides remineralizing benefits that are superior to those of placebo or no treatment.

Methods: Following a thorough analysis of the literature across major online sources, 103 papers - 54 of which underwent in-depth evaluation - were found. We used inclusion and exclusion criteria to choose research articles that were appropriate for our review.

Results: 10 papers met this review's requirements and were subsequently included. As compared to the controls, CPP-ACP demonstrated increased efficacy in treatment of WSLs in terms of remineralisation and other parameters which included microhardness tests and enamel surface roughness. The forest plots present the results of meta-analyses comparing the effect of CPP-ACP versus control/other agents on white spot lesions (WSLs). In terms of odds ratios (OR), CPP-ACP showed a small increase in the odds of WSLs compared to control/other agents. In-vitro studies showed no significant difference in relative risk (RR) between CPP-ACP and control/other agents. Randomized control trials indicated a small increase in the risk of WSLs with CPP-ACP treatment, but the overall effect was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: There was evidence to support the use of CPP-ACP over other agents for WSL prevention or treatment, but further research is needed to confirm these findings.

Background: After stroke, gait training is a key component of rehabilitation, and most individuals use a variety of walking aids depending on their physical condition and environment.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of a one-arm motorized gait device for gait assist of chronic hemiplegic stroke survivors through comparison with traditional gait devices (parallel bar and hemi-walker).

Methods: This study was conducted on 14 chronic hemiplegic stroke survivors. The participants were asked to walk under three conditions using different gait devices, and their gait parameters during walking were collected and analyzed. The first condition involved walking on parallel bars; second condition, walking using hemi-walkers; and third condition, walking using one-arm motorized gait devices. With the use of a gait analysis system, the spatio-temporal gait parameters in each condition were collected, such as gait velocity, cadence, step length, stride length, single support time, and double support time.

Results: In the results by repeated-measures ANOVA or the Friedman test, a significant difference was found in the gait parameters among all three conditions (p< 0.05). The post-hoc test showed a significant change in the spatio-temporal gait parameters (especially, velocity, cadence and affected side single and double support time) when one-arm motorized gait device were used compared with parallel bars and hemi-walkers (p< 0.05).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that one-arm motorized gait devices developed for hemiplegic stroke survivors may be more effective potentially than parallel bars and hemi-walkers in gait assistance of chronic hemiplegic stroke survivors.

Background: In wireless communication standard 4G and 5G, the body centric network plays an important role for the wireless communication between various devices.

Objective: This research relates to a wide-band conformal co-planar waveguide (CPW) antenna for wearable applications.

Methods: The proposed CPW antenna is printed on 0.1 mm thick bio-compatible polymide substrate whose dielectric constant and permittivity are 3.5 and 0.02 respectively. The total area of the antenna is around 17.5 × 15 mm2 which is significantly smaller than the wearable antennas proposed in literature. The proposed antenna is designed to operate in new ISM band 5.8 GHz with the bandwidth of 5.3-6.3 GHz with 2:1 Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR). The antenna is printed on the flexible substrate and hence robustness of device is evaluated by bending analysis. It reveals the superior performance of the designed CPW antenna over the desired spectrum of operation.

Results: Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is calculated after placing the antenna at various places of human phantom model and showed that SAR values are below 1.6 W/Kg which is the maximum margin recommended by Federal Communication Commission (FCC), i.e when tested with 1 g and 10 g of human tissue of phantom model, for the test frequency range of 5.5-6.1 GHz, SAR value falls between 0.9987 and 0.921 W/Kg respectively. The antenna also shows the radiation efficiency around 92% with overall realized gain 5.2 dBi which are substantial values for wearable applications.

Conclusion: The outcomes of this research revealed the feasibility of the recommended antenna becoming a major contender of future Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common pathological type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and effective biomarkers will improve diagnosis and treatment.

Objective: This study investigated NPEPL1 expression in ccRCC through public databases and clinical samples and assessed its correlation with clinicopathological features and patient prognosis.

Method: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and clinical specimens were gathered, NPEPL1 expression levels were analyzed; a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of NPEPL1; and clinicopathological data was used to study the correlations between expression and clinical parameters. NPEPL1's prognostic value was appraised using a Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curve, Cox regression analysis, and a nomogram model; Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of differently expressed genes between tissues with high and low NPEPL1 expression were used to estimate the underlying mechanisms involved.

Results: NPEPL1 was significantly higher-expressed in ccRCC tissue. ROC analysis showed that NPEPL1 had noteworthy diagnostic efficacy. NPEPL1 expression was closely related to clinicopathological parameters, such as T and M stage. K-M analysis showed that overall survival was significantly shortened with high NPEPL1 expression. Cox regression analysis showed that NPEPL1 expression was an independent risk factor predicting overall survival. The nomogram showed a significantly high clinical value in predicting the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival probabilities in ccRCC. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that NPEPL1 may promote the occurrence and development of ccRCC via the Ras signaling and other pathways.

Conclusion: NPEPL1 expression in ccRCC was higher than that in normal kidney tissues and was significantly associated with advanced clinical stage and poor prognosis. Therefore, NPEPL1 is a promising prognostic biomarker.

Background: Hypertension is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular, which is also a critical factor in causing myocardial fibrosis (MF).

Objective: The study aimed to explore the effect of Atractylenolide II (ATL-II) on MF and oxidative stress in spontaneous hypertension rats (SHR).

Methods: The body weight of rats after injection of ATL-II was quantitatively analyzed. The left ventricular function of SHR was evaluated by Echocardiographic. HE staining, Masson trichrome staining, left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and immunofluorescence was applied to investigate the effects of ATL-II on MF. RT qPCR was used to detect the Collagen I, α-SMA, Fibronectin, and Vimentin mRNA expression levels in myocardial slices. The effect ATL-II on cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining and western blot. An immunohistochemistry assay was conducted to detect α-SMA protein and TGF-β1 protein. The contents of H2O2, GSH-PX, SOD, and MDA were measured by colorimetry.

Results: ATL-II could dose-dependently improve the BW of SHRs (P< 0.05) and enhance myocardial function. Moreover, ATL-II effectively reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in SHRs. Alternatively, ATL-II could inhibit the Collagen I, α-SMA, Fibronectin, and Vimentin mRNA and protein expression levels in SHRs. ATL-II could ameliorate oxidative stress by improving the activities of SOD and GSH-PX and lowering the contents of H2O2 and MDA in ATL-II-treated SHRs, which reach about 80%.

Conclusion: ATL-II could exert an inhibiting effect on MF and oxidative stress in SHRs. Hence, ATL-II may hold promise for the treatment of MF and oxidative stress in Spontaneous Hypertension.

Background: According to previous studies, the relationship between lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis or that between pelvic parameters and thoracic kyphosis have been inconsistent.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate spinal sagittal alignment and its relationship to global and regional lumbar and thoracic angles, pelvic and sway angles, and C7-S1 distance measurements, followed by a detailed subgroup analysis using an inertial measurement unit system.

Methods: A total of 51 asymptomatic volunteers stood in a comfortable posture with inertial measurement units attached to the T1, T7, T12, L3, and S2 vertebrae. T1, T7, T12, L3, and S2 sagittal angles were acquired during standing posture using the Eulerian angle coordinate system. All angles are reported as the mean of three 5-s measurements. Following the measurement of lumbar lordosis angles (T12 relative S2), participants were divided into the flat lumbar and normal lordosis groups.

Results: There were different correlation patterns between groups because of spinal sagittal imbalance, which was greater in the flat lumbar group than in the normal lordosis group. In addition, sacral inclination proved the ideal parameter to evaluate reciprocal balance in lumbar lordosis, showing a stronger correlation with lower than with upper lumbar lordosis. T1 was the key element in assessing thoracic kyphosis, which showed a stronger correlation with upper than with lower thoracic kyphosis.

Conclusion: We suggest that when assessing posture, it is necessary to identify the global and regional angles and it is useful to classify spinal sagittal alignment into subgroups according to lumbar lordosis and evaluate the groups separately.