Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation最新文献

{"title":"Variants of active assist robotic therapy: feasibility of virtual assistance and proprioceptive training as gauged by their effects on success and motivation during finger movement training after stroke.","authors":"Andria J Farrens, Dylan Reinsdorf, Luis Garcia-Fernandez, Raymond Diaz Rojas, Vicky Chan, Joel Perry, Eric T Wolbrecht, David J Reinkensmeyer","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01667-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01667-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"167"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12273468/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144667742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diabetic foot prevention, assessment, and management using innovative smart wearable technology: a systematic review.","authors":"Doua Kosaji, Mohammad I Awad, Rateb Katmah, Herbert F Jelinek, M Fatima Domingues, Mohamed Baguneid, Abeer Alanazi, Kinda Khalaf","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01695-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01695-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The diabetic foot (DF) is a chief culprit behind significant preventable morbidity and mortality in type-2-diabetes patients and the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-extremity amputations. Despite the clinically well-understood pathways to ulceration, including neuropathy, ischemia, and infection, DF continues to impose a significant health and economic burden on patients and healthcare systems. Recent technological developments in sensing, smart miniaturized wearable technology, and artificial intelligence provide ample options for viable solutions. A continuous monitoring wearable system that alerts patients and healthcare providers could enhance current detection and management protocols. Quantification of both mechanical (plantar-pressure and shear-forces) and physiological/wound-associated parameters (temperature, humidity, vascular, microcirculation, and pH) underlying the pathophysiology of DF provides opportunities for improving the assessment of DF and treatment outcomes. This review bridges this knowledge gap by exploring the integration of current state-of-the-art sensing modalities and smart wearables with novel actuation technology for real-time management towards effective wound healing of the DF.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"168"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12273060/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144667739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Upper limb robotic rehabilitation following stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating efficacy and the influence of device features and program parameters.","authors":"Kate Boardsworth, Usman Rashid, Sharon Olsen, Edgar Rodriguez-Ramirez, Will Browne, Gemma Alder, Nada Signal","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01662-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01662-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Following stroke, upper limb impairment is common and frequently limits ability to perform everyday activities. Due to limited resources, current therapy levels are insufficient to optimise functional improvement. Robotic devices have potential to augment upper limb stroke rehabilitation, but knowledge regarding the optimal device features and intervention parameters is limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the efficacy of upper limb robotic rehabilitation compared with conventional rehabilitation, and to critically explore the device features and programme parameters that influence rehabilitation outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Six electronic databases were searched for RCTs that compared dose-matched robotic versus conventional rehabilitation following stroke, and measured activity level changes in upper limb outcomes. The efficacy of robotic compared with conventional rehabilitation was evaluated using random-effects (I² ≥ 50%) or fixed-effect (I² < 50%) models. A systematic categorization of robotic device features and intervention parameters was conducted to facilitate subgroup analyses and meta-regression, enabling exploration of how these factors influence rehabilitation outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The review included 54 studies, involving 2744 participants. Meta-analysis demonstrated that robotic rehabilitation had a small, statistically significant positive effect on upper limb capacity compared with conventional rehabilitation (SMD 0.14, 95% CI [0.02, 0.26]), however these gains were not maintained at follow-up (SMD 0.05, 95% CI [- 0.13, 0.24]). No significant differences were found between robotic and conventional rehabilitation for ADL outcomes either post-treatment (SMD 0.04, 95% CI [- 0.05, 0.13]) or at follow-up (SMD 0.05, 95% CI [- 0.13, 0.24]). Subgroup analyses provided crucial insights into the factors influencing robotic rehabilitation efficacy, revealing significant effects of device assistance (p = 0.0046), joints mobilized (p = 0.0133), degrees of freedom (p = 0.012), device laterality (p = 0.0048), and the number of devices used (p = 0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results suggest that robotic rehabilitation does not result in clinically meaningful improvement in either upper limb capacity or ADL performance. However, this study's novel subgroup analyses highlight specific device features and intervention parameters that significantly influence efficacy. These findings provide critical guidance for the design, implementation, and future research of robotic rehabilitation.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"164"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12265130/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144649627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of electroacupuncture stimulation combined with the enhanced recovery after surgery regimen on motor function recovery following total knee arthroplasty.","authors":"Shiqiang Ma, Jun Dong, Zhengxin Meng, Yunchao Zhao, Qiuling Shi, Donghui Guo","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01693-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01693-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To explore the effect of electroacupuncture stimulation combined with the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) regimen on the recovery of motor function after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>In total, 100 patients with osteoarthritis who were undergoing primary TKA were prospectively included in this study. They were divided into a study group and a control group, with 50 patients in each group. The study group was treated with electroacupuncture stimulation combined with the ERAS regimen. The conventional programme included standard multimodal analgesia and rehabilitation protocols typically used in our hospital for TKA patients. The decision to use different treatment approaches was based on the aim of the study to evaluate the additional benefits of electroacupuncture combined with ERAS compared to the standard care, and the control group was treated with a conventional programme.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The intraoperative blood loss, hospitalisation time and morphine equivalent consumption at 72 h postoperatively in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.001). The different methods had different effects on the static visual analogue scale (VAS) score, dynamic VAS score, American Knee Society (AKS) joint score, AKS function score and range of motion (ROM; P < 0.001). Further comparison revealed that the static and dynamic VAS scores of the patients in the study group were lower than those in the control group after surgery. Moreover, the AKS joint and function scores of the study group were higher than those of the control group after surgery. In addition, the ROM of the study group was higher than that of the control group after surgery. The comparison of complications revealed that the incidence of intermuscular thrombosis (P = 0.014) and infection (P = 0.046) in the study group was lower than that in the control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A rehabilitation programme combining electroacupuncture with the ERAS regimen can effectively relieve pain and promote the recovery of motor function in patients after TKA, accelerating the overall recovery process.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"165"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12265350/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144649709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating self-assistance during functional reach with a passive hydrostatic exoskeleton under artificial impairment.","authors":"Julia Manczurowsky, Henry Mayne, David Nguyen, Meghan Kenney, John Peter Whitney, Christopher J Hasson","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01696-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01696-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Practicing functional upper-extremity tasks with manual self-assistance may promote motor recovery and restore voluntary control to an impaired limb, reducing reliance on external aid. However, most evidence comes from studies involving tasks with limited coordinative demands. In a functional task like reaching for and lifting an object, learning to generate coordinated assistive forces with an external device may pose bilateral sensorimotor challenges that limit motor learning in the impaired limb. To address this question, we developed a passive hydrostatic exoskeleton (hEXO) that enables self-assistance and paired it with an artificial impairment paradigm using Dysfunctional Electrical Stimulation (DFES), which induces involuntary hand closure during reaching.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty neurologically typical adults (26 ± 3 yrs) performed a reach-to-grasp and object lift task under challenging sensorimotor conditions: as fast as possible with their non-dominant hand while experiencing an artificial impairment induced by DFES. The stimulation functionally mimicked deficits related to a flexion synergy after neurological injury by making it difficult for participants to extend their fingers while reaching for an object. Experiment 1 assessed the short-term effects of DFES and wearing the hEXO. In Experiment 2, participants were randomly assigned to either a group that could self-assist with the hEXO (n = 10) or a control group that could not self-assist (n = 10) to investigate adaptation to self-assistance and transfer of motor performance to unassisted conditions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>DFES created a sensorimotor challenge and increased reach-to-grasp time by about 50% during early exposure. The self-assist group improved their reach-to-grasp times faster than controls (p = 0.008), achieved comparable reaching times (p = 0.060), and had a slightly higher incidence of unsuccessful attempts (about one in 20 attempts; p < 0.001). Reach-to-grasp performance did not decline following the removal of self-assistance, indicating no performance dependency. Both groups had similar movement times and success rates in the final unassisted practice block.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this sample of adults with an artificial impairment, self-assistance using a passive hydrostatic exoskeleton accelerated motor performance improvements without creating a dependency on the assistance. If replicated in clinical populations, this approach may help promote upper-limb functional independence.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"163"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12265121/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144642827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with acupuncture therapy on brain network functional connectivity in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a single-center randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Qiu Nie, Fang He, Linghui Dong, Xikai Lin, Jingyi Lin, Yinxu Wang, Yulei Xie","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01692-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01692-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In this study, we investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with acupuncture therapy on pain, dysfunction and functional connectivity in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and to evaluate its potential therapeutic value.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>In this single-center, randomized controlled trial, patients were recruited from May 2023 to August 2024 from the Departments of Rehabilitation, Orthopedics, and Pain Management at the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College. The patients were randomly assigned to three groups, including the acupuncture group, the tDCS group, and the combined acupuncture and tDCS group. All treatments were administered five times a week for two weeks. The condition of the patients was evaluated by the visual analog scale (VAS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the Lequesne index, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) before treatment and after two weeks of treatment, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 63 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to three groups. Three patients were excluded for work-related reasons, fear of acupuncture, or time conflicts repectively, which prevented further follow-up. The VAS score, WOMAC score, and Lequesne indexes of all patients were significantly lower after treatment than before treatment (P < 0.01). Compared to the tDCS group and the acupuncture group, the combined group showed greater improvements in the VAS score, WOMAC score, and Lequesne indexes (P < 0.05). The fNIRS results indicated a significant reduction in the mean cerebral functional connectivity strength based on oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) across all three groups following treatment (P < 0.05). The functional connectivity strengths of the HbO2-based LPFC ~ LPFC, RPFC ~ RPFC, LMC ~ LMC, RMC ~ RMC, LPFC ~ RPFC, LPFC ~ LMC, LPFC ~ RMC, RPFC ~ LMC, RPFC ~ RMC, LMC ~ RMC; HbR-based LPFC ~ LPFC, RPFC ~ RPFC, LMC ~ LMC, RMC ~ RMC, LPFC ~ LMC, LPFC ~ RMC and LMC ~ RMC in the combined group were significantly lower than those in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05).The HbO2-based LPFC ~ LPFC, RPFC ~ RPFC, LMC ~ LMC, and RMC ~ RMC in the combined group were significantly lower than those in the tDCS group (P < 0.01). Compared to those in the acupuncture group, the HbR-based LPFC ~ LPFC and LMC ~ LMC of the patients in the tDCS group were lower (P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The combination therapy of tDCS and acupuncture is better than monotherapy in relieving pain and dysfunction in patients with KOA. The improvement in efficacy may be related to the reduction in brain functional connectivity and may become a new treatment method for treating KOA.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ChiCTR2300073819.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"160"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257676/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144637274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A toolbox for the identification of foot-floor contact sequences to analyze atypical gait cycles in a real-life scenario: application on patients after proximal femur fracture and healthy elderly.","authors":"Marco Ghislieri, Nicolas Leo, Marco Caruso, Clemens Becker, Andrea Cereatti, Valentina Agostini","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01683-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01683-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The detection of gait subphases is pivotal for a comprehensive assessment of gait quality, playing a key role in different applications such as rehabilitation programs, movement disorder diagnostics, and fall prevention strategies. However, few methods provide dynamic subphase segmentation relying solely on plantar pressure signals in real-life, unsupervised conditions. This work aims to present an open-source, flexible toolbox for the automatic detection of gait subphases, and to introduce novel digital gait biomarkers derived from subphase analysis, enabling effective monitoring of frail patients in real-world, challenging environments.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A novel MATLAB toolbox for decoding gait subphases from plantar pressure signals (PIN2GPI - from Pressure INsoles to Gait Phase Identification) is described and made publicly available. To test our algorithm, the open database provided by the Mobilise-D consortium is used, focusing on walking bouts recorded through pressure insoles in an unsupervised setting during free activities of daily living (lasting approximately 2.5 h). We extracted relevant gait parameters from a population of 32 elderly subjects: 14 frail patients after Proximal Femur Fracture (PFF) and 18 older Healthy Adults (HA).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>On average, PFF patients showed, with respect to HA, a reduced number of gait cycles (1059 ± 201 vs. 2076 ± 246; p = 0.006), percentage of time spent walking (9.1 ± 1.7% vs. 15.0 ± 1.9%; p = 0.04), and cadence (39.2 ± 2.0 cycles/min vs. 45.7 ± 1.2 cycles/min; p = 0.007), as well as an increased percentage of atypical gait cycles on the worst side (8.8 ± 4.1%/min vs. 0.8 ± 0.1%/min; p = 0.007), interlimb gait asymmetries in flat-foot contact (6.9 ± 1.2% of the Gait Cycle (%GC) vs. 2.5 ± 0.4%GC; p = 0.007) and swing subphase durations (6.5 ± 1.6%GC vs. 1.6 ± 0.3%GC; p = 0.0003).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings highlight the potential of gait subphase analysis as a valuable tool for pinpointing key factors related to walking quality from real-life measurements collected during unsupervised monitoring of frail subjects, paving the way to more precise and objective gait assessment in real-life scenarios.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"161"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257802/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144637272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Different light color temperatures in the morning on the effectiveness of rehabilitation training in patients with ischemic stroke: a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled clinical trial.","authors":"Nan Wang, Yan Xue, Tongyue Wang, Fengxi Qiu, Cheng Li, Zhiyuan Wang, Jianke Jiang, Yi Lu, Yingqi Shao, Zhongfei Bai, Danmei Lan, Qilong Hu, Hengjing Wu","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01679-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01679-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, especially in China, where its incidence is rising. Post-stroke rehabilitation is crucial for restoring neurological function and improving quality of life. Light therapy, a non-pharmacological intervention, is gaining attention for its potential to promote neuroplasticity and enhance brain circulation. Warm and cold light, characterized by different color temperatures, have demonstrated beneficial effects on sleep quality, neurological recovery, and emotional well-being in stroke patients. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. This study explores the effects of different light color temperatures on stroke recovery to optimize rehabilitation approaches.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study was designed as a prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trial. 48 patients with ischemic stroke were randomly divided into three groups (1:1:1): warm light group (WLG, 500 lx, 3000 K, n = 16), cold light group (CLG, 500 lx, 6500 K, n = 16), and control group (CG, 500 lx, 5000 K, n = 16). Patients in all three groups received 60 min of rehabilitation therapy daily, from Monday to Friday between 8:30 and 9:30 AM, under light environments with different color temperatures. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Short Form-36 (SF-36), Self-Rating Sleep Scale (SRSS), and levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), norepinephrine (NE) and melatonin (MT) were measured before and after 4 weeks of intervention.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After 4 weeks intervention, CLG showed a significant reduction of NIHSS when compared to CG(p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.316) and WLG(p = 0.003, partial η² = 0.237). Although all three groups showed significant reductions in SRSS scores in the within-group comparisons, between-group comparisons revealed that CLG demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in SRSS compared to CG (p = 0.004, partial η² = 0.253) and WLG (p = 0.007, partial η² = 0.241). Regarding the SF-36, the physical component summary (PCS) score significantly decreased in both CG (Δ = -5.34 ± 7.35, p = 0.011) and WLG (Δ = -3.63 ± 4.68, p = 0.015), while CLG showed a significant improvement (Δ = 4.28 (8.78), p = 0.024). Between-group analysis demonstrated that post-intervention PCS scores were significantly higher in CLG compared to CG (p = 0.001, partial η² = 0.323) and WLG (p = 0.002, partial η² = 0.326), with no significant difference between CG and WLG (p = 0.104). Mental component summary (MCS) scores showed no statistically significant differences either within or between groups. No significant changes in NE and IL-6 levels were observed across all groups. CLG showed a significant reduction of MT when compared to WLG(p = 0.018, partial η² = 0.174). No apparent adverse events were reported.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrate","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"162"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12261708/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144637273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital biomechanical assessment of gait in patients with peripheral neuropathies.","authors":"Clara Tejada-Illa, Jordi Pegueroles, Mireia Claramunt-Molet, Ariadna Pi-Cervera, Ainhoa Heras-Delgado, Jesus Gascón-Fontal, Sebastian Idelsohn-Zielonka, Mari Rico, Nuria Vidal, Lorena Martín-Aguilar, Marta Caballero-Ávila, Cinta Lleixà, Roger Collet-Vidiella, Laura Llansó, Álvaro Carbayo, Ana Vesperinas, Luis Querol, Elba Pascual-Goñi","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01694-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01694-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The clinical status and treatment response of patients with peripheral neuropathies (PNs) rely on subjective and inaccurate clinical scales. Wearable sensors have been evaluated successfully in other neurological conditions to study gait and balance. Our aim was to explore the ability of biomechanical analysis using wearable technology to monitor disease activity in PN.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a single-center, longitudinal study to analyze gait parameters in PN patients and healthy controls using wearable biomechanical sensors. We used a novel technology that registers and integrates data from multiple wearable inertial sensors placed at different locations and plantar insoles. This system allows measuring kinematics, spatio-temporal parameters and plantar pressure. Patients wore the wearable system while performing the 2-min walking test (2MWT).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We included 37 chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) patients, 3 chronic ataxic neuropathy, ophthalmoplegia, immunoglobulin M [IgM] paraprotein (CANOMAD) patients, 21 monoclonal gammopathy patients of undetermined significance associated with IgM (IgM-MGUS) patients, 7 patients with autoimmune nodopathies, 11 patients with hereditary neuropathies, and 50 healthy controls. First, we analyzed the sensor's ability to detect changes in ataxia and steppage gait severity and found significant differences in spatiotemporal and angular variables of the gait cycle. Second, we found correlations between biomechanical features and clinical scales and with the specific gait phenotype they associated with. Finally, we demonstrated that this technology is able to capture clinically significant changes in gait features over time.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study provides proof-of-concept that wearable technology effectively detects and grades gait impairment, captures clinically relevant changes, and could enhance gait assessment in routine care and clinical research for patients with PN.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"159"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12257721/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144626570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Motor control enhancements by sub-threshold mechanical noise applied to foot soles during quiet standing.","authors":"Jeshaiah Zhen Syuen Khor, Boon Leong Lan, Alpha Agape Gopalai","doi":"10.1186/s12984-025-01697-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-025-01697-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Intervention to improve the balance ability of individuals with impaired balance is needed to prevent falls. While sub-threshold mechanical noise applied to foot soles has been shown to improve balance not only for balance-impaired but also healthy individuals, how calf muscle activity is changed to enhance motor control to achieve improvement has not been explored. To address this issue, we study the calf muscle activity of healthy young adults standing on firm and compliant surfaces, with and without noise applied to their feet. The compliant surface experiment simulates balance impairment. Center of pressure (COP) data was used to assess balance changes, surface electromyography (EMG) recorded muscle activity, and COP-EMG correlations measured muscle contribution to postural control. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the data between the control and noise conditions. On both surfaces, the applied noise enhanced motor control efficiency of all three calf muscle groups studied - the tibialis anterior (TA), lateral gastrocnemius lateralis (LG), and medial gastrocnemius (MG). Noise also increased the contribution of the LG muscle group to postural control in the anteroposterior direction. Our finding suggests that, for balance-impaired individuals with weak calf muscles, higher-frequency noise should be used - this will increase motor control efficiency, i.e., increase posture correction frequency with concomitant reduction in calf muscle contractions, which is well-suited to the weak muscles.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":"22 1","pages":"158"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12247419/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144618595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}