Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation最新文献

{"title":"Influence of virtual reality and task complexity on digital health metrics assessing upper limb function","authors":"Christoph M. Kanzler, Tom Armand, Leonardo Simovic, Ramona Sylvester, Nadine Domnik, Antonia M. Eilfort, Carola Rohner, Roger Gassert, Roman Gonzenbach, Olivier Lambercy","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01413-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-024-01413-x","url":null,"abstract":"Technology-based assessments using 2D virtual reality (VR) environments and goal-directed instrumented tasks can deliver digital health metrics describing upper limb sensorimotor function that are expected to provide sensitive endpoints for clinical studies. Open questions remain about the influence of the VR environment and task complexity on such metrics and their clinimetric properties. We aim to investigate the influence of VR and task complexity on the clinimetric properties of digital health metrics describing upper limb function. We relied on the Virtual Peg Insertion Test (VPIT), a haptic VR-based assessment with a virtual manipulation task. To evaluate the influence of VR and task complexity, we designed two novel tasks derived from the VPIT, the VPIT-2H (VR environment with reduced task complexity) and the PPIT (physical task with reduced task complexity). These were administered in an observational longitudinal study with 27 able-bodied participants and 31 participants with multiple sclerosis (pwMS, VPIT and PPIT only) and the value of kinematic and kinetic metrics, their clinimetric properties, and the usability of the assessment tasks were compared. Intra-participant variability strongly increased with increasing task complexity (coefficient of variation + 56%) and was higher in the VR compared to the physical environment (+ 27%). Surprisingly, this did not translate into significant differences in the metrics’ measurement error and test–retest reliability across task conditions (p > 0.05). Responsiveness to longitudinal changes in pwMS was even significantly higher (effect size + 0.35, p < 0.05) for the VR task with high task complexity compared to the physical instrumented task with low task complexity. Increased inter-participant variability might have compensated for the increased intra-participant variability to maintain good clinimetric properties. No significant influence of task condition on concurrent validity was present in pwMS. Lastly, pwMS rated the PPIT with higher usability than the VPIT (System Usability Scale + 7.5, p < 0.05). The metrics of both the VR haptic- and physical task-based instrumented assessments showed adequate clinimetric properties. The VR haptic-based assessment may be superior when longitudinally assessing pwMS due to its increased responsiveness. The physical instrumented task may be advantageous for regular clinical use due to its higher usability. These findings highlight that both assessments should be further validated for their ideal use-cases.","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141780429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine learning for automating subjective clinical assessment of gait impairment in people with acquired brain injury - a comparison of an image extraction and classification system to expert scoring.","authors":"Ashleigh Mobbs, Michelle Kahn, Gavin Williams, Benjamin F Mentiplay, Yong-Hao Pua, Ross A Clark","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01406-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01406-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Walking impairment is a common disability post acquired brain injury (ABI), with visually evident arm movement abnormality identified as negatively impacting a multitude of psychological factors. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) qualifiers scale has been used to subjectively assess arm movement abnormality, showing strong intra-rater and test-retest reliability, however, only moderate inter-rater reliability. This impacts clinical utility, limiting its use as a measurement tool. To both automate the analysis and overcome these errors, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of a novel two-level machine learning model to assess arm movement abnormality during walking in people with ABI.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Frontal plane gait videos were used to train four networks with 50%, 75%, 90%, and 100% of participants (ABI: n = 42, healthy controls: n = 34) to automatically identify anatomical landmarks using DeepLabCut^™ and calculate two-dimensional kinematic joint angles. Assessment scores from three experienced neurorehabilitation clinicians were used with these joint angles to train random forest networks with nested cross-validation to predict assessor scores for all videos. Agreement between unseen participant (i.e. test group participants that were not used to train the model) predictions and each individual assessor's scores were compared using quadratic weighted kappa. One sample t-tests (to determine over/underprediction against clinician ratings) and one-way ANOVA (to determine differences between networks) were applied to the four networks.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The machine learning predictions have similar agreement to experienced human assessors, with no statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference for any match contingency. There was no statistically significant difference between the predictions from the four networks (F = 0.119; p = 0.949). The four networks did however under-predict scores with small effect sizes (p range = 0.007 to 0.040; Cohen's d range = 0.156 to 0.217).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrated that machine learning can perform similarly to experienced clinicians when subjectively assessing arm movement abnormality in people with ABI. The relatively small sample size may have resulted in under-prediction of some scores, albeit with small effect sizes. Studies with larger sample sizes that objectively and automatically assess dynamic movement in both local and telerehabilitation assessments, for example using smartphones and edge-based machine learning, to reduce measurement error and healthcare access inequality are needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11264460/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141748419","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":"Differential training benefits and motor unit remodeling in wrist force precision tasks following high and low load blood flow restriction exercises under volume-matched conditions.","authors":"Yen-Ting Lin, Chun-Man Wong, Yi-Ching Chen, Yueh Chen, Ing-Shiou Hwang","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01419-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01419-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Blood flow restriction (BFR) resistance training has demonstrated efficacy in promoting strength gains beneficial for rehabilitation. Yet, the distinct functional advantages of BFR strength training using high-load and low-load protocols remain unclear. This study explored the behavioral and neurophysiological mechanisms that explain the differing effects after volume-matched high-load and low-load BFR training.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-eight healthy participants were randomly assigned to the high-load blood flow restriction (BFR-HL, n = 14) and low-load blood flow restriction (BFR-LL, n = 14) groups. They underwent 3 weeks of BFR training for isometric wrist extension at intensities of 25% or 75% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with matched training volume. Pre- and post-tests included MVC and trapezoidal force-tracking tests (0-75%-0% MVC) with multi-channel surface electromyography (EMG) from the extensor digitorum.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The BFR-HL group exhibited a greater strength gain than that of the BFR-LL group after training (BFR_HL: 26.96 ± 16.33% vs. BFR_LL: 11.16 ± 15.34%)(p = 0.020). However, only the BFR-LL group showed improvement in force steadiness for tracking performance in the post-test (p = 0.004), indicated by a smaller normalized change in force fluctuations compared to the BFR-HL group (p = 0.048). After training, the BFR-HL group activated motor units (MUs) with higher recruitment thresholds (p < 0.001) and longer inter-spike intervals (p = 0.002), contrary to the BFR-LL group, who activated MUs with lower recruitment thresholds (p < 0.001) and shorter inter-spike intervals (p < 0.001) during force-tracking. The discharge variability (p < 0.003) and common drive index (p < 0.002) of MUs were consistently reduced with training for the two groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>BFR-HL training led to greater strength gains, while BFR-LL training better improved force precision control due to activation of MUs with lower recruitment thresholds and higher discharge rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11264616/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141727270","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":"Hybrid approaches to allied health services for children and young people: a scoping review.","authors":"Tal Krasovsky, Patrice L Weiss, Liat Gafni-Lachter, Rachel Kizony, Naomi Gefen","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01401-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01401-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hybrid models that integrate both in-person and remote health services are increasingly recognized as a promising approach. Nevertheless, research that defines and characterizes these models in children and young people is scarce and essential for establishing guidelines for implementation of hybrid allied health services. This scoping review evaluates four key aspects of hybrid allied health services in children and young people: 1. definitions, 2. service characteristics, 3. outcome measures, and 4. results of hybrid allied health services.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Six databases were searched: Medline (Ovid), Embase, CINHAL, Psycinfo, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Web of Science. Of the 9,868 studies potentially meeting the inclusion criteria, 49 studies focused on children and young people. Following full-text review, n = 21 studies were included.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Terminology used for hybrid allied health services varied across studies which targeted diverse clinical populations and varied in study design, type and frequency of remote and in-person treatments. Over 75% of cases used custom-written software, limiting scalability. All interventions started in-person, possibly to establish a therapeutic alliance and solve technological issues. Most hybrid allied health services (67%) were in mental health, while only a minority involved physical, occupational or speech therapy. The most common outcomes were feasibility and satisfaction, but tools used to measure them were inconsistent. Although 57% of studies demonstrated effectiveness of hybrid allied health services, none measured cost-effectiveness.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Despite the potential of hybrid allied health services for children and young people, the literature remains at a preliminary stage. Standardization of definitions and outcome measures, and clearer reporting of service characteristics and results would likely promote consolidation of hybrid allied health services in children and young people into clinical practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11264746/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141727271","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":"Cholinergic nucleus degeneration and its association with gait impairment in Parkinson's disease.","authors":"Xiaodan Zhang, Mateng Wang, Shi Yeow Lee, Yumei Yue, Zhaoying Chen, Yilin Zhang, Lulu Wang, Qiongfeng Guan, Weinv Fan, Ting Shen","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01417-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01417-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The contribution of cholinergic degeneration to gait disturbance in Parkinson's disease (PD) is increasingly recognized, yet its relationship with dopaminergic-resistant gait parameters has been poorly investigated. We investigated the association between comprehensive gait parameters and cholinergic nucleus degeneration in PD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study enrolled 84 PD patients and 69 controls. All subjects underwent brain structural magnetic resonance imaging to assess the gray matter density (GMD) and volume (GMV) of the cholinergic nuclei (Ch123/Ch4). Gait parameters under single-task (ST) and dual-task (DT) walking tests were acquired using sensor wearables in PD group. We compared cholinergic nucleus morphology and gait performance between groups and examined their association.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PD patients exhibited significantly decreased GMD and GMV of the left Ch4 compared to controls after reaching HY stage > 2. Significant correlations were observed between multiple gait parameters and bilateral Ch123/Ch4. After multiple testing correction, the Ch123/Ch4 degeneration was significantly associated with shorter stride length, lower gait velocity, longer stance phase, smaller ankle toe-off and heel-strike angles under both ST and DT condition. For PD patients with HY stage 1-2, there were no significant degeneration of Ch123/4, and only right side Ch123/Ch4 were corrected with the gait parameters. However, as the disease progressed to HY stage > 2, bilateral Ch123/Ch4 nuclei showed correlations with gait performance, with more extensive significant correlations were observed in the right side.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study demonstrated the progressive association between cholinergic nuclei degeneration and gait impairment across different stages of PD, and highlighting the potential lateralization of the cholinergic nuclei's impact on gait impairment. These findings offer insights for the design and implementation of future clinical trials investigating cholinergic treatments as a promising approach to address gait impairments in PD.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11256459/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141723744","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":"Implementation of a unilateral hip flexion exosuit to aid paretic limb advancement during inpatient gait retraining for individuals post-stroke: a feasibility study.","authors":"Chih-Kang Chang, Christina Lee, Richard W Nuckols, Asa Eckert-Erdheim, Dorothy Orzel, Maxwell Herman, Jennifer Traines, Sara Prokup, Arun Jayaraman, Conor J Walsh","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01410-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01410-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>During inpatient rehabilitation, physical therapists (PTs) often need to manually advance patients' limbs, adding physical burden to PTs and impacting gait retraining quality. Different electromechanical devices alleviate this burden by assisting a patient's limb advancement and supporting their body weight. However, they are less ideal for neuromuscular engagement when patients no longer need body weight support but continue to require assistance with limb advancement as they recover. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using a hip flexion exosuit to aid paretic limb advancement during inpatient rehabilitation post-stroke.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fourteen individuals post-stroke received three to seven 1-hour walking sessions with the exosuit over one to two weeks in addition to standard care of inpatient rehabilitation. The exosuit assistance was either triggered by PTs or based on gait events detected by body-worn sensors. We evaluated clinical (distance, speed) and spatiotemporal (cadence, stride length, swing time symmetry) gait measures with and without exosuit assistance during 2-minute and 10-meter walk tests. Sessions were grouped by the assistance required from the PTs (limb advancement and balance support, balance support only, or none) without exosuit assistance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PTs successfully operated the exosuit in 97% of sessions, of which 70% assistance timing was PT-triggered to accommodate atypical gait. Exosuit assistance eliminated the need for manual limb advancement from PTs. In sessions with participants requiring limb advancement and balance support, the average distance and cadence during 2-minute walk test increased with exosuit assistance by 2.2 ± 3.1 m and 3.4 ± 1.9 steps/min, respectively (p < 0.017). In sessions with participants requiring balance support only, the average speed during 10-meter walk test increased with exosuit by 0.07 ± 0.12 m/s (p = 0.042). Clinical and spatiotemporal measures of independent ambulators were similar with and without exosuit (p > 0.339).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We incorporated a unilateral hip flexion exosuit into inpatient stroke rehabilitation in individuals with varying levels of impairments. The exosuit assistance removed the burden of manual limb advancement from the PTs and resulted in improved gait measures in some conditions. Future work will understand how to optimize controller and assistance profiles for this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11256417/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141723745","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":"Intelligent ankle-foot prosthesis based on human structure and motion bionics.","authors":"Baoyu Li, Guanghua Xu, Zhicheng Teng, Dan Luo, Jinju Pei, Ruiquan Chen, Sicong Zhang","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01414-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01414-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ankle-foot prosthesis aims to compensate for the missing motor functions by fitting the motion characteristics of the human ankle, which contributes to enabling the lower-limb amputees to take care of themselves and improve mobility in daily life. To address the problems of poor bionic motion of the ankle-foot prosthesis and the lack of natural interaction among the patient, prosthesis, and the environment, we developed a complex reverse-rolling conjugate joint based on the human ankle-foot structure and motion characteristics, the rolling joint was used to simulate the rolling-sliding characteristics of the knee joint. Meanwhile, we established a segmental dynamics model of the prosthesis in the stance phase, and the prosthetic structure parameters were obtained with the optimal prosthetic structure dimensions and driving force. In addition, a carbon fiber energy-storage foot was designed based on the human foot profile, and the dynamic response of its elastic strain energy at different thicknesses was simulated and analyzed. Finally, we integrated a bionic ankle-foot prosthesis and experiments were conducted to verify the bionic nature of the prosthetic joint motion and the energy-storage characteristics of the carbon fiber prosthetic foot. The proposed ankle-foot prosthesis provides ambulation support to assist amputees in returning to social life normally and has the potential to help improve clinical viability to reduce medical rehabilitation costs.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11245770/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141603780","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":"Inter-joint coordination with and without dopaminergic medication in Parkinson's disease: a case-control study.","authors":"Karolina Saegner, Robbin Romijnders, Clint Hansen, Jana Holder, Elke Warmerdam, Walter Maetzler","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01416-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01416-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>How the joints exactly move and interact and how this reflects PD-related gait abnormalities and the response to dopaminergic treatment is poorly understood. A detailed understanding of these kinematics can inform clinical management and treatment decisions. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of different gait speeds and medication on/off conditions on inter-joint coordination, as well as kinematic differences throughout the whole gait cycle in well characterized pwPD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>29 controls and 29 PD patients during medication on, 8 of them also during medication off walked a straight walking path in slow, preferred and fast walking speeds. Gait data was collected using optical motion capture system. Kinematics of the hip and knee and coordinated hip-knee kinematics were evaluated using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and cyclograms (angle-angle plots). Values derived from cyclograms were compared using repeated-measures ANOVA for within group, and ttest for between group comparisons.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PD gait differed from controls mainly by lower knee range of motion (ROM). Adaptation to gait speed in PD was mainly achieved by increasing hip ROM. Regularity of gait was worse in PD but only during preferred speed. The ratios of different speed cyclograms were smaller in the PD groups. SPM analyses revealed that PD participants had smaller hip and knee angles during the swing phase, and PD participants reached peak hip flexion later than controls. Withdrawal of medication showed an exacerbation of only a few parameters.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings demonstrate the potential of granular kinematic analyses, including > 1 joint, for disease and treatment monitoring in PD. Our approach can be extended to further mobility-limiting conditions and other joint combinations.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>The study is registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00022998, registered on 04 Sep 2020).</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11245779/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141603781","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":"Factors leading to falls in transfemoral prosthesis users: a case series of prosthesis-side stumble recovery responses.","authors":"Shane T King, Maura E Eveld, Karl E Zelik, Michael Goldfarb","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01402-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01402-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Falls due to stumbling are prevalent for transfemoral prosthesis users and may lead to increased injury risk. This preliminary case series analyzes the transfemoral prosthesis user stumble recovery response to highlight key deficits in current commercially-available prostheses and proposes potential interventions to improve recovery outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Six transfemoral prosthesis users were perturbed on their prosthetic limb at least three times while walking on a treadmill using obstacle perturbations in early, mid and late swing. Kinematic data were collected to characterize the response, while fall rate and key kinematic recovery metrics were used to assess the quality of recovery and highlight functional deficits in current commercially-available prostheses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across all participants, 13 (54%) of the 24 trials resulted in a fall (defined as > 50% body-weight support) with all but one participant (83%) falling at least once and two participants (33%) falling every time. In contrast, in a previous study of seven young, unimpaired, non-prosthesis users using the same experimental apparatus, no falls occurred across 190 trials. For the transfemoral prosthesis users, early swing had the highest rate of falling at 64%, followed by mid-swing at 57%, and then late swing at 33%. The trend in falls was mirrored by the kinematic recovery metrics (peak trunk angle, peak trunk angular velocity, forward reach of the perturbed limb, and knee angle at ground contact). In early swing all four metrics were deficient compared to non-prosthesis user controls. In mid swing, all but trunk angular velocity were deficient. In late swing only forward reach was deficient.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Based on the stumble recovery responses, four potential deficiencies were identified in the response of the knee prostheses: (1) insufficient resistance to stance knee flexion upon ground contact; (2) insufficient swing extension after a perturbation; (3) difficulty initiating swing flexion following a perturbation; and (4) excessive impedance against swing flexion in early swing preventing the potential utilization of the elevating strategy. Each of these issues can potentially be addressed by mechanical or mechatronic changes to prosthetic design to improve quality of recovery and reduce the likelihood a fall.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11245817/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141603779","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":"Dual-task improvement of older adults after treadmill walking combined with blood flow restriction of low occlusion pressure: the effect on the heart-brain axis.","authors":"Yi-Ching Chen, I-Ping Lo, Yi-Ying Tsai, Chen-Guang Zhao, Ing-Shiou Hwang","doi":"10.1186/s12984-024-01412-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12984-024-01412-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study explored the impact of one session of low-pressure leg blood flow restriction (BFR) during treadmill walking on dual-task performance in older adults using the neurovisceral integration model framework.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-seven older adults participated in 20-min treadmill sessions, either with BFR (100 mmHg cuff pressure on both thighs) or without it (NBFR). Dual-task performance, measured through light-pod tapping while standing on foam, and heart rate variability during treadmill walking were compared.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Following BFR treadmill walking, the reaction time (p = 0.002) and sway area (p = 0.012) of the posture dual-task were significantly reduced. Participants exhibited a lower mean heart rate (p < 0.001) and higher heart rate variability (p = 0.038) during BFR treadmill walking. Notably, BFR also led to band-specific reductions in regional brain activities (theta, alpha, and beta bands, p < 0.05). The topology of the EEG network in the theta and alpha bands became more star-like in the post-test after BFR treadmill walking (p < 0.005).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>BFR treadmill walking improves dual-task performance in older adults via vagally-mediated network integration with superior neural economy. This approach has the potential to prevent age-related falls by promoting cognitive reserves.</p>","PeriodicalId":16384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11241870/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141600205","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}