Browse the latest research summaries in the field of assistive technology for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 321-330 of 581 results
Med Eng Phys, 2014 • July 1, 2014
This study presents a different strategy from the SFS method to reduce the number of channels used in high-density surface EMG recordings, toward developing a practical myoelectric control system. The...
KEY FINDING: Appropriate selection of a small number of raw EMG features from different recording channels resulted in similar high classification accuracies as achieved by using all the EMG channels or features.
The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2017 • July 1, 2017
This randomized clinical trial is among the first to examine the short-term impact of a structured, evidenced-based transfer-training program among pediatric wheelchair users. Results indicate that af...
KEY FINDING: Intervention group participants demonstrated significant improvements among TAI scores (9.06 ± 1.01) compared to the control group (7.15 ± 1.67), P = 0.030, d = 1.385.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol, 2016 • May 1, 2016
The study investigated the comfort levels of wheelchair users with different backrest types (sling vs. rigid) using the TAWC. Results indicated a trend of rigid backrests being less comfortable than s...
KEY FINDING: The study found a trend suggesting that rigid backrests are less comfortable compared to sling backrests.
Qualitative Health Research, 2014 • November 1, 2014
This qualitative study explored the experiences of assistive technology (AT) users and providers within the Navajo Nation. Focus groups were conducted to gather data on AT awareness, needs, use, satis...
KEY FINDING: AT users often feel misunderstood by society, government, insurers, and healthcare providers, leading to unmet needs and a lack of support.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2014 • September 2, 2014
This study presents a feedback-controlled arm neuroprosthesis for individuals with limited arm and shoulder function, combining NMES with a passive exoskeleton for gravity compensation. The system use...
KEY FINDING: The control system was able to perform a drinking task in all five healthy subjects, who remained passive during the movements.
PLoS ONE, 2014 • October 27, 2014
This study investigates the use of human walking data to control the gait of a bipedal robot, RunBot II, by establishing a causal relationship between foot contact and muscle activity. Adaptive filter...
KEY FINDING: There is a causal relationship between ground contact information from the heel and EMG, which allows the creation of a minimal, linear, analogue control system for controlling walking.
Neural Regeneration Research, 2014 • September 1, 2014
Virtual reality training is a technology that simulates a three-dimensional virtual world on a computer and enables the generation of visual, audio, and haptic feedback for the full immersion of users...
KEY FINDING: Virtual reality training activates the prefrontal, parietal cortical areas and other motor cortical networks, potentially aiding in the reconstruction of neurons in the cerebral cortex.
Neurorehabil Neural Repair, 2015 • June 1, 2015
This study demonstrates the use of an intracortical BCI for communication by an individual with incomplete locked-in syndrome, achieving typing rates over 10 correct characters per minute. A novel Rad...
KEY FINDING: The participant achieved typing rates over 10 correct characters per minute using the Radial Keyboard.
The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 2017 • January 1, 2017
This study investigated the correlation between power seat function (PSF) usage and wheelchair discomfort in power wheelchair users. The results indicated that increasing the frequency of using tilt a...
KEY FINDING: The frequency of using tilt, recline, and legrest functions is significantly correlated with discomfort intensity.
Med Eng Phys, 2014 • December 1, 2014
This study presents a novel framework for suppressing the effects of the involuntary background spikes by combining a Wiener filter [4] and a priori SNR estimation via the decision-directed method (us...
KEY FINDING: After the processing, the onset detection of voluntary muscle activity was significantly improved against involuntary background spikes.