198 research outputs found
Retrainer project: Perspectives and lesson learnt on clinical trial in rehabilitation robotics to foster industrial exploitation
No full textThe RETRAINER (Reaching and grasping Training based on Robotic hybrid AssIstance for Neurological patients: End users Real life evaluation) project is an Innovation Action funded by the European Commission under the H2020 research framework programme. The project aims at a full technology transfer of the results of a previous FP7 project, MUNDUS, aimed at the development of upper limb assistive technologies, to a robotic system for upper limb and hand rehabilitation to be tested in a wide clinical trial with stroke survivors in two clinical centers. The final result of the project is the design of a validated system suitable to address the rehabilitation market. Along this project’s path, several issues affecting both development and validation have been pointed out and are here summarized to serve as lesson learnt for prospective projects and challenges
A kinematic study on (un)intentional imitation in bottlenose dolphins
No full textThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of observing other's movements on subsequent performance in bottlenose dolphins. The imitative ability of non-human animals has intrigued a number of researchers. So far, however, studies in dolphins have been confined to intentional imitation concerned with the explicit request to imitate other agents. In the absence of instruction to imitate, do dolphins (un)intentionally replicate other's movement features? To test this, dolphins were filmed while reaching and touching a stimulus before and after observing another dolphin (i.e., model) performing the same action. All videos were reviewed and segmented in order to extract the relevant movements. A marker was inserted post hoc via software on the videos upon the anatomical landmark of interest (i.e., rostrum) and was tracked throughout the time course of the movement sequence. The movement was analyzed using an in-house software developed to perform two-dimensional (2D) post hoc kinematic analysis. The results indicate that dolphins' kinematics is sensitive to other's movement features. Movements performed for the "visuomotor priming" condition were characterized by a kinematic pattern similar to that performed by the observed dolphin (i.e., model). Addressing the issue of spontaneous imitation in bottlenose dolphins might allow ascertaining whether the potential or impulse to produce an imitative action is generated, not just when they intend to imitate, but whenever they watch another conspecific's behavior. In closing, this will clarify whether motor representational capacity is a by-product of factors specific to humans or whether more general characteristics such as processes of associative learning prompted by high level of encephalization could help to explain the evolution of this ability
Long-term outcomes of medial CMI implant versus partial medial meniscectomy in patients with concomitant ACL reconstruction
No full textPURPOSE:
To compare the clinical, objective and radiographic long-term results of patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) lesion and partial medial meniscus defects, treated with ACL reconstruction and partial medial meniscectomy or medial CMI implant.
METHODS:
Seventeen patients treated with combined ACL reconstruction and medial CMI and 17 patients treated with ACL reconstruction and partial medial meniscectomy were evaluated with mean follow-up 9.6 years with Lysholm, Tegner, objective and subjective International Knee Documentation Committee scores, and VAS for pain. Arthrometric evaluation was performed with KT 2000. Weigh-bearing radiographs, antero-posterior and Rosenberg view, were also performed and evaluated with Kellgren-Lawrence score, Ahlback score and joint space narrowing.
RESULTS:
Pre-operative demographic parameters and clinical scores between patients treated with CMI and partial medial meniscectomy revealed no significant differences. A significant improvement of all the clinical scores was detected in both groups from pre-operative status to final follow-up. No significant difference between groups were found for clinical and radiographic scores; however, the chronic subgroup of patients treated with CMI showed a significantly lower level of post-operative knee pain compared to patients treated with partial medial meniscectomy and the acute subgroup of medial CMI showed better arthrometric scores.
CONCLUSION:
Good long-term clinical results in terms of stability, subjective outcomes and objective evaluation were reported both for medial CMI implant and partial medial meniscectomy, combined with ACL reconstruction for the treatment of partial medial meniscus tears combined with ACL lesions. Chronic meniscal tears treated with medial CMI reported lower levels of post-operative pain compared to meniscectomy, while acute lesions treated with medial CMI showed less knee laxity. Therefore, the use of the collagen meniscus implant in the case of anterior knee instability with a meniscal defect appears justified and able to improve clinical outcomes in the long term.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:
Retrospective comparative study, Level III
Free context smartphone based application for motor activity levels recognition
No full textDespite being considered as simple everyday objects, smartphones have the most innovative sensors and electronics technology built in. These features make them powerful, nonintrusive tools for monitoring the user's physical and cognitive performance. This study aims at exploiting smartphone-based physical activity identification, implementing a classification algorithm that makes use of data extracted from in-built smart-phone's accelerometer and gyroscope. Data were gathered from three subjects carrying a standard smartphone equipped with a devoted application able to acquire data from the smartphone' sensors and send them to a remote server. We implemented a specific software that uses K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifiers to recognize the type of activity performed with 1.5 seconds granularity. We evaluated the performances of the two classifiers in the cases of 3 (low/medium/high intensity activity) and 4 (rest/walk/stairs/run) activity levels classification. The 3 levels classification showed accuracy and F-1 scores always >90% for both classifiers, whereas the 4 levels classification was not effective in distinguishing between walk and climbing stairs. A reliable classification among low, medium, and high intensity activity demonstrates to be a meaningful achievement for overall monitoring of physical activity level, giving a precise and fairly accurate estimation of type and duration of the activity
Long term results after ACL reconstruction associated with medial collagen meniscus implant
No full textIt’s all in the type of the task: Dopamine modulates kinematic patterns during competitive vs. cooperative interaction in Parkinson’s disease
No full textIncreasing evidence suggests that a dysfunctional dopaminergic system affects the ability to socially interact. Since Parkinson's disease (PD) provides a model for assessing dopaminergic dysfunctions in humans, our study was designed to investigate social interactions in PD patients receiving dopamine replacement therapy (Levodopa=L-Dopa) and in neurologically healthy controls. We focused on the kinematics of one action, reaching to grasp a wooden block, which was performed within the context of two basic modes of social cognition, namely cooperation and competition. During the cooperative tasks, two participants were instructed to reach and grasp their respective objects and to cooperate in forming a specific configuration on the working table. During the competitive tasks, two participants were instructed to compete to place their own object at the bottom of a tower to be built on the working table. PD patients' ability to modulate motor patterning depending on the intention motivating the action they were about to perform was evaluated in both "on" (with L-Dopa) and "off" (without L-Dopa) states. Study results revealed that both the healthy controls and the 'on' PD patients had distinct kinematic patterns for cooperative and competitive actions and that these differed from patterns mirroring similar actions performed by those same participants in non social conditions. The kinematic patterns of the healthy controls and the 'on' patients were highly correlated during the cooperative tasks. The 'of PD patients were, instead, unable to differentiate between isolated and social conditions. These results support the hypothesis that dopaminergic neurotransmission is involved in shaping the mechanisms underlying social interactions
The origin of human handedness and its role in pre-birth motor control
No full textThe vast majority of humans are right-handed, but how and when this bias emerges during human ontogenesis is still unclear. We propose an approach that explains postnatal handedness starting from 18 gestational weeks using a kinematic analysis of different fetal arm movements recorded during ultrasonography. Based on the hand dominance reported postnatally at age 9, the fetuses were classified as right-handed (86%) or left-handed, in line with population data. We revealed that both right-handed and left-handed fetuses were faster to reach to targets requiring greater precision (i.e., eye and mouth), with their dominant (vs. non-dominant) hand. By using either movement times or deceleration estimates, handedness can be inferred with a classification accuracy ranging from 89 to 100% from gestational week 18. The reliability of this inference hints to the yet unexplored potential of standard ultrasonography to advance our understanding of prenatal life
Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis affects inteleukin-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-10 production by human mononuclear phagocytes
No full textMicrobial virulence and cytokine-mediated immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are important determinants of the pathogenesis of human tuberculosis. To determine the interrelationship between mycobacterial virulence and cytokine induction, human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages were infected with attenuated (H37Ra) and virulent (H37Rv and CH306) strains of M. tuberculosis and the amount of proinflammatory [interleukin (IL)-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)- 1] and inhibitory (IL- 10) cytokines was measured in the culture supernatants by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Infection with live bacilli induced de novo synthesis of IL-8, MCP-1 and IL-10, since cytokine release was abolished when cells were preincubated with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. A differential production of antiinflammatory and inhibitory cytokines was observed. The amount of IL-8 and MCP-1 release was inversely related to strain virulence, the attenuated H37Ra strain being more prone than virulent strains to induce secretion of chemokines. In contrast, virulent strains induced greater amounts of the inhibitory cytokine IL-10. Efficient upregulation of IL-10 synthesis, but not of chemokines, required infection of cells with live bacilli, since heat killing of organisms or challenge with soluble mycobacterial products completely abrogated the effect. Moreover, cells infected with virulent strains produced IL-10 even at a very low bacillus-to-cell ratio and secreted IL-10 continuously during the 96 h that followed infection. The results suggest that the degree of virulence affects host cell responses to M. tuberculosis infection. Continued production of IL-10 may be one of the means by which M. tuberculosis downregulates acute local inflammatory reactions, favoring the development of tuberculosis
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