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Methods and Tools for the Development of Virtual Platforms for Motor Rehabilitation
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Human-Automation Interaction pp 23–41Cite as
Methods and Tools for the Development of Virtual Platforms for Motor Rehabilitation
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Methods and Tools for the Development of Virtual Platforms for Motor Rehabilitation
Andrea Vitali, Daniele Regazzoni & Caterina Rizzi
Chapter
First Online: 15 December 2022
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Part of the Automation, Collaboration, & E-Services book series (ACES,volume 12)
Abstract
The chapter presents the design of virtual platforms based on maker-less motion capture systems to monitor the rehabilitation process of different categories of patients. The method starts from the requirements of the rehabilitation personnel and, according with patients’ needs, transforms them into novel ICT tools exploiting consumer technology. Three different patients’ conditions have been investigated: spinal cord injury, shoulder trauma or surgery and gait analysis of lower limb amputee. First, a virtual platform based on a marker-less motion capture (Mocap) system for the automated movements analysis of patients using a wheelchair is described. Then, the combined use of Mocap technology with Convolutional Neural Network to improve tracking capabilities is shown and, finally, an integrated solution to monitor and detect gait abnormalities of amputee wearing a lower limb prosthesis
Dal foborgo al palco di Madama Ghigliottina: la lingua della Rivoluzione nell’Armata dei Sonnambuli. Andrea Bresadola dialoga con Wu Ming 2
No full textDialogo con lo scrittore Wu Ming 2, in cui si ripercorrono le fasi di ricerca, creazione e stesura di quello che il collettivo Wu Ming considera il proprio ultimo e definitivo romanzo storico: l’Armata dei Sonnambuli (Einaudi, 2014). Il volume porta a compimento un percorso iniziato dal gruppo bolognese nel 1999 con il best seller Q, che ridefinì i parametri e i limiti del genere in una narrazione che superava etichette e rigide definizioni amalgamando elementi storici, metafore politiche e artifici letterari. L’Armata dei Sonnambuli è l’opera di Wu Ming che più si presta a una riflessione sul fare letteratura come creazione linguistica. Il microcosmo della Parigi di fine Settecento in cui è ambientato il romanzo, infatti, si materializza davanti al lettore anche grazie alla caratterizzazione dei diversi idioletti che la compongono. Wu Ming 2 traccia così la nascita, lo sviluppo e la funzione di questi universi linguistici che ambiscono a offrire un “punto di vista sghembo” sulla Rivoluzione francese: la lingua del popolo di Parigi, l’alverniate, il dialetto bolognese, le storpiature dei controrivoluzionari e la parlata enfatica dell’eroe mascherato Scaramouche. Ci si concentra, in particolare, sulla lingua del popolo, del “foborgo”: una ricercata deformazione in cui si uniscono e sovrappongono calchi del francese settecentesco basso, popolarismi, traduzioni innaturali, italianizzazioni del dialetto, arcaismi, neologismi, false derivazioni, onomatopee, forme sgrammaticate o gergali e un esteso campionario di alterazioni lessicali, morfologiche e sintattiche. Si discute con l’autore, infine, del rapporto di Wu Ming con i traduttori e con le case editrici che, nel corso degli anni, hanno trasposto la loro opera in altre lingue, con uno sguardo, in particolare, alle versioni spagnole e catalane
Acquisition of customer’s tailor measurements for 3D clothing design using virtual reality devices
No full textOver recent years, various virtual prototyping technologies have been developed to innovate apparel industry. For each step of the garment design process one can find dedicated tools (from body acquisition to garment modelling and simulation) with the aim of making the process easier and faster. However, most of them are based on expensive solutions both for hardware and software systems. In this paper, we focus the attention on the first step of the made-to-measure garment design, i.e. customer’s measures acquisition. We present a plug-in, named Tailor Tracking, which permits to get the measurements by interacting with the customer’s avatar using hands as in the traditional way. Tailor Tracking has been developed using low cost devices, such as Microsoft Kinect sensor, Leap motion device and Oculus Rift, and open source libraries, such as Visualisation Toolkit (VTK) and Qt. The proposed approach is based on the use of multiple Kinect v2 to simultaneously acquire both customer’s body and motion. This permits to emulate the customer’s postures required to take the correct measurements. In addition, a virtual measuring tape is made available to replicate the one commonly used by the tailor. A men shirt has been considered as case study and a tailor and 14 people with no skills in garment design and different levels of experience in virtual reality technology have been involved to preliminary test Tailor tracking. Finally, tests as well as results reached so far are presented and discussed. Results have been considered quite good; however, some critical measures have been identified as well as future developments. Anyway, Tailor Tracking can represent an alternative solution to the existing approaches that automatically extract anthropometric measures from the customer’s avatar
Assessment of ventricular-arterial coupling in early stage middle-aged hypertensives by clinical parameters, vascular ultrasound and speckle tracking echocardiography
No full textBackground: By aging and cardiovascular comorbidities ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC) alters, indicating a myocardial dysfunction and/or a stiffening of the arterial system.
Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that lifestyle changes (LC) and anti-hypertensive drug treatment (AHDT) reduced VAC in recent diagnosed early stage middle-aged hypertensives (HTN) without organ damage. Arterial elastance (Ea), carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (cfPWV), Global Longitudinal Strain (GLS) and Myocardial Work (MW) [in all its components: global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), global work efficiency (GWE)] were also investigated.
Materials and methods: This retrospective observational study selected 126 individuals (mean age 40 years; 55% female), divided into two groups (HTN and NT). Clinical, echocardiographic and echo vascular parameters were assessed. LC were asked to HTN. If BP values still remained high AHDT has been administred.
Results: Significant higher values of Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), Heart Rate (HR), GWI, GCW and GWW were observed in HTN. By following LC, BP (DBP and MAP), HR, VAC, Ea, cfPWV, GWE and GLS were found changed in HTN; after following 6 months AHDT, BP (SBP, DBP and MAP), HR, VAC, Ea, cfPWV, GWI, GCW, GWW, GWE and GLS were found changed. VAC was linear related to PWV and GLS at two follow ups.
Discussion: No statistically significant difference in VAC between the HTN and NT was found, probably due to a small sample and lack of longitudinal analysis in NT. Along with decrease in BP, stop-smoking and HR control highlighted a significant role in cardiovascular prevention by the improvement of VAC, Ea, cfPWV, GLS and MW.
Conclusions: VAC altered in middle-aged young onset hypertension with the prevalence of active smoking and increased HR
Augmented interaction for custom-fit products by means of interaction devices at low costs
No full textThis Ph.D thesis refers to a research project that aims at developing an innovative platform to design lower limb prosthesis (both for below and above knee amputation) centered on the virtual model of the amputee and based on a computer-aided and knowledge-guided approach. The attention has been put on the modeling tool of the socket, which is the most critical component of the whole prosthesis. The main aim has been to redesign and develop a new prosthetic CAD tool, named SMA2 (Socket Modelling Assistant2) exploiting a low-cost IT technologies (e.g. hand/finger tracking devices) and making the user’s interaction as much as possible natural and similar to the hand-made manipulation. The research activities have been carried out in six phases as described in the following.
First, limits and criticalities of the already available modeling tool (namely SMA) have been identified. To this end, the first version of SMA has been tested with Ortopedia Panini and the orthopedic research group of Salford University in Manchester with real case studies. Main criticalities were related to: (i) automatic reconstruction of the residuum geometric model starting from medical images, (ii) performance of virtual modeling tools to generate the socket shape, and (iii) interaction mainly based on traditional devices (e.g., mouse and keyboard).
The second phase lead to the software reengineering of SMA according to the limits identified in the first phase. The software architecture has been re-designed adopting an object-oriented paradigm and its modularity permits to remove or add new features in a very simple way. The new modeling system, i.e. SMA2, has been totally implemented using open source Software Development Kit-SDK (e.g., Visualization ToolKit VTK, OpenCASCADE and Qt SDK) and based on low cost technology. It includes:
• A new module to automatically reconstruct the 3D model of the residual limb from MRI images. In addition, a new procedure based on low-cost technology, such as Microsoft Kinect V2 sensor, has been identified to acquire the 3D external shape of the residuum.
• An open source software library, named SimplyNURBS, for NURBS modeling and specifically used for the automatic reconstruction of the residuum 3D model from medical images. Even if, SimplyNURBS has been conceived for the prosthetic domain, it can be used to develop NURBS-based modeling tools for a range of applicative domains from health-care to clothing design.
• A module for mesh editing to emulate the hand-made operations carried out by orthopedic technicians during traditional socket manufacturing process. In addition several virtual widgets have been implemented to make available virtual tools similar to the real ones used by the prosthetist, such as tape measure and pencil.
• A Natural User Interface (NUI) to allow the interaction with the residuum and socket models using hand-tracking and haptic devices.
• A module to generate the geometric models for additive manufacturing of the socket.
The third phase concerned the study and design of augmented interaction with particular attention to the Natural User Interface (NUI) for the use of hand-tracking and haptic devices into SMA2. The NUI is based on the use of the Leap Motion device. A set of gestures, mainly iconic and suitable for the considered domain, has been identified taking into account ergonomic issues (e.g., arm posture) and ease of use. The modularity of SMA2 permits us to easily generate the software interface for each device for augmented interaction. To this end, a software module, named Tracking plug-in, has been developed to automatically generate the source code of software interfaces for managing the interaction with low cost hand-tracking devices (e.g., Leap Motion and Intel Gesture Camera) and replicate/emulate manual operations usually performed to design custom-fit products, such medical devices and garments. Regarding haptic rendering, two different devices have been considered, the Falcon Novint, and a haptic mouse developed in-house.
In the fourth phase, additive manufacturing technologies have been investigated, in particular FDM one. 3D printing has been exploited in order to permit the creation of trial sockets in laboratory to evaluate the potentiality of SMA2. Furthermore, research activities have been done to study new ways to design the socket. An innovative way to build the socket has been developed based on multi-material 3D printing. Taking advantage of flexible material and multi-material print possibility, new 3D printers permit to create object with soft and hard parts. In this phase, issues about infill, materials and comfort have been faced and solved considering different compositions of materials to re-design the socket shape.
In the fifth phase the implemented solution, integrated within the whole prosthesis design platform, has been tested with a transfemoral amputee. Following activities have been performed:
• 3D acquisition of the residuum using MRI and commercial 3D scanning systems (low cost and professional).
• Creation of the residual limb and socket geometry.
• Multi-material 3D printing of the socket using FDM technology.
• Gait analysis of the amputee wearing the socket using a markerless motion capture system.
• Acquisition of contact pressure between residual limb and a trial socket by means of Teskan’s F-Socket System.
Acquired data have been combined inside an ad-hoc developed application, which permits to simultaneously visualize pressure data on the 3D model of the residual lower limb and the animation of gait analysis. Results and feedback have been possible thanks to this application that permits to find correlation between several phases of the gait cycle and the pressure data at the same time. Reached results have been considered very interested and several tests have been planned in order to try the system in orthopedic laboratories in real cases. The reached results have been very useful to evaluate the quality of SMA2 as a future instruments that can be exploited for orthopedic technicians in order to create real socket for patients. The solution has the potentiality to begin a potential commercial product, which will be able to substitute the classic procedure for socket design.
The sixth phase concerned the evolution of SMA2 as a Mixed Reality environment, named Virtual Orthopedic LABoratory (VOLAB). The proposed solution is based on low cost devices and open source libraries (e.g., OpenCL and VTK). In particular, the hardware architecture consists of three Microsoft Kinect v2 for human body tracking, the head mounted display Oculus Rift SDK 2 for 3D environment rendering, and the Leap Motion device for hand/fingers tracking. The software development has been based on the modular structure of SMA2 and dedicated modules have been developed to guarantee the communication among the devices. At present, two preliminary tests have been carried out: the first to verify real-time performance of the virtual environment and the second one to verify the augmented interaction with hands using SMA2 modeling tools. Achieved results are very promising but, highlighted some limitations of this first version of VOLAB and improvements are necessary. For example, the quality of the 3D real world reconstruction, especially as far as concern the residual limb, could be improved by using two HD-RGB cameras together the Oculus Rift.
To conclude, the obtained results have been evaluated very interested and encouraging from the technical staff of orthopedic laboratory. SMA2 will made possible an important change of the process to design the socket of lower limb prosthesis, from a traditional hand-made manufacturing process to a totally virtual knowledge-guided process. The proposed solutions and results reached so far can be exploited in other industrial sectors where the final product heavily depends on the human body morphology. In fact, preliminary software development has been done to create a virtual environment for clothing design by starting from the basic modules exploited in SMA2
Parution - Itinéraires d'hommes, trajectoires d'objets. Mélanges offerts à Daniele Vitali
No full text Itinéraires d'hommes, trajectoires d'objets. Mélanges offerts à Daniele Vitali Arianna Esposito, Nicolas Delferrière, Andrea Fochesato (dir.) Le présent ouvrage rassemble vingt-deux contributions inédites rédigées par des amis et collègues français et étrangers ainsi que par d'anciens étudiants pour rendre hommage à Daniele Vitali à l'occasion de son départ à la retraite. Leur diversité thématique reflète l'ampleur du spectre des recherches abordées et partagées au cours d'une carrière pro..
Play design and sense-making: players and games as digital interactive contexts for effects of sense
No full textA virtual environment to emulate tailor’s work
No full textIn fashion industry, 2D and 3D CAD systems to design garments already exist; however, some tasks of the process are neglected. We refer to made-to-measure garments and focus the attention on the first step of garment design, i.e. acquisition of customer’s measurement. In this paper we present an application based on mixed reality, named Tailor LABoratory (TLAB), which permits to take measures for clothing design as traditionally done by the tailor. TLAB has been developed using open source libraries (e.g., VTK and Blender) and low cost devices, such as Microsoft Kinect v2 to scan the human body, Oculus Rift v2 to create the 3D virtual reality and Leap Motion device to track hands motion. In particular, a virtual tape measure is made available to take measures interacting with the human avatar. To replicate the customer’s posture with her/his digital model, Blender has been adopted. It permits to manage body animations and automatic association of an animation to the 3D human avatar. Finally, preliminary tests are illustrated as well as results reached so far and future development
Bergamo Scienza 2024 - La Scuola in Piazza (Evento Public Engagement)
No full textPRESENTAZIONE DEL CONTESTO
La misura e analisi del movimento riveste un ruolo fondamentale nei contesti clinico e riabilitativo, offrendo preziosi strumenti per migliorare la salute e la qualità della vita delle persone. Allo stesso modo, misurare e quantificare il movimento in ambito sportivo è cruciale per il miglioramento e l’ottimizzazione della prestazione così come nella comprensione dei meccanismi alla base degli infortuni, nella prevenzione di questi ultimi e nel loro recupero efficace. In ambito clinico e riabilitativo, ad esempio, l’analisi del movimento consente di valutare in modo obiettivo e accurato le capacità motorie dei pazienti, identificando eventuali disfunzioni o limitazioni funzionali che compromettono il movimento e permettendo quindi al personale medico-sanitario di definire interventi terapeutici mirati e personalizzati, di valutare e migliorare l’efficacia di tali interventi. In modo analogo, nel mondo dello sport, gli allenatori, i preparatori atletici e i medici dello sport possono quantificare e analizzare i gesti tecnici sport-specifici, individuando aree di miglioramento e, contestualmente, lavorando sulla prevenzione e riduzione degli infortuni o sul loro recupero efficace.
Le tecnologie e metodologie comunemente utilizzate per la misura del movimento umano sono generalmente telecamere optoelettroniche in grado di misurare la posizione di marcatori catarifrangenti apposti sulla persona in combinazione a piattaforme in gradi di misurare le forze scambiate con il terreno. Tuttavia, queste strumentazioni sono confinate ad un ambiente di laboratorio. Per questo motivo e grazie ai notevoli avanzamenti tecnologici degli ultimi anni, la sensoristica indossabile è prepotentemente approdata nel modo dell’analisi del movimento, consentendo di acquisire informazioni legate al movimento di pazienti e atleti direttamente sul campo, nella vita reale e senza interferire in modo significativo con le attività di vita quotidiana delle persone. Un esempio lampante di tutto ciò sono i fitness trackers che molti di noi portano al polso.
DESCRIZIONE DELLA PROPOSTA
L’attività proposta si basa sull’utilizzo di sensori indossabili per la misura del movimento e si propone di raccontare in modo interattivo e partecipato cosa è l’analisi del movimento con le sue potenzialità e limitazioni. Nello specifico, l’attività si pone l’obiettivo di mostrare come è possibile acquisire dati relativi al movimento in modo rapido e non invasivo, ottenendo informazioni relative alla qualità del nostro cammino, ad esempio, della nostra postura o, più in generale, del movimento eseguito.
A tal fine verranno utilizzati due sistemi di analisi del movimento basati su sensori inerziali indossabili disponibili presso il DIGIP. I sensori verranno posizionati su un numero predefinito di parti del corpo (tipicamente arti inferiori e tronco, ma anche arti superiori) dei partecipanti volontari o del personale di ateneo coinvolto nell’attività, verrà poi chiesto al soggetto di camminare (o di effettuare altri movimenti a seconda di dove sono stati posizionati i sensori) e verranno acquisiti dati di accelerazione, velocità angolare e orientamento dei vari segmenti corporei. Questi ultimi, in particolare, genereranno un avatar virtuale che il partecipante potrà vedere in tempo reale e che rappresenterà in modo virtuale tutti i suoi movimenti. Verranno mostrati e spiegati i dati raccolti e, nel caso di uno dei due sistemi, sarà possibile esportare un report di alcune attività predefinite (cammino, postura, alzata e seduta dalla sedia) dal quale i partecipanti potranno ricevere un riscontro immediato sulla qualità del loro movimento
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