A Survey of Perspectives on Telemedicine for Patients With Parkinson's Disease.

OBJECTIVE: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients often find it difficult to visit hospitals because of motor symptoms, distance to the hospital, or the absence of caregivers. Telemedicine is one way to solve this problem. METHODS: We surveyed 554 PD patients from eight university hospitals in Korea. The questionnaire consisted of the clinical characteristics of the participants, possible teleconferencing. METHODS: , and preferences for telemedicine. RESULTS: A total of 385 patients (70%) expressed interest in receiving telemedicine. Among them, 174 preferred telemedicine whereas 211 preferred in-person visits. The longer the duration of disease, and the longer the time required to visit the hospital, the more patients were interested in receiving telemedicine. CONCLUSION: This is the first study on PD patients' preferences regarding telemedicine in Korea. Although the majority of patients with PD have a positive view of telemedicine, their interest in receiving telemedicine depends on their different circumstances.

Clinical correlates of pareidolias and color discrimination deficits in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder and Parkinson's disease.

Visuoperceptual dysfunction is common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and is also reported in its prodromal phase, isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). We aimed to investigate color discrimination ability and complex visual illusions known as pareidolias in patients with iRBD and PD compared to healthy controls, and their associating clinical factors. 46 iRBD, 43 PD, and 64 healthy controls performed the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test and noise pareidolia tests. Any relationship between those two visual functions and associations with prodromal motor and non-motor manifestations were evaluated, including MDS-UPDRS part I to III, Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test, sleep questionnaires, and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. iRBD and PD patients both performed worse on the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test and had greater number of pareidolias compared to healthy controls. No correlations were found between the extent of impaired color discrimination and pareidolia scores in either group. In iRBD patients, pareidolias were associated with frontal executive dysfunction, while impaired color discrimination was associated with visuospatial dysfunction, hyposmia, and higher MDS-UPDRS-III scores. Pareidolias in PD patients correlated with worse global cognition, whereas color discrimination deficits were associated with frontal executive dysfunction. Color discrimination deficits and pareidolias are frequent but does not correlate with each other from prodromal to clinically established stage of PD. The different pattern of clinical associates with the two visual symptoms suggests that evaluation of both color and pareidolias may aid in revealing the course of neurodegeneration in iRBD and PD patients.

Feasibility and efficacy of video-call speech therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease: A preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Speech therapy is highly effective for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who have speech difficulties; however, its accessibility is limited. Online video-call speech therapy has been explored as an alternative option for PD patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of video-call speech therapy for PD patients. METHODS: This prospective, comparative study was conducted between July and September 2022. PD patients with speech difficulties were divided into two groups, online speech therapy via video call and in-person therapy at hospital, based on their willingness to visit the hospital frequently. The patients underwent 12 sessions of speech therapy, focusing on respiration and phonation. Acoustic assessments, auditory-perceptual assessment, and voice handicap index (K-VHI10) were evaluated at baseline, post-therapy, and follow-up. RESULTS: Eleven patients were enrolled in the study, though one patient from the online group withdrew. Ten patients completed the therapy (five in each group) without missing a session. The baseline acoustic measurements did not differ between the two groups. After therapy, both group showed an increase in voice intensity and improvement in overall loudness. The post-therapy change from baseline in the acoustic measurements was not significantly different between the two groups. The effect of therapy were maintained in the follow-up evaluation in both groups. The K-VHI10 decreased significantly from baseline to post-therapy and further at follow-up in both groups, with no significant difference between two groups. CONCLUSION: The online speech therapy via video call is feasible in PD patients with speech difficulties and as effective as in-person therapy.

Measurement Issue in Antecollis.

Background: Antecollis is defined as an involuntary forward flexion of the neck. Previous reports have measured the neck flexion angles based on the line perpendicular to the ground. This led to an inflation of the neck flexion angles in patients who had combined forward truncal flexions, especially upper camptocormia. Methods: We examined the neck flexion angles and the upper camptocormia angle in the published photographs of antecollis. MEDLINE search was conducted using the following search terms: antecollis OR anterocollis. Lateral-view photographs of patients diagnosed with antecollis were collected. Neck flexion angles were measured with the classic 'perpendicular method' and the 'antecollis method' we developed. Results: Nine patient photographs were identified. While antecollis was the only described postural abnormality in eight cases, these patients exhibited upper camptocormia angles of 45° or larger. The mean neck flexion angle measured with the antecollis method was 49.7°, while the perpendicular method yielded 103.4°. Discussion: Upper camptocormia should be considered in the evaluation of antecollis. We propose a new method to measure neck flexion in relation to the torso, instead of the vertical line.

Parainfectious Anti-Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein-Associated Meningoencephalitis.

Movement disorders associated with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) autoantibodies have rarely been reported as ataxia or tremors. A 32-year-old man with headache and fever, initially diagnosed with viral meningoencephalitis, showed gradual improvement with empirical treatment. Two weeks after the illness, he suddenly developed orofacial, tongue, and neck dyskinesia accompanied by oculomotor abnormalities, which developed into severe generalized choreoballism. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) showed signal hyperintensities in the bilateral globus pallidus interna. The clinical picture suggested an acute inflammatory trigger of secondary autoimmune encephalitis. The autoimmune antibody test was positive for GFAP, with the strongest reactivity in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) before treatment and decreased reactivity in serial CSF examinations during immunotherapy. Dyskinesia gradually improved to the extent that it could be controlled with only oral medications. This patient presented with parainfectious GFAP meningoencephalitis with distinctive clinical features and imaging findings.

Compact Measurement of the Optical Power in High-Power LED Using a Light-Absorbent Thermal Sensor.

LED (Light-Emitting Diode) presents advantages such as luminescence, reliability, durability compared with conventional lighting. It has been widely applied for life, healthcare, smart farm, industry, and lighting from indoor to the automotive headlamp. However, the LED is vulnerable to thermal damage originated from the high junction temperature, especially in high power applications. Hence, it requires precise qualification on the optical power and the junction temperature from the pilot line to secure reliability. In this study, the photo-thermal sensor is proposed by employing a sheet-type thermocouple composed of photo-absorbent metal film and thermocouple. This sensor aims low-cost qualification in pilot line for high-power luminous devices and optical monitoring of costly luminaire such as automobile LED headlamp. The sensor is designed to detect the increased temperature response of LED hot spots from the transferred thermal power and absorbed optical power. The temperature response of each sheet-type thermocouple is utilized as a signal output of the absorbed optical power and hot spot temperature based on the introduced sensor equation. The proposed thermal sensor is evaluated by comparing the experiment with the measured reference value from the integrating sphere and the attached thermocouple at a junction. The experiment result reveals 3% of the maximum error for the optical power of 645 mW.

Parosmia in Right-lateralized Semantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Case Report.

Parosmia, defined as the distorted perception of an odor stimulus, has been reported to be associated with head trauma, upper respiratory tract infections, sinonasal diseases, and toxin/drug consumption. To date, little is known about parosmia in right-lateralized semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. A 60-year-old right-handed man presented with a 2-year history of parosmia and prosopagnosia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated severe atrophy of the right anterior and mesial temporal lobe, particularly in the fusiform cortex and the regions known as the primary olfactory cortex. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose position emission tomography showed asymmetric hypometabolism of the bilateral temporal lobes (right > left). We clinically diagnosed him with right-lateralized semantic variant primary progressive aphasia. As the right hemisphere is known to be more involved in the processing of pleasant odors than the left hemisphere, we speculate that the unique manifestation of parosmia observed in this patient might be associated with the lateralization of the olfactory system.

Modeling of reflection-type laser-driven white lighting considering phosphor particles and surface topography.

This paper presents a model of blue laser diode (LD)-based white lighting coupled with a yellow YAG phosphor, for use in the proper design and fabrication of phosphor in automotive headlamps. First, the sample consisted of an LD, collecting lens, and phosphor was prepared that matches the model. The light distribution of the LD and the phosphor were modeled to investigate an effect of the surface topography and phosphor particle properties on the laser-driven white lighting systems by using the commercially available optical design software. Based on the proposed model, the integral spectrum distribution and the color coordinates were discussed.

Phase-locked loop based on machine surface topography measurement using lensed fibers.

We present the phase-locked loop (PLL)-based metrology concept using lensed fibers for on-machine surface topography measurement. The shape of a single-mode fiber at the endface was designed using an ABCD matrix method, and two designed lensed fibers-the ball type and the tapered type-were fabricated, and the performance was evaluated, respectively. As a result, the interferometric fringe was not found in the case of the ball lensed fiber, but the machined surface could be measured by utilization of autofocusing and intensity methods. On the other hand, a very clear Fizeau interferometric fringe was observed in the case of the tapered lensed fiber. Its performance was compared with the results of the capacitance sensor and a commercially available white-light interferometer. We confirmed that PLL-based surface profile measurement using the tapered and ball lensed fibers can be applied for on-machine surface topography measurement applications.

Design and fabrication of a fingerprint imager with compact LED illumination and compact imaging optics.

In this study, we presented a light-emitting diode-based (LED) miniaturized optical pattern imager for slim mobile phone application. To meet volume constraints, we designed a miniaturized compact illuminating and imaging optical component. The objective was to minimize optical loss using several nano- and micro-fabrication methods. After integration into a single optical body, the prototype imager-with dimensions of 6.8 × 2.2 × 2.5 mm and a weight of 0.4 g-demonstrated clear feasibility in measuring 2D micropatterns with widths of 50 and 10 µm.

LED beam shaping lens based on the near-field illumination.

This paper presents a novel method in near-field beam shaping based on the precise optical modeling of a gallium nitride light-emitting diode (GaN LED). A Monte Carlo ray tracing simulation has been utilized to calculate the spatial photon distribution near the LED's top. By analyzing the ray data in near-field, the miniaturized lens profile is created and machined with aspherical surfaces and total internal reflection (TIR) Fresnel facets. The prototype lens reduce the viewing angle of the LED from 150 degrees to 17.5 degrees at full width half maximum (FWHM) while increasing the peak luminous intensity 10 times. The array of proposed lens with CSP LEDs exhibits feasibility of ultra thin uniform illumination in near-field.