Biometric handwriting analysis to support Parkinson's Disease assessment and grading.

BACKGROUND: Handwriting represents one of the major symptom in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. The computer-aided analysis of the handwriting allows for the identification of promising patterns that might be useful in PD detection and rating. In this study, we propose an innovative set of features extracted by geometrical, dynamical and muscle activation signals acquired during handwriting tasks, and evaluate the contribution of such features in detecting and rating PD by means of artificial neural networks. METHODS: Eleven healthy subjects and twenty-one PD patients were enrolled in this study. Each involved subject was asked to write three different patterns on a graphic tablet while wearing the Myo Armband used to collect the muscle activation signals of the main forearm muscles. We have then extracted several features related to the written pattern, the movement of the pen and the pressure exerted with the pen and the muscle activations. The computed features have been used to classify healthy subjects versus PD patients and to discriminate mild PD patients from moderate PD patients by using an artificial neural network (ANN). RESULTS: After the training and evaluation of different ANN topologies, the obtained results showed that the proposed features have high relevance in PD detection and rating. In particular, we found that our approach both detect and rate (mild and moderate PD) with a classification accuracy higher than 90%. CONCLUSIONS: In this paper we have investigated the representativeness of a set of proposed features related to handwriting tasks in PD detection and rating. In particular, we used an ANN to classify healthy subjects and PD patients (PD detection), and to classify mild and moderate PD patients (PD rating). The implemented and tested methods showed promising results proven by the high level of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Such results suggest the usability of the proposed setup in clinical settings to support the medical decision about Parkinson's Disease.

Group psychological counseling to contrast academic burnout: a research protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Academic burnout is a condition characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, a distant attitude toward studying, and diminished self-efficacy in academic activities. Preliminary scientific findings indicate that interventions designed to alleviate work burnout also hold promise for mitigating academic burnout, however clear evidence based on randomized controlled trials is still missing. This research protocol describes a randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating the efficacy of an online group psychological intervention to contrast academic burnout. Participants with high levels of burnout will be assigned to a psychological counseling group or a waiting list control group. The research comprises several phases: (T0) Screening, Recruitment, and Randomization; (T1) Baseline assessment (pre-intervention); (T2) Outcome Assessment (post-intervention); and (T3) Follow-up Assessment (3 months post-intervention). The primary outcomes include burnout symptoms, general wellbeing, and academic achievement. Additionally, secondary variables such as effort-reward imbalances, satisfaction/frustration of basic psychological needs, intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation, coping strategies, and social support will be examined. The psychological intervention strategies will encompass psychoeducation, self-awareness enhancement, cognitive restructuring, and promotion of social support. This research protocol is an initial step toward evidence-based psychological interventions to treat academic burnout.

Online adaptive assistance control in robot-based neurorehabilitation therapy.

Repetitive and task specific robot-based rehabilitation has been proved to be effective for motor recovery over time. During a therapy, the task should improve subject's impaired movements, but also enhance their efforts for a more effective recovery. This requires an accurate tuning of the task difficulty, which should be tailored directly to the patient. In this work, we propose a system for real-time assistance adaptation based on online performance evaluation for post-stroke subjects. In particular, the aim of the system is to implement the "assist-as-needed" paradigm based on actual patients' motor skills during a therapy session with an active upper-limb robotic exoskeleton. The strength of the work is to propose a real-time algorithm for the assistance tuning based on an "assistance-performance" relationship. Such a relationship is based on experimental measurements, and allows the algorithm to compute a straightforward calculation of the assistance required. Finally, an assessment phase will show how the system provides assistance based on the difficulties experienced from the subjects, also facilitating their adaptation during the task.

Kids (learn how to) save lives in the school with the serious game Relive.

INTRODUCTION: Relive is a serious game focusing on increasing kids and young adults' awareness on CPR. We evaluated the use of Relive on schoolchildren. METHODS: A longitudinal, prospective study was carried out in two high schools in Italy over a 8-month period, divided in three phases: baseline, competition, and retention. Improvement in schoolchildren's CPR awareness, in terms of knowledge (MCQ results) and skills (chest compression (CC) rate and depth), was evaluated. Usability of Relive and differences in CC performance according to sex and BMI class were also evaluated. RESULTS: At baseline, students performed CC with a mean depth of 31mm and a rate of 95 cpm. In the competition phase, students performed CC with a mean depth of 46mm and a rate of 111 cpm. In the retention phase, students performed CC with a mean depth of 47mm and a rate of 131 cpm. Thus, the training session with Relive during the competition phase affected positively both CC depth (p<0.001) and rate (p<0.001). Such an effect persisted up to the retention phase. CC depth was also affected by gender (p<0.01) and BMI class (p<0.01). Indeed, CC depth was significantly greater in male players and in players with higher BMI. Seventy-three percent of students improved their CPR knowledge as represented by an increases in the MCQ score (p<0.001). The participants perceived the Relive to be easy to use with effective feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Relive is an useful tool to spread CPR knowledge and improve CPR skills in schoolchildren.

New generation emerging technologies for neurorehabilitation and motor assistance.

This paper illustrates the application of emerging technologies and human-machine interfaces to the neurorehabilitation and motor assistance fields. The contribution focuses on wearable technologies and in particular on robotic exoskeleton as tools for increasing freedom to move and performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This would result in a deep improvement in quality of life, also in terms of improved function of internal organs and general health status. Furthermore, the integration of these robotic systems with advanced bio-signal driven human-machine interface can increase the degree of participation of patient in robotic training allowing to recognize user's intention and assisting the patient in rehabilitation tasks, thus representing a fundamental aspect to elicit motor learning.

An EMG-Controlled Robotic Hand Exoskeleton for Bilateral Rehabilitation.

This paper presents a novel electromyography (EMG)-driven hand exoskeleton for bilateral rehabilitation of grasping in stroke. The developed hand exoskeleton was designed with two distinctive features: (a) kinematics with intrinsic adaptability to patient's hand size, and (b) free-palm and free-fingertip design, preserving the residual sensory perceptual capability of touch during assistance in grasping of real objects. In the envisaged bilateral training strategy, the patient's non paretic hand acted as guidance for the paretic hand in grasping tasks. Grasping force exerted by the non paretic hand was estimated in real-time from EMG signals, and then replicated as robotic assistance for the paretic hand by means of the hand-exoskeleton. Estimation of the grasping force through EMG allowed to perform rehabilitation exercises with any, non sensorized, graspable objects. This paper presents the system design, development, and experimental evaluation. Experiments were performed within a group of six healthy subjects and two chronic stroke patients, executing robotic-assisted grasping tasks. Results related to performance in estimation and modulation of the robotic assistance, and to the outcomes of the pilot rehabilitation sessions with stroke patients, positively support validity of the proposed approach for application in stroke rehabilitation.

Motion detection technology as a tool for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality training: a randomised crossover mannequin pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Outcome after cardiac arrest is dependent on the quality of chest compressions (CC). A great number of devices have been developed to provide guidance during CPR. The present study evaluates a new CPR feedback system (Mini-VREM: Mini-Virtual Reality Enhanced Mannequin) designed to improve CC during training. METHODS: Mini-VREM system consists of a Kinect(®) (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) motion sensing device and specifically developed software to provide audio-visual feedback. Mini-VREM was connected to a commercially available mannequin (Laerdal Medical, Stavanger, Norway). Eighty trainees (healthcare professionals and lay people) volunteered in this randomised crossover pilot study. All subjects performed a 2 min CC trial, 1h pause and a second 2 min CC trial. The first group (FB/NFB, n=40) performed CC with Mini-VREM feedback (FB) followed by CC without feedback (NFB). The second group (NFB/FB, n=40) performed vice versa. Primary endpoints: adequate compression (compression rate between 100 and 120 min(-1) and compression depth between 50 and 60mm); compressions rate within 100-120 min(-1); compressions depth within 50-60mm. RESULTS: When compared to the performance without feedback, with Mini-VREM feedback compressions were more adequate (FB 35.78% vs. NFB 7.27%, p<0.001) and more compressions achieved target rate (FB 72.04% vs. 31.42%, p<0.001) and target depth (FB 47.34% vs. 24.87%, p=0.002). The participants perceived the system to be easy to use with effective feedback. CONCLUSIONS: The Mini-VREM system was able to improve significantly the CC performance by healthcare professionals and by lay people in a simulated CA scenario, in terms of compression rate and depth.

Preliminary results of BRAVO project: brain computer interfaces for Robotic enhanced Action in Visuo-motOr tasks.

This paper presents the preliminary results of the project BRAVO (Brain computer interfaces for Robotic enhanced Action in Visuo-motOr tasks). The objective of this project is to define a new approach to the development of assistive and rehabilitative robots for motor impaired users to perform complex visuomotor tasks that require a sequence of reaches, grasps and manipulations of objects. BRAVO aims at developing new robotic interfaces and HW/SW architectures for rehabilitation and regain/restoration of motor function in patients with upper limb sensorimotor impairment through extensive rehabilitation therapy and active assistance in the execution of Activities of Daily Living. The final system developed within this project will include a robotic arm exoskeleton and a hand orthosis that will be integrated together for providing force assistance. The main novelty that BRAVO introduces is the control of the robotic assistive device through the active prediction of intention/action. The system will actually integrate the information about the movement carried out by the user with a prediction of the performed action through an interpretation of current gaze of the user (measured through eye-tracking), brain activation (measured through BCI) and force sensor measurements.