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- Brändström, Helge, et al.
(författare)
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Autonomic nerve system responses for normal and slow rewarmers after hand cold provocation : effects of long-term cold climate training
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer-Verlag New York. - 0340-0131 .- 1432-1246. ; 86:3, s. 357-365
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: Differences among individuals concerning susceptibility to local cold injury following acute cold exposure may be related to function of the autonomic nervous system. We hypothesized that there are differences in heart rate variability (HRV) between individuals with normal or more pronounced vasoconstriction following cold exposure and that there is an adaptation related to prolonged cold exposure in autonomic nervous system response to cold stimuli.METHODS: Seventy-seven young men performed a cold provocation test, where HRV was recorded during cold hand immersion and recovery. Forty-three subjects were re-examined 15 months later, with many months of cold weather training between the tests. Subjects were analyzed as 'slow' and 'normal' rewarmers according to their thermographic rewarming pattern.RESULTS: For the 'pre-training' test, before cold climate exposure, normal rewarmers had higher power for low-frequency (P(LF)) and high-frequency (P(HF)) HRV components during the cold provocation test (ANOVA for groups: p = 0.04 and p = 0.005, respectively). There was an approximately 25 % higher P(HF) at the start in normal rewarmers, in the logarithmic scale. Low frequency-to-high frequency ratio (P(LF)/P(HF)) showed lower levels for normal rewarmers (ANOVA for groups: p = 0.04). During the 'post-training' cold provocation test, both groups lacked the marked increase in heart rate that occurred during cold exposure at the 'pre-training' setting. After cold acclimatization (post-training), normal rewarmers showed lower resting power values for the low-frequency and high-frequency HRV components. After winter training, the slow rewarmers showed reduced low-frequency power for some of the cold provocation measurements but not all (average total P(LF), ANOVA p = 0.05), which was not present before winter training.CONCLUSIONS: These HRV results support the conclusion that cold adaptation occurred in both groups. We conclude that further prospective study is needed to determine whether cold adaptation provides protection to subjects at higher risk for cold injury, that is, slow rewarmers.
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- Brändström, Helge, et al.
(författare)
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Hand cold recovery responses before and after 15 months of military training in a cold climate
- 2008
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Ingår i: Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. - 0095-6562 .- 1943-4448. ; 79:9, s. 904-908
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: The ability of fingers to rapidly rewarm following cold exposure is a possible indicator of cold injury protection. We categorized the post-cooling hand-rewarming responses of men before and after participation in 15 mo of military training in a cold environment in northern Sweden to determine: 1) if the initial rewarming category was related to the occurrence of local cold injury during training; and 2) if cold training affected subsequent hand-rewarming responses. METHODS: Immersion of the dominant hand in 10 degrees C water for 10 min was performed pre-training on 77 men. Of those, 45 were available for successful post-training retests. Infrared thermography monitored the dorsal hand during 30 min of recovery. Rewarming was categorized as normal, moderate, or slow based on mean fingertip temperature at the end of 30 min of recovery (TFinger,30) and the percentage of time that fingertips were vasodilated (%VD). RESULTS: Cold injury occurrence during training was disproportionately higher in the slow rewarmers (four of the five injuries). Post-training, baseline fingertip temperatures and cold recovery variables increased significantly in moderate and slow rewarmers: TFinger30 increased from 21.9 +/- 4 to 30.4 +/- 6 degrees C (Moderate), and from 17.4 +/- 0 to 22.3 +/- 7 degrees C (Slow); %VD increased from 27.5 +/- 16 to 65.9 +/- 34% (Moderate), and from 0.7 +/- 2 to 31.7 +/- 44% (Slow). CONCLUSIONS: Results of the cold recovery test were related to the occurrence of local cold injury during long-term cold-weather training. Cold training itself improved baseline and cold recovery in moderate and slow rewarmers.
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- Bäcklund, Tomas, et al.
(författare)
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Novel, clinically applicable method to measure step-width during the swing phase of gait
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physiological Measurement. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0967-3334 .- 1361-6579. ; 41:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Step-width during walking is an indicator of stability and balance in patients with neurological disorders, and development of objective tools to measure this clinically would be a great advantage. The aim of this study was to validate an in-house-developed gait analysis system (Striton), based on optical and inertial sensors and a novel method for stride detection, for measuring step-width during the swing phase of gait and temporal parameters.Approach: The step-width and stride-time measurements were validated in an experimental setup, against a 3D motion capture system and on an instrumented walkway. Further, test-retest and day-to-day variability were evaluated, and gait parameters were collected from 87 elderly persons (EP) and four individuals with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) before/after surgery.Main results: Accuracy of the step-width measurement was high: in the experimental setup mean error was 0.08 +/- 0.25 cm (R = 1.00) and against the 3D motion capture system 0.04 +/- 1.12 cm (R = 0.98). Test-retest and day-to-day measurements were equal within +/- 0.5 cm. Mean difference in stride time was -0.003 +/- 0.008 s between Striton and the instrumented walkway. The Striton system was successfully applied in the clinical setting on individuals with iNPH, which had larger step-width (6.88 cm, n = 4) compared to EP (5.22 cm, n = 87).Significance: We conclude that Striton is a valid, reliable and wearable system for quantitative assessment of step-width and temporal parameters during gait. Initial measurements indicate that the newly defined step-width parameter differs between EP and patients with iNPH and before/after surgery. Thus, there is potential for clinical applicability in patients with reduced gait stability.
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- Bäcklund, Tomas, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Single sensor measurement of heel-height during the push-off phase of gait
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physiological Measurement. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0967-3334 .- 1361-6579. ; 42:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: In healthy gait a forceful push-off is needed to get an efficient leg swing and propulsion, and a high heel lift makes a forceful push-off possible. The power of the push-off is decreased with increased age and in persons with impaired balance and gait. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a wearable equipment (Striton) and algorithms to estimate vertical heel-height during gait from a single optical distance sensor is reliable and feasible for clinical applications.Approach: To assess heel-height with the Striton system an optical distance sensor was used to measure the distance to the floor along the shank. An algorithm was created to transform this measure to a vertical distance. The heel-height was validated in an experimental setup, against a 3D motion capture system (MCS), and test-retest and day-to-day tests were performed on 10 elderly persons. As a reference material 83 elderly persons were included, and heel-height was measured before and after surgery in four patients with the neurological disorder idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH).Main results: In the experimental setup the accuracy was high with a maximum error of 2% at all distances, target colours and inclination angles, and the correlation to the MCS was R = 0.94. Test-retest and day-to-day tests were equal within ±1.2 cm. Mean heel-height of the elderly persons was 16.5 ± 0.6 cm and in the patients with iNPH heel-height was increased from 11.2 cm at baseline to 15.3 cm after surgery.Significance: Striton can reliably measure heel-height during gait, with low test-retest and day-to-day variability. The system was easy to attach, and simple to use, which makes it suitable for clinical applications.
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- Du, Jiaying
(författare)
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Real-time signal processing in MEMS sensor-based motion analysis systems
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This PhD thesis focuses on real-time signal processing for hardware-limited micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor-based human motion analysis systems. The aim of the thesis is to improve the signal quality of MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers by minimizing the effects of signal errors, considering the hardware limitations and the users' perception.MEMS sensors such as MEMS gyroscopes and MEMS accelerometers are important components in motion analysis systems. They are known for their small size, light weight, low power consumption, low cost, and high sensitivity. This makes them suitable for wearable systems for measuring body movements. The data can further be used as input for advanced human motion analyses. However, MEMS sensors are usually sensitive to environmental disturbances such as shock, vibration, and temperature change. A large portion of the MEMS sensor signals actually originate from error sources such as noise, offset, null drift and temperature drift, as well as integration drift. Signal processing is regarded as the major key solution to reduce these errors. For real-time signal processing, the algorithms need to be executed within a certain specified time limit. Two crucial factors have to be considered when designing real-time signal processing algorithms for wearable embedded sensor systems. One is the hardware limitations leading to a limited calculation capacity, and the other is the user perception of the delay caused by the signal processing.Within this thesis, a systematic review of different signal error reduction algorithms for MEMS gyroscope-based motion analysis systems for human motion analysis is presented. The users’ perceptions of the delay when using different computer input devices were investigated. 50 ms was found as an acceptable delay for the signal processing execution in a real-time motion analysis system. Real-time algorithms for noise reduction, offset/drift estimation and reduction, improvement of position accuracy and system stability considering the above mentioned requirements, are presented in this thesis. The algorithms include a simplified high-pass filter and low-pass filter, a LMS algorithm, a Kalman filter, a WFLC algorithm, two simple novel algorithms (a TWD method and a velocity drift estimation method), and a novel combination method KWT. Kalman filtering was found to be efficient to reduce the problem of temperature drift and the WFLC algorithm was found the most suitable method to reduce human physiological tremor and electrical noise. The TWD method resulted in a signal level around zero without interrupting the continuous movement signal. The combination method improved the static stability and the position accuracy considerably. The computational time for the execution of the algorithms were all perceived as acceptable by users and kept within the specified time limit for real-time performance. Implementations and experiments showed that these algorithms are feasible for establishing high signal quality and good system performance in previously developed systems, and also have the potential to be used in similar systems.
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- Elmgren Frykberg, Gunilla, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
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How many trials are needed in kinematic analysis of reach-to-grasp? : A study of the drinking task in persons with stroke and non-disabled controls
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1743-0003. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Kinematic analysis of the 3D reach-to-grasp drinking task is recommended in stroke rehabilitation research. The number of trials required to reach performance stability, as an important aspect of reliability, has not been investigated for this task. Thus, the aims of this study were to determine the number of trials needed for the drinking task to reach within-session performance stability and to investigate trends in performance over a set of trials in non-disabled people and in a sample of individuals with chronic stroke. In addition, the between-sessions test–retest reliability in persons with stroke was established.Methods: The drinking task was performed at least 10 times, following a standardized protocol, in 44 non-disabled and 8 post-stroke individuals. A marker-based motion capture system registered arm and trunk movements during 5 pre-defined phases of the drinking task. Intra class correlation statistics were used to determine the number of trials needed to reach performance stability as well as to establish test–retest reliability. Systematic within-session trends over multiple trials were analyzed with a paired t-test.Results: For most of the kinematic variables 2 to 3 trials were needed to reach good performance stability in both investigated groups. More trials were needed for movement times in reaching and returning phase, movement smoothness, time to peak velocity and inter-joint-coordination. A small but significant trend of improvement in movement time over multiple trials was demonstrated in the non-disabled group, but not in the stroke group. A mean of 3 trials was sufficient to reach good to excellent test–retest reliability for most of the kinematic variables in the stroke sample.Conclusions: This is the first study that determines the number of trials needed for good performance stability (non-disabled and stroke) and test–retest reliability (stroke) for temporal, endpoint and angular metrics of the drinking task. For most kinematic variables, 3–5 trials are sufficient to reach good reliability. This knowledge can be used to guide future kinematic studies.
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