Video-based quantification of human movement frequency using pose estimation: A pilot study

Assessment of repetitive movements (e.g., finger tapping) is a hallmark of motor examinations in several neurologic populations. These assessments are traditionally performed by a human rater via visual inspection; however, advances in computer vision offer potential for remote, quantitative assessment using simple video recordings. Here, we evaluated a pose estimation approach for measurement of human movement frequency from smartphone videos. Ten healthy young participants provided videos of themselves performing five repetitive movement tasks (finger tapping, hand open/close, hand pronation/supination, toe tapping, leg agility) at four target frequencies (1–4 Hz). We assessed the ability of a workflow that incorporated OpenPose (a freely available whole-body pose estimation algorithm) to estimate movement frequencies by comparing against manual frame-by-frame (i.e., ground-truth) measurements for all tasks and target frequencies using repeated measures ANOVA, Pearson’s correlations, and intraclass correlations. Our workflow produced largely accurate estimates of movement frequencies; only the hand open/close task showed a significant difference in the frequencies estimated by pose estimation and manual measurement (while statistically significant, these differences were small in magnitude). All other tasks and frequencies showed no significant differences between pose estimation and manual measurement. Pose estimation-based detections of individual events (e.g., finger taps, hand closures) showed strong correlations (all r>0.99) with manual detections for all tasks and frequencies. In summary, our pose estimation-based workflow accurately tracked repetitive movements in healthy adults across a range of tasks and movement frequencies. Future work will test this approach as a fast, quantitative, video-based approach to assessment of repetitive movements in clinical populations.

Low-cost SARS-CoV-2 vaccine homogenization system for Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vials

<p>The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been affecting all sectors worldwide, and efforts have been targeting the enhancement of people’s health and labour conditions of collaborators belonging to healthcare institutions. The recent vaccines emerging against covid-19 are seen as a solution to address the problem that has already killed up to two million people. The preparation of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine requires a specific manipulation before its administration. A correct homogenization with saline solution is needed and, therefore, a manual process with a predefined protocol should be accomplished. This action can endanger the operators’ ergonomics due to the repetitive movement of the process. This paper proposes a low-cost prototype incorporating an arduino based embedded system actuating a servomotor to perform an autonomous vials’ homogenization allowing to redirect these healthcare workers to other tasks. Moreover, a contactless start order process was implemented to avoid contact with the operator and, consequently, the contamination. The prototype was successfully tested and recognised, and is being applied during the preparation of the covid-19 vaccines at the hospital pharmacy of <em>Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho</em>, <em>E.P.E.</em>, Portugal. It can be easily replicated since the source files to assemble it are provided by the authors.</p>

Rituals, rigidity and cognitive load: A competitive test of ritual benefits for stress

<p>A central hypothesis to account for the ubiquity of rituals across cultures is their supposed anxiolytic effects: rituals being maintained because they reduce existential anxiety and uncertainty. We aimed to test the anxiolytic effects of rituals by investigating two possible underlying mechanisms for it: cognitive load and repetitive movement. In our pre-registered experiment (osf.io/rsu9x), 180 undergraduates took part in either a stress or a control condition and were subsequently assigned to either control, cognitive load, undirected movement, a combination of undirected movement and cognitive load, or a ritualistic intervention. Using both repeated self-report measures and continuous physiological indicators of anxiety, we failed to find direct support for a cognitive suppression effect of anxiety trough ritualistic behavior. Nevertheless, we found that induced stress increased participants’ subsequent repetitive behavior, which in turn reduced physiological arousal. This study provides novel evidence for plausible underlying effects of the proposed anxiolytic effect of rituals: repetitive behavior but not cognitive load may decrease physiological stress responses during ritual.</p>

Rituals, rigidity and cognitive load: A competitive test of ritual benefits for stress

<p>A central hypothesis to account for the ubiquity of rituals across cultures is their supposed anxiolytic effects: rituals being maintained because they reduce existential anxiety and uncertainty. We aimed to test the anxiolytic effects of rituals by investigating two possible underlying mechanisms for it: cognitive load and repetitive movement. In our pre-registered experiment (osf.io/rsu9x), 180 undergraduates took part in either a stress or a control condition and were subsequently assigned to either control, cognitive load, undirected movement, a combination of undirected movement and cognitive load, or a ritualistic intervention. Using both repeated self-report measures and continuous physiological indicators of anxiety, we failed to find direct support for a cognitive suppression effect of anxiety trough ritualistic behavior. Nevertheless, we found that induced stress increased participants’ subsequent repetitive behavior, which in turn reduced physiological arousal. This study provides novel evidence for plausible underlying effects of the proposed anxiolytic effect of rituals: repetitive behavior but not cognitive load may decrease physiological stress responses during ritual.</p>

The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Wrist Pain among Young Adults in UTAR during Movement Control Order: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: For the past few years wrist pain has been related to repetitive movement of the hand, and the cases has been increasing dramatically. There are numerous factors that causes wrist pain especially occupational factors. Different population has been investigated regarding work-related wrist pain such as, factory workers, programmers, and even gamers. Up to now, there is no data baseline about the prevalence and risk factors of wrist pain among young adults. Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of risk pain among young adults in University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) during Movement Control Disorder. Methods: Questionnaire was adapted from Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation Score (PRWE), Self-Developed Demographic Data was used to determine prevalence and potential risk factors for wrist pain on young adults in UTAR during Movement Control Disorder, by using convenient sampling method. Results: A total number of 144 participants had completed the questionnaire. Most of the participants were 20-25 years old. There are 100 female participants (69.4%) and 44 male participants (29.9%) who enrolled in this research. The prevalence of wrist pain among young adults in UTAR during Movement Control Disorder is relatively high according to PRWE score (71.53%) while according to self-modified questionnaire there are 33 participants who felt the pain at the wrist (22.92%). Conclusion: Repetitive movement of the wrist and poor ergonomics of the hand are the factors that cause of wrist pain among young adults in UTAR. Key words: Prevalence, risk factors, wrist pain, young adults, Movement Control Disorder.

Determining the Viability of the Use of Magneto-Rheological Fluid in a Low Cost Stroke Rehabilitation Device

<p>There are over 15 million people affected by strokes worldwide with a third left disabled. It is estimated that only 5 to 20 % regain upper limb functionality. However, research has shown that repetitive movement on the affected limb improves motor relearning. With the number of people affected by strokes rising each year the demand has begun straining hospital resources, therefore there is a need for some therapy to be moved away from clinical settings and into a person’s home. Robot assisted therapy is a growing field aiming to meet this demand. However currently there are no low cost devices able to actively exercise and strengthen a person’s hand during the acute (early) stage of stroke rehabilitation. This study is a part of a larger project involving the development of a low cost, assistive stroke rehabilitation device requiring a controllable damper. The aim of the study is to determine whether the use of magnetorheological fluid in a controllable damper is viable for use in the planned rehabilitation device. A rotary damper configuration was chosen as it can be made compact and avoid fluid leakage. To be deemed suitable for the application, the viscous torque of the damper needed to be controllable with varying input current. The required damping torques produced must be repeatable and needs to be generated below 34 C, the specified maximum operating temperature of the system. The performance of three vane designs for the rotary damper were investigated. These three designs were layered discs, a paddle and a helix. A test rig using a pulley configuration was designed and constructed to quantify the performance of the vane designs. The test rig recorded the opposing force and temperature measurements for each damper design. The measurements of interest were the off-state (no input current) torque, the achievable torque range, and also the consistency of the measurements. Experiments were conducted with the damper containing air to determine the pre-existing friction between the vane and housing, and water and motor oil were used as the damper fluid to investigate the performance of the designs with known fluid viscosities. Lastly experiments containing magneto-rheological fluid were conducted to determine the controllability and consistency of the viscous torque of each design. The paddle design was selected based on its range and consistency of produced torque, simplicity of the design and expected economical manufacture. With an input current of 0 to 2 A the damper produced a viscous torque range of 0.0036 Nm to 0.044 Nm, which was the equivalent opposing force of approximately 7.3 N. During testing of the various damper designs, a few imperfections were found. A modified version of the chosen damper was constructed to determine whether those features were manufacturing artifacts. It was found that the force measurements became smoother and previous periodic oscillations in the measurements were eliminated. The viscous torque of the paddle design was found to be controllable within the given operational conditions and therefore the use of magnetorheological fluid is a viable solution for use in a low cost stroke rehabilitation device.</p>

Determining the Viability of the Use of Magneto-Rheological Fluid in a Low Cost Stroke Rehabilitation Device

<p>There are over 15 million people affected by strokes worldwide with a third left disabled. It is estimated that only 5 to 20 % regain upper limb functionality. However, research has shown that repetitive movement on the affected limb improves motor relearning. With the number of people affected by strokes rising each year the demand has begun straining hospital resources, therefore there is a need for some therapy to be moved away from clinical settings and into a person’s home. Robot assisted therapy is a growing field aiming to meet this demand. However currently there are no low cost devices able to actively exercise and strengthen a person’s hand during the acute (early) stage of stroke rehabilitation. This study is a part of a larger project involving the development of a low cost, assistive stroke rehabilitation device requiring a controllable damper. The aim of the study is to determine whether the use of magnetorheological fluid in a controllable damper is viable for use in the planned rehabilitation device. A rotary damper configuration was chosen as it can be made compact and avoid fluid leakage. To be deemed suitable for the application, the viscous torque of the damper needed to be controllable with varying input current. The required damping torques produced must be repeatable and needs to be generated below 34 C, the specified maximum operating temperature of the system. The performance of three vane designs for the rotary damper were investigated. These three designs were layered discs, a paddle and a helix. A test rig using a pulley configuration was designed and constructed to quantify the performance of the vane designs. The test rig recorded the opposing force and temperature measurements for each damper design. The measurements of interest were the off-state (no input current) torque, the achievable torque range, and also the consistency of the measurements. Experiments were conducted with the damper containing air to determine the pre-existing friction between the vane and housing, and water and motor oil were used as the damper fluid to investigate the performance of the designs with known fluid viscosities. Lastly experiments containing magneto-rheological fluid were conducted to determine the controllability and consistency of the viscous torque of each design. The paddle design was selected based on its range and consistency of produced torque, simplicity of the design and expected economical manufacture. With an input current of 0 to 2 A the damper produced a viscous torque range of 0.0036 Nm to 0.044 Nm, which was the equivalent opposing force of approximately 7.3 N. During testing of the various damper designs, a few imperfections were found. A modified version of the chosen damper was constructed to determine whether those features were manufacturing artifacts. It was found that the force measurements became smoother and previous periodic oscillations in the measurements were eliminated. The viscous torque of the paddle design was found to be controllable within the given operational conditions and therefore the use of magnetorheological fluid is a viable solution for use in a low cost stroke rehabilitation device.</p>

Musculoskeletal Disorder and Ergonomics Evaluation of Cleaners

Cleaning work plays an important role in ordinary work and the public sphere as it improves the employee's / community's sense of health and well-being. The key to cleaning is to remove unwanted marks, dust from the useful area. An unclean environment can lead to physical and respiratory infections. The purpose of the cleaning can be described as a contribution to the maintenance of clean public spaces. Many cleaners are socially poor, have little education, and have little social support. The main aim of this paper is to find musculoskeletal disorder, injury, or pain among cleaners by using a computer-aided ergonomic assessment technique. Various musculoskeletal disorders in cleaning occupation are tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, tingling in the finger, etc. Above mention, disorders occur due to repetitive movement of the body part, and awkward posture while performing cleaning activities.

Excessive movement

This chapter describes two quite different types of excessive movement that may occur in a child with ADHD, although it is important to note that many children with ADHD are not overactive. The first type is the hyperactivity, also called overactivity, that occurs as part of the condition in some, but by no means all, children with the disorder. The second type of excessive movement is a tic disorder. By definition, a tic disorder is a type of sudden, repetitive movement (motor tic) or vocalization (vocal tic). Both of these types of tics are more common in children with ADHD.

Prevalence of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Auto-Rickshaw Drivers

Background: The carpal tunnel is a rigid, confined fibro- osseous space that physiologically acts as a 'closed compartment'. Carpal tunnel syndrome is characterized by the sensory and motor weakness that occurs when the median nerve is compressed in the carpal tunnel. The clinical syndrome is characterized by pain, numbness, or tingling in the distribution of median nerve. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs as a result of repetitive or sustained wrist flexion, extension or gripping activities. Driving auto-rickshaws involves repetitive movement of the wrist, specifically flexion and extension, so it may increase the risk of carpal tunnel in these populations. Purpose: To find the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in auto-rickshaw drivers Methods: 100 auto-rickshaw drivers were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Convenient sampling was done. Ethical approval was taken prior to the study. Data was collected by a self- made questionnaire which was validated. Special confirmatory test (Phalen’s test and Carpal compression test) was performed. Results: The result showed that out of 100 auto-rickshaw drivers 23 subjects had pain, tingling and numbness, 16 subjects had weakness, 10 subjects had pain at night. Majority of the population i.e. 50 subjects were driving for 7-10 hours and for more than 10 years. Out of 23 subjects experiencing symptoms 18 subjects had been experiencing the symptoms since last 2 years, 9 subjects felt the symptoms at the end of driving, while 7 subjects said that there was relief in symptoms after taking rest. Out of 100 subjects 23 subjects were tested positive for Phalen’s and carpal compression test. Conclusion: This study concludes that there is 23% prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in auto-rickshaw drivers. Key words: Carpal tunnel syndrome, Auto-rickshaw drivers, Cumulative trauma disorder.