Abstract
The goal of Industry 4.0 is to maximize efficiency and reduce human efforts. Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Robotics, Mobile Technologies and many other technological advances ...generate Industry 4.0. Humanoid robots resemble humans and their primary goal is to perform any task programmed by the user. Our goal is to create a portable and safer system that can be used in any dynamic environment to control the robot and avoid any sort of complexity. With the rapid technological advances, there is no need to worry about unemployment since it requires a technical expert in the field to control the robot. This paper discusses how this control system processes gesture data along with a brief discussion of certain useful applications.
•This review summarises physical function assessment using depth cameras.•Existing and future hardware and software options are discussed.•The validity of these devices for assessing physical ...function is explored.•Methods for improving accuracy of data are examined.•In summary, these systems show promise but require validation before use.
Three-dimensional camera systems that integrate depth assessment with traditional two-dimensional images, such as the Microsoft Kinect, Intel Realsense, StereoLabs Zed and Orbecc, hold great promise as physical function assessment tools. When combined with point cloud and skeleton pose tracking software they can be used to assess many different aspects of physical function and anatomy. These assessments have received great interest over the past decade, and will likely receive further study as the integration of depth sensing and augmented reality smartphone cameras occurs more in everyday life.
The aim of this review is to discuss how these devices work, what options are available, the best methods for performing assessments and how they can be used in the future.
Firstly, a review of the Microsoft Kinect devices and associated artificial intelligence, automated skeleton tracking algorithms is provided. This includes a narrative critique of the validity and clinical utility of these devices for assessing different aspects of physical function including spatiotemporal, kinematic and inverse dynamics data derived from gait and balance trials, and anatomical assessments performed using the depth sensor information. Methods for improving the accuracy of data are examined, including multiple-camera systems and sensor fusion with inertial monitoring units, model fitting, and marker tracking. Secondly, alternative hardware, including other structured light and time of flight methods, stereoscopic cameras and augmented reality leveraging smartphone and tablet cameras to perform measurements in three-dimensional space are summarised. Software options related to depth sensing cameras are then discussed, focussing on recent advances such as OpenPose and web-based methods such as PoseNet.
The clinical and non-laboratory utility of these devices holds great promise for physical function assessment, and recent developments could strengthen their ability to provide important and impactful health-related data.
In carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) of the thumb, to what extent treatments should be directed by radiographic disease severity versus pain-based indicators remains an open question. To ...address this gap, this study investigated the relative impact of disease severity and pain severity on the range of motion in participants with CMC OA. We hypothesized larger differences would exist between extremes in the pain severity cohort than the disease severity cohort, suggesting pain modulates movement to a greater extent than joint degradation. Thirty-one female participants (64.6 ± 10.9 years) were grouped as symptomatic or asymptomatic (pain severity cohort) and early stage OA or end-stage OA (disease severity cohort) using radiographs and questionnaires. Kinematics were measured during single-planar and multiplanar range of motion tasks. Joint angle differences between groups were statistically compared. Differences in self-reported pain, function, and disability were evident in both participant cohorts. Notably, substantial distinctions emerged exclusively during multiplanar tasks, with a greater prevalence in the disease severity cohort compared to the pain severity cohort. Participants with end-stage OA also exhibited similar overall area covered during circumduction in comparison to those with early-stage OA, despite having a decreased range of motion at the CMC joint. The study underscores the importance of assessing multiplanar tasks, potentially leading to earlier identification of CMC OA. While movement compensations such as employing the distal thumb joints over the CMC joint were observed, delving deeper into the interplay between pain and movement could yield greater insight into the underlying factors steering these compensatory mechanisms.
This article applies an incremental online identification algorithm to develop a set of evolving fuzzy models (FMs) that characterize the nonlinear finger dynamics of the human hand for the ...myoelectric (ME)-based control of a prosthetic hand. The FM inputs are the ME signals obtained from eight ME sensors and past inputs and/or outputs. The FM outputs are the finger angles, considered here as the midcarpal joint angles, to ensure their control. The best evolving FMs that characterize each of the five fingers are described with the results validated on real data. Simple second-order linear models are next given to enable the cost-effective controller design. Five separate control loops are proposed, with proportional-integral (PI) controllers separately tuned by a frequency-domain approach. Simple PI-fuzzy controllers are designed starting with the linear PI controllers to ensure the control system performance improvement. The evolving FMs are used to simulate accurately the behavior of the human hand. Digital simulation results are included to show the effectiveness of the PI-fuzzy controllers and the performance improvement in comparison to the initial PI ones.
Stroke severely affects the quality of life, specifically in walking independently. Thus, it is crucial to understand the impaired gait pattern. This gait pattern has been widely investigated when ...walking on a level treadmill. However, knowledge about the gait pattern when walking on inclines is scarce. Therefore, this study attempted to fulfill this knowledge gap. In this study, 15 stroke survivors and 15 age/height/weight healthy controls were recruited. The participants were instructed to walk on three different inclines: 0°, 3°, and 6°. The participants were required to walk on each incline for 2 min and needed to complete each incline two times. The dependent variables were the peak values for ankle/knee/hip joint angles and the respective variability of these peak values. The results showed that an increment of the incline significantly increased the peak of the hip flexion and the peak of the knee flexion but did not affect the peak values of the ankle joints in the paretic leg in these stroke survivors. In comparison with the healthy controls, lower hip extension, lower hip flexion, lower knee flexion, and lower ankle plantar flexion were observed in stroke survivors. A clinical application of this work might assist the physical therapists in building an effective treadmill training protocol.
Understanding the relationship between the position of the foot and the lower limb joint angles during normal gait is critical for the identification of the mechanisms involved in pathological gait. ...In this article, we introduce a novel framework that characterizes this relationship using mutual information in healthy subjects. The nonlinear connection between these variables is quantified using mutual information, and the MINE algorithm is used for precise estimation. Several simulations over Gaussian bivariate random variables reveal that overfitting is a critical factor affecting mutual information estimations by MINE, and we propose a simple methodology to address this issue when using gait signals. Our findings indicate that the statistical dependency between joint angles and toe height is symmetrical between the limbs for healthy subjects. Additionally, our results show that the ipsilateral knee angle holds the most significant amount of information regarding the toe height. In simpler terms, this knee angle serves as the most reliable predictor for toe height, and vice versa. To further enhance our understanding, we have developed a mutual information reference profile that enables the comparison of how the relationship between these biomechanical variables evolves under pathological conditions. The findings have significant implications for gait analysis and may aid in the identification and understanding of gait abnormalities in various contexts, contributing to the advancement of biomechanical research and clinical applications.
•Nonlinear relation between biomechanical variables is assessed by mutual information.•Mutual Information Neural Estimation algorithm is used for precise estimation.•The knee angle has the most significant amount of information about toe height.•A mutual information profile was created for healthy subjects.
Biplanar radiography displays promising results in the production of subject-specific (S.specific) biomechanical models. However, the focus has predominantly centred on methodological investigations ...in gait analysis. Exploring the influence of such models on the analysis of high range of motion tasks linked to hip pathologies is warranted. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of S.Specific modelling techniques on the reliability of deep squats kinematics in comparison to generic modelling.
8 able-bodied male participants attended 5 motion capture sessions conducted by 3 observers and performed 5 deep squats in each. Prior to each session a biplanar scan was acquired with the reflective-markers attached. Inverse kinematics of pelvis and thigh segments were calculated based on S.specific and Generic model definition. Agreement between the two models femoropelvic orientation in standing was assessed with Bland-Altman plots and paired t- tests. Inter-trial, inter-session, inter-observer variability and observer/trial difference and ratio were calculated for squat kinematic data derived from the two modelling approaches.
Compared to the Generic model, the S.Specific model produced a calibration trial that is significantly offset into more posterior pelvis tilt (–2.8±2.7), hip extension (–2.2±3.8), hip abduction (–1.2±3.6) and external rotation (–13.8±11.4). The S.specific model produced significantly different squat kinematics in the sagittal plane of the pelvis (entire squat cycle) and hip (between 40 % and 60 % of the squat cycle). Variability analysis indicated that the error magnitude between the two models was comparable (difference<2°). The S.specific model exhibited a lower variability in the observer/trial ratio in the sagittal pelvis and hip, the frontal hip, but showed a higher variability in the transverse hip.
S.specific modelling appears to introduce a calibration offset that primarily translates into an effect in the sagittal plane kinematics. However, the clinical added value of S.specific modelling in terms of reducing experimental sources of kinematic variability was limited.
•Biplanar radiography was used to produce subject-specific hip and pelvis model.•S.specific model kinematics were compared to generic model kinematics.•S.specific modelling significantly offsets the calibration of the standing trial.•This offset influenced the kinematics of the Sagittal pelvis and hip kinematics.•This offset had minimum impact on the variability of deep squat kinematics.
Advanced varus ankle osteoarthritis is a debilitating disease that can present with limited physical function, severe pain, and diminished quality of life. Weightbearing computed tomography enables ...submillimeter 3-dimensional visualization, computational analyses, and enhanced diagnoses in reporting complex degenerative changes more accurately.
This study set to compare static posture weightbearing joint angle differences in healthy and varus ankle osteoarthritis patients (compensated and non-compensated).
Our retrospective assessment included 70 individuals, 44 of whom were diagnosed with advanced varus ankle osteoarthritis, and the remaining 26 were healthy participants to serve as controls. An automatic anatomic coordinate system was applied to each patient’s 3-dimensional talus and calcaneus bone reconstructions from weightbearing computed tomography scans. Subtalar and midtarsal joint angles were calculated using Euler angles.
We report statistical differences between the healthy group and both advanced varus osteoarthritis groups for midtarsal inversion/eversion. Specifically, both osteoarthritis groups’ midtarsal joints were more inverted and plantarflexed as compared to healthy participants. Compensated and non-compensated subtalar joints were statistically different with respect to inversion/eversion. Non-compensated ankles exhibited a similar mean to healthy ankles who were both less inverted than compensated ankles.
Our study helps physicians to better understand underlying mechanisms of peritalar compensation in varus ankle osteoarthritis. Patients featuring hindfoot compensation on average had a greater subtalar joint angle indicating greater inversion than healthy and non-compensated patients.
•Advanced varus ankle OA patients had more midtarsal inversion and plantarflexion.•Abnormal alignment may alter mechanics, risking cartilage damage and instability.•This 3D study aids tailored varus ankle OA treatments using weightbearing CT images.
The world's population is aging: the expansion of the older adult population with multiple physical and health issues is now a huge socio-economic concern worldwide. Among these issues, the loss of ...mobility among older adults due to musculoskeletal disorders is especially serious as it has severe social, mental and physical consequences. Human body joint monitoring and early diagnosis of these disorders will be a strong and effective solution to this problem. A smart joint monitoring system can identify and record important musculoskeletal-related parameters. Such devices can be utilized for continuous monitoring of joint movements during the normal daily activities of older adults and the healing process of joints (hips, knees or ankles) during the post-surgery period. A viable monitoring system can be developed by combining miniaturized, durable, low-cost and compact sensors with the advanced communication technologies and data processing techniques. In this study, we have presented and compared different joint monitoring methods and sensing technologies recently reported. A discussion on sensors' data processing, interpretation, and analysis techniques is also presented. Finally, current research focus, as well as future prospects and development challenges in joint monitoring systems are discussed.
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