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Nature Communications Jun 2021Digital devices are the essential building blocks of any modern electronic system. Fibres containing digital devices could enable fabrics with digital system...
Digital devices are the essential building blocks of any modern electronic system. Fibres containing digital devices could enable fabrics with digital system capabilities for applications in physiological monitoring, human-computer interfaces, and on-body machine-learning. Here, a scalable preform-to-fibre approach is used to produce tens of metres of flexible fibre containing hundreds of interspersed, digital temperature sensors and memory devices with a memory density of ~7.6 × 10 bits per metre. The entire ensemble of devices are individually addressable and independently operated through a single connection at the fibre edge, overcoming the perennial single-fibre single-device limitation and increasing system reliability. The digital fibre, when incorporated within a shirt, collects and stores body temperature data over multiple days, and enables real-time inference of wearer activity with an accuracy of 96% through a trained neural network with 1650 neuronal connections stored within the fibre. The ability to realise digital devices within a fibre strand which can not only measure and store physiological parameters, but also harbour the neural networks required to infer sensory data, presents intriguing opportunities for worn fabrics that sense, memorise, learn, and infer situational context.
Topics: Body Temperature; Digital Technology; Electronics; Humans; Machine Learning; Memory; Monitoring, Physiologic; Neural Networks, Computer; Remote Sensing Technology; Textiles; User-Computer Interface; Wearable Electronic Devices
PubMed: 34083521
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23628-5 -
Journal of Diabetes Science and... Sep 2021Blood glucose meters remain an effective tool for blood glucose monitoring (BGM) but not all meters provide the same level of insight beyond the numerical glucose result.
BACKGROUND
Blood glucose meters remain an effective tool for blood glucose monitoring (BGM) but not all meters provide the same level of insight beyond the numerical glucose result.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate healthcare professional (HCP) perceptions of four meters and how these meters support the achievement of self-management goals recommended by diabetes clinical practice guidelines.
METHODS
Three hundred and fifty-three HCPs from five countries reviewed the features and benefits of four meters using interactive webpages and then responded to statements about the utility of each meter and ranked each meter in terms of clinical value.
RESULTS
Meter D ranked significantly higher in terms of clinical utility for all 13 guideline questions (70%-84%, < .05) compared to other meters. Endocrinologists (69%-85%), primary care physicians (PCP; 63%-80%), and diabetes nurses (DN; 80%-89%) consistently ranked meter D highest for all guideline questions. DNs ranked selected questions significantly higher compared to PCPs (8 of 13) or endocrinologists (3 of 13; < .05). Meter D achieved strong endorsement from HCPs in France and Germany, followed by the United States and Canada, with comparatively lower responses from Italian HCPs ( < 0.05). With respect to self-management, 80% of HCPs selected meter D as their first choice for patients with type 1 diabetes to help patients improve diabetes management or understand their numbers to help them stay in range.
CONCLUSIONS
HCPs had strong preference for a meter providing additional insights, messages, and guidance direct to the patient to support achievement of self-management goals recommended by diabetes clinical practice guidelines.
Topics: Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Delivery of Health Care; Goals; Humans; Perception; Self-Management; United States
PubMed: 32772855
DOI: 10.1177/1932296820946112 -
Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences Jan 2020Vision plays an important role in supporting efficient locomotion. The present study aimed to measure the physiological cost index (PCI) and some kinematic parameters of...
BACKGROUND
Vision plays an important role in supporting efficient locomotion. The present study aimed to measure the physiological cost index (PCI) and some kinematic parameters of preferred walking and jogging in blind and sighted students.
METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted among blind (n=18) and sighted (n=27) students aged 8-16 years. The following parameters were measured during a standard test procedure: step length (meter), cadence (steps/min), mean speed (meter/min), and the PCI of preferred walking (PCI) and jogging (PCI) over a distance of 100 meters.
RESULTS
Univariate linear regression analysis revealed that the weight of an individual as well as the test duration were significant predictors of heart rate (HR) and PCI. Overall, the PCI (beats/meter) of sighted (PCI=0.22±0.08 and PCI=0.24±0.07) and blind students (PCI=0.27±0.07 and PCI=0.31±0.08) were significantly different (all P≤0.05). In addition, the speed of preferred walking (PW) in sighted students was significantly higher than that of the blind students (67±8 versus 62.8±9 m/min; all P≤0.05), while this difference was insignificant in jogging mode (105±9 versus 102±11 m/min).
CONCLUSION
Although the blind students were familiar with the ambient environment and the walking route, they demonstrated a different pattern of PW and jogging modes with respect to kinematic parameters. We also demonstrated that the blind students spent more energy (i.e., PCI) to achieve a lower or equal gait kinematics compared to the sighted students.
PubMed: 32038055
DOI: 10.30476/ijms.2019.45386 -
Journal of Physical Therapy Science Feb 2022[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the absolute intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities during the measurement of muscle hardness, which is used to evaluate...
[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the absolute intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities during the measurement of muscle hardness, which is used to evaluate physical therapy. Moreover, we examined the effects of using different equipment types and their positioning on the intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities. [Participants and Methods] Participants of this study comprised 12 healthy adult male individuals. Two experts and two beginners measured the muscle hardness of the lumbar erector spinae and rectus femoris using three types of hardness meters at two positions, including when the muscle was relaxed and stretched. [Results] Intra-rater fixed bias was observed during some measurements by both experts and beginners. Inter-rater fixed bias was observed during measurements by some experts and not the beginners. [Conclusion] In this study, the measurement of muscle hardness demonstrated a need to reconsider the measurement position and acclimation time. These examinations require the consideration of relative and absolute reliabilities.
PubMed: 35221515
DOI: 10.1589/jpts.34.122 -
JNMA; Journal of the Nepal Medical... 2019Glucose meters are gaining popularity in monitoring of blood glucose at household levels and in health care set-ups due to their portability, affordability and...
INTRODUCTION
Glucose meters are gaining popularity in monitoring of blood glucose at household levels and in health care set-ups due to their portability, affordability and convenience of use over the laboratory based reference methods. Still they are not free of limitations. Operator's technique, extreme temperatures, humidity, patients' medication, hematocrit values can affect the reliability of glucose meter results. Hence, the accuracy of glucose meter has been the topic of concern since years. Therefore, present study aims to evaluate the analytical and clinical accuracy of glucose meter using International Organization for Standardization 15197 guideline.
METHODS
A community based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Kapan, Kathmandu, Nepal in April 2018. Glucose levels were measured using glucose meter and reference laboratory method simultaneously among 203 adults ≥20 years, after an overnight fasting and two hours of ingestion of 75 grams glucose. Modified Bland-Altman plots were created by incorporating ISO 15197 guidelines to check the analytical accuracy and Park error grid was used to evaluate the clinical accuracy of the device.
RESULTS
Modified Bland-Altman plots showed>95% of the test results were beyond the acceptable analytical criteria of ISO 15197:2003 and 2013. Park Error Grid-Analysis showed 99% of the data within zones A and B of the consensus error grid.
CONCLUSIONS
Glucose meter readings were within clinically acceptable parameters despite discrepancies on analytical merit. Possible sources of interferences must be avoided during the measurement to minimize the disparities and the values should be interpreted with caution.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hematocrit; Humans; Humidity; Male; Middle Aged; Nepal; Reproducibility of Results; Temperature; Young Adult
PubMed: 31477942
DOI: 10.31729/jnma.4247 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Jan 2022Predicting and organizing patterns of events is important for humans to survive in a dynamically changing world. The motor system has been proposed to be actively, and...
Predicting and organizing patterns of events is important for humans to survive in a dynamically changing world. The motor system has been proposed to be actively, and necessarily, engaged in not only the production but the perception of rhythm by organizing hierarchical timing that influences auditory responses. It is not yet well understood how the motor system interacts with the auditory system to perceive and maintain hierarchical structure in time. This study investigated the dynamic interaction between auditory and motor functional sources during the perception and imagination of musical meters. We pursued this using a novel method combining high-density EEG, EMG, and motion capture with independent component analysis to separate motor and auditory activity during meter imagery while robustly controlling against covert movement. We demonstrated that endogenous brain activity in both auditory and motor functional sources reflects the imagination of binary and ternary meters in the absence of corresponding acoustic cues or overt movement at the meter rate. We found clear evidence for hypothesized motor-to-auditory information flow at the beat rate in all conditions, suggesting a role for top-down influence of the motor system on auditory processing of beat-based rhythms, and reflecting an auditory-motor system with tight reciprocal informational coupling. These findings align with and further extend a set of motor hypotheses from beat perception to hierarchical meter imagination, adding supporting evidence to active engagement of the motor system in auditory processing, which may more broadly speak to the neural mechanisms of temporal processing in other human cognitive functions. Humans live in a world full of hierarchically structured temporal information, the accurate perception of which is essential for understanding speech and music. Music provides a window into the brain mechanisms of time perception, enabling us to examine how the brain groups musical beats into, for example a march or waltz. Using a novel paradigm combining measurement of electrical brain activity with data-driven analysis, this study directly investigates motor-auditory connectivity during meter imagination. Findings highlight the importance of the motor system in the active imagination of meter. This study sheds new light on a fundamental form of perception by demonstrating how auditory-motor interaction may support hierarchical timing processing, which may have clinical implications for speech and motor rehabilitation.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Perception; Brain; Electroencephalography; Electromyography; Female; Humans; Imagination; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Music; Periodicity; Time Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 34848500
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1121-21.2021 -
Journal of Diabetes Science and... Nov 2017Patients with diabetes rely on blood glucose (BG) monitoring devices to manage their condition. As some self-monitoring devices are becoming more and more accurate, it...
BACKGROUND
Patients with diabetes rely on blood glucose (BG) monitoring devices to manage their condition. As some self-monitoring devices are becoming more and more accurate, it becomes critical to understand the relationship between system accuracy and clinical outcomes, and the potential benefits of analytical accuracy.
METHODS
We conducted a 30-day in-silico study in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy and a variety of BG meters, using the FDA-approved University of Virginia (UVA)/Padova Type 1 Simulator. We used simulated meter models derived from the published characteristics of 43 commercial meters. By controlling random events in each parallel run, we isolated the differences in clinical performance that are directly associated with the meter characteristics.
RESULTS
A meter's systematic bias has a significant and inverse effect on HbA1c ( P < .01), while also affecting the number of severe hypoglycemia events. On the other hand, error, defined as the fraction of measurements beyond 5% of the true value, is a predictor of severe hypoglycemia events ( P < .01), but in the absence of bias has a nonsignificant effect on average glycemia (HbA1c). Both bias and error have significant effects on total daily insulin (TDI) and the number of necessary glucose measurements per day ( P < .01). Furthermore, these relationships can be accurately modeled using linear regression on meter bias and error.
CONCLUSIONS
Two components of meter accuracy, bias and error, clearly affect clinical outcomes. While error has little effect on HbA1c, it tends to increase episodes of severe hypoglycemia. Meter bias has significant effects on all considered metrics: a positive systemic bias will reduce HbA1c, but increase the number of severe hypoglycemia attacks, TDI use, and number of fingersticks per day.
Topics: Biomarkers; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Computer Simulation; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Equipment Design; Glycated Hemoglobin; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemic Agents; Infusions, Subcutaneous; Insulin; Insulin Infusion Systems; Linear Models; Models, Biological; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Transducers; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 28569076
DOI: 10.1177/1932296817710474 -
Journal of Diabetes Science and... Jan 2012Monitoring blood glucose levels is an integral part of routine diabetes management. To minimize the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens during monitoring, the...
BACKGROUND
Monitoring blood glucose levels is an integral part of routine diabetes management. To minimize the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens during monitoring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that glucose meters be disinfected after each use whenever they are used to test multiple patients. The objective of this study is to assess the compatibility of some common disinfectants with certain blood glucose meter systems.
METHODS
We tested six disinfectants for adverse impact on meter performance or the exterior meter surfaces. The disinfectants tested were 0.525% sodium hypochlorite, 20% 2-propanol and 10% ethanol, 17.2% isopropanol, 55% isopropanol, 70% isopropanol, and hydrogen peroxide. To assess meter performance, we tested OneTouch® Ultra® blood glucose monitoring systems with control solution before and after application of either water or disinfectant. To assess the effect on exterior meter surfaces, we performed a soaking test to simulate long-term exposure to disinfectant.
RESULTS
Paired t-test results showed that the control solution data associated with disinfectant and with water application were not significantly different for each meter type. However, most of the meter types were adversely affected by hydrogen peroxide and/or by the higher concentrations of alcohol-based disinfectants.
CONCLUSIONS
Although none of the six disinfectants affected meter performance, hydrogen peroxide and isopropanol >20% adversely affected the exterior surfaces of the tested meters. When complying with CDC instructions for meter disinfection, users should use caution and choose disinfectants that have been validated by the meter manufacturer.
Topics: 1-Propanol; 2-Propanol; Blood Chemical Analysis; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Disinfectants; Disinfection; Efficiency; Equipment and Supplies; Ethanol; Humans; Hydrogen Peroxide; Sodium Hypochlorite; Water
PubMed: 22401326
DOI: 10.1177/193229681200600111 -
Archives of Physical Medicine and... Mar 2019To establish reference values and determine test-retest reliability for usual and maximal 4-meter gait speed. (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVES
To establish reference values and determine test-retest reliability for usual and maximal 4-meter gait speed.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional observational study.
SETTING
Offices in 10 geographically dispersed cities in the United States.
PARTICIPANTS
Men and women (N=1320), aged 18 to 85 years, enrolled in the National Institutes of Health Toolbox norming study.
INTERVENTION
Not applicable.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Specifically used were data from men and women who were timed over 4 meters (after a static start) while walking at their usual and maximum speeds. Norms for usual and maximum gait speed were derived using data from 1320 participants. Test-retest reliability for 164 participants was described using paired t tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and minimal detectable changes (MDCs).
RESULTS
Mean usual speed was 1.12 meters per second, whereas mean maximum speed was 1.61 meters per second. As a general linear model showed 4-meter gait speed to differ significantly according to gait condition (speed), sex, and age group; estimates of normal were calculated accordingly. The usual speed of 80- to 85-year-old women was lowest at 0.95 meters per second; the maximum speed of 18- to 29-year-old men was highest at 1.85 meters per second. Test-retest measures did not differ significantly, but the ICCs were only fair and the MDCs were high.
CONCLUSIONS
Normative reference values provided herein may be helpful in interpreting measurements of 4-meter gait speed obtained from adult men and women. The limited reliability of the gait speed measurements, however, limits their usefulness in making judgments regarding change.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Limit of Detection; Male; Middle Aged; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Statistics, Nonparametric; United States; Walk Test; Walking Speed; Young Adult
PubMed: 30092204
DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2018.06.031 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2022In a smart grid communication network, positioning key devices (routers and gateways) is an NP-Hard problem as the number of candidate topologies grows exponentially...
In a smart grid communication network, positioning key devices (routers and gateways) is an NP-Hard problem as the number of candidate topologies grows exponentially according to the number of poles and smart meters. The different terrain profiles impose distinct communication losses between a smart meter and a key device position. Additionally, the communication topology must consider the position of previously installed distribution automation devices (DAs) to support the power grid remote operation. We introduce the heuristic method AIDA (AI-driven AMI network planning with DA-based information and a link-specific propagation model) to evaluate the connectivity condition between the meters and key devices. It also uses the link-received power calculated for the edges of a Minimum Spanning Tree to propose a simplified multihop analysis. The AIDA method proposes a balance between complexity and efficiency, eliminating the need for empirical terrain characterization. Using a spanning tree to characterize the connectivity topology between meters and routers, we suggest a heuristic approach capable of alleviating complexity and facilitating scalability. In our research, the interest is in proposing a method for positioning communication devices that presents a good trade-off between network coverage and the number of communication devices. The existing literature explores the theme by presenting different techniques for ideal device placement. Still rare are the references that meticulously explore real large-scale scenarios or the communication feasibility between meters and key devices, considering the detailed topography between the devices. The main contributions of this work include: (1) The presentation of an efficient AMI planning method with a large-scale focus; (2) The use of a propagation model that does not depend on an empirical terrain classification; and (3) The use of a heuristic approach based on a spanning tree, capable of evaluating a smaller number of connections and, even so, proposing a topology that uses fewer router and gateway positions compared to an approach that makes general terrain classification. Experiments in four real large-scale scenarios, totaling over 230,000 smart meters, demonstrate that AIDA can efficiently provide high-quality connectivity demanding a reduced number of devices. Additional experiments comparing AIDA's detailed terrain-based propagation model to the Erceg-SUI Path Loss model suggest that AIDA can reach the smart meter's coverage with a fewer router positions.
Topics: Electricity
PubMed: 36501807
DOI: 10.3390/s22239105