• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.90-98
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• 2008

This research selects the lifting task to be the main subject. Four experiments were designed to measure which among lifting postures, lifting heights, waist-belt, and breathing control significantly influences intra-abdominal pressure (Gallagher, 1991; Lavender, Andersson and Natarajan, 1999). The experimental results were taken to be the recommendations of the manual materials handling work design. The research findings reveal that the symmetrical stoop posture is the most significant to the intra-abdominal pressure within all lifting postures. When the lifting height is increased, the intra-abdominal pressure produced relatively goes up. Also, the combination of symmetrical stoop posture, waist-belt use, and inspiration and holding at the same time is the most efficient in carrying out lifting tasks. Simultaneously, the research discovers that for any posture, the volume of the intra-abdominal pressure is much bigger when using the waist-belt compared to when it is not used. Therefore, the waist-belt design for the lifting works might be the future research approach.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.337-343
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• 2012

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of abdominal-compression belt in one leg standing on balance in normal adult. Background: With the effects of increased intra-abdominal pressure, the abdominal-compression belt is contributing to a static balance control. However, specific study is still insufficient. Method: Forty subjects were randomly allocated to two groups: control(n=20) and experimental group(n=20), respectively. The experimental group used an abdominal-compression belt, whereas the control group did not that. All subjects were educated using pressure biofeedback unit and ultrasound imaging for exact application by abdominal-compression belt. Main outcome measurement was used a general stability index, fourier harmony index, weight distribution index, and fall index in tetrax balance system. Results: Experimental group improved significantly on general stability, only 2 factors(eyes closed with head turned forward and eyes closed with head turned backward) among fourier harmony index, and fall index, However, weight distribution index did not revealed significant difference. Conclusion: The findings suggest that application of abdominal-compression belt could be effective on improving balance ability in one leg standing of normal adults. Application: The results of the abdominal-compression belt might help to control balance in workers.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.353-360
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to measure static balance of low back pain patients while one-leg standing in abdominal compression belts. Methods: The study included 40 adult males and females at J university, divided into a low back pain patient group and a normal group through the Oswestry disability questionnaire (ODQ). The subjects were instructed to hold a one-leg standing posture for 15 seconds on a balance measurement plate while wearing an abdominal compression belt. Shifting distance (0.1 cm), mean velocity (cm/s), pressure, and contact area were analyzed using BioRescue (BioRescue, RMINGEIEIRIE, Rodez, France). The average value was used to measure the result 3 times for each condition. Results: Both normal and low back pain groups significantly decreased in the speed of sway while wearing the abdominal compression belt. Furthermore, the pressure of the center of motion significantly decreased in the low back pain groups while wearing abdominal compression belt. However, there were no significant differences in the speed of sway or the pressure of center of motion between groups after wearing the abdominal pressure belt. Conclusion: These results suggest that abdominal compression belts are one option for improving balance temporarily. However, balance after wearing abdominal compression vests depends on onset of back pain, age, and symptoms of pain in the groups with low back pain. Further research is needed to investigate muscle activity, dynamic balance, and the effect of the period of wearing abdominal compression belts in the variety of low back pain patients.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.176-183
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to determine whether abdominal pressure belt has an immediate effect on pulmonary function, balance and gait ability for stroke patients. Twenty subjects measured pulmonary function and the COP, BBS, TUG, 10m walk test, and FGA prior to belt wearing. Immediately all subjects were post-tested after wearing abdominal pressure belt of elastic components. Except for forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced experimental volume in the 1 second (FEV1), there were significant differences after belt wearing. This study suggests that the application of abdominal pressure belt enhanced balance and gait ability. However, improving pulmonary function requires several efforts, such as changing the pressure level, posture.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.63-69
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the immediate effects of abdominal pressure blet on limited of stability and gait parameter in patients after stroke. Thirty stroke patients were recruited to measured pre and post wearing the abdominal pressure belt. The assessment measured limited of stability and spatiotemporal gait parameter. This study result were significantly increase in paretic side area, non-paretic side area, forward side area, backward side area (p<.05) and cadence, gait velocity, stride length (p<.05). This study found that abdominal pressure belt had an immediate effect on improving balance and gait function in stroke patients. Future studies require studies of efficient abdominal pressure levels and intervention periods to improve the balance and walking function of stroke patient.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.394-399
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• 2020

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of lower rib cage lateral expansion limitation on the maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures and on abdominal muscle activity during maximal respiratory breathing in healthy subjects. Methods: Fifteen healthy male subjects voluntarily participated in this cross-sectional study. During maximal breathing, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures were measured, and abdominal muscle activity was determined with using surface electromyography. Also, the measurement was repeated with using a non-elastic belt to the lower rib cage for limiting of lateral expansion. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed for obtaining the statistical difference with a significance level of 0.05. Results: The findings of this study are as follows: 1) There were no significant differences in maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure with and without lower rib cage lateral expansion (p>0.05), 2) There was no significant difference in abdominal muscle activity during the maximal inspiratory phase (p>0.05). However, right external oblique muscle activity decreased significantly during maximum exhalation with lower rib expansion limitation (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of the current study indicate that a non-elastic belt was effective in decreasing right external oblique muscle activity during forced expiratory breathing in healthy subjects.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.69-78
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• 2021

The development of smart healthcare wearables for health is accelerating. Among them, many wearable products using EMS electrical stimulation, which is one of the active research fields, have been released. However, the EMS wearable, which has been studied or released, is released in a comprehensive full-body suit that does not focus on muscle segmentation or a belt that covers the entire abdomen. Therefore, this study intends to use two breathing methods by applying an EMS pattern that subdivides specific muscles and attach a stretch sensor that can measure breathing to the abdominal pressure belt. The measurement method was conducted by inhaling and exhaling, and the subjects were 10 men in their 20s with healthy bodies. As a result of this study, the sensor's sensitivity was 5 and 3 mm, and the basic sensor in both thoracic and abdominal breathings and the EMS abdominal pressure belt showed improved respiration activation after applying electrical stimulation before and after application. It is concluded that, because of the two patterns produced based on the physical function, the difference in respiration activation effect and sensitivity between sensors could be confirmed with three sensors rather than not applying electrical stimulation suitable for the respiration method. Based on the results of this study, a follow-up study aims to develop breathing smart clothing that can be monitored in real time in clothing-type wearable products that incorporate EMS patterns and stretch sensors.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.142-147
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• 2014

Real time driver's respiration monitoring method for detecting driver's drowsiness is investigated. The sensor to obtain driver's respiration signal was a piezoelectric pressure sensor attached at the abdominal region of the seat belt. The resistance of the pressure sensor was changed according to the pressure applied to the seat belt due to the driver's respiration. Monitoring driver's respiration was carried out by driving on the virtual road in a driving simulator from Cheonan to Seoul and monitoring results were compared to the PELCLOS. Experiment results show that the driver's respiration signal can be used for detecting driver's drowsiness.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated the effects of five EMS lumbar back pressure belts produced on an anatomical basis on lumbar spine stabilization. Five core muscles were selected, including the urinal, vertebral column, endotracheal, external abdominal, and large back muscles, and patterns were designed using a conductive fabric considering the appropriate muscle shape and pain-causing points. We experimented with four motions to examine the effects of different EMS abdominal compression belts on lumbar spine stabilization. Five healthy men in their 20s were selected. The selection conditions include no back pain history for the past three months, no restricted movements through pre-inspection, and the muscular strength of the body should belong to the normal grade. Using SLR, the sequence of experimental actions was chosen from the following but not limited to left-hand, body-hand, and back-line forces. Resting between movements lasted for 2 min, and the experiments were conducted after wearing the EMS abdominal pressure belt. Electrical stimulation was applied for 10 min to increase blood flow and muscle activation. The statistics of the experimental results were analyzed for specific differences by conducting the Wilcoxon and Friedman tests with nonparametric tests. The ranking results of each pattern were successfully assessed in the order of 5, 4, 3, 1, 2 for the five patterns, and we could identify slightly more significant results for experimental behavior associated with each muscle movement. Patterns produced based on anatomy showed differentiated effects when electric stimulation was applied to each muscle in different shapes, which could improve the stabilization of the lumbar spine in everyday life or training to the public. Based on these results, subsequent research would focus on developing smart healthcare clothing that is practical in daily life by employing different anatomical mechanisms, depending on the back pain, to utilize trunk-type tights.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.45-51
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• 2013

In this paper, a driver's drowsy detection sensor system based on the respiration is investigated. The sensor system consists of a piezoelectric pressure sensor attached at the abdominal region of the seat belt and a personal computer. The piezoelectric pressure sensor was utilized for the measurement of pressure variations induced by the movement of the driver abdomen during breathing. The signal processing software for detecting driver's drowsiness was produced using the Labview. The experiments were performed with 30 years male driver. The amplitude of the respiration at awake state was larger than one at the drowsy state. On the contrary, the respiration rate at awake state was lower than one at the drowsy state. The drowsy detection sensor system developed based on the experimental could successfully detect the driver's drowsy on real-time.