• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.323-330
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• 2017

Knee sleeve has been used for prevention of sport injuries as well as rehabilitation. To investigate prevention of sport injuries of knee sleeve, it is important to evaluate balance associated with proprioception. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a knee sleeve with a pad that stimulate to golgi tendon organ (GTO_PAD) on proprioception and balance ability. Five healthy males were participated for the study. They were asked to reenact target angle with Biodex and perform one leg standing with knee sleeve and knee sleeve with GTO_PAD. There was no significant difference in %Target angle, but the value of %Target angle was higher in subjects wearing knee sleeve with GTO_PAD than only knee sleeve, except for one subject. During one leg standing, time duration was increased in subjects wearing knee sleeve with GTO_PAD. The length of center of pressure in x-axis (COPx) and COP in y-axis (COPy) were decreased when wearing knee sleeve with GTO_PAD (COPx : $162.06{\pm}58.99mm$ in knee sleeve vs. $149.03{\pm}45.30mm$ in knee sleeve with GTO_PAD, COPy : $310.79{\pm}115.89mm$ in knee sleeve, $291.57{\pm}76.53mm$ in knee sleeve with GTO_PAD). There was significant differences in INI_transition, steady, and LAT_transition phase (all, p < 0.05). These findings support that wearing knee sleeve with GTO_PAD might enhance proprioception and balance.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.205-211
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• 2014

The purpose of this document is to provide basic data helpful in selecting seating device material by examining the affects of polyurethane foam material on seating pressure. In order to achieve this study objective, four seats, 6cm in height, were produced in hardness of: 13, 28, 25, and $45kg/cm^2$. To measure the sitting pressure distribution (depending on the characteristics of the produced seats), 10 healthy subjects participated in the experiment. XSENSOR was used a measuring device, and each seat was mounted on a wheelchair simulation. By analyzing the obtained data with Average Pressure(AP), Peak Pressure(PP,), and Contact Area(CA), the sitting pressure was measured for five minutes on each seat. This experiment showed the following results: There were significant differences between the AP, PP, and CA in the seat material (p<0.5). While the hardness of $18kg/cm^2$ showed low pressure, the hardness of $45kg/cm^2$ showed high pressure. This study also showed that seat material made of polyurethane should be considered when selecting seats. If polyurethane foam is used in seat recommendations, it will be recommended to use $18kg/cm^2$ for the proper hardness of the seat material.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2017

This study was to develop the balance insole system for detecting and improving the muscle imbalance of left and right side in lower limbs. We were to verify the validation of balance insole system by analyzing the strategy of muscular activities and foot pressure according to sound feedback. We developed the balance insole based FSR sensor modules for estimating the muscle imbalance using detecting foot pressure. The insole system was FPCB have 8-spot FSR sensor with sensitivity range of 64-level. The participants were twenty peoples who have muscle strength differences in left and right legs over 20%. We measured the muscular activity and foot pressure of left and right side of lower limbs in various gait environment for verifying the improvement effect of muscle imbalance according to sound feedback. They performed gait in slope at 0, 5, 10, 15% and velocity at 3, 4, 5km/h. The result showed that the level of muscle imbalance reduced within 30% for sound feedback of balance insole system contrast to high level of muscle imbalance at 169.9~246.8% during normal gait for increasing slope and velocity. This study found the validation of balance insole system with sound feedback stimulus. Also, we thought that it is necessary to research on the sensitivity of foot area, detection of muscle imbalance and processing algorithm of correction threshold spot.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2017

The hybrid acoustic sensor for implantable hearing aid has the structure in which a sound pressure based acoustic sensor (ECM) and a vibration based acceleration sensor are combined. This sensor combines the low frequency sensitivity of an acoustic sensor with the high frequency sensitivity of an acceleration sensor, allowing the acquisition of a wide range of sound from low to high frequency. In this paper, an acceleration sensor for use in a hybrid acoustic sensor has been proposed. The acceleration sensor captures the vibration of the tympanic membrane generated by the acoustic signal. The size of the proposed acceleration sensor was determined to diameter of 3.2 mm considering the anatomical structure of the tympanic membrane and the standard of ECM. In order to make the hybrid acoustic sensor have high sensitivity and wide bandwidth characteristics, the aim of the resonance frequency of the acceleration sensor is to be generated at about 3.5 kHz. The membrane of the acceleration sensor derives geometric structure through mathematical model and finite element analysis. Based on the analysis results, the membrane was implemented through a chemical etching process. In order to verify the frequency characteristics of the implemented membrane, vibration measurement experiment using external force was performed. The experiment results showed mechanical resonance of the membrane occurred at 3.4 kHz. Therefore, it is considered that the proposed acceleration sensor can be utilized for a hybrid acoustic sensor.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2017

Background & Object: Basic daily activity screening tool such as the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) has been used commonly in rehabilitation clinic and community based rehabilitation setting. Previous studies have shown the significant relations between the level of daily activities and driving ability on stroke or elderly people. However, there is a lack of studies to investigate the usefulness of MBI on prediction of driving ability for stroke patient. This study was to predict driving abilities of stroke survivor using Korean version Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI). Methods: A sample of 48 patients with stroke in rehabilitation hospital was recruited. All participants were tested level of basic daily activities using K-MBI. The driving ability of participants was tested using virtual reality driving simulator. The predictive validity was calculated of the K-MBI among pass or fail group of driving simulator test using receiver operating characteristics curves. Results: The cut-off score of >86.5 on the K-MBI is proper sensitivity to predict on driving performance ability. Conclusion: This pilot result offers clinical reference to therapists and caregivers for reasoning on driving recommendation period during rehabilitation stage of stroke survivors. Further studies need to identify prediction using real on-road test in a large population group.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2017

Because facial asymmetry is caused by various causes, the cause analysis is important and quantitative index is needed to the evaluation. In this study, we applied the Nottingham Grading System that was used as a quantitative index to evaluate the facial paralysis by tracking the markers through the image processing and calculating the distance between the markers with images obtained by using the webcam, to evaluate facial asymmetry. The existing Nottingham Grading System has a problem of causing a measurement error in the specific case because the left and right are compared by summing the distance change between the feature points of the face part according to the change of the facial expression. We compared the case of the facial asymmetry and case of normal subject by using the existing Nottingham Grading System and the improved Nottingham grading system. In the existing Nottingham Grading System, case of facial asymmetry and case of facial symmetry were 99.0% and 95.0% respectively in the normal range, but the improved Nottingham Grading System showed facial asymmetry case was 74.0% and facial symmetrical case was 93.2%. The results of experiment show that the improved Nottingham Grading System allows detailed evaluation of each site and improved the problem of the Nottingham Grading System for specific cases.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.157-163
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• 2017

The aim of the study is to examine the reliability and validity of UFOV, which is a visual driving evaluation tool that has been proven to be reliable and valid in western countries, for the purpose of adapting the tool in a systematic manner to the South Korean population. Two evaluator assessed 23 healthy and 19 stroke patients with UFOV, Trail Making Test A & B(TMT A & B) and Motor Free Visual Perception Test(MVPT) from 7 October 2014 to 25 November, 2014. The researcher analyzed inter-rater reliability, correlation between raters of UFOV with Intraclass correlation coefficient, test-retest reliablility, UFOV with spearman correlation coefficient, concurrent validity, UFOV, TMT A & B and MVPT with spearman correlation coefficient, and discriminative validity, comparison mean scores of UFOV between groups, healthy and stroke with Mann-Whitney U test. UFOV score of participants with stroke had lower compared to the healthy control group. The inter-rater reliability(p<.001), test-retest reliability(p<.01) and concurrent validity(p<.01) was statistically significant. Also discriminant validity was statistically significant(p<.001). Based on this study, Use of UFOV for drivers at risk is essential to prevent future traffic accidents and support driving rehabilitation.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2017

Results of the analysis have revealed that the students were basically divided into three groups depending on goodness-of-fit index and latent class division factor. Type 1 was regarded as a low dependence group (50.1%) with all low indexes while Type 2 was classified as a high dependence group (10.7%) with all high indexes. As for Type 3, it was titled intermediate dependence group (39.2%) for the indexes showed a low-to-moderate movement. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was carried out to forecast smart phone dependence characteristics and as a consequence, when the high dependence group was compared to the intermediate dependence group, as self-esteem and peer attachment increased and deceased respectively, a chance of one being classified into the intermediate dependence group rose. In an investigation to compare the high dependence group with the low dependence group, it was confirmed that the greater the self-esteem, the shorter the peer socializing time, the lower the neglect degree and the lower the peer attachment, a chance for one belonging to the low dependence group increased. This study also offered implications, limits and directions in follow-up research.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2015

In this paper, we present an inertial sensor-based gait analysis system to measure and analyze lower-limb movements. We developed an integral AHRS(Attitude Heading Reference System) using a combination of rate gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer sensor signals. Several AHRS modules mounted on segments of the patient's body provide the quaternions representing the patient segments's orientation in space. And a method is also proposed for calculating three-dimensional inter-segment joint angle which is an important bio-mechanical measure for a variety of applications related to rehabilitation. To evaluate the performance of our AHRS module, the Vicon motion capture system, which offers millimeter resolution of 3D spatial displacements and orientations, is used as a reference. The evaluation resulted in a RMSE(Root Mean Square Error) of 1.08 and 1.72 degree in yaw and pitch angle. In order to evaluate the performance of our the gait analysis system, we compared the joint angle for the hip, knee and ankle with those provided by Vicon system. The result shows that our system will provide an in-depth insight into the effectiveness, appropriate level of care, and feedback of the rehabilitation process by performing real-time limb or gait analysis during the post-stroke recovery.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.89-103
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• 2015

The purpose of this research attempted to developed the Community Reintegration support Program(H-CRsP) on patients with Spinal Cord Injury(SCI) and identity the effect. To assess the effectiveness of a Hospital based H-CRsP with a comprehensive team approach for treating inpatients with Spinal Cord Injury(SCI), offered by the Korea National Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants with SCI were recruited from the Korean National Rehabilitation Hospital. Twenty-five participants who met inclusion criteria were provided with a H-CRsP. A H-CRsP with modules related to the training of daily living skills, driving, vocations and school support activities, leisure or recreational activities, peer counseling, sexual rehabilitation, and others support activities. The 25 enrolled patients had been treated with average of 6.1 programs 2 times a week for over 2 or 3months. COPM, HADS, WHOQOL-BREF, AD-R were administered before the treatment(pre-test) and also at the time of discharge(post-test) to compare the treatment outcomes in the 25 program participants. Measured level of community integration by CIQ at discharge. The data were analyzed by such statistical methods as frequency and paired t-test analysis. Significant improvements were found on the Occupational Performance and Satisfaction, Acceptance of Disability, Quality of Life score in the COPM, AD-R, WHOQOL-BREF (p<0.05). In addition, 10 of the 25 patients returned to home, work or school. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the H-CRsP in helping patients with SCI return their communities to which they belong. It considered development of the variety of programs and prepare systematically related system.