• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.437-442
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• 2013

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of drive-assisting system in a shower carrier on the upper body muscle activities of caregivers through drivability tests. Background: In care facilities, one of the major ADL (Activities of Daily Living) factors is bathing/showering. Recently, bath/shower-assisting equipment is actively being introduced in care facilities to reduce caregivers' muscle burden. In particular, it is desirable to utilize a shower carrier equipped with drive-assisting system to effectively care for the elderly. However, there were few systematic studies on the relationship between muscle activities and drive-assisting speeds. Method: For the drivability tests to study the effects on the muscle activities according to the drive-assisting speeds(corresponding drive-voltages: 0.0V, 2.0V, 2.1V, 2.3V), 6 females in their 40s($43{\pm}4yrs$, $157{\pm}5cm$, and $54.5{\pm}1.5kg$) were selected. To measure muscle activities of caregivers through drivability tests, 7 muscles in the upper body(TM/Trapezius Muscle, DM/Deltoid Muscle, BBM/Biceps Brachii Muscle, TBM/Triceps Brachii Muscle, ECRLM/Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus Muscle, FCUM/Flexor Carpi Ulnaris Muscle, and ESM/Erector Spinae Muscle) were selected. Results: In the TM, muscle activities were decreased as 21% compared to 0.0V, when drive-voltage 2.0V was applied, as 57% by 2.1V, and 62% by 2.3V(p<0.05), whereas 40%, 56%, and 69% of muscles activities were decreased respectively from the DM(p<0.05). Also, from the UL(BBM+TBM+ECRLM+FCUM), muscle activities were decreased by 17% with 2.0V as against 0.0V, by 47% with 2.1V, and 52% with 2.3V, whereas decreases in muscle activities from the ESM were found by 20%, 34%, and 42% respectively by 2.0V, 2.1V, and 2.3V(p<0.05). Conclusion: The muscle activities were decreased in the order of the DM, TM, ESM, and UL. As muscle activities were remarkably reduced as drive voltage were increased, it was expected to reduce the upper body muscle burden on the caregivers when using shower carriers equipped with driving-assist system. Applications: The results from this study can be applied for the development of a shower carrier including other equipment to possibly reduce the muscle burden of the caregivers.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.241-257
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• 2000

Rheumatoid arthritis as one of the chronic illness requiring management in long period of time puts great burden to patients, their family and society. For patients with chronic illnesses, providing a social support is important and the most important source comes from spouses. Therefore we assessed burden of husbands of female rheumatoid arthritic patients and also found out the factors affecting burden. The sample of study was 107 female rheumatoid arthritic patients and their spouses. The tool of assessing spouses' burden was the revised version of subjective and objective parameters developed by Montgomery et al.(1985). The results are as follows: 1. General characteristics of patients and spouses: The mean age of the patients was 48 years. Educational level of patients was high school 41.1%. The mean age of the spouses was 51years. Educational level of spouses was mostly high school(40.2%) and college(29.9%) graduate. The mean marital period was 23.4years. Average income per month was 1,609,000 won. The average duration since diagnosis was 9.4years. As a therapy, 67.3% chose standard drug therapy. Average rating of discomfort by patient was 3.05(range 1-5) and that of severity was 3.48 and that of dependency was 2.58. The husband's rating of their spouses disease severity was 3.68. 2. Husbands' burden: The average burden in subjective items was 21.61(range 6-36) and objective items was 35.24(range 10-60). The average of total burden was 56.59(range 16-96). 3. Husband's total burden correlated with patient's age, educational level of patients, therapy method, patient's level of discomfort, patient's severity, patient's level of dependence, husband's recognition of level of severity in statistical level. Husband's objective burden correlated with patient's age, educational level of patient, patient's level of discomfort, husband's recognition of level of severity. Husband's subjective burden correlated with patient's age, educational level of patients, therapy method, patient's severity, patient's level of dependence, husband's recognition of level of severity. 4. Linear correlation analysis on burden: The husbands' total burden is explained in 37 7% by husband's recognition of level of severity and husband's age. The husbands' objective burden is explained in 31.2% by patient's level of dependence, husband's age, husband's recognition of level of severity. The husbands' subjective burden is explained in 26.7% by husband's recognition of level of severity and patient's age. In conclusion, husbands' level of burden is affected by many factors and therefore nursing strategy for relieving burden of middle aged husbands should be individualized taking these factors into consideration.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.379-388
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• 2012

Objective: This study developed a new shower carrier prototype to reduce caregivers' muscle burden and to increase use convenience by reflecting the needs of domestic long-term care institutions. Background: In the long-term care institutions, one of the ADL(Activities of Daily Life) factors is bathing/showering. Recently, bath/shower-assisting equipment is actively being introduced in care institutions to reduce the caregivers' care cost, but most of the domestic equipment was designed to imitate foreign products and rarely reflected the needs of care institutions. Method: Based on Korean elderly people's body information, the bed size(length: 1,900mm, width: 650mm) was set-up, and a variable headrest with a newly designed headform was developed to provide the comfort for the elderly and convenience for caregivers. To reduce caregivers' muscle burden on transferring and showering activities, a 3-step column lifting module equipped with dual actuators(lowest/highest levels from the ground: 600/1,100mm, Stroke: 500mm) was developed, and the wheelbase parameter(length: 1,250mm, width: 580mm) was defined securing the turn-over safety of the shower carrier. The drivability tests were performed for the prototype and foreign product, and the male and female subject's muscle activities were measured through the tests. Results: The structural stability of the shower carrier prototype was secured by finite element analysis, and the muscle activities of the subjects through the drivability tests largely decreased in the prototype, compared to the foreign product. Conclusion: In this study, a new shower carrier prototype was developed to possibly reduce caregivers' muscle burden and to increase use convenience based on the needs of long-term care institutions. It was expected that the drivability performance of the prototype could be relatively superior to that of the foreign product. Application: The results obtained from the study can be applied for the optimal development of a shower carrier including other equipment to effectively care for the elderly.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the quality of life of family caregivers of patients with Parkinson disease in Korea. Methods: A total of 162 family caregivers of patients with Parkinson disease who were visiting the D hospital in B city completed questionnaires, including general and disease-specific characteristics, family burden, patient-caregiver relationship satisfaction, family support and quality of life. Data were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA with $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS 23.0. Results: The average score of the quality of life was $85.54{\pm}17.74$ (range: 26~130) among family caregivers of patients with Parkinson disease. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that fifty percent of the quality of life was explained by family support, family burden, and patient-caregiver relationship satisfaction. Conclusion: Family support, family burden, and patient-caregiver relationship satisfaction were identified as factors affecting the quality of life of family caregivers of patients with Parkinson disease. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a program to enhance family support and reduce family burden to improve the quality of life of family members caring for patients with Parkinson disease.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the effectiveness of Dongsasub training for the family caregivers of patients with dementia on their care burden, depression, and self-esteem. Methods: An one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. Six family caregivers recruited from a support center for dementia in Seoul and participated in this study. Once a week, the Dongsasub training was provided for 90 minutes during eight weeks. Results: Depression was significantly lower (z=-2.01, p=.044), and self-esteem was significantly higher (z=-2.21, p=.027) than before Dongsasub training. However, care burden was not significantly different between pre and post program (z=-1.58, p=.115). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the Dongsasub training can be used as a nursing intervention in community settings to decrease depression and improve self-esteem for the family caregivers of patients with dementia.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was a descriptive research to identify the relationships among burden from behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia, dementia attitude, emotional labor and nurse's caring behavior as well as to clarify factors that affect caring behavior of nurses in long-term care hospital. Methods: For the research, this study collected data from July 8 to July 20, in 2019 with 214 nurses who worked at 10 long-term care hospitals in Chungbuk. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS 23.0 program. Results: Factors influencing caring behavior of nurses in long-term care hospital were dementia attitudes (β=.549, p<.001), burden from behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia (β=.242, p<.001) and marital status (β=.134, p=.017). These factors explained 33.9% of caring behavior (F=37.35, p<.001). Conclusion: Dementia attitudes were confirmed to be the main variable influencing nurse's caring behavior. Therefore, to improve the caring behavior of dementia patient, it is considered that the development of programs to improve dementia attitudes and in-depth understanding regarding the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia is necessary.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.203-212
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• 2024

Simultaneous motion is essential in the activities of daily living (ADL). For motion intention recognition, surface electromyogram (sEMG) and corresponding motion label is necessary. However, this process is time-consuming and it may increase the burden of the user. Therefore, we propose a simultaneous motion recognition framework using data augmentation based on muscle activation model. The model consists of multiple point sources to be optimized while the number of point sources and their initial parameters are automatically determined. From the experimental results, it is shown that the framework has generated the data which are similar to the real one. This aspect is quantified with the following two metrics: structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and mean squared error (MSE). Furthermore, with k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) or support vector machine (SVM), the classification accuracy is also enhanced with the proposed framework. From these results, it can be concluded that the generalization property of the training data is enhanced and the classification accuracy is increased accordingly. We expect that this framework reduces the burden of the user from the excessive and time-consuming data acquisition.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.222-228
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• 2011

With comparison of maximum vertical reaction force and lower limb on drop landing between normal and flat foot group, this study is to provide fundamental data of the prevention of injury and the treatment of exercise which are frequently occurred on flat foot group's drop landing. The surface electrodes were sticked on lateral gastrocnemius muscle, medial gastrocnemius muscle, tibialis anterior and the drop landing on a force plate of 40cm was performed with a normal group who had no musculoskeletal disease and a flat foot group of 9 people who had feet examinations. Vertical reaction force were significantly statistically different between two groups(p<.001). Muscle activity of lower limbs in all three parts were not statistically different but showed high tendency on average in the flat foot group. The flat foot group had difficulties in diversification of impact burden and high muscle activity. Therefore, it was suggested that muscular strengthening of knee joints and plantar flexions of foot joints which were highly affected in impact absorption will be required.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.281-286
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• 2005

The goal in facial paralysis treatment is to achieve the normal appearance of the face as well as to reconstruct the natural symmetrical smile. In cases of facial paralysis, a widely accepted procedure is the two stage method, which combines neurovascular free muscle transfer with cross face nerve grafting. Although the results are promising, the two operations of this method, which are about 1 year apart, impose an economic burden on the patients and require a lengthy period before results are obtained. In order to overcome these drawbacks, one stage method, using latissimus dorsi neurovascuular free muscle flap was introduced. Between January 2000 and January 2004, fifteen patients with long standing facial paralysis were treated in the Korea University Anam Hospital. The segmental latissimus dorsi with long nerve and pedicle was transferred to the paralyzed side of the face. The first postoperative movement of the transferred muscle was reported at 8.9 months, faster than that of the two stage method. During the next 24 months, a constant increase in the power of muscle contraction was observed. The fifteen cases were evaluated within an average of 31.7 months following the surgery and satisfactory results including muscle contraction were obtained in eleven of the cases but muscle contraction was not found in three cases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.763-764
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• 2012