• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1063-1073
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• 1999

Objective: Poor head and neck support during sleep can exacerbate the neck pain. Based on the ideal sleep posture and pillow suggested by Cyriax, we designed a new cervical pillow and compared the degree of pain reduction, quality of sleep and pillow satisfaction with a low hospital pillow and a high pillow. Method: The newly designed pillow has a built-in pressure-adjustable air bag in the cervical area and provides normal cervical lordotic curve in supine position and maintains cervical and thoracic vertebrae to form a horizontal line in side-lying position. Thiry-four patients with cervical pain used low hospital pillows for the first week of 3-week randomized crossover design study. They were subsequently randomly assigned to use each of the other two pillows for 1-week period. Outcomes were measured using Visual analog scale, Sleep questionaire, a pillow satisfaction scale. Result: Compared with other 2 types of pillow, Subjects using the newly desinged pillow showed much reduced pain intensity, increased duration of sleep and better satisfaction. Conclustion: We desinged a cervical pillow with built-in pressure adjustable air bag and it can significantly reduce pain intensity and improve quality of sleep in patients with cervical pain.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.713-720
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• 2006

Heat conductivity, height, size, elasticity of pillow, stability of shape, hygroscopicity, ventilation, temperature and easy movability, and so on, are considered to be some of major conditions that affect the comfortable sleep. Considering those factors together, the thermal properties, height, shape and feeling of touch, etc, of pillow must be taken into account. Though studies have been conducted to figure out the physical properties of mattress or pillows from the perspective of factors related to the environment of sleep, they are not enough to be used as an index to evaluate the qualitative aspect of sleep. This study tries to consider the effect of pillow filling materials on the comfortable sleep, for which EEG, ECG, EOG, EMG, RT, etc, are to be measured in an attempt to provide the basic data required in proposing the condition that may lead to a sound and comfortable sleep. Three types of pillows that are sold in the market were used for this research in order to evaluate the quality of sleep depending on the filling materials of pillow. All data were statistically processed and the following conclusions were drawn. It was found that the pillow with feathers provided the best comfort as the pillow A turned out to have the shortest sleeping latency(SL) from the perspective of comfort. The pillow B which used the polyethylene is deemed to be suitable for fatigue relieving purpose as it turned out to have the highest slow wave sleep(SWS), but no statistically significant difference was validated. Moreover, the pillow C which used the natural wool was found to have the narrowest contacting area of the pillow and head and provide a great warm heat comfort that may led to a sound sleep because the temperature below the pillow took the longest time to rise.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.280-285
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• 2017

This paper presents a respiration measurement sleeping pillow based on pressure sensors. The respiration measurement sleeping pillow system consists of a sleeping pillow, an interface circuit, a respiration measurement system, and four force-sensitive resistor(FSR) sensors attached at the bottom of the sleeping pillow. The FSR sensors are used to detect the respiration signals induced by the body movement while breathing. The respiration signals of a twenty health man were measured and analyzed by utilizing the respiration measurement sleeping pillow system. The pillow system could detect the respiration signals and had similar characteristics to the chest type BIOPAC respiration sensor used by medical doctors. The respiration rates of ten subjects were also measured. The average measurement accuracy was about 98.8%. The research results showed that this pillow system can be used to detect and analyze the respiration signal when sleeping for the better sleep management.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.503-517
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 dimensional contoured pillow through analyzing contact pressure and to suggest its design guidelines through analyzing the posture of head and neck area. Background: The quality of sleep is a very important factor closely related with human's health. To improve the quality of sleep, the verification of design factors affecting the posture of the head and neck is needed, and a pillow design that can induce proper posture is required. Method: This study measured the contact pressures of the two reference groups (bead and cotton pillows) as a method to evaluate the design effectiveness of the contoured pillow. This study proposed 3-dimensional design guidelines by drawing anthropometry (head length) affecting cervical curvature angle (CCA) through the measurement of the participants' cervical curvature angles. Results: In the design effectiveness evaluation, the contact pressure of cervical region was higher than that of a reference group (cotton pillow), and contract area increased, and contract pressure decreased in the shape distributing the occipital region's body pressure. This study proposed pillow's cervical supporting height by percentile of a head length [head length (%tile) (cervical supporting height) affecting the posture of the head and neck: 14.6cm (5%tile) (6.2cm), 15.5cm (25%tile) (6.7cm), 16.4cm (50%tile) (7.1cm), and 19.3cm (75%tile) (8.9cm)]. Conclusion: This study confirmed the contoured pillow's design effectiveness maintaining cervical angle comfortable to sleep with the shape supporting the cervical vertebrae and by reducing the contact load of the occipital region. Also, this study proposed pillow design guidelines based on the 3-dimensional contoured pillow design effectiveness, through which the study laid the foundation for pillow design in a systematic method. Application: The results of this study are expected to be utilized as the basis data by which the optimum pillow type and pillow design according to main percentile can be standardized.

• The monthly packaging world
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• s.355
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• pp.68-74
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• 2022

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2014

Objectives This study was performed to analyze relationship between pillow height and patients of arm paresthesia. Methods The data were collected from December 2013 to April 2014. The subjects who visited in Korean Medical hospital for Arm paresthesia were 65. The pillow height was measured from the surface to occipital protuberance. And the angle of cervical spine was measured from the tragus to the acromion. Results 1. The average height of pillow was $5.36{\pm}2.37cm$, and the average of the angle of cervical spine was $18.62{\pm}8.94^{\circ}$. 2. Correlation and regression analysis were performed on the pillow height, the angle of cervical spine and paresthesia. There was a significant correlation between the pillow height and paresthesia (R=0.389). And it had correlation between the angle of cervical spine and paresthesia (R=0.269). 3. The regression analysis was used to determine the influence of elements. The pillow height can influence to the arm paresthesia. Conclusions Through this study, we found out significant relationship between pillow height, cervical angle and patients of arm paresthesia. This result suggests that the higher pillow height and cervical angle can cause the more painful arm paresthesia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2024

PURPOSE: The study aimed to analyze the effect of pillow height on upper trapezius and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle activity and overall human body comfort to determine the optimal pillow height. METHODS: The study included 32 healthy college students, of both genders, who provided prior consent. It examined three pillow heights (flat, 6cm, 12cm) and measured the upper trapezius and SCM muscles using ultrasonography, myotone, and electromyography(EMG). Muscle activation, thickness, and fatigue were assessed. RESULTS: The study found significant differences in muscle thickness and muscle tone based on the pillow heights (flat, 6cm, and 12cm) with a p < .05. The SCM and upper trapezius muscles were thinnest at a pillow height of 6cm. Muscle tone in the SCM was lower at both 6cm and 12cm pillow heights. Post-hoc measurements showed significant differences in both the SCM and upper trapezius muscles thickness at the 6cm pillow height (p < .05). Also, significant differences in muscle tone were observed only in the SCM, particularly between the 6cm and 12cm pillow heights. CONCLUSION: The ultrasonography and myotone measurements showed a significant difference in muscle thickness and muscle tension, both of which were above 6cm, while there was no difference in muscle activation. Based on the strong correlation between muscle tension and muscle thickness with pillow height, this study concluded that the human body feels comfortable with a 6cm pillow height. Therefore, it is recommended to use a pillow height of 6cm when lying in a supine position.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.212-217
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• 2019

In this paper, a sleep management pillow system for snoring detection and respiration measurement is investigated. The sleep management pillow system consists of four force sensing resistor(FSR) sensors, two microphones(MIC), a pillow, a measurement system. Four FSR sensors attached at the bottom part of the pillow are used for respiration measurement and snoring detection. Two microphones located at the middle left and right of the pillow are utilized for only snoring detection. The respiration and the snoring of ten young people were measured using the sleep management pillow system composed of a data acquisition board, interface circuit, and personal computer. The measurement accuracy of the respiration was about 98% and the measurement accuracy of the snoring was about 97%. The experiment results show that the sleep management pillow system can be used for snoring detection and respiration rate measurement during sleeping.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.117-124
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined the effect of muscle thickness of the deep cervical flexor muscle, muscle tonicity, and muscle fatigue of the superficial cervical flexor muscle by applying a functional latex pillow to patients with chronic cervical pain. METHODS: An experimental group using a functional latex pillow and a control group using a general pillow were assigned randomly to 30 people. Each pillow was applied in a comfortable lying position in the experimental group and control group. The deep cervical flexor muscle thickness was measured in the longus colli and longus capitus using ultrasonography. The muscle tonicity and muscle fatigue of the superficial cervical flexor muscle were measured separately in the sternocleidomastoid muscle using a myotonometer and electromyography. RESULTS: In the experimental group(functional latex pillow), the muscle tonicity of the superficial cervical flexor muscle like the sternocleidomastoid muscle was significantly lower than that of the control group (general pillow)(p < .01). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the functional latex pillow may effectively reduce the muscle tonicity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which is the superficial cervical muscle, in patients with chronic cervical pain. On the other hand, it was not effective on the muscle thickness of the deep cervical flexor muscle and muscle fatigue of the superficial cervical flexor muscles.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.545-554
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• 2011

In this study, the parameters of Polysomnography (PSG) test, such as total sleep time, snoring time, had been analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of a developed anti-snore pillow. The developed anti-snore pillow is made up of two polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) vibration sensors, pumps, valves, and air bladders. The two PVDF sensors inside the pillow can acquire the sound signals and the algorithm was perfectly designed to extract snoring by removing unwanted noise accurately and automatically. Once the pillow recognizes snore, a pump inside the hardware activates, and a bladder under the neck area inside the pillow will be inflated. The PSG test was used and two volunteers were participated for the study. The parameters of the PSG results were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the anti-snore pillow. The total sleep time of each volunteer was similar on each phase of test, but the snoring time and the longest snoring episode were significantly decreased with the use of anti-snore pillow. The overall results showed excellent possibilities for reducing snoring for the person who snores during sleep by using the anti-snore pillow. The effectiveness of the anti-snore pillow can be evaluated by the PSG test. Moreover, the relationship between each parameter of PSG test and the quality of sleep will be used for further researches.