• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.328-335
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• 2011

For human factor engineering and wearable robot design, the quantitative assessment of physical workload is needed. Through measuring the surface EMG (sEMG) and analysis, the physical workload in overhead lifting posture is presented in quantitative manner. By normalizing sEMG activities with maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), the inter-subject variability is reduced. In all muscles, %MVC increased as the weight of lifting object increases. In anterior deltoid muscle, the %MVC was 3-4 times higher than the other muscles which imply that this muscle performs the major role in the overhead lifting posture. In fatigue analysis, %MVC and the mean frequency in muscle of anterior deltoid changed markedly when compared with other muscles. Through the suggested procedures and analysis, the physical workload for a specific posture can be represented in quantitative way but the clinical meaning for the value should be investigated further.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.38-45
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• 1999

The 2-trowel type concrete floor finishing robot can move in any direction by adjusting the posture or trowels without any wheels. Since the quality of the smoothed and polished concrete floor is determined by plastering speed, we need to control the velocity of the robot. However, we cannot use the typical motion control method because it is very difficult to measure the velocity of the robot, in contrast to the mobile robots with wheels. To overcome this difficulty, the following are studied in this paper: we found that the robot dynamics has the disturbance depending on its translational speed, and showed that there exists the saturated velocity of the robot which is set by the posture of the trowels, and obtained the relationship between the saturated velocity and the posture in the translation. The result enables us to control the motion of the robot only by adjusting the posture of trowels without measuring the velocity of the robot. Currently, we built the troweling robot and are experimenting its performance with the proposed motion control method.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

To determine the effect of posture change on autonomic activity and to investigate valid parameters to reflex the autonomic activity from time-series pupil size data, a posture-related experiment was performed with 15 subjects, which involved measuring their electrocardiograms and pupil sizes. The experimental procedure consisted of three-sequence postures-supine, sitting and upright-for 5 minutes each, with rest sessions between postures. The subjects were notified of the entire experimental procedure. The parameters of the subjects' heart rate variability showed significant differences between the postures (heart rate: 63-70-80 beat, normalized low frequency power: 28-50-75, normalized high frequency power: 72-49-25 and ratio: 0.5-1.2-4.4 in supine-sitting-upright position respectively) as did the parameters of their mean pupil sizes (41300-53900-53700 pixels respectively) and the major frequencies (the third trend: 0.23-0.2-0.18 Hz respectively) of their pupil size variability according to changes in their autonomic activities induced by posture change. The experiment thus proved that posture change affects autonomic activity and that such activity can be estimated by the parameters of pupil size as similar as heart rate variability.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2016

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of exercise on the neck muscles activities between scapular stability and McKenzie stretch exercise in the forward head posture subjects. Method : After measuring cervical alignment using the Global Posture System, 20 volunteers with forward head posture posture were selected and divided into two groups. The experimental group A(n=15) and Experimental group B(n=15) participated in respectively and McKenzie neck stretching exercise, three times per week for 4 weeks. The scapular stabilization exercise program was comprised middle and lower trapezius strength exercises and the stretching exercise program was comprised levator scapulae and upper trapezius stretching exercise. The activities of the muscles of the posterior neck was then measured using electromyography. Result : After the intervention, there was significant difference of a electromyography activity changes between the pre-test and post-test in the experimental group. Conclusion : This study showed that both scapular stabilization and McKenzie neck stretching exercises are more effective for reducing neck muscles activities.

• Journal of Auto-vehicle Safety Association
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.52-61
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• 2020

In recent years, the increasing interest in health-care requires the industrial products to be well-designed ergonomically. In the commercial vehicle industry, several researchers have demonstrated the driver's posture has great effect on the orthopedic desease such as fatigue, back pain, scoliosis, and so on. However, the existing sensor systems developed for measuring the driver posture in real time have suffered from inaccuracy and low reliability issues. Here, we suggest our smart vehicle seat system capable of real-time driver posture monitoring by using the air bag sensor package with high sensitivity and reliability. The ergonomic numerical model which can evaluate a driver's posture has been developed on the basis of the human body segmentation method followed by simulation-based validation. Our experimental analysis of obtained pressure distribution of a vehicle seat under the different driver's postures revealed our smart vehicle system successfully achieved the driver's real-time posture data in great agreement with our numerical model.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 1997

This study was to design the clean room garment which fits for a body and adjusts well to the action. We examined the body's changes in action through a body measurment and made a sample of the clean room garment to which had adapted the body's changes in action and evaluated the function and the appearance compared with the existing the clean room garment. The followings were summery of the results : 1. Back intersyce breadth decreased, trunk length increased and the other parts were not change. At a posture of raising hands($M_3$) in comparison with an upright posture($M_0$). Back intersyce breadth, hip length and knee length increased and the other parts were a little change. At a bowing posture($M_2$) in comparison with an upright posture($M_0$). Back hip girth, knee length, hip length and leg length increased and the other parts were not change. At a working posture on a chair($M_1$) in comparison with an upright posture($M_0$). 2. The overall clean room garment was made increasing on the changes of part of a body through measuring and body measurement. 3. From the test of the function, it became known that the devised clean room garment was superior to the existing one in the parts of neck, shoulder, armpit and elbow at a working posture on a chair($M_1$), in the parts of neck, shoulder, and armpit at a bowing posture($M_2$), and the armpit at a posture of raising hands($M_3$). The appearance was better on the whole. 4. From the examination of photographs, the waist line of the devised clean room garment was not so much pulled up as that of the existing one on moving. And when sitting down on a chair, the waist line of the existing one was pulled down while that of the devised one had no change. As above, we investigated the actual conditions of wearing the clean room garment and measured the body's changes according the various actions. So we applied these results to the devised clean room garment but we couldn't research the clean mom effect of it owing to not obtaining the measuring instrument. The aspect of ergonomics liked the feeling of wearing and fitted to the action must be given consideration to the clean room garment, and simultaneously the dust-resistant effect must be taken into consideration in order to improve the quality of the goods. Therefore, we think it should be continued the research on the dust-resistant effect, material, washing method, quality control, and size along with the aspect of ergonomics.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2019

This study designs a squat posture recognition system that can provide correct squat posture guidelines. This system comprises two modules: a Kinect camera for monitoring users' body movements and a Wii Balance Board(WBB) for measuring balanced postures with legs. Squat posture recognition involves two states: "Stand" and "Squat." Further, each state is divided into two postures: correct and incorrect. The incorrect postures of the Stand and Squat states were classified into three and two different types of postures, respectively. The factors that determine whether a posture is incorrect or correct include the difference between shoulder width and ankle width, knee angle, and coordinate of center of pressure(CoP). An expert and 10 participants participated in experiments, and the three factors used to determine the posture were measured using both Kinect and WBB. The acquired data from each device show that the expert's posture is more stable than that of the subjects. This data was classified using a support vector machine (SVM) and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier. The classification results showed that the accuracy achieved using the SVM and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier was 95.61% and 81.82%, respectively. Therefore, the developed system that used Kinect and WBB could classify correct and incorrect postures with high accuracy. Unlike in other studies, we obtained the spatial coordinates using Kinect and measured the length of the body. The balance of the body was measured using CoP coordinates obtained from the WBB, and meaningful results were obtained from the measured values. Finally, the developed system can help people analyze the squat posture easily and conveniently anywhere and can help present correct squat posture guidelines. By using this system, users can easily analyze the squat posture in daily life and suggest safe and accurate postures.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.174-183
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• 2023

Background: Office workers experience neck or back pain due to poor posture, such as flexed head and forward head posture, during long-term sedentary work. Posture correction is used to reduce pain caused by poor posture and ensures proper alignment of the body. Several assistive devices have been developed to assist in maintaining an ideal posture; however, there are limitations in practical use due to vast size, unproven long-term effects or inconsistency of maintaining posture alignment. We developed a headphone and necklace posture correction system (HANPCS) for posture correction using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor that provides visual or auditory feedback. Objects: To demonstrate the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of neck and upper trunk flexion measurements using a HANPCS, compared with a three-dimensional motion analysis system (3DMAS). Methods: Twenty-nine participants were included in this study. The HANPCS was applied to each participant. The angle for each action was measured simultaneously using the HANPCS and 3DMAS. The data were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = [3,3] with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The angular measurements of the HANPCS for neck and upper trunk flexions showed high intra- (ICC = 0.954-0.971) and inter-day (ICC = 0.865-0.937) values, standard error of measurement (SEM) values (1.05°-2.04°), and minimal detectable change (MDC) values (2.92°-5.65°). Also, the angular measurements between the HANPCS and 3DMAS had excellent ICC values (> 0.90) for all sessions, which indicates high concurrent validity. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the HANPCS is as accurate in measuring angle as the gold standard, 3DMAS. Therefore, the HANPCS is reliable and valid because of its angular measurement reliability and validity.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 1996

This study was performed to investigate the effects of head posture and occlusal splint on the vertical dimension in mandibular rest position and swallowing. Thirty health dental students ware selected lot this study and BioEGNⓡ(Bioresearch Inc., USA) was used for measuring interocclusal distance during rest - swallowing - rest - tapping movement. This swallowing movements were observed in both normal head posture(NHP) and forward head posture (FHP). Thickness of occlusal splint was about 2mm at posterior molar area and even tooth contact were achieved on light biting. The four mandibular positions at which interocclusal distance measured were swallowing position, after swallowing position in which interocclusal distance was maximum, rest position follows swallowing, and tapping position after rest. Changes of distance in each position were measured for three mandibular planes, that is, sagittal, frontal, and horizontal plane, respectively. The results obtained were as follows : 1. In normal head posture, the mandible was raised 1.03mm without splint, and 0.77mm with splint on swallowing, and there was no significant difference between the two. In horizontal plane, however, mandible was displaced more anteriorly in both swallowing position and tapping position with splint. 2. In forward head posture, the mandible was less raised with splint on swallowing, but features in horizontal plane were almost same as those in normal head posture. 3. In natural dentition, significant difference between NHP and FHP were observed in horizontal plane trajectory for swallowing and tapping position. But the difference for same positions were observed in frontal trajectory with splint. 4. Total amount of mandibular movement of two groups classified with sagittal interocclusal distance of swallowing position generally showed significant difference between the higher and the lower height group in head posture without splint. 5. Correlationship among total amount of mandibular movement for three mandibular planes were observed between sagittal plane and horizontal plane, and between sagittal plane and frontal plane in head posture without splint.

• IE interfaces
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.218-225
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• 2004

This study aims to investigate effect of external load and motion repetitiveness on perceived discomfort. An experiment was performed for measuring discomfort scores at varying conditions, in which external load, motion repetitiveness and arm posture were employed as experimental variables. The arm posture was controlled by shoulder flexion and abduction, and by elbow flexion. Fifteen healthy college-age students without history of musculoskeletal disorders voluntarily participated in the experiment. The results showed that the effect of external load, motion repetitiveness and shoulder posture on discomfort were statistically significant, but that elbow posture did not significantly affect discomfort ratings. The effect of external load was much larger than that of any other variables, and that of repetitiveness was second only to external load. Discomfort scores significantly increased linearly as the levels of external load and motion repetitiveness increased. This implies that although they were not fully reflected in the existing posture classification scheme such as OWAS, RULA, etc., the effect of external load and motion repetitiveness should be taken into consideration for precisely quantifying work load in industry. Based on regression analysis, equivalent values of external load and motion repetitiveness in terms of discomfort scores were provided, which would be useful for better understanding the degree of their effect on work load.