• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
• /
• 제28권1호
• /
• pp.21-26
• /
• 2024

Purpose: Foot pressure measurement devices are used widely in clinical settings for plantar pressure assessments. Despite the availability of various devices, studies evaluating the inter-device reliability are limited. This study compared plantar pressure measurements obtained from HR Mat (Tekscan Inc.) and EMED-n50 (Novel GmbH). Materials and Methods: The study involved 38 healthy male volunteers. The participants were categorized into two groups based on the Meary's angle in standing foot lateral radiographs: those with normal feet (angles ranging from -4° to 4°) and those with mild flatfeet (angles from -8° to -15°). The static and dynamic plantar pressures of the participants were measured using HR Mat and EMED-n50. The reliability of the contact area and mean force was assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Furthermore, the differences in measurements between the two devices were examined, considering the presence of mild flatfoot. Results: The ICC values for the contact area and mean force ranged from 0.703 to 0.947, indicating good-to-excellent reliability across all areas. EMED-n50 tended to record higher contact areas than HR Mat. The mean force was significantly higher in the forefoot region when measured with EMED-n50, whereas, in the hindfoot region, this difference was observed only during static measurements with HR Mat. Participants with mild flatfeet exhibited significantly higher contact areas in the midfoot region for both devices, with no consistent differences in the other parameters. Conclusion: The contact area and mean force measurements of the HR Mat and EMED-n50 showed high reliability. On the other hand, EMED-n50 tended to record higher contact areas than HR Mat. In cases of mild flatfoot, an increase in contact area within the midfoot region was observed, but no consistent impact on the differences between the two devices was evident.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 제어로봇시스템학회 2005년도 ICCAS
• /
• pp.957-962
• /
• 2005

Today, the elderly is increasing gradually in the Republic of Korea society and this problem will be more serious in the near future. Therefore, engineering support for aged people is required. We are establishing a new field of healthcare engineering for elderly people and aiming to support for aged people and disabled people using adaptive control and instrument technology. In this paper, the goal is to implement the shared control of a robot mobility aid for the elderly. As using this type of assistive technology to be useful by its intended user community, it supports elderly people and handicapped people to live independently in their private homes. The interface transforms the force applied by the user into the robot's motion. Devices like buttons, joysticks, and levers already exist for relaying user input; however, they require hand displacement that would loosen or otherwise release the user's hold. Such interfaces make operation very difficult and potentially unsafe. Therefore, we propose a shared control system. It's safe more than joysticks and buttons. The shared control is a means of registering the user's intention through physical interaction. It's an important component in the development of robotic elderly assistant. The concept of shared control describes a system which is two or more independent control systems. We are using that the three component blocks consist of pressure sensor (flexible force sensor), circuit of measurement and transfer function. Experimental trials of this paper have been tested at the indoor environment. The robot is able to know the user intended direction through haptic device were logged along with the robot's force sensor.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.393-400
• /
• 2015

This paper describes the development of a chest-wearable robot that can efficiently perform self walking rehabilitation without a helper. The features of the developed robot are divided into three parts. First, as a mechanical characteristic, the conventional elbow crutch is attached at the forearm. However, the proposed robot is attached to the patient's chest, enabling them to feel free to use their hands and eliminate the burden of the arms. Second, as a characteristic of the driving algorithm, pressure sensors attached to the chest automatically perceive the patient's walking intention and move the robot-leg thereafter. Also, for safety, it stops operating when an obstacle is found in front of the patient by using ultrasonic sensors and generates a beeping sound. Finally, by using the scotch yoke mechanism, supporting legs are moved up and down using a rotary servo motor without excessive torque that is generated by large ground reaction forces. We showed that the developed robot can effectively perform self walking rehabilitation through walking experiments, and its performance was verified using Electromyograph (EMG) sensors.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 한국지반공학회 2009년도 춘계 학술발표회
• /
• pp.349-360
• /
• 2009

The cone penetration test(CPT) has gained its popularity in site characterization indebted by its reliability, speed, economy, and automatic measurement system since its development in the 1930s. The CPT results, commonly consisting of cone tip resistance, sleeve friction, and pore water pressure measurements, allow us to classify soils as well as to reveal their engineering characteristics. The site condition at which the CPT is allowable is often dependent on the capacity of a CPT system. In Korea, it has been considered that the CPT could be appled only to soft soils in most cases because CPT systems available for stiff soils are very rare due to their expensive procurement and maintenance cost. Luoisiana Transportation Research Center(LTRC) has developed and implemented a field-rugged continuous intrusion miniature cone penetration test(CIMCPT) system since the late 1990s. The miniature cone penetrometer has a sectional cone area of $2cm^2$ allowing system capacity reduction compared to the standard $10cm^2$ cone penetrometer. The continuous intrusion mechanism allows fast and economic site investigation. Samsung Engineering & Construction has recently developed and implemented a similar CIMCPT system based on its original version developed in LTRC. The performance of the Samsung CIMCPT system has been investigated by calibration with the standard CPT system at a well-characterized test site in Pusan, Korea. In addition, scale effect between the miniature cone penetrometer and the standard cone penetrometer has been investigated by comparing the field test results using the both systems.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제3권4호
• /
• pp.287-293
• /
• 2012

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome has received attention as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, with particular importance attached to visceral fat accumulation, which is associated with lifestyle-related diseases and is strongly correlated with waist circumference. In this study, our aim is to propose waist circumference cut-off values that can be used as a marker for fatty liver based on a sample of workers receiving health checkups in Japan. Methods: This study was conducted in a total of 21,866 workers who underwent periodic health checkups between January 2007 and December 2007. The mean age of the subjects was 47.4 years for men (standard deviation [SD]: 8.0) and 44.7 years for women (SD: 6.9). Evaluation included abdominal ultrasound and measurement of waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure. Results: Based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal waist circumference cut-off values were shown as 85.0 cm (sensitivity 0.72, specificity 0.69) for men and 80.0 cm (sensitivity 0.75, specificity 0.78) for women. Conclusion: Abdominal ultrasound is the most efficient means of diagnosing fatty liver, but this examination seldom occurs because the test is not routinely performed at workers' health checkups. In people found to have a high risk of fatty liver, recommendations can be made for abdominal ultrasound based on the waist circumference cut-off values obtained in this study. That is, waist circumference can be used in high risk individuals as an effective marker for early detection of fatty liver.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
• /
• 한국환경과학회 1996년도 봄 학술발표회 초록집
• /
• pp.22-22
• /
• 1996

;The Kwinana Shoreline Fumigation Experiment(KSFE) took place in Fremantle, WA, Australia between 23 January and 8 February, 1995. All measurement systems performed to expectation. The CSIRO DAR(Division of Atmospheric Research) LIDAR measured plume sections from near the Kwinana Power Station(KPS) stacks to up to about 5 km downstream. It also measured boundary layer aerosols and the structure of the boundary layer on some occasions. Both stages A and C of KPS were used as tracers at different times. Radiosonde and double theodolite sounding systems measured temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind structure at the coast(Woodman Point) and at the inland(ALCOA residue dump) site at intervals of roughly two hours. These were supplemented by mid afternoon soundings(radiosonde and single theodolite) by Department of Environmental Protection(DEP) at Swanbourne. The Flinders aircraft measured wind, turbulence and temperature structure of the atmospheric boundary layer, concentrations of $C0_2,\;0_3,\;S0_2\;and\;NO_x$ in the smoke plumes and surface radiation over both land and sea. CSIRO DCET(Division of Coal and Energy Technology) vehicle successfully interceptde many smoke plumes and using a range of tracers will be able to identify the various sources much of the time. Routine data from the DEP and Kwinana Industrial Council(KIC) air quality monitoring networks were also automatically logged. Murdoch University measured surface heat flux at Hope Valldy monitoring station and also at Wattleup monitoring station for the last five days. The heart of the LIDAR system is a Neodymium-doped Yttrium-aluminumgarnet(Nd:Y AG) laser operating at a fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm, with harmonics fo 532 nm and 355 nm. A small fraction of the laser beam is scattered back to the LIDAR, collected by a telescope and detedted by a photomultiplier tube. The intensity of the signal as a function of time is a measure of the particle concentration as a function of distance along the line of the laser shot. The results of nine days special field observations are summarized in detail.etail.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• 제21권4호
• /
• pp.50-61
• /
• 2022

Snow, rain, fog, and particulate matter interfere with the vehicle driver's vision, which causes a non-secure safety distance and an increase in speed deviation, causing repetitive large-scale traffic accidents. This study developed a road environment sensor capable of measuring 11 types of fog, snow, rain, temperature, humidity, direction of wind, speed of wind, Insolation, atmospheric pressure, fine particles, rainfall, etc. and compared the visibility measured by the infrared signal value of the development sensor. The relationship between the existing fog visibility sensor and the development sensor measurement was derived from data measured at a visibility of 500m or less that directly affects road safety.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• 제26권3호
• /
• pp.433-442
• /
• 2013

This study aimed to compare the dynamics of air temperature and velocity under two different ventilation and housing systems during summer and winter in Korea. The $NH_3$ concentration of both housing systems was also investigated in relation to the pig's growth. The ventilation systems used were; negative pressure type for the enclosed pig house (EPH) and natural airflow for the conventional pig house (CPH). Against a highly fluctuating outdoor temperature, the EPH was able to maintain a stable temperature at 24.8 to $29.1^{\circ}C$ during summer and 17.9 to $23.1^{\circ}C$ during winter whilst the CPH had a wider temperature variance during summer at 24.7 to $32.3^{\circ}C$. However, the temperature fluctuation of the CPH during winter was almost the same with that of EPH at 14.5 to $18.2^{\circ}C$. The NH3 levels in the CPH ranged from 9.31 to 16.9 mg/L during summer and 5.1 to 19.7 mg/L during winter whilst that of the EPH pig house was 7.9 to 16.1 mg/L and 3.7 to 9.6 mg/L during summer and winter, respectively. These values were less than the critical ammonia level for pigs with the EPH maintaining a lower level than the CPH in both winter and summer. The air velocity at pig nose level in the EPH during summer was 0.23 m/s, enough to provide comfort because of the unique design of the inlet feature. However, no air movement was observed in almost all the lower portions of the CPH during winter because of the absence of an inlet feature. There was a significant improvement in weight gain and feed intake of pigs reared in the EPH compared to the CPH (p<0.05). These findings proved that despite the difference in the housing systems, a stable indoor temperature was necessary to minimize the impact of an avoidable and highly fluctuating outdoor temperature. The EPH consistently maintained an effective indoor airspeed irrespective of season; however the CPH had defective and stagnant air at pig nose level during winter. Characteristics of airflow direction and pattern were consistent relative to housing system during both summer and winter but not of airspeed. The ideal air velocity measurement favored the EPH and therefore can be appropriate for the Korean environment. Further emphasis on its cost effectiveness will be the subject of future investigations.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• 제34권11호
• /
• pp.1027-1033
• /
• 2010

A two-phase (gas-liquid) flow is a common phenomenon in fluidic systems, e.g., fluidic systems in the electro-magnetic or nuclear power generation industry and in the steel industry. The measurement of a two-phase flow is important for guaranteeing the safety of the system and for achieving the desired performance. The measurement of the void fraction, which is one of the parameters of the two-phase flow that determines the pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient, is very important. The time resolution achieved by employing the impedance method that can be used to calculate the void fraction from the impedance of the fluid is high because the electric characteristics are taken into account. Therefore, this method can be employed to accurately measure the void fraction without distortion of flow in real time by placing electrodes on the walls of the tubes. Coney analytically studied a ring-type impedance meter, which can be employed in a circular tube. The aim of this study is to experimentally verify the robustness of a three-ring impedance meter to variations in the electric conductivity of the fluid; this robustness was suggested by Coney but was not experimentally verified.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• 제41권6호
• /
• pp.575-587
• /
• 2020

Meteorological phenomena are observed by the Korea Meteorological Administration in a variety of ways (e.g., surface, upper-air, marine, ocean, and aviation). However, there are limits to the meteorological observation of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) that greatly affects human life. In particular, observations using a sonde or aircraft require significant observational costs in economic terms. Therefore, the goal of this study was to measure and analyze the meteorological factors of the vertical distribution of the see-land breeze among local meteorological phenomena using meteorological drones. To investigate the spatial distribution of the see-land breeze, a same integrated meteorological sensor was mounted on each drone at three different points (seaside, bottom of mountain, and mountainside), including the Boseong tall tower (BTT) at the Boseong Standard Weather Observatory (BSWO) in the Boseong region. Vertical profile observations for air temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and air pressure were conducted up to 400 m every 30 minutes from 1100 LST to 1800 LST on August 4, 2018. The spatial characteristics of meteorological phenomena for temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure were not shown at the four points. Strong winds (~8 m s-1) were observed from the midpoint (~100 m) at strong solar radiation hour, and in the afternoon the wind direction changed from the upper layer at the inland area to the west wind. It is expected that the analysis results of the lower atmospheric layer observed using the meteorological drone may help to improve the weather forecast more accurately.