• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.35-42
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• 2017

This study develops a new hybrid passive energy dissipation device for seismic rehabilitation of an existing structure. The device is composed of a friction damper combined with a steel plate with vertical slits as a hysteretic damper. Analytical model is developed for the device, and the capacity of the hybrid device to satisfy a given target performance is determined based on the ASCE/SEI 7-10 process. The effect of the device is verified by nonlinear dynamic analyses using seven earthquake records. The analysis results show that the dissipated inelastic energy is concentrated on the hybrid damper and the maximum interstory drift of the SMRF with damping system satisfies the requirement of the current code.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2013

This study was aimed to examine effects of the assistive technology program that has purpose to maintain and promote employment of persons with disabilities. An administrative data constructed by the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled(KEAD) was utilized. Propensity score matching were used as analysis methods to minish sample selection bias caused by nonrandom sampling. As a result, turnover rate of people with disabilities who used assistive technology device was lower compared to persons with disabilities did not use assistive technology device. Also, in terms of company, for employment promotion effect on the persons with disabilities, company that provided assistive technology device was higher than that of company did not provide assistive technology device. Finally, assistive technology devices were effective in the employment area was confirmed.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.553-559
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• 2015

The purpose of this research is to develop a gait assistive device to enhance the gait stability and training efficiency of stroke patients. The configuration of this device is mainly composed of a motored wheel and a single cane whose lower end is attached to a motored wheel frame. A patient can feel haptic information from continuous ground contact from the wheel while walking through the grip handle. In addition, the wheeled cane can avoid using excessive use of the patient's upper limb for weight support and motivate the patient to use a paralyzed lower limb more actively. Moreover, the proposed device can provide intuitive and safe user interaction by integrating a force sensor and a tilt sensor equipped to the cane frame, and a switch sensor at the cane's handle. The admittance control has been implemented for the patient to change the walking speed intuitively by using the interaction forces at the handle. A hemi-paretic stroke patient participated in the walking assistive experiments as a pilot study to verify the effectiveness of the proposed haptic cane system. The results showed that the patient could improve walking speed and muscle activations during walking with a constant speed mode of the haptic cane. Moreover, the patient could maintain the preferred walking speeds and gait stability regardless of the magnitude of resistance forces with the admittance control mode of the haptic cane. The proposed robotic gait assistive device with a simple and intuitive mechanism can provide efficient gait training modes to stroke patients with high possibilities of widespread utilizations.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.29-34
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short term effects of the traction and decompression device, which is a newly developed domestic medical device, on pain and functional activity in patients with chronic low back pain with or without radicular pain. Methods: Forty patients with chronic low back pain were included and allocated to decompression (n=20) and traction groups (n=20). They received decompression or traction therapy for 20 minutes a day, 3 days per week for two weeks. For evaluating pain and functional activity, a visual analogue scale (VAS) for low back pain and the Oswestry back pain disability index (ODI) were obtained on pre-treatment, and at 6, 12 and 15 days after treatment. Patients'satisfaction levels were measured 15 days after treatment. Results: VAS was significantly decreased at 12 days and 15 days post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in both groups (p<0.05). ODI was significantly decreased at 12 days and 15 days post-treatment compared to pre-treatment in the decompression group (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the VAS and ODI scales (p>0.05). Patients' satisfaction levels were significantly higher in the decompression group than in the traction group (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that decompression therapy might be effective for increasing functional activity in patients with low back pain and could provide patients with higher satisfaction than traction therapy. This study provided validity data for the therapeutic effects of the decompression device in patients with low back pain and it will be useful for medical cost development and patient education of this device.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.83-87
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• 2012

This study is aimed to identify latent classes which are based the change patterns in assistive technology device use among worker with disabilities and to test the effects of independent variables(gender, education, disability type, disability density, activity and participation of ICF: ICF, subjective socioeconomic status: SES, job satisfaction, life satisfaction) on determining latents classes. This study applied Nagin's(1999) semi-parametric group based approach to the panel survey of employment for the disabled. Because dependant variable has dichotomous scale, logit model was used. The results identified three latent classes, which could be defined based on the patterns as follows; assistive device continued use group, assistive device mid-level use group, assistive device sharp decline use group. The effects of the independent variables on the latent classes was tested by multinomial logit analysis. The results showed that education, disability type, ICF, SES, and life satisfaction were significant determinants of the latent classes. Finally, the implications based on analysis results were suggested.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.279-285
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• 2017

In this study, feasibility analysis was performed by estimating the costs and effects of daisy reading auxiliary machine development project. The development cost of a Daisy player device, hardware/prototype and software, with only essential functions and with low price was estimated to be \307,101,664, and the production cost for a player was calculated to be \112,000. The development of Daisy viewer software and input/output assistive devices, application, was estimated to be \284,294,08, and an input/output device was set a price of \6,600. Based on these results, we looked at the economic ripple effects on the people with disabilities by promoting daisy - reading assistive device development project. The results of this study could be used to determine whether the project is to proceed. It is expected that it provides valuable information to actively cope with the changing business environment in the future.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.287-297
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• 2017

This exploratory study aimed to explore the perception (knowledge and attitude) and behaviors of medical personnel regarding medical device safety and to identify the differences in results linked with the type of their task. A questionnaire was administered to medical personnel working at a tertiary care hospital with 900 beds in Incheon, Korea, and 220 completed questionnaires were used for analysis. The results revealed that the majority of the medical personnel perceived the potential risk involved in different types of medical devices they use and stated that they need training programs for safe use of medical devices. Concerning the perception regarding medical devices across different positions within the hospital, it was found that the residents had a low awareness about safety issues, although the medical services they handled involve high risks, thereby calling for safety training. Further nationwide studies are needed to improve the quality and validity of data and eventually to provide important information required by policy makers and academicians to manage medical device safety.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.209-218
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• 2022

Individuals often report significant relief from pain and stress even after a single session of massage therapy; however, no previous studies have provided objective evidence supporting the effectiveness of a solitary massage therapy session. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of one-time treatment with a spinal thermal massage device reported to exert the same therapeutic effects as massage therapy in terms of pain reduction and stress relief. A man with chronic low back pain (LBP) underwent two rounds of experiments involving spinal massage treatment and bed rest, respectively. Pain was assessed using a visual analog scale, and heart rate variability (HRV) was measured in real-time to examine autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Blood samples were obtained at five points during each round of the experiment to examine changes in cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Spinal massage significantly reduced pain and enhanced parasympathetic activity when compared with the bed rest condition. In addition, both epinephrine and norepinephrine levels were lower following spinal massage than following bed rest. These results are consistent with the reported effects of conventional massage therapy and support the effectiveness of one-time treatment using a spinal thermal massage device.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2014

This study has been conducted to identify the current status and practices of electrical stimulation for patients with dysphagia in Korea. Main goal of the study is to find evidences of developing and distributing a quality indicator and organized performance exam. This study analyzed 50 survey questionnaires given to clinical professionals in upper-scale general hospitals, university hospitals, nursing homes and professional rehabilitation hospitals. The survey sent out and collected by E-mails or interviews from August 21, 2013 to November 10, 2013. Most of the hospitals showed lack of using a quality indicator and organized performance exams in device maintenance, pre-operational tests and post-operational tests. It is strongly recommended to develop a standardized guideline of a higher quality indicator and organized performance exam in using neuromuscular electrical stimulator for patients who are suffering from dysphagia.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.49-54
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• 2012

In this study, an E-learning system was developed for vocational rehabilitation training of intellectual disabilities. The developed system is available to have acquirement of knowledge through step by step learning and is configured to relearn through problem-solving and demonstration video. In addition, the learned information was composed to check the configuration which is correctly learning through rehearsal function. The device for rehearsal consists of a transmitter and the receiver. The transmitter is formed Pressure sensor, IR sensor for detecting client's work and Bluetooth module for wireless network. The receiver includes a Bluetooth module for wireless network and USB input terminal for communication with computer.