• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.193-202
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to examine the phonological awareness of hearing impaired children. A number of researches indicate that hearing impaired children have articulation disorders due to their impaired auditory feedback. However, in children who have the ability to distinguish certain phonemes, they sometimes show misarticulation of the phonemes. Phonological awareness refers to recognizing the speech-sound units and their forms in spoken language (Hong, 2001). The subjects who participated in the experiment are composed of four hearing impaired children (3 cochlear implanted children and 1 hearing aided child). Phonological Awareness was evaluated by the test battery developed by Paik et al. (2001). The subtests consisted of rhyme matching, onset matching I II, word initial segmentation and matching I II. If the children asked for retelling, it was retold to a maximum of 4 times. Each item score was 1 point. The results were compared to those of Paik et al. (2001). The results of study were that subject 1 showed superior rhyme matching ability, subjects 2 and 3 fair ability, and subject 4 inferior ability. In onset matching I, all subjects showed inferior ability except for subject 3. Interestingly, subjects 1 showed the lowest onset matching I score. In word initial segmentation and matching I, subjects 1 and 4 showed inferior ability and subjects 2 and 3 showed fair ability. In onset matching II, subject 2 showed the perfect score 10 even though she showed very low score. In word initial segmentation and matching II, only subjects 2 and 3 showed appropriate levels of the skill. The results show that the phonological awareness of hearing impaired children is different from that of normal children.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of robot arm reach training on upper extremity functional movement in chronic stroke survivors. Design: One group pretest-posttest design. Methods: Thirteen chronic stroke survivors participated in this study. Robot arm reach training was performed with a Whole Arm Manipulator (WAM) and a 120-inch projective display to provide visual and auditory feedback. During the robotic arm reach training, WAM provided gravity compensation and assist-as-needed (AAN) force according to the robot control mode. When a participant could not move the arm toward the target for more than 2 seconds, WAM provided AAN force to reach the desired targets. All patients participated in the training for 40 minutes per day, 3 times a week, for 4 weeks. Main outcome measures were the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and Box and Block Test (BBT) to assess upper extremity functional movement. Results: After 4 weeks, significant improvement was observed in upper extremity functional movement (FMA: 42.15 to 46.23, BBT: 12.23 to 14.00, p<0.05). In the subscore analysis of the FMA upper extremity motor function domains, significant improvement was observed in upper extremity and coordination/speed units (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the ARAT. Conclusions: This study showed the positive effects of robot arm reach training on upper extremity functional movement in chronic stroke survivors. In particular, we confirmed that robot arm reach training could have a positive influence by leading to improvement of motor recovery of the proximal upper extremity.

• 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 the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.79-89
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• 2022

With the popularity and the advanced graphics hardware technology of mobile devices, various mobile applications that help children with physical activities have been studied. This paper presents SandUp, a mobile application that guides the play of building sand castles using artificial intelligence and augmented reality(AR) technology. In the process of building the sandcastle, children can interactively explore the target virtual sandcastle through the smartphone display using AR technology. In addition, to help children complete the sandcastle, SandUp informs the sand shape and task required step by step and provides visual and auditory feedback while recognizing progress in real-time using the phone's camera and deep learning classification. We prototyped our SandUp app using Flutter and TensorFlow Lite. To evaluate the usability and effectiveness of the proposed SandUp, we conducted a questionnaire survey on 50 adults and a user study on 20 children aged 4~7 years. The survey results showed that SandUp effectively helps build the sandcastle with proper interactive guidance. Based on the results from the user study on children and feedback from their parents, we also derived usability issues that can be further improved and suggested future research directions.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2005

The purposes of this study were to develop and introduce a novel intraoral appliance for bruxism composed of power switch and biofeedback device and further to examine inter- and intra-reliability of the appliance prior to clinical tests. The newly-developed appliance consisted of detection sensors, a central processing unit (CPU), a reactor and a storage unit and a displayer. Compact-sized, waterproof switches were selected as bruxism detection sensor and any sensor activation by clenching or grinding event was processed at the CPU and transmitted, by radio wave, to the reactor and storage unit and triggered auditory or vibratory signal, subsequently producing biofeedback to the patient with bruxism. The data on bruxing event in the storage unit can be displayed on the computer, making it possible analyzing frequency, duration and nature of bruxism. Cast models were obtained from ten volunteers with normal occlusion to evaluate reliability of the appliances. For inter-operator reliability on the intraoral appliances, each operator of the two fabricated the appliance for the same subject and compared the minimal contact forces provoking auditory biofeedback reaction in vertical, lateral and central directions. Intra-operator reliability was also investigated on the appliances made by a single operator at two separate times with an interval of two days. Conclusively, the newly-developed appliance is compact and safe to use in oral circumstance and easy to make. Furthermore, it had to be proven reliability excellent enough to apply in clinical settings. Thus, it is assumed that this appliance with the processor and the storage of data and auditory or vibratory biofeedback function is available and useful to analyze and control bruxism.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-225
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• 2002

The implantable middle ear(IME) system, which has good sound quality. superior sound intelligibility and wide frequency characteristics. can resolve the sound distortion and ringing effect by sound feedback at high gain operation those are the major problems of conventional hearing aid. In this paper, we have manufactured the IME system using differential electromagnetic transducer(DET) and verified the performance of the system by carrying out vibration and animal implanting experiment. The DET was manufactured using micro-machining technology and vibration experiment of the transducer was performed to inspect whether the transducer could vibrate in accordance with the applied sound signal or not. And the result of the loaded experiment using temporal bone sampled from cadaver showed that the transducer can drive the middle ear bone and transmit the signal to inner ear After the internal unit of IME system was implanted in a dog. the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test was carried out. The result of the test indicated the Proper behavior of the IME system in the living body From the results of the experiments, it is verified that the manufactured system ewll work well when it is applied to human and a basis of clinical experiment of IME system to real human hearing impaired was be arranged.

• Journal of Internet of Things and Convergence
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.115-122
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• 2022

Recently, the importance of CPR training for the layperson has been emphasized to improve the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. An accurate and realistic training strategy is required for the CPR training effect for laypersons. In this study, we develop an extended reality (XR) based CPR training system and evaluate its usability. The XR based CPR training system consisted of three applications. First, a 3D heart anatomy image registered to the manikin is transmitted to the smart glasses to guide the chest compression point. The second application provides visual and auditory information about the CPR process through smart glasses. At the same time, the smartwatch sends a vibration notification to guide the compression rate. The 'Add-on-kit' is a device that detects the depth and speed of chest compression via sensors installed on the manikin and sends immediate feedback to the smartphone. One hundred laypersons who participated in this study agreed that the XR based CPR training system has realism and effectiveness. XR based registration technology will contribute to improving the efficiency of CPR training by enhancing realism, immersion, and self-directed learning.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2021

The present study investigated the mental representation and processing of an ambiguous word in the bimodal processing system by manipulating the lexical ambiguity of a visually or auditorily presented word. Homonyms (e.g., '물었다') with more than two meanings and control words (e.g., '고통을') with a single meaning were used in the experiments. The lemma frequency of words was manipulated while the relative frequency of multiple meanings of each homonym was balanced. In both experiments using the lexical decision task, a robust frequency effect and a critical interaction of word type by frequency were found. In Experiment 1, spoken homonyms yielded faster latencies relative to control words (i.e., ambiguity advantage) in the low frequency condition, while ambiguity disadvantage was found in the high frequency condition. A similar interactive pattern was found in visually presented homonyms in the subsequent Experiment 2. Taken together, the first key finding is that interdependent lexico-semantic processing can be found both in the visual and auditory processing system, which in turn suggests that semantic processing is not modality dependent, but rather takes place on the basis of general lexical knowledge. The second is that multiple semantic candidates provide facilitative feedback only when the lemma frequency of the word is relatively low.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1261-1275
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• 2009

Age related decrease of muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities bring about physical inactivity in the elderly. Virtual reality (VR) training has been used successfully to rehabilitate functional balance and mobility in elderly subjects. This study was aimed at determining the effect of VR-based exercise programs by using a video game on the muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities in the elderly. 48 old people were randomly divided into two groups; VR-group (men: 11, women: 14, age: 68.42yrs) and control group (men: 10, women: 13, age: 67.58yrs). VR-group performed an exercise program twice a week for 8 weeks and control group had no intervention. The VR-based exercise program was composed of warm up(10 mins), VR-program(40 mins), and cool down(10mins). It was performed by playstation eyetoy play that provided visual and auditory feedback as well as movements of the upper and lower extremities. Muscle strengths of the knee and ankle were measured using manual muscle tester. Static balance was estimated using computerized posturography. Dynamic balance was measured by Timed up and go test (TUG), Functional reach test (FRT). 10m walk test and 6-min walk test were used to assess gait abilities. After the completion of the VR-exercise program, muscle strength, balance, and gait abilities were improved significantly (p<0.05). In conclusion, the VR-based exercise program showed improvement on the muscle strength, balance, and gait ability in the elderly. This exercise program is both effective and interesting for this age group.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.331-358
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• 2024

In the rapid digital transformation era, kiosks have become a common element in daily life. However, their widespread deployment has introduced new challenges for socially marginalized groups, including individuals with disabilities and the elderly. This study aims to evaluate the usability of kiosks for individuals with low vision and propose improvement strategies. The study was conducted with eight low-vision university students from A University in Gyeongsangbuk-do and four non-disabled university students from Daegu. Usability was assessed through experiments involving a self-service certificate issuance kiosk and a fast-food restaurant kiosk, using Jakob Nielsen's five usability evaluation criteria: learnability, efficiency, memorability, error prevention, and satisfaction. The results revealed that individuals with low vision faced significant difficulties with small text size, low contrast, no physical buttons, and lack of screen zoom functionality. To address these issues, the study recommends enhancements such as increasing text size and contrast, incorporating physical buttons, adding zoom functionality, ensuring consistent UI design, and providing auditory feedback. This study provides foundational data for enhancing information accessibility for individuals with low vision. It offers critical insights into kiosk design and policy recommendations, thereby contributing to the mitigation of the digital divide.