L. Quagliarella

Functional Evaluation of Handgrip Signals for Parkinsonian Patients

This paper concerns the problem of recording and analyzing biomedical data that characterize the motor activities of the limbs in patients suffering from Parkinsons disease. The aim of this paper is the individuation of suitable parameters that are useful for detecting subjects affected by Parkinsons disease and revealing the state of the patient. Hence, a simple and inexpensive system that measures the force of palmar grip is presented and discussed, and a suitable software protocol that is able to record and manage the acquired data is developed. Finally, some biomedical parameters have been identified, characterizing the motor activities of limbs. The study of these parameters and the analysis of the correlations between the acquired data permit taking out useful information and details about the objective evaluation of Parkinson pathology, taking into account the metrological characteristics of the used measurement system

Relevance of orthostatic posturography for clinical evaluation of hip and knee joint arthroplasty patients

In order to verify whether orthostatic posturography (OP) can support clinical assessment of total hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty (TKA), 81 subjects with THA and 100 with TKA were recruited and compared with 59 healthy volunteers. All patients were tested one or two days prior to surgery; 42 subjects (20 THA and 22 TKA) were tested again after six months, and 34 (14 THA and 20 TKA) yet again after 12 months. OP was performed using a Kistler 9286A piezoelectric force plate and the following postural parameters (PPs) were adopted on account of their functional meaning: mean velocity and the root mean square of the distance of the centre of pressure (CoP), sway area, and 95% of the CoP power frequency. Eye condition and fatigue related to the test duration were also examined. The three most meaningful PPs were identified and a logarithmic transformation was then applied to these, as well as standardization. Almost all the PP values were higher preoperatively in the patients as compared with the healthy subjects and it was possible to detect many statistically significant differences between patients and healthy subjects. However, when examining the 181 subjects at the preoperative stage, the PPs did not show congruence with the clinical scores as well as they did during follow-up. Therefore, the use of the OP is not recommended to monitor patients undergoing THA or TKA.

An interactive fall and loss of consciousness detector system

A device capable of automatically detecting a fall with loss of consciousness (FloC), and activate an alarm by means of an accelerometer sensor is presented. Four hundred trials were performed by 20 participants (10 young and 10 elderly adults). The algorithm relies on the recognition of the effects of three events characterizing a FLoC: impact of the body against the ground, lying and immobility. All FLoC cases were correctly detected as well as all activities of daily living (ADLs). This result corroborates both usefulness and applicability of the device proposed.

Power Output Estimation in Vertical Jump Performed by Young Male Soccer Players

Quagliarella, L, Sasanelli, N, Belgiovine, G, Moretti, L, and Moretti, B. Power output estimation in vertical jump performed by young male soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 25(6): 1638-1646, 2011—The purpose of the study was (a) to assess the accuracy of the regression equations available in the literature to estimate the actual peak power (PPac) of the countermovement jump (CMJ) executed by young male soccer players, (b) to develop new regression equations from this population, and (c) to verify whether regression equations obtained from age-based subgroups could increase the accuracy of the estimation (PPes) of PPac. In all, 117 young players (age: 13.6 ± 2.4 years) were enrolled in the study. Each subject performed 5 CMJs on a force platform. The new regression equations were obtained from the entire experimental sample (G1) and 3 age-based subsamples (G2 = prepubertal, G3 = peripubertal, G4 = postpubertal) using 2 different approaches: the best jump and the mean values achieved by each subject. All the equations in the literature underestimated the peak power (p < 0.00005) in all the groups. The approach based on the mean values was more accurate (adjusted R2 = 0.925, SEE = 302.9 W) than the one based on the best jump (adjusted R2 = 0.892; SEE = 360.8 W). Moreover, calculating the regression equations from the 3 age-based subsamples, SEE resulted improved (15.5% in G2, 5.6% in G3 and 0.9% in G4). Regression equations must be derived from homogeneous populations, in terms of gender, sports practice, and age. The approach based on the mean values for each subject was more accurate than the approach used in the literature up to now. In practical applications, regression equation estimates cannot be used to assess the performance of a single subject, because errors may exceed 50%, whereas they may be useful for group comparisons.

Drift in Posturography Systems Equipped With a Piezoelectric Force Platform: Analysis and Numerical Compensation

Piezoelectric force platforms are electronic instruments widely used for posturography in movement analysis laboratories. As is well known, drift affects piezoelectric transducers; therefore, the accuracy of piezoelectric measurement systems should be periodically checked. The objectives of this paper were as follows: (1) to detect the occurrence of drift in the posturographic signals derived from a piezoelectric force plate (FP) using an easy-to-use standard procedure; (2) to determine the impact on drift itself of two clinically relevant factors: applied load [for values related to children/adolescent weights (range 49-588 N)] and test duration; and (3) to suggest numerical solutions, if any, to compensate for drift effects. Drift in piezoelectric FPs is essentially caused by leakage currents and/or poor insulation resistances. Moreover, it may be considered as a low-frequency event affecting the accuracy of standing posture descriptive parameters. The measurement system outputs available to the end user, namely ground reaction force (GRF) components and center of pressure (CoP) sway, were analyzed both in the time and frequency domains. According to the obtained results, it was possible to demonstrate that drift significantly affects the signals of the posturography system under study and that it can be assessed by the analysis of the GRF and CoP component values. As it exhibits a constant rate versus time, drift can be well approximated by a linear regression line. The main results are represented by the independence of drift rate from applied load and test duration and by finding that drift can relevantly affect CoP evaluation for test duration that is equal or longer than 1 min when the applied load is less than 245 N (which could be the case for children and young slim adolescents). High-pass numeric filtering with a cutoff frequency of 0.15 Hz and linear detrending can compensate drift in the presented case.

Best matches procedure in transition phase identification for hand grip test analysis in normal and pathological subjects

In this paper, the analysis of biomedical data characterizing motor activities of the limbs is carried out with the aim of extracting useful information for evaluating the state of subjects affected by Parkinsons disease. Initially, a simple and inexpensive system that measures the force of the palmar grip has been presented; then, a suitable software protocol that is able to record, manage, and interpret the acquired data has been realized. Afterward, a first analysis in the time domain has led to the identification of some biomedical parameters characterizing motor activities of the limbs; the study of these parameters and the analysis of the correlations between the acquired data have permitted the development of suitable models describing the time behavior of the palmar grip. In this paper, the authors propose a more detailed study that evaluates the filtering, phase noise effects, and performance of different methods used to estimate the characteristic parameters of the palmar grip.

Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy on Functional and Strength Recovery of Handgrip in Patients Affected by Epicondylitis

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is effective in the treatment of tendinopathy. We designed a prospective observational clinical study to assess the correlation between clinical and functional measures and recovery of strength after ESWT for epicondylitis. We analyzed 26 patients. We measured progressive improvement in visual analogue scale values (p < 0.0005) and Mayo Elbow Performance Index scores (p = 0.004) for the pathologic limb. Monitoring of handgrip failed to reveal changes in values at any follow-up (p > 0.05). We found no correlation between degree of clinical function and muscle deficit during follow-up. After ESWT, there was a tendency toward a decrease in grip strength, especially in the dominant limb. This could be related to the effects of ESWT, which reduces spasticity in painful hypertonic muscles. These data may be useful in defining the expectations for function during ESWT for epicondylitis, particularly for elite athletes.

Evaluation of counter movement jump parameters in young male soccer players

Purpose The Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) is widely used as a field test to evaluate the muscular explosive power of lower limbs in various sports, including soccer. The aim of the present study was to verify the possibility to discriminate the effect of training level and age on young adult male soccer players, adopting the flight time, the peak force, or the peak power obtained from a countermovement jump. Methods One hundred and twenty three young male soccer players were enrolled in the study; the participants were split into groups according to Tanners stages (pre- and post-pubertal) and training level (high and low activity). A piezoelectric force plate was used to acquire the ground reaction force used to calculate the flight time, the peak value of the vertical component of the ground reaction force, and the peak value of the developed power. Results As expected, the best performances were obtained by the post pubertal highly-trained soccer players. All performance parameters presented statistically significant differences between ages, while only the flight time exhibited statistically significant differences between training levels. After normalization of the experimental data to body height and weight, there were no statistical differences between ages; statistically significant differences were found only for the flight time and for peak power between training levels. Conclusions The flight time was the parameter more sensitive to detect differences in the jump performance related to training and age. Adopting a normalization procedure it was possible to highlight that only the flight time and the peak power are sensitive to training effects on young adult male soccer players.

Comparative functional analysis of two different achilles tendon surgical repairs.

Background: A number of different surgical procedures have been developed to treat Achilles tendon injuries including open and mini-invasive type. The aim of the present work was to compare the functional outcome of two different techniques, applying a clinical and instrumented protocol. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one subjects were enrolled in the study. The experimental group consisted of 34 patients with a ruptured Achilles tendon, 19 operated by open surgical reconstruction without reinforcement (Open Group), while 15 underwent a mini-invasive procedure (Mini-invasive Group); the Control Group consisted of 17 healthy subjects. The assessment was based on the standing vertical jump, in both countermovement jump and squat jump mode, studying the relative flight times and the coordination of movement of each limb. An accelerometer was fastened to each ankle to obtain an independent assessment of the movement of each limb. Results: The surgically treated patients showed a comparable functional performance to that of the Control Group but despite this full recovery they showed a tendency to “favor” the affected limb. This finding was more marked in the Mini-invasive Group. The Control Group invariably showed better coordination of the movement of the two limbs than the two experimental groups. This was particularly apparent in the take-off phase, indicated by asymmetrical push-off of the two limbs. Conclusion: The jumping evaluation used in this study resulted in similar results between the open and the mini-invasive techniques. Level of Evidence: III, Retrospective Comparative Study

Signal analysis for the hand grip evaluation in Parkinsonian patients

The present work is concerned with the problem of recording and analyzing biomedical data characterizing motor activities of the limbs in patients suffering from Parkinsons disease. The aim of the paper is the individuation of suitable parameters useful for detecting subjects affected by Parkinsons disease, revealing the state of the patient. So, a simple and inexpensive system that measures the force of palmar grip is presented and discussed and a suitable software protocol able to record and manage the acquired data is developed. Finally, some biomedical parameters have been identified, characterizing motor activities of limbs. The study of these parameters and the analysis of the correlations between the acquired data, permits us to extract useful information and details for objective evaluation of Parkinson pathology, taking into account the metrological characteristics of the used measurement system.