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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12503/21718
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Browsing Other by Author "Bugnariu, Nicoleta"
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Item Atypical eye movements and postural control in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2016)(2016-03-23) Miller, Haylie; Mattingly, Laura; Bugnariu, Nicoleta; Edgerton, KaraPurpose/Hypothesis: Research shows a link between eye movements, visual processing, and postural control, and evidence suggests these links are different in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to observe individuals with ASD and those with typical development (TD) in order to identify and characterize differences in how visual information is for postural control. Methods: Three participants in the ASD group (Age 16 + 4) and 3 in the TD group (age 14 + 4) completed the study, enrollment is ongoing. This study was conducted at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Research and Learning Center. All participants filled out a Data Collection Sheet to collect medical history, current medications, and demographic information relevant to the study. The experiment consisted of participant balance testing, including the Limits of Stability (LOS) and The Clinical Test for Sensory Integration (CTSIB), on a forceplate (BioSway, Biodex Corp) while wearing the ETG 2.0 (SensoMotoric Instruments) eyetracking system. Results: Adolescents with ASD had higher sway and stability indices than TD across all three conditions (eyes open, eyes closed, dome) of the CTSIB, as well as greater increases in sway and stability between the three conditions. During LOS testing, which required the participants to move their Center of Pressure to 9 targets displayed on the screen, the ASD group had lower control than the TD group in 5 of the 9 target positions. They also took a longer time to complete the task. Moreover, the ASD participants did not improve their performance across the 3 trials of the LOS. Pursuit eye movements and fixation of gaze on the targets during the LOS task were more variable in the ASD group compared to TD. The ASD group had more saccades, fixations, and blinks, possibly contributing to increased time required to complete the task. Conclusions: Research has identified differences in the eye movements of individuals with ASD and this might account for atypical postural stability. These preliminary data support the hypothesis that individuals with Autism have decreased postural control and accuracy and that these impairments may be linked to increased variability of pursuit eye movements. Further studies are necessary to investigate this atypical visuomotor integration and its possible role as a fundamental feature of ASD.Item Development and validation of a REHAB glove device for post-stroke hand rehabilitation(2016-03-23) Patterson, Rita; Nicaris, Timothy; Haghshenas-Jaryani, Mahdi; Wijesundara, Muthu; Young, Carolyn; Bugnariu, Nicoleta; Ha, ChristopherINTRODUCTION Approximately 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke each year, of which 30% to 66% of all survivors have impaired hand functions. Certain therapeutic interventions such as Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) capitalize on the brain’s inherent neuroplasticity to increase adaptation to stroke. Currently, no dedicated system exists which effectively applies post-stroke hand therapy. To address this need, a soft robotic rehabilitation system capable of monitoring and assisting hand motion for post-stroke patients has recently been developed. This abstract compares simulation and experimental data on a human finger with a corresponding robotic digit to evaluate the viability of the current design for rehabilitation purposes and to ensure patient safety and performance. METHODS/RESULTS Glove and Soft Robotic Digits: This system consists of five sensorized robotic digits and a wearable fixture along with a programmable control unit that monitors and modulates the trajectory of the fingers. Finger motion is accomplished by pneumatically actuated soft robotic digits based on hybrid soft-and-rigid actuator technology. Computer simulations have shown the resulting relative angles between rigid sections at the metacarpal phalangeal (MCP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints can reach full anatomical range of motion (ROM) at a single actuation pressure of 24.3kPa. Kinematic study: A kinematic study was conducted to compare one subject’s index finger with a robotic digit using a motion capture system to analyze spatial and angular position. This study determined the functional anatomical ROM requirements at each joint for both the robotic digit and index finger. The achieved ROM for MCP, PIP, and DIP joints of the robotic digit are 85˚, 96˚, and 53˚, respectively, which are in good agreement with full anatomical ROM. It should be noted that the human finger (MCP: 45˚, PIP: 75˚, and DIP: 45˚) did not quite reach full ROM during testing due to obstacles in tracking. Still, these achieved ROM are consistent with the functional ROM of human fingers. DISCUSSION A hand therapy glove has been designed to provide flexion and extension of the fingers as an adjunct to hand rehab. A prototype has been fabricated based on initial design parameters and is able to provide joint ROM based on the literature. Functional grasp parameters have been experimentally measured in a human finger and will be used for future design improvements.Item Physical Therapists’ role in community collaborative efforts to improve safety and prevent falls(2016-03-23) Bugnariu, Nicoleta; Zavadsky, Matt; Addington, Ricky; Cummings, David1. Collaborative efforts of the Fort Worth Fire Department, MEDSTAR mobile healthcare, and the Fort Worth Safe Communities Coalition have led to the development of a home safety and fall prevention service designed to reduce the incidence of falls among fort worth residents 65 years of age or older. 2. A 19-item home safety checklist was designed to assist in the evaluation of the primary resident’s home environment to identify potential fall risks. Physical therapists’ input regarding environmental fall risks was used for development of the checklist and the training of designated firefighters that deliver the service. The one hour free home safety evaluation identifies potential fall or safety risks. Firefighters make recommendations based on observations and provide information on available community resources specific to fall prevention. The Safe Community Coalition, specifically the Falls Prevention task force on which several physical therapists serve analyzes the de-identified data from home safety assessments performed by the FWFD. 3. In a 7 month period a total of 811 individuals were contacted. From these, only 153 expressed interest in receiving the FWFD service. A total of 137 individuals provided reasons for refusal of the home safety assessments free service. These reasons consisted of: non-interested (22%), current or previous access to home health (15%), and residential relocation (11%). A significant association between fear of falls and difficulty performing sit to stand was found (p=.016), 75% of participants that fear falls have difficulty standing from a seated position. 4. Prevention of falls and associated health care costs is a priority for many communities. Physical Therapists are well positioned to lead collaborative efforts engaging community organizations and that target fall prevention. Such programs offer potential benefits both to the community and to the emergency response infrastructure. The community receives education and evaluation regarding fall prevention aimed to reduce recurrence of falls. By prevention, demands placed on emergency resources can be potentially alleviated. Factors associated with the incidence of falls can be acknowledged and interventions can be provided to prevent subsequent impairment and decline in quality of life.Item Preliminary evidence of a relationship between quantitative measures of postural stability and clinical movement tests in Developmental Coordination Disorder(2016-03-23) Miller, Haylie; Caçola, Priscila; Bugnariu, Nicoleta; Sherrod, GabrielaDevelopmental Coordination Disorder is typically assessed using qualitative clinical measures. However, little is known about the relationship between these measures and quantitative measures of postural stability, such as variability in Center of Pressure (CoP), commonly referred to as sway. The present study administered two clinical measures commonly used to assess DCD (MABC and DCD-Q), and measured postural stability during static and dynamic balance tasks. The static balance task (Quiet Standing) consisted of 2 conditions lasting 30 seconds each, during which the participant stood still in a natural stance with his or her eyes open, then closed. The dynamic balance task (Visual Tracking), a novel contribution to the literature on DCD, involved the participant leaning to match his or her CoP to match a dynamic target displayed in a virtual environment on a 180° wrap-around screen. The target oscillated at 8 frequencies ranging from 0.1-0.8 Hz, and changed speed randomly without warning. Participants were 8 children with DCD aged 8-10 from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Correlation analyses showed significant negative relationships between DCD-Q score and medial-lateral sway during both the eyes open (r = -0.79, p = .02) and eyes closed (r = -0.81, p = .02) conditions of Quiet Standing. MABC total score was negatively related to the participant’s average deviation from the target position in Visual Tracking (r = -0.76, p = .03), such that participants with higher scores on the MABC were more accurate at the dynamic movement task. We also correlated Quiet Standing and Visual Tracking performance, examining each frequency separately (averaged across 2 runs per frequency). CoP velocity was related to anterior-posterior sway in the eyes closed condition of Quiet Standing, while CoP position was related to medial-lateral sway in the eyes open condition. This pattern of results suggests that quantitative data may offer a more detailed means of assessing postural stability in children with DCD than common clinical tests. However, a larger sample is needed to detect and interpret meaningful relationships between variables, specifically between frequencies in the Visual Tracking task.Item The Effects of Hearing Loss on Postural Control in Older Adults(2016-03-23) Thibodeau, Linda; Patterson, Rita; Bugnariu, Nicoleta; Kowalewski, VictoriaPurpose/Hypothesis: We investigated the relationship between hearing loss and gait in adults using advanced virtual reality technologies, as well as evaluated the effects of two types of Hearing Aid (HA) technologies on measures of balance and gait. We used a regular HA that amplifies sound from all directions and frequencies and a Frequency Modulator (FM) system designed to work in conjunction with the regular HA and to selectively amplifies only one frequency of interest and not the ambient noise. Materials/Methods: 12 adults newly diagnosed with hearing loss and 12 age- and gender- matched healthy controls participated in the study. Participants were tested for balance, gait, and functional activities at the time of hearing loss diagnosis and enrollment in the study, as well as after two months accommodation to a hearing aid. Outcome measures included: standing COP sway, performance of dual-task involving cognitive decisions, and self- selected gait speed on flat and uneven terrain in the virtual environment. Testing conditions were: No HA, HA, Ha +FM; auditory task conditions either listening only or repeating back sentences form standard audiology tests. Clinical tests of DGI, TUG, ABC Scale and SPPB were also administered. ANOVA was conducted for each of the dependent variables with respect to: group; condition of HA and condition of auditory task. Results: Center of pressure sway variability in M/L direction was significantly increased (p Conclusions: Hearing loss negatively impacts postural control particularly in dual-task conditions when individuals attend to both auditory and postural tasks. Use of hearing aids – especially the FM system – significantly improves not only speech recognition but also measures of balance, gait, and the ability to successfully perform dual-tasks. Individuals with hearing loss may be at greater risk of falling than individuals without hearing loss; therefore, further studies are necessary.