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Vertical jump height from a countermovement jump is a widespread metric to assess the lower limb functionality. Motion capture systems and force platforms are considered gold standards to estimate vertical jump height; however, their use in ecological settings is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of low-sampling-rate inertial measurement units as an alternative to the gold standard systems. The validity of three computational methods for IMU-based data—numerical double integration, takeoff velocity, and flight time—was assessed using data from 18 healthy participants who performed five double-leg and ten single-leg countermovement jumps. The data were simultaneously collected from a motion capture system, two force platforms, and an IMU positioned at the L5 level. The comparisons revealed that the numerical double integration method exhibited the highest correlation (0.87) and the lowest bias (2.5 cm) compared to the gold standards and excellent reliability (0.88). Although the takeoff velocity and flight time methods demonstrated comparable performances for double-leg jumps, their accuracy in single-leg jumps was reduced. Overall, the low-sampling-rate IMU with the numerical double integration method seems to be a reliable and feasible alternative for field-based countermovement jump assessment, warranting future investigation across diverse populations and jump modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gait is one of the most extensively studied motor tasks using motion capture systems, the gold standard for instrumental gait analysis. Various sensor-based solutions have been recently proposed to evaluate gait parameters, typically providing lower accuracy but greater flexibility. Validation procedures are crucial to assess the measurement accuracy of these solutions since residual errors may arise from environmental, methodological, or processing factors. This study aims to enhance validation by employing machine learning techniques to investigate the impact of such errors on the overall assessment of gait profiles. Two datasets of gait trials, collected from healthy and post-stroke subjects using a motion capture system and a 3D camera-based system, were considered. The estimated gait profiles include spatiotemporal, asymmetry, and body center of mass parameters to capture various normal and pathologic gait peculiarities. Machine learning models show the equivalence and the high level of agreement and concordance between the measurement systems in assessing gait profiles (accuracy: 98.7%). In addition, they demonstrate data interchangeability and integrability despite residual errors identified by traditional statistical metrics. These findings suggest that validation procedures can extend beyond strict measurement differences to comprehensively assess gait performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the development of surgical systems which minimize patient impact has been a major focus for surgeons and researchers, leading to the advent of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery. These technologies offer significant patient benefits, including enhanced outcome quality and accuracy, reduced invasiveness, lower blood loss, decreased postoperative pain, diminished infection risk, and shorter hospitalization and recovery times. Surgeons benefit from the elimination of human tremor, ergonomic advantages, improved vision systems, better access to challenging anatomical areas, and magnified 3DHD visualization of the operating field. Since 2000, Intuitive Surgical has developed multiple generations of master-slave multi-arm robots, securing over 7000 patents, which created significant barriers for competitors. This monopoly resulted in the widespread adoption of their technology, now used in over 11 million surgeries globally. With the expiration of key patents, new robotic platforms featuring innovative designs, such as modular systems, are emerging. This review examines advancements in robotic surgery within the fields of general, urological, and gynecological surgery. The objective is to analyze the current robotic surgical platforms, their technological progress, and their impact on surgical practices. By examining these platforms, this review provides insights into their development, potential benefits, and future directions in robotic-assisted surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objective: Soccer is a multifactorial sport, requiring physical, psychological, technical, and tactical skills to succeed. Monitoring and comparing physical characteristics over time is essential to assess players' development, customize training, and prevent injury. The use of wearable sensors is essential to provide accurate and objective physical data. Methods: In this longitudinal study, 128 male adolescent soccer players (from Under 12 to Under 19) were evaluated at two time points (pre- and post-season). Participants completed the Euleria Lab test battery, including stability, countermovement and consecutive jumps, agility, and quick feet tests. A single Inertial Measurement Unit sensor provided quantitative data on fifteen performance metrics. Percentage changes were compared to the Smallest Worthwhile Changes to assess significant changes over time. Results: The results showed significant improvements in most variables, including a 19.7% increase in quick feet, 10.9% in stability, and 9.6% in countermovement jumps. In principal component analysis, we identified four principal components—strength-power, balance, speed-agility, and stiffness—that explained over 80% of the variance. Conclusions: These findings align with previous studies assessing seasonal changes in adolescent soccer players, showing that the proposed test battery seems to be adequate to highlight physical performance changes and provide coaches with meaningful data to customize training and reduce injury rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistence of symptoms following COVID-19 infection represents a significant challenge in healthcare management. During the outbreak, tele-rehabilitation emerged as a new tool to support healthcare structures in providing rehabilitation services. This study assessed the effectiveness and the feasibility of a 3-week home-based motor and respiratory rehabilitation program for individuals with long COVID-19 after traditional rehabilitation. Twenty-three patients completed the program and underwent functional tests at different time points (i.e., baseline, at discharge from in-hospital rehabilitation and after tele-rehabilitation). Motor function was evaluated using the instrumented Six-Minutes Walking Test (i6MWT), with monitored heart rate and oxygen saturation. Additionally, respiratory function was measured via forced vital capacity (FVC) and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) tests. Significant improvements (p < 0.05) in motor and respiratory function were observed throughout the intervention, including an 18.3% increase in walked distance from the baseline. The findings suggest that the proposed home-based tele-rehabilitation shows potential in enhancing motor and respiratory function in patients with long COVID. Despite limitations such as the small sample size, lack of control group and the preliminary nature of the outcomes observed, the overall findings seem to support the feasibility of the proposed tele-rehabilitation program in managing long COVID symptoms and promoting functional recovery. Nevertheless, further research is needed to validate these findings and explore tele-rehabilitation's potential in broader and different patient populations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) require more time to develop motor and/or cognitive skills. Neuromodulation is used to assist in this development. However, there is a gap in the literature on neurophysiological changes that may occur in the primary motor cortex in individuals with DS following neuromodulation. Our objective was to investigate possible neurophysiological changes in brain wave behavior of the primary motor cortex following the administration of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation combined with sensorimotor training. The study involved 12 participants with DS. EEG equipment was used to investigate brain activity. The participants received neuromodulation involving anodal tDCS for 20 minutes with a current of 1 mA combined with virtual reality (VR) training three times a week for a total of ten sessions. We analyzed EGG signals and 3D movement during a reaching movement of the dominant upper limb before and after the ten-session protocol. Significant differences in event-related desynchronization and event-related synchronization of the alpha and beta rhythms were found throughout the evaluations. Brain mapping revealed reductions in power and frequency, demonstrating changes in the patterns of these rhythms in the cerebral cortex. Revealed reorganization of the behavior of alpha and beta waves, as demonstrated by distribution of synchronization and desynchronization of these waves among the regions of the brain. The results suggest that anodal tDCS promotes the reorganization of brain impulses, redirecting these impulses to the required regions more efficiently and contributing to better motor planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatic dysfunction (SD) is an altered body function involving the musculoskeletal system. However, its clinical signs—tissue texture abnormalities, positional asymmetry, restricted range of motion, and tissue tenderness—did not achieve satisfactory results for reliability. A recent theoretical model proposed a revision assessing the movement variability around the joint rest position. The asymmetry and restriction of motion may characterize functional assessment in osteopathic clinical practice, demonstrating the reliability required. Hence, this study investigated the reliability of the new variability model (VM) with gait analysis (GA). Three blind examiners tested 27 young healthy subjects for asymmetry of motion around rest position and the SD grade on six body regions. The results were compared to the VICON procedure for 3D-GA. The inter-rater agreement for the detection of reduced movement variability ranged from 0.78 to 0.54, whereas for SD, grade ranged from 0.64 to 0.47. VM had a sensitivity and specificity of 0.62 and 0.53, respectively, in SD detection compared to step length normality. Global severity grade of SD demonstrated moderate to good correlation with spatial-temporal parameters. The VM showed palpatory reliability and validity with spatial–temporal parameters in GA. Those findings contribute to the innovation for SD examination with implications for the clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, the introduction and application of telemedicine are leading to a radical transformation in healthcare systems all over the world. In particular, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can have a positive impact on the containment of healthcare costs. The concept of telemedicine has also been applied to surgery, defining telesurgery as the use of robotic systems composed of one or more arms controlled via a console located in a remote position from the patient, where the surgeon sits and performs the surgical tasks. This revolution—made possible by technological advances in robotic systems and ICT—allows surgical care to be provided to patients in remote locations. Telesurgery, therefore, adds to the advantages of minimally invasive robotic surgery by overcoming geographical barriers and allowing patients to avoid traveling. Although there has been a rapid increase in interest and demand for telesurgery, its use in clinical practice is still rare. The purpose of this article is to review the advantages and benefits of the use of telesurgery, to identify the limitations that do not yet allow its use in current clinical practice, and to describe the existing challenges and possible solutions that are being explored by research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]