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Objective: Our study was designed to develop a customisable, wearable medical — so-called — MyPAD device that generates pre-void alarms using miniaturised mechatronics with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Methods and procedures: The developed features include: multiple bespoke ultrasound (US) probes for sensing, a bespoke electronic device housing custom US electronics for signal processing, a bedside alarm box for processing the echoed pulses and generating alarms, and a phantom to mimic the human body. The validation of the system is conducted on the tissue-mimicking phantom and volunteers using Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Networks (Bi-LSTM-RNN) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). Results: A Se value of 99% and a Sp value of 99.5% with an overall accuracy rate of 99.3% are observed. Conclusion: The obtained results demonstrate successful empirical evidence for the viability of the device, both in monitoring bladder expansion to determine voiding need and in reinforcing the continuous learning and customisation of the device for bladder control through consecutive uses.

This research was designed to evaluate if it is viable to awaken children with urinary incontinence at the pre-void phase using a smart wearable device and enable them to control incontinence with fine-tuned individual parameters determined by the device intelligently. To address this research question, a miniaturised wearable smart device was built in this multidisciplinary research to monitor the non-linear behaviours of the bladder during its expansion with urine intake. The device, with its customisable abilities, sets an individual alarm point to awaken the child with incontinence before voiding. Safety parameters, aesthetics and ergonomic use of the device were investigated through hospital trials with children and the device was improved based on the obtained feedback from these trials.Clinical Relevance: The device will help children learn how to control their incontinence over time.

A smart, wearable, medical device -- the so-called ``MyPAD'' which monitors the fullness of the bladder, triggering an alarm indicating the need to void, in order to prevent badwetting -- i.e., treating Nocturnal Enuresis (NE) at the pre-void stage, was developed in this research. Patient and public engagement was an integral part of each development phase, particularly with respect to human factors, in collaboration with physicians, radiologists, psychologists, nurses, engineers and designers. Feedback was obtained from real-world trials and further improvements were incorporated into the device. Clinical Relevance: MyPAD will treat the NE efficiently against wetness-based post-void alarms and will enable children to gain control of incontinence over time.

Objective: Our study was designed to develop a customisable, wearable medical — so-called — MyPAD device that generates pre-void alarms using miniaturised mechatronics with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Methods and procedures: The developed features include: multiple bespoke ultrasound (US) probes for sensing, a bespoke electronic device housing custom US electronics for signal processing, a bedside alarm box for processing the echoed pulses and generating alarms, and a phantom to mimic the human body. The validation of the system is conducted on the tissue-mimicking phantom and volunteers using Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Networks (Bi-LSTM-RNN) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). Results: A Se value of 99% and a Sp value of 99.5% with an overall accuracy rate of 99.3% are observed. Conclusion: The obtained results demonstrate successful empirical evidence for the viability of the device, both in monitoring bladder expansion to determine voiding need and in reinforcing the continuous learning and customisation of the device for bladder control through consecutive uses.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to present and compare pain between adult males with Duchenne (DMD), Becker’s (BMD), Limb-Girdle (LGMD) Facioscapulohumeral (FSHD) forms of Muscular Dystrophy (MD), and healthy controls (CTRL), using three different methods of assessment. Methods Pain was assessed using 1) a whole body visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain, 2) a generalised body map and 3) a localised body map. Results All types of MD reported more VAS pain than CTRL, with 97% of all MD participants reporting pain; however, no differences were reported between types of MD. The generalised body map approach identified more frequent pain in the shoulders of FSHD (93%) than other groups (13–43%), hips of DMD (87%) and LGMD (75%) than other groups (0–29%), and legs of all MD (64–78%) than CTRL (25%). The localised body map approach identified common areas of frequent pain across types of MD, posterior distal leg and distal back, as well as condition specific regions of frequent pain, for example posterior trapezius in FSHD, and anterior hip pain in DMD and LGMD. Conclusions Using a single pain value (VAS), increased pain was reported by adults with MD compared to CTRL, with no clear differences between different MD groups, suggesting pain is symptomatic of MD. The use of the generalised body map approach, and to an even greater extent the localised body map approach, identified specific areas of frequent pain relevant to each individual condition. These results indicate that whist the commonly used generalised approach can be used to identify broad anatomical regions, the localised approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of pain, reflective of clinical assessment, and should be utilised in future research.

Introduction: There is limited research exploring the pain experience of boys and young men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods pilot study to assess the feasibility of using particular measures of pain, pain coping and quality of life within semi-structured interviews with boys and young men with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and a postal survey of their parents. Non-probability, convenience sampling was used. Results: Twelve young men aged 11 to 21 years (median 15 years), three of whom were still ambulant, and their parents / guardians were recruited. The measures used were acceptable to the young men and demonstrated potential to provide useful data. Two-thirds of young men suffered from significant daily pain which was associated with reduced quality of life. Pain complaints were largely kept within the family. Young men's pain-coping strategies were limited by their restricted physical abilities. Statistical power based on these preliminary results suggests a study of approximately 50 boys/young men which appears feasible. Conclusions: Further study is needed to explore acceptable and effective methods of pain management in this population and ways of enhancing pain-coping strategies. In clinical practice, assessment of pains and discomfort should form part of all routine consultations.