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This study provides an overview of the fundamental statistics and features of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the historical simulations of the Taiwan Earth System Model version 1 (TaiESM1). Compared with observations, TaiESM1 can reproduce the fundamental features of observed ENSO signals, including seasonal phasing, thermocline coupling with winds, and atmospheric teleconnection during El Niño events. However, its ENSO response is approximately two times stronger than the observance in the spectrum, resulting in powerful teleconnection signals. The composite of El Niño events shows a strong westerly anomaly extending fast to the east Pacific in the initial stage in March, April, and May, initiating a warm sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) there. This warm SSTA maintains through September, October, and November (SON) and gradually diminishes after peaking in December. Analysis of wind stress-SST and heat flux-SST coupling proposes that biased positive SST-shortwave feedback contributes significantly to the strong warm anomaly over the eastern Pacific, especially in SON. Our analysis demonstrates TaiESM1’s capability of simulating ENSO—a significant tropical climate variation on interannual scales with strong global impacts and provides insights into mechanisms in TaiESM1 related to ENSO biases, laying the foundation for future model development to reduce uncertainties in TaiESM1 and climate models in general.

BACKGROUND After an operation, the shoulder and wrist might not be able to lift and swing freely, and must be assisted with rehabilitation training. OBJECTIVE In this paper, Kinect combined with multiple sensors of a Bluetooth ball is proposed to improve the measurement function of the arm's micro-motion trajectory, rotation amount, and acceleration, which cannot be detected by Kinect alone. METHODS We designed two virtual scene rehabilitation games for clinical trials. We performed validity analysis with a paired sample t-test. RESULTS A significance value of P*< 1 was obtained, and the arm lift angle shows an improvement from 30∘ to 60∘, indicating that the range of motion of the hand and shoulder is gradually improving. CONCLUSION Experiments show that virtual games combined with multiple sensors can better understand the patient's rehabilitation situation.

Our article establishes a mechanism to remind residents whether there are guests visiting through related electronic devices for range finding, identification, etc.A vibrating bracelet (or ring) and a flashing light bar are worn on the resident’s wrist (or neck), that is, to remind the resident by means of vibration and light bar flashing. Other related hardware aspects include LED dot matrix modules, voice broadcast, and infrared door locks; LED dot matrix modules are used to display the current date, time, and visitor information, and the voice broadcast will play the speakers of the visiting guests. The LED dot matrix module can provide information about visiting guests for the hearing impaired or residents with reduced mobility, and the voice broadcast can provide information about the visiting guests for the visually impaired or residents with reduced mobility. If the resident completes the identification of the visiting guest and wants to open the door lock, he can use infrared light wave to open the door lock. This is a convenient and safe way for residents with limited mobility or the elderly.

This study evaluates the performance of the Taiwan Earth System Model version 1 (TaiESM1) in simulating the observed climate variability in the historical simulation of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 6 (CMIP6). TaiESM1 is developed on the basis of the Community Earth System Model version 1.2.2, with the inclusion of several new physical schemes and improvements in the atmosphere model. The new additions include an improved triggering function in the cumulus convection scheme, a revised distribution‐based formula in the cloud fraction scheme, a new aerosol scheme, and a unique scheme for three‐dimensional surface absorption of shortwave radiation that accounts for the influence of complex terrains. In contrast to the majority of model evaluation processes, which focus mainly on the climatological mean, this evaluation focuses on climate variability parameters, including the diurnal rainfall cycle, precipitation extremes, synoptic eddy activity, intraseasonal fluctuation, monsoon evolution, and interannual and multidecadal atmospheric and oceanic teleconnection patterns. A series of intercomparisons between the simulations of TaiESM1 and CMIP6 models and observations indicate that TaiESM1, a participating model in CMIP6, can realistically simulate the observed climate variability at various time scales and are among the leading CMIP6 models in terms of many key climate features.

This study compares the interannual variance of boreal winter near-surface temperature (DJF T2m) with and without performing single model ensemble (SME) in seasonal hindcasts (DEMETER, ENSEMBLES, and NCEP CFSv2) and historical climate simulations (CMIP5). The results demonstrate that the extratropical temperature variability is significantly reduced after performing SME even though the signal in the tropical Pacific remains strong. Cancellation between positive and negative perturbations simulated by individual model members, of both tropical and extratropical origins, leads to the under-simulation. The atmospheric circulation induced by tropical Pacific sea surface temperature is not well represented in global climate models and the simulation is further deteriorated by SME, leading to an unrealistically weak interannual variance of simulated winter temperature in North America. Similar effect was also found in North Eurasia where winter temperature is strongly influenced by atmospheric internal variability and its interaction with land and ice/snow in the middle-high latitudes. The SME procedure should be avoided when evaluating the model performance in simulating the higher-order long-term statistics (such as variance). Variance of individual models should be calculated first and then averaged among members. Models used in seasonal forecast and long-term climate simulation already have good capability in simulating the long-term statistics of stochastic processes in the extratropics, although the capability in accurately simulating the temporal variation is still poor.

BACKGROUND Long-term, sustained progress is necessary in drop foot rehabilitation. The necessary inconvenient body training movements, the return trips to the hospital and repetitive boring training using functional electrical stimulation (FES) often results in the patient suspending their training. The patient's drop foot rehabilitation will not progress if training is suspended. OBJECTIVE A fast spread, highly portable drop foot rehabilitation training device based on the smart phone is presented. This device is combined with a self-made football APP and feedback controlled FES. The drop foot patient can easily engage in long term rehabilitation training that is more convenient and interesting. METHODS An interactive game is established on the smart phone with the Android system using the originally built-in wireless communications. The ankle angle information is detected by an external portable device as the game input signal. The electrical stimulation command to the external device is supplemented with FES stimulation for inadequate ankle efforts. RESULTS After six-weeks training using six cases, the results indicated that this training device showed significant performance improvement (p< 0.05) in the patient's ankle dorsiflexion strength, ankle dorsiflexion angle, control timing and Timed Up and Go. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results show that this training device provides significant positive help to drop foot patients. Moreover, this device is based on existing and universally popular mobile processing, which can be rapidly promoted. The responses of clinical cases also show this system is easy to operate, convenient and entertaining. All of these features can improve the patient's willingness to engage in long term rehabilitation.

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between peripheral nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and balance performance in older adults with diabetes. Methods Twenty older adults with diabetes were recruited to evaluate the NCV of their lower limbs and balance performance. The balance assessments comprised the timed up and go (TUG) test, Berg balance scale (BBS), unipedal stance test (UST), multidirectional reach test (MDRT), maximum step length (MSL) test and quiet standing with eyes open and closed. The relationship between NCV and balance performance was evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficients, and the balance performances of the diabetic patients with and without peripheral neuropathy were compared by using Mann-Whitney U tests. Results The NCV in the lower limbs exhibited a moderate to strong correlation with most of the balance tests including the TUG (r = -0.435 to -0.520, p 0.05), BBS (r = 0.406-0.554, p 0.05), UST (r = 0.409-0.647, p 0.05) and MSL (r = 0.399-0.585, P 0.05). In addition, patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy had a poorer TUG (p 0.05), BBS (p 0.01), UST (p 0.05) and MSL performance (p 0.05) compared with those without peripheral neuropathy (p 0.05). Conclusion Our findings revealed that a decline in peripheral nerve conduction in the lower limb is not only an indication of nerve dysfunction, but may also be related to the impairment of balance performance in patients with diabetes. Implications for Rehabilitation Nerve conduction velocity in the lower limbs of diabetic older adults showed moderate to strong correlations with most of the results of balance tests, which are commonly used in clinics. Decline in nerve conduction velocity of the lower limbs may be related to the impairment of balance control in patients with diabetes. Diabetic older adults with peripheral neuropathy exhibited greater postural instability than those without peripheral neuropathy.

[Purpose] The introduction of emerging technologies such as the wireless Blobo bluetooth ball with multimedia features can enhance wrist physical therapy training, making it more fun and enhancing its effects. [Methods] Wrist injuries caused by fatigue at work, improper exercise, and other conditions are very common. Therefore, the reconstruction of wrist joint function is an important issue. The efficacy of a newly developed integrated wrist joint rehabilitation game using a Blobo bluetooth ball with C# software installed was tested in wrist rehabilitation (Flexion, Extension, Ulnar Deviation, Radial Deviation). [Results] Eight subjects with normal wrist function participated in a test of the system's stability and repeatability. After performing the Blobo bluetooth ball wrist physical therapy training, eight patients with wrist dysfunction experienced approximately 10° improvements in range of motion (ROM) of flexion extension, and ulnar deviation and about 6° ROM improvement in radial deviation. The subjects showed progress in important indicators of wrist function. [Conclusion] This study used the Blobo bluetooth ball in wrist physical therapy training and the preliminary results were encouraging. In the future, more diverse wrist or limb rehabilitation games should be developed to meet the needs of physical therapy training.

[Purpose] Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases are major causes of adult mobility problems. Because stroke immobilizes the affected body part, balance training uses the healthy body part to complete the target movement. The muscle utilization rate on the stroke affected side is often reduced which further hinders affected side functional recovery in rehabilitation. [Subjects and Methods] This study tested a newly-developed interactive device with two force plates to measuring right and left side centers of pressure, to establish its efficacy in the improvement of the static standing ability of patients with hemiplegia. An interactive virtual reality game with different side reaction ratios was used to improve patient balance. The feasibility of the proposed approach was experimentally demonstrated. [Results] Although the non-affected-side is usually used to support the body weight in the standing position, under certain circumstances the patients could switch to using the affected side. A dramatic improvement in static standing balance control was achieved in the eyes open condition. [Conclusion] The proposed dual force plate technique used in this study separately measured the affected and non-affected-side centers of pressure. Based on this approach, different side ratio integration was achieved using an interactive game that helped stroke patients improve balance on the affected side. Only the patient who had suffered stroke relatively recently benefited significantly. The proposed technique is of little benefit for patients whose mobility has stagnated to a certain level.

The double intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) bias in the eastern Pacific in the Community Earth System Model version 1 with Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CESM1/CAM5) is diagnosed. In CAM5 standalone, the northern ITCZ is associated with inertial instability and the southern ITCZ is thermally forced. After air–sea coupling, the processes on both hemispheres are switched because the spatial pattern of sea surface temperature (SST) is changed. Biases occur during boreal spring in both CAM5 and the ocean model. In CAM5 alone, weaker-than-observed equatorial easterly in the tropical eastern South Pacific leads to weaker evaporation and an increase in local SST. The shallow meridional circulation overly converges in the same region in the CAM5 standalone simulation, the planetary boundary layer and middle troposphere are too humid, and the large-scale subsidence is too weak at the middle levels. These biases may result from excessive shallow convection behavior in CAM5. The extra moisture would then fuel stronger convection and a higher precipitation rate in the southeastern Pacific. In the ocean model, the South Equatorial Current is underestimated and the North Equatorial Countercurrent is located too close to the equator, causing a warm SST bias in the southeastern Pacific and a cold bias in the northeastern Pacific. These SST biases feed back to the atmosphere and further influence convection and the surface wind biases in the coupled simulation. When the convection in the tropical northeastern Pacific becomes thermally forced after coupling, the northern ITCZ is diminished due to colder SST, forming the so-called alternating ITCZ bias.

In the research, a robot with gait and posture training functions is developed as an interactive balance rehabilitation training system for balance control impaired people to use. The system uses an action control tool with braking and monitoring functions to obtain the dynamic posture and gravity position of the body of the trainee, followed by subsequent process with software which is developed and designed completely to generate related feedback instructions for the trainee. Moreover, the instructions are presented in image, audio and tactile feedback manners, such that the trainee is provided with multiple message instructions to perform training activities according to the action request actually. Clinically, the research may provide training contents oriented according to task need. Compared to the decomposed action approach emphasized in conventional rehabilitation, it does allow the trainee to focus on the activity and obtains more significant effect. Furthermore, the goal of falling prevention function is also achievable after trained by the robot with gait and posture training functions developed in the research.

Wrist diseases, also known as “mama hand”, “mouse hand” or “keyboard hand”, are commonly seen and easily overlooked symptoms in daily life. The diseases are mostly related to incorrect exercise or excessive force imposed on hands, leading to tenosynovitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. To alleviate the symptoms or even to recover, besides drug treatment, supplementary rehabilitation training is necessary. The rehabilitation process forces the affected wrist area to continually exercise in order to stimulate the self-repair signals sent to the affected area for partial restoration, if not all, of the supposed functions. In modern world, using information technology to improve the rehabilitation environment with better approaches has become a trend. In this study, software programs coded in C# and Flash are developed to work on the Bluetooth ball hardware to facilitate the rehabilitation. The basic principle is to use the reaction from the Bluetooth ball’s swaying or swinging to drive the movement of the objects on the computer screen, making the supposedly boring rehabilitation much more fun and vivid in the interactive multimedia environment, thus gaining better treatment effect. Also, RFID, Internet and databases can be integrated into this facility to provide patient identification and data storage for references in making rehabilitation training programs.

Daily life movements such as standing, walking, and jumping need balance ability to achieve. Good balance control is closely related to the body stability and its development. According to medical research, people showing dizziness after taking drugs may have their balance ability substantially affected, and are more likely to fall, especially true to the elderly. This study proposes the combination of Kinect with virtual reality to build an information platform of interactive scenarios, for practices and evaluation on balance ability. Based on the indicators of balance ability, this platform sets out various training activities to improve the balance ability, making the supposedly boring process fun and vivid for a much better training purposes. Also, according to literatures, training with gaming patterns results in 30% reduction of falls. What’s more, this type of training can have the data, like time of use, scores, and joint postures, recorded and sent through network to databases on remote computer servers. The data collected from this platform can be sorted and analyzed, and the results can then be used to evaluate the performance of the balance training, and referenced for follow-up planning in the future.

Abnormal upper limb function seriously impacts a patient's daily life. After receiving emergency treatment patient should receive function-rebuilding and recovery training. The objective of this study is to integrate IR-camera, an infrared emitter, with a conventional passive hand skateboard training device for conventional upper limb training and the training process is comprehensively recorded and analyzed. Patients participating in the occupational therapy have a binding band attached to hand skateboard on the table to guide the patient in moving the hand skateboard along the designated path to train the patient's upper limbs. Six people with normal upper limb function participated in the stability test. The device repeatability and test results were verified acceptable. Eight patients with abnormal upper limb function (their upper limb function was damaged due to stroke, MMSEź>ź=27) were trained for 4 weeks. The patient scores in finishing rate and finishing time showed significant improvement. The paired T test results (satisfy pź

Whether a person’s upper limbs healthy or not will seriously impact his/her daily life. For those who have healthy, normal function of upper limbs or those who suffered from impairment but in the process of rehabilitation training, it is very important to remain appropriate, reasonable and moderate exercise to keep upper limbs functioning normally or in gradual recovery. This study use Kinect somatosensory device with Unity software to develop 3D situational games such as: “Shoulder finger ladder” and “Single curved shoulder”. The collected data from this training process can be uploaded via the internet to the cloud or server for participants to do self-inspection or it can be a reference for medical staffs to assess training effectiveness for those with impairments and planning in rehabilitation courses. In order to have more effective ways, researchers have imported games and virtual reality training effect to help those participants to train their upper limbs in a relaxed and extricated environment. In Shoulder finger ladder and Single curved shoulder training activities, the results of 8 subjects with normal upper limbs function represented that the system has good stability and reproducibility. And it also showed that motion of dominant side is more flexible than the non-dominant side. Flexibility and responsiveness in the elders are slightly behind the young. Another six weeks of training were held for subjects with frozen shoulder combined with Shoulder finger ladder and Single curved shoulder games. It showed that on the 3rd week, the average performances were stable. The T-test average score from 1–2 week and 3–4 weeks/5–6 weeks showed significant difference (P < 0.05).

Based on communication theory, this study proposes a model to synthesize normal and wheezing sounds. The model included five parts: the flow source as a transmitter, the frequency and amplitude-modulated (FM-AM) sounds, the accompanying noise as a modulator, the airway wall as a medium, and the microphone as a receiver. The hypothesis of modulation builds on that the deviation of frequency and amplitude of the sounds which cause from the deviation of collision speed of the air flow on the wall. The model was successful to simulate the normal breath and wheezing sounds. Furthermore, it provided a correct proof for the CORSA description, which indicates that the wheeze was contained in the domain frequency at 400 Hz, but a number of investigators have suggested that the range is actually between 80-1,600 Hz and 350-950 Hz by filter theory. This study modifies the signal source in Wodicka et al. model, and describes it in functional blocks. In fact, the design of the signal source base on the knowledge of the lung sound studies, especially the analysis of components in the frequency and time domains. We synthesized the required components to reproduce the lung sounds, and proposed a mechanism of wheeze which was examined by the computer simulation in the points of the system engineering view.

In this research, we employ the technology of computer vision to recognize traffic light. We manipulate the color information of traffic light under HSI color space. And then, adding motor tracking technology, we can trap the traffic light which is subjected to a region of interest (ROI) to the center area of monitor. Meanwhile, we assign different frequency (peach) according to red light or green light to inform the people what state the light is. We develop the algorithm at PC with MATLAB. Then, we port the whole system to DSP platform TI TMS320 DM642 EVM. The result is that in the condition of non-complex environment, the system can distinguish the red light from green light, and also can output audio signal by means of speaker.

[Purpose] Upper extremity rehabilitation after an injury is very important. This study proposes radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to improve and enhance the effectiveness of the upper extremity rehabilitation. [Subjects and Methods] People use their upper extremities to conduct daily activities. When recovering from injuries, many patients neglect the importance of rehabilitation, which results in degraded function. This study recorded the training process using the traditional rehabilitation hand gliding cart with a RFID reader, RFID tags in the panel, and a servo host computer. [Results] Clinical evidence, time taken to achieve a full score, counts of missing the specified spots, and Brunnstrom stage of aided recovery, the proximal part of the upper extremity show that the RFID-based upper extremity training significantly and reduce negative impacts of the disability in daily life and activities. [Conclusion] This study combined a hand-gliding cart with an RFID reader, and when patients moved the cart, the movement could be observed via the activated RFID tags. The training data was collected and quantified for a better understanding of the recovery status of the patients. Each of the participating patients made progress as expected.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of spasticity suppression by surface electrical stimulation (ES) o the muscle-tendon junction of spastic gastrocnemius muscles in stroke.Twenty-four neurologically stable stroke patients (aged 41-69 years, 12-35 months post-stroke), with spasticity graded 2 or 3 on the modified Ashworth scale, were recruited and divided into two groups. In the ES group, each patient received 20 min of surface ES once daily, 6 days per week for 1 month. In the control groups, ES was used with stimulation intensity kept at zero. To evaluate the therapeutic effect, the modified Ashworth scale, Fmax/Mmax ratio, H-reflex latency, H-reflex recovery curve, and the 10-m walking time were tested before and after the 1-month of treatment.In the ES group, the modified Ashworth scale showed a trend toward reduced spasticity after 1 month of treatment. The Fmax/Mmax ratio decreased from 8.10% +/- 4.84% to 4.00% +/- 1.36%; the H-reflex latency increased from 28.87 +/- 2.45 ms to 29.40 +/- 2.57 ms; the H-reflex recovery curves indicated a downward shift; and the 10-metre walking time significantly decreased after ES. In the control group, none of the measures showed a statistically significant change.In this study, we demonstrated a way to suppress spasticity at a metameric site and to increase walking speed effectively by applying surface ES on the muscle-tendon junction of spastic gastrocnemius muscles.

This study aims to establish an electronic wheelchair system in Taiwan that conforms to multiple master-multiple slave (M3S) standards. The proposed system could enhance the safety and convenience of people with disabilities.The M3S-based head-controlled electric wheelchair consists of three parts: (A) the input device, (B) the output device, and (C) the safety device. Head movement can be used as the input control to cause the tilting device to produce a corresponding level of analog voltage (backwardforward/leftright) which is then transmitted to the analogy/digital conversion module to control the output device (wheelchair's motor). Ten subjects with C5 incompleted spinal cord injury were recruited in the clinical assessment. They were randomly assigned into groups A and B. In the group A, the subjects were assigned to operate the head-controlled wheelchair system with M3S standard before operating the head-controlled wheelchair system without M3S standard. In the group B, the subjects were assigned to operate the head-controlled wheelchair system without M3S standard before operating the head-controlled wheelchair system with M3S standard. Two subjects in the group B drop off due to their personal reasons.The time cost for group A in completing tasks 1, 2, and 3 with the M3S and without the M3S were insignificant (p0.05). The time cost for completing in group B was insignificant (p0.05). Thus, the wheelchair operating time is depended on the proficiency of the subjects, not the M3S standard added.The time cost for subjects to operate the wheelchair was determined by their proficiency, not the M3S standard control added to the system. However, the M3S-based system did realize the safety mechanism and complex auxiliary tools with and without the plug-in and play function.

This study describes an eyeglass-type infrared-based communication board for the nonspeaking with quadriplegia.This system is composed of four major components: a headset, an infrared transmitting module, an infrared receiving/signal-processing module, and a main controller, the Intel-8951 microprocessor. This design concept was based on the use of an infrared remote module fastened to the eyeglasses which could allow the convenient control of the input motion on the keys of a communication board, which are all modified with infrared receiving/signal-processing modules. For system evaluation, 12 subjects (all men, 21-45 years old, six normal subjects as the control group and six nonspeaking with quadriplegia as the experimental group) were recruited.The average accuracy of the control group and the experimental group were 93.1 +/- 4.3% and 89.7 +/- 5.5%, respectively. The average time cost of the control group and the experimental group were 78.3 +/- 8.7 s and 89.9 +/- 10.2 s, respectively. An independent t-test revealed that the differences in the average accuracy and the average time cost of the control group and the experimental group were not significant (p0.05).The increase of opportunity to communicate using the infrared-based communication board would help people with multiple disabilities to socialize actively.

A knee locker with closed-loop functional electrical stimulation (FES) system has been developed to prevent the quadriceps weakness and the drop-foot of the hemiplegia during gait training.The FES system is triggered by a footswitch on the heel of the disabled foot to stimulate the tibialis anterior muscle for dorsi-flexion and to turn-off the knee locker in the swing phase through the main controller. Besides, the footswitch on the heel of the affected-side can be used to stimulate the quadriceps and to turn-on the knee locker for quadriceps weakness in the stance phase.It is revealed that the mean velocity, cadence, stride length, active ankle motion range, and functional ambulation category (FAC) have improved significantly from 0.15 +/- 0.04 m sec( - 1), 43.3 +/- 15.4 steps min( - 1), 0.36 +/- 0.11 m, 15 degrees, level 2 to 0.43 +/- 0.21 m sec( - 1), 69.4 +/- 19.1 steps min( - 1), 0.73 +/- 0.17 m, 40 degrees, level 4 respectively for the patient. A paired t-test indicated that differences in the electromyography (EMG) of the tibialis anterior and the quadriceps muscles between patient's disabled (affected-side) foot and normal (unaffected-side) foot are not significant (p0.05) after 16 weeks of training.It is concluded that this new knee locker with closed-loop FES system is capable of providing the hemiplegia with restoration to regular walking after appropriate gait training.

Purpose : This study proposes image processing and microprocessor technology for use in developing a head movement image (HMI)-controlled computer mouse system for the spinal cord injured (SCI). Method : The system controls the movement and direction of the mouse cursor by capturing head movement images using a marker installed on the user's headset. In the clinical trial, this new mouse system was compared with an infrared-controlled mouse system on various tasks with nine subjects with SCI. Results : The results were favourable to the new mouse system. The differences between the new mouse system and the infrared-controlled mouse were reaching statistical significance in each of the test situations ( p

This paper proposes the development of a surface electromyographic (SEMG)-controlled telephone interface for the disabled. The system is composed of three major components: (1) a SEMG receiving/signal-processing module; (2) a row-column scanning interface for the telephone dialling pad; and (3) a main controller, the Intel-8951 microprocessor. The design concept was based on the idea of using a SEMG generated by the disabled and converting it into a trigger pulse. This could allow convenient control of the dialing motion in the row-column scanning keys of a telephone dialling pad. People with disabilities are competent for certain kinds of work such as being a telephone operator. The increase of opportunities to perform a job for the disabled would help them live independently.

This paper reports on the development of an eyeglass- type infrared (IR)-controlled computer interface for the disabled. This system may serve to assist those who suffer from spinal cord injuries or other handicaps to operate a computer. This system is comprised of three major components: 1) an infrared transmitting module, 2) an infrared receiving/signal-processing module, and 3) a main controller, the Intel-8951 microprocessor. The infrared transmitting module utilizes tongue-touch circuitry which is converted to an infrared beam and a low power laser (0.1 mW) beam. The infrared receiving/signal-processing module, receives the infrared beam and fine tunes the unstable infrared beam into standard pulses which are used as control signals. The main controller is responsible for detecting the input signals from the infrared receiving/signal-processing module and verifying these signals with the mapping table in its memory. After the signal is verified, it is released to control the keys of the computer keyboard and mouse interface. This design concept was mainly based on the idea that the use of an infrared remote module fastened to the eyeglasses could allow the convenient control of the input motion on the keys of a computer keyboard and mouse which are all modified with infrared receiving/signal-processing modules. The system is designed for individuals with spinal cord injuries and disabled in which the subjects' movement are severely restricted. The infrared transmitting module can be easily mounted on eyeglasses or artificial limbs.

This study evaluated the effects of interactive video-game based (IVGB) training on the balance of older adults. The participants of the study included 30 community-living persons over the age of 65. The participants were divided into 2 groups. Group A underwent IVGB training for 6 weeks and received no intervention in the following 6 weeks. Group B received no intervention during the first 6 weeks and then participated in training in the following 6 weeks. After IVGB intervention, both groups showed improved balance based on the results from the following tests: the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Sway Velocity (SV) test (assessing bipedal stance center pressure with eyes open and closed). Results from the Sway Area (SA) test (assessing bipedal stance center pressure with eyes open and closed) revealed a significant improvement in Group B after IVGB training. Group A retained some training effects after 6 weeks without IVGB intervention. Additionally, a moderate association emerged between the Xavix measured step system stepping tests and BBS, MFES, Unipedal Stance test, and TUG test measurements. In conclusion, IVGB training improves balance after 6 weeks of implementation, and the beneficial effects partially remain after training is complete. Further investigation is required to determine if this training is superior to traditional physical therapy.

After stroke happened, central nervous system (CNS) damage causes not only drop foot, but also upper extremity limit when the patient is walking. Drop foot causes the pain on the patient's legs, and furthermore, it may make the patient fall down. The general way to treat is to equip the patient with ankle foot orthoses or commit Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) on the drop foot. However, CVA patient treatment lacks of upper extremity when the upper extremity training is applied. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to integrate two electrical channel stimulator to improve CVA patients' bad walking posture coming from drop foot and upper extremity swing limit. This system provides a hardware control interface and a gait stimulation timing control unit. The two-channel electrical stimulator's source is Trio-300 and the system controller core is Pic18F4520. The foot switch detects patients' steps to control FES output. By FES, controlling the patients' extremity could improve CVA patient walking safety and extremity balance.

In nowadays' medical care, needle-stick injury accounts for a great proportion in all of the accidents. For example when doctors and nurses do the acts of medical treatment, or when relevant personnel dispose of the medical wastes, it is a high probability that they are injured by the used syringe needle. Because there is a serious potential fatal crisis in the accidents of needle-stick injury, for example, the diseases infected by blood such as hepatitis, AIDS, syphilis, etc. may infect the relevant doctors and nurses through the used syringe needle, it indeed causes a great damage. The statistical analysis also indicates that the main cause of the accident of needle-stick injury is the medical personnel's chronic action of "recovering" the needle after injection. Such carelessness of this action may cause accidents. The paper aims at applying the electronic technique to the needling instrument for the purpose of detaching the needle automatically, i.e. an action that can detach the used needles from the syringe and then collect respectively. Thus, it can effectively avoid the accident of needle-stick injury or even the case of serious infection when "recovering" the needle.

A feedback control functional electrical stimulation (FES) system was proposed to prevent quadriceps weakness and drop-foot of the hemiplegia during gait training. The FES system is triggered by a footswitch on the heel of the affected foot to stimulate the tibialis anterior muscle for dorsi-flexion and to turn-off the knee locker in the swing phase through the main controller. The footswitch on the heel of the affected-side can be used to stimulate the quadriceps and turn-on the knee locker for quadriceps weakness in the stance phase. It was revealed that the mean velocity, cadence, stride length, active ankle motion range and functional ambulation category (FAC) were significantly improved. A paired t-test indicated that the differences in the electromyography (EMG) of the tibialis anterior and the quadriceps muscles between patient’s affected foot and unaffected foot were not significant (p>0.05) after 16 weeks of training. The proposed knee locker device with closed-loop FES system is capable of providing a hemiplegic patient with regular walking restoration after appropriate gait training.

This chapter reports on the development of an eyeglass-type infrared-controlled computer interface for the disabled. This system may serve to assist those who suffer from spinal cord injuries or other handicaps to operate a computer. This system is comprised of three major components: (A) an infrared transmitting module; (B) an infrared receiving / signal-processing module; and (C) a main controller, the Intel-8951 microprocessor. The infrared transmitting module utilizes tongue-touch circuitry which is converted to an infrared beam and a low power laser (

This research proposed an eyeglass-type infrared-based home appliance control system for spinal cord injured (SCI) with tetraplegia.This system is composed of four major components: A headset, an infrared transmitting module, an infrared receiving/signal-processing module, and a main controller, the Intel-8951 microprocessor. This design concept was based on the use of an infrared remote module fastened to the eyeglasses that could allow the convenient control of the input motion on the keys of a remote controller of a home appliance which are all modified with infrared receiving/signal-processing modules. For system evaluation, 12 subjects (4 male, 8 female, 26- 47-years-old were recruited. Six persons without disabilities were in the control group and 6 with SCI with tetraplegia formed the experimental group.The average accuracy of the control group and the experimental group are 88.8 +/- 10.6% and 85.9 +/- 14.3%, respectively. The average time cost of the control group and the experimental group are 57.2 +/- 8.1 sec and 66.6 +/- 12.3 sec, respectively. An independent t-test revealed that the differences in the average accuracy and the average time cost of the control group and the experimental group are not significant (p0.05).Using the novel home appliance control system not only provided the advantages of convenience, accuracy and sanitation for people with disabilities but it also helped them to live more independently.

In this study, a patient-driven loop control in a non-invasive functional electrical stimulation (FES) system was designed to restore hand function of stroke patients with their residual capabilities.With this patient-driven loop control, patients use the electromyographic (EMG) signals from their voluntary controlled muscles in affected limbs to adjust stimulus parameters of the system. A special designed FES system generated electrical stimuli to excite the paralyzed muscles through surface electrodes on the basis of the control command from the residual myoelectric signals. EMG signals were also served as the trigger and the adjustment of stimulus parameters and thereby adding versatility of the FES system. Four stroke patients were recruited in the experiment to validate our system.The experimental results showed that hemiplegics could successfully control the system to restore their lost hand functions with the strategy of patient-driven loop control (the average estimated success rate was 77.5% with the tasks of cylindrical grasp and lateral pinch); and further, they would benefit by using the residual capabilities to regain their hand functions from the viewpoints of rehabilitation and psychology.According to the experiment results, this patient-driven loop control can be beneficial for hemiplegics to restore their hand functions such as cylindrical grasp and lateral pinch. The control strategy of this study has the potential to be employed not only in the FES system but also in other assistive devices.

In this study, a patient-driven loop control in a non-invasive functional electrical stimulation (FES) system was designed to restore ambulation function of stroke patients with their residual capabilities.

Digital TV becomes a part of ordinary family life. Comparing to the traditional TV, the digital one provides better picture quality and interactive functionalities instead of just receiving one-way programs. In common families, TV takes higher generality than computers and other mobile devices. In these mentioned devices, TV is the simplest one to operate. Because of such advantages, there are many opportunities and chances in the digital TV industry. For archiving better performance on digital learning, it is necessary for integrating quiz and testing components with current e-learning systems. It is the best way to arise the learning efficiency by checking studentspsila learning achievements using test mechanism and correcting the wrong answers they made. The purpose of this paper is to develop a QTI-based Assessment Platform compliant with MHP standard on Digital TV. By this framework, users can examine how much they have learned by tests on TV and discover subjects which they are not familiar. Another objective of using TV as a tool for learning behavior is to lower threshold of domain knowledge of technologies since watching TV is a simple behavior in peoplespsila daily life.

A feedback controlled functional electrical stimulation (FES) system is developed to provide the hemiplegic patients a real-time stimulation to their muscles to prevent the drop-foot and the quadriceps weakness from happening during gait training. The FES is controlled by tilt sensors (t.s.) and triggered by footswitches (f) with real-time feedback. As the FES receives the signals from these sensors, it adjusts and outputs an optimum set of stimulation parameters automatically.

The motivation of this research is to improve the ability of ambulation for people with a certain degree of disability. The control of the wheelchair is using two tilt sensors as an input-controlling module. One of the tilt sensors detects the anterior/posterior tilting of the head and moves the wheelchair forward/backward, the other distinguishes the left/right swing of the head. In order to increase the safety of this system, the M3S protocol established by the European Commission is also applied to this research. The system based on M3S protocol has the advantage of real-time signal transmission and emergent status monitoring for SCI patients with C2-C4 level. N the past the assistant device was designed with a unique connection, whereas a single input device was connected to a single output device which had neglected integral significance. These devices were not completely compatible with each other and had a rather poor integrated safety system. Furthermore, owing to severe degree disabilities who were quadriplegic from a cervical cord injury and had retained the ability to rotate their neck, were unable to switch arbitrarily between each connecting device by themselves, these one-to -one connected mechanism were not suitable for them. Therefore, it was extremely urgent to invent a connected interface and a simple input device for people with disabilities to operate in their wheelchair. In order to integrate different kinds of device and improve the facility of operation, Multiple Master Multiple Slave (M3S) is intelligent interface developed from European Community (EC) programs and individual people in the 90s. M3S protocol provides the standard interface between the input device and output device. A M3S system is based on the bus and devices. The bus of M3S contains three parts: 2 lines for digital communication (Controller Area Network bus, CAN bus), 2 lines for power distribution (Power bus) and 2 lines for safety features (Safety bus).

In this experiment, the centrifugal Taita No.1 left ventricular-assist device was implanted in a calf. The blood pump was driven by constant voltage with the open-loop control method. The pump inflow flow and pump outflow pressure were recorded and analyzed synchronously. According to the status of aortic valve and mitral valve, the cardiac cycle was divided into four stages. The flow in each stage was calculated and an optimal pump control index was obtained. The index suggests an optimal applied voltage of the pump for reducing suction and backflow effects.