An efficient method for utilising a two-dimensional camera to recognise hand gestures in three-dimensional space is described. The work is presented within the context of a recuperation aid for younger children with impaired movement of the upper limbs. The application is designed for use on a standard Android tablet device in the home, as part of an interactive storybook, so the algorithms are...

We examined the effect of high frequency tactile stimulation (tHFS) on tactile and motor performance as well as tactile-motor interactions. Seventeen right-handed participants (66-78 years) underwent a pretest (tactile frequency and spatial discrimination task, manual dexterity test, and precision grip task) with their left hand, received 30 min of tHFS on the tips of their left index finger an...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effect of 3 wrist splints (2 prefabricated commercial splints and 1 custom made) on perceived wrist pain, hand function, and perceived upper extremity function in adults with inflammatory arthritis. METHODS Subjects (n = 45, mean age 49 years, mean disease duration 8.6 years) were randomly assigned to treatment order in a 3-phase crossover trial. Splints were worn for...

The authors carried out more than 20 yr of follow up studies of vibration-induced white finger (VWF) from the time of cessation for the use of chainsaws. These results were presented at the 8th International Conference of Hand-Arm Vibration. It is not uncommon for vibration exposed workers to report difficulty in hand gripping, either due to reduced dexterity or reduced grip strength . With res...

BACKGROUND Unilateral ischemic stroke disrupts the well balanced interactions within bilateral cortical networks. Restitution of interhemispheric balance is thought to contribute to post-stroke recovery. Longitudinal measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes might act as surrogate marker for this process. OBJECTIVE To quantify longitudinal CBF changes using arterial spin labeling MRI ...

Soft grippers are receiving growing attention due to their compliance-based interactive safety and dexterity. Hybrid gripper with soft actuators enhanced by rigid constraints is in design. With structural components actuated actuators, they could achieve excellent grasping adaptability payload while also being easy model control conventional kinematics. However, existing works were mostly focus...

To investigate the effects of postlesion training on motor recovery, we compared the motor recovery of macaque monkeys that had received intensive motor training with those that received no training after a lesion of the primary motor cortex (M1). An ibotenic acid lesion in the M1 digit area resulted in impairment of hand function, with complete loss of digit movement. In the monkeys that had u...

We are working towards the development of a robotic hand-held surgical device for laparoscopic interventions that enhances the surgeons' dexterity. In this paper, the kinematics of the end effector is studied. Different choices of kinematics are compared during an evaluation campaign using a virtual reality simulator to find the optimal one: the Yaw-Roll (YR) kinematics. A proof of concept prot...