No description available.

Hand and arm gestures are a great way of communication when you don't want to be heard, quieter and often more reliable than whispering into a radio mike. In recent years hand gesture identification became a major active area of research due its use in various applications. The objective of my work is to develop an integrated sensor system, which will enable tactical squads and SWAT teams to communicate when there is absence of a Line of Sight or in the presence of any obstacles. The gesture set involved in this work is the standardized hand signals for close range engagement operations used by military and SWAT teams. The gesture sets involved in this work are broadly divided into finger movements and arm movements. The core components of the integrated sensor system are: Surface EMG sensors, Flex sensors and accelerometers. Surface EMG is the electrical activity produced by muscle contractions and measured by sensors directly attached to the skin. Bend Sensors use a piezo resistive material to detect the bend. The sensor output is determined by both the angle between the ends of the sensor as well as the flex radius. Accelerometers sense the dynamic acceleration and inclination in 3 directions simultaneously. EMG sensors are placed on the upper and lower forearm and assist in the classification of the finger and wrist movements. Bend sensors are mounted on a glove that is worn on the hand. The sensors are located over the first knuckle of each figure and can determine if the finger is bent or not. An accelerometer is attached to the glove at the base of the wrist and determines the speed and direction of the arm movement. Classification algorithm SVM is used to classify the gestures.

ABSTRACT This study explored the clinical reasoning expert therapists use in relation to splinting the affected hand following neurological injury. An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative methodology was used in three focus groups with occupational therapists, experienced in neurorehabilitation. Data was analysed based on priori themes, specifically 1. The Model of Practice Development (Higgs and Titchen 2001b) - most value was placed on Procedural knowledge or clinical experience; reflection on protocols, working with and learning from others and having clear outcomes. Undergraduate training and current literature is insufficient to provide guidelines for practice. 2. The Three Track Model of Clinical Reasoning (Fleming 1991) –splinting was used to improve range of motion, maintain muscle length and affect muscle tone. Effectiveness of the splints depended on the patient’s response and the therapists’ ability to adapt to preferences and goals. Interactive reasoning was essential in understanding the South African context. The study provided guidelines for a newly qualified therapist.

Direct cortico-motoneuronal (CM) connections of corticospinal tract neurons are a distinctive feature of the primate motor system which are known to be important for the capacity to perform independent finger movements. However, it is still unclear how the appropriate combinations of CM cells are recruited to produce the selective (fractionated) control over muscles of the upper limb that is necessary for independent finger movements. I have investigated whether GABAergic intracortical inhibitory (ICI) circuits in human motor cortex contribute to the selection of the appropriate CM cells during a motor task requiring selective activation of one of several intrinsic hand muscles. Behaviour of ICI circuits during voluntary contraction was compared for the dominant and non-dominant hemisphere of right-handed subjects, as hemispheric differences in ICI may contribute to preferential use of the right hand for fine motor tasks. Finally, I investigated the range of forces over which ICI contributes to selective activation of a hand muscle. Neurologically normal adult human subjects were recruited for all experiments. Surface electrodes recorded electromyographic activity of abductor pollicis brevis (APB), first dorsal interosseous and abductor digiti minimi muscles during controlled isometric contractions of APB at different force levels while subjects attempted to keep the other two muscles relaxed using visual feedback of EMG. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess ICI at rest and during selective activation of a hand muscle. TMS intensity and interstimulus interval were varied in different trials. Data were compared for two different directions of induced current in the brain; posteriorly directed current (PA stimulation) and anteriorly directed current (AP stimulation). ICI is suppressed for corticospinal neurons controlling the muscle targeted for selective activation; no change in ICI was seen for corticospinal neurons controlling the muscles required to be relaxed. This indicates that differential modulation of ICI in human motor cortex contributes to selective activation of a hand muscle. The direction of current flow induced in the brain proved to be critical for demonstrating this effect. It was observed with AP stimulation but not PA stimulation. I argue that this is due to preferential activation by PA stimulation of interneurons producing I1 waves in corticospinal neurons. These interneurons are not acted upon by ICI circuits. This problem makes the conventional PA paired-pulse TMS technique unreliable for the assessment of ICI during voluntary contraction. With AP stimulation it was demonstrated that ICI is not modulated during weak selective activation of a hand muscle (&lt5percent of maximal voluntary contraction), but ICI effects on CM cells controlling the target muscle are progressively suppressed at higher levels of activation. The present study is the first to examine hemispheric differences in ICI during selective isometric contraction of an intrinsic hand muscle. No hemispheric differences were observed. These studies have demonstrated a functional role for ICI in fractionation of hand muscle activity in normal subjects. It also provides an improved basis for investigating the changes in ICI with TMS in various neurological conditions in which it has been reported that GABAergic inhibition is abnormal. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Molecular and Biochemical Science, 2004.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: John P. Scholz, Dept. of Physical Therapy. Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract In the early days,designer emphasized that human-like robotic hands should have high degree of freedoms(DOFs) and fully simulate all motions of human hands.It makes the system to be too expensive and complex. In recent years, the performance of grasp is no longer depend on the DOFs only after the concept of underactuated is applied. In this article, we discussed the designs and mechanisms of robotic hands and the design principle of underactuated. The SYS-1 underactuated human-like robotic hand uses only six actuator to control ten DOFs, the fingers of SYS-1 consist of underactuated six-bar linkage that simulate human¡¦s fingers motion. The ejection effect is also well controlled. Every finger is an independent module and can be separate or deploy according to the needs. The conduit-tendon system let SYS-1 can work in the water or high temperature environment without any damage. We also analysis the motion characteristic and grasp performance of SYS-1 and compare to the other similar designs.

No description available.

The history of the development of the piano works for left-hand has spanned for more than one hundred and fifty years, and the piano concertos for left-hand, which made special historical significance in the concerts, were mostly written for one-arm pianist Paul Wittgenstein. The purpose of the thesis is the study of the stylistic features of one-movement piano concertos for one-hand, including Concerto pour la main gauche by Ravel, Parergon and Panathenaenzug by Richard Struass, and Diversions by Britten. The discussions contain the structure, form, orchestration, and performing technique. The contents of the thesis includes four chapters, in addition to the introduction. The first chapter discusses the general historical background for the creation of left-hand playing, and the development of the creation of the piano works for left hand. The second chapter is basic literature research for the piano concertos for left hand, and introduces the creative background to four piano concertos for left hand. The third chapter emphasizes the detailed analysis of the piano concertos for left hand of the selected works of Ravel, Richard Strauss and Britten. In the four left-hand piano concertos, Concerto pour la main gauche and the Parergon are designed in multi-sectional stracyure, the Panathenaenzug is planted for a symphonic studies in Passacaglia form and the Diversions is in a form of thematic variations in which each variation is characteristic in different title. In addition, composers frequently make use of the different instrumental colors of orchestra to replenish the lacks of rich acoustics of the piano playing, including accompaniment, support of harmony, momentum and dynamic of sounding expression. Richard Struass¡¦s Panathenaenzug employs the glockenspiel and celesta to enrich the sounding expression. The difficulties of left-hand piano techniques are variable; Ravel use the different and difficult piano skills in his two candenzas, Richard Struass¡¦s Panathenaenzug is also collected left-hand piano techniques in it, and Britten¡¦s Diversions is in different point of view that the composer employs the whole register of eighty-eight keys to makes this piano concerto sounding rich.

Zugl.: Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (D.M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 155 p. : ill. (some col.), music. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-155).