An aging population and rising prevalence in obesity, arthritis and diabetes are resulting in a great number of elders that are suffering from mobility challenges. Walking assist exoskeletons have the potential to help preserve mobility in elders. The most common type of exoskeleton relies on heavily, complex and expensive components to help their user walk effortlessly. Recent research on walking assist exoskeletons has shifted towards the creation of an entirely mechanical system called passive walking assist exoskeleton. This research aims to design, model and test a passive walking assist exoskeleton that reduces the felt weight of the user during gait. The assist is achieved by the action of a seat mechanism which constantly produces an upward force on the pelvis of the user. This thesis details the entire composition and assembly of such device. The proposed device was modelled in order to predict the assistance provided by the seat mechanism when standing and walking with the device. A human-sized prototype was built and tested in order to mechanically validate the proposed design. The test results validated the proposed seat mechanism which produces the desired upward force, but the use of the exoskeleton in its current state hindered the natural gait pattern of the user.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students; regardless of poverty level, learning disability, limited English proficiency, or racial/ethnic origins; to be in general education classrooms meeting high standards of proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics by 2013-14. Meeting high standards of proficiency in a general education classroom is particularly challenging for students diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorders, such as Asperger's syndrome. Limited interests, inflexible language, and social skills deficits without a history of cognitive or language delays before the age of three characterize the disorder. Other symptoms, such as clumsiness, unusual sensory reactions, and talk in unusual ways or with an odd tone of voice are present early in life, Asperger's syndrome is typically not diagnosed until school age and on average the age is 11 years old. Various teaching strategies and assistive technologies encourage positive learning environments allowing for students with Asperger's to be productive in a general education classroom. A quantitative survey research design was the guiding methodology. Utilizing SurveyMonkey, two cross-sectional surveys were created and sent to Tennessee's 150 special education district supervisors with a request to forward to both special education and general education teachers. The surveys had three distinct components based on students with Asperger's syndrome; teaching strategies implemented, current assistive technologies being used, and how eReaders, tablets, and mobile applications are being utilized as assistive technologies. The results were tallied and evaluated. A comprehensive set of teaching strategies and assistive technologies used in the general education classroom to improve reading/language arts for secondary students diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome was compiled.

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Orientador: Gustavo Luis Gutierrez / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação Física / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T21:34:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FerreiradosSantos_Renata_M.pdf: 1050876 bytes, checksum: 3c5d54ed6fd897da80fa445cddcb30e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Em virtude do grande avanço tecnológico, e do crescente debate relacionado à deficiência nos últimos anos, este trabalho busca compreender se as Tecnologias Assistivas exercem algum tipo de influência na qualidade de vida de pessoas com deficiência. Foram realizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas com pessoas com deficiência física/motora, deficiência visual, e deficiência auditiva. Esta pesquisa reflexiva apresenta alguns aspectos relacionados ao histórico, terminologias, e modelos conceituais empregados à deficiência. Além disso, relata de que forma as mudanças sociais contribuíram para a inserção de novas tecnologias, enfatizando a Tecnologia Assistiva. O conteúdo obtido nas entrevistas foi relacionado às obras de autores de referência, e por meio de análise interpretativa, concluímos que as Tecnologias Assistivas geram impactos significantes na qualidade de vida de pessoas com deficiência. Elas são facilitadoras de atividades, promovem autonomia e independência, contribuem positivamente para o estabelecimento e manutenção de relações sociais, e são estimuladoras no processo de reabilitação de pessoas com deficiência / Abstract: Because of the great technological advances, and the growing debate related to disabilities in recent years, this paper seeks to understand whether the Assistive Technologies exert some kind of influence on the quality of life of people with disabilities. We conducted semi-structured interviews with people with physical / motor impairment, visual impairment, and hearing impairment. This reflective study presents some aspects related to the history, terminology and conceptual employees disability models. In addition, reports of how social changes have contributed to the introduction of new technologies, emphasizing the Assistive Technology. The contents obtained in the interviews was related to the works of major authors, and through interpretative analysis, we conclude that the Assistive Technologies generate significant impacts on the quality of life of people with disabilities. They are activities that facilitate, promote autonomy and independence, contribute positively to the establishment and maintenance of social relationships and are stimulating the process of rehabilitation of people with disabilities / Mestrado / Atividade Fisica Adaptada / Mestra em Educação Física

<p>  </p> <p>To regain a healthy degree of hand function, injured patients require strenuous rehabilitation therapies with the expectation of gaining the full range of motion and strength necessary for performing activities of daily living (ADLs). Metacarpal fractures are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries and require occupational therapy after the immobilization phase. Obstacles, such as longer recovery times, high costs, or lack of trained physiotherapists, often present a barrier for individuals seeking adequate treatment. Repetitive extension and flexion therapy routines improve grasping functionalities when performed correctly and repetitively. Robotic devices, such as hand exoskeletons, have been found to make up for the lack of hand motor function and assist in grasping tasks performed in ADLs, improving users’ independence. To increase robot acceptability, wearable robots have been recently proposed as part of rehabilitation technologies. Hand rehabilitation systems are an active research interest; however, most studies focus on rehabilitating central nerve injuries. There is a lack of research on systems treating hand fracture injuries, explicitly focusing on function recovery involving the fingers. Integrating systems that provide the necessary dexterity in a user-friendly manner while keeping a compact and lightweight fashion remains challenging. This thesis describes the development of a Soft Hand Exoskeleton (SHE) for robotic hand rehabilitation. The system integrates a flexible glove-like body and a bio-inspired cable-driven transmission system for motion assistance. The exoskeleton’s usage effects were evaluated through a user study experiment. An electromyography (EMG) based analysis allowed us to assess the muscular effort demands of ADLs. Experimental results and evaluation metrics demonstrated a reduction in the total integrated muscular activity (TIMA) in the performance of common ADLs when wearing the SHE system. </p>

O objetivo deste estudo foi realizar e determinar a validade de um protocolo de teste de verificação eletroacústica para Sistemas de Frequência Modulada (FM) acoplados a diferentes processadores de fala de implantes cocleares. Participaram deste estudo 40 crianças, com idades entre 5 e 18 anos incompletos, usuários de quatro modelos diferentes de processadores de fala. A verificação eletroacústica foi realizada por meio do uso do equipamento Audioscan Verifit (VF-1) com acoplador HA-1, além do uso do dispositivo de verificação de escuta correspondente a cada modelo de processador de fala do implante coclear. Nos casos em que a transparência não foi atingida, foi realizada alteração no ajuste do ganho do Sistema FM e avaliação da percepção auditiva da fala no ruído por meio da aplicação da versão brasileira do teste Phrases in Noise Test (PINT). Houve transparência entre o Sistema FM e o implante coclear em 85% dos dispositivos avaliados. Após o ajuste do ganho FM nos outros casos, os dispositivos apresentaram-se transparentes quando o teste de verificação eletroacústica foi repetido. Também foi observado que os participantes submetidos ao teste de percepção de fala no ruído apresentaram melhor desempenho após o novo ajuste, de modo que, nestes casos, a transparência eletroacústica ocasionou em transparência comportamental. Concluiuse que o protocolo de verificação eletroacústica utilizado mostrou-se efetivo para a avaliação da transparência entre o Sistema FM e o implante coclear. A realização prévia do ajuste do processador de fala e do ganho do Sistema FM mostrou-se essencial para que a transparência fosse atingida. / The purpose of this study was perform and determine the validity of an electroacoustic verification test for FM Systems coupled to different cochlear implant speech processors. The sample included 40 participants between 5-18 years users of four different models of speech processors. For the electroacoustic evaluation, we used the Audioscan Verifit device with the HA-1 coupler and the listening check devices corresponding to each speech processor model. In cases where the transparency was not achieved, was made a modification in the FM gain adjustment and used the Brazilian version of the \"Phrases in Noise Test\" (PINT) to evaluate the speech perception in competitive noise. It was observed that there was transparency between the FM System and the cochlear implant in 85% of the participants evaluated. After adjusting the gain of the FM receiver in the other participants, the devices showed transparency when the electroacoustic verification test was repeated. It was also observed that they presented better performance in speech perception in noise after a new adjustment, that is, in these cases, the electroacoustic transparency caused behavioral transparency. It was concluded that the electroacoustic evaluation protocol suggested was effective to evaluate transparency between the FM System and the cochlear implant. Performing the adjustment of the speech processor and the FM System gain are essential when fitting this device.

Pessoas com deficiência motora têm poucas opções na seleção de cadeiras de rodas que atendam suas necessidades de deslocamento, comodidade e segurança para a realização das tarefas da vida diária, principalmente com as tecnologias assistivas disponíveis no Brasil. Com o intuito de auxiliar os cadeirantes, facilitando seus deslocamentos em vias públicas, foi desenvolvido um sistema de simulação numérica e um protótipo para teste de controle de suspensão autonivelante para aplicar em cadeiras de rodas. Baseado nos resultados numéricos obtidos por meio da simulação, a planta de teste de controle foi montada visando ao estudo do desempenho da dinâmica vertical. O sistema de inclinação lateral e frontal é apresentado com o uso de atuadores para controlar os movimentos de arfagem e rolagem de uma cadeira de rodas motorizada. Os sistemas foram expostos a diversas perturbações e os resultados mostram que o controle pode melhorar o conforto e a segurança de cadeirantes em percursos em vias públicas, dependendo da velocidade de aplicação da perturbação. / People with disabilities have little choice go select a wheelchairs which meets most of the displacement, comfort and safety requirements to perform their daily life tasks, particularly amid assistive technologies available in Brazil. In order to aid disabled persons, facilitating wheelchairs displacements on public roads courses, it was designed and developed a numeric simulation model and a prototype for the test of a wheelchair self-leveling suspension control system. Based upon the numeric results obtained from the model simulation, the control test platform was created aiming to ascertain the vertical dynamics performance. The lateral and frontal tilting system is presented, using actuators to control the leveling and rolling movements of a motorized wheelchair. The system underwent a variety of perturbations and the results demonstrate the control may improve comfort and safety for the wheelchairs displacements on public roads courses, depending on the velocity of application of the perturbation.

O fenômeno global de envelhecimento populacional está sendo acompanhado pelo rápido crescimento do número de pessoas com algum tipo de deficiência mental ou física, assim como diversas doenças crônicas relacionadas à idade. Devido ao fato de que a maioria dos idosos prefere ficar no conforto de suas residências, é essencial o desenvolvimento de tecnologias que auxiliem os idosos a terem uma vida independente e confortável em seus lares. Em especial, Ambientes Assistidos buscam agir proativamente de forma a auxilar de maneira correta o usuário na execução das suas Atividades de Vida Diária. Devido à grande variabilidade nos níveis de deficiência dos usuários, é fundamental que o Ambiente Assistido seja capaz de fornecer a assistência levando em consideração diversos aspectos relacionados ao usuário, como suas dificuldades, limitações e atividade sendo realizada. Este trabalho propõe um sistema que utiliza uma abordagem baseada nas tecnologias da Web Semântica e no paradigma multiagentes com o objetivo de fornecer assistência personalizada a pessoas idosas e com diversidades funcionais. As características do usuário foram modeladas por uma ontologia OWL, enquanto o mecanismo de reasoning responsável por inferir as preferências relacionadas aos serviços do ambiente foi implementada utilizando a linguagem SWRL. Ainda, os componentes presentes na arquitetura proposta são implementados na forma de agentes com funções específicas. Entre as característica inovadoras da proposta estão a incorporação de um modelo padronizado e internacionalmente conhecido para representar as deficiências, dificuldades e limitações dos usuários e a utilização de uma arquitetura distribuída que possui as características inerentes ao paradigma multiagentes, tais como escalabilidade, flexibilidade e dinamismo. A validação do sistema foi realizada através de sua integração com uma Arquitetura Orientada a Serviços que utiliza uma solução comercial de automação residencial e um simulador de Ambientes Inteligentes, e da sua utilização em três casos de usos definidos pelo projeto AAL Joint Programme. / The global phenomenon of population aging has been followed by the fast growth in the number of people with some kind of mental or physical disability and chronic illnesses associated with old age. Given the fact that the majority of older adults prefer to stay in the comfort of their own homes, it is crucial to develop technologies that help the elderly to live independently and comfortably in their homes. Specifically, Ambient Assisted Living environments aims to act proactively in order to properly assist the elderly and people with functional diversity to perform their Activities of Daily Living. Since these users tend to be greatly variable in regards to functioning and disability levels, it is essential that the ambient provides personalized assistance based on the user’s unique requirements, limitations, preferences, and activity being performed. This work proposes a system that uses an approach based on the Web Semantic technologies and the multiagent paradigm with the goal of providing personalized assistance to the elderly and people with functional diversity. The user’s characteristics were modeled using an OWL ontology and a reasoning mechanism responsible to infer the preferences related to the ambient services was implemented using SWRL rules. Furthermore, the proposed architecture components were implemented as agents with specific roles. Among the proposed system innovative features are the incorporation of a standardized and international model used to represent the user’s functional and disability information, and the use of a distributed architecture having the multiagent paradigm features, such as scalability, flexibility, and dynamism. The system’s validation was accomplished by its integration with a Service Oriented Architecture that uses a commercial automation solution and a smart environment simulator, and by its use in three use cases developed by the AAL Joint Programme.

Four studies describe the pointing performance of individuals with fine motor skills impairments. First, we describe the pointing performance of two individuals with Parkinsons disease via a sub-movement analysis and compare them with similar results found in the literature from young children and older able-bodied adults. The analysis suggests the need of an individual assessment of pointing difficulties and the personalization of the methods of assistance and motivates sub-sequent studies. Two experiments followed where we tested PointAssist, software that assists in pointing tasks by detecting difficulty through a sub-movement analysis and triggering help, with adjustments proposed to personalize the assistance provided. A within-subjects study with sixteen individuals with fine motor skills impairments resulted in statistically significant effects on accuracy using Friedman's test with (χχ/sup>(1) = 6.4, p = .011) in favor of personalized PointAssist. A five week longitudinal study with three participants with Cerebral Palsy and other fine motor skills impairments shows the long term effects of PointAssist. The longitudinal study logged real-world use of pointing devices validating the results for real-world interactions. PointAssist had statistically significant effect of reduced sub-movement length and speed with p < .00001 and p < .0002 respectively for one of the participants. These results suggest better motor control near a target and statistically significant results on the sub-movement duration confirmed this. Finally, we designed, developed and tested a new assistive technology for individuals with severe motor skills impairments that we call the Reverse Funnel. Three participants, two with Cerebral Palsy and one with an undisclosed disability, participated and positive early results are presented as well as future developments of the newly developed strategy.

The evaluation of how Assistive Technologies for Cognition (ATC) serve their purpose in providing support for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (AD/HD) is limited and it is not clear how to best support the cognitive functions in order to help the individual increase task performance in everyday life. This thesis sought to scrutinise how families with at least one child diagnosed with AD/HD incorporate ATCs in their daily life in order to cope with appurtenant difficulties. An online survey, answered by 92 caregivers for children with AD/HD, attended to the cognitive abilities in need of support, the usage of ATCs, and how ATCs supported the executive functions in everyday planning. The results reveal that children encounter difficulty in dealing with cognitive ability, executive functioning and causal inference when it comes to planning in everyday life situations, which relates to lower levels of independence. Executive functioning and causal inference is negatively correlated to number of symptoms of AD/HD. The ATC is not satisfactorily supporting the cognitive functions, which results in another person by default being the one who sets up the ATC, and the child merely follows the instruction. The results has been processed into a table containing concepts which is suggested to be considered both when developing, as well as evaluating, ATCs for children with AD/HD.