Organizational Unit:
Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Lab (REAR Lab)
Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Lab (REAR Lab)
Permanent Link
Research Organization Registry ID
Description
Previous Names
Parent Organization
Parent Organization
Organizational Unit
Organizational Unit
Includes Organization(s)
ArchiveSpace Name Record
Publication Search Results
Now showing
1 - 8 of 8
-
ItemIn-seat activity of wheelchair users measured over multiple epochs dataset(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-01-18) Sprigle, Stephen ; Sonenblum, Sharon ; Feng, ChenPressure ulcers, by definition, are caused by external forces on the tissues, often in the regions of bony prominences. Wheelchair users are at risk to develop sitting-acquired pressure ulcers, which occur in the regions of the ischial tuberosities, sacrum/coccyx or greater trochanters. As a means to prevent pressure ulcers, instruction on performing pressure reliefs or weight shifts are a part of the rehabilitation process. The objective of this study was to monitor the weight shift activity of full-time wheelchair users with acute spinal cord injury over multiple epochs of time in order to determine consistency or routine within and across epochs. A second objective was to evaluate the accuracy of self-reported pressure relief frequency within each measurement epoch. A wheelchair in-seat activity monitor was used to measure weight shifts and other in-seat movement. The data was classified into multiple in-seat activity metrics using machine learning. Seventeen full-time wheelchair users with spinal cord injury were measured within multiple epochs, each lasting more than 1 week. Across all in-seat activity metrics, no consistent pattern of activity changes emerged. None of the in-seat activity metric changed in any one direction across a majority of subjects. Subjects tended to over-estimate their frequency of performing pressure reliefs. Self-reported pressure relief behaviors are not reliable, and therefore, cannot be used to evaluate preventative behaviors either clinically or within research. This study had the capability of fully investigating in-seat movements of wheelchair users. The results indicated that in-seat movement does not reflect a routine, either in pressure reliefs, weight shifts or other functional in-seat movements. This study has illustrated the complexity of assigning causation of pressure ulcer occurrence to seated behaviors of wheelchair users and identifies the need for improved clinical techniques designed to develop routine behaviors to prevent pressure ulcers.
-
ItemVideo: Skeletal Displacement and Shear Strain Example During Head of Bed Elevation(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019) Sonenblum, Sharon E. ; Sprigle, StephenThis realtime MRI video demonstrates the caudal displacement of the spine relative to the skin when the head of the bed is elevated 30 degrees. Friction with the sheets keeps the skin from slipping. This video is a great teaching tool to demonstrate internal shear strain in the adipose near the sacrum and coccyx, and it serves as a nice counterpart to the published article: Sprigle, S. and S. Sonenblum, Visualizing Tissue Strain Under the Sacrum and Coccyx in Different Supine Postures: A Case Series. Adv Skin Wound Care, 2019, in which static measurements of skeletal displacement are reported.
-
ItemVideo Demonstrations of Component- and Systems-Level Test Methods for Wheelchair Propulsion Characterization(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-11) Huang, Morris ; Misch, Jacob ; Sprigle, StephenThe five videos included in this repository demonstrate the fundamental test methods used to characterize performance of various wheelchair components. The Anatomical Model Propulsion System (AMPS) was designed to emulate the weight distribution and force application of a human wheelchair user. Three canonical maneuvers were identified to quantify the effects of rolling resistance, drive wheel scrub, and caster swivel. The ‘AMPS straight.mp4’ file shows the straight maneuver. ‘AMPS left FW turn.mp4’ demonstrates a fixed-wheel turn, where one wheel is locked and scrubbing against the floor as the chair drives the other wheel. The ‘AMPS CCW.mp4’ shows an alternating zero-radius maneuver designed to cause caster swivel by driving the wheels in opposing directions. Also included in this directory are videos representing the standalone coast-down and scrub torque component tests. ‘Caster Wheel Coast-down Test Video.m4v’ shows the coast-down cart loaded with weights and instrumented with accelerometers to log the deceleration of the cart. This test measures the force of rolling resistance acting on the cart. The final video, ‘scrub test demo.mp4’, shows the test rig used to measure scrub torque. A ZwickRoell materials testing machine pulls the steel cable attached to a pulley system, which rotates the load arm and effectively scrubs the tile or carpet swatch against the fixed wheel. These videos were taken in 2017 to use as demonstrations for future researchers and collaborators. More information can be found in Morris Huang’s dissertation located at http://hdl.handle.net/1853/59253.
-
ItemButtock tissue response to loading in men with SCI dataset(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018-01-26) Sonenblum, Sharon Eve ; Sprigle, StephenObjective/Background: Despite the fact that most people with a spinal cord injury who use a wheelchair for mobility are considered at-risk for pressure ulcer (PrU) development, there still exists a spectrum of risk amongst this group. Efforts to differentiate risk level would benefit from clinical tools that can measure or predict the buttocks response to loading. Therefore, the goal of this study was to identify how tissue compliance and blood flow were impacted by clinically-measurable risk factors in young men with SCI. Methods: Blood flow at the ischial tuberosity was measured using laser Doppler flowmetry while the seated buttock was unloaded, and loaded at lower (40-60 mmHg) and high (>200 mmHg) loads. Tissue compliance of the buttock was measured using the Myotonometer while subject were lifted in a Guldmann Net. Results: Across 28 participants, blood flow was significantly reduced at high loads, while no consistent, significant changes were found at lower loads. At 40-60 mmHg, blood flow decreased in participants with a pressure ulcer history and lower BMI, but stayed the same or increased in most other participants. The buttock displaced an average of 9.3 mm (2.7 mm) at 4.2 N, which represented 82% (7%) of maximum displacement. BMI was related to the amount of buttock tissue displacement while smoking status explained some of the variation in the percent of max displacement. Conclusion: Wide variability in tissue compliance and blood flow responses across a relatively homogeneous population indicate that differences in biomechanical risk may provide an explanation for the spectrum of PrU risk among persons with SCI.
-
ItemAssistive Technology Outcomes Measure (ATOM) v2.0(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2018) Sprigle, Stephen ; Harris, Frances
-
ItemSurvey of Users of Wheelchair Seat Elevators(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017) Sprigle, StephenThis is a technical report to document and share the data collected using an on-line anonymous survey of wheelchair users who use seat elevators..
-
ItemDesign of a Robotic System to Measure Propulsion Work of Over-ground Wheelchair Maneuvers(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014) Liles, Howard ; Huang, Morris ; Caspall, Jayme ; Sprigle, StephenA wheelchair-propelling robot has been developed to measure the efficiency of manual wheelchairs. The use of a robot has certain advantages compared to the use of human operators with respect to repeatability of measurements and the ability to compare many more wheelchair configurations than possible with human operators. Its design and implementation required significant engineering and validation of hardware and control systems. The robot can propel a wheelchair according to pre-programmed accelerations and velocities and measures the forces required to achieve these maneuvers. Wheel velocities were within 0.1 m/s of programmed values and coefficients of variation (CV) < 2%. Torque measurements were also repeatable with CV <10%. By determining the propulsion torque required to propel the wheelchair through a series of canonical maneuvers, task-dependent input work for various wheelchairs and configurations can be compared. This metric would serve to quantify the combined inertial and frictional resistance of the mechanical system.
-
ItemLow Profile Tension Seat for Wheelchair Users who Propel with One or Both Feet(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-03) Sprigle, Stephen