Study on the Applicability of Digital Twins for Home Remote Motor Rehabilitation.

The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for telerehabilitation development, while Industry 4.0 brought the key technology. As motor therapy often requires the physical support of a patient's motion, combining robot-aided workouts with remote control is a promising solution. This may be realised with the use of the device's digital twin, so as to give it an immersive operation. This paper presents an extensive overview of this technology's applications within the fields of industry and health. It is followed by the in-depth analysis of needs in rehabilitation based on questionnaire research and bibliography review. As a result of these sections, the original concept of controlling a rehabilitation exoskeleton via its digital twin in the virtual reality is presented. The idea is assessed in terms of benefits and significant challenges regarding its application in real life. The presented aspects prove that it may be potentially used for manual remote kinesiotherapy, combined with the safety systems predicting potentially harmful situations. The concept is universally applicable to rehabilitation robots.

Phyx.io: Expert-Based Decision Making for the Selection of At-Home Rehabilitation Solutions for Active and Healthy Aging

While the importance of physical activity in older adults is beyond doubt, there are significant barriers limiting the access of older adults to physical exercise. Existing technologies to support physical activity in older adults show that, despite their positive impacts on health and well-being, there is in general a lack of engagement due to the existing reluctance to the use of technology. Usefulness and usability are two major factors for user acceptance along with others, such as cost, privacy, equipment and maintenance requirements, support, etc. Nevertheless, the extent to which each factor impacts user acceptance remains unclear. Furthermore, other stakeholders, besides the end users, should be considered in the decision-making process to develop such technologies, including caregivers, therapists and technology providers. In this paper, and in the context of physical rehabilitation and exercise at home, four different alternatives with incremental characteristics have been defined and considered: a software-based platform for physical rehabilitation and exercise (Alternative 1), the same software platform with a conventional RGB camera and no exercise supervision (Alternative 2), the same software platform with a convention RGB camera and exercise supervision (Alternative 3) and finally, the same software platform with a depth camera and exercise supervision (Alternative 4). A multiple attribute decision-making methodology, based on the ordinal priority approach (OPA) method, is then applied using a group of experts, including end users, therapists and developers to rank the best alternative. The attributes considered in this method have been usefulness, cost, ease of use, ease of technical development, ease of maintenance and privacy, concluding that Alternative 3 has been ranked as the most appropriate.

Post Lung Transplant Rehabilitation Program During the COVID Era

The post lung transplant (LTx) rehabilitation program was required to rapidly reduce service provision during coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. This was achieved by minimising the group format, number of sessions and type of exercises performed, as it transitioned from a centre-based supervised program to a home based program. Aim : This retrospective study aimed to compare standardised outcome measures for LTx recipients from the non- COVID era (2019) to those from LTx recipients who completed rehabilitation at home during the COVID (2020). Study population included post LTx males & females > 18 years who underwent BSLTx or SLTx at The Alfred from March to August 2020, compared to a matched cohort transplanted between March-August in 2019. The 2019 post LTx rehabilitation program was a thrice weekly, 8 weekly supervised, group format consisting of 30 minutes cardiovascular training on treadmill and exercise bike plus resistance training for upper and lower limbs. During 2020 (COVID) the rehabilitation program was shortened to a twice weekly, individual, 2 - 3 week format followed by a home exercise program (HEP) using exercise diary and weekly phone follow up. COVID era patients were discharged from the gym to the HEP as soon as they were safe to exercise independently. Outcome measures -six minute walk test (6MWT), grip strength (GS) on a dynamometer and a sit to stand test in one minute (STS) were taken on entry to the rehabilitation program and three months post (3/12P). Quality of life (QOL) questionnaire was completed. Groups were well matched for LTx age, surgery and length of hospital stay. After 3 months, COVID era participants had not significantly increased 6MWD compared to Non -COVID era (-183m (-230 to -137)) STS improved significantly in both Non-COVID (p=0.001) and COVID (p=0.008). There was no improvement in QOL or GS for COVID group, but significant improvements for non-COVID QOL (p=0.001) and GS (p=0.05). The change to a HEP in COVID era may have negatively impacted the improvement in functional exercise capacity, GS and QOL for those LTx recipients. Further research is required to develop an optimal HEP model. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Selection of the best of 2021 in vascular risk and cardiac rehabilitation

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the control of risk factors and has led to an increase in heart failure and infarction mortality. There is an urgent need to optimize prevention and cardiac rehabilitation. Fortunately, we have more efficient solutions than ever before. Prescribing lifestyle and physical exercise to all cardiovascular patients. Potent lipid-lowering drugs are already well established and others will be soon, there are new aspects to improve the control of arterial hypertension, and the new era in global diabetes protection is being consolidated. Cardiac rehabilitation is much more digital and at home and the new 2021 European cardiovascular prevention guidelines insist on primary prevention and new emerging risk factors.

Guidance on home rehabilitation in chinese and western medicine to prevent the relapse of novel coronavirus disease-19 pneumonia after recovery

Patients with novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pneumonia continue to have problems with respiratory function, physical and psychological function, the ability to perform activities of daily living, and social participation after discharge from the hospital. As such, strengthening rehabilitation treatments for discharged patients and relapse prevention after recovery are important aspects of the prevention and control of COVID-19. This paper combined the principles and practices of in Chinese and Western medicine and compiled the recommendations of both for home rehabilitation in the post-COVID-19 epidemic stage. The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the self-rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19 and to promote the prevention and control of COVID-19 at this current stage.

Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of ReHub in Patients Who Underwent Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is an intervention that can significantly improve the quality of life of patients with advanced knee osteoarthritis. Early start of rehabilitation and its continuation at home once the patient is discharged are key factors for the success of the process.This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a home-based telerehabilitation solution (ReHub) on improving functional capacity and clinical outcomes for patients who underwent TKA. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is a randomized, open-label with blinded outcome assessor, parallel assignment clinical trial with a sample size of 52 patients that is conducted according to the SPIRIT recommendations. After the TKA intervention, the patients are randomly allocated to the control group or the experimental group with a 1:1 ratio. Both groups follow a Fast Track recovery protocol which includes discharge after 2-3 days from surgery, a daily plan of 5 exercises for autonomous rehabilitation and domiciliary visits by a physiotherapist starting approximately 2 weeks after surgery. The experimental group uses the sensor-based telerehabilitation system ReHub to perform the exercises. The primary outcome measure is the range of motion of the knee. Secondary outcomes include physical performance, quality of life, pain intensity, muscle strength, treatment adherence and satisfaction with the ReHub system. The outcomes assessment is performed at hospital discharge (baseline), at stitch removal (2 weeks after baseline) and 2 weeks after stitch removal (4 weeks after baseline).The study conforms to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the hospital's ethics committee. DISCUSSION: The study will address an important gap in the evidence base by reporting the effectiveness of an affordable and low-cost home-based telerehabilitation solution in patients who underwent TKA. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the hospital's ethics committee ("Comité Ético de Investigación Clínica del HCB", reg. HCB/2019/0571). The trial was registred at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04155957). The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals as well as national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04155957 (ClinicalTrials.gov). HIGHLIGHTS: Assessing a home-based telerehabilitation solution effectiveness in knee surgery.In situations such as the CoVid-19 pandemic, it is a resolutive intervention method.Telerehabilitation is an alternative to conventional face-to-face physical therapy.This system is far less demanding in terms of human resources.Range of motion assessment is the primary outcome measure.