Study on Exercise Evaluation based on Pose Estimation for Remote Exercise System

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has caused the whole world to quarantine. Since most of the gyms are closed during the pandemic, people are opting to exercise from home. The goal of this research is to combine video chat application and pose estimation function to design a multiuser fitness website that can increase the competition or cooperation level, which in turn increases the motivation to continue exercise in a remote fitness setting. This paper presents an evaluation method of exercise with "MoveNet"model and describes the design of the remote fitness application using that method. As a result, in our system, we have implemented four different exercises such as "Jumping Jacks,""Squat,""Pushup,"and "Curls."Our system allows the evaluation of those exercises and can design remote exercise applications using this algorithm. © 2022 ACM.

Volatile Organic Compounds in Patients' Breath during Conversation

Purpose: The protracted coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented global health, social, economic, and psychological crisis. COVID-19 is transmitted via droplets, which include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by COVID-19 carriers. As a result, medical healthcare workers interacting with COVID-19 patients are at a high risk of infection. In this study, we measured the concentration of total VOCs (TVOCs) in the droplets of patients during conversations. Method(s): Thirty patients aged 20-88 years were enrolled in this study. The amounts of VOCs, formaldehyde (HCHO), and carbon dioxide (CO2) as surrogate parameters for the patient's droplets were measured at a distance of 1 m from the patients under the following conditions: 1) no conversation with a mask on, 2) conversation with a mask on, 3) conversation without a mask on, and 4) no conversation without a mask on. Result(s): The average concentrations of TVOCs (mg/m3 ), HCHO (mg/m3 ), and CO2 (ppm) were all the lowest before the masked conversation (1.79 +/- 1.72, 0.25 +/- 0.25, 1193 +/- 516), increased during the masked conversation (1.99 +/- 1.87, 0.29 +/- 0.24, 1288 +/- 555), were the highest during the unmasked conversation (3.10 +/- 1.86, 0.45 +/- 0.28, 1705 +/- 729), and decreased to baseline after the unmasked conversation (1.89 +/- 1.88, 0.26 +/- 0.27, 1191 +/- 518, respectively). Variations in TVOC and HCHO concentrations were positively correlated with patient age (TVOC: r = 0.42, p = 0.019 and HCHO: r = 0.47, p = 0.008). Conclusion(s): Wearing a mask reduced the VOC concentrations measured during conversations more than when a mask was not worn. Therefore, wearing a mask can reduce the emission of airborne droplet-derived VOCs and thereby reduce the risk of transmission of unknown patient-derived infections. Clinical Trial Registration no: The Clinical Trial Registration no: (UMIN000039595).Copyright © 2023 Ito et al.

Concentration of droplets from patients during normal breathing and speech and their importance in protection from coronavirus sars-cov-2 (Covid-19) infection

Purpose: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic and the number of infected individuals and deaths continue to increase globally. COVID-19 is transmitted through airborne droplets formed during coughing and sneezing and from the saliva of infected patients. Medical healthcare workers are often at risk of infection. This study measured the aerosol derived from the droplets of patients during the conversation. Methods: Overall, 25 patients aged 21 to 87 years were enrolled. The amount of droplets from the patient was measured under the following four conditions: 1) no conversation with the mask on;2) conversation with the mask on;3) conversation without the mask;and 4) no conversation without the mask. Particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and PM with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) were measured as representative aerosols at a position of 1 meter from the patients. Results: The concentrations of PM2.5 (μg/m3) were as follows: 22.7 ± 10.2 before the conversation with the mask, 24.2 ± 10.2 during the conversation with the mask, 32.3 ± 14.7 during the conversation without the mask, and 23.1 ± 9.9 after the conversation without the mask. The concentrations of PM10 (μg/m3) were as follows: 39.8 ± 18.2 before conversation with the mask, 41.9 ± 18.5 during conversation with the mask, 55.5 ± 27.2 during conversation without the mask, and 40.4 ± 17.8 after conversation without the mask. The variations in the PM2.5 and PM10 correlated negatively with the age of patients (PM2.5: R = -0.51, p = 0.0009 and PM10: R = -0.53, p = 0.0063). Conclusion: Wearing a mask can prevent airborne droplet formation and reduce transmission of infection.

Remote support using smartglasses for the facilitation of neonatal resuscitation simulation training

Purpose of the study: There are many inexperienced Neonatal-Cardio-Pulmonary-Resuscitation instructors in Japan. They have not sufficiently advanced educational training to teach provider trainees. Therefore, it is not always easy for novice instructors to facilitate resuscitation scenario training. Also, with the global spread of coronaviruses, the participation of experienced instructors from outside their own facilities should be avoided for contact prevention purposes. One way to tackle this problem is to provide remote assistance. We have been developing a device to conduct remote simulation training for neonatal resuscitation since 2017. In this study, we have developed and tested the system that enables remote educational support using the latest smartglass. Method: We tested smartglasses made in Japan, in this study. These devices are hands-free and each can record video and has a head-mounted display. In a NCPR provider course, the instructor who conducts the course at the site wears smart-glasses and facilitates scenario training with a remote advisor under internet communication. At a remote site, an expert instructor calculates the performance score to assess the trainee's behavior/cognition/teamwork based on the checklist and displays it on the smartglass display for advice during debriefing. A checklist of individual/team performance was constructed that included cognitive/technical and behavioral aspects. To assess the validity of this system operation, a total of 10 scenario training sessions were conducted in the scenario training of the NCPR course for six nurses at Kyoto University Hospital. Results: There were no problems with audio and communication using smartglass under the Internet. Instructors watching the course videos on the remote site in realtime were able to calculate trainee's score easily. The checklist score results were displayed on the smartglasses display, so the novice instructors were able to facilitate the debriefing and manage the course easily.