FallSkip device is a useful tool for fall risk assessment in sarcopenic older community people.

PURPOSE: Fall prevention is a major health concern for the ageing population. Sarcopenia is considered a risk factor for falls. Some instruments, such as Time Up and Go (TUG), are used for screening risk. The use of sensors has also been shown to be a viable tool that can provide accurate, cost-effective, and easy to manage assessment of fall risk. One novel sensor for assessing fall risk in older people is the Fallskip device. The present study evaluates the performance of the FallSkip device against the TUG method in fall risk screening and assesses its measurement properties in sarcopenic older people. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was made in a sample of community-dwelling sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic older people aged 70 years or over. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 34 older people with a mean age of 77.03 (6.58) years, of which 79.4% (n = 27) were females, and 41.2% (n = 14) were sarcopenic. The Pearson correlation coefficient between TUG time and FallSkip time was 0.70 (p < 0.001). The sarcopenic individuals took longer in performing both TUG and FallSkip. They also presented poorer reaction time, gait and sit-to-stand - though no statistically significant differences were observed. The results in terms of feasibility, acceptability, reliability and validity in sarcopenic older people with FallSkip were acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: The FallSkip device has suitable metric properties for the assessment of fall risk in sarcopenic community-dwelling older people. FallSkip analyses more parameters than TUG in assessing fall risk and has greater discriminatory power in evaluating the risk of falls.

Anthropometric Indicators as a Tool for Diagnosis of Obesity and Other Health Risk Factors: A Literature Review.

Obesity is characterized by the accumulation of an excessive amount of fat mass (FM) in the adipose tissue, subcutaneous, or inside certain organs. The risk does not lie so much in the amount of fat accumulated as in its distribution. Abdominal obesity (central or visceral) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer, having an important role in the so-called metabolic syndrome. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent, detect, and appropriately treat obesity. The diagnosis is based on anthropometric indices that have been associated with adiposity and its distribution. Indices themselves, or a combination of some of them, conform to a big picture with different values to establish risk. Anthropometric indices can be used for risk identification, intervention, or impact evaluation on nutritional status or health; therefore, they will be called anthropometric health indicators (AHIs). We have found 17 AHIs that can be obtained or estimated from 3D human shapes, being a noninvasive alternative compared to X-ray-based systems, and more accessible than high-cost equipment. A literature review has been conducted to analyze the following information for each indicator: definition; main calculation or obtaining methods used; health aspects associated with the indicator (among others, obesity, metabolic syndrome, or diabetes); criteria to classify the population by means of percentiles or cutoff points, and based on variables such as sex, age, ethnicity, or geographic area, and limitations.

Effect of fatigue and gender on kinematics and ground reaction forces variables in recreational runners.

The presence of fatigue has been shown to modify running biomechanics. Overall in terms of gender, women are at lower risk than men for sustaining running-related injuries, although it depends on the factors taken into account. One possible reason for these differences in the injury rate and location might be the dissimilar running patterns between men and women. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fatigue and gender on the kinematic and ground reaction forces (GRF) parameters in recreational runners. Fifty-seven participants (28 males and 29 females) had kinematic and GRF variables measured while running at speed of 3.3 m s-1 before and after a fatigue test protocol. The fatigue protocol included (1) a running Course-Navette test, (2) running up and down a flight of stairs for 5 min, and (3) performance of alternating jumps on a step (five sets of 1 minute each with 30 resting seconds between the sets). Fatigue decreased dorsiflexion (14.24 ± 4.98° in pre-fatigue and 12.65 ± 6.21° in fatigue condition, p < 0.05) at foot strike phase in females, and plantar flexion (-19.23 ± 4.12° in pre-fatigue and -18.26 ± 5.31° in fatigue condition, p < 0.05) at toe-off phase in males. These changes led to a decreased loading rate (88.14 ± 25.82 BW/s in pre-fatigue and 83.97 ± 18.83 BW/s in fatigue condition, p < 0.05) and the impact peak in females (1.95 ± 0.31 BW in pre-fatigue and 1.90 ± 0.31 BW in fatigue condition, p < 0.05), and higher peak propulsive forces in males (-0.26 ± 0.04 BW in pre-fatigue and -0.27 ± 0.05 BW in fatigue condition, p < 0.05) in the fatigue condition. It seems that better responses to impact under a fatigue condition are observed among women. Further studies should confirm whether these changes represent a strategy to optimize shock attenuation, prevent running injuries and improve running economy.

Analysis of different vibration patterns to guide blind people.

The literature indicates the best vibration positions and frequencies on the human body where tactile information is transmitted. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how to combine tactile stimuli for navigation. The aim of this study is to compare different vibration patterns outputted to blind people and to determine the most intuitive vibration patterns to indicate direction for navigation purposes through a tactile belt. The vibration patterns that stimulate the front side of the waist are preferred for indicating direction. Vibration patterns applied on the back side of the waist could be suitable for sending messages such as stop.

Intuitive tactile algorithms to guide blind runners by means of a belt with vibrators.

Visually impaired people do not have equal possibilities to practice sports. In the case of running they need a sighted guide. This paper compare different possibilities for indicating direction to blind people by means of a belt that transmits tactile messages, and defines design requirements based on anthropometric analysis. The results shows that intuitive tactile messages are achieved with tactile stimuli applied in the ventral section, from the iliac crests to the navel.

PUMA project: Active involving of end users to achieve a smart solution to prevent pressure ulcer.

This paper shows the benefits to include spinal cord injury users and the other stakeholders during the development of a new system to prevent pressure ulcers. The complementary of information has been key and has enhanced the possibility to achieve market acceptance and introduction.