Advanced Home-Based Shoulder Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review of Remote Monitoring Devices and Their Therapeutic Efficacy.

Shoulder pain represents the most frequently reported musculoskeletal disorder, often leading to significant functional impairment and pain, impacting quality of life. Home-based rehabilitation programs offer a more accessible and convenient solution for an effective shoulder disorder treatment, addressing logistical and financial constraints associated with traditional physiotherapy. The aim of this systematic review is to report the monitoring devices currently proposed and tested for shoulder rehabilitation in home settings. The research question was formulated using the PICO approach, and the PRISMA guidelines were applied to ensure a transparent methodology for the systematic review process. A comprehensive search of PubMed and Scopus was conducted, and the results were included from 2014 up to 2023. Three different tools (i.e., the Rob 2 version of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tool, and the ROBINS-I tool) were used to assess the risk of bias. Fifteen studies were included as they fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The results showed that wearable systems represent a promising solution as remote monitoring technologies, offering quantitative and clinically meaningful insights into the progress of individuals within a rehabilitation pathway. Recent trends indicate a growing use of low-cost, non-intrusive visual tracking devices, such as camera-based monitoring systems, within the domain of tele-rehabilitation. The integration of home-based monitoring devices alongside traditional rehabilitation methods is acquiring significant attention, offering broader access to high-quality care, and potentially reducing healthcare costs associated with in-person therapy.

A body-shaped lumbar-sacral support for improving car-seat comfort.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, the ergonomic study of the driving position is a critical aspect of automotive design. Indeed, due to the rising needs on the market, one focus for car industries is to improve the perceived comfort related to the cars' interior. Driving a car for a prolonged time could cause complaints in some body-regions, especially in the lumbar-sacral area. Thus, special lumbar-sacral supports for driver seat has been proposed for reducing this kind of complaints. OBJECTIVE: Development of two virtual and physical models of lumbar-sacral support for improving both the lumbar/sacral and overall perceived comfort while driving. METHODS: Two prototypes of lumbar/sacral support have been realized: the first one was integrated into the seat, and the second one was shaped as a removable pillow (removable support). Fifty participants were asked to rate the perceived comfort in lab tests performed on a seating-buck by comparing three configurations (5 min each): a standard seat, seat with the removable support, seat with integrated support. Subjective data (by questionnaires) and objective data (interface pressure between backrest and driver) have been acquired and statistically processed. In addition, real driving tests have been performed to test the actual performance of the removable support in term of perceived comfort comparing it with the standard seat. RESULTS: Statistical correlations between subjective and objective data showed interesting results in comfort improvement through the adopted solutions. Real driving tests showed an improvement in comfort perception with the lumbar-sacral support towards the standard seat. CONCLUSIONS: Thanks to the virtual prototyping and the application of previous knowledge, coming from literature and experience, a solution for improving the overall comfort and reduce the lumbar/sacral pain while driving has been developed, tested, and assessed.

Short-term echocardiographic evaluation by global longitudinal strain in patients with heart failure treated with sacubitril/valsartan.

AIMS: The angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) sacubitril/valsartan reduces mortality and hospitalizations in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Favourable effects on haemodynamic and functional parameters have been observed in patients with HFrEF undergoing ARNI therapy, using standard transthoracic echocardiography. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessment uses a semi-automatic procedure to provide a reliable and repeatable method that improves the detection of early changes of contractile function. We aimed to assess the effects of ARNI on GLS and myocardial mechanics in patients with HFrEF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty patients with New York Heart Association class II-III HFrEF were treated with ARNI and monitored using standard echocardiographic examination and GLS measurements at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. ARNI therapy resulted in a significant reduction of ventricular volumes and a significant increase in left ventricular ejection fraction at 6 months but not 3 months by standard transthoracic echocardiography (left ventricular ejection fraction from 28 ± 8% at baseline to 34 ± 12% at 6 months, P < 0.001). Non-significant differences in the size of the left atrium, right ventricular function, and pulmonary pressures were found at 6 months. By using GLS, there was a progressive improvement of all strain parameters by 3 months. The improvement showed a progressive trend over time and maintained significance at 6 months: GLS 4ch -7.2 ± 4.8% at baseline vs. -7.5 ± 3.9% at 3 months (P = 0.025) and - 9.2 ± 5.2% at 6 months (P = 0.0001); AVG GLS -6.9 ± 4.3 at baseline vs. -7.9 ± 4.2 at 3 months (P = 0.04) and - 8.8 ± 4.4 at 6 months (P = 0.035); GLS endo 8.2 ± 4.8 at baseline vs. -9.0 ± 4.8 at 3 months (P = 0.05) and - 10.1 ± 5.1 at 6 months (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Sacubitril/valsartan induces an early benefit on left ventricular remodelling, which is captured by myocardial strain and not by standard echocardiography. Strain method represents a practical tool to assess early and minimal variations of left ventricular systolic function.

Accuracy of real-time 3D echocardiography in the evaluation of functional anatomy of mitral regurgitation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of mitral valve (MV) reconstruction protocol by real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) in the assessment mitral regurgitant (MR) lesions, and to determine the accuracy of RT3DE compared with transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal (TEE) echocardiographies using surgical findings as gold standard. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-three consecutive patients (mean age 61.7+/-12.5 years, 35 men and 28 women) with severe organic MR were enrolled. Data were acquired in zoom and in full-volume modes from apical and/or parasternal windows. A volume rendered en-face view of MV and five serial longitudinal cut planes were reconstructed to visualize all segments of both leaflets. RESULTS: The feasibility of RT3D reconstruction was 94%. Compared with surgical diagnosis, the accuracy of RT3D was 91% for aetiology, 92% for mechanisms, 94% for prolapse, 88% for flail and 94% for defect location. Diagnostic accuracy was significant higher for RT3D than TTE for all end points except for flail lesion and similar to TEE but inferior to this for flail lesion. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were higher in patients with good-excellent than those with poor image quality regarding aetiology, mechanisms and defect location (all p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: RT3D imaging of MV is feasible and accurate in defining aetiology, mechanism and defect location in patients with MR and has incremental diagnostic value if TTE is inconclusive and similar diagnostic value of TEE except for flail lesion. RT3D, at least in patients with good acoustic window, may obviate the need for subsequent TEE and/or can be considered a complementary technique to study MV in patients with MR.

Ischemic mitral regurgitation: mechanisms and echocardiographic classification.

Chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is a common complication of myocardial infarction and severely affects cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Multiple pathophysiologic mechanisms, such as left ventricular (LV) remodeling and dysfunction, annular dilation/dysfunction, and mechanical dyssynchrony, are involved in generating IMR, each of them having different weight. However, the prerequisite to initially creating regurgitation is the presence of local or global LV remodeling that alters the geometrical relationship between the ventricle and valve apparatus. In the wide spectrum of patients with chronic IMR, the assessment of some echocardiographic parameters, such as tethering pattern, leaflet motion, origin and direction of the regurgitant jets, allows one to identify different specific subgroups of patients subjected to different therapeutic approaches. The aim of medical and/or surgical therapy is to ameliorate heart failure symptoms, and improve LV remodeling and function and the intermediate/long-term outcome. The targets of surgical MV repair involve annulus, leaflets, chordae and ventricles. The restricted annuloplasty is the most commonly adopted surgical procedure that improves heart failure symptoms but not survival when compared to medical therapy and is also subject to a high incidence of late failure (approximately 30%). There are some preoperative echocardiographic predictors of failure that include valve (degree of valve remodeling, jet characteristics), ventricular (degree of remodeling, diastolic dysfunction) and surgical factors.

Rest and stress echocardiographic predictors of prognosis in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and functional mitral regurgitation.

We evaluate, in 37 consecutive patients (mean age 67+/-9 years) with functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), several rest and stress echocardiographic predictors of outcome. Rest end-systolic volume, peak stress end-diastolic volume and effective regurgitant orifice were independent predictors of death at 25 months follow-up. Therefore, rest and stress echocardiographic evaluation of patients with FMR provides strong prognostic information.

Assessment of stress-induced pulmonary interstitial edema by chest ultrasound during exercise echocardiography and its correlation with left ventricular function.

Ultrasound lung comet images (ULC) are useful for the noninvasive assessment of extravascular lung water (EVLW). We investigated the modification of EVLW, its relation to indices of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, and noninvasively determined pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) (PCWP = 1.24 ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic velocity of the mitral annulus [E/Em] + 1.9) at rest and its variation during exercise echocardiography. A total of 72 patients (mean age 66.4 +/- 8.4 years) with mean ejection fraction of 41.2 +/- 14.4% underwent symptoms-limited exercise echocardiography. The sum of the ULC yielded a score of EVLW. The ULC increased significantly from baseline to postexercise (5.9 +/- 14.9 vs 11 +/- 20.7, P = .0001). Positive linear correlations were found between baseline ULC score and baseline ejection fraction (r = -0.37, P = .002), systolic pulmonary artery pressure (r = 0.69, P = .0001), E/Em (r = 0.70, P = .0001), and estimated PCWP (r = 0.69, P = .0001). The variation between postexercise and baseline ULC score correlated significantly with the variation between peak stress and rest PCWP (r = 0.62, P = .0001), systolic pulmonary artery pressure (r = 0.44, P = .0001), wall-motion score index (r = 0.30, P = .01), and peak stress E/Em (r = 0.71, P = .0001), whereas no significant correlations were found between variations of ULC score and ejection fraction. This study shows that ULC represents a simple way to assess the presence of excess EVLW. Increased EVLW is associated with estimated PCWP and indices of left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The additional exercise-induced increase of PCWP, the worsening of left ventricular diastolic function, and extensive wall-motion abnormalities correlate with variations of EVLW.

Usefulness of latent left ventricular dysfunction assessed by Bowditch Treppe to predict stress-induced pulmonary hypertension in minimally symptomatic severe mitral regurgitation secondary to mitral valve prolapse.

We assessed whether the presence of latent myocardial dysfunction, evaluated by echocardiographic derived force-frequency relationship (FFR) during exercise, predicts the appearance of stress-induced pulmonary hypertension in minimally symptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Two groups of patients were identified: group I with normal (40 mm Hg) peak stress systemic pulmonary artery pressure. Group I had normal and upsloping FFR and group II had abnormal flat or biphasic FFR. Therefore, in patients with severe MR and apparently normal left ventricular function, the stress-induced pulmonary hypertension seems to be related to the presence of latent left ventricular dysfunction.

Stress echocardiography in heart failure.

Echocardiography has the ability to noninvasively explore hemodynamic variables during pharmacologic or exercise stress test in patients with heart failure. In this review, we detail some important potential applications of stress echocardiography in patients with heart failure. In patients with coronary artery disease and chronic LV dysfunction, dobutamine stress echocardiography is able to distinguish between viable and fibrotic tissue to make adequate clinical decisions. Exercise testing, in combination with echocardiographic monitoring, is a method of obtaining accurate information in the assessment of functional capacity and prognosis. Functional mitral regurgitation is a common finding in patients with dilated and ischaemic cardiomyopathy and stress echocardiography in the form of exercise or pharmacologic protocols can be useful to evaluate the behaviour of mitral regurgitation. It is clinical useful to search the presence of contractile reserve in non ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy such as to screen or monitor the presence of latent myocardial dysfunction in patients who had exposure to cardiotoxic agents. Moreover, in patients with suspected diastolic heart failure and normal systolic function, exercise echocardiography could be able to demonstrate the existence of such dysfunction and determine that it is sufficient to limit exercise tolerance. Finally, in the aortic stenosis dobutamine echocardiography can distinguish severe from non-severe stenosis in patients with low transvalvular gradients and depressed left ventricular function.