A hierarchical privacy-preserving IoT architecture for vision-based hand rehabilitation assessment.

The healthcare industry requires the integration of digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to their full potential, particularly during this challenging time and the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the disruptions in healthcare delivery, service operations, and shortage of healthcare personnel. However, every opportunity has barriers and bumps, and when it comes to IoT healthcare, data privacy is one of the main growing issues. Despite the recent advances in the development of IoT healthcare architectures, most of them are invasive for the data subjects. In this context, the broad applications of AI in the IoT domain have also been hindered by emerging strict legal and ethical requirements to protect individual privacy. Camera-based solutions that monitor human subjects in everyday settings, e.g., for Online Range of Motion (ROM) detection, are making this problem even worse. One actively practiced branch of such solutions is telerehabilitation, which provides remote solutions for the physically impaired to regain their strength and get back to their normal daily routines. The process usually involves transmitting video/images from the patient performing rehabilitation exercises and applying Machine Learning (ML) techniques to extract meaningful information to help therapists devise further treatment plans. Thereby, real-time measurement and assessment of rehabilitation exercises in a reliable, accurate, and Privacy-Preserving manner is imperative. To address the privacy issue of existing solutions, this paper proposes a holistic Privacy-Preserving (PP) hierarchical IoT solution that simultaneously addresses the utilization of AI-driven IoT and the demands for data protection. Furthermore, the efficiency of the proposed architecture is demonstrated by a novel machine learning-based system that allows immediate assessment and extraction of ROM as the critical information for analyzing the progress of patients.

The Association between Life Satisfaction and the Extent of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Iranian Nurses: A Multicenter Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The determinants of satisfaction of life (SWL) are poorly described among Iranian employed nurses. This study aimed to assess the effect of various factors including age, gender, marital status, depression, anxiety and stress on SWL among Iranian nurses. METHOD: Employed nurses in three teaching hospitals were invited to participate in this study. Ninety-four nurses (65 women and 29 men) participated in this study. Depression, anxiety, stress scale (DASS-21) was used to measure the related variables. Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used to assess SWL. Multivariate analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between multiple variables. RESULTS: A noticeable proportion of Iranian employed nurses were either dissatisfied or extremely dissatisfied with life (45%). Severe depression was related to lower scores of SWLS (P: 0.001, r = -0.32). The similar outcomes were detected between anxiety and stress scales, and SWLS (P: 0.023, r = -0.23 and P: 0.008, r = -0.27 for anxiety and stress, respectively). Although females were more vulnerable to depression (P: 0.010) and stress (P: 0.013), the overall effect of gender on SWL was insignificant (0.41). Satisfactions with financial power and work environment were associated with higher scores of SWLS (P: 0.030 and 0.042, respectively). Marital status was not related to severity of depression, anxiety, stress and SWLS (P: 0.39, 0.38, 0.80, and 0.61, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that poor satisfaction with financial status and work environment, depression, anxiety and stress are the major determinants of satisfaction with life among Iranian employed nurses.

Is Level of Injury a Determinant of Quality of Life Among Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury? A Tertiary Rehabilitation Center Report.

OBJECTIVES: The role of injury-related variables in determining health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Iranian persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) has not yet been fully described. In this study, we compared HRQOL between individuals with injury at cervical level and those with injury at thoracolumbar sections and evaluated the discriminating value of injury level as a determinant of HRQOL among Iranian people with SCI. METHODS: Individuals with SCI, who were referred to Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, were invited to participate in this investigation. HRQOL was assessed using the Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire to determine the quality of life (QOL) in eight domains: physical functioning (PF), role limitation due to physical problems (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health (GH), vitality (VT), social functioning (SF), role limitation due to emotional problems (RE), and mental health (MH). RESULTS: Ninety patients with paraplegia and 94 quadriplegic patients participated in this investigation. The mean score of PF domain was significantly lower in patients with injury at cervical level (p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in other domains of SF-36 between subjects with paraplegia and quadriplegia (p = 0.670, 0.700, 0.910, 0.710, 0.730, 0.290 and 0.850 for RP, RE, VT, MH, SF, BP and GH, respectively). Similarly, the mean physical component summary (PCS) score was significantly higher among individuals with injury at thoracolumbar sections (p < 0.0001). The mean mental component summary (MCS) score did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.720). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with SCI at the cervical level have similar mental health compared to those with injury at thoracolumbar sections, which shows proper mental adaptability in quadriplegic individuals. Injury level can be used as a major determinant of the physical component of QOL among people with SCI.