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This study evaluates and compares the suitability for child–computer interaction (CCI, the branch within human–computer interaction focused on interactive computer systems for children) of two devices: a standard computer mouse and the ENLAZA interface, a head mouse that measures the user's head posture using an inertial sensor. A multidirectional pointing task was used to assess the motor performance and the users' ability to learn such a task. The evaluation was based on the interpretation of the metrics derived from Fitts' law. Ten children aged between 6 and 8 participated in this study. Participants performed a series of pre- and post-training tests for both input devices. After the experiments, data were analyzed and statistically compared. The results show that Fitts' law can be used to detect changes in the learning process and assess the level of psychomotor development (by comparing the performance of adults and children). In addition, meaningful differences between the fine motor control (hand) and the gross motor control (head) were found by comparing the results of the interaction using the two devices. These findings suggest that Fitts' law metrics offer a reliable and objective way of measuring the progress of physical training or therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robotic exoskeletons that induce leg movement have proven effective for lower body rehabilitation, but current solutions offer limited gait patterns, lack stabilization, and do not properly stimulate the proprioceptive and balance systems (since the patient remains in place). Partial body weight support (PBWS) systems unload part of the patient's body weight during rehabilitation, improving the locomotive capabilities and minimizing the muscular effort. HYBRID is a complete system that combines a 6DoF lower body exoskeleton (H1) with a PBWS system (REMOVI) to produce a solution apt for clinical practice that offers improves on existing devices, moves with the patient, offers a gait cycle extracted from the kinematic analysis of healthy users, records the session data, and can easily transfer the patient from a wheelchair to standing position. This system was developed with input from therapists, and its response times have been measured to ensure it works swiftly and without a perceptible delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neck injuries and the related pain have a high prevalence and represent an important health problem. To properly diagnose and treat them, practitioners need an accurate system for measuring Cervical Range Of Motion (CROM). This article describes the development and validation of an inexpensive, small (4 cm × 4 cm × 8 cm), light (< 200 g) and easy to use solution for measuring CROM using wearable inertial sensors. The proposed solution has been designed with the clinical practice in mind, after consulting with practitioners. It is composed of: (a) two wearable wireless MEMS-based inertial devices, (b) a recording and report generation software application and (c) a measurement protocol for assessing CROM. The solution provides accurate (none of our results is outside the ROM ranges when compared with previously published results based on an optical tracking device) and reliable measurements (ICC = 0.93 for interrater reliability when compared with an optical tracking device and ICC > 0.90 for test-retest reliability), surpassing the popular CROM instrument’s capabilities and precision. It also fulfills the needs for clinical practice attending to effectiveness, efficiency (4 min from setup to final report) and user’s satisfaction (as reported by practitioners). The solution has been certified for mass-production and use in medical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]