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Innovative Folding Bed Cum Chair Based on IoT-Cloud Technology
Abstract
Aim
The method of utilization of IoT and other evolving techniques in medical equipment design field is discussed in the present paper. A remotely managed interface equipped in a wheel chair cum bed is embedded for elderly or physically challenged people. With the help of a camera embedded in the proposed solution a real time remote monitoring of the patient is achieved using a android application over the concerned person. For achieving the above said purpose, the use of linear actuators has been done. This paper further aims to explore the hidden potentials of merger of all these fields to benefit the end users.
Objectives
Remote monitoring of health of the patient through a cloud based android application. Automatic adjustment of the wheelchair into bed and vice-versa. Automatic stool passing chamber facility is available under the proposed model. Injuries during transportation of the patient from one chair to another (or chair to bed) have been limited in our designed model.
Methods
The basic mechanism of proposed wheelchair has been designed using the computer aided design software. The basic methodology adopted for development of prototype & subsequent “user review analysis” is displayed below. The CAD Model of the wheelchair cum stretcher was designed using the “Solid works solid modelling techniques”. The basic structure has been designed with several modifications when compared to the conventional wheelchair design. The computer made design was then utilized for final fabrication of prototype. The prototype was tested for endurance, Load bearing capacity and customer comfort during various phases of development. The feedbacks of several subjects were recorded for future utilization in improved design & fabrication
Results
The proposed model is of utmost importance as the number of critical patients like accident cases, critical pre and post-surgery cases are increasing day by day. Sometimes these patients need in-time medication during transition in ambulance either picked up from house or are referred to nearby big hospitals. During transition or in hospital critical patients can be handled efficiently by a specialist doctor through his/her smart phone applications. It also optimizes the services of specialist doctors as we find the shortage of specialists in Indian hospitals. In a nutshell, this Wheel Chair system can be moved anywhere due to it portability. Following are the most highlighted features: 1. Authorized relatives and Doctors can see and interact with the patient at any time remotely on his/her smart phone. 2. Authorized relatives and Doctors can see the Vital Sign of patient like BP, ECG, and Pulse etc. at any time through Smart Phone. 3. Doctor can instruct the care taker to release the emergency drugs through Infusion Pump. 4. Doctor can plan the exceptions, drug infusion, alarm etc. 5. System is portable and can easily be shifted to ambulance. All transmissions are wireless so there is no hassle of wires and connectivity.
Conclusion
The presented work is limited to the design and fabrication of a new model of wheelchair, which works as a stretcher and has the locomotive capabilities. The key feature of design is its versatility and adaptability to various working conditions. The feedback obtained from various subjects during the testing of wheelchair shows their confidence and fair degree of comfort which they felt while using the wheelchair. The easy and user-friendly use of android application helps to monitor the health of the patient. The smart phone camera helped to achieve this data. The analysis of the data can be done in the cloud base station. Linear actuator has proved to be the low cost and highly reliable equipment to propel the wheelchair.
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The real objection people have an emergency in walking due to illness or injury. The suggested system is easy and efficient to solve the problem of the disabled person, and it is unique and fully automatic. A wheelchair provides the umbrella, Foot mat, Head mat, and obstacle detection, which does not depend on the ability to participate in society. The humidity sensor checks the weather (rainy/hot/cold), and the head mat works automatically. Also, the ultrasonic sensor is used to detect the obstacle according to the location tracking by the GPS. A prototype system implementation shows that the proposed day/season based system is efficient in interacting with a living environment.
Introduction:
Falls are a concern for wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI). Falls can negatively impact the physical and psychological well-being of fallers. To date, the perspectives of wheelchair users with lived experiences of SCI on the contributors to falls has been understudied. Information about factors that influence fall risk would guide the development of effective fall prevention strategies.
Objectives:
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influenced the risk of falling as perceived by wheelchair users with SCI.
Design:
A qualitative study using photo-elicitation interviews.
Setting:
A Canadian SCI rehabilitation hospital and the participants' home/community environments.
Participants:
Twelve wheelchair users living in the community with chronic SCI.
Methods:
Participants captured photographs of situations, places or things that they perceived increased and decreased their risk of falling. Semistructured photo-elicitation interviews were conducted to discuss the content of the photographs and explore perceptions of fall risk factors. A hybrid thematic analysis and the Biological, Behavioural, Social, Economic, and Environmental model were used as a framework to organise/synthesise the data.
Results:
Overall, the findings indicated that the risk of falling was individualised, complex and dynamic to each person's life situation. Four main themes were revealed in our analysis: (1) Falls and fall risk caused by multiple interacting factors; (2) Dynamic nature of fall risk; (3) Single factors were targeted to reduce falls and fall-related injuries; and (4) Fall prevention experiences and priorities.
Conclusions:
Each wheelchair user encountered numerous fall risk factors in their everyday lives. Information from this study can be used to set priorities for fall prevention. Fall prevention initiatives should consider a wheelchair user's fall risks in a holistic manner, acknowledging that a person's current situation, as well as anticipating their fall risks and fall prevention needs, will change over time.
BACKGROUND: In recent years, a lot of research work has been done to transmit vital parameters of the patient usingIOT (Internet of Things). The information related to Patient is sent by means of WBAN (Wireless Body Area Network)and sensors to the healthcare database. This has been shown a great potential to transmit vital parameter of the patient at aremote location. Remote monitoring of patient(s), including vital signs, sound and video is to be transmitted, particularlywhen a patient is in transit. By transmitting the imperative parameters of the patient to a specialist diminishes, the idealopportunity for starting treatment and permits the emergency crew to be better prepared. This will facilitate a doctor tomake a diagnostic conclusion.OBJECTIVES: This study aims to develop an advance system to transmit the vital parameters of the patient to the smartphone of the doctor at a remote location. After seeing essential parameters of the patient, the specialist can convey/endorsethe medication from the remote area.METHODS: To monitor patient’s data in real-time an android application is developed which helps the medical staff tomonitor the patient from remote location. All the patient related information is stored in Real Time Clinical Database.RESULTS: The proposed model will allow the doctors to monitor physiological parameters (HR, NIBP, Temp, ECG,SPO2) of the patient, as well as endorse medication from the remote location. This system will be helpful to providevirtual presence of the doctor inside the ambulance and to provide lifesaving drugs to the patient while the patient is intransit.CONCLUSION: The present invention provides a fully integrated system for the doctor to view the vital signs of thepatient from the remote location in real-time.
Making use of Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming the necessity of today’s life. The data collected and stored through IoT devices comes from the cloud and therefore cloud computing is acting as a backbone for supporting IoT. But it is easy to forget that the cloud is not completely digital in some areas of the world and there is a need for a data centre where data storage can be achieved. Cloud data centres are facing many difficulties and issues because they are using traditional methods of networking. This is where Software Defined Networking (SDN) has come into view; where it has changed the way traditional networks are operated. For example, the separation of the intelligence of the network devices within the data path can be useful in making networks agile and manageable. This paper aims to provide problem areas in the networking used by the cloud data centres and the role of SDN to overcome these issues. Platforms for providing the experimental setup for collaboration between SDN and cloud will ultimately be beneficial in setting up the SDN- enabled IoT cloud, and this is also discussed with the open research problems.
ABSTRAK: Penggunaan Internet Benda (IoT) menjadi keperluan kepada kehendak hari ini. Data yang dikumpul dan disimpan melalui peranti IoT berasal dari awan dan oleh itu pengkomputeran awan bertindak sebagai tulang belakang bagi menyokong IoT. Tetapi, satu perkara yang dilupakan adalah bahawa awan itu tidak sepenuhnya digital, di suatu tempat dalam dunia ini, terdapat keperluan pada pusat data di mana penyimpanan data boleh dicapai. Pusat data awan menghadapi banyak masalah dan isu kerana ianya menggunakan kaedah rangkaian tradisional. Di sinilah Perisian Definisi Perangkaian (SDN) dipandang; ia telah mengubah cara rangkaian tradisional dikendalikan. Sebagai contoh, pemisahan kecerdasan peranti rangkaian dengan laluan data berguna bagi membuat rangkaian pintar dan boleh diurus. Kajian ini bertujuan bagi menyediakan ruang masalah dalam rangkaian yang digunakan oleh pusat Data Awan dan peranan SDN dalam mengatasi masalah ini. Platform persediaan eksperimen bagi kerjasama SDN dan awan akhirnya bermanfaat dalam menubuhkan pengaktifan-SDN awan IOT, juga turut dibincangkan dalam kajian ini berkenaan masalah penyelidikan terbuka.
Objective:
In this study, we combine a wheelchair and an intelligent robotic arm based on an electrooculogram (EOG) signal to help patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) accomplish a self-drinking task. The main challenge is to accurately control the wheelchair to ensure that the randomly located object is within a limited reachable space of the robotic arm (length: 0.8 m; width: 0.4 m; height: 0.6 m), which requires decimeter-level precision, and is still undemonstrated for EOG-based systems as well as EEG-based systems.
Approach:
A novel high-precision EOG-based human machine interface (HMI) is proposed which can effectively translate two kinds of eye movements (i.e. blinking and eyebrow raising) into various commands. For the wheelchair, positional precision can reach decimeter-level and the minimal steering angle is [Formula: see text]. For the intelligent robotic arm, shared control is implemented based on an EOG-based HMI, two cameras and the arm's own intelligence.
Main results:
After brief training, five healthy subjects and five paralyzed patients with severe SCIs successfully completed three experiments. For the healthy subjects/patients with SCIs, the system achieved an average accuracy of 99.3%/97.3%, an average response time of 1.91 s/2.02 s per command and an average stop-response time of 1.30 s/1.36 s with a 0 false operation rate.
Significance:
The EOG-based HMI can provide sufficient precision control to integrate a wheelchair and a robotic arm into a system which can help patients with SCIs to accomplish a self-drinking task. (ChiCTR1800019764).
Innovative technology on intelligent processes for smart home applications that utilize Internet of Things (IoT) is mainly limited and dispersed. The available trends and gaps were investigated in this study to provide valued visions for technical environments and researchers. Thus, a survey was conducted to create a coherent taxonomy on the research landscape. An extensive search was conducted for articles on (a) smart homes, (b) IoT and (c) applications. Three databases, namely, IEEE Explore, ScienceDirect and Web of Science, were used in the article search. These databases comprised comprehensive literature that concentrate on IoT-based smart home applications. Subsequently, filtering process was achieved on the basis of intelligent processes. The final classification scheme outcome of the dataset contained 40 articles that were classified into four classes. The first class includes the knowledge engineering process that examines data representation to identify the means of accomplishing a task for IoT applications and their utilisation in smart homes. The second class includes papers on the detection process that uses artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to capture the possible changes in IoT-based smart home applications. The third class comprises the analytical process that refers to the use of AI techniques to understand the underlying problems in smart homes by inferring new knowledge and suggesting appropriate solutions for the problem. The fourth class comprises the control process that describes the process of measuring and instructing the performance of IoT-based smart home applications against the specifications with the involvement of intelligent techniques. The basic features of this evolving approach were then identified in the aspects of motivation of intelligent process utilisation for IoT-based smart home applications and open-issue restriction utilisation. The recommendations for the approval and utilisation of intelligent process for IoT-based smart home applications were also determined from the literature.
The health service sector has been continuously trying to improve the service given to the people in need of mobility assistance. As a result, more developers have been directed towards robotic wheelchairs. A robotic wheelchair is an intelligent wheelchair that has capabilities of navigating, detecting obstacles and moving automatically by utilizing sensors and artificial intelligence. We have developed a Robotic WheelChair for the quadriplegic patients for mobility assistance operated using the head gesture. The Robotic WheelChair includes accelerometer sensor, gyroscope sensor, ultrasonic sensor, relay, battery, DC stepper motor and raspberry pi. The MPU 6050 sensor detects the movement of the head and the signal is transmitted to the Pi. The controller processes the signal and enables the motion of wheelchair for its navigation. The ultrasonic sensors help to avoid obstacles, using the environment information gathered during navigation. The wheelchair is designed in a cost-effective way but ensures safety, flexibility, and mobility for the users.
With the advent of smart homes, smart cities, and smart everything, the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as an area of incredible impact, potential, and growth, with Cisco Inc. predicting to have 50 billion connected devices by 2020. However, most of these IoT devices are easy to hack and compromise. Typically, these IoT devices are limited in compute, storage, and network capacity, and therefore they are more vulnerable to attacks than other endpoint devices such as smartphones, tablets, or computers. In this paper, we present and survey major security issues for IoT. We review and categorize popular security issues with regard to the IoT layered architecture, in addition to protocols used for networking, communication, and management. We outline security requirements for IoT along with the existing attacks, threats, and state-of-the-art solutions. Furthermore, we tabulate and map IoT security problems against existing solutions found in the literature. More importantly, we discuss, how blockchain, which is the underlying technology for bitcoin, can be a key enabler to solve many IoT security problems. The paper also identifies open research problems and challenges for IoT security.
It is predicted by the year 2020, more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. Traditionally, cloud computing has been used as the preferred platform for aggregating, processing and analyzing IoT traffic. However, the cloud may not be the preferred platform for IoT devices in terms of responsiveness and immediate processing and analysis of IoT data and requests. For this reason, fog or edge computing has emerged to overcome such problems, whereby fog nodes are placed in close proximity to IoT devices. Fog nodes are primarily responsible of the local aggregation, processing and analysis of IoT workload, and thereby resulting in significant notable performance and responsiveness. One of the open issues and challenges in the area of fog computing is efficient scalability in which a minimal number of fog nodes is allocated based on the IoT workload and such that the SLA and QoS parameters are satisfied. To address this problem, we present a queuing mathematical and analytical model to study and analyze the performance of fog computing system. Our mathematical model determines under any offered IoT workload the number of fog nodes needed so that the QoS parameters are satisfied. From the model, we derived formulas for key performance metrics which include system response time, system loss rate, system throughput, CPU utilization, and the mean number of messages request. Our analytical model is cross validated using DES (Discrete Event Simulator) simulations.
This paper presents analytical author's method for the determination of the location of center of gravity of human body determined on the basis of the photographic documentation. This method uses the projection of body position on two planes: sagittal and frontal which is a new approach, because previously methods were executed on living the human in a real time. Therefore, this method can be used to approximate mathematical description of the kinematic chain for all groups of anthropometric measurements. Measurements of the angles between segments of the body from the photographs in two planes and data from anthropometric atlas are sufficient for application of this method. The result of using described method is information how center of gravity position changes during propelling the manual wheelchair. The advantage of the presented method is that measurements of body segments lengths and angles between them are made without the need for the living organism.
Internet, a revolutionary invention, is always transforming into some new kind of hardware and software making it unavoidable for anyone. The form of communication that we see now is either human-human or human-device, but the Internet of Things (IoT) promises a great future for the internet where the type of communication is machine-machine (M2M). This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the IoT scenario and reviews its enabling technologies and the sensor networks. Also, it describes a six-layered architecture of IoT and points out the related key challenges .
Cloud computing is currently one of the most hyped information technology fields and it has become one of the fastest growing segments of IT. A cloud introduces a resource-rich computing model with features such as flexibility, pay per use, elasticity, scalability, and others. In the context of cloud computing, auto scaling and elasticity are methods used to assure SLO (Service Level Objectives) for cloud services as well as the efficient usage of resources. There are many factors related to the auto scaling mechanism that might affect the performance of the cloud services. One of such important factors is the setting of CPU thresholds that control the triggering of the auto scaling policies, for the purpose of adding or terminating resources from the auto-scaling group. Another important factor is the scaling size, which is the number of instances that will be added every time such provisioning process takes place to add more resources to cope with workload spikes. In this paper, we simulate and study the impact of setting the upper CPU utilization threshold and the scaling size factors on the performance of the cloud services. Another contribution of this paper is on formulating and solving optimization problems for tuning these parameters based on input loads, considering both the cost and SLO response time. The study helps in deciding about the optimal setting that enables the use of the least number of cloud resources to satisfy QoS or SLO requirements.
Quite often, we see patients dying due to non-availability of doctor on site or because the person on site is not authorized to administer any drug without the recommendation of a qualified doctor. Therefore, to get a doctor’s prescription, either the doctor is called telephonically or the readings of the vital sign monitor, installed (if any) in ambulances, are described to the doctor by the person attending on the patient. The drawback of telephonic communication is that the doctor cannot actually see the monitor and he has to rely on the attendant for the information and further for administering the drug. In such cases, the patient may suffer due to communication errors between the doctor and the attendant. As such, there is a need for smart and secure technology which can enable quick and easy virtual access of doctor to the patient in real time. The present paper reports on the development of a fully integrated system, i.e. Smart and Portable Intensive Care Unit (SPICU) that would provide a REAL TIME ACCESS of the vital parameters of a patient to the concerned doctor at a remote location, in an easy and convenient manner i.e. on his Smart Phone. In turn, the doctor can easily monitor Vital Signs of the patient in real time and inject life-saving medicines at required time duration from a remote location. In this paper the working model of a low-cost multi-syringe infusion pump is described. The reported infusion pump would enable a doctor to deliver drug(s) from remote location. The obtained results pave a way towards the development of a low cost portable drug delivery system that can be installed in ambulances/ICU/CCU and to transfer the vital parameters of the patient to the doctor. © 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All rights reserved.
About 65 million people use wheelchairs worldwide. Powered wheelchairs offer independent mobility for those who find it difficult to propel a manual wheelchair. Previous studies have described powered wheelchairs as a mixed blessing for the users in terms of usability, accessibility, safety, cost and stigma; however, few studies have explored their impact on mobility and participation over time. Therefore, as part of a larger longitudinal study, we used a combined retrospective and prospective lifecourse perspective to explore the experiences of older adult powered wheelchair users. Based on the interpretive description approach, 19 participants took part in a series of semi-structured interviews over a two-year period about their mobility, social participation and ageing process. The participants were powered wheelchair users, at least 50 years of age, recruited in Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City (Canada). We identified three themes that highlighted how the powered wheelchair experience was integrated into the life continuum of the users. 'It's my legs' emphasised how powered wheelchairs are a form of mobility that not only enables users to take part in activities, but also impacts their identities, past and present. 'Wheels of change' explored the dynamic nature of powered wheelchair use and changes related to ageing. 'Getting around' illustrated how users' mobility was affected by the interaction with their physical and social environments. Developing public policies to advance social and environmental changes could help countries to ensure equity of access and social inclusion of those ageing with disabilities.
Background and Objectives
In order to improve assistive technologies for people with reduced mobility, this paper develops a new intelligent real-time emotion detection system to control equipment, such as electric wheelchairs (EWC) or robotic assistance vehicles. Every year, degenerative diseases and traumas prohibit thousands of people to easily control the joystick of their wheelchairs with their hands. Most current technologies are considered invasive and uncomfortable such as those requiring the user to wear some body sensor to control the wheelchair.
Methods
In this work, the proposed Human Machine Interface (HMI) provides an efficient hands-free option that does not require sensors or objects attached to the user's body. It allows the user to drive the wheelchair using its facial expressions which can be flexibly updated. This intelligent solution is based on a combination of neural networks (NN) and specific image preprocessing steps. First, the Viola-Jones combination is used to detect the face of the disability from a video. Subsequently, a neural network is used to classify the emotions displayed on the face. This solution called "The Mathematics Behind Emotion" is capable of classifying many facial expressions in real time, such as smiles and raised eyebrows, which are translated into signals for wheelchair control. On the hardware side, this solution only requires a smartphone and a Raspberry Pi card that can be easily mounted on the wheelchair.
Results
Many experiments have been conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the control acquisition process and the user experience in driving a wheelchair through facial expressions. The classification accuracy can expect 98.6% and it can offer an average recall rate of 97.1%. Thus, all these experiments have proven that the proposed system is able of accurately recognizing user commands in real time. Indeed, the obtained results indicate that the suggested system is more comfortable and better adapted to severely disabled people in their daily lives, than conventional methods. Among the advantages of this system, we cite its real time ability to identify facial emotions from different angles.
Conclusions
The proposed system takes into account the patient's pathology. It is intuitive, modern, doesn't require physical effort and can be integrated into a smartphone or tablet. The results obtained highlight the efficiency and reliability of this system, which ensures safe navigation for the disabled patient.
The Internet of Things (IoT), also called the Internet of Everything or the Industrial Internet, is a new technology paradigm envisioned as a global network of machines and devices capable of interacting with each other. The IoT is recognized as one of the most important areas of future technology and is gaining vast attention from a wide range of industries. This article presents five IoT technologies that are essential in the deployment of successful IoT-based products and services and discusses three IoT categories for enterprise applications used to enhance customer value. In addition, it examines the net present value method and the real option approach widely used in the justification of technology projects and illustrates how the real option approach can be applied for IoT investment. Finally, this article discusses five technical and managerial challenges.
One of the significant challenges for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) hosting “virtual desktop cloud” (VDC) infrastructures is to deliver a satisfactory quality of experience (QoE) to the user. In order to maximize the user QoE without expensive resource overprovisioning, there is a need to design and verify resource allocation schemes for a comprehensive set of VDC configurations. In this paper, we present “VDC-Analyst”, a novel tool that can capture critical quality metrics such as Net Utility and Service Response Time, which can be used to quantify VDC platform readiness. This tool allows CSPs, researchers and educators to design and verify various resource allocation schemes using both simulation and emulation in two modes: “Run Simulation” and “Run Experiment”, respectively. The Run Simulation mode allows users to test and visualize resource provisioning and placement schemes on a simulation framework. Run Experiment mode allows testing on a real software-defined network testbed using emulated virtual desktop application traffic to create a realistic environment. Results from using our tool demonstrate that a significant increase in perceived user QoE can be achieved by using a combination of the following techniques incorporated in the tool: (i) optimizing Net Utility through a “Cost-aware Utility-Maximal Resource Allocation Algorithm”, (ii) estimating values for Service Response Time using a “Multi-stage Queuing Model”, and (iii) appropriate load balancing through software-defined networking adaptations in the VDC testbed.
Achieving proper elasticity for cloud jobs is a challenging research problem and far from being solved. In this paper, we focus on how to achieve proper elasticity for highly parallelized jobs which run on cloud clusters. In particular, we present an analytical model based on finite queueing systems that can be used to determine at any given instance of time and under current workload conditions the minimal number of cloud resources needed to satisfy the SLO response time. We give numerical examples to demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of our model. In addition, we verify the correctness of our analytical model using simulation.
The canvas sling seat and backrest incorporated into a conventional wheelchair provide a seating system which fails short of many basic ergonomic requirements, which may compromise the comfort, health and level of dependency of the user.
The high incidence of back pain among able-bodied people gives rise to much concern. Yet although there are indications that a similar proportion suffer, back pain in the disabled population receives less specific attention.
Two prospective studies were undertaken involving a total of 58 subjects. The first evaluated the effects of wheelchair design on posture and the second looked at the effects that this had on the comfort of the user. Posture was recorded using a technique for measuring spinal curves, and data on the comfort of each seat were collected by questionnaire.
The studies evaluated three different seating systems. The first was that of a conventional model 8BL wheelchair; the second and third were experimental rigs incorporated into an 8BL frame. One rig had cushions chamfered to fit the concavities of the canvas seat and backrest and the second had a rigid base on which was mounted cushioning material.
The unmodified 8BL was shown to encourage a kyphotic posture and caused discomfort in both able-bodied and disabled subjects especially in the neck and back. The two experimental rigs promoted an acceptable degree of lordosis and, although both proved more comfortable than the canvas seat, of the two the hard-based seat was preferred.
Ubiquitous sensing enabled by Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technologies cuts
across many areas of modern day living. This offers the ability to measure,
infer and understand environmental indicators, from delicate ecologies and
natural resources to urban environments. The proliferation of these devices in
a communicating-actuating network creates the Internet of Things (IoT),
wherein, sensors and actuators blend seamlessly with the environment around us,
and the information is shared across platforms in order to develop a common
operating picture (COP). Fuelled by the recent adaptation of a variety of
enabling device technologies such as RFID tags and readers, near field
communication (NFC) devices and embedded sensor and actuator nodes, the IoT has
stepped out of its infancy and is the the next revolutionary technology in
transforming the Internet into a fully integrated Future Internet. As we move
from www (static pages web) to web2 (social networking web) to web3 (ubiquitous
computing web), the need for data-on-demand using sophisticated intuitive
queries increases significantly. This paper presents a cloud centric vision for
worldwide implementation of Internet of Things. The key enabling technologies
and application domains that are likely to drive IoT research in the near
future are discussed. A cloud implementation using Aneka, which is based on
interaction of private and public clouds is presented. We conclude our IoT
vision by expanding on the need for convergence of WSN, the Internet and
distributed computing directed at technological research community.
Hemiplegic stroke patients are physically able to use only one arm and leg, those on the unaffected side, to propel and steer a manual wheelchair; therefore, it is difficult for them to use current manual wheelchairs. Although there have been a number of outstanding studies on wheelchair propulsion, very few have dealt with the wheelchair propulsion problems for stroke patients, whose propulsion styles are greatly different from users with healthy upper limbs. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel wheelchair for stroke patients based on their needs. A planar four-bar chain mechanism was introduced to develop the new wheelchair, and a clinical evaluation in a rehabilitation center was also done to evaluate the chair's usability.The prototype we developed allows stroke patients to use their legs and arms together to propel the wheelchair, and permits them to steer the wheelchair safely and efficiently. Eleven stroke patients with right hemiplegia were recruited to clinically evaluate the newly designed prototype, the unilaterally propelled wheelchair (UPW), in a comparison with a commercial two-handrim propelled wheelchair (TPW). The results revealed that the velocity, deviation frequency, and deviation period of the UPW were superior to those of the TPW. We concluded that it is easier, safer, and more efficient for hemiplegic stroke patients to use the UPW than the TPW.Relevance to industryThe manual wheelchair has many demonstrable benefits for users who have mobility problems and sufficient upper-limb strength to propel one. However, it can be difficult for stroke patients to propel current manual wheelchairs. This study offers an innovative wheelchair, designed with the needs of hemiplegic stroke patients in mind, that offers improved efficiency and safety, thereby promoting independent living.
To report the prevalence, mechanisms, self-perceived causes, consequences, and wheelchair-using behaviors associated with wheelchair-related accidents.
A case-control study.
Community.
A sample of experienced, community-dwelling, active manual and powered wheelchair users (N=95) recruited from a hospital assistive technology service center.
Not applicable.
Wheelchair-using behaviors, wheelchair-related accidents over a 3-year period, and the mechanisms and consequences of the accidents.
Among the 95 participants, 52 (54.7%) reported at least 1 accident and 16 (16.8%) reported 2 or more accidents during the 3 years prior to the interview. A total of 74 accidents, were categorized into tips and falls (87.8%), accidental contact (6.8%), and dangerous operations (5.4%). A logistic regression found individuals who failed to maintain their wheelchairs regularly (odds ratio [OR]=11.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.62-48.61) and used a wheelchair not prescribed by professionals (OR=4.31; 95% CI, 1.10-16.82) had significantly greater risks of accidents. In addition to the risk factor, lack of regular wheelchair maintenance, the Poisson regression corroborated the other risk factor, seat belts not used (incident rate ratio=2.14; 95% CI, 1.08-4.14), for wheelchair-related accidents.
Wheelchair-related accidents are closely related to their wheelchair-using behaviors. Services including professional evaluation, repair, maintenance, and an educational program on proper wheelchair use may decrease the risks of wheelchair accidents.
Transferring a patient to or from a hospital wheelchair can be a difficult operation, with some risk to the patient and to the attendant. Studies are described in which the footrests of hospital wheelchairs are assessed and improved in order to reduce the problems of patient transfer. Four different types of footrest were fitted to hospital ward chairs and three types to transit chairs; these were assessed and compared by hospital ward staff and porters respectively. Based on the findings of these trials, a new type of footrest was designed for use on both types of chair. The new footrest lowers down to the ground and is operated by a footlever.
Internet of things (IoT) security: Current status, challenges and prospective measures
- Mahmoud R Yousuf
- T Aloul
- F Zualkernan
- Mahmoud R.