Peter Dabnichki’s research while affiliated with RMIT University and other places

Background/Objectives: Integrated design and simulation solutions enable the manufacturing of advanced personalized orthotics that improve patients gait characteristics and balance. The success of such a rehabilitation approach is highly dependent on compliance, i.e., users wearing the orthosis consistently. Specifically, for most young children, functionality is secondary to appearance and peer perception. However, the starting point of the traditional design approach is to address functionality and then try to make the appearance more palatable to the wearer. As a result, compliance is a common issue, resulting in slow and uneven rehabilitation progress. Methods: This work proposes a method that inverts this traditional approach and devises an attractive light design that can be adapted to ensure structural soundness. Results/Conclusions: The broader framework is called the user-centered design process. The main advantage is in the flexibility of the added manufacturing approach, allowing for a personalized design that is attractive to the user, promoting higher compliance.

This work discusses the state of the art and challenges in using wearable sensors for the monitoring of neurological patients. The authors share their experience from their participation in numerous projects, ranging from drug trials to rehabilitation intervention assessment, and identify the obstacles in the way of the integrated adoption of wearable sensors in clinical and rehabilitation practices for neurological patients. Several highly promising developments are outlined and analyzed. It is considered that intelligent textiles are an attractive option, as they offer an esthetic outlook to and positive interaction with their users.

The underwater gliders (UWGs) are a key technology of modern marine and aquatic research. Traditional buoyancy-driven UWGs, such as Slocum, Spray, and SeaGlider, propagate through the water utilizing the horizontal component of lift generated from their wings with rectangular profiles. As a result, due to lower lift-to-drag ratios (L/D), the speed of UWGs is limited within the range of 0.25 ~ 0.50 m/s. The research aimed to improve the gliding performance of Slocum UWGs by investigating a tapered wing with a traditional rectangular cross-section (RCS), and it was compared with a different tapered profile having a NACA2412 cross-section. The aspect ratio and tapering ratio were kept constant at 10 and 0.5 for analysis of all the models. The NACA2412 wing was further modified with bio-inspired leading-edge protuberance (LEP) to compare with the baseline Slocum UWG. ANSYS Fluent with steady k-ω model was employed to determine the hydrodynamic characteristics of the UWG models for the angle of attack (AoA) −20° ~ + 20° at a Reynolds number of 1.17 × 10^6. The numerical analysis revealed the hydrodynamic shortcomings of traditional rectangular cross sectional winged Slocum UWG against models with modified wings with NACA2412 cross-section. Although all three models demonstrated similar trends in producing lift, the RCS-Slocum UWG experienced the highest drag compared to the other two considered models. In terms of L/D, the UWG model with baseline NACA2412 cross-section was the superior one among all three models. The maximum L/D at the 10° AoA of the UWG model with baseline NACA2412 cross-section was more than double in comparison with that of RCS-Slocum UWG. However, the implementation of LEP in the NACA2412 wing increases the drag coefficient of the UWG when compared to the UWG with the NACA2412 wing without LEP. This study firmly lays out a route for future research to fully comprehend the viability and appropriateness of modifying UWG wings to incorporate better-performing hydrofoils.

Food drying is a widely used method of food preservation worldwide, and the utilization of waste heat from exhaust flue gas presents a significant opportunity to reduce the energy consumption of industrial drying processes. This study thoroughly examines the energy and exergy efficiency, sustainability indicators, and various exergo-environmental and exergo-economic parameters to assess the performance of a waste heat-based convective dryer (WHCD). The study found that drying at 70°C performed the best (among 50°C, 60°C and 70°C) for the overall drying process, with a maximum overall exergetic efficiency of 4.89%. The results of exergo-economic analysis revealed that the drying chamber exhibited the highest exergy destruction cost at US$0.01193 per hour, and it was determined that improving the drying chamber was of paramount importance. An exergo-environmental assessment indicates that the proposed dryer effectively mitigates 14.15 tons of over a 20-year lifespan. Sensitivity analysis of the proposed system reveals that the energy efficiency is more sensitive to the food drying temperature than the exergy efficiency. A 33% increase in drying temperature increases the exergy efficiency by 19.37% while reducing the energy efficiency by 37.54%. Hence, adopting the proposed system in industrial settings could significantly enhance energy-efficient and sustainable food drying processes.

Background In the Climb Up! Head Up! trial, we showed that sport climbing reduces bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity in mildly to moderately affected participants with Parkinson’s disease. This secondary analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of sport climbing on gait and functional mobility in this cohort. Methods Climb Up! Head Up! was a 1:1 randomized controlled trial. Forty-eight PD participants (Hoehn and Yahr stage 2–3) either participated in a 12-week, 90-min-per-week sport climbing course (intervention group) or were engaged in regular unsupervised physical activity (control group). Relevant outcome measures for this analysis were extracted from six inertial measurement units placed on the extremities, chest, and lower back, that were worn during supervised gait and functional mobility assessments before and after the intervention. Assessments included normal and fast walking, dual-tasking walking, Timed Up and Go test, Instrumented Stand and Walk test, and Five Times Sit to Stand test. Results Compared to baseline, climbing improved gait speed during normal walking by 0.09 m/s (p = 0.005) and during fast walking by 0.1 m/s. Climbing also reduced the time spent in the stance phase during fast walking by 0.03 s. Climbing improved the walking speed in the 7-m- Timed Up and Go test by 0.1 m/s (p < 0.001) and the turning speed by 0.39 s (p = 0.052), the speed in the Instrumented Stand and Walk test by 0.1 m/s (p < 0.001), and the speed in the Five Times Sit to Stand test by 2.5 s (p = 0.014). There was no effect of sport climbing on gait speed or gait variables during dual-task walking. Conclusions Sport climbing improves gait speed during normal and fast walking, as well as functional mobility in people with Parkinson’s disease. Trial registration This study was registered within the U.S. National Library of Medicine (No: NCT04569981, date of registration September 30th, 2020)

Penguins are proficient swimmers, and their survival depends on their ability to catch prey. The diving behaviour of these fascinating birds should then minimize the associated energy cost. For the first time, the energy cost of penguin dives is computed from the free-ranging dive data, on the basis of an existing biomechanical model. Time-resolved acceleration and depth data collected for 300 dives of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) are specifically employed to compute the bird dive angles and swimming speeds, which are needed for the energy estimate. We find that the numerically obtained energy cost by using the free-ranging dive data is not far from the minimum cost predicted by the model. The outcome, therefore, supports the physical soundness of the chosen model; however, it also suggests that, for closer agreement, one should consider previously neglected effects, such as those due to water currents and those associated with motion unsteadiness. Additionally, from the free-ranging dive data, we calculate hydrodynamic forces and non-dimensional indicators of propulsion performance – Strouhal and Reynolds numbers. The obtained values further confirm that little penguins employ efficient propulsion mechanisms, in agreement with previous investigations.

In elite sports, athletic excellence demands meticulous performance preparation and a sound health status. This paper overviews the current propositions and applications of pervasive computing and data analytics and our vision on how they should be used in future frameworks to contribute to the optimal balance of athletes’ performance and health requirements. Two main areas will be discussed. The first area is Sports Performance Optimization, in which we consider interesting recent advancements in data analytics for performance improvement, equipment design, and team member recruitment and selection. We will also briefly discuss how the betting industry has been relaying and developing sports analytics. The second area is Athlete’s Wellness and Wellbeing, which will discuss how wearables and data analytics have been used to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior profiles, sleep and circadian rhythm, nutrition and eating behavior, menstrual cycles, and training/performance readiness. In the final part of this paper, we argue that a critical issue for managers to enhance their decision making is the standardization of acquired information and decision-making processes, while introducing an adaptable, personalized approach. Thus, we present and discuss new theoretical and practical approaches that could potentially address this problem and identify precision medicine as a recommended methodology. This conceptualization involves the integration of pervasive computing and data analytics by employing predictive models that are constantly updated with the outcomes from monitoring tools and athletes’ feedback interventions. This framework has the potential to revolutionize how athletes’ performance and well-being are monitored, assessed, and optimized, contributing to a new era of precision in sports science and medicine.

Aerodynamic performance of a penguin-inspired biomimetic aircraft wing was numerically evaluated using delayed detached Eddy simulation, where the SST K-ω model was applied as Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model. At a Reynolds number of 5 × 105, penguin-inspired biomimetic aircraft wing exhibits the flow separation characteristics after 20 deg angle of attack (AOA). Penguin-inspired biomimetic aircraft wings promise better performance compared to almost all the aerofoils if we only consider the stall effect; as for almost all the baseline aerofoils, the stall occurs at around 10–16 deg AOA. The maximum drag coefficient obtained was 0.35 for 30 deg AOA, the maximum lift to drag ratio was 7.8 at 10 deg AOA, and the aerodynamic efficiency is expected to be maximum at that point. Moreover, compared to baseline NACA0012 aerofoil, for 15, 20, and 25 deg AOA, the penguin-inspired biomimetic aircraft wing offers 30.43%, 65.94%, and 33.16% higher lift to drag ratio, respectively.

Objective To investigate the effect of sport climbing on a biomechanical marker of axial posture in patients with Parkinson's disease, as well as its association with age, body mass index and health-related quality-of-life outcome measures. Design Pre-planned secondary analysis of our randomized controlled, semi-blind trial (unblinded patients, blinded assessors) comparing sport climbing to unsupervised exercise. Setting Single-centre study conducted at the Department of Neurology of the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Participants Forty-eight Parkinson's disease patients (aged 64 ± 8 years, Hoehn & Yahr stage 2–3) were included. Intervention Sport climbers (n = 24) followed a 12-week, 90 min/week supervised top-rope sport climbing course in an indoor climbing gym. The unsupervised training group (n = 24) independently followed the ‘European Physiotherapy Guidelines for Parkinson's Disease’ and World Health Organization recommendations for an active lifestyle for 12 weeks. Main measures Posture was assessed with the horizontal distance of the seventh cervical vertebra to the wall at baseline and after the intervention. Results Participating in the sport climbing group significantly predicted the biomechanical marker of axial posture (P = 0.044). The improvement in the biomechanical marker did not affect the quality of life, depression, fatigue, physical activity or fear of falling. Participants in the sport climbing group showed a significantly decreased horizontal distance of the seventh cervical vertebra to the wall after the intervention (−1.7 cm (95%CI [−2.6, −0.8]). In the unsupervised training group, no difference was found (−0.5 cm; 95%CI −1.3, 0.2]). Conclusions We conclude that sport climbing improves a biomechanical marker of axial posture in Parkinson's disease.