Electrocorticogram (ECoG), which is less invasive than intracotical microwire, has higher spatiotemporal resolution than EEG. Although a number of studies have predicted three dimensional (3D) trajectories of monkeys’ arm with ECoG signals, those of human arms are not available yet as far as we know. In this study, we applied ECoG to a patient suffering from thalamic hemorrhage and predicted his 3D arm trajectories (4 joint angles and 6 coordinates at arm joints). He performed tasks of rotating three objects clockwise on a table. As results of leave-one-out cross-validation (LOO-CV), average Pearson’s correlation coefficients (CC) and normalized root-mean-square errors (nRMSE) were 0.44 ~ 0.73 and 0.18 ~ 0.42, respectively. We expect that our proposed method can contribute to further research in neuro-prosthesis and neuro-rehabilitation with ECoG signals.

Thermal comfort can be described as satisfaction of the mind in an environment. In this satisfied environment, physical and mental productivity of human become higher. For many years, humankind endeavor to develop more comfortable environments. On that way; thermal comfort   equation   was   established   by   P.   O.   Fanger   in   1970s.   “Fanger’s   comfort   equation”  is  the combined quantitative combination of the environmental and individual variables. Predicted Mean Vote  (PMV),  as  the  result  of  “Fanger’s  comfort  equation”,  indicates  how  the  occupants  judge  the climate. Using PMV, the Percentage of People Dissatisfied (PPD) can be predicted. The general purpose of HVAC systems is to provide more comfortable indoor areas and acceptable indoor air qualities. PMV results show that the environment is comfortable or not. This PMV model has become the internationally accepted model for describing the predicted mean thermal comfort of occupants in indoor environments. In this study, the literature about thermal comfort is focused and the method of the PMV application is given step by step. Thermal comfort limits in the recent standards,  factors  of  the  thermal  comfort,  Fanger’s  PMV  and  PPD  equation  were  presented  in  the   study. The expression of the study is tried to be extended by tables and figures.

The goal of this study is to provide a quantitative evaluation of a specific therapeutic maneuver used by physical therapists for improving core stability of stroke survivors. The maneuver is a simple, bilateral touch with light pressure on the low back muscles, applied to the subjects, while sitting on a force platform. Functional improvements were measured by looking at reaching movements with the unimpaired arm, motion of the center of pressure, and muscle activity. Preliminary results show that the maneuver induces a radical reorganization of the subjects posture, consisting of a righting reaction with an antero-version rotation of the pelvis and a consecutive shift forward of the center of pressure, thus increasing stability and enhancing movement performance.

This study describes pilot experiments of haptic reaching, namely movements aimed at a target in the absence of vision, via haptic interaction. A manipulandum generates a convergent force field which transmits the direction of the target to the subject. The field has a very low intensity, close to the perceptual threshold, and it is pulsed in time, with a smooth profile (0.2 s duration) and a repetition rate of 2 pulses/s. In particular, we developed and tested a novel method for evaluating the degree of active participation to this haptic interaction which may find application in robot therapy of stroke patients and in the design of efficient haptic interfaces.

Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit an impairment in social interaction capabilities. The main objective of the study is to explore the interaction with virtual environments (VE) by natural interfaces (NI) as a way to facilitate the acquisition of social skills. The study involved a total of four subjects with ASD. After an initial assessment of their basic skills and a familiarization phase with the VE and NI, participants performed 3 exercise sessions of 45 minutes each, with increasing levels of difficulty. During each session, participants completed two different paths in the VE, following arrows and signs directed toward either a pharmacy or a police station. We developed a metric for evaluating both the ability to interact with the VE and the acquisition of the specific social skill. Preliminary results showed improvements in both competences.