The ability to stand-up from sitting declines with age. Manual rehabilitation services are being challenged by the increasingly older frailer population with patients are receiving sub-optimal access to professional therapy. Technology may offer solutions. Following a review of the literature as well as clinical observations, user surveys and interviews, an initial design specification for a computerised automated feedback system for sit-to-stand training was generated. A virtual reality system with audio-visual feedback on performance was subsequently developed. This prototype used an inertial sensor and a portable force plate to provide raw movement data. A Kalman-filter based sensor-fusion algorithm was designed to tackle signal-processing issues. A sit-to-stand detection algorithm, using a finite state machine, then analysed and detected crucial movement events, before a fuzzy-logic decision-making algorithm generated the final audio-visual feedback presented to users in a user-friendly manner to augment their sit-to-stand training. A phase two pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted at a geriatric rehabilitation unit. All participants underwent functional assessments and had their daily sit-to-stand and step counts recorded forty-eight hours before the study began and at the end of the trial. The experimental group received the technology augmented sit-to-stand training for four weeks, three sessions a week, while the control group received standard physiotherapy. Sixteen participants completed the trial, eight in each group. An increase in daily sit-to-stand movements and improved scores on clinical measures of mobility were all statistically significantly (p
| Date of Award | 4 Jun 2019 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) |
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| Supervisor | Andy Kerr (Supervisor) & Avril Thomson (Supervisor) |
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