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- Testes Neurodinâmicos do Membro SuperiorPublication . Bessa, IsabelIntrodução: Entre os doentes que os fisioterapeutas avaliam e tratam encontram-se frequentemente indivíduos cujo principal problema é a presença de dor na região cervical, tronco superior, ombro e membro superior que, no seu conjunto, podem designar-se por quadrante superior (ELVEY e HALL, 1997). Nestas situações a identificação da origem da dor ou de outros sintomas é fundamental antes da implementação de qualquer programa de tratamento (ELVEY e HALL, 1997; CYRIAX, 1982; MAITLAND, 1986). Esta é por vezes uma tarefa difícil, visto que, nesta região, a dor pode ser proveniente de diferentes estruturas - nomeadamente articulações, discos, músculos, tecido conjuntivo e tecido neural (STERLING et al., 2002; WAINNER et al., 2003) — próximas ou afastadas do local dos sintomas e que têm que ser consideradas no exame (BUTLER e GIFFORD, 1989). Quando os doentes apresentam sintomas difusos num membro as suspeitas de um componente neural, ou seja de dor neuropática, aparecem.[...]
- Comfort and functionality of pregnant women's feet study of kinetic parameters with silicon insolesPublication . Marques, Alda; Gonçalves, Pedro; Santos, Rubim; Vilas Boas, JoãoAs gestantes, fruto das suas alterações fisiológicas e biomecânicas, constituem uma população de risco relativamente a dores ou lesões do sistema músculo-esquelético, nomeadamente, nos membros inferiores e coluna. Os objectivos deste estudo consistiram em avaliar: (i) a dor e o conforto dos pés durante a marcha: sem o uso de qualquer palmilha nas gestantes e no grupo de controlo; com a aplicação de uma palmilha de retropé e com a aplicação de uma palmilha completa (nas gestantes); (ii) a distribuição das pressões plantares e, (iii) as forças de reacção do solo nas mesmas condições experimentais. Avaliámos ainda a duração das diferentes fases do ciclo de marcha nas gestantes, com e sem palmilhas, e no grupo de controlo, sem o uso de palmilha. Os nossos resultados mostraram que: (i) as gestantes demoram mais tempo a completar a fase de apoio da marcha, (ii) têm um aumento significativo de dores nos pés, face ao grupo de controlo, (iii) as gestantes sentem menos dor e mais conforto quando realizam marcha, com palmilhas, especialmente com a palmilha completa, (iv) a palmilha completa redistribui as forças, diminui os valores de pressão e aumenta a área de contacto do pé com o solo. Os nossos resultados sugerem que, o uso da palmilha completa de silicone, durante a marcha, pode ser eficaz na melhoria da sintomatologia dolorosa e no aumento do conforto da grávida.
- An easy procedure for calibrating data acquisition systems using interleavingPublication . Clemêncio, Filomena; Loureiro, Custódio F. M.; Correia, Carlos M. B. A.Interleaving data acquisition channels is a well-known and interesting technique to achieve higher acquisition rates. However, to obtain the expected benefits, a careful look at the interleaving technique and to mismatches that can lead to unwanted harmonic distortion and noise is essential. In this paper we discuss the methods used to interleave existing high-speed, 250 MSPS 8-bit acquisition channels, and the results obtained. The methods presented allowed a good relative channel calibration in amplitude (amplitude mismatch under 0.1 lsb) and in time (time mismatch between acquisition channels in the ps range, under the specified maximum jitter for the ADC used). A dynamic, by software, amplitude level signal-dependent adjustment procedure is also suggested for signals with rich frequency content that can substantially improve the quality of the acquired signal when using interleaved channels. The techniques presented provide good results even in the presence of noise.
- Comparative analysis of the ground reaction forces, during the support phase, in a group of pregnant women on their 3rd trimester of pregnancy and in a group of not pregnant womenPublication . Santos, Rubim; Gil, Belandina; Marques, Alda; Vilas Boas, João; Silva, JoséTo analyze and compare the Ground Reaction Forces (GRF), during the stance phase of walking in pregnant women in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, and non pregnant women. 20 women, 10 pregnant and 10 non pregnant, voluntarily took part in this study. GRF were measured (1000 Hz) using a force platform (BERTEC 4060-15), an amplifier (BERTEC AM 6300) and an analogical-digital converter of 16 Bits (Biopac). The study showed that there were significant differences among the two groups concerning absolute values of time of the stance phase. In what concerns to the normalized values the most significant differences were verified in the maximums values of vertical force (Fz3, Fz1) and in the impulse of the antero-posterior force (Fy2), taxes of growth of the vertical force, and in the period of time for the antero-posterior force (Fy) be null. It is easier for the pregnant to continue forward movement (push-off phase). O smaller growth rates in what concerns to the maximum of the vertical force (Fz1) for the pregnant, can be associated with a slower speed of gait, as an adaptation strategy to maintain the balance, to compensate the alterations in the position of her center of gravity due to the load increase. The data related to the antero-posterior component of the force (Fy), shows that there is a significant difference between the pregnant woman’s left foot and right foot, which accuses a different functional behavior in each one of the feet, during the propulsion phase (TS).
- Influence of an unstable shoe on compensatory postural adjustments: an experimental evaluationPublication . Pinheiro De Sousa, Andreia Sofia; Macedo, Rui; Santos, Rubim; Tavares, João ManuelThis study attempted to evaluate the influence of using an unstable shoe in muscle re-cruitment strategies and center of pressure (CoP) displacement after the application of an external perturba-tion. Fourteen healthy female subjects participated in this study. The electromyographic activity of medial ga-strocnemius, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, rectus abdominis and erector spinae muscles and the kinetic values to calculate the CoP were collected and analyzed after the application of an external pertur-bation with the subject in standing position, with no shoes and using unstable footwear. The results showed increased in medial gastrocnemius activity during the first compensatory postural adjustments and late com-pensatory postural adjustments when using an unstable shoe. There were no differences in standard deviation and maximum peak of anteroposterior displacement of CoP between measurements. From the experimental findings, one can conclude that the use of an unstable shoe leads to an increase in gastrocnemius activity with no increase in CoP displacement following an unexpected external perturbation.
- The influence of differente speeds on backpacker's gait kinecticsPublication . Castro, Marcelo Peduzzi; Abreu, Sofia; Sousa, Helena; Figueiredo, Cristina; Machado, Leandro; Santos, Rubim; Vilas Boas, JoãoThis study analyzed the influence of different speeds on ground reaction force’s (GRF), impulses and mean vertical force during gait of people submitted to occasional overload (backpack). A force plate was used to record the GRF data of 60 young adult subjects walking in two different cadences: 69 steps/min (slow gait) and 120 steps/min (fast gait). During the slow gait, the impact and propulsive impulses of vertical GRF, propulsive impulse of anterior-posterior GRF, impulse of medial-lateral GRF and duration of stance phase were larger than during the fast gait; the mean vertical force was the only variable that showed larger values during fast gait. Therefore, slow gait may present a larger possibility of blister development and gait unbalance, while the fast gait, even presenting a small impulse, seems to be more harmful to the musculoskeletal system.
- An all-digital coincidence-selection and coincidence-trigger generation for a small animal RPC-PET cameraPublication . Clemêncio, Filomena; Loureiro, Custodio F. M.; Landeck, JorgeThe time resolution for gamma photon pairs of a detector based on resistive plate chamber technology is close to 300 ps FWHM. This allows a tight time window for coincidence detection, reducing the number of random coincidences observed and the overall noise of the acquired image. We implemented, inside a Xilinx Virtex-5 field programmable gate array, a fully programmable coincidence-trigger system with sub-nanosecond resolution and low latency for a small animal RPC-PET camera being built. An automatic procedure to construct a histogram of coincidences was implemented that helps characterizing the camera and allows compensating for different delays in the time channels. The time window for coincidences can then be placed at the optimal position helping rejecting coincidences from undesired sources.
- Spatio-temporal alignment of pedobarographic image sequencesPublication . Oliveira, Francisco; Sousa, Andreia S. P.; Santos, Rubim; Tavares, João ManuelThis paper presents a methodology to align plantar pressure image sequences simultaneously in time and space. The spatial position and orientation of a foot in a sequence are changed to match the foot represented in a second sequence. Simultaneously with the spatial alignment, the temporal scale of the first sequence is transformed with the aim of synchronizing the two input footsteps. Consequently, the spatial correspondence of the foot regions along the sequences as well as the temporal synchronizing is automatically attained, making the study easier and more straightforward. In terms of spatial alignment, the methodology can use one of four possible geometric transformation models: rigid, similarity, affine or projective. In the temporal alignment, a polynomial transformation up to the 4th degree can be adopted in order to model linear and curved time behaviors. Suitable geometric and temporal transformations are found by minimizing the mean squared error (MSE) between the input sequences. The methodology was tested on a set of real image sequences acquired from a common pedobarographic device. When used in experimental cases generated by applying geometric and temporal control transformations, the methodology revealed high accuracy. Additionally, the intra-subject alignment tests from real plantar pressure image sequences showed that the curved temporal models produced better MSE results (p<0.001) than the linear temporal model. This paper represents an important step forward in the alignment of pedobarographic image data, since previous methods can only be applied on static images.
- Online trigger processing for a small-animal RPC-PET cameraPublication . Clemêncio, Filomena M. C.; Loureiro, Custódio F. M.; Landeck, JorgeA complex task for positron emission tomography (PET) cameras is the design of an appropriate coincidence-detec tion trigger system as it usually encompasses coincidences in a large number of channels and requires tight time specifications. Those requirements are even greater for a resistive plate chamber (RPC)-based detector technology since the time window specifica tion is quite small (in the order of a few hundred picoseconds) and the number of coincidence-channels can be quite large. Previous work showed that the time resolution for gamma photon pairs of a detector based on resistive plate chamber technology is under 300 ps full width at half maximum. This allows for a very tight time window for coincidence detection, with the corresponding benefits in reducing the number of random coincidences observed and, hence, the overall noise on the acquired image. In this paper, we first show experimental results of a coincidence-detection algo rithm implemented inside a Xilinx Virtex-5 field-programmable gate array for a small-animal RPC-PET camera being built.
- Influence of wearing an unstable shoe on thigh and leg muscle activity and venous response in upright standingPublication . Pinheiro De Sousa, Andreia Sofia; Tavares, João Manuel; Macedo, Rui; Rodrigues, Albano; Santos, RubimPurpose: To quantify the effect of unstable shoe wearing on muscle activity and haemodynamic response during standing. Methods: Thirty volunteers were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group wore an unstable shoe for 8 weeks, while the control group used a conventional shoe for the same period. Muscle activity of the medial gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and biceps femoris and venous circulation were assessed in quiet standing with the unstable shoe and barefoot. Results: In the first measurement there was an increase in medial gastrocnemius activity in all volunteers while wearing the unstable shoe. On the other hand, after wearing the unstable shoe for eight weeks these differences were not verified. Venous return increased in subjects wearing the unstable shoe before and after training. Conclusions: The unstable shoe produced changes in electromyographic characteristics which were advantageous for venous circulation even after training accommodation by the neuromuscular system.