Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-02-24"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Leveraging generative artificial intelligence and wearable technology for adaptive health and conversational interventions in the elderlyPublication . Crista, Vítor Rafael Palmeiro; Martinho, Diogo Emanuel PereiraAging is often associated with an increase in loneliness and social isolation, factors that have significant consequences for health. The lack of social interactions can lead to a decline in emotional well-being, the deterioration of cognitive conditions, and a higher risk of physical health problems. Therefore, it is relevant to develop solutions that facilitate interaction and promote the quality of life of the elderly population, encouraging regular physical activity and improving their physical and psychological well-being. Technology attends as an effective tool to address these challenges, enabling the creation of systems that provide continuous support and interactions adapted to individual needs. This dissertation explores the development of a conversational system that uses wearable technology to collect information about users' health levels, aiming to create proactive interactions, encourage healthy habits, and promote active aging. The system also incorporates artificial intelligence, specifically generative artificial intelligence, with the main objective of developing advanced communication mechanisms between the system and the user. These mechanisms allow the system to learn from past interactions to improve the quality of future ones. The work included designing the system architecture, which integrates a Multi-Agent approach, providing a scalable structure that enables continuous improvements in the quality of the communication strategies used by the system. The solution was developed based on a domain model aligned with the common needs of elderly users and includes a detailed description of the essential components for its implementation. To evaluate the system, a study was conducted with five users, providing valuable insights into the system’s performance and impact. The study was conducted with five participants over a week, and to assess the system’s impact, indicators were defined to measure the key objectives of the research. The results indicate a positive impact on user participation and physical activity, with an average acceptance rate of proposed activities at 63.6%. Additionally, the average number of steps increased by 42.93% throughout the study, and the frequency of conversations recorded an average growth of 20.14%.
- Presence of pain shows greater effect than tendon structural alignment during landing dynamicsPublication . Silvia, Ortega-Cebrián; Silva, Diogo C. F.; Carneiro, Daniela F.; Zárate, Victor; Alves, Leonel A. T.; Guedes, Diana C.; Zárate-Tejero, Carlos A.; Cadellans-Arróniz, Aïda; Montes, António Mesquita; Mesquita Montes, António; Silva, Diogo C. F.; C. Guedes, Diana"Eccentric loading during landing is considered a key factor in the development of patellar tendinopathy and is associated with stiff landings and patellar tendinopathy. This study aims to investigate the relationship between tendon structure, presence of pain, and sex differences in landing kinematics and kinetics during countermovement jumps (CMJ) and tuck jump tests (TJT) in professional volleyball players. Professional volleyball players aged 18 to 30 years old (14 females and 25 males) participated in a cross-sectional study. Data included the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment Patellar Tendon (VISA-P) questionnaire; patellar tendon ultrasound characterization tissue (UTC) scans, in order to identify groups with misaligned tendon fibers (MTF) or aligned tendon fibers (ATF); and biomechanical assessments for CMJ and TJT. The joint angle (JA) at the lower limb was measured at peak ground reaction force (peak_vGRF) and maximal knee flexion (max_KF). A general linear model was used to evaluate joint JA differences between tendon alignment, pain, and sex variables. Sample t-tests compared peak_vGRF, load time, load rate, and area based on tendon alignment, pain presence, sex, and jump. The statistical significance of p-value is >0.05, and the effect size (ES) was also calculated. The MTF group revealed decreased knee JA during TJT at peak_vGRF (p = 0.01; ES = −0.66) and max_KF (p = 0.02; ES = −0.23). The presence of pain was associated with increased JA during the CMJ, particularly at peak_vGRF and max_KF for trunk, hip, and ankle joints. Females showed decreased peak_vGRF than males. Landing with misaligned tendon fibers showed longer load times compared to aligned tendon fibers (p = 0.021; ES = −0.80). The TJT exhibited a greater load rate than the CMJ (p = 0.00; ES = −0.62). Pain is a critical factor influencing greater JA during landing, particularly at the trunk, hip, and ankle joints in CMJ. Misaligned tendon fibers compromise landing dynamics by increasing trunk JA during TJT. Kinetics varied significantly by sex and jump type, while pain and tendon structure revealed limited differences. "