Issue title: Restoration of Wheeled Mobility in SCI Rehabilitation
Guest editors: Lucas H.V. van der Woudexy, Thomas W.J. Janssenxy and DirkJan Veegerxz
Article type: Research Article
Authors: Nunn, A.a; c; * | McLeod, J.b | Brown, L.b | Hall, C.b | Orr, B.b | Brown, I.c | Ting, A.c | Hayes, C.c | Earley, P.c | Hawkins, R.c
Affiliations: [a] Victorian Spinal Cord Service, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Vic., Australia | [b] Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorne, Vic., Australia | [c] Monash University Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Science Engineering, Clayton, Vic., Australia | [x] Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Movement Science, Faculty of Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands | [y] Rehabilitation Center “Amsterdam”, Amsterdam, The Netherlands | [z] Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Dr. Andrew Nunn, Victorian Spinal Cord Service, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia. Tel.: +61 3 94965000; Fax: +61 3 9458 4779; E-mail: andrew.nunn@eng.monash.edu.au.
Abstract: The Compumedics “Siesta” datalogger was used to set up and trial the potential and initial applications of a remote datalogger to study a range of physiological and other changes in spinal cord injured (SCI) patients undergoing rehabilitation following traumatic injury. The group of 6 patients (weeks 3 to 34 post injury) was selected due to changes expected with neurological and functional recovery. The 32 channel datalogger was used to record signals of ECG, Thoracic and Abdominal respiration, Pulse Oximetry, piezoelectric accelerometers and thermistors. Five (5) tests were completed for each subject over a period of three (3) months. This study extended on work in sleep lab testing in normals and SCI at Austin RMC. Data analysis involved pattern recognition, simple analysis of heart rate signal, and more complex focused signal analysis. Datalogger measurements have revealed some changes in physiology including “autonomic failure” unique to SCI patients during normal activity. Further research is required to consolidate results through a larger study group.
Keywords: spinal Cord injury, datalogger, remote monitoring, physiology, activity, heart rate, blood pressure, rehabilitation, human
DOI: 10.3233/TAD-2005-17204
Journal: Technology and Disability, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 77-83, 2005
