Elastic Glove Research Articles

Plastic-Optical-Fiber-Enabled Smart Glove for Machine-Learning-Based Gesture Recognition

Gesture recognition has always been an important research direction in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). In this paper, a wearable gesture recognition system based on D-shaped plastic optical fiber (POF) curvature sensor was proposed and experimentally studied. A highly bend sensitive D-shaped POF curvature sensor was made and integrated into a five-channel signal acquisition system on a PCB board (8×4.5 cm), which was embedded into an elastic glove to collect fingers' movement data. Thirteen gestures and eleven grasping actions were defined, and the gesture data, the grasping action data and the gesture data mixed with grasping action data were normalized, calibrated and imported into a support vector machine (SVM) classifier based on Gaussian kernel function and feedforward neural networks (FNN) respectively. The recognition accuracy based on SVM of 13 gestures and 11 grasping actions reached 99.8% and 97.7% respectively. The recognition accuracy of 13 kinds of gesture data mixed with 11 kinds of grasping action data based on Gaussian kernel function in SVM classification model and FNN were 98.9% and 99.4% respectively.

Review Paper on Smart Guidance Belt For Blinds

Abstract: This project seeks to create a simplified version of a smart wearable belt that can assist blind people with navigation, using a sensible and compact design for the electronic equipment. The design includes an embedded system, and could potentially incorporate machine learning algorithms to detect potholes and other irregularities on the road. The goal is to develop a smart belt that can help blind people travel independently without the use of a cane. The Electronic Blind Mobility Aid is a technology that uses sensors put on a belt worn around the waist to allow blind persons to travel independently. This advanced technology can help many people with visual impairments to travel independently. Blind people often face obstacles that can make it difficult for them to travel alone, but a blind belt can extend their range of perception by serving as an obstacle detector. Visually impaired people often use their hearing to compensate for their reduced eyesight, and can recognize sound sources. This technology enables blind persons to travel independently and receive obstacle alerts via headphones and speakers using sensors installed on a belt that is worn around the waist. Blind people can utilise this approach every day to find potential hazards, roadblocks, and pathways. In the end, this technology will serve to increase the independence of blind individuals and give them more confidence when they travel. To notify users of potential dangers, the device has a buzzer that produces vibration signals and emits a warning sound. Both the sound frequency and the vibration frequency rise as the space between the elastic gloves and the barriers gets smaller. The design incorporates a buzzer and motor in addition to the capability to notify the proper person in case of an emergency.. The goal of this study is to provide a low-cost, effective means of helping blind individuals travel more easily, quickly, and confidently. This design provides a quick-response, cost-effective, and portable solution. This device can let blind persons traverse their environment more safely and confidently by employing sound and vibration cues to notify the user of impediments.

A Smart Wearable Guiding Device for The Visually Impaired People

Abstract— The "Smart Wearable Guiding Device for the Visually Impaired People" is designed to help blind individuals overcome their lack of vision by using other senses like sound and touch. It alerts the blind user of a major hurdle via audio and vibrating signals. According to the World Health Organization, 39 million individuals globally are considered to be blind. They have a lot of difficulties in their everyday routines. As a result, the project's goal is to provide a low-cost, highefficiency method of assisting the visually handicapped in navigating with a little more ease, quickness, and assurance. This Arduino based gadget will assist the blind in navigating without the use of a stick, which might be inconvenient for them. They may just wear it as a wristband or fabric, and it will work quite precisely with little to no practice. A ringer is also included in the system, which emits a warning sound and generates vibration signals. The system uses sound and vibration signals to warn the user about impending dangers. The frequency of both sound and vibration signals increases as the range between elastic glove and obstacles decreases. The design incorporates a buzzer that emits an audible alarm and a motor that produces vibration signals, as well as the ability to transmit notifications to the appropriate person in the event of a crisis. As a result, the study objective is to provide a low-cost, high-efficiency method of assisting blind people to travel with more ease, pace, and assurance. This design provides a low-cost, robust, portable solution for routes with a self-evidently quick reaction time.

Development of a Two-Layered Elastic Glove for Dynamic Stable Grasping of Powered Prosthetic Hand

Development of a Two-Layered Elastic Glove for Dynamic Stable Grasping of Powered Prosthetic Hand

Application of mesh elastic gloves in the treatment of zinc oxide paste in patients with subacute eczema in the hands

Objective To introduce the method of making elastic gloves, and to explore its application effect in the treatment of zinc oxide paste in patients with subacute eczema in the hands. Methods This study was a kind of experimental study. A total of 96 patients with subacute eczema in the hands in the Dermatology Ward of the First Affiliated Hospital of Yangtze University were selected as the study subjects.They were divided into the control group (admitted from June to December in 2017) and the experimental group (admitted from June to December in 2018) according to the time of admission, 48 cases in each group. After the two procedures(apply medicine and cover with sterile gauze) of the conventional zinc oxide paste coating, the control group was fixed with gauze bandage+ medical tape, and the experimental group was fixed with mesh elastic gloves. The external fixed cost and time, the disassembly time, the dressing fixation, the comfort condition, the grip strength, the daily activity of the hand, and the healing effect of the skin lesions were evaluated. Results The external fixed cost and time, the disassembly time, grip strength and hand daily activities ability of the patients in the experimental group were (0.37±0.05) yuan, (26.06±2.53) s, (13.70±1.28) s, (25.96±5.83) kg, and (65.04±7.10) points, significantly better than the control group (1.63±0.21) yuan, (160.98±22.82) s, (22.36±3.50) s, (20.01±3.56) kg, (61.83±6.31) points, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t value was-40.931--2.340, P< 0.01 or 0.05). The total rate of comfort, the total rate of dressing loss and the total effective rate of skin lesion healing in the experimental group were respectively 100%(48/48), 0, 98% (47/48), significantly better than the control group 79% (38/48), 46% (22/48), 71% (34/48), the difference between the two groups were statistically significant (χ2 value was 11.163, 28.541, 13.353, all P<0.01). Conclusions The application of elastic gloves in the treatment of zinc oxide paste in patients with subacute eczema in the hands can not only save the cost of external fixation and the time of external fixation and disassembly, but also improve dressing fixation and comfort, and improve grip and hand daily activities. At the same time, the healing effect of hand skin lesions can also be improved. In short, it meets the needs of dermatology hand coating. Key words: Mesh elastic gloves; Hand subacute eczema; Zinc oxide paste; Coating

Superior mobility of knee parts with dual-versus single-axis hinge for extravehicular activity without prebreathing

The current U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) suit is pressurized at 0.29 atm, which creates a risk of decompression sickness (DCS). If higher mobility is acquired, higher inner pressure is allowed. We previously demonstrated a wider range of motion (ROM) with lower muscle force using an elastic glove pressurized at 0.65 atm compared with a nonelastic glove pressurized at 0.29 atm, which simulated the current U.S. EVA suit. Pressurization at 0.65 atm is the lowest pressure that avoids DCS without prebreathing. For larger joints, other restraint parts are needed to depress ballooning of the elastic material during pressurization. In the present study, we developed hard restraint parts for the knee joint covering the elastic garment for the lower limb, and compared the ROM and flexion force between a dual and single axis during pressurization at 0.65 atm. The joint motion and force required during flexing action were recorded. During flexion, the ROM was significantly larger and the peak force was significantly lower with the dual-than single-axis part. Thus, a dual axis of hard restraint part has higher mobility than a single axis during pressurization without a risk of DCS.

An Instrumented Glove to Assess Manual Dexterity in Simulation-Based Neurosurgical Education.

The traditional neurosurgical apprenticeship scheme includes the assessment of trainee’s manual skills carried out by experienced surgeons. However, the introduction of surgical simulation technology presents a new paradigm where residents can refine surgical techniques on a simulator before putting them into practice in real patients. Unfortunately, in this new scheme, an experienced surgeon will not always be available to evaluate trainee’s performance. For this reason, it is necessary to develop automatic mechanisms to estimate metrics for assessing manual dexterity in a quantitative way. Authors have proposed some hardware-software approaches to evaluate manual dexterity on surgical simulators. This paper presents IGlove, a wearable device that uses inertial sensors embedded on an elastic glove to capture hand movements. Metrics to assess manual dexterity are estimated from sensors signals using data processing and information analysis algorithms. It has been designed to be used with a neurosurgical simulator called Daubara NS Trainer, but can be easily adapted to another benchtop- and manikin-based medical simulators. The system was tested with a sample of 14 volunteers who performed a test that was designed to simultaneously evaluate their fine motor skills and the IGlove’s functionalities. Metrics obtained by each of the participants are presented as results in this work; it is also shown how these metrics are used to automatically evaluate the level of manual dexterity of each volunteer.

MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX POSTERIOR HORSESHOE ANAL FISTULA BY A MODIFIED HANLEY PROCEDURE: CLINICAL EXPERIENCE AND REVIEW OF 28 PATIENTS

The aim of this prospective study was to document clinical experience in the surgical management of posterior horse shoe fistula of cryptogalndular origin with a modified Hanley procedure using hybrid elastic glove as a one stage cutting seton. A modified Hanley procedure was applied to 28 patients (20 males and 8 females) presented with posterior horseshoe anal fistula (mean age 41 years) for the period from February 2007 to March 2012, and the surgical results were analyzes. The seton used was fashioned from a surgical glove and was tied around the sphincter under less tension in addition to the excision of superficial segment of the lateral tract and deeper extension into ischiorectal spaces were curetted and packed with gauze socked with povidon iodine. Complete healing was achieved in all 28 patients within three months post-operative period. Recurrence was found in only three patients after six month follow up period. All patients were discharged on the same post-operative day (day case surgery). None required readmission and post-operative pain was mild and bearable. Narcotic analgesics were not needed after discharge. All patients were able to return to their works and daily activity in 2-3 weeks. In conclusion, posterior complex horseshoe anal fistula can be safely and successfully treated with modified Hanley procedure with the use of the hybrid elastic seton.

Development and Evaluation of a Glove for Extravehicular Activity Space Suit without Prebreathing

The current United States space suit, called an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), is pressurized with 100% oxygen at 0.29 atm (4.3 psi or 29.6 kPa) in the vacuum of space. This pressure is much lower than that on the earth or in the International Space Station, and prebreathing is required to avoid decompression sickness (DCS). Higher pressure can reduce the risk of DCS, but mobility would be sacrificed due to larger pressure differential between the inside and outside of the suit. To solve the issues regarding mobility, we employed elastic material. If high mobility is acquired, higher pressurization can be employed. Thus, we developed an elastic glove pressurized at 0.65 atm, which is the minimal pressure to avoid decompression sickness without prebreathing. Range of motion with the nonelastic glove at 0.29 atm, which is simulated current EMU, was similar to that of the elastic glove at 0.65 atm. However, the required force evaluated by electromyography during finger flexion using elastic glove at 0.65 atm was smaller than that using the nonelastic glove at 0.29 atm. These results will encourage further development and investigation of a new extravehicular activity suit.

Mobility of an Elastic Glove for Extravehicular Activity Without Prebreathing

The current U.S. extravehicular activity (EVA) suit is pressurized at 0.29 atm, which is much lower than the pressures of sea level and inside a space station. Higher pressure can reduce the risk of decompression sickness (DCS), but mobility would be sacrificed. We have demonstrated that a glove and sleeve made of elastic material increased mobility when compared with those made of nonelastic material, such as that found in the current suit. We hypothesized that an elastic glove of 0.65 atm that has no risk of DCS also has greater mobility compared with a non-elastic glove of 0.29 atm. The right hands of 10 healthy volunteers were studied in a chamber with their bare hands at normal ambient pressure, after donning a non-elastic glove with a pressure differential of 0.29 atm, and after donning an elastic glove with a pressure differential of 0.29 and 0.65 atm. Range of motion (ROM) of the index finger and surface electromyography (EMG) amplitudes during finger flexion were measured. ROM with gloves was significantly smaller than that of bare hands, but was similar between conditions of gloves regardless of elasticity and pressure differentials. However, EMG amplitudes with the elastic glove of 0.29 and 0.65 atm were significantly smaller than those with the non-elastic glove of 0.29 atm. The results suggest that mobility of the elastic glove of 0.65 atm may be better than that of the non-elastic glove of 0.29 atm, similar to that used in the current EVA suit.

Development and Evaluation of Gas-Pressurized Elastic Sleeves for Extravehicular Activity

In space, mobility of the current extravehicular activity space suit is limited due to the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the suit. We have previously demonstrated that an elastic glove increased mobility when compared with a non-elastic glove such as that found in the current suit. Extending this work, we hypothesized that an elastic sleeve would also have more mobility compared to a non-elastic sleeve, but a partially elastic sleeve, consisting of elastic joints sewn to non-elastic parts in low mobility areas, might generate similar mobility to a wholly elastic sleeve. The right arms of 10 volunteers were studied with wholly elastic, partially elastic, and non-elastic sleeves in a chamber pressure of -220 mmHg. Range of motion (ROM) of the wrist and electromyography (EMG) of the flexor carpi radialis muscle and the biceps brachii muscle during wrist and elbow flexion were measured. ROM of the wrist was similar among all the sleeves. However, EMG amplitudes during wrist flexion with both elastic sleeves were significantly smaller than that with the non-elastic sleeve. EMG amplitudes during 90 degrees of elbow flexion were also significantly smaller in both elastic sleeves. However, no significant difference in EMG amplitudes was observed between the two elastic sleeves (0.53 +/- 0.06, 0.56 +/- 0.07, 1.14 +/- 0.10 V for wholly elastic, partially elastic, and non-elastic sleeves, respectively). The mobility of elastic sleeves is better than that of a non-elastic sleeve. Elasticity over the joints is important; however the elasticity of the other parts does not appear to affect mobility.

Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy during Nasal Non-Invasive Ventilation in Acute Respiratory Failure

Background: Various methods have been described for safely performing fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FB) while applying non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). Objectives: To evaluate the safety of a new method to perform FB in patients with ARF. Methods: Patients with ARF in whom FB was indicated were studied. The primary end-point was a mean drop in oxygen saturation (S_aO₂) after the procedure. During nasal NIPPV, FB was performed via the mouth using a bite block sealed with an elastic glove finger allowing bronchoscope insertion. Results: Thirty-five patients were included in the final study (63 ± 17 years, 74% men, P_aO₂/F_iO₂ ratio 168 ± 63). A total of 35 bronchoaspirates, 21 protected brushings, 11 bronchoalveolar lavages and 8 bronchial biopsies were done. The cardiorespiratory variables at the start and end of FB were: S_aO₂ 93 ± 3 to 94 ± 5%, heart rate 95 ± 17 to 99 ± 22 b.p.m. and respiratory rate 24 ± 11 to 25 ± 11 respirations/min. The lowest S_aO₂ value reached during the procedure was 86 ± 3% and the maximal ETCO₂ rise was 41 ± 4 mm Hg. Leakage was <50 ml/s in 32 patients. The clinical course was favorable in 66%. Invasive ventilation was necessary in 11%, 5 ± 4 days after FB. Twelve patients (33%) died 3 ± 2 days after FB as a result of their underlying disease. Conclusions: The system allowed to perform FB safely in patients with ARF. Although there is a relatively high rate of intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation due to illness severity, there was no worsening of oxygenation or complications attributable to the procedure.

Mobility of a gas-pressurized elastic glove for extravehicular activity

Usability of a gas-pressurized elastic glove for extravehicular activity (EVA) was evaluated by comparing its performance with that of a non-elastic glove like that in the current EVA suit. The right hands of eight healthy volunteers were studied in a chamber. The bare hand at normal ambient pressure, and at −220 mmHg of the chamber pressure (producing the same pressure differential as the current US EVA suit) with each of the gloves. No significant difference in cutaneous blood flow or skin temperature was observed between the gloves. Range of motion (ROM) in the proximal interphalangeal joint of the middle finger with the elastic glove (87.4±4.9°) was significantly wider than that with the non-elastic glove (70.6±2.3°), but the surface electromyography (EMG) amplitude during flexion with the elastic glove was significantly smaller than that with the non-elastic glove (29.3±2.7 mV vs. 46.7±2.3 mV for elastic and non-elastic gloves, respectively). The elastic glove also allowed smaller reduction in grip strength and longer endurance time than the non-elastic glove (−44.3±6.0% vs. −59.4±1.5% from the bare hand grip strength, 26.3±5.7% vs. 10.9±3.1% of the bare hand endurance time, for elastic and non-elastic glove, respectively). The static effects of non-elastic and elastic gloves are similar, but the mobility of the elastic glove is better than that of the non-elastic glove like the one used in the current EVA suit.

Syndrome des « grosses mains » des toxicomanes : intérêt des bandages peu élastiques

Puffy hand syndrome is a complication of intravenous drug abuse, which has no current available treatment. Arm and forearm edema are voluminous and cause functional and aesthetic disturbances. We report two cases successfully treated by low-stretch bandages. A 40-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, both intravenous drug users, with puffy hand syndrome were hospitalized for 11 days. Treatment included daily multilayer bandaging. Lymphedema volumes calculated by utilizing the formula for a truncated cone decreased by 16% on the left side and 12% on the right side for the first patient and 31 and 17% for the second. Hand circumference decreased 4.3 cm on the left side and 3.2 cm on the right side in case 1, and 2.5 cm and 1.9 cm respectively for case 2. The patients were taught self-bandaging techniques during their hospital stays. Elastic gloves were fitted at the end of treatment. Reduction of lymphedema volume remained stable after 18 months in one patient while for the second patient further treatment and hospitalization were required due to poor compliance. The pathogenesis of this edema is probably multifactorial: venous, lymphatic insufficiency and the direct toxicity of injected drugs. Lymphedema treatment currently consists of low-stretch bandaging and wearing elastic garments, which is effective in decreasing the volume of puffy hand syndrome.