Therapeutic Instrument Research Articles

Tongue Acupuncture to Treat Dysphagia in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative disease that lacks specific treatment. The incidence of dysphagia in patients with PD is 35%-82%. Dysphagia not only affects nutritional intake but also leads to pneumonia, even asphyxia. This study explored the efficacy of tongue acupuncture for treating dysphagia in patients with PD. From March 2021 to June 2023, 64 patients with PD-related dysphagia were chosen from Qingdao Central Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao Binhai University, both in Qindao, Shandong, China. The patients were divided into a tongue acupuncture group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 32). The control group was treated with a VitalStim® 5900 Swallowing Disorder Therapeutic Instrument (CA, USA), and the tongue acupuncture group had tongue acupuncture at Juquan (Ex-HN-10) and Haiquan (Ex-HN-11). Swallowing function and nutritional conditions were compared between the 2 groups after all treatments. The total clinical effective rate in the tongue acupuncture group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The proportion of grade 1 and grade 2 of the 5-scaled Kubota drinking-water test in the tongue acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the control group (78.13 % versus 31.26 %; P < 0.05), and the proportion of grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5 was significantly lower than that in the control group (21.87 % versus 68.74 %; P < 0.05). After tongue acupuncture, levels of body mass index, upper-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, hemoglobin, serum albumin, and prealbumin were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05) and the incidence of complications caused by PD was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Treatment of dysphagia in PD by tongue acupuncture significantly improved swallowing function and nutritional level, and decreased the incidence of complications.

Multi-metabolomics and intestine microbiome analysis: YZC extract ameliorates septic-ALI by modulating intestine microbiota to reduce TMAO/NLRP3 signaling

BackgroundSepsis causes inflammation in response to infection, often leading to acute lung injury (ALI). Yazhicao (Commelina communis L., YZC) is widely distributed in the global tropics and has good anti-respiratory inflammatory activity; however, the protection of YZC against septic-ALI has not been established. PurposeThe role of YZC in septic-ALI will be investigated in this study. Methods and resultsIn this study, YZC was shown to inhibit excessive inflammation and alleviate septic-ALI. Network pharmacology predicts that Quercetin, Acacetin and Diosmetin have the potential to serve as the pharmacological substance basis of YZC in alleviating septic-ALI. The metabolomics results indicated that YZC could improve the metabolic disorders caused by septic-ALI, which were mostly concerned with energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism, with Trimethylamine (TMA)/Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) being potential small molecule metabolic markers for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of septic-ALI. YZC inhibits the initiation and progression of septic-ALI by controlling the TMA/TMAO metabolites. Our results also suggest that YZC protects the intestinal barrier from damage. Furthermore, our research indicated that YZC reduces TMAO synthesis by inhibiting TMA production through remodeling the intestine microbiota. We investigated the mechanism of YZC-mediated protection against septic-ALI and showed that YZC reduced the expression of proteins associated with NLRP3 inflammatory vesicles in the lung by inhibiting the expression of NF-κB. ConclusionThese results show that YZC inhibits the NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway by regulating metabolic and intestinal flora disorders in septic-ALI mice to reduce TMAO synthesis. This study presents a theoretical groundwork for the advancement of novel medications and clinical use of YZC to enhance septic-ALI and furnishes a theoretical rationale for regulating intestinal microbiota as a therapeutic instrument to treat sepsis and septic-ALI.

Ab. No. 160 Design and Develop a Low-Cost Biofeedback Respiratory Device to Improve Lung Function in Pulmonary Patients

Introduction: Over the past years in medical field, biofeedback (BF) therapy programs have gained lot of importance in patient education. Using BF promises to overcome challenges that is faced in routine teaching methods such as, low focus during therapy and the difficulty of transferring it into everyday practice. The innovation of this proposal is biofeedback with good visual feedback in the form of a game. By this method, the patient would be made aware of his or her reactions through the modification of features in the game and may learn to control the physiological parameters using the feedback provided by the visual input and succeed in learning. Methods: The therapeutic instrument with a biofeedback intended device which contains a mouthpiece (disposable), filter (mesh), and a steel tube which would be created using hardware and coding. The device will have games that focuses on inspiratory and expiratory training activities and this would help to improve adherence. Result and Conclusion: Major application in pulmonary rehabilitation to train the patient effectively to improve lung function thereby reduce symptoms and to improve the quality of life of patient, for home-based exercise program, for research and clinical need. Pulmonary dysfunction causes many symptoms that affects the day today life of the patients, improving the respiratory muscle function reduces such symptoms and improves quality of life of the pulmonary patients. Exercise compliance of the patients is a challenging factor often faced by therapists and proposed device would help in improving the exercise adherence as its interesting and innovative.

Recent advancements in 18F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis, staging, and treatment management of HIV-related lymphoma.

Infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is one of the most pressing issues facing public health on a worldwide scale. Currently, HIV-related lymphoma is the most common cause of death among people living with HIV, and warrants more attention. The unique challenges associated with HIV-related lymphoma management derive from the underlying HIV infection and its immunosuppressive effects. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has gained significant prominence in the past few years as a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic instrument for the treatment of HIV-related lymphoma. This review will start with an overview of the subtypes, risk factors, and therapeutic choices for individuals with HIV-related lymphoma. We will then briefly discuss the current application of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the medical management of HIV-related lymphoma patients, followed by the initial staging of the disease, the evaluation of therapeutic response, the prediction of prognostic outcomes, the decision-making process for radiotherapy guided by PET findings, and the distinguishing of various diagnoses.

Neurological music therapy for poststroke depression, activity of daily living and cognitive function: A pilot randomized controlled study

ABSTRACT Introduction Music therapy (MT) has been adapted to post-stroke rehabilitation for years and there were several theories of treatment methods. Our music therapist utilized neurological MT to design a treatment program for stroke survivors. We aimed to compare the effects of a low-dose neurological MT with no MT on outcomes measuring depression, activity of daily living and cognitive function amongst stroke survivors. Method A single masked, randomized controlled study was designed and patients with subacute stroke were recruited. The patients were assigned to a MT group or a conventional therapy (CT) group. Both groups received CT including physical therapy and occupational therapy. Patients with aphasia also received speech therapy. The MT group underwent an additional hour of neurological MT per week for a total duration of 4 weeks. Our MT method comprised therapeutic singing, therapeutic instrument music playing, melodic intonation therapy, and rhythmic speech cueing. The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Secondary outcomes were the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and Barthel Index (BI). Result Eighty-two patients were recruited. No significant differences were found at baseline. There was significant post-treatment effect among both groups for the BI (p < 0.001, Mdiff = 13.96, 95%CI = (11.64,16.29)), MMSE (p < 0.001, Mdiff = 1.04, 95%CI = (0.51,1.57)) and MRS (p < 0.001, Mdiff = −0.45, 95%CI = (−0.57,−0.34)). Additionally, a significant difference was observed between the groups for the MRS (p = 0.033, Mdiff = −0.24, 95%CI = (−0.03,0.52)). No significant between-group effect was found regarding the BI and MMSE. Discussion This study highlights the added value of MT in improving MRS, while requiring relatively less therapeutic time.

Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging Nanozymes: Emerging Therapeutics for Acute Liver Injury Alleviation.

Acute liver injury (AIL), a fatal clinical disease featured with a swift deterioration of hepatocyte functions in the short term, has emerged as a serious public health issues that warrants attention. However, theeffectivenessof existing small molecular antioxidants and anti-inflammatory medications in alleviating AIL remainsuncertain. The uniqueinherent structural characteristics of liver confer it a natural propensity for nanoparticle capture, which present an opportunity to exploit in the formulation of nanoscale therapeutic agents, enabling their selective accumulation in the liver and thereby facilitating targeted therapeutic interventions. Significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and inflammation response have been evidenced to play crucial roles in occurrence and development of AIL. Nanozymes with ROS-scavenging capacities have demonstrated considerable promise in ROS elimination and inflammation regulation, thereby offering an appealing therapeutic instrument for the management of acute liver injury. In this review, the mechanisms of different type of ALI were summarized. In addition, we provide a comprehensive summary and review of the available ROS-scavenging nanozymes, including transition metal-based nanozymes, noble metal nanozymes, carbon-based nanozymes, and some other nanozymes. Furthermore, the challenges still need to be solved in the field of ROS-scavenging nanozymes for ALI alleviation are also discussed.

Major considerations of the biological mechanisms of bone regeneration through mesenchymal stem cells, exosomes, and microRNAs in the scenario of bucco-maxillo-facial surgery: a systematic review

Introduction: In the context of bucco-maxillo facial surgery, the development of biomaterials for use in clinical dentistry in recent years has represented a powerful therapeutic instrument in the correction of bone defects. Adult tissue stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells) mediate homeostasis and regeneration of tissues and organs. Growing evidence suggests that metabolism during quiescence, activation, and differentiation may vary between tissues, integrating signaling cues and metabolic inputs with the release of exosomes and microRNAs as important metabolic messengers. Objective: It was to carry out a systematic review to present the main considerations and scientific evidence of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of bone formation or regeneration through mesenchymal stem cells, exosomes, and microRNAs in the scenario of bucco-maxillo-facial surgery with bone graft or biomaterials. Methods: The systematic review rules of the PRISMA Platform were followed. The search was carried out from March to May 2023 in the Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, and Google Scholar databases, with articles dated 2001 (gold standard) through 2022. The quality of the studies was based on the GRADE instrument and the risk of bias was analyzed accordingly, according to the Cochrane instrument. Results and Conclusion: A total of 145 articles were found, 45 articles were evaluated and 34 were included and developed in this systematic review study. Considering the Cochrane tool for risk of bias, the overall assessment resulted in 30 studies with a high risk of bias and 15 studies that did not meet GRADE. The greater potential of guided bone regeneration was associated with the graft material due to the higher grade of vital bone and the lower percentage of residual graft particles. Inorganic bovine bone and porcine bone minerals combined with autogenous maxillary cortical bone showed similar biological and radiological characteristics in terms of biomaterial resorption, osteoconduction, and osteogenesis when used for maxillary sinus floor augmentation. In this regard, three fundamental parameters in bone tissue engineering that determine the capacity for osteoinduction were evidenced, such as the presence of soluble osteoinductive signals, the viability of undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells, having the ability to differentiate into bone-forming cells and production of adequate extracellular matrix. The exosomes that contain proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs, and DNAs stand out. Exosomes change the biochemical characteristics of recipient cells through the delivery of biomolecules and play a role in cell communication. Evidence suggests that exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells exhibit functions similar to mesenchymal stem cells with low immunogenicity and without tumorization.

Delivery of coenzyme Q10 loaded micelle targets mitochondrial ROS and enhances efficiency of mesenchymal stem cell therapy in intervertebral disc degeneration.

Stem cell transplantation has been proved a promising therapeutic instrument in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). However, the elevation of oxidative stress in the degenerated region impairs the efficiency of mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) transplantation treatment via exaggeration of mitochondrial ROS and promotion of BMSCs apoptosis. Herein, we applied an emulsion-confined assembly method to encapsulate Coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10), a promising hydrophobic antioxidant which targets mitochondria ROS, into the lecithin micelles, which renders the insoluble Co-Q10 dispersible in water as stable colloids. These micelles are injectable, which displayed efficient ability to facilitate Co-Q10 to get into BMSCs in vitro, and exhibited prolonged release of Co-Q10 in intervertebral disc tissue of animal models. Compared to mere use of Co-Q10, the Co-Q10 loaded micelle possessed better bioactivities, which elevated the viability, restored mitochondrial structure as well as function, and enhanced production of ECM components in rat BMSCs. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the injection of this micelle with BMSCs retained disc height and alleviated IVDD in a rat needle puncture model. Therefore, these Co-Q10 loaded micelles play a protective role in cell survival and differentiation through antagonizing mitochondrial ROS, and might be a potential therapeutic agent for IVDD.

Psychedelic replications in virtual reality and their potential as a therapeutic instrument: An open-label feasibility study.

Recent research has shown promising results for the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. One popular view claims that these benefits are mediated by the subjective experiences induced by these substances. Based on this, we designed a virtual reality experience, Psyrreal, that mimics the phenomenological components of psychedelic experiences. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Psyrreal and psychedelic VR experiences in treating depressive symptoms as well as explore the effect of Psyrreal on subjective factors which have been suggested to mediate the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. In this open-label feasibility study, thirteen participants with mild-to-moderate depression underwent a 2-day therapeutic intervention implementing Psyrreal. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Emotional State Questionnaire (EST-Q2) at the start of the intervention and 2 weeks after. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews after Psyrreal was also conducted as an additional assessment of the method. A 2-day intervention implementing Psyrreal led to significant decreases in depressive symptoms at the 2-week follow-up (n = 10, p = 0.007, Hedges' g = 1.046) measured by the Emotional State Questionnaire (EST-Q2). The analysis of semi-structured interviews suggests that Psyrreal could lead to insight and alterations in the sense of self in some people. This work proposes a novel method using virtual reality to augment the treatment of psychological disorders as well as to precisely investigate the mediating subjective factors of the therapeutic effects of psychedelic substances. Our preliminary results suggest that VR experiences combined with psychological support show potential in treating depressive symptoms and further research into similar methods is warranted.

Threat-measuring capabilities of the NTISS scale in the pre-transport phase of neonatal preparation

Introduction. Medical evacuation of newborns in critical condition remains an important area of neonatal intensive care. The study of threat-metric tools for assessing severity during the inter-hospital transport phases is of considerable practical interest.The aim of the study was to determine the ability of the NTISS scale to predict neonatal outcomes during the pre-transplant preparation phase, depending on the score obtained.Materials and Methods The cohort study includes data from 604 visits of the resuscitation and consultative center (RSCC) transport team to newborns under remote monitoring by the RSCC between August 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018. Division of the total sample into subgroups according to the score on the studied scale, with subsequent comparison of characteristics and outcomes in these subgroups was performed.Results In the subgroup of patients with a score of 30 or more there was a significant predominance of children with a birth weight of less than 1000 grams (85.72 %); in the subgroup with a score of 0–9, children with a birth weight of more than 2500 grams accounted for 83.33 %. Similar patterns were observed in the analysis of gestational age. Analysis of the volume of intensive care indicates an increase in the proportion of patients requiring high-frequency ventilatory ventilation, dopamine and adrenaline infusion as the NTISS score increased. When analyzing outcomes in the overall sample, there was an increase in the proportion of fatal outcomes from 0.00 % to 75.00 % as the NTISS score increased.Discussion The NTISS scale, being a therapeutic profile instrument, divided the sample according to the need for intensive care, which was significantly associated with birth weight and gestational age. Thus, the observed differences in outcomes are a legitimate result of the prevalence of extremely premature infants at high NTISS scores.Conclusion The NTISS scale demonstrates a reliable division of patients by severity and predicts the outcomes of the hospital phase of treatment.

Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Protects Against Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Through Antagonizing Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) demonstrates a gradually increased incidence and has developed into a major health problem worldwide. The nucleus pulposus is characterized by the hypoxic and avascular environment, in which hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) has an important role through its participation in extracellular matrix synthesis, energy metabolism, cellular adaptation to stresses and genesis. In this study, the effects of HIF-1α on mouse primary nucleus pulposus cells (MNPCs) exposed to TNF-α were observed, the potential mechanism was explored and a rabbit IVDD model was established to verify the protective role of HIF-1α on IVDD. In vitro results demonstrated that HIF-1α could attenuate the inflammation, apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by TNF-α in MNPCs; promote cellular anabolism; and inhibit cellular catabolism. In vivo results demonstrated that after establishment of IVDD model in rabbit, disc height and IVD extracellular matrix were decreased in a time-dependent manner, MRI analysis showed a tendency for decreased T2 values in a time-dependent manner and supplementation of HIF-1α improved histological and imaginative IVDD while downregulation of HIF-1α exacerbated this degeneration. In summary, HIF-1α protected against IVDD, possibly through reducing ROS production in the mitochondria and consequent inhibition of inflammation, metabolism disorders and apoptosis of MNPCs, which provided a potential therapeutic instrument for the treatment of IVDD diseases.

Research Progress of Music Therapy on Gait Intervention in Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Music therapy is an effective way to treat the gait disorders caused by Parkinson’s disease. Rhythm music stimulation, therapeutic singing, and therapeutic instrument performance are often used in clinical practice. The mechanisms of music therapy on the gait of patients with Parkinson’s disease include the compensation mechanism of cerebellum recruitment, rhythm entrainment, acceleration of motor learning, stimulation of neural coherence, and increase of cortical activity. All mechanisms work together to complete the intervention of music therapy on patients’ gait and help patients to recover better. In this paper, the effect of music therapy on gait disorders in Parkinson’s disease patients was reviewed, and some suggestions were put forward.

Prevention of Venous Thrombosis of Lower Limbs after Cesarean Section Based on Smart Medical Air Pressure Therapy Instrument.

Affected by the environment, the incidence of lower extremity venous thrombosis after cesarean section is gradually increasing, and postoperative nursing is becoming more and more important. The intelligent medical air pressure therapy instrument is a common and effective postpartum nursing method. This paper studies the role of pneumatic therapeutic apparatus in the prevention of lower extremity venous thrombosis after cesarean section in smart medicine, describes its importance in nursing, and analyzes the role of pneumatic therapeutic apparatus and smart medicine combined with the postoperative nursing situation of patients with cesarean section in our hospital. In this paper, we aggregate the description text of six levels of hospital intelligent service grading evaluation. In order to show the characteristics of each level and the requirements of each level of hospital intelligent service, we can roughly see the differences between different levels. Research shows that with the construction of medical information platform, more and more medical processes rely on hospital information system, which promotes the integration of medical platform and the interconnection of medical equipment, provides convenient services for patients, and provides patients with easier access to services. At the same time, the massive data generated by appointment, nursing, treatment, and other activities will be recorded, and the pneumatic therapeutic instrument can avoid the occurrence of 60% lower extremity venous thrombosis. The data of air pressure therapeutic instrument is dynamic, and its performance is mainly reflected in the recording of dynamic index data.

A neurostimulator system for real, sham, and multi-target transcranial magnetic stimulation

Objective. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a clinically effective therapeutic instrument used to modulate neural activity. Despite three decades of research, two challenging issues remain, the possibility of changing the (a) stimulated spot and (b) stimulation type (real or sham) without physically moving the coil. In this study, a second-generation programmable TMS device with advanced stimulus shaping is introduced that uses a five-level cascaded H-bridge inverter and phase-shifted pulse-width modulation. The principal idea of this research is to obtain real, sham, and multi-locus stimulation using the same TMS system. Approach. We propose a two-channel modulation-based magnetic pulse generator and a novel coil arrangement, consisting of two circular coils with a physical distance of 20 mm between the coils and a control method for modifying the effective stimulus intensity, which leads to the live steerability of the target and type of stimulation. Main results. Based on the measured system performance, the stimulation profile can be steered ±20 mm along a line from the centroid of the coil locations by modifying the modulation index. Significance. The proposed system supports electronic control of the stimulation spot without physical coil movement, resulting in tunable modulation of targets, which is a crucial step towards automated TMS machines.

Poly 3-Hydroxybutyrate 4-hydroxybutyrate (P34HB) as a Potential Polymer for Drug-Eluting Coatings on Metal Coronary Stents.

Drug-eluting stents (DES) are a main interventional therapeutic instrument to treat coronary diseases. Degradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) for coatings that only degrade into small molecules in human bodies have been developed for coating polymers, but most coatings often lack ductility and can be easily peeled off from the stents after balloon expansion. In this study, biodegradable poly 3-hydroxybutyrate 4-hydroxybutyrate (P34HB) with good ductility was proposed to be a latent polymer for drug-eluting coatings on the stents. Using P34HB-1 (4HB% = 1%wt, Mw: 225,000) and P34HB-10 (4HB% = 10%wt, Mw: 182,000) as two candidates, both P34HB-1 and P34HB-10 exhibited excellent solubility in CHCl3. Their drug solutions remained highly stable and did not become turbid over a period of 48 h, and were conducive to batch preparation of uniform drug coatings. Drug coatings made by both P34HB-1 and P34HB-10 on the stents were almost complete before and after dilation by balloon owing to their excellent adhesion and extrusion resistance properties. Furthermore, both P34HB-1 and P34HB-10 had excellent biocompatibility in cytotoxicity and hemolysis tests. However, P34HB-1 drug coatings showed better drug release control than P34HB-10 drug coatings and Firebird2®, indicating that P34HB-1 is more suitable for a latent coating polymer of coronary stents.

Possibilities of receptive music therapy (RMT) for mothers raising children with developmental disorders as a self-help tool for overcoming stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

After the announcement of quarantine due to Covid-19 on March 16, 2020, parents of children with disabilities were left without help from educational and health professionals, while changes in routine, work and financial restrictions, isolation, exacerbations of children’s mental disorders increased the level of parental anxiety, tension, fear and anger. Research on music therapy conducted by the world scientists demonstrated the effectiveness of applying receptive music therapy (RMT) methods to cope with stress, when listening to music is used as a tool that can change the client’s state and help to reveal one’s experiences. The aim of the article is to reveal, theoretically and empirically, possibilities of remote application of receptive music therapy for mothers raising children with developmental disorders. Tasks: 1) to present a model of remote application of receptive music therapy for coping with stress; 2) to examine the possibilities of independent application of the developed therapeutic instrument for client’s self-help. Problem question: how can mothers use the therapeutic tool and skills acquired during the receptive music therapy on their own during the Covid-19 quarantine? The mixed data collection methodology was chosen for the research: 1) in-depth, semi-structured interview (content analysis method); 2) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire; 3) Musical Life Panorama (MLP) biographical interview; 4) Audio recordings of music therapy sessions – qualitative narrative analysis; 5) Music Listening Diary (MLD). Fours subjects were selected on a voluntary participatory basis by forming a homogenous group according to a similar experience of raising children with disabilities. The research revealed that remote application of RMT improved the study participants’ ability to recognize stressful situations better, feelings, and reactions arising during them, and helped them to understand their emotions better. The clients learned to apply the therapeutic instrument independently in order to relieve a stressful situation, adverse reactions, or the emerging emotions. With the formation of the habit of listening to music more often, not only did the ability to relax, not get upset, calm down was strengthened, but tension decreased and the general emotional background in the family improved. The application of RMT increased clients’ ability to cope with stress and reduced the risk of recurring stressful situations. Study participants confirmed the suitability of RMT both in remote sessions and in self-application of the instrument for self-help after the therapy during the COVID-19 quarantine.

Biblioterapia. Recomendaciones terapéuticas de libro en la autoterapia ampliada

Book recommendations as a therapeutic instrument have been this investigation’s central axis, positing Bibliotherapy as treatment through books. With the goal of determining which books were being recommended as extensions to therapy, 81 psychological professionals from 8 countries were surveyed. 57 of those 81 were from Argentina, 14 from Colombia, 3 from Brazil, 2 from Peru and 1 from Ecuador; with a total of 77 South Americans. Additionally, 3 African participants took part: 2 from Angola and 1 from Mozambique. Finally, there was 1 based in Spain. Among those surveyed, 73 (90.12%) made explicit that they use Bibliotherapy as a resource. Therapists presented authors and works they suggest to their patients. Among the reasons for recommendation, the most frequent has been to expand on subjects covered during the session. In conclusion, there is a significant consensus in favor of Bibliotherapy and its use in different treatment devices is recommended.

Discussion on Analgesic Effect of TZ-FK660 Gynecological Comprehensive Therapeutic Instrument after Induced Abortion

Discussion on Analgesic Effect of TZ-FK660 Gynecological Comprehensive Therapeutic Instrument after Induced Abortion

Benefits of 3D Printed and Customized Anatomical Footwear Insoles for Plantar Pressure Distribution.

During walking, the foot is in direct contact with the insole of the footwear, and it affects the biomechanics of the whole human body. The aim of this study was to compare the plantar pressure distribution while walking in the same footwear in three different situations: with an original footwear insole, with an ethylene-vinyl acetate customized insole, and with a 3D printed anatomical insole to find out the optimal insoles for people with a normal, flat, and high arched foot according to the plantar pressure relief. Fifty-one adults were grouped into three groups (normal foot, flat foot, and high arched foot geometry). The feet of the randomly selected subjects from each group were scanned, and the insoles were designed on the basis of the foot model. These models were then used for the 3D printing. The plantar pressure distribution was observed when walking in all three different insole types for each of the three subjects with the different foot types. The peak pressure values in the forefoot, midfoot, and rearfoot and contact area were compared. The results of the study show that customized insoles influence the plantar pressure distribution mainly in people with a flat foot or with a high arched foot deformity. This influence is dependent on the type of the customized insoles, mainly in people with a high arched foot. People with a flat foot deformity have a similar plantar pressure relief in the thermoplastic insoles as those in the 3D printed insoles, and both these customized insoles can be used as a supplementary therapeutic instrument. Our study showed that the biggest attention, with regards to customizing insoles, is required by people with a high arched foot deformity, and we recommend that these people use fully customized insoles which can be guaranteed with 3D printing techniques.

The lived body (Der Leib) as adiagnostic and therapeutic instrument in general practice.

Based on vignettes from clinical cases, supervision and Balint groups this article presents a neo-phenomenological perspective on the lived experience of healthcare professionals in interactions with patients and relatives. Specifically, the familiar phenomenon of “something in the air” between two persons will be analyzed.Constellations and situations are presented as fundamental and generic (ontological) categories that can be differentiated to understand the details and the whole (die Gestalt) of an interaction.The term atmosphere is introduced to investigate the material carrier of something that “colors the air” between healthcare provider and patient.The neo-phenomenological taxonomy of the lived body (der Leib) is used to describe the recipient structure of atmospheric mood.Finally, the potential of these concepts for a more comprehensive diagnosis and for therapeutic use in general practice will be elucidated.