To quantitatively evaluate the upper-limb spasticity of stroke patients in recovery stage, the relationship between surface electromyography (sEMG) characteristic indexes from biceps brachii and triceps brachii and the spasticity were explored, which provides the electrophysiological basis for clinical rehabilitation. Ten patients with spasticity after stroke were selected to be estimated by modified Ashworth (MAS) assessment and a passive elbow sinusoidal motion experiment was carried out. At the same time, the sEMG of biceps and triceps were recorded. The results shows that the reflex electromyographic threshold could reflect the physiological mechanism of spasticity and had significant correlation with MAS scale which showed that sEMG could be prosperous for the clinical quantitative evaluation of spasticity of stroke patients.
Finger tapping test is a common testing item for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in clinical neurology. It mainly evaluates the fine motor function of patient's hand in three aspects:amplitude, speed and regularity of the movement. This paper focused on the quantitative assessment of regularity of finger tapping movement for PD patients. The movement signals of thumb and index finger were recorded by using inertial sensor unit in the process of tapping test. Two nonlinear dynamic indexes, approximate entropy (ApEn) and sample entropy (SampEn), were calculated, and then the values were statistically analyzed. The experimental results indicated that both indexes had significant differences between patient group and control group. Moreover, the indexes had relatively high correlation with the scores of corresponding unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) item rated by clinical clinician, which illustrated that these two indexes could reflect the injury level of the repetitive finger movement. So, as a reliable method, it can be provided to the clinical evaluation of hand movement function for PD patients.
Effective medical image enhancement method can not only highlight the interested target and region, but also suppress the background and noise, thus improving the quality of the image and reducing the noise while keeping the original geometric structure, which contributes to easier diagnosis in disease based on the image enhanced. This article carries out research on strengthening methods of subtle structure in medical image nowadays, including images sharpening enhancement, rough sets and fuzzy sets, multi-scale geometrical analysis and differential operator. Finally, some commonly used quantitative evaluation criteria of image detail enhancement are given, and further research directions of fine structure enhancement of medical images are discussed.
ObjectiveTo summarize the methods and research progress of imaging evaluation of liver iron concentration.MethodsThe current status and progress of different imaging techniques in liver iron overload research were reviewed by studying the relevant literatures at home and abroad. The methods for determining liver iron concentration and their advantages and disadvantages were summarized.ResultsThe imaging methods for determining liver iron concentration mainly included traditional non-enhanced CT and dual energy CT examination, magnetic resonance signal intensity ratio, relative signal intensity index, T2 and R2 values, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, T2* and R2* values, susceptibility weighted imaging, and quantitative susceptibility mapping.ConclusionLiver iron quantification imaging method, including dual-energy CT and magnetic resonance imaging could non-invasively and accurately assess the liver iron overload.
Objective This study aims to conduct a multi-dimensional quantitative evaluation of three rapid-acting insulin analogues, aspart (Novolog), lispro (Humalog), and glulisine (Apidra) to provide references for the selection of these drugs in medical institutions. Methods The recommended methods from the "Quick guideline for drug evaluation and selection in Chinese medical institutions (the second edition)" were employed to evaluate the pharmaceutical characteristics, effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, and other attributes of the three rapid-acting insulin analogues. Results The total scores of insulins aspart (Novolog), lispro (Humalog), and glulisine (Apidra) were 73.5, 80.4, and 70.9, respectively. Insulin lispro (Humalog) had the highest score, demonstrating a prominent advantage in both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness dimensions. Conversely, insulin glulisine (Apidra) had the lowest score, with ratings in effectiveness and safety dimensions lower than those of the other two rapid-acting insulin analogs. Conclusion When selecting rapid-acting insulin analogs, healthcare institutions can choose one or more insulins, aspart (Novolog), lispro (Humalog), or glulisine (Apidra), all of which are strongly recommended, with priority given to insulin lispro (Humalog), which has the highest total score.