Advances in Therapeutic Engineering

Therapeutic Engineering (TE) is a cutting-edge domain in today’s era of medical technology research. Through engineering algorithms that provide technological solutions, it aims to elevate the quality of life of disabled individuals. Advances in Therapeutic Engineering describes various therapeutic processes and mechanisms currently applied to the field of healthcare in a range of areas, including mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and mental health and cognition.The book explores research and advances in the areas of hand-eye coordination, motor function, the biomechanics of lower limbs, and treatment of spinal diseases and neural plasticity. It discusses electrical stimulation methodologies for improving human gait. It also examines prosthetic devices and assistive technology, induction heater-based treatment, and inclusive user modelling and simulation. Additional chapters cover automated asthma detection using clinico–spirometric information, computer-aided diagnostic modules for malaria screening, and various data mining techniques that have been developed and successfully implemented in healthcare management. The contributors also examine semantic interoperability issues in e-health systems and clinical decision support systems (CDSSs)Ranging from prosthetics to sensory substitution and medical robotics, the book will prove enlightening to researchers and practitioners in a host of disciplines who want to understand the recent advances achieved globally in the field of therapeutic engineering.

Development of a Human Spine Simulation System. Training and Measuring the Hand–Eye Coordination Capability of Mentally Ill Patients. Rehabilitation of Lower Limbs Based on Functional Electrical Stimulation Systems. Functional Reorganisation of Cerebral Cortex and Rehabilitation. Evaluation of Physical Functions for Fall Prevention among the Elderly. Human-Friendly Actuator Using Metal Hydride for Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Systems. Eye Movement Input Device Designed to Help Maintain Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Patients. Body Awareness in Prosthetic Hands. A Study on Subthreshold Stimulation for Daily Functional Electrical Stimulation Training. An fMRI Analysis of Prosthetic Hand Rehabilitation Using a Brain–Machine Interface. Design of an Induction Heating Unit Used in Hyperthermia Treatment. Assistive Technology: From the Perspective of Rehabilitation Medicine. Inclusive User Modelling and Simulation. Semantic Interoperability of e-Health Systems Using Dialogue-Based Mapping of Ontologies in Diabetes Management. Clinical Decision Support Systems in Mental Health: Rehabilitation Other Way Round. Engineering Interventions to Improve Impaired Gait: A Review. Electrical Stimulation Devices for Cerebral Palsy: Design Considerations, Therapeutic Effects, and Future Directions. Bayesian Approach to Automated Detection of Asthma Using Clinical and Spirometric Information. Textural Pattern Classification of Microscopic Images for Malaria Screening. Review of Data Mining Methods with Applications for Rehabilitation Engineering, Human Factors, and Diagnostics. Index.

U. Rajendra Acharya is a visiting faculty member at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. His major research interests are in biomedical signal processing, bioimaging, data mining, visualization, and biophysics for better healthcare design, delivery, and therapy. Teik-Cheng Lim is a head of program at SIM University (UniSIM). His research interests include auxetic materials, solid mechanics, biomechanics and mathematical chemistry. Wenwei Yu is a professor in the Department of Medical System Engineering, School of Engineering at Chiba University in Japan. His major research interests are in neuroprosthetics, rehabilitation robotics, motor control, and biomedical signal processing. Subhagata Chattopadhyay is active as a healthcare informatics professional. His principal research fields are medical informatics, clinical decision support systems, rehabilitation engineering, and e-health.