Assessment of user voluntary engagement during neurorehabilitation using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a prelim
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RESEARCH
Open Access
Assessment of user voluntary engagement during neurorehabilitation using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a preliminary study Chang-Hee Han1, Han-Jeong Hwang2, Jeong-Hwan Lim1 and Chang-Hwan Im1*
Abstract Background: Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) finds extended applications in a variety of neuroscience fields. We investigated the potential of fNIRS to monitor voluntary engagement of users during neurorehabilitation, especially during combinatory exercise (CE) that simultaneously uses both, passive and active exercises. Although the CE approach can enhance neurorehabilitation outcome, compared to the conventional passive or active exercise strategies, the active engagement of patients in active motor movements during CE is not known. Methods: We determined hemodynamic responses induced by passive exercise and CE to evaluate the active involvement of users during CEs using fNIRS. In this preliminary study, hemodynamic responses of eight healthy subjects during three different tasks (passive exercise alone, passive exercise with motor imagery, and passive exercise with active motor execution) were recorded. On obtaining statistically significant differences, we classified the hemodynamic responses induced by passive exercise and CEs to determine the identification accuracy of the voluntary engagement of users using fNIRS. Results: Stronger and broader activation around the sensorimotor cortex was observed during CEs, compared to that during passive exercise. Moreover, pattern classification results revealed more than 80% accuracy. Conclusions: Our preliminary study demonstrated that fNIRS can be potentially used to assess the engagement of users of the combinatory neurorehabilitation strategy. Keywords: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) - motor rehabilitation - neurorehabilitation - combined exercise - pattern classification - hemodynamic response
Background Patients with motor impairments resulting from various central nervous system diseases such as stroke, cerebral palsy, and Parkinson’s disease encounter several difficulties with their activities of daily life. Those severely affected are unable to perform even basic body movements without the help of caregivers or assistive devices. The motor impairments consistently compromise the quality of their life [1].
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
The most common neurorehabilitation strategy for the recovery of impaired motor function is the repeated movement of the body parts associated with the damaged brain areas. The positive effect of this classical rehabilitation approach on motor re-learning has been demonstrated by a large number of previous studies. For example, some animal studies have shown that the continuous repetition of body movements can lead to both structural and functional enhancements of the motor cortex [2–5]. Human studies have also
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