Papers by Velio Macellari
Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 1970
Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 1987
Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 1998
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) has been widely studied and a lot of information is available in t... more Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) has been widely studied and a lot of information is available in the literature regarding the immunological, virological, neuroendocrinal and psychiatric aspects of the disease, but its aetiology is still poorly understood. Great attention has also been paid to the alteration of the muscular function caused by CFS. The aim of the present work was to study CFS patients' gait in order to find out objective measures which can better characterize the pathology. Spatial and temporal parameters of gait were collected from a group of 12 CFS informed volunteers by using the typical instrumentation of movement analysis, and raw data were statistically elaborated. Comparisons with reference data from a population of healthy subjects revealed significant abnormalities in the symmetry indices of the bilateral parameters and in the linear relationships among parameters, and between these parameters and the physical characteristics of the patients. Interestingly, the abnormalities were present as from the beginning of the gait, which indicates that they are unlikely to be caused by the rapid increasing fatigue. This strengthens the hypothesis of a direct involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in the onset of the disease.
Annali dellIstituto Superiore di Sanità, 2009
research from animal testing to clinical experience ann ist super sanità 2009 | Vol. 45, no. 4: 3... more research from animal testing to clinical experience ann ist super sanità 2009 | Vol. 45, no. 4: 392-397 Summary. Due to major advances in the information technology, telemedicine applications are ready for a widespread use. Nonetheless, to allow their diffusion in National Health care Systems (NHcSs) specific methodologies of health technology assessment (Hta) should be used to assess the standardization, the overall quality, the interoperability, the addressing to legal, economic and cost benefit aspects. One of the limits to the diffusion of the digital tele-echocardiography (t-e) applications in the NHcS lacking of a specific methodology for the Hta. In the present study, a solution offering a structured Hta of t-e products was designed. the methodology assured also the definition of standardized quality levels for the application. the first level represents the minimum level of acceptance; the other levels are accessory levels useful for a more accurate assessment of the product. the methodology showed to be useful to rationalize the process of standardization and has received a high degree of acceptance by the subjects involved in the study.
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2009
A total of 50 patients (affected by traumatic brain injury, stroke or multiple sclerosis) were tr... more A total of 50 patients (affected by traumatic brain injury, stroke or multiple sclerosis) were treated for one month using a rehabilitation protocol. Rehabilitation could be monitored using a Portable Unit (PU) which could be installed in a patient's home allowing the measurement of kinetic and kinematic variables during exercise. In a preliminary analysis, the variables related to four rehabilitation exercises were examined for two patients at baseline and at the end of the one-month treatment. The exercises involved movement of checkers, a pencil, a jar and a key. The results suggest that, even if the overall duration of exercise execution is an important aspect of the rehabilitation process, other variables acquired by the PU might deliver useful information for assessing the patient's status. In order to integrate such variables into the assessment process, further studies are needed to investigate their eventual correlation with traditional rehabilitation scales and variables.
2007 Virtual Rehabilitation, 2007
... The patients using the HCAD system show during the month of treatment significant improvement... more ... The patients using the HCAD system show during the month of treatment significant improvements on the individual tasks measured by the execution time. ... F. 1, Spitali C. 1, Todeschini E. 1, Bernabeu M.2, Tormos JM.2, Opisso E. 2, Magni R. 3, Magnino F. 3, Huijgen BCH 4 ...
IFMBE Proceedings, 2009
... with the aim of implementing and validating an upper limb tele-rehabilitation service at a Eu... more ... with the aim of implementing and validating an upper limb tele-rehabilitation service at a European level with the involvement of Italy, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands [3]. Core of the service was a home apparatus (patient unit, PU) consisting of a sensorized desk for the ...
Gerontechnology, 2008
... Webcam (kinematics) sensorized lightbulb module (trigger, on-off switch position) Sensorized ... more ... Webcam (kinematics) sensorized lightbulb module (trigger, on-off switch position) Sensorized key module (trigger, angular position) Page 3. ... III. RESULTS A. Clinical trials The most important activity within the HELLODOC Project dealt with the clinical validation of the service. ...
Patient identification is one of the scopes where bar codes technologies and radiofrequency ident... more Patient identification is one of the scopes where bar codes technologies and radiofrequency identification systems are mainly applied. In Italy, there is strong debate about which tools should be used for correct patient identification. In the last few years several feasibility and technologic experimental studies were carried out demonstrating how the use of bar codes and RFId systems in clinical facilities can reduce the hospital risk and improve processes. In order to verify and quantify the advantages deriving from the use of RFid technology in the clinical environment, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS - the leading technical and scientific public body of the Italian National Health Service) started an experimentation, in cooperation with ISMETT, that allowed evaluating the impact of a progressive patient traceability electronical system based on the integrated use of RFId technology and CCOW standard.
Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 2008
Step counting is an important index of motion in telemonitoring. We have developed a wearable sys... more Step counting is an important index of motion in telemonitoring. We have developed a wearable system based on a device with a force-sensing resistor. This is affixed at the calf gastrocnemius level to monitor the muscular expansion related to the gait. The gastrocnemius expansion measurement unit (GEMU) was tested on three subjects at Level 2 of the Tinetti test of unbalance, who performed five repetitions of 100 steps at two different speeds (normal and slow). The mean error was less than 0.5%. The GEMU also performed better than an accelerometer unit, which is normally considered to be the best solution for this disability. The system can be integrated into a routine home-care application based on a GSM home-care unit.
Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 2008
A technical assessment activity has been conducted by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) in the E... more A technical assessment activity has been conducted by Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) in the European project HELLODOC (Healthcare service linking tele-rehabilitation to disabled people and clinicians) for evaluating the tele-rehabilitation service. The activity was mainly focussed on architectural aspects and a step by step monitoring of the service. It was mainly related to the following aspects: service implementation, service performances, service integration and fault management. The technical assessment analysis demonstrated that the service worked in a quite satisfactory way, also considering the pioneering aspect of the project; the set of malfunctioning occurred, which had a low impact on the service continuity, are typical of a post-debug phase.
Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanità, 2008
Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference, 2007
For applying a quality control of the telemedicine (TM) applications, in order to prevent device ... more For applying a quality control of the telemedicine (TM) applications, in order to prevent device and/or service failure and to standardize some features of TM applications, a telemedicine quality control (TM-QC) process was proposed by authors. This TM-QC process was submitted to some TM manufacturers in order to assess their products/services and applied in two following phases, during which a set of procedures and tools were delivered to the TM suppliers. In the 1 degrees phase an Informative Questionnaire (InQu) and the Classification Form (ClFo) were delivered: the InQu gathered all the relevant information about the TM application in exam, the ClFo classified the TM product as belonging to one category (or application area) of TM. In the 2nd phase a Technical File (TF) and a Quality Assessment CheckList (QACL) were delivered: the TF was intended as a technical dossier of product; the QACL was a checklist of requirements that TM products must be agreed. The number of met require...
2006 International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2006
In this paper we introduce a new method to evaluate the ability to rise from a chair by means of ... more In this paper we introduce a new method to evaluate the ability to rise from a chair by means of the sit-to-stand locomotion task. It is based on the analysis of the vertical acceleration peaks and the timing as assessed by an our designed device. Preliminary results indicate the feasibility of discriminating the rising from a chair fixed to different heights and the discrimination by pathological and non pathological Parkinsonian subjects.
The European Physical Journal Plus, 2011
The TOP-IMPLART project, developed by ENEA, the
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2008
We have designed and constructed force measurement equipment to assess hand-finger function in pr... more We have designed and constructed force measurement equipment to assess hand-finger function in pressing tasks. The equipment was used for monitoring the follow-up of five hand-transplanted subjects. Interactive software was integrated into the instrument to monitor the functionality of the hand and fingers during exercises in realtime. The interactive software included biofeedback to provide realtime quantitative responses for the patient and the therapist. Acceptance of the system was investigated with patients and therapists: the system was found to be user-friendly and effective; it was practical both for patients and therapists. The system could be used in a telerehabilitation centre or in a patient's home.
Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2006
IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, 2000
The paper presents Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device (WARD), a system for walking reha... more The paper presents Walking Assistance and Rehabilitation Device (WARD), a system for walking rehabilitation devised to relieve the patient of his/her body weight of a constant and prescribed amount by externally supporting the subject at the upper trunk and pelvis level by means of a harness. The system is based on a pneumatic actuator that has proved to be effective at maintaining a constant relief force. The constancy of this force that should be maintained even under high body weight support (BWS) conditions (70-80% of body weight) seems to be important for a correct motor pattern. A law has been identified that may be useful to adjust walking speed as a function of the prescribed BWS. WARD is simple to construct, practical to use, and has been characterized on healthy subjects.
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Papers by Velio Macellari