Motor Response of Mirror Therapy after Reconstruction of Extensor Mechanism Caused by Glass Cut Injury

Treatment by mirror therapy (MT) restores motion in injured limbs without invasive procedures. This process is widely accepted for rehabilitating patients with phantom limb pain, stroke victims, or patients who need therapy after nerve damage. The procedure is specifically useful in restoring motion to the hand after surgical repairs to the extensor muscle and tendons. Mirror therapy rewires the brain by making the restored limb remember hand motions by observing the motions of a normal hand. The concept of a mirror image is that the movement of the uninjured arm forms the illusion of the same movement in the affected arm. Efforts to repeat hand movements elicit the same reaction in the affected hand in what is referred to as Hebbian learning. This case study evaluated MT’s effectiveness in motion restoration after a glass injury. This case study showed restoration of normal hand motions in a patient following surgery to repair a glass cut to the arm. Surgery repaired the lacerated extensor tendon and radial nerve. The muscle belly was repaired, and a graft fixed the nerve gap. Once the arm healed, the patient underwent rehabilitation in mirror therapy to restore normal function in his hand. After conducting mirror therapy, the pain was eliminated, and the patient restored normal function of moving the hand and finger extension. In addition, the therapy could be conducted at home without needing a professional. The effectiveness of mirror therapy was seen in the functional restoration of hand and finger movement. The process is also less complicated as it can be performed at home.

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials recorded from miniature pigs and rats

Objective:To report vestibular evoked myogenic potentials from different recording sites(neck extensor or masseter muscles) in miniature pigs and rats.Methods:Potentials were recorded using 1000 Hz tone bursts from the neck extensor muscle or masseter muscle in normal adult Bama miniature pigs and rats anesthetized with 3%pentobarbital sodium and Sumianxin Ⅱ.Results:At 80 dB SPL,the first positive wave(P wave) of VEMPs was recognizable in 58%of rats with a latency of 6.45±0.23 ms and an amplitude of 1.45±0.49 μV when recorded from the neck extensor muscle,and in 50%of rats with a latency of 6.38±0.34 ms and an amplitude of 1.57±0.35 μV when recorded from the masseter muscle.In miniature pigs,at the same stimulus intensity,P wave was recognizable in 58%of the animals with a latency of 7.65±0.64 ms and an amplitude of 1.66±0.34 μV when recorded from the neck extensor muscle,and in 50%of the animals with a latency of 7.65±0.64 ms and an amplitude of 0.31±0.28 μV when recorded from the masseter muscle.Conclusion:VEMP can be induced from both neck extensor and masseter muscles in the miniature pig and rat.For a given species,the site of recording affects P wave induction rate and amplitude but not latency.Consistency and repeatability analysis suggests that the masseter muscle is a better recording site in miniature pigs while the cervical extensor is a better recording site in rats.For a given recording site,both latency and amplitude of the P wave are slightly greater in miniature pigs than in rats.

Design and Demonstration of a Locust-Like Jumping Mechanism for Small-Scale Robots

A jumping mechanism can be an efficient mode of motion for small robots to overcome large obstacles on the ground and rough terrain. In this paper, we present a 7 g prototype of locust-inspired jumping mechanism that uses springs, wire, reduction gears, and a motor as the actuation components. The leg structure and muscles of a locust or grasshopper were mimicked using springs and wire, springs for passive extensor muscles, and a wire as a flexor muscle. A small motor was used to slowly charge the spring through a lever and gear system, and a cam with a special profile was used as a clicking mechanism for quick release of elastic energy stored in the springs to create a sudden kick for a quick jump. Performance analysis and experiments were conducted for comparison and performance estimation of the jumping mechanism prototype. Our prototype could produce standing jumps over obstacles that were about 14 times its own size （approximate to 71 cm） and a jumping distance of 20 times its own size （approximate to 100 cm）.