Ing. Jan Havlík, Ph.D.

Introduction: While the role of physiotherapy as part of a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation is indisputable, clear evidence concerning the effectiveness of different rehabilitation managements [interdisciplinary implementing the International Classification of Functioning, disability and health (ICF) vs. multidisciplinary model] and physiotherapy categories (neuroproprioceptive "facilitation, inhibition" vs. motor/skill acquisitions using technologies) are still lacking. In this study, four kinds of comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation with different management and content of physical therapy will be compared. Moreover, focus will be placed on the identification of novel biological molecules reflective of effective rehabilitation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts (>200 bps) of limited coding potential, which have recently been recognized as key factors in neuronal signaling pathways in ischemic stroke and as such, may provide a valuable readout of patient recovery and neuroprotection during therapeutic progression. Methods and analysis: Adults after the first ischemic stroke in an early sub-acute phase with motor disability will be randomly assigned to one of four groups and undergo a 3 weeks comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation of different types: interdisciplinary team work using ICF model as a guide; multidisciplinary teamwork implementing neuroproprioceptive "facilitation and inhibition" physiotherapy; multidisciplinary teamwork implementing technology-based physiotherapy; and standard multidisciplinary teamwork. Primary (the Goal Attainment Scale, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule) and secondary (motor, cognitive, psychological, speech and swallowing functions, functional independence) outcomes will be measured. A blood sample will be obtained upon consent (20 mls; representing pre-rehabilitation molecular) before and after the inpatient program. Primary outcomes will be followed up again 3 and 12 months after the end of the program. The overarching aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of various rehabilitation managements and physiotherapeutic categories implemented by patients post ischemic stroke via analysis of primary, secondary and long non-coding RNA readouts. This clinical trial will offer an innovative approach not previously tested and will provide new complex analysis along with public assessable molecular biological evidence of various rehabilitation methodology for the alleviation of the effects of ischemic stroke.

Wearable devices are commonly used to monitor human movement since motor activity is a fundamental element in all phases of a person's life. Patients with motor disorders need to be monitored for a prolonged period and the battery life can be a limit for such a goal. Here the technique of harvesting energy from body heat to supply energy to wearable devices is investigated. A commercial flexible thermoelectric generator, equipped with an accelerometer, is placed on the lower leg above the ankle. The accelerometer serves to detect diverse motor activities carried out by ten students of VSB-Technical University of Ostrava involved in the execution of two tasks. To summarize, the motor activities analyzed in the proposed work are: ``Sit'', ``Walk'', ``Rest'', ``Go biking'', ``Rest after biking'', and ``Go down and up the stairs''. The maximum measured value of power density was 20.3 uW cm-2 for the ``Walk'' activity, corresponding to a gradient of temperature between the hot and cold side of the thermocouples onstituting the flexible thermoelectric generator of 1.5 °C, while the minimum measured value of power density was 8.3 uW cm-2 for the ``Sit'' activity, corresponding to a gradient of temperature of 1.1 °C. Moreover, a mathematical model was developed for the recognition of motor activities carried out during the execution of the experiments. As a preliminary result, it is possible to state that semi-stationary parts of the signal generated by the thermoelectric generator can be traced back to the performance of an activity.

The motivation of incoming students, their identification with the field of study and their involvement in the events at the faculty is an important factor that determines the future success of their studies. The aim of the paper is to present a motivational workshop, which is held annually for incoming students of the master's program Medical Electronics and Bioinformatics at FEE CTU in Prague in the last week before the beginning of the first semester. This workshop is organized as a four-day field meeting of students and teachers and thus enables the creation of social-work ties between teachers and students, which cannot be created on the faculty premises. The content of the workshop is lectures of teachers of selected subjects, in which students are acquainted with current topics of the field and with the initial knowledge expected, with the organization of master's studies, with the possibility of trips abroad and double-degree study. During the workshop, students also present their bachelor's theses, which allows them to get acquainted with each other's current projects and participate in the work of research groups at the faculty. An integral part of the workshop is a creative workshop, in which students in small groups design and implement various small biomedical devices, and whose goal is to motivate students to creative teamwork both in the short term and especially in the course of their studies.

Tremor, an involuntary and rhythmic oscillatory movement of a part of the human body, is a part of complex movement disorder in multiple sclerosis (MS). This paper aims to investigate possible parametrizations of the signal from accelerometers and find the parameters that are significantly different in the group of healthy persons and MS patients. A postural tremor was measured for each patient during the experiment using our device equipped with a 3-axis accelerometer. The group of MS patients consists of 24 probands (7 males and 17 females); the average age was 49.6 ± 12.5 years (mean ± standard deviation). The group of healthy control subjects consists of 28 probands (16 males and 12 females, the averaged age is 41.8 ± 18.5 years). Several parameters were specified and evaluated in the study: the maximum value of power spectral density (PSD) of the signal, the frequency of maximum value in PSD, the total power spectral density in a specific frequency band (fixed or variable). The differences in MS patients' parameters and healthy controls were evaluated using box-plots and statistical evaluations such as a two-sample t-test, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the Lilliefors of normality and the Mann-Whitney (Wilcoxon) test. The maximum value of PSD and the cumulative value of PSD in the fixed frequency range have been recognized as parameters with a significant difference between the MS patients and the healthy population (p < 0.01).

Aims/Hypothesis: Beta-cell failure plays a fundamental role in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) development. It has been shown that the beta-cells are among the most sensitive to hypoxia. We aimed to analyze whether decrease in pancreatic perfusion relates to 1/decline in beta-cell function and 2/visceral fat accumulation in patients with T2DM. Methods: Fifteen women with T2DM on metformin therapy alone and fifteen women of comparable age and BMI without prediabetes/diabetes were cross-sectionally examined: clinical and anthropometric examination, fast sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIVGTT), dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to assess pancreatic perfusion (area under the curve of postcontrast saturation, AUCTSIC), and visceral adiposity (VAT, calculated from transverse sections at the level L2–L5 vertebrae). Results: Pancreatic blood perfusion (AUCTSIC) did not differ between groups (p = 0.273), but it negatively correlated with BMI (r = −0.434, p = 0.017), WHR (r = −0.411, p = 0.024), and VAT (r = −0.436, p = 0.016) in both groups. Moreover, AUCTSIC in the head of the pancreas negatively correlated with the level of fasting glycemia (r = −0.401, p = 0.028) and HOMA-IR (r = −0.376, p = 0.041). Discussion/Conclusion: We showed that decreased pancreatic perfusion did not relate to beta-cell dysfunction in early stages of T2DM development, but it was related to VAT, insulin resistance, and higher fasting glycemia. Furthermore, lower pancreatic perfusion was related to VAT, insulin resistance, and higher fasting glycemia.

The paper describes the design and realization of a~device for non-invasive sensing of hemodynamic parameters in veterinary medicine of small animals (dogs and cats). Two main hemodynamic parameters were selected for the measurement – blood pressure and heart rate. An oscillometric method was chosen to measure blood pressure. The heart rate is determined from the electrocardiography (ECG) signal, i.e., by sensing the electrical activity of the heart from the body surface. The realized device saves the measured data on the SD card after measuring the signals. To evaluate them, a~MATLAB script, which determines the values was implemented. The control of the measuring device and communication with the user is provided by the ESP32 microcontroller. The advantage of the realized device is the possibility of displaying oscillometric pulsations, which is not usually available in commercial devices. Thanks to the simultaneous measurement of the mentioned biological signals, the possibilities of the signal evaluation can be further extended, e.g., by measuring the pulse wave velocity measurement.

This work aims to study of possibilities of a realization a device, which will be able to harvest electric energy from human body heat. The concept was proved in different conditions – without physical activity, during walking and running. Based on statistical analysis, the possibility of energy harvesting using a thermoelectric generator is discussed. The amount of harvested energy is evaluated based on experiments.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in developed countries. Blood measurement is an integral part of the diagnosis of these diseases. With the development of oscillometric blood pressure monitors, the question of regular monitoring of their clinical accuracy (overall error) has arisen. This paper deals with the overall accuracy of two commercial tonometers (Hartmann Digital HG 160 comfort and HuBDIC HBP–1520), using two calibrated blood pressure simulators (Fluke BP Pump 2 and Fluke ProSim). Using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, significant differences between the simulators have been proved for all measurements – both for SBP and DBP measurements and both for Hartmann Digital HG 160 and HuBDIC HBP–1520 tonometers (p < 0.001). Therefore, without the precise knowledge of the relationship between the blood pressure monitor and the simulator used, it is not appropriate to use simulators to determine the overall error. On the other hand, the tested devices had a very good repeatability of the measurements at all presets, with both simulators. From this point of view, it is suitable to use simulators to determine the stability of measurement by a given tonometer rather than its clinical accuracy.

Cardiovascular diseases are well known as one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. The hypertension is a significant danger and should be monitor carefully. In recent decades, auscultatory and oscillometric methods become as widely used for blood pressure measurement. In clinical practice, blood pressure measuring devices are evaluated according to validating protocols. Despite these protocols, a market with the automatic devices for home self-measurement of the blood pressure is flooded by a lot of cheap devices with doubtful accuracy. The aim of this study is to compare selected devices for the self-measurement in the home conditions. The devices were evaluated using the blood pressure simulators. For each device and each type of blood pressure signal, the absolute and the relative errors of the diastolic and the systolic pressures were evaluated. The obtained results show that the measurement error of these devices could be frequently higher than 5 mmHg and it is necessary to concern with the accuracy of the devices.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. There is an emerging need for integrated, non-invasive, and easy-to-use clinical tools to assess accurately cardiovascular system primarily in the preventative medicine. We present a novel design for a non-invasive pulse wave velocity (PWV) assessment method integrated in a single brachial blood pressure monitor allowing for up to 100 times more sensitive recording of the pressure pulsations based on a brachial occlusion-cuff (suprasystolic) principle. The monitor prototype with built-in proprietary method was validated with a gold standard reference technique SphygmoCor VX device. The blood pressure and PWV were assessed on twenty-five healthy individuals (9 women, age (37 ± 13) years) in a supine position at rest by a brachial cuff blood pressure monitor prototype, and immediately re-tested using a gold standard method. PWV using our BP monitor was (6.67 ± 0.96) m/s compared to PWV determined by SphygmoCor VX (6.15 ± 1.01) m/s. The correlation between methods using a Pearson’s correlation coefficient was r = 0.88 (p < 0.001). The study demonstrates the feasibility of using a single brachial cuff build-in technique for the assessment of the arterial stiffness from a single ambulatory blood pressure assessment.

The first issue of this year's Emergency Medicine journal opened a discussion on the overuse of emergency services. The specific data shows how the number of medical emergency interventions in individual age groups of patients changes, both in total numbers and in mean interannual increases. The presented text shows what inaccuracies were caused by incorrect data processing and ignoring demographic trends and what effect these inaccuracies have on the interpretation of the data. In the 65+ age group, the number of interventions adapted to demographic trends and in comparison to the overall values is actually half the overall rate instead of originally reported double overall rate.

A tremor an involuntary rhythmic oscillatory movement of a part of the body—belongs to one of the most disabling features of multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical practice, the tremor is currently classified according to clinical scales. Unfortunately, this approach is fully subjective in principle, and the objective classification is still missing. As is shown in the literature, the tremor can be investigated by accelerometers and gyroscopes based on the frequency analysis and other advanced methods of signal processing. A condition of the successful development of these methods is an existence of a signal database of healthy subjects. This paper concerns with the collecting of the signal database of healthy control subjects. The signals were acquired on the group of healthy subjects aged from 18 to 50 years (20 subjects). For each patient, one-minute records of postural tremor (for both right and left hand, with and without closed eyes; 4 records together) have been acquired, and also several clinical tests have been passed (a measurement of a strength by a handgrip, a pinch key, and a trippod test, a nine-hole peg test, a coin rotation task test, and a tip pinch test). All records have been supplemented by anamnestic data.

Cardiovascular diseases are well known as one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. The hypertension is a significant danger and should be monitored carefully. In recent decades, auscultatory and oscillometric methods become as widely used for blood pressure measurement. In clinical practice, blood pressure measuring devices are evaluated according to validating protocols. Despite these protocols, a market with the automatic devices for home self-measurement of the blood pressure is flooded by a lot of cheap devices with doubtful accuracy. The goal of the study is to compare home blood pressure measurement devices in the real conditions and using the real signals and to show the difference between the values obtained by these devices and by the clinically validated reference device. For each device, the absolute errors of the systolic and the diastolic pressures were evaluated. The obtained results show that the measurement error of these devices could be frequently higher than 5 mmHg and it is necessary to concern with the accuracy of the devices.

A home blood pressure measurement device typically indicates heart rate besides the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. While the accuracy of blood pressure measurement is evaluated using the international protocols (AAMI or BHS protocol), the accuracy of heart rate measurement is not systematically evaluated. The goal of the study is to compare selected home blood pressure measurement devices when measuring HR. The devices available in the global market with the different methods of the measurement have been selected for the comparison – electronic tonometers Hartmann Digital HG160) and HuBDIC HBP-1520 and wrist cuff device Omron R7. As a reference device, the NONIN Onyx II 9550 has been used. The study shows that the blood pressure measurement devices for self-measurement in home conditions provide the values with the absolute error lower than 5 bpm in most cases. The averaged values of the absolute error for all devices are even less than 1 bpm.

The authors present a possibilities of using Arduino platform as an instrument of project based education.

We present Breathing Friend – a portable and tangible device that uses haptic interaction to unobtrusively stimulate mindful breathing as efficient stress coping method. Its design is optimized for holding in user’s hands. By changing its shape, it sends haptic signals to the user. Several studies were conducted where we explored and verified the form factors of the artifact, interaction methods, therapeutic effect, fitting to everyday life, and influence on the breathing pattern.

Systemic arterial blood pressure (BP) is one of the most important parameters of the cardiovascular system. An oscillometric NIBP monitor was specifically designed to measure oscillometric pulsations and mean arterial pressure (MAP) during inflation and deflation of the cuff. Nineteen healthy young (age 23.1±1.7 years; mean±SD) and 35 elderly (83.9±7.9 years; mean±SD) subjects were studied. Differential analysis of MAP during inflation and deflation show mean |ΔMAP|=2.9±2.6 mm Hg in the young group (mean±SD) and |ΔMAP|=6.3±5.2 mm Hg for seniors (mean±SD). There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in means of |ΔMAP| measured during cuff inflation and cuff deflation between both groups. In about 50% of elderly subjects |ΔMAP| was higher than 5 mm Hg. Potential clinical relevance of the method needs to be further evaluated.

The paper deals with an initial study of monitoring and classification of a tremor. The different types of tremor are currently classified according to clinical scales, unfortunately, the objective approach is still missing. The principle design of a measuring device is presented in the paper together with the first examples of obtained and processed signals. The device is based on the 3-axis accellerometer and 3-axis gyroscope chip (MotionTracking sensor MPU-6050).

This contribution deals with the pressure-volume characteristics of the cuffs used for blood pressure measurement. The linearity of characteristics is a very important factor for the accurate conversion from volume change to pressure change. Several cuffs were tested during the study, including new cuffs, old cuffs, cuffs with different sizes, volumes and clamping systems. Results of the measurement in the range between minimal diastolic to maximal systolic pressure have been statistically evaluated.

The study deals with an evaluation of correlation between an Arterial Stiffness Index and a state of the cardiovascular system. The main goal of the research is to show whether the ASI is an appropriate parameter for CVS state classification. The statistical evaluation of the dependency of the ASI on the CVS state and other parameters has been done using the linear regression analysis and the t-test of mean values. The ASI has been correlated with the age of the patient, the blood pressure (low/normal/high), the mean arterial pressure and the presence both of the cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. For the evaluation the signal database which consists of signals from more than 90 persons in wide age range (from 20 to 94 years) has been used. It has been proved that the ASI depends on the age of the patient, on the MAP and on the presence both of the cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus in the study. Only the correlation between the ASI and blood pressure (low/normal/high) has not been directly proved. Although the results are statistically significant, the study shows the limitations of ASI as a CVS status marker. The ASI is a suitable parameter for primary screening, but it should be complemented by additional parameters for increased reliability.

The paper deals with the measurement and processing of hemodynamic parameters for the purpose of primary screening of therosclerosis in patients across the age spectrum. Parameters of cardiovascular system are measured using non-invasive methods widely applicable in clinical, ambulatory and home care. Processed results are based on a database of more than 200 signals collected during the last 3 years. The contribution includes a description of the principles of evaluation using several methods, and additionally mentions the risk of mistakes we commit when measuring oscillometric method used due to imperfections cuffs.

This paper focuses on the modelling of the cardiovascular system, concretely on the controlling and monitoring of haemodynamic parameters of models of the cardiovascular system. The article describes the developed system for controlling, monitoring and analysis of the haemodynamic parameters of the mechanical prototype of the model of the cardiovascular system. The system also enables the transmission of vital parameters of real cardiovascular system to the mechanical model to adaptively change its behavior based on the analysis of vital signs of the monitored person. The development of the system enhanced usability of the mechanical model developed for scientific and educational purposes mainly. The article describes also the developed mathematical model of the cardiovascular system. The mathematical model is utilized to compare different modeling methods and to compare the way of their controlling and monitoring.

Tremor as an involuntary rhythmic oscillatory movement of a body part belongs to one of the most disabling features of multiple sclerosis. Our research presented in this paper deals with the developing of an evaluation system of tremor. The system which was designed and ealized consists of the portable telemetry units with accelerometers and the base station. The system is able to store 3 axes accelerometry data in the dynamic range of ± 8 g and the sample frequency of 50 Hz. The system allows storing raw data for further processing in PC. The device was verified in the experiment with the gravitational acceleration. The illustration of results from pilot study are presented in the result section. These results show the system ability to trace various types of tremors and distinguish between them.

Because of both limited memory size and low computational power, file systems in embedded systems are usually designed to have low memory requirements. For these reasons, one of FAT (File Allocation Table) file systems FAT16 or FAT32 is often chosen due to its good performance on small volumes and low overhead. When there is a need to perform data logging (perform write operations in high frequency, while storing each time the same amount of data), it is necessary to minimize amount of read and write accesses to the drive in order to reach desired frequency of writes. Due to limited memory on embedded system, it is also necessary to keep buffer sizes as low as possible, which severally limits possibilities of caching. Therefore, there is presented FAT-compatible file system library, allowing data logging in high frequency, and it is compared to other FAT file system libraries for embedded systems.

The cardiovascular system is a vitally important system of organs providing tissue and organ perfusion. The system delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs, and drains metabolic waste products from them. Cardiovascular diseases rank among the most common causes of death and they are also one of the most commonly occurring health issues of the population in general. A better understanding of the cardiovascular system behaviour principles (in particular an understanding of the relationship between haemodynamic parameters) can contribute to an improvement in the efficient diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. A modelling of the cardiovascular system is one of the means of achieving this aim. Using models of the cardiovascular system, measurements that would otherwise be invasive or even destructive in clinical practices can be performed, various pathological conditions of the system can be introduced, and so on. And all this without having to overload a patient with stress. An adequate ability to control, monitor and analyse a model is one of the conditions of the usefulness of models. This article deals with the modelling of the cardiovascular system, especially with controlling and monitoring the haemodynamic parameters of cardiovascular system models. The article describes a system designed for monitoring and analysing the haemodynamic parameters of a mechanical model of the cardiovascular system and for complex control of the model. In addition to that, the system enables the telemetry transmission of vital parameters of a real cardiovascular system to the mechanical model that adaptively changes its behaviour based on an analysis of the monitored individual’s vital signs. The article also describes a simultaneously developed mathematical model of the cardiovascular system (incl. a description of its controlling and monitoring).

Animal models represent a key tool for Huntington´s disease (HD) research. During the last decade large animal models of Huntington´s disease have been established to improve knowledge of HD under large brain conditions. Transgenic minipig expressing N-terminal part of human huntingtin with 124CAG/CAA repeats seems to be very promising HD model. Its previous characterization has shown various phenotypes affecting subcellular, cellular as well as organ systems level. The goal of this study was to detect and analyze a pathological pattern in physical activity of transgenic (TgHD) boars at the age of three years using telemetry approach. Into the study we have included five TgHD and five wild type (WT) animals for comparison. The physical activity was measured by the telemetric system rodentPACK2 whereas transmitter was placed into the collar. The analysis have shown significant decrease of total acceleration representing physical activity in TgHD boars between 4:40 and 5:30 a.m. (after night sleep - before morning feeding) in comparison with WT ones which could be explained with disturbed energy metabolism. Telemetry approach will play an important role in the study of physical activity and biopotentials essential for deeper characterization of large animal HD models in their preclinical and clinical phase.

This paper describes regulatory processes of the adaptive mechanical model of the cardiovascular system (CVS). The CVS model simulates the physiological circulatory system of blood in the mechanical way. This device allos demonstration and measurement of realistic haemodynamic parameters such as blood pressure, cardiac output, vascular resistance etc. The mechanical CVS model is designed for scientific and educational purposes mainly.

A measurement of blood pressure is a basic diagnostic technique for examining of the cardiovascular system. There are a lot of methods for determination of the blood pressure, but an oscillometric measurement (investigation of oscillometric pulsations) is one of the most frequent methods used in modern electronic tonometers. The results given by oscillometric measurements are very dependent on the cleanness of the signal. The method is very sensitive for example for motion artifacts, which produce significant damage of the signal. For the proper processing of the signal it is very important to detect all artifacts precisely before signal processing. The paper deals with the methods for artifacts detection in oscillometric pulsations signals. The methods based on predicted heart rate detection, heart rate variability (standard deviation method) and comparison of oscillometric pulsations with ECG signal are described in the paper. The section Results includes a comparison of the methods and a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. The authors conclude that the algorithm based on detection of heart rate variability (standard deviation method) seems as the most suitable algorithm for automated detection of artifacts in the signal of oscillometric pulsations.

The paper deals with measuring and processing of hemodynamic parameters for primary screening of atherosclerosis in patients across the age spectrum. The parameters of the cardiovascular system are measured using non-invasive methods widely applicable in clinical and home care. The presented results are based on a database of more than 200 signals collected during the last 3 years. The paper includes a description of the principles of evaluation using several methods, and also mentions the risk of error, which is nowadays at the oscillometric measurement due to imperfection of cuffs.

Background: There are a lot of possibilities how to monitor the patient using wireless technologies and how to initiate the appropriate action in life-threatening situations. The paper focuses on those issues. The overview of basic principles and outline of significant advantages and disadvantages of the methods are presented. Objectives: The main aim of these solutions is to ensure safety of the elderly and impaired people in their everyday life, and especially, to enable the possibility to stay in their natural environment (home, family, etc.) instead of institutionalizing them. Methods: Two solutions for monitoring and providing better life quality conditions are presented in more detail. The specific solution for monitoring vital signs and classifying urgent states using telemedical system - the Intelligent Primer Nurse application - is presented in detail. The smart system combining the telemedical approach and home TV computer - Home Brain system - is described. Results: Both solutions have been tested in real use and under different conditions. The Intelligent Primer Nurse system has been tested during long term vital signs monitoring including several activities - walking, running and idle standing. The Home Brain system has been evaluated during a pilot study with a group of elderly in their real life. The user experiences have been investigated by a moderated discussion. Conclusions: Finally, we discuss the future development in this domain.

The paper presents briefly our educational activities in the area of assistive Technologies.

Based on our experience from previous projects and development of applications for elderly and disabled people we found out that the most important issue in AT and ALL is active involvement of potential users. At present the users do not have many problems with accepting the technology but many questions arise concerning collected data, data privacy and security, data accessibility by other people. Although there exist legal regulations concerning medical data, it is not yet fully solved how the data should be handled in home care and how long and where the data should be stored, etc.

Remote patient monitoring is gradually attracting more attention as the population in developed countries ages, and as chronic diseases appear more frequently in the population. Miniaturization in electronics and mobile technologies has led to rapid development of various wearable systems for remote monitoring of vital signs, supervision systems in home care, assistive technologies and similar systems. There is a significant demand for developing the necessary devices very rapidly, especially for shortening the way from an idea to a first function sample. This paper presents a solution for rapidly developing devices for telemedical applications, remote monitoring and assistive technologies. The approach used here is to design and realize a modular system consisting of input modules for signal acquisition, a control unit for signal pre-processing, handshaking of data communication, controlling the system and providing the user interface and communication modules for data transmission to a superordinate system. A description of specific applications developed on the basis of the system is also presented in the paper.

The paper deals with a study of relationship between hemodynamic parameters and other various vital signs based on the modelling of hemodynamic parameters. The design of an adaptive mechanical model of cardiovascular system is presented in the paper. The connection between the modelling of cardiovascular system and smart homes and ambient assisted living applications is also discussed.

This paper introduces a challenging field in research and emerging field in education, namely assistive technologies. This field is strongly interdisciplinary. It encompasses very broad range of disciplines, including information and communication technologies. We can also identify purely software areas such as eInclusion or eAccessibility, as well as mixed ones, as for example e-healthcare. Assistive technology exists in research however it is not yet covered in education in its complexity.

Research and development have been speeding up in recent decades, especially in interdisciplinary and newly emerging areas. Since the students will be exposed to this situation immediately after graduation when they start their jobs it is desirable to involve them in research projects. Through this work they acquire new knowledge and skills they will need in the future jobs. Moreover, they are frequently participating in strongly interdisciplinary research that requires orientation not only in engineering disciplines, but also in the other concerned areas. One of the typical examples is the area of Biomedical Engineering. In this paper we will discuss several case studies of students´ involvement in research and present their research results.

This paper presents the design and realization of the hardware for measurement of hemodynamic parameters. The aim of the work has been to develop the hardware for sensing of biological signals such as the oscillometric pulsations in arm cuff and in wrist cuff, the photoplethysmography (PPG) signal and the electrocardiography (ECG) signal. The selection of signals allows a determination of selected hemodynamic parameters, which are important for primary screening of atherosclerosis, for example the pulse wave velocity (PWV) or the arterial stiffness index (ASI). The hardware is designed for measuring biological signals both during the increasing of pressure in the arm cuff and during the decreasing of the pressure. The measuring of oscillometric pulsations in the cuffs during the increasing of the pressure eliminates the artefacts caused by deformation of the arm tissues. The design and realization of the hardware is described in this paper. The paper includes the example of the measured signals and the short description of the initial signal database which has been created during verification of hardware. The paper presents the basic idea of primary screening of atherosclerosis using the selection of hemodynamic parameters in advance.

This contribution deals with the methods of non-invasive measurement of hemodynamic parameters. The first part is dedicated to theoretical analysis of the problem, the methodology of measurement and signal processing. It concisely describes several parameters that are important for determination of the extent to which the veins were affeced by atherosclerosis. After that, the reader is briefly introduced to the project of the device itself and to its working model made at FEE CTU in Prague. This device enables synchronous measurement of all of the necessary biological signals required for the evaluation of the cardiovascular system condition and for the research of other significant parameters.

Information and communication technologies have already become an inseparable part of healthcare sector activities. In the chapter, the authors discuss the issues of standardization and interoperability that are crucial for correct interconnection of medical and other devices and information systems. Their previous work in the area has led to the conclusion that successful integration of partial solutions is strongly dependent on the issue of interoperability of medical devices and information systems. It comprises problems of standardization of data acquisition, communication, processing, and storage, and the connected problem: correct data mapping between different ICT applications. They present several examples of partial solutions of communication and data format definition in dedicated areas.

One of the most common causes of death are currently cardiovascular disease . In particular, atherosclerosis is one of the most serious problems, since it is difficult to diagnose in early stages, and causes irreversible changes in the cardiovascular system. Currently there are several methods for clinical detection of patients with atherosclerosis, and to assess the level of damage arteries that process. None of the previously used method is not widely applicable. It is intended the method to be non-invasive and minimally burdensome for the patient, reliable for a wide range of patients and affordable for massive deployment in the healthcare system.

The mechanical model of CVS was developed for educational purposes. It consists of tubes, valves, mechanical pump and other hydraulic elements. This model simulates the physiological blood circulation. The aims of this project are to demonstrate the basic haemodynamic parameters (pulsatile fluid flow, pressures and vascular resistance) and to use common clinical measuring devices for the measurement. The mechanical model allows the measurement of pressures in different place of the vascular system and the determination of the cardiac output by common methods (Doppler sonography and dilution methods). This paper describes the construction of the model, control unit of the model, measurement method and developing of this system.

This paper describes experimental implementation of the cardiac output determination. The measurement is realized on the mechanical model of the cardiovascular system (CVS), which was developed for educational purposes. The CVS model is the system of tubes, the mechanical pump and many of hydraulic components. Inherently, it allows measuring the fluid-flow by several methods. This project is focused on determination of the cardiac output by the thermodilution. Correctness of the measured data is verified by using the accurate flowmeter which is implemented in the model. The aim of this project is to demonstrate means of the thermodilution cardiac output (CO) determination in the conventional way. This paper explains construction and function of the mechanical model of the CVS, structure of the measuring apparatus, data-processing and discussion about results.

Diseases of the cardiovascular system are one of the biggest problems in health care in developed countries. Large percentage of deaths is caused by these diseases. Health care for patients with cardiovascular problems is expensive and the costs are growing, especially due to population ageing. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the function of the cardiovascular system, it´s haemodynamics (dynamics of blood flow), the relationships between the various parameters and variables of the system and to allow better and cheaper healthcare. It is necessary to strike to prevent circulatory system diseases and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic methods and devices. Cardiovascular system modeling is the tool to achieve these goals. Constructed simple mechanical model of the cardiovascular system allows to study the blood flow in the system, therefore it´s hemodynamics.

The cardiovascular system is system of a lot of sophisticated organs, which provide transporting of the oxygen and another substances within human body. The mechanical model was developed for simulation of the physiological circulation system. The main element of the model is mechanical pump, which is controlled by the microprocessor unit. There is a electromagnetic valve for simulation of the pulsatile fluid flow. The model allows to measure of the haemodynamic parameters (cardiac output, pressure, vascular resistance) by different methods (Doppler, dilution method). This system was developed for education purposes mainly.

This contribution deals with the Pulse Transition Time (PTT) as a marker that can predict some cardiovascular problems. The PTT is calculated from the ECG and PPG signals measured on a finger. The PTT is a parameter that is dependent mainly on aortic length (alternatively patient's height) and blood pressure. It means that there is no general criteria how to assess the PTT value without the knowledge of additional information about the patient. This contribution is focused on the hardware design and realization, the methodology of measurement and shows the first results of the PTT measurement. Data processing and their evaluation is described as well. It could be stated that the PTT is a valuable parameter for the cardiovascular system monitoring.

The contribution discuss behavior analysis of the biomedical model of the Huntington's disease (HD). A basic indication and progress of HD and a method for analysis of the physical activity of the biomedical model (a pig in a pen) are described. The method is based on a motion tracking of a object in a scene. The used algorithms are the Gaussian Mixture Model for the foreground classification and the Kalman Filter for the trajectory recording.

The objective of AAL and home care is a better care for frail individuals (elderly chronic and disabled patients) in a home care setting. In principle it means to allow the citizens to stay at home as long as possible, delaying the institutionalization of people, possibly avoiding it for a high percentage of them. Recent development in ICT shows that it is almost impossible to design and implement an AAL system as fixed to certain hardware, operating system, and infrastructure. Thus it is necessary to develop such architectures that will be easily extensible and modifiable. We will discuss such approaches in the chapter. We will also analyze the social, legal and ethical issues connected with the technology issues.

In this paper is described the design and implementation of simple methods and algorithms for classifying life threatening situations. These methods are primarily focused on monitoring and classification of underlying cardiac arrhythmias and physical activity of the monitored person. The proposed algorithms are adapted mainly to low demands on system resources and computing power that can be used in the Real-Time embbeded applications. The methods were implemented and tested on a simple evolutionary modular telemonitoring system, whose basis is a development kit with EvoPrimer STM ARM Cortex microprocessor board. The classification of life threatening situations telemonitoring system includes modules for capturing biological signals and accelerometer to sense the physical activity of the monitored person. Paper also describes the design of other classification methods using complex statistical pattern recognition algorithms that are preparing for implementation.

Compact sensor system for biosignals acquisition is described in this paper. It is focused on the assistive technology and telemedical applications. Sensor system is determined for everyday monitoring of patients, handicapped and elderly people. Basic requirement is credibility of the measured data and user comfort. Measured data can be input of the algorithm, that can indicate and predicate state of emergency, for example cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory arrest, fall to the ground, etc. Design of this sensor system and discussion about realization and application are described in this paper.

Model of the cardiovascular system is a mechanical simulator of a hemodynamic parameters of the human bloodstream. It is a system of tubes, valves, pumps and other elements, which are arranged to simulate a circulation of blood of a healthy human body. It is a possible to monitor a hemodynamic parameters on the model. Basic parameters included the blood pressure, cardiac output, pulse wave velocity and more. An essential part of the this system is a mechanical pump that simulate pulsatile blood flow emitted by healthy human heart. This paper describes the design and construction of the model, the control method of the mechanical pump and methods of the measurement of a hemodynamic parameters. The aim of the project is to create a faithful model of the cardiovascular system with the possibility of measuring hemodynamic parameters using a conventional monitoring devices.

In this paper is described software implementation of the Bluetooth wireless communication using finite state machine. This implementation is a part of project which is focused on long term vital sign monitoring. Bluetooth technology is highly usable in assistive technology and Ambient and assisted living. Bluetooth is used for wireless transfer of measured signals and preprocessed data from sensors to control PC and other devices. The state machine which is used for controlling Bluetooth wireless module provides very robust software implementation for real-time applications in embedded devices with microprocessors.

This paper deals with the experimental implementation of one of the methods for the determination of cardiac output - the dye dilution. Measurement is performed on a mechanical model of the cardiovascular system. It is a specific and experimental measurement intended mainly for educational purposes. It was created a real model of bloodstream at author's workplace. The model enables to set a pulsatile flow of the fluid with defined pressure and flow rate. This experiment is to demonstrate the principle of determination of cardiac output using the dilution methods. This paper is focused only on measuring by dye dilution method. The measurement results are verified by using a Doppler sonography and volumetric containers.

This paper presents a design of a miniature wireless device equipped with 3D accelerometer and gyroscope with possible application in a broad range of applications especially in fields of assistive technology and health care. The first version of the device fits onto a printed circuit board with size of 40 × 25 mm, offers single-module 12-bit 3D accelerometer and gyroscope, Bluetooth 2.1 class 2 module and 32-bit Cortex M3 MCU.

This paper presents a modular development telemonitoring system. The system consists of wireless communication and biosignal acquisition modules. These modules are connected to a control unit via an extension board. The control unit is based on STM32 EVO Primer development kit. An integrated accelerometer is used for monitoring of subject's activity. The system features a signal processing and heart rate frequency computing algorithm. A memory card is used for saving the heart rate frequency. A heart arrhythmia alarm and an activity monitor are implemented in the system as well. The system has a simple alarm and a signal visualization program for PC. The modular solution is suitable for other biosignals acquisition and for miscellaneous means of wireless data transfer. The system provides raw signal data for further signal processing. This system was designed mainly for development, research and educational purposes in telemonitoring systems.

Remote vital signs monitoring is attracting more and more attention as the population in developed countries is aging, and as the chronic diseases appear more frequently in the population. Smart mobile technologies and miniaturization in electronics have enabled fast development of systems for remote monitoring of vital signs. This paper presents a hardware solution of a mobile device for remote monitoring and shows that the mentioned issues can be addressed and efficiently solved. The project focused on long term measurement of heart rate and the Intelligent Primer Nurse project are introduced in the paper.

In this article, the algorithms for movement detection in the accelerometer data are described. Two algorithms for movement detection in signal were designed. The purpose of these algorithms is to detect the start and end of the changes which represent movements sections in data. The ways of approaching this issue include second differentiation, points of the inflection, CUSUM algorithm and peak detection. The algorithms were tested on the accelerometer data which were acquired during human body movements. The body movements were based on exercises from Tinneti's balance assessment tool. Moreover the next test data were acquired during rehabilitation exercises after hip joint replacement. The automatic method for angle range computation were designed and tested on this data as well.

The paper presents the development of prototype system for measurement of vital functions using the transthoracic bioimpedance. The measurement of the bioimpedance is a non-invasive method providing the information about the body composition, hearth rate, blood flow, breathing etc. The design and realization of a simple four electrode system have been done. The device is designed as a combination of a signal generator with stabilized current output and a measuring amplifier based on the AD620 amplifier. The output signal includes information about the basic vital signs and could be used as a part of telemonitoring system for the elderly and persons after the organs failure. The device will be used for research and educational purposes in the Smart Home facility at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

In this article, the use of accelerometers for rehabilitation of patients is described. The appropriate rehabilitation process is a key approach to treat a broad range of different diagnoses. The main problem of rehabilitation processes is a subsequent evaluation of their quality to achieve best results. This initial study describes a possibility of using accelerometers for objective evaluation of quality and monitoring the results. The first measurements with accelerometers were conducted on several exercises which are part of the Tinetti balance assessment tool. For these measurements, the 3D MEMS accelerometer implemented in the STM32-Primer2 development kit was used. After the assessment of results obtained on healthy persons, the clinical tests on senior patients will follow.

In this article, the use of accelerometers for Tinneti balance assessment tool and rehabilitation of patient after hip replacement is described. The appropriate rehabilitation process is a key approach to monitoring different rehabilitations. The main problem of rehabilitation processes is a subsequent evaluation of their quality and observing improvements of patients. This study describes using accelerometers for objective evaluation of quality and monitoring the results. Measurements with accelerometers were used for measurements progress of patient rehabilitation after trauma or for example hip replacement. For these measurements, the 3D MEMS accelerometer implemented in the STM32-Primer2 development kit was used. This study is preparation for development of feedback software for home rehabilitation of patients using accelerometers.

Non-verbal vocal interaction (NVVI) is an interaction method in which sounds other than speech produced by a human are used, such as humming. NVVI complements traditional speech recognition systems with continuous control. In order to combine the two approaches (e.g. "volume up, mmm") it is necessary to perform a speech/NVVI segmentation of the input sound signal. This paper presents two novel methods of speech and humming segmentation. The first method is based on classification of MFCC and RMS parameters using a neural network (MFCC method), while the other method computes volume changes in the signal (IAC method). The two methods are compared using a corpus collected from 13 speakers. The results indicate that the MFCC method outperforms IAC in terms of accuracy, precision, and recall.

This paper describes system analyze of the Windkessel models. The equations, space state and transfer functions of 2, 3 and 4 elements Windkessel models are described. The Simulink environment model schemas are presented as well. The Bode frequency and step response analyses are presented for all three models as well. Moreover the simulation of the special input signal which represents blood flow is described. The output signals are compared between each other and with existing published Winkessel models simulation. The results of comparison are discussed.

The development of education of the biomedical engineering and assistive technologies at the Czech technical university in Prague is in close conjunction with the development of the medical electronics and biomedical engineering in general. The result of this rapid development is the establishment of new research group - Biomedical electronics group.

The paper presents the design and development of a signal database used for the determination of hemodynamic parameters. The signals from the database are used for the evaluation of new algorithms determining hemodynamic parameters. The signal database consists of synchronously obtained independent signals -- the records of oscillometric pulsations, the records of electrocardiograms (ECG) and the records of photoplethysmogram (PPG). Currently the signal database consists of signals from about 65 persons. The signals were recorded from persons in wide age range from 19 to 94 years. The signals were stored anonymously, but each set of signals was labeled by the ID number and the anamnestic data.

Based on our experience from previous projects and development of applications for elderly and disabled people we found out that the most important issue in AT and AAL is active involvement of potential users. At present the users do not have many problems with accepting the technology but many questions arise concerning collected data, data privacy and security, data accessibility by other people. Although there exist legal regulations concerning medical data, it is not yet fully solved how the data should be handled in home care and how long and where the data should be stored, etc. In case of long-term monitoring the possibility of application of adaptive systems should be considered. The systems can be personalized because they learn from the data of a particular person. The idea is to recognize changes of health state and cognitive abilities of the potential users. Let us mention few illustrative examples. Degradation of motoric abilities that is not observable at first glance but can be detectable from measured data should initiate actions such as proposal of corresponding rehabilitation and/or medical examination leading to cause identification. Similarly detection of cognitive problems, e.g. memory degradation should invoke proposal of mental training, activate reminder, inform family members, etc. To summarize the ´gaps´ from our point of view: higher involvement of potential users in the development process; education of the users - showing them that technology can help them and they need not fear of technology. Harmonizing technological solutions with legal and ethical regulations.

The BLDC Technology is a technology for controlling of electric drives. The drive is characterized by absense of mechanic junction between stator and rotor. It guarantees the high efficiency and infallibility. The control is provided by electrical pulses generated by microprocessor unit. Due to the feedback from drive to control unit the high efficiency is provided. These features allows the wide possibilitie of application in the field of assistive technologies.

This paper deals with solving of the data synchronization problem during the data retrieval from independent devices. The data - oscillometry and photoplethysmography signals - are acquired using three independent measuring devices connected to PC via USB ports. The task is to obtain synchronized data. It means the problem is to sample signals in each device at the same time. The sampling of signals is triggered by internal counters independently in each device, the counters are commonly synchronized by general synchronization packets. The presented sampling method is robust and independent of the state of operating system on superordinate PC.

In this contribution, a device for long term measurement of heart rate is described. The device is created based on development kit STM32-Primer2. Heart rate frequency is calculated from selected electrocardiograph lead from the external module. The device allows simultaneous recoding of acceleration which makes is appropriate for physical activity detection of the test subject. The recorded data is saved on a memory card as signals in raw form, which can be used for subsequent processing in various research areas. Modular solution is suitable for connection of other modules. This device is designed for research and educational purposes in the field of medical devices and signal processing.

The paper presents the design of the device for long time measurement of heart rate. The device is based on development kit STM32 Primer2. The heart rate is determined from ECG. The device allows the measurement of accelleration as an information about the movement of sensed person also. The sensed RAW signals are stored on SD card.

Digital signal processing and data analysis are very often used methods in a biomedical engineering research. This paper describes utilization of digital signal filtering on electrocardiogram (ECG). Designed filters are focused on removing supply network 50 Hz frequency and breathing muscle artefacts. Moreover, this paper contains description of three heart rate frequency detection algorithms from ECG. Algorithms are based on statistical and differential mathematical methods. All of the methods are compared on stress test measurements. All described methods are suitable for next simple implementation to a microprocessor for real-time signal processing and analysing.

The paper deals with the education of Medical Equipment at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Czech Technical University in Prague.

In the paper we discuss our recent experience and lessons learned from education in interdisciplinary areas, such as biomedical engineering, cybernetics and robotics, and multimedia. We explain briefly the differences among these areas concerning the individual disciplines and their mutual relations. Then we discuss the requirements resulting from new application areas of engineering and technology. Finally we describe our current effort in establishing integrated laboratory facility for interdisciplinary hands-on laboratory practice.

The paper deals with the design of method for primary screening of atherosclerosis based on hemodynamic parameters. The method combines sensing of blood pressure using two-cuffs system with sensing of plethysmography and electro-cardiography signals. The designed method provides not only the measurement of blood pressure as a standard parameter of cardiovascular system, but also the measurement of several hemodynamic parameters such as pulse wave velocity (PWV) or arterial stiffness index (ASI). The design and realization of the device for measuring parameters given above are also described in the paper.

The paper presents telemonitoring system for distant monitoring of physiological signs. The system is designed as modular system content input modules for monitoring various vital signs like ECG, NIBP and oxygen saturation, control module and telecommunication modules for streaming data using various wireless technologies like Bluetooth, GSM and WiFi. The input and telecommunication modules are interchangeable. The system is able to preprocess acquired signals using filtration, parameterization etc. It allows stream both raw data and only aggregated data. The monitoring part is supplemented by PC based part for storing data in database, prospective processing of data and sharing data with other systems.

Information and communication technologies have already become inseparable part of healthcare sector activities. In the paper we discuss the issues of standardization and interoperability that are crucial for correct interconnection of medical and other devices and information systems. Our previous work in the area has led us to the conclusion that successful integration of partial solutions will be strongly dependent on the issue of interoperability of medical devices and information systems. It comprises problems of standardization of data acquisition, communication, processing, and storage; and connected problem: correct data mapping between different ICT applications. We present several examples of partial solutions of communication and data format definition in dedicated areas.

The objective of AAL and home care is a better care for frail individuals (elderly chronic and disabled patients) in a home care setting. To improve this kind of care means to allow the citizens to stay at home as long as possible, delaying the institutionalization of people, possibly avoiding it for a high percentage of them. Recent development in ICT shows that it is almost impossible to design and implement an AAL system as fixed to certain hardware, operating system, and infrastructure. Thus it is necessary to develop such architectures that will be easily extensible and modifiable. We will discuss such approaches in the paper.

The paper presents the set of telemedical modules which has been developed as a laboratory kit for educational use in electrical engineering oriented study programs. The main goal of described system is to demonstrate modern possibilities in wireless medical applications for student and to improve their experiences with this type of systems. The system is modular and consists of input modules, control unit and telecommunication modules. The input modules provide the conversion of measured vital sign like electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation or blood pressure to analog voltage, the communication modules provide data connection between portable part of system and any PC based system and the control unit serves as controller core of whole system. The input and communication modules are reciprocally interchangeable. The hardware realization is supplemented by prepared software libraries for control unit, communication modules and PC based side.

The paper presents new telemedical system which has been developed as a laboratory kit for educational use in electrical engineering oriented study programs. The main goal of described system is to demonstrate modern possibilities in wireless medical applications for student and to improve their experiences with this type of systems. The system is modular and consists of input modules, control unit and telecommunication modules. The input modules provide the conversion of measured vital sign like electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation or blood pressure to analog voltage, the communication modules provide data connection between portable part of system and any PC based system and the control unit serves as controller core of whole system. The input and communication modules are reciprocally interchangeable. It allows easy and quickly changes of system design.

The paper presents an analysis of EEG signal processing methods for studying correlations between human muscle and brain activity. The main task of this work is to design the methods of EEG signal processing and to verify them on artificial and real signals. The paper introduces methods of EEG processing in time and frequency domain.

This paper presents a laboratory kit for oscillometry blood pressure measurement. The laboratory kit was designed for research purposes in the field of medical technology. The presented device allows to show not only the calculated results (such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the heart rate) as standard devices, but also the raw signals. It means there is a possibility to study the impact of set-up parameters and other factors on the measured values.

The paper deals with design and realization of a laboratory kit for pulse oximetry. The designed laboratory kit is a unique device that allows showing inner oximetry raw signals. It enables to study principles of pulse oximetry and methods for processing of oximetry signals. The device is usable both for research and educational purposes.

This paper presents a simple signal processing method used in the pulse oximetry laboratory kit. The laboratory kit was designed for research and educational purposes in the medical equipment oriented areas. The presented device allows to show not only the oxygen saturation and the heart rate as a standard oximeter, but also the whole oximetry signals. It means there is a possibility to study the impact of set-up parameters and ambient surroundings on the measured values. This paper also includes the principal description of the laboratory kit.

This paper deals with a comparison of k-Means and Bayes classifiers designed for classification of the human body motions classification. The main task of this paper is to compare the performance and the reliability of classifiers. The presented work is a part of research of relations between brain and muscle activity. The sensing of body motions is based on standard DV camcorders system. The procedures have no negative impact to brain activity (the tracking does not affect the measured EEG signals). Presented paper includes the description of observing, discerning and parameterization procedures and the discussion of motion classification. The results of classification accuracy are the part of this paper.

Presented contribution informs about the new subject X31ZLE Basics of medical electronics taught in Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Czech Technical University in Prague from winter semester of academic year 2008/2009. The main task of this subject is to show the fundamental principles applied within the modern medical devices and systems, esp. from the point of view of functional blocks and electronic circuits.

This paper deals with video based parameterization and classification of human body motions. The main task of this work is to develop and verify the procedures for observing of muscle and brain activity. The developed procedures have no negative impact to brain activity (the tracking does not affect the measured EEG signals). The procedures required only standard hardware equipment accessible on neurological laboratories. The body motions are non-contact sensed using a pair of standard DV camcorders. This work includes the description of observing, discerning and parameterization procedures and the discussion of motion classification. The set of classifiers - hierarchical clustering algorithm, recursive clustering algorithm, k-means classifier, Bayes classifier and classifier based on discrimination functions - was developed and implemented. The analysis of the classifiers properties was accomplished in this work. The accuracy of classification was tested for selected

Presented contribution concerns in software didactic tool for teaching in the field of medical equipment. Described application allows to demonstrate the principle of oscillometric data processing. This application is intended for students on universities and for students in lifelong education couses.

This paper deals with a comparison of statistical and non-statistical classifiers for thumb motion classification. Presented work is a part of research of relation between brain and muscle activity. The thumb motion is represented by trajectory coordinates of special mark placed on the thumb. Motions are classified using k-Means classifier (non-statistical classification, no prior information is needed) and Bayes classifier (statistical models of classes are needed, classifier training is necessary). The efficiency of classifiers is evaluated using the standard HTK parameters. Real testing data includes more than 900 stationary states which are used for classifier testing. The classification results are compared for both methods.

The contribution deals with the study of cerrespondence between the muscle and the human brain activity. The description of the experiment is included. The main part describes the classification algorithms used for the thumb motion classification - hierarchical clustering, recursive clustering algorithm, k-Means clustering, Bayes classifier and discrimination functions. The statistic of classification results is included.

This paper refers to the classificators which were created to serve the purpose of the classification of a motion in space, a motion of one part of the human body (a thumb in this case). Furthermore, the way of filming of the video recordings, which follow the motion of the thumb, the pre-processing of these recordings and the subsequent parametrization have been briefly mentioned. Two groups of classificators have been created, unsupervised and supervised. The unsupervised classificators use the K-Means algorithm and were used only for labeling training data, therefore they will not be discussed in this paper. The supervised classificators are based on the use of Hidden Markov Models. Several classificators of diverse complexity have been created for the purpose of verification of their functionality and quality.

The contribution deals with the teaching of Medical equipment on FEE CTU in Prague. The contents of this course is included, especially the contents of lectures, seminars and laboratories.

This paper deals with the classification of three dimensional thumb motions. The thumb motion is parameterized tracing a special mark on the thumb, the coordinates of thumb trajectory are computed during the parameterization. The classification is based on the Bayes theorem. The normal distribution ofmotion parameters is assumed. The parameters of likelihood functions are estimated using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation. The presented classification is used in biomedical engineering for research on correlations between a human brain function and a muscle activity.

Presented paper deals with implementation of Bayes classifier and classifier based on discrimination functions in computing system Matlab. The classifiers are used for solving of thumb motion classification problem.

This paper deals with the classification of three dimensional thumb motions. The thumb motion is parameterized tracing a special mark on the thumb, the coordinates of thumb rajectory are computed during the parameterization. The discrimination functions used for the classification of thumb motion are derived in this paper. The discrimination functions are based on statistical data analysis. The functions are derived from the Bayes theorem. The normal distribution of motion parameters is assumed. The parameters of discrimination functions are estimated using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation. The presented lassification is used in biomedical engineering for research on correlations between a human brain function and a muscle activity.

This article relates to the classification of three dimensional thumb motions. The presented classification is based on k-Means clustering algorithm. The thumb motion is represented by trajectory coordinates vectors. The presented classification is used for research on correlation between a human brain finction and a muscle activity.

This paper describes Hidden Markov Models designed for human movement classification. The classified data will be used for exploring correlation between muscle and brain activity (electro-encephalograph signals).

Presented work deals with a three-dimensional thumb motion parameterization and classification. The principles of motion parameterization and classification from a pair of video sequences are described there.

This paper deals with recursive algorithm used for the clustering of the stationary states in threedimensional thumb motion signal. The thumb motion is parameterized tracing a special mark on the thumb. This algorithm is based on computing of distances between each subsequent positions of themark. The pair of positions with the smallest distance are merged into one centre in each iteration. Thus the length of the thumb motion signal is reduced by one term. The recursion is stopped if the number of clusters is appropriate. The algorithm is used in biomedical engineering for research on correlations between a finger motions and a human brain function.

This paper deals with three-dimensional thumb motion parameterization based on image processing. The finger motion is recorded using two camcorders shooting from two linear independent directions. This contribution describes the video records processing used for obtaining of thumb motion trajectory projection to the scan planes of camcorders. Subsequently there is explained the three-dimensional parameterization of thumb motion from the scan plane projections in this paper. The parameterized motions are used in biomedical engineering for research on correlations between a finger motions and a human brain activity.

Presented paper deals with thumb motion classification using hierarchical clustering algorithm. Described classifier is based on recursive hierarchical clustering, which is merged the most simillar clusters into one cluster in each step.