BACKGROUND: Mental practice (MP) is a cognitive strategy which may improve the acquisition of motor skills and functional performance of athletes and individuals with neurological injuries. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an individualized, specific functional task-oriented MP, when added to conventional physical therapy (PT), promoted better learning of motor skills in daily functions in individuals with chronic stroke (13±6.5 months post-stroke). METHOD: Nine individuals with stable mild and moderate upper limb impairments participated, by employing an A1-B-A2 single-case design. Phases A1 and A2 included one month of conventional PT, and phase B the addition of MP training to PT. The motor activity log (MAL-Brazil) was used to assess the amount of use (AOU) and quality of movement (QOM) of the paretic upper limb; the revised motor imagery questionnaire (MIQ-RS) to assess the abilities in kinesthetic and visual motor imagery; the Minnesota manual dexterity test to assess manual dexterity; and gait speed to assess mobility. RESULTS: After phase A1, no significant changes were observed for any of the outcome measures. However, after phase B, significant improvements were observed for the MAL, AOU and QOM scores (p<0.0001), and MIQ-RS kinesthetic and visual scores (p=0.003; p=0.007, respectively). The significant gains in manual dexterity (p=0.002) and gait speed (p=0.019) were maintained after phase A2. CONCLUSIONS: Specific functional task-oriented MP, when added to conventional PT, led to improvements in motor imagery abilities combined with increases in the AOU and QOM in daily functions, manual dexterity, and gait speed.

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma metodologia para avaliação da incerteza em um conjunto de medições obtidas durante a calibração do protótipo de um manovacuômetro digital (DM) que utiliza um sensor piezorresistivo. Foram levantadas curvas de calibração para ambos os sensores do DM, utilizando-se o método dos mínimos quadrados ponderado (WLS). Dois modelos foram propostos para cálculo da incerteza. Um baseado nas informações encontradas no datasheet do sensor de pressão, resultando no erro máximo permitido de medição do manovacuômetro, e outra com base no WLS implementado durante a calibração. Considerando-se uma faixa de dez pontos de calibração, verificou-se que, pelo procedimento que utiliza o modelo WLS, a incerteza é estimada entre 0,2 e 0,5 kPa. Esses valores estão dentro da faixa estimada pelo modelo construído com base nas informações do datasheet do sensor, que varia entre 1,5 e 3,5 kPa, evidenciando que o protótipo está adequado para uso

The objective of this paper is to present a methodology for the evaluation of uncertainties in the measurements results obtained during the calibration of a digital manovacuometer prototype (DM) with a load cell sensor pressure device incorporated. Calibration curves were obtained for both pressure sensors of the DM using linear regression by weighted least squares method (WLS). Two models were built to evaluate uncertainty. One takes into account the information listed in the sensor datasheet, resulting in the maximum permissible measurement error of the manovacuometer, and the other on the WLS implemented during calibration. Considering a range of ten calibration points, it was found that calibration procedure designed using WLS modeling indicates that the range of measurement uncertainty extends from 0.2 up to 0.5 kPa. This is inside the manufacter range that extends from 1.5 up 3.5 kPa, showing adequacy for use

Este trabalho determina as relações entre os ângulos das articulações interfalangeanas e metacarpo-falangeanas para os dedos indicador, médio, anular e mínimo da mão humana durante alguns movimentos de pinça com o objetivo de desenvolver uma prótese multifuncional de mão com movimentos antropomórficos. Uma das grandes dificuldades encontradas para o desenvolvimento destas relações é o fato da mão apresentar um elevado número de graus de liberdade, dificultando a análise dos dados. Utiliza-se um sistema de captura de imagem em apenas um plano para analisar o movimento. Determinam-se as relações para os movimentos de flexão e extensão dos dedos, desprezando adução e abdução durante a realização destas pinças.

This works presents the relation for the angles of interphalanges and metacharpo-phalange joints for the index, middle, ring and little finger of human hand. These angles are determinated during a grasp movement. These relations will be used to develop a hand prosthesis with anthropomorphic movements. The main difficult found in this work was the highest numbers of degrees of freedom from the human hand. A methodology was developed to find these angles. This methodology analyzed the movement in 2-D space, and use only one digital camera and a computer. This methodology could be used for determinate these relations for prosthesis because the abduction/adduction movements was almost never applied in this kind of mechanism.