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Biomedical subjects

Linda Fetters

Publications and source records attributed to Linda Fetters.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A perception-action framework for physical therapy for persons with neurologic dysfunction: use of therapeutic affordance and unitless ratio.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our goal through this case study is to introduce the reader to the perception-action framework (PAF) for human action and the application of this framework to examination and treatment in physical therapy. We define the concepts of affordance, constraints, and emergent action as example concepts in the PAF and then apply these concepts to examination and treatment in physical therapy through the use of unitless ratios. At critical values of these ratios, the coordination pattern used or the action taken undergoes a shift. We offer examples that contrast some of the unique aspects of the PAF to approaches such as the hierarchical or motor program approaches that primarily focus on the nervous system influence on the motor aspects of human action. CASE DESCRIPTION: This principled approach to examination and treatment can be used with patients of all ages. Here, we provide the case of a 59-year-old, right handed male status post acute, embolic stroke with right posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and right middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarcts. The PAF and the specific use of unitless ratios for examination and treatment of reaching and grasping are detailed. OUTCOMES: Research supports that the unitless ratio created from the size of a cube to the range of motion of the index finger-thumb aperture defines the boundaries for the shift between a 1 handed and a 2 handed reach regardless of age. These boundary conditions are used to examine the subjects grasping abilities and the emergent reaching coordination pattern that occurs as cube size is varied. SUMMARY: Therapeutic use of the PAF requires new examination and intervention strategies predicated on the development of unitless ratios for functional human actions. Key Words: perception-action; stroke, motor control, unitless ratio.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Similar and functionally typical kinematic reaching parameters in 7- and 15-month-old in utero cocaine-exposed and unexposed infants.

This study examined the effects of intrauterine cocaine exposure on the reaches of 19 exposed and 15 unexposed infants at 7 and 15 months using kinematic measures. Infants sat at a table and reached for a rattle, a toy doll, and a chair. Videotaped reaches were digitized using the Peak Performance system. Kinematic movement variables were extracted (e.g., reach duration, peak velocity, movement units, path length) and ratios computed (e.g., path length divided by number of movement units). Regardless of exposure status, reaches of older infants were faster, more direct, had fewer movement units, and covered more distance with the first movement unit. Exposed infants covered more distance per movement unit than unexposed infants, but there were no other significant differences. Reaches of exposed and unexposed infants were essentially similar. Importantly, reach parameters for these high-risk infants were similar to reach parameters for infants at lower social and biological risk.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Kicking coordination captures differences between full-term and premature infants with white matter disorder.

This study explores the relation of white matter disorder (WMD) to intralimb coordination patterns in premature infants with very low birth weight (VLBW). We specifically measured the temporal-spatial characteristics of intralimb coordination patterns of the legs. Three groups of infants were compared at one month corrected age (CA): 10 premature infants born VLBW and WMD (PTWMD), 10 premature infants born VLBW without WMD (PT) and 10 full term infants (FT). Using kinematic variables, we discriminate among VLBW infants with WMD from the two comparison groups. Infants born with WMD maintain patterns of tight coupling among leg joints (all flexion or all extension) while PT and FT term infants have begun to decouple leg joints by this age (combinations of flexion with extension). The coupling pattern is captured through joint correlations, discrete relative phase, and phase plane portraits. The PTWMD infants also demonstrate aberrant patterns of coordination evident through both temporal and spatial characteristics of the kicks. This is the first evidence that movement disorder associated with brain lesions can be identified and quantified with kinematic variables as early as one month of age.

Brain↗
PubMed2004

Critically appraised topics.

This article describes the critically appraised topic (CAT) as a means to disseminate evidence from research literature to rehabilitation professionals. A CAT is a standardized, one-page summary of research evidence organized around a clinical question. A CAT includes a clinical bottom line that reflects synthesis of a research article and clinical application of the results. The synthesis includes a critique of the internal, external, and statistical validity of the research. The process of writing CATs has been used in the preparation of evidence-based practitioners. Commonly used websites for preparation and posting of CATs are included as well as an example of a CAT on the topic of cerebral palsy.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Dynamic resources used in ambulation by children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy: relationship to kinematics, energetics, and asymmetries.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The atypical walking pattern in children with spastic cerebral palsy is assumed to involve kinematic and morphological adaptations that allow them to move. The purpose of this study was to explore how the requirements of the task and the energy-generating and energy-conserving capabilities of children with cerebral palsy relate to kinematic and mechanical energy patterns of walking. SUBJECTS: Six children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy and a matched group of typically developing children participated in the study. METHODS: Kinematic data were collected at 5 different walking speeds. Vertical stiffness, mechanical energy parameters, and landing angle were measured during the stance phase. RESULTS: The affected side of the children with cerebral palsy showed greater vertical stiffness, a greater ratio of kinetic forward energy to potential energy, and a smaller landing angle when compared with those of the nonaffected lower extremity and with those of typically developing children. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Previous research has shown that children with cerebral palsy assumed a gait similar to an inverted pendulum on the nonaffected limb and a pogo stick on the affected limb. Our results indicate that asymmetries between lower extremities and differences from typically developing children in the landing angle of the lower extremity, vertical lower-extremity stiffness, and kinetic and potential energy profiles support the claim that walking patterns in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy emerge as a function of the resources available to them.

Adolescent↗