The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of distance measurements from the medial border of the scapula to the spinous process of the thoracic vertebrae when obtained using tape and photography measurements. The study included 20 healthy subjects (10 males, 10 females); for a total of 40 scapula measurements. The distance measurements made using tape or photography methods were conducted with the subject in a standing position. Repeated tape and photography measurements were conducted in two sessions on different days by two examiners to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the two methods. The reliability of scapular distance measured using tape and photography methods was tested using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(3,1)) and the standard error of measurement (SEM). The inter-rater reliability of the tape measurement method was excellent (ICC=.77) and the intra-rater reliability was fair to good (ICC=.74). The inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities of the photography measurement method were excellent (ICC=.76 and .76 respectively). Our results suggest that photography measurement is an objective and qualitative measurement tool for scapular distance measurements.

It is important to find the effective position for cough and sputum clearance in respiratory physical therapy. The purpose of this study was to compare the changes in peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and peak cough flow (PCF) related to functional level and measurement position in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Twenty one subjects were classified into three functional levels, and measurements was undertaken in three different measurement positions (upright sitting, 45˚ reclining and supine). Vitalograph PEF/FEV DIARY was used to measure PEF and FEV1, and Ferraris Pocket Peak was used to measure PCF. Mixed two-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc test were used for statistical analysis. The results of the study were as follows: 1) Significant main effects for measurement position were found. 2) PEF was the highest in upright sitting, followed by 45˚ reclining, and supine in order. 3)FEV1 in upright sitting and 45˚ reclining were significantly greater compared with that in supine. 4) PCF in upright sitting and 45˚ reclining were significantly greater compared with that in supine. 5) No significant main effects for functional level were found in PEF, FEV1, and PCF. 6) No significant functional level by measurement position interactions were found in PEF, FEV1, and PCF. Therefore, it is concluded that upright sitting and 45˚ degree reclining positions are recommended for effective cough and sputum clearance.

In this paper, a foggy-degraded image restoration technique with a physics-based degradation model is proposed for the measurement system. When the degradation model is used for the image restoration, its parameters and a distance from the spreader to the camera have to be previously known. In the proposed image restoration technique, the parameters are estimated from variances and averages of intensities on two foggy-degraded landmark images taken at different distances. Foggy-degraded images can be restored with the estimated parameters and the distance measured by the measurement system. On the basis of the experimental results, the performance of the proposed foggy-degraded image restoration technique was verified.

This paper introduces a novel approach that can provide the three dimensional information about the movement of a spreader by using two CCD cameras and a laser distance measuring unit in order to derive ALS (Automatic Landing System) in the crane used at a harbor. So far a kind of 2D Laser scanner sensor or laser distance measuring units are used as comer detectors for the geometrical matching between the spreader and a container. Such systems provide only two dimensional information which is not enough for an accurate and fast ALS. In addition to this deficiency in performance, the price of the system is too high to adapt to the ALS. Therefore, to overcome these defects, we proposed a novel method to acquire the three dimensional spreader information using two CCD cameras and a laser distance measuring unit. To show the efficiency of proposed method, real experiments are performed to show the improvement of accuracy in distance measurement by fusing the sensory information of the CCD cameras and a laser distance measuring unit.