Publications by authors named "Furui Wang"

Chronic hand impairment is common following stroke. This paper presents an actuated thumb exoskeleton (ATX) to facilitate research in examining motor control and hand rehabilitation. The ATX presented in this work aims to provide independent bi-directional actuation in each of the 5 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) of the thumb using a novel flexible shaft based mechanism that has 5 active DOF and 3 passive DOF. A prototype has been built and experiments have been conducted to measure the allowable workspace at the thumb and evaluate the kinematic and kinetic performance of the ATX. The experimental results show that the ATX is able to provide individual actuation at all 5 thumb joints with high joint velocity and torque capacities. Further improvement and future work are discussed.

Objective: To study the status of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Ningxia, and therefore to provide scientific data for tuberculosis control in this area.

Methods: Drug sensitivity tests were carried out by sputum culture and the proportional method in all patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis from April 2014 to April 2013 in Ningxia. Statistical analysis was performed with χ²-test.

Results: This survey included 2 369 cases (1 177 males, 1 192 females), aged 12 to 80 years (mean 51 ± 21). There were 1 176 patients of Han nationality, 844 Hui nationality , and 349 other nationalities. Cases with initial treatment were 2 255, and those with retreatment were 114. A total of 665 isolates were obtained. The total drug resistance rate was 26.6% (177 cases); the initial drug resistant rate was 20.2% (119/590 cases), while the acquired resistant rate was 77.3% (58/75 cases). The rate of single drug resistance was 11.7%(78/665 cases), MDR was 7.8%(52/665 cases), and multiple drug resistance was 7.1%(47/665 cases). In different areas, ethnic minority, drug-resistant bacterial classification, the rate of initial and retreatment resistance were statistically different.

Conclusions: Drug resistant tuberculosis prevention and control in Ningxia should be focused on newly diagnosed single drug-resistant cases, retreatment multiple-drug resistant cases, and drug resistant cases in minority areas.

Finger impairment following stroke results in significant deficits in hand manipulation and the performance of everyday tasks. While recent advances in rehabilitation robotics have shown promise for facilitating functional improvement, it remains unclear how best to employ these devices to maximize benefits. Current devices for the hand, however, lack the capacity to fully explore the space of possible training paradigms. Particularly, they cannot provide the independent joint control and levels of velocity and torque required. To fill this need, we have developed a prototype for one digit, the cable actuated finger exoskeleton (CAFE), a three-degree-of-freedom robotic exoskeleton for the index finger. This paper presents the design and development of the CAFE, with performance testing results.

Synthesis of a simple amidopyridinium-based sensor (F1) and its fluorescence behavior toward H(2)PO(4)(-) (Pi) were investigated. The anthryl group in F1 exhibited a strong excimer emission via Pi-directed assembly of F1; other anions showed a negligible effect. The Pi-induced assembly of F1 was rationalized by photophysical experiments and DFT calculation.

The paper investigates the impact of the integration of the visual error augmentation training method with the assist-as-needed training method in robot-assisted rehabilitation training of the upper extremity. A robot-assisted rehabilitation system is developed that integrates an assistive controller, which can provide robotic assistance to the participant as and when needed, with a visual error augmentation mechanism, which amplifies the tracking error to heighten the participant's motivation to improve tracking accuracy. A crossover study is designed to evaluate the impact of the integration of the visual error augmentation method with the assist-as-needed training method. Experimental results on unimpaired participants demonstrate improved performance has been achieved in the integrated training session.

The goal of this project is to develop a high-level controller to provide reference trajectories automatically to the low-level controller of a rehabilitation robotic device in reach-to-grasp task. The high-level controller, which is the supervisory controller, is an event driven, asynchronous discrete event system (DES), described by a finite automaton. Extensive simulations are performed using the supervisory controller for a reach-to-grasp rehabilitation task. The results demonstrate the feasibility and convenience of the proposed supervisory controller.