TALISMAN+: Intelligent System for Follow-Up and Promotion of Personal Autonomy

The TALISMAN+ project, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, aims to research and demonstrate innovative solutions transferable to society which offer services and products based on information and communication technologies in order to promote personal autonomy in prevention and monitoring scenarios. It will solve critical interoperability problems among systems and emerging technologies in a context where heterogeneity brings about accessibility barriers not yet overcome and demanded by the scientific, technological or social-health settings.

Integration of multisensor hybrid reasoners to support personal autonomy in the smart home.

The deployment of the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm requires designing and integrating user-centered smart environments to assist people in their daily life activities. This research paper details an integration and validation of multiple heterogeneous sensors with hybrid reasoners that support decision making in order to monitor personal and environmental data at a smart home in a private way. The results innovate on knowledge-based platforms, distributed sensors, connected objects, accessibility and authentication methods to promote independent living for elderly people. TALISMAN+, the AmI framework deployed, integrates four subsystems in the smart home: (i) a mobile biomedical telemonitoring platform to provide elderly patients with continuous disease management; (ii) an integration middleware that allows context capture from heterogeneous sensors to program environment¿s reaction; (iii) a vision system for intelligent monitoring of daily activities in the home; and (iv) an ontologies-based integrated reasoning platform to trigger local actions and manage private information in the smart home. The framework was integrated in two real running environments, the UPM Accessible Digital Home and MetalTIC house, and successfully validated by five experts in home care, elderly people and personal autonomy.

Smart Spaces and Smart Objects interoperability Architecture (S3OiA)

The presented work aims to contribute towards the standardization and the interoperability off the Future Internet through an open and scalable architecture design. We present S³OiA as a syntactic/semantic Service-Oriented Architecture that allows the integration of any type of object or device, not mattering their nature, on the Internet of Things. Moreover, the architecture makes possible the use of underlying heterogeneous resources as a substrate for the automatic composition of complex applications through a semantic Triple Space paradigm. Created applications are dynamic and adaptive since they are able to evolve depending on the context where they are executed. The validation scenario of this architecture encompasses areas which are prone to involve human beings in order to promote personal autonomy, such as home-care automation environments and Ambient Assisted Living.

A knowledge based framework to support active aging at home based environments

Information and Communication Technologies can support Active Aging strategies in a scenario like the Smart Home. This paper details a person centered distributed framework, called TALISMAN+, whose aim is to promote personal autonomy by taking advantage of knowledge based technologies, sensors networks, mobile devices and internet. The proposed solution can support an elderly person to keep living alone at his house without being obliged to move to a residential center. The framework is composed by five subsystems: a reasoning module that is able to take local decisions at home in order to support active aging, a biomedical variables telemonitorisation platform running on a mobile device, a hybrid reasoning middleware aimed to assess cardiovascular risk in a remote way, a private vision based sensor subsystem, and a secure telematics solution that guarantees confidentiality for personal information. TALISMAN+ framework deployment is being evaluated at a real environment like the Accessible Digital Home.

A graphical tool for designing interactive video cognitive rehabilitation therapies

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) has become one of the most common causes of neurological disability in developed countries. Cognitive disorders result in a loss of independence and therefore patients? quality of life. Cognitive rehabilitation aims to promote patients? skills to achieve their highest degree of personal autonomy. New technologies such as interactive video, whereby real situations of daily living are reproduced within a controlled virtual environment, enable the design of personalized therapies with a high level of generalization and a great ecological validity. This paper presents a graphical tool that allows neuropsychologists to design, modify, and configure interactive video therapeutic activities, through the combination of graphic and natural language. The tool has been validated creating several Activities of Daily Living and a preliminary usability evaluation has been performed showing a good clinical acceptance in the definition of complex interactive video therapies for cognitive rehabilitation.

Estrategias gráficas arquitectónicas para el desarrollo de la capacidad espacial en población joven con síndrome de Down

La tesis conceptualiza la inteligencia espacial y su relación con las estrategias de dibujo de arquitectura para el desarrollo de las habilidades visoespaciales y orientación espacial de los jóvenes con síndrome de Down, utilizando un marco teórico seleccionado de la arquitectura, la neurociencia y la educación. Estas estrategias son diseñadas y adaptadas para innovar el ejercicio de la funcionalidad espacial en los jóvenes con discapacidad intelectual. Todo ello encaminado a proporcionar una mejor autonomía personal y la inclusión social, vinculada a su funcionalidad y la mejora de la percepción espacial de su entorno inmediato. Una de esas estrategias es el mapa o mapeo. Se selecciona el marco teórico entorno la experiencia de un estudio empírico de dibujo arquitectónico, llamado arquitecta, desarrollado con 25 jóvenes con discapacidad intelectual, y cuyos resultados proporcionan las observaciones finales de dos interesantes discusiones y las conclusiones de la tesis frente a dos hipótesis: Hipótesis 1_ La implementación de estrategias gráficas basadas en el dibujo arquitectónico es posible para la ejercitación de la capacidad de comprensión espacial en jóvenes con síndrome de Down. Hipótesis 2_ La capacidad de orientación espacial puede ser ejercitada mediante el mapeo en jóvenes con síndrome de Down. Ambos escenarios se demuestran con detalles metodológicos y de contenidos gráficos del estudio empírico que se valoran con nuevas pruebas gráficas adaptadas y diseñadas para ello. ABSTRACT The thesis conceptualizes spatial intelligence and its possible link with architectural drawing strategies for the development of visuospatial and spatial orientation abilities of young people with Down syndrome, using a selected theoretical frame of architecture, neuroscience and education. These strategies are designed and adapted as possible ways to innovate the exercise of the spatial functionality in youth with intellectual disabilities. All aimed to better personal autonomy and social inclusion, linked to their functionality and improved spatial awareness of their immediate environment. One such strategy is to map or mapping. This framework is selected around a practical research with a empirical study of architectural drawing, called ARQUITECTA, developed with 25 young people with intellectual disabilities, and its results provide the concluding remarks of two interesting discussions and the conclusions of the two hypotheses thesis: Hypothesis 1_The implementation of graphic strategies based on the architectural drawing is possible for exercing the capacity of spatial understanding in youth with Down syndrome. Hypothesis 2_The spatial capacity can be exercised by mapping in youth with Down syndrome. Both scenarios are demonstrated with methodological details and graphic contents of the empitical study that are valued with new adapted graphic tests.

Modelado de un servicio de M-Salud basado en dinámica de sistemas

En términos generales, m-salud puede definirse como el conjunto de sistemas de información, sensores médicos y tecnologías de comunicaciones móviles para el cuidado de la salud. La creciente disponibilidad, miniaturización, comportamiento, velocidades de transmisión de datos cada vez mayores y la esperada convergencia de tecnologías de red y comunicaciones inalámbricas en torno a los sistemas de salud móviles están acelerando el despliegue de estos sistemas y la provisión de servicios de m-salud, como por ejemplo, la teleasistencia móvil. El concepto emergente de m-salud conlleva retos importantes (estudios técnicos, análisis, modelado de la provisión de servicios, etc.) que hay que afrontar para impulsar la evolución de los sistemas y servicios de e-salud ofrecidos desde tecnologías de telecomunicación que utilizan acceso por cable y redes fijas, hacia configuraciones móviles e inalámbricas de última generación. En este trabajo se analizará primeramente el significado e implicaciones de m-salud y la situación en la que se encuentra; los retos a los que hay que enfrentarse para su implantación y provisión así como su tendencia. De los múltiples y diferentes servicios que se pueden proveer se ha identificado el servicio de Localización de Personas LoPe, lanzado por Cruz Roja en febrero de 2007, para teleasistencia móvil y que permite conocer en todo momento la ubicación de la persona que porta su dispositivo asociado. Orientado a personas con discapacidad, en situación de riesgo o dependencia por deterioro cognitivo, tiene como objetivo ayudarlas a recuperar su autonomía personal. La provisión de este servicio se modelará mediante dinámica de sistemas, ya que esta teoría se considera idónea para modelar sistemas complejos que evolucionan con el tiempo. El resultado final es un modelo que implementado a través de la herramienta Studio 8® de la compañía noruega Powersim Software AS nos ha permitido analizar y evaluar su comportamiento a lo largo del tiempo, además de permitirnos extraer conclusiones sobre el mismo y plantear futuras mejoras sobre el servicio. ABSTRACT. In general terms, m-health can be defined as “mobile computing, medical sensor, and communications technologies for health care.” The increased availability, miniaturization, performance, enhanced data rates, and the expected convergence of future wireless communication and network technologies around mobile health systems are accelerating the deployment of m-health systems and services, for instance, mobile telecare. The emerging concept of m-health involves significant challenges (technical studies, analysis, modeling of service provision, etc.) that must be tackled to drive the development of e-health services and systems offered by telecommunication technologies that use wired and fixed networks towards wireless and mobile new generation networks. Firstly, in this master’s thesis, the meaning and implications of m-health and its current situation are analyzed. This analysis also includes the challenges that must be tackled for the implementation and provision of m-health technologies and services and the m-health trends. Among the many different m-health services already delivered, the Localización de Personas LoPe service has been identified to work with it. This service, launched by Spanish Red Cross in February 2007, enables to locate people who carry the associated device. It’s aimed at people with disabilities, at risk or dependency due to cognitive impairment and helps them to recover their personal autonomy. The provision of this service will be modeled with system dynamics considering that this theory suits very well the modeling of complex systems which evolve over time. The final result is a system dynamics model of the service implemented with Studio 8® tool developed by Powersim Software AS, a Norwegian company. This model has allowed us to analyze and evaluate its behaviour over time, as well as to draw conclusions and to consider some future improvements in the service.

El baloncesto para alumnos con síndrome de Down: propuesta didáctica

Es necesario optimizar aspectos referentes a las capacidades y actitudes de los alumnos con síndrome de Down. Estos aspectos mejorables ayudarán a su desarrollo personal. Pretendemos que los alumnos con esta discapacidad, progresen y mejoren su visión personal, aumenten su autoestima y autonomía y logren desenvolverse adecuadamente en su vida cotidiana. Para ello vamos a crear y poner en práctica una unidad didáctica de Educación Física adaptada, donde el baloncesto será la herramienta fundamental. Dicha unidad didáctica pretende que el alumnado desarrolle su identidad personal al máximo. Para conseguir esto hay que conocer las necesidades individuales de cada uno y darles respuesta a través de una metodología específica y óptima. En nuestra UD, priorizaremos métodos que favorezcan la experiencia directa, la comunicación o la iniciativa; emplearemos estrategias para motivar y desarrollar el interés de los alumnos; diseñaremos diversas actividades para trabajar un mismo contenido; realizaremos ejercicios individuales o grupales y adecuaremos tiempos entre otras adaptaciones. Y todo ello con el apoyo verbal, visual o manual del docente. Con todo lo expuesto esperamos atender y satisfacer las necesidades que cada alumno plantee. ABSTRACT It is important to optimize aspects relating to the skills and attitudes of students with Down Syndrome. The areas for improvement will help with their personal development, self-esteem and increase their personal autonomy to deal with their daily lives. To do this we will create and implement an adapted educational unit using basketball as a fundamental tool. This educational unit is intended for students to develop their personal identity (individuality) to the fullest. To achieve this we must meet the individual needs of each student and apply them through specific and optimal (ideal). In our educational unit, we will prioritize methods that favour the direct experience, communication or initiative. By employing strategies that motivate and develop the student´s interests along with designing various activities that work the same content, for individual and group exercises. All exercises whether verbal, visual or manual will be done under teacher´s supervision. With all the above we hope to serve and meet the needs of each student.

Modelling ecological cognitive rehabilitation therapies for building virtual environments in brain injury

Brain Injury (BI) has become one of the most common causes of neurological disability in developed countries. Cognitive disorders result in a loss of independence and patients? quality of life. Cognitive rehabilitation aims to promote patients? skills to achieve their highest degree of personal autonomy. New technologies such as virtual reality or interactive video allow developing rehabilitation therapies based on reproducible Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), increasing the ecological validity of the therapy. However, the lack of frameworks to formalize and represent the definition of this kind of therapies can be a barrier for widespread use of interactive virtual environments in clinical routine.