Hyve A

Electro- or vibro-tactile stimulations were used in the past to provide sensory information in many different applications ranging from human manual control to prosthetics. The two modalities were used separately in the past, and we hypothesized that a hybrid vibro-electrotactile (HyVE) stimulation could provide two afferent streams that are independently perceived by a subject, although delivered in parallel and through the same skin location. We conducted psychophysical experiments where healthy subjects were asked to recognize the intensities of electroand vibro-tactile stimuli during hybrid and single modality stimulations. The results demonstrated that the subjects were able to discriminate the features of the two modalities within the hybrid stimulus, and that the cross-modality interaction was limited enough to allow better transmission of discrete information (messages) using hybrid versus singlemodality coding. The percentages of successful recognitions (mean ± standard deviation) for nine messages were 56 ± 11 % and 72 ± 8 % for two hybrid coding schemes, compared to 29 ±7 % for vibrotactile and 44 ± 4 % for electrotactile coding. The HyVE can be therefore an attractivesolution in numerous application for providing sensory feedbackin prostheses and rehabilitation, and it could be used to increase the resolution of a single variable or to simultaneously feedback two different variables.

Objective: We introduce and review the concept of a study-a-thon as a catalyst for open science in medicine, utilizing harmonized real world, observation health data, tools, skills, and methods to conduct network studies, generating insights for those wishing to use study-a-thons for future research. Materials and methods: A series of historical study-a-thons since 2017 to present were reviewed for thematic insights as to the opportunity to accelerate the research method to conduct studies across therapeutic areas. Review of publications and experience of the authors generated insights to illustrate the conduct of study-a-thons, key learning, and direction for those wishing to conduct future such study-a-thons. Results: A review of six study-a-thons have provided insights into their scientific impact, and 13 areas of insights for those wishing to conduct future study-a-thons. Defining aspects of the study-a-thon method for rapid, collaborative research through network studies reinforce the need to clear scientific rationale, tools, skills, and methods being collaboratively to conduct a focused study. Well-characterized preparatory, execution and postevent phases, coalescing skills, experience, data, clinical input (ensuring representative clinical context to the research query), and well-defined, logical steps in conducting research via the study-a-thon method are critical. Conclusions: A study-a-thon is a focused multiday research event generating reliable evidence on a specific medical topic across different countries and health systems. In a study-a-thon, a multidisciplinary team collaborate to create an accelerated contribution to scientific evidence and clinical practice. It critically accelerates the research process, without inhibiting the quality of the research output and evidence generation, through a reproducible process.

An important reason for the abandonment of commercial actuated hand prostheses by the users is the lack of sensory feedback. Wearable afferent interfaces capable of providing electro- or vibro-tactile stimulation have high potential to restore the missing tactile and/or proprioceptive information to the user. By definition, these devices can elicit single modality (i.e., either vibrotactile or electrotactile) substitute sensations. In a recent research we have presented a novel approach comprising hybrid vibro-electrotactile (HyVE) combined stimulation, in order to provide multimodal sensory feedback. An important advantage of this approach is in the size of the design: the HyVE interface is much more compact than two separated single-modality interfaces, since electro- and vibro-tactile stimulators are placed one on top of the other. The HyVE approach has been previously tested in healthy subjects and has shown to provide a range of hybrid stimuli that could be properly discriminated. However, this approach has never been assessed as a method to provide multi-channel stimuli, i.e., stimuli from a variety of stimulators, mapping information from a multitude of sensors on a prosthesis. In this study, the ability of ten healthy subjects to discriminate stimuli and patterns of stimuli from four different five-channel interfaces applied on their forearms was evaluated. We showed that multiple HyVE units could be used to provide multi-channel sensory information with equivalent performance (~95 percent for single stimuli and ~80 percent for pattern) to single modality interfaces (vibro- or electro-tactile) larger in size and with better performance than vibrotactile interfaces (i.e., 73 percent for single stimuli and 69 percent for pattern) with the same size. These results are promising in relation to the current availability of multi-functional prostheses with multiple sensors.