No abstract

Animal-assisted therapy has gained widespread support in a variety of health care settings, including critical care units. This article seeks to review some of the current animal-assisted therapy, define a structured program, and evaluate the potential ability of the therapy to enhance the progress and health of our patients.

Unresolved stress has been shown to have numerous adverse effects on the body. A review of the literature has revealed 2 major themes: (1) research that argues that massage has a direct relationship with positive health outcomes and (2) research that stresses that although there are little or no measurable physiological changes that occur from massage, patients' perceptions of stress and anxiety were significantly reduced. The simple act of touch-focused care, even a simple 5-min hand or foot massage, can be useful in lowering a patient's perceived level of stress. Further research is necessary on the benefits and risks of implementing massage therapy in the hospital setting.

Diabetes is a disease that can increase the risks of developing cardiac problems, which can include coronary artery bypass graft surgery. These patients are at an increased risk of developing serious complications after this surgery, including deep sternal wound infections. In addition, nondiabetic patients may also develop this complication. Therefore, it is essential to monitor and maintain glucose levels after open heart surgery. This literature review discusses some of the studies in this area.

Neuropathy is a nerve-damaging disease that causes those affected to lose feeling in their otherwise functional limbs. It can cause permanent numbing to the peripheral limb of a patient such as a hand or foot. In this report, we present a real-time visualization aid for grasp realization that can be used by patients experiencing numbness of the limb. This wearable electronic device was developed on an open-source microcontroller-based platform. This is a very simple and inexpensive solution. It is referred to as a NeuroGlove, and it provides patients with a visual light scale to allow them to understand the strength of the grasp they have on any object. A soft tactile sensor was additively manufactured by utilizing a multi-material direct-print system. The sensor consists of an ionic liquid-based pressure-sensitive membrane, stretchable electrodes, and insulation membranes. The printed flexible polymeric sensor was evaluated under varying forces. Next, the fabricated sensor was integrated with a microcontroller board where it was programmed to respond in a light scale according to the applied force on the sensor. Finally, the sensor-microcontroller system was installed on a glove to demonstrate a wearable visual aid for neuropathy patients. Additive manufacturing offers the ability for customization in a design, material, and geometry that could potentially lead to printing sensors on prosthetic or robotic hands.