July 2018
The Dexterit-E 3.7.0 release brings many improvements for usability, task development, and normative modeling. We are thrilled to be able to deliver such a long list of tangible improvements!
Attending Progress in Clinical Motor Control, July 23-25, 2018
We are very proud to be sponsoring the first conference on Progress in Clinical Motor Control: Neurorehabilitation at UPenn this summer. The meeting will bring together leading scientists in the basic, engineering, and clinical sciences to exchange and share research and development in cutting edge science and technology applied to neurorehabilitation. http://hhd.psu.edu/college/motor-control-conference
Dexterit-E Explorer 1.4.0 Released: latest KINARM Standard Test analysis available now!
We are happy to announce the release of Dexterit-E Explorer 1.4.0!
Advisory Notice: M-Score Error in KST, Dex 3.6 release, resolved 28-Mar-18
Update 28-Mar-18: this issue is now resolved with the availability of Dexterit-E Explorer 1.4
History:
An email has been sent to all KST Licensees on 30-Nov-17, stating the following:
During our development of the next version of KINARM Standard Tests analyses, it came to our attention that there was an error in the Dexterit-E 3.6 calculation of the M-score for some tasks. (M-score is found only in the analysis CSV files.) We can assure you that the identified error did not have any effect on Task Scores.
The affected tasks (as determined by a correlation of the M-scores, pre-fix compared to post- fix, of between 0.75 – 0.95) are:
- Object Hit
- Object Hit & Avoid
- Trail Making
- Visually Guided Reaching
- Reverse Visually Guided Reaching
- Ball-on-Bar
Tasks that were not significantly affected (as determined by a correlation of the M-scores, pre-fix compared to post- fix, of >0.95) are:
- Arm Position Matching
- Spatial Span
- Elbow Stretch
If you need to publish or present data on M-Scores before the end of January (the planned release date of corrected analyses in Dexterit-E Explorer), please let us know ASAP and we will provide assistance.
We sincerely regret the error and want to ensure your continued trust in these leading-edge analyses. Should you have any questions about our verification and validation methods, please feel free to contact us.
Kind regards,
The team at BKIN
KINARM Camp 2018: A couple of spots still left!
We still have a couple of spots available for our 5th annual KINARM Camp. It will be held Monday, May 14 to Friday noon, May 18, 2018 in Kingston, Ontario.
The objective of the Camp is to provide focused training on Custom Task development for KINARM Labs. The five day agenda is tailored to Basic Researchers and will provide hands-on learning on the use of MATLAB Simulink and Stateflow to develop Custom Task Programs for the KINARM Lab. New users, graduate students, and post docs are all invited to attend. Clinical researchers with an interest in Custom Task development are also welcome.
The preliminary agenda can be viewed here: KINARM Camp 2018.DRAFT
Attendance is limited to 12 registrants, so please complete the registration form to hold your spot.
If you’re awaiting approvals, please complete the form nonetheless and note that your attendance is tentative.
Meltdown & Spectre Vulnerability: Advisory has ended as of 19-Mar-18
Update: 19-Mar-18: We have ended the advisory. Our testing has satisfied our concerns that Microsoft patches could affect performance. You may apply updates to your Windows OS.
Update 19-Jan-18: we continue to assess the impact of the patches to our processors. Evidence of significant impacts continues to be documented in the press: Engadget Article 19-Jan-18
In light of Microsoft’s efforts to mitigate the impact of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities by issuing Windows OS patches, BKIN is asking all users to NOT apply any Windows Updates to their Dexterit-E or “GUI” computer running a KINARM Lab until we advise you that they are safe to apply.
The Windows updates are known to impact processor speed and thus may put your KINARM lab function and data at risk.
If you are shutting down your Dexterit-E computer and see the yellow (!) symbol beside the shutdown button this indicates that Windows will install updates when you shutdown. In order to shutdown Windows without applying the updates you can: use Ctrl-Alt-Del, then in the bottom right of the screen select shutting down without applying updates.
We are currently assessing the impact of these updates. There have been reports of “bricked” machines where the patches that have been rushed out don’t work. The first line of defense with these vulnerabilities is an updated web browser. Chrome will update automatically when it starts.
We will test these updates on a sample of Dexterit-E versions and Computer models, and then advise you of the result.
An article on the subject may be found here: https://www.wired.com/story/meltdown-and-spectre-vulnerability-fix/
Should you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@bkintechnologies.com
ISO 13485:2016 Certification achieved!
BKIN has successfully renewed their ISO 13485 certification for another three year period. With this re-certification we were also able to transition to the latest 2016 standard – representing the best practice in quality management system implementation for manufacturers of medical devices.
RehabWeek 2017: Dr. Sean Dukelow speaks about his research with KINARM.
Dr Sean Dukelow, July 18, 2017
Long-time KINARM Lab user, Dr. Sean Dukelow, spoke at the International Neurorehabilitation Symposium in London, UK last week. INRS was one of four conferences that bound together for the biennial installment of RehabWeek. In his session, he described his research related to identifying and quantifying neurological impairments from stroke, concussion, CP and other disorders. He spoke of his long-term longitudinal study monitoring outcomes from over 100 subjects with stroke. Over the 6 month period he noted clear differences between early responders, late responders and non-responders. His results highlight the need for more sensitive, targeted identification of sensory and motor deficits to optimize rehabilitation after stroke. Further he has noted that the trajectory of recovery for some individuals with mild to moderate stroke may be much longer than previously considered. underlined the need for better characterization of impairments post stroke (Semrau, et al, 2015).
Semrau, J.A., Herter, T.M., Scott, S.H., Dukelow, S.P. (2015) Examining Differences in Patterns of Sensory and Motor Recovery After Stroke With Robotics Stroke 2015 Dec; DOI:10.1161/STROKEAHA.115.010750
Dexterit-E 3.6.3 released
Dexterit-E 3.6.3
July, 2017
Dexterit-E 3.6.3 has several important updates for usability, stability and maintenance. This is considered a highly recommended update.
Of special note to KINARM Standard Task (KST) users are two changes:
• Ball on Bar task has been updated to allow the operator to command the task to move
the subject’s arms to the starting targets.
• Arm position matching, Ball on Bar, and Spatial Span tasks have all had force limits
imposed in order to avoid motor overheating issues. A review of our normal control data
shows that the force limits chosen should have negligible effect (for Ball on Bar, ~2% of
normal subjects would have been affected for ~2% of the task duration; for Arm
Position Matching, ~4% of normal subjects would have been affected, typically for a
single trial; for Spatial Span 0% of normal subjects would have been affected)
• Ball on Bar task has been updated to allow the operator to command the task to move
the subject’s arms to the starting targets.
• Arm position matching, Ball on Bar, and Spatial Span tasks have all had force limits
imposed in order to avoid motor overheating issues. A review of our normal control data
shows that the force limits chosen should have negligible effect (for Ball on Bar, ~2% of
normal subjects would have been affected for ~2% of the task duration; for Arm
Position Matching, ~4% of normal subjects would have been affected, typically for a
single trial; for Spatial Span 0% of normal subjects would have been affected)
Please see our release notes for a complete list of changes and fixes. Before upgrading, please be sure to read the section on “Considerations for upgrading from Dexterit-E 3.5 to 3.6“.
If you are currently on Dex 3.5 or lower, in order to run Dexterit-E 3.6.3 you will need to contact support@bkintecknologi
KINARM Camp 2017: Registration closed
24-Mar-17 Update: Regrettably we are now full for KINARM Camp 2017. If you would like your name placed on a waiting list, please contact info@bkintechnologies.com.
BKIN Technologies is thrilled to announce that registration is now open for its 4th annual KINARM Camp. It will be held from the evening of Sunday, June 4, 2017 to Friday Night, June 9, 2017 in Kingston, Ontario.
The objective of the Camp is to provide focused training on Custom Task development for KINARM Labs. The five day agenda is tailored to Basic Researchers and will provide hands-on learning on the use of MATLAB Simulink and Stateflow to develop Custom Task Programs for the KINARM Lab. New users, graduate students, and post docs are all invited to attend. Clinical researchers with an interest in Custom Task development are also welcome.
Attendance is limited to 12 registrants, so please complete the KINARM Camp Registration Form to hold your spot. If you’re awaiting approvals, please complete the form nonetheless and note that your attendance is tentative.