No abstract

Background:The Multiple Sclerosis Outcome Assessments Consortium (MSOAC) was formed by the National MS Society to develop improved measures of multiple sclerosis (MS)-related disability.Objectives:(1) To assess the current literature and available data on functional performance outcome measures (PerfOs) and (2) to determine suitability of using PerfOs to quantify MS disability in MS clinical trials.Methods:(1) Identify disability dimensions common in MS; (2) conduct a comprehensive literature review of measures for those dimensions; (3) develop an MS Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) data standard; (4) create a database of standardized, pooled clinical trial data; (5) analyze the pooled data to assess psychometric properties of candidate measures; and (6) work with regulatory agencies to use the measures as primary or secondary outcomes in MS clinical trials.Conclusion:Considerable data exist supporting measures of the functional domains ambulation, manual dexterity, vision, and cognition. A CDISC standard for MS (http://www.cdisc.org/therapeutic#MS) was published, allowing pooling of clinical trial data. MSOAC member organizations contributed clinical data from 16 trials, including 14,370 subjects. Data from placebo-arm subjects are available to qualified researchers. This integrated, standardized dataset is being analyzed to support qualification of disability endpoints by regulatory agencies.

Context: Accurate, efficient, and reliable measurement methods are essential to prospectively identify risk factors for knee injuries in large cohorts.Objective: To determine tester reliability using digital photographs for the measurement of static lower extremity alignment (LEA) and whether values quantified with an electromagnetic motion-tracking system are in agreement with those quantified with clinical methods and digital photographs.Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Setting: Laboratory.Patients or Other Participants: Thirty-three individuals participated and included 17 (10 women, 7 men; age ¼ 21.7 6 2.7 years, height ¼ 163.4 6 6.4 cm, mass ¼ 59.7 6 7.8 kg, body mass index ¼ 23.7 6 2.6 kg/m 2 ) in study 1, in which we examined the reliability between clinical measures and digital photographs in 1 trained and 1 novice investigator, and 16 (11 women, 5 men; age ¼ 22.3 6 1.6 years, height ¼ 170.3 6 6.9 cm, mass ¼ 72.9 6 16.4 kg, body mass index ¼ 25.2 6 5.4 kg/ m 2 ) in study 2, in which we examined the agreement among clinical measures, digital photographs, and an electromagnetic tracking system. Intervention(s): We evaluated measures of pelvic angle, quadriceps angle, tibiofemoral angle, genu recurvatum, femur length, and tibia length. Clinical measures were assessed using clinically accepted methods. Frontal-and sagittal-plane digital images were captured and imported into a computer software program. Anatomic landmarks were digitized using an electromagnetic tracking system to calculate static LEA.Main Outcome Measure(s): Intraclass correlation coefficients and standard errors of measurement were calculated to examine tester reliability. We calculated 95% limits of agreement and used Bland-Altman plots to examine agreement among clinical measures, digital photographs, and an electromagnetic tracking system.Results: Using digital photographs, fair to excellent intratester (intraclass correlation coefficient range ¼ 0.70-0.99) and intertester (intraclass correlation coefficient range ¼ 0.75-0.97) reliability were observed for static knee alignment and limblength measures. An acceptable level of agreement was observed between clinical measures and digital pictures for limb-length measures. When comparing clinical measures and digital photographs with the electromagnetic tracking system, an acceptable level of agreement was observed in measures of static knee angles and limb-length measures.Conclusions: The use of digital photographs and an electromagnetic tracking system appears to be an efficient and reliable method to assess static knee alignment and limb-length measurements.Key Words: posture, risk factor assessment, digital photographs Key PointsDigital photographs are a reliable tool to assess static knee alignment and limb-length measurements. An electromagnetic tracking system is an efficient and acceptable method to assess static frontal-plane knee alignment and limb-length measures. Incorporating measures of static lower extremity alignment in prospective study designs will help researchers ide...

We propose a method for understanding the 3D geometry of indoor environments (e.g. bedrooms, kitchens) while simultaneously identifying objects in the scene (e.g. beds, couches, doors). We focus on how modeling the geometry and location of specific objects is helpful for indoor scene understanding. For example, beds are shorter than they are wide, and are more likely to be in the center of the room than cabinets, which are tall and narrow. We use a generative statistical model that integrates a camera model, an enclosing room "box", frames (windows, doors, pictures), and objects (beds, tables, couches, cabinets), each with their own prior on size, relative dimensions, and locations. We fit the parameters of this complex, multi-dimensional statistical model using an MCMC sampling approach that combines discrete changes (e.g, adding a bed), and continuous parameter changes (e.g., making the bed larger). We find that introducing object category leads to state-of-theart performance on room layout estimation, while also enabling recognition based only on geometry.