In children with spastic quadriplegia, also described as 'whole body involvement', spasticity can interfere with motor function, contributes to the development of deformities and adversely impacts on care, positioning, and comfort. In this population, spasticity interventions address goals such as improving comfort, reducing pain, easing the burden of carers, slowing the progression of musculoskeletal deformities and perhaps improving function. Children with severe diplegia are distinguished from those with quadriplegia by their ability to ambulate, as well as by a greater emphasis being placed on functional motor goals even though similar treatment modalities are often employed to manage spasticity. The many treatment options currently available include, but are not limited to, botulinum toxin type A, phenol neurolysis, oral medications, intrathecal baclofen, selective dorsal rhizotomy, and orthopaedic surgery. The integration of these treatment modalities can help to optimize the overall care and function for a child with spastic quadriplegia or severe diplegia. However, the development of a management programme is complex and needs to take into account many factors, including age, weight and nutritional status, rate of progression of musculoskeletal deformities, developmental potential, comorbid conditions, current functional status and prognosis, and family and patient treatment goals. Children with marked spasticity are likely to benefit from a combination of interventions, rather than a single treatment modality. Because of these complexities, management should be planned and coordinated by a multidisciplinary team of medical and allied health professionals which recognizes the central role of the family in all decisions. Once the special characteristics of the child with spastic quadriplegia and the various treatment options are understood, outcomes can be maximized.

This paper presents and discusses the realization and the performances of a wearable system for EEG-based BCI applications. The system (called Kimera) consists of a two-layer hardware architecture (the wireless acquisition and transmission board based on a Bluetooth ® ARM chip, and a low power miniaturized biosignal acquisition analog front end) together with a software suite (called Bellerophonte) for the Graphic User Interface management, protocol execution, data recording, transmission and processing. The implemented BCI system was based on the SSVEP protocol, applied to a two state selection by using standards display/monitor with a couple of high efficiency LEDs. The frequency features of the signal were computed and used in the intention detection. The BCI algorithm is based on a supervised classifier implemented through a multi-class Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) with a continuous realtime feedback based on the mahalanobis distance parameter. Five healthy subjects participated in the first phase for a preliminary device validation. The obtained results are very interesting and promising, being lined out to the most recent performance reported in literature with a significant improvement both in system and in classification capabilities. The user-friendliness and low cost of the Kimera& Bellerophonte platform make it suitable for the development of home BCI applications.

Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) monitoring gives important information about the fetus health state during pregnancy. This paper presents a new prototype for remote fetal monitoring. The device will allow to monitor FHR in a domiciliary context and to send fetal ECG traces to a hospital facility, where clinicians can interpret them. In this way the mother could receive prompt feedback about fetal wellbeing. The system is characterized by two units: (i) a wearable unit endowed with textile electrodes for abdominal ECG recordings and with a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) board for fetal heart rate (FHR) extraction; (ii) a dock station for the transmission of the data through the telephone line. The system will allow to reduce costs in fetal monitoring, improving the assessment of fetal conditions. The device is actually in development state. In this paper, the most crucial aspects behind its fulfillment are discussed.

Fetal heart rate monitoring is fundamental to infer information about fetal health state during pregnancy. The cardiotocography (CTG) is the most common antepartum monitoring technique. Abdominal ECG recording represents the most valuable alternative to cardiotocography, as it allows passive, non invasive and long term fetal monitoring. Unluckily fetal ECG has low SNR and needs to be extracted from abdominal recordings using ad hoc algorithms. This work describes a prototype of a wearable fetal ECG electrocardiograph. The system has flat band frequency response between 1-60 Hz and guarantees good signal quality. It was tested on pregnant women between the 30(th) and 34(th) gestational week. Several electrodes configurations were tested, in order to identify the best solution. Implementation of a simple algorithm for FECG extraction permitted the reliable detection of maternal and fetal QRS complexes. The system will allow continuative and deep screening of fetal heart rate, introducing the possibility of home fetal monitoring.