title: Implementation of an iPod wireless accelerometer application using machine learning to classify disparity of hemiplegic and healthy patellar tendon reflex pair.
abstract: The characteristics of the patellar tendon reflex provide fundamental insight regarding the diagnosis of neurological status. Based on the features of the tendon reflex response, a clinician may establish preliminary perspective regarding the global condition of the nervous system. Current techniques for quantifying the observations of the reflex response involve the application of ordinal scales, requiring the expertise of a highly skilled clinician. However, the reliability of the ordinal scale approach is debatable. Highly skilled clinicians have even disputed the presence of asymmetric reflex pairs. An alternative strategy was the implementation of an iPod wireless accelerometer application to quantify the reflex response acceleration waveform. An application enabled the recording of the acceleration waveform and later wireless transmission as an email attachment by connectivity to the Internet. A potential energy impact pendulum enabled the patellar tendon reflex to be evoked in a predetermined and targeted manner. Three feature categories of the reflex response acceleration waveform (global parameters, temporal organization, and spectral features) were incorporated into machine learning to distinguish a subject's hemiplegic and healthy reflex pair. Machine learning attained perfect classification of the hemiplegic and healthy reflex pair. The research findings implicate the promise of machine learning for providing increased diagnostic acuity regarding the acceleration waveform of the tendon reflex response.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011-5640 USA.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: LeMoyne
authors: David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Suite B8-169, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors: Wesley T
authors: WT
authors: Kerr
authors: University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, 3670 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles California 90089, USA.
authors: Kevin
authors: K
authors: Zanjani
authors: Independent, 793 Ella Street Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15243, USA.
authors: Timothy
authors: T
authors: Mastroianni