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Showcase Sustaining health

Planting the Seeds of Health and Resilience

Planting the Seeds of Health and Resilience

Primary author: Shawna Beese
Co-author(s): Teresa Bigand; Marian Wilson
Faculty sponsor: Marian Wilson

Primary college/unit: College of Nursing
Campus: Spokane

Abstract:
PRINCIPAL TOPIC
Food bank recipients suffer a greater risk than adults who do not use food banks for insufficient access to fresh fruits and vegetables and negative health factors such as depression, obesity, and food insecurity. Creating access to gardens for this population may offer a low-cost public health approach to increase access to fresh produce and reduce risk for food insecurity. Additionally, access to gardens may offer secondary health benefits including reduced depressive symptoms and improved cardiovascular well-being.

METHOD
Through secondary survey analysis, baseline garden use of food bank recipients was assessed. The interest level of recipients to learn more about gardening, explore how gardening impacts the food security of food bank recipients, and determine potential differences between garden users and non-garden users across multiple health variables (pain interference, depressive symptoms, and sleep quality) were also analyzed.

RESULTS/IMPLICATIONS
In total, 28% (n=49) of participants identified the use of home or community gardens.

More than half of the self-identified garden users (53%, n=26) reported food insecurity; yet garden users had an 18% relative risk reduction for reporting food insecurity compared to non-garden users (p>0.05).

No statistically significant differences resulted across measured health variables between garden users and non-garden users.

Gardening may be a viable public health intervention to ease food insecurity. Future studies with larger sample sizes to investigate the relative risk between garden use and food insecurity are suggested.

Biomechanical comparison between barefoot and running shoe conditions during running movements executed by flat feet patients

Biomechanical comparison between barefoot and running shoe conditions during running movements executed by flat feet patients

Primary author: Hamidreza Barnamehei

Primary college/unit: College of Veterinary Medicine
Category: Engineering and Environmental Science
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

The goal of the current study was to compare the barefoot and running shoe conditions during running executed by flat feet patients. Based on the assumption that running with shoes represents an excellent condition for improvement.
Sixteen flat feet subject (23.2 ± 1.1 years; 68 ± 7.5 kg; 169 ± 7 cm) participated. Motion data were collected, and biomechanical parameters were determined by dynamics equations. Statistical analysis t-test was used to evaluated differences between and shoe conditions barefoot or shod (p < 0.05).
It was found that the range of motion increased in the shoe running (27.01°) compared to the barefoot running (24.15°, p <0.05). Differences between barefoot and shoe conditions were significant at the knee during late stance and swing phase; at the ankle early stance, mid-stance and swing phase just in the sagittal plane. Significant differences were also found at the ankle moments during early stance and knee moment during early stance in the sagittal plane. Although, we found significant differences in the sagittal plane between the knee and ankle joints. Therefore, these results show these differences affect the delay in knee extension and ankle plantarflexion during late stance.
The current study presents that running shoes do not change foot movements as much as conventional shoes and consequently should be recommended not only for flat feet patients but for healthy people in general. Therefore, the findings of the current study are helpful to flat feet patients to finding the effects of running shoe and barefoot conditions on running.

Waterjet Steerable Needles: A New Promise for Improving Medical Procedures

Waterjet Steerable Needles: A New Promise for Improving Medical Procedures

 

Primary author: Mahdieh Babaiasl
Co-author(s): Fan Yang; John Swensen
Faculty sponsor: John P. Swensen

Primary college/unit: Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Steerable needles are a type of medical devices that can steer around obstacles to reach to a target location within patient anatomy and thus can improve the accuracy of medical procedures. Radius of curvature is an important parameter while designing steerable needles and achieving smaller radius and being able to control it is of paramount importance in steerable needle technology. We have developed a new class of steerable needles namely fracture-directed waterjet steerable needles in which the direction of the tissue fracture is controlled by waterjet and then the flexible needle follows. Needle steering tests are performed on soft tissue simulants, and the Radius of curvature of the needle is controlled by duty cycling of waterjet whereas 100% percent duty (waterjet is ON in all steps) gives the best radius of curvature. Smaller radius of curvature makes steering around tight obstacles possible and improves the performance of steerable needles. It is shown that the radius of curvature is a linear function of duty cycling for a range of the tissue stiffnesses used. A discrete-step kinematic model is used to model the motion of the waterjet steerable needle. This model consists of two parts: (1) the mechanics-based model predicts the cut-depth of waterjet in soft tissue based on soft tissue properties, waterjet diameter, and water exit velocity, and (2) a discrete-step kinematic unicycle model of the steerable needle travel. The proposed method of needle steering promises steerability and radius of curvature unattainable by current steerable needle technologies.