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Biomedical subjects

R G Platts

Publications and source records attributed to R G Platts.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Psychological characteristics of people with perceived food intolerance in a community sample.

In most adults who believe themselves to be food intolerant there is no objective supporting evidence. It has therefore been proposed that the misperception of intolerance to food is linked to psychiatric illness or personality disorder. This hypothesis was tested in a community-derived sample of individuals who attributed an adverse symptom to a type of food. A random mailing recruited 955 participants aged > or =18 years, of whom 232 perceived themselves to be food intolerant (PFI). All recruits were sent two questionnaires, the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the shortened version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R). A total of 535 GHQ-28 and 518 EPQ-R forms were returned that were correctly completed, an overall response rate of 55%. For the subscales of the EPQ-R, neuroticism was greater in those with a PFI than those without. Women with a PFI were more extroverted than control women. For the GHQ-28 subscales, women with a PFI had significantly higher scores than control women on somatic symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, and severe depression. There was a greater percentage of psychiatric caseness among women with a PFI than among men with a PFI or control women. Nevertheless, this percentage was no greater than that reported among a reference sample derived from NHS and university staff. It is concluded that perceived food intolerance is associated with psychological distress in women with a PFI, and neurotic symptoms in both men and women with a PFI, but there is no greater prevalence of psychiatric disorder among women or men with a PFI than there is in some professional groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Assistive technology in the rehabilitation of patients with high spinal cord lesions.

The functional requirements for daily living at home are the same for a ventilator dependent quadriplegic person as they are for anyone, whether less severely disabled or able bodied. In persons with high spinal cord lesions, the necessary presence of a carer near to hand should not deter the use of assistive technology to increase independence. Maximised independence is desirable to free the carer from minute by minute tasks such as turning pages, switching lights, TV etc. This not only frees the carer for other tasks, making the caring task more bearable (and thus easier to recruit carers) but also vastly improves the morale of the disabled person. Some assistive devices, especially those concerned with mobility and transfer can avoid the need for multiple carers at times such as toiletting and going on car journeys. Whichever devices are required by the quadriplegic person, they all clearly need to be worked by a common, carefully selected input interface device matched to his or her preferences and physical abilities for switching. It is vital to ensure a technical integration of the four generic areas of device functionality: those of mobility (wheelchairs, cars), manipulation (page-turners, robotic arms), communication (keyboard emulators, voice processors, artificial speech) and control of the environment. In most countries this integration is poorly addressed owing to the different agencies involved in the provision of devices relating to each of these generic areas--despite the technology being available today.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

The NHS boot.

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Computers↗
PubMed1989

A shapeable foot-pressure measuring device.

Measurement of foot pressure distribution for clinical purposes should ideally be made inside the shoe with a shaped insole and raised heel. Pressure measuring platforms cannot do this and transducers inserted inside the shoe can be obtrusive and inaccurate. The main clinical benefit of foot pressure measurement is the assistance it gives to shoe insole design. A shapeable foot pressure measuring device is being developed. The device can be accurately shaped to the contours of the foot and can indicate the pressure distribution over the entire surface of the foot. By adjusting the shape locally, high pressure areas can be relieved and the resulting shape can be used to vacuum-form a shoe insole. The device also has potential for the manufacture of special seating.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1982

Shoe inserts for small deformed feet.

Modern materials and a better understanding of the biomechanical requirements enable adaptations to shoes to be make quickly and easily in cases where the deformed foot is small enough to fit satisfactorily into standard shop-bought or standard deep footwear. A flexible self-generating polyurethane foam is used inside the shoe. It expands to the internal shape of the shoe and the external shape of the foot. It can be used either against the patient's own foot or against a positive cast of the foot. The technique has been used for 75 patients and has proved successful. The insert so made is durable and economical.

Foot Deformities, Congenital↗
PubMed1979

Orthoses to fit shoes.

Orthoses which fit inside shoes have, in many cases in the past, been fashioned to the shape of the patient's foot. It is suggested that improved stability and comfort is achieved if, instead, the outside shape of the foot-piece of the orthosis is fashioned to the inside shape of the footwear. A method for achieving this is described.

Artificial Limbs↗
PubMed1977

Spinal mechanics.

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Biomechanical Phenomena↗