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Bra app aims to support good exercise habits The University of Wollongong has launched a new app to help women choose the correct fitting sports bra, with the aim of encouraging healthier lifestyles, avoiding neck and back pain and reducing the need for breast reduction surgery. The new app, called Sports Bra and available from the App Store for the iPhone and iPad, has been designed using evidence-based research by Breast Research Australia (BRA), a research centre at the University of Wollongong’s Biomechanics Research Laboratory. Led by sports physiotherapist Deirdre McGhee and professor of biomechanics Julie Steele, BRA studies the biomechanics of breast health and bra design. “Our research has found that we can’t just solve this problem by saying go and get yourself fitted properly,” Dr McGhee said. “Of the adolescents we’ve tested, 75 per cent of them had never been fitted and don’t want to be, and with adult women we found that 66 per cent usually buy a new bra without the assistance of a professional bra fitter.” For large-breasted women, minimising breast bounce is “a no-brainer” due to their mass, Dr McGhee said. “What women tend to do is brace – it’s like their brain instinctively tries to limit the breast movement and so they will contract their pec muscles. In bracing, the women tend to round their shoulders and limit the swing of their arms. It’s not a good running style. Women are freer in their arm and trunk movements when their breasts are supported better.” For GPs with patients with back pain or who need to get more exercise, Dr McGhee recommends that they look at breast support as part of their treatment plan.
Social robots head into the home for people with mild dementia La Trobe University’s famous aged care robots are heading out of the residential sector and into the homes of people living with mild dementia. Part of La Trobe’s Research Centre for Computers, Communication and Social Innovation (RECCSI) research into social robots, a trial got underway recently in Melbourne to study how interaction with the robots affected the emotional wellbeing of people with mild dementia. A robot is being placed in the home of a person with dementia for two weeks, with the emotional wellbeing of each participant measured by their responses.
“These assistive robots are expected to improve the emotional wellbeing of mild dementia sufferers through engagement and sensory enrichment,” the study’s lead researcher, Rajiv Khosla, said. The trial will also study the effect on the quality of life of carers involved in supporting the people with dementia. It is funded by a $40,000 Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation grant. The robots – named Matilda, Jack, Charles and Sophie – are provided by NEC and have been designed by Professor Khosla’s team for service and social innovation in healthcare.
The robots have previously been used in trials in aged care facilities in Melbourne and Queensland. They have been trained to read human emotions by analysing facial features and body language and are wirelessly programmed to notify nurses if a patient is distressed, injured or requires help. For the non-residential care study, however, they will use their social abilities. “They can talk, sing, dance, play games, tell the weather and read the newspaper,” Professor Khosla said. “They are unique, the first of their kind to be used therapeutically for mild dementia sufferers.