Visual Data Mining in Physiotherapy Using Self-Organizing Maps

The basis of all clinical science developments is the analysis of the data obtained from a particular problem. In recent decades, however, the capacity of computers to process data has been increasing exponentially, which has created the possibility of applying more powerful methods of data analysis. Among these methods, the multidimensional visual data mining methods are outstanding. These methods show all the variables of one particular problem on the whole allowing to the clinical specialist to extract his own conclusions. In this chapter, a neural approximation to this kind of data mining is shown by means of the valuation analysis of the knee in athletes in the pre- and post-surgery of…

The shoulder medial rotation test: an intertester and intratester reliability study in overhead athletes with chronic shoulder pain.

The purpose of this study was to examine intertester and intratester reliability of the shoulder medial rotation test (MRT) and reliability differences depending on examiner expertise.Seventeen athletes with chronic shoulder pain participated in the study. Four independent observers with different experience levels simultaneously rated MRT performance as "correct" or "incorrect," after a standardized assessment protocol, the same day (for intertester reliability) and in a 7-day interval (for intratester reliability).The intrarater reliability was admissible for 2 experts and one novice, with κ values ranging between 0.32 to 0.76 and poor for one novice (κ0). Interrater agreement for all 4 a…

Artificial Neural Networks in Physical Therapy