The physical strength of the elderly aged above 60 years is typically 10 to 30% less than the young adult population of ages between 25 to 35 years. This reduction of strength has a strong impact on the activity of the daily living (ADL) of the elderly population. There has been little research done studying on the physical strength of the elderly population in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the static strength of the elderly population in Malaysia. In particular, the grip and pinch strength were investigated as these two static strengths are extensively used in their instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). The results were then compared to the strength of the university students. A total of 30 subjects (15 males and 15 females) participated in the study. Their age ranged between 60 to 83 years, with the mean of age of 67.1 years. The comparison group comprised a total of 30 university students (20 male, 10 female) aged between 23 to 24 years, with the mean of age of 23.2 years. Grip and pinch strengths of both groups were measured and analysed using a descriptive statistics. It was found that the elderly male subjects are stronger in both strength measurements than their female counterpart. The 95th percentile of the female grip strength was slightly lower than that of the male while the male pinch strength was 31.07% higher. It was also found that the male students had higher strengths compared to the females. The grip strength of the elderly was 30.66% lower than the university student, while their pinch strength was 13.42% lower. Both static strengths of the elderly were found to be lower than those of the university students. This supported the research hypotheses postulating that the static strength had a negative correlation with age. In terms of gender differences, the male subjects were found to be stronger than the females.
Hypertension, the abnormal elevation of blood pressure, is one of the chronic diseases that usually
comes with no symptom and signal. Hypertension is diagnosed if the systolic blood pressure (SBP)
over 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is over 90 mmHg. The purpose of this paper is
to review methods of early diagnosis of hypertension by monitoring the SBP, DBP, and heart rate
(HR) non-invasively. Although accurate measurement of BP and HR of a person can be obtained
invasively, the measuring probe needs to place under patient’s skin, which in turn would cause
discomfort to the patients and not to mention the possibility of thrombosis to occur. External
pressures are necessary to induce to the artery in order to measure BP and HR by using auscultatory
and oscillometric methods, hence, a pressure cuff is used to measure BP. The pressure cuff will
restrict the motion of the patient and it is rendered not suitable for continuous monitoring. On the
other hand, pulse transit time (PTT) and photoplethysmography (PPG) methods are introduced to
measure BP non-invasively without the use of a cuff. The limitation of PTT over PPG is PTT needs
both PPG waveform and ECG waveform to estimate BP, and artificial phase lag might occur which
will affect the reliability of the measured result. Therefore, for long-term hypertension monitoring,
non-invasive mean using photoplethysmography method is preferred since it enables continuous
monitoring without cuff and it requires only one waveform to estimate the BP as well as HR.
Elderly are exposed to physical impairment. This has a strong impact on their daily activities including
frying, which is one of the most popular cuisine preparations. The stove height and work envelope
are two major ergonomic issues in performing cooking task. There has been little research focusing
on Malaysian elderly task performing in addressing these issues. The objectives of this study were to
identify the acceptable stove height and depth and to determine the working envelope among Malaysian
elderly using anthropometric data. A total of 55 Malaysian elderly (25 male and 30 female) aged between
60 to 85 years participated in this study. Five body measurements were taken from each subject using
an anthropometer. The measurements are stature height, shoulder height, arm span, arm reach forward
and waist height. Apart from these anthropometric measurements, their present stove height was also
measured. The acquisition of stove height dimensions was performed through a series of door to door
visit of the elderly homes in Kg. Sg. Merab. These variables were used to estimate the elderly working
envelope and determine the stove height, width and depth. Data were analysed using SPSS software. The
waist height dimension was to estimate the stove height, the arm reach forward for the depth and the arm
span for the length of the table-top where the stove was placed. Meanwhile the stature and shoulder height
were used for estimating the position of the overhead compartment or placement of cooking utensils.
The 5
th
percentile was chosen since it is appropriate to accommodate 90% of the studied population. The 5
th
percentile was also applied for the setting
of the working envelope so as to provide better
reaching tolerances. Meanwhile, standard was used
to compare the present state of the studied kitchen
setting. The results show that 56.4% of the elderly
waist height is lower than the standard table-top
height which is 36 inches (91.4cm) and 36.4% of the stove height was found higher than that of the standard. This could apparently cause fatigue and
discomfort to shoulders, the neck, the arm and the back of the user. Anthropometrics measurements can
be used for estimating the stove height, length and depth. These could also calculate a space taken for
certain physical activities, such as frying task envelope. Providing a good combination of stove height,
length, depth and ergonomic working envelope could hopefully improve the elderly cooking task and
increase their quality of life.
The accurate transfer of information on the athletes’ performance in any sport is
essential in enhancing the performance and overall coaching process. The provision of such
information is favourable only if it is reliable. A cost-effective golf putting monitoring device
namely the Putt.It.In was developed for analysing a golfers’ putting performance. Objectives: This
study aims to investigate the reliability of the instrument in measuring the backswing distance, front
swing distance, clubhead speed, ideal front swing distance and swing angle. Methods: A semiprofessional
golfer (30 years of age ± 5.0 years’ experience) executed four strokes repeatedly from
a distance of 2 m and 1 m using a Ram Zebra Mallet putter on a PGM golf mat. The intra-class
correlation (ICC) coefficient is employed to test the reliability of the device whilst the
Kolmogorov/Smirnov test was utilised to further reaffirm the reliability of the application in
measuring the aforementioned parameters over test re-test between first two strokes of 2 m distance
and the last two strokes of 1 m distance. Results: The ICC reveals 0.98 and 0.96 for both test 1 and
2, as well as a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.99 and 0.96, respectively suggesting excellent consistencies
in the overall observations. Moreover, the Kolmogorov/Smirnov test re-test indicates that there is
no significant difference between the first two 2 m strokes p > 0.05, and subsequent two 1 m strokes
p > 0.05 highlighting its ability to recognise the pattern of the strokes applied in the four successive
strokes. Conclusion: The Putt.It.In monitoring device is found to be reliable in measuring the
backswing distance, front swing distance, clubhead speed, ideal front swing distance and swing
angle. Professional and semi-professional golfers as well coaches could consider Putt.It.In device in
monitoring strokes related parameters to enhance their performance due to its effectiveness in
providing information on putting performance.
The takraw ball is a very unique interwoven ball used in the action game of sepak takraw. The traditional takraw ball is manufactured by conventionally weaving split rattan strips into a spherical basket. Modern takraw balls are manufactured by forming strips of plastics materials into interwoven hoop. These interwoven hoops form 12 pentagon holes and 30 intersections. The purpose of this study is to construct a finite-element (FE) model of a takraw ball in particular for normal impact simulation on flat surfaces under low speed conditions. Two FE models were developed to observe the dynamic behavior including impact forces, contact time, coefficient of restitution and deformation of the ball. The first model consists of a single solid hollow ball with 12 pentagon holes and the second model consists of six center strips and 12 side edge strips of
extrusion hoops to form 12 pentagon holes and 270 cross-sections. The models were also compared with results of experimental impact tests whereby the ball was impacted normal to a rigid plate at three different heights. The ball is described in the FE model as a linear elastic material.
It was found that the FE analysis solution of the ball model was found to be reasonably close with the experimental results. However further improvement need to be done by taking into consideration the nonlinearity of the takraw ball under large deformation as well as at high impact velocity.
Sports engineering can be considered as a new engineering discipline. It bridges the gap between two distinctive fields: sport science and engineering. Sports engineers are responsible in designing and building new equipment based on athlete's demands, besides measuring the performance of the athlete, the equipment itself, as well as their interaction. It is without doubt that engineering and technology have played an important role not only in improving the performance of an athlete, but also in making sports more entertaining and safe. This article provides an insight into how engineering and technology have affected sports in many ways transforming it from just a past time to more exciting and competitive world events. Apart from the impact of engineering in sports, the history of the application of engineering and technology in sports is also elaborated. Furthermore, research conducted in related fields worldwide is highlighted. A brief overview of sports engineering research in Malaysia is also presented.
Immersion is one of the most important aspects in ensuring the applicability
of Virtual Reality systems to training regimes aiming to improve
performance. To ensure that this key aspect is met, the registration of motion
between the real world and virtual environment must be made as accurate and
as low latency as possible. Thus, an in-house developed Inertial Measurement
Unit (IMU) system is developed for use in tracking the movement of the
player’s racquet. This IMU tracks 6 DOF motion data and transmits it to the
mobile training system for processing. Physically, the custom motion is built
into the shape of a racquet grip to give a more natural sensation when
swinging the racquet. In addition to that, an adaptive filter framework is also
established to cope with different racquet movements automatically, enabling
real-time 6 DOF tracking by balancing the jitter and latency. Experiments are
performed to compare the efficacy of our approach with other conventional
tracking methods such as the using Microsoft Kinect. The results obtained
demonstrated noticeable accuracy and lower latency when compared with the
aforementioned methods.
There are many variations of the competition that takes place in Olympic track cycling. Hence,
a bicycle simulator will provide a number of benefits to coaches and athletes in practical
training. It is extremely low cost compared to a real Velodrome track, which requires a long
construction time due to the unique geometry and size. In this project, a 6-degree-of-freedom (6-
DOF) motion platform is designed and developed to simulate the Velodrome track cycling. A
parallel manipulator was chosen to control the moving platform due to its higher accuracy and
greater weight to strength ratio compared to a serial manipulator. The 6-DOF platform is
controlled by linear actuators and micro-controller. An optical encoder was installed for closedloop
position feedback control. An inverse kinematics model was developed to obtain the
movement of the platform and validated with its CAD model. Furthermore, a design feasibility
program was developed to determine the optimum design dimensions for the motion platform.
All the positions (3-axes) and orientations (3-rotational axes) data are tracked for analysis
purpose. A lab-scale prototype was successfully built for analysis and validation purposes. A
standard Velodrome track dimensions was chosen for simulation. A gyro accelerometer was
installed at the platform to acquire the actual motion of the platform. The data is used to validate
the control algorithms and accuracy of the motion platform. The experiment was conducted and
the results analysed for further development.
Sepak takraw is a traditional sport in Asia in which the players use various
parts of their bodies to hit the ball, with the exception of their hands. Unlike
other sports such as soccer, boxing, and rugby, it is observed that none of
the studies in the literature have examined the injuries resulting from the
impact of the sepak takraw ball on the players’ heads during a game. This
study was initiated following the incidents of the 24th SEA Games in Korat,
Thailand, in year 2007, whereby a number of players from the Malaysian
Sepak Takraw Association (PSM) had to withdraw themselves from the
championship. These players suffered from headaches which were believed
to be caused by the impact of the sepak takraw ball, considering the fact that
heading is one of the basic movements used to hit the ball. Moreover, it is
expected that the sepak takraw ball travels at high velocities during the
game. Hence, the objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the
sepak takraw ball and its corresponding level of head injury among sepak
takraw players in Malaysia by means of numerical simulations and
experiments. In order to achieve this objective, a model of the scalp, skull,
cerebrospinal fluid and brain is first developed and simulations are then
carried out using finite element analysis (FEA) software. The results show
that the maximum speed of the sepak takraw ball before heading is 13.581 m/s while the maximum impact force on the head obtained from the simulations is 688.11 N. The maximum displacement and maximum linear acceleration of the brain’s centre of gravity is found to be 0.0080 m and 1674.5 m/s2, respectively, while the head impact power (HIP) is determined to be 11.366 kW. According to Newman, Shewchenko, and Welbourne(2000), the probability of concussion is 39% and based on the resultsobtained in this study, it can be concluded that the players may suffer from mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) due to the high impact of the sepak takraw ball during heading. Hence, it is recommended that the players wear protective headbands to reduce the impact during heading and prevent the occurrence of MTBI in the long term.