Chan Woong Jang

Background: A scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine and the rib cage. Mild to moderate scoliosis generally is treated with an orthosis to prevent curve progression and to reduce deformity. It is necessary to develop a scoliosis brace which is more comfortable to wear for maximizing its treatment effect and usability. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the newly developed hybrid brace for the treatment of scoliosis by usability tests and a subject-specific finite element analysis. Methods: Usability tests were completed with 10 moderate scoliosis patients and a subject-specific finite element analysis was conducted for one patient subject to evaluate the new hybrid brace. Results: With wearing a new hybrid brace, average cobb angles were corrected from 36.9 ± 4.3° to 28.3 ± 3.1° (22.0%) in usability tests. Compressive forces obtained from the attached pressure sensors in a new hybrid brace was applied to a subject-specific finite element model for the one of scoliosis patients. The Cobb angle was corrected 36.7% in the silico model which is similar to the usability test (34.1%). Conclusions: These results show that the new hybrid brace in this study has an initial corrective performance similar to that of a proven brace. This study presented an evaluation method for predicting corrective effect of a newly developed hybrid brace for patients with scoliosis through initial performance analysis and constructing a subject-specific finite element model of the patient.

Service robots are becoming a common sight in hospital corridors in many developed countries, but their acceptance, the factors influencing it, and potential cultural differences between countries remain unclear. To investigate this, the authors examined the use of service robots in two hospitals, one in Denmark and the other in South Korea, through an exploratory study. The analysis was performed based on retrospective data including usage parameters and a survey was conducted to assess the attitudes of healthcare personnel toward blood sample and medication delivery robots. The survey found that the staff in both hospitals were positive regarding the deployment of such robots. Additionally, the results indicate that the individualization of robots may lead to higher agency and that swift removal of technical issues at deployment might positively influence longer-term satisfaction with the robots.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the presentation suitability and readability of ChatGPT’s responses to common patient questions, as well as its potential to enhance readability. Methods: We initially analyzed 30 ChatGPT responses related to knee osteoarthritis (OA) on March 20, 2023, using readability and presentation suitability metrics. Subsequently, we assessed the impact of detailed and simplified instructions provided to ChatGPT for same responses, focusing on readability improvement. Results: The readability scores for responses related to knee OA significantly exceeded the recommended sixth-grade reading level ( p < .001). While the presentation of information was rated as “adequate,” the content lacked high-quality, reliable details. After the intervention, readability improved slightly for responses related to knee OA; however, there was no significant difference in readability between the groups receiving detailed versus simplified instructions. Conclusions: Although ChatGPT provides informative responses, they are often difficult to read and lack sufficient quality. Current capabilities do not effectively simplify medical information for the general public. Technological advancements are needed to improve user-friendliness and practical utility.

Lee SJ, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2025 May;66:e45. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2024.0246

Jee S, et al. Yonsei Med J. 2025 Jan;66(1):51-57. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2023.0525

Objective: This study investigates the global research landscape of prehabilitation, identifying current trends, dominant disciplines, collaborative networks, and prominent articles in the field. Design: For our analysis, we employed the published prehabilitation literature indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection database, spanning from 2002 to 2022. In addition, we utilized CiteSpace (version 6.2; Drexel University), a widely used information visualization software to perform bibliometric analysis. Results: Analyzing 553 research articles, we observe a consistent upward trend in prehabilitation publication and citation activity. Interdisciplinary co-occurrence analysis highlights strong connections with fields such as surgery, rehabilitation, oncology, sports sciences, orthopedics, gastroenterology, and hepatology. Initially centered around postoperative outcomes in major abdominal surgeries, particularly for colorectal, pancreatic, and prostate cancers, prehabilitation research expanded to include thoracic surgeries, focusing on conditions like lung cancer and aortic valve replacement. Preoperative exercise remains a core area, with increasing interest in multimodal prehabilitation and its effectiveness based on patient group characteristics. North America and Western Europe emerge as primary contributors to prehabilitation research. Conclusions: Current research concentrates on tailoring prehabilitation programs for specific groups, and broadening their geographical scope would enhance the studies, contributing valuable insights for medical practitioners shaping future research efforts.

We aimed to assess the quality and reliability of pressure injury‐related videos uploaded on YouTube, analyse the sources and contents, and examine the correlation between video parameters. We searched YouTube using two keywords, “pressure ulcer” and “pressure sore”, on August 20, 2022. We sorted the videos according to their number of views and included the top 100 videos for each keyword. The quality of videos was assessed using the Global Quality Scale (GQS), while their reliability was evaluated by the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) tool. In addition, we evaluated the videos in which content was included, analysed the correlations and differences between GQS, mDISCERN, and video parameters. We initially found a total of 100 videos for each keyword and finally included and analysed 77 videos. The mean scores for the mDISCERN and GQS were 2.35 ± 0.98 and 3.09 ± 0.99, respectively. Both GQS and mDISCERN showed statistically significant correlations with each other (rho = 0.54, p < 0.0001*) and with the length of the videos, respectively (rho = 0.36, p = 0.001*), (rho = 0.29, p = 0.01*). Of the videos created by physicians, 8 (57.1%) included content related to treatment, while of the videos created by nonphysician health personnel, 22 (57.9%) included content related to prevention. Analysing whether there were differences in video parameters based on the sources, we observed significant differences between sources in GQS (p < 0.0001*), mDISCERN (p < 0.0001*), and video length (p = 0.001*). In the post‐hoc analysis, videos uploaded by physicians or nonphysician health personnel showed higher quality and reliability than videos uploaded by other sources. Therefore, the results of this study could be useful for healthcare providers, as well as patients and caregivers, to search for high‐quality and reliable YouTube videos related to pressure injury.

This cross-sectional study, conducted at a tertiary care hospital’s rehabilitation clinic, aimed to validate Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) results obtained through plantar pressure analysis using commercial smart insoles (SPPB-SI) and to compare these results to manually acquired results by an experienced examiner (SPPB-M). This study included 40 independent-walking inpatients and outpatients aged 50 or older. SPPB-SI and SPPB-M were administered concurrently, with the smart insoles providing plantar pressure data that were converted into time–pressure curves. Two interpreters assessed the curves, determining component completion times for the SPPB-SI scores. Among the 40 participants (mean age: 72.98, SD: 9.27), the mean total SPPB-SI score was 7.72 ± 2.50, and the mean total SPPB-M score was 7.95 ± 2.63. The time recordings and measured scores of each SPPB-SI component exhibited high reliability with inter- and intra-interpreter correlation coefficients of 0.9 and 0.8 or higher, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient between the total SPPB-SI and SPPB-M scores was 0.831 (p < 0.001), and that between the component scores of the two measurements ranged from 0.837 to 0.901 (p < 0.001). Consistent correlations with geriatric functional parameters were observed for both SPPB-SI and SPPB-M. This study underscores the potential of commercial smart insoles as reliable tools for conducting SPPB assessments.

BACKGROUND Online medical information, like ChatGPT, is crucial for patients making health decisions. However, many struggle with low literacy skills when using such content. To help, we need to ensure that the information is easily readable for the average adult. Surprisingly, there's been no research on how well ChatGPT delivers medical information in text form. OBJECTIVE To assess the readability and presentation suitability of ChatGPT responses to the most commonly asked patient questions, as well as ChatGPT's ability to improve readability. METHODS This study involves two phases. First, we evaluated ChatGPT's medical responses for the readability and presentation suitability using 30 knee osteoarthritis (OA)-related questions on March 20, 2023. We applied the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Simple Measure Of the Gobbledygook (SMOG) readability formulas. Additionally, we used three evaluation tools: the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) for presentation scores, the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP), and the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) for overall quality scores. Secondly, we assessed the readability improvement for answers to 50 stroke-related questions by providing both detailed and simple instructions into ChatGPT. In this phase, we also utilized FKGL and SMOG readability tests. RESULTS In the readability assessment, the mean (standard deviation, SD) scores for the 30 responses regarding knee OA were as follows: FKGL, 13.65 (1.80) reading grade and SMOG, 15.62 (1.55) reading grade, all of which were statistically higher than the recommended sixth-grade reading level (P < 0.001). In the presentation suitability assessment, SAM score for all answers was 55.00 (10.64), which is considered “adequate.” The mean EQIP and mDISCERN scores were 43.72 (5.78) and 2.83 (0.59), respectively, and none of the responses was evaluated as high quality. Upon implementing both detailed and simple instructions to the 50 responses regarding stroke, the ANOVA test results indicate statistically significant differences in mean readability scores among the three groups: pre-intervention, post-intervention with detailed instructions, and post-intervention with simple instructions (P < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis revealed that the pre-intervention group differed significantly from both post-intervention groups in both readability assessments (P < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the two post-intervention groups (P = 0.96 for FKGL and 0.86 for SMOG). CONCLUSIONS This study discovered that ChatGPT responses are hard to read and have low quality, which may discomfort patients, despite their adequate presentation of medical information. Furthermore, ChatGPT lacks the ability to improve medical information's readability. As technology advances, enhancing ChatGPT's readability and user-friendliness will increase its usefulness for patients. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable.