Abstract
Visual impairment and blindness caused by infectious diseases has been greatly reduced, but increasing numbers of people are at risk of age-related visual impairment. Visual information is the basis for most navigational tasks, so visually impaired individuals are at disadvantage because appropriate information about the surrounding environment is not available. With the recent advances in inclusive technology it is possible to extend the support given to people with visual impairment during their mobility. In this context we propose a system, named SmartVision, whose global objective is to give blind users the ability to move around in unfamiliar environments, whether indoor or outdoor, through a user friendly interface. This paper is focused mainly in the development of the computer vision module of the SmartVision system.

Abstract
In this article, two artificial neural networks based models for motion detection and motion analysis in image sequence, are proposed and analyzed. The first model is applicable to sequences acquired by a static camera, and segments the images into two areas: moving objects and background. The second model, applicable to image sequences obtained by a moving camera, uses a neural network to identify the `interesting points' in the images (e.g. edges, corners), and a block matching algorithm to calculate the movement in these points. Several tests with real images have been performed to evaluate the models. The results are similar to those obtained by other methods but the proposed techniques show some advantages which are discussed in the paper.

Abstract

Abstract
Simple Summary Canine hip dysplasia development results in femoral neck modeling and an increase in thickness. The main objective of this work was to describe a femoral neck thickness index to quantify femoral neck width and to study its association with the degree of canine hip dysplasia using the Federation Cynologique Internationale scoring scheme. A total of 53 dogs (106 hips) were randomly selected for this study. Two examiners performed femoral neck thickness index estimation to study intra- and inter-examiner reliability and agreement. Statistical analysis tests showed excellent agreement and reliability between the measurements of the two examiners and the examiners' sessions. All joints were scored in five categories by an experienced examiner according to the Federation Cynologique Internationale criteria, and the results from examiner 1 were compared between these categories. The comparison of mean femoral neck thickness index between hip dysplasia categories using the analysis of variance test showed significant differences between groups. These results show that femoral neck thickness index is a parameter capable of evaluating proximal femur bone modeling and that it has the potential to enrich conventional canine hip dysplasia scoring criteria if incorporated into a computer-aided diagnosis software. The alteration in the shape of the femoral neck is an important radiographic sign for scoring canine hip dysplasia (CHD). Previous studies have reported that the femoral neck thickness (FNT) is greater in dogs with hip joint dysplasia, becoming progressively thicker with disease severity. The main objective of this work was to describe a femoral neck thickness index (FNTi) to quantify FNT and to study its association with the degree of CHD using the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) scheme. A total of 53 dogs (106 hips) were randomly selected for this study. Two examiners performed FNTi estimation to study intra- and inter-examiner reliability and agreement. The paired t-test, the Bland-Altman plots, and the intraclass correlation coefficient showed excellent agreement and reliability between the measurements of the two examiners and the examiners' sessions. All joints were scored in five categories by an experienced examiner according to FCI criteria. The results from examiner 1 were compared between FCI categories. Hips that were assigned an FCI grade of A (n = 19), B (n = 23), C (n = 24), D (n = 24), and E (n = 16) had a mean & PLUSMN; standard deviation FNTi of 0.809 & PLUSMN; 0.024, 0.835 & PLUSMN; 0.044, 0.868 & PLUSMN; 0.022, 0.903 & PLUSMN; 0.033, and 0.923 & PLUSMN; 0.068, respectively (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Therefore, these results show that FNTi is a parameter capable of evaluating proximal femur bone modeling and that it has the potential to enrich conventional CHD scoring criteria if incorporated into a computer-aided diagnosis capable of detecting CHD.

Abstract
Abstract Background: Analysis of locomotion is often used as a measure for impairment and recovery following experimental peripheral nerve injury. Compared to rodents, sheep offer several attractive features as an experimental model for studying peripheral nerve regeneration. There are no studies on locomotion outcomes after peripheral nerve injury and repair in the sheep model. In the present study, we performed and compared two-dimensional (2D) and, for the first time, three-dimensional (3D) hindlimb kinematics during obstacle avoidance in the ovine model. This study aimed to obtain kinematic data to serve as a template for an objective assessment of the ankle joint motion in future studies of common peroneal nerve (CP) injury and repair in the ovine model. Results: The strategy used by the sheep to bring the hindlimb over a moderately high obstacle, set to 10% of its hindlimb length, was the pronounced knee, ankle and metatarsophalangeal flexion when approaching and clearing the obstacle. Despite the overall time course kinematic patterns about the hip, knee, ankle, and metatarsophalangeal were identical, we found significant differences between values of the 2D and 3D joint angular motion. Conclusions: Our results show that the most apparent changes that occurred during the gait cycle were for the ankle and metatarsophalangeal joints, whereas the hip and knee joints were much less affected. Data and techniques described here are likely to be useful for an objective assessment of altered gait after CP injury and repair in an ovine model.

Abstract
[No abstract available]