{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T23:15:04Z","timestamp":1785366904749,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778112000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Many people suffer from cervical disc herniation, which significantly affects the lives of individuals, causing chronic pain and functional limitations. This paper presents the development and evaluation of an AI-powered inflatable neck collar designed to provide personalized and adaptive support for individuals experiencing neck pain, particularly those with disc herniations. The system seamlessly integrates motion sensors, a robust AI model trained on a dataset of MRI scans, and a custom-designed inflatable collar. The AI model accurately detects disc herniations and segments vertebral structures, enabling real-time, targeted inflation adjustments based on the user\u2019s unique anatomy, posture, and movements. A user-centered design approach ensures a seamless and intuitive user experience, allowing for personalized profile management, control over inflation levels, and data logging for tracking progress. Extensive simulations using 3D models and real-time data flow systems validated the effectiveness of the AI-guided system. Results demonstrated accurate detection and segmentation of disc herniations, robust real-time response, and adaptability to user needs. The proposed system, reviewed and validated by a neurosurgeon, demonstrates significant potential as a novel and effective solution for personalized treatment of neck pain, particularly in cases of disc herniation. Further development and research will focus on expanding the dataset to improve fairness and accuracy for diverse demographics and increasing the robustness and generalizability of the system.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s26102928","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T14:05:46Z","timestamp":1778162746000},"page":"2928","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["AI-Guided Inflatable Neck Brace for Personalized Cervical Support"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-4443-5958","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abderrezaq","family":"Chemmami","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"LEREESI Laboratory, HNS-RE2SD, Batna 05000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7406-7633","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lyamine","family":"Guezouli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEREESI Laboratory, HNS-RE2SD, Batna 05000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aymen Ahmed","family":"Houasnia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEREESI Laboratory, HNS-RE2SD, Batna 05000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4209-8785","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nabil","family":"Djenfi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medicine Department, University of Batna 2, Constantine Road, Fesdis, Batna 05078, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5316-6456","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Amine","family":"Merzoug","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Computer Science Department, University of Batna 2, Batna 05078, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0918-1990","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meriem","family":"Outtas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Univ. Rennes, INSA Rennes, CNRS, IETR-UMR 6164, 35700 Rennes, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1566-3005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Djallel Eddine","family":"Boubiche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEREESI Laboratory, HNS-RE2SD, Batna 05000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4421-3775","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Homero","family":"Toral-Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda y Tecnolog\u00eda, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma del Estado de Quintana Roo, Chetumal 77019, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2188-9892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafael","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Pel\u00e1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidad Acad\u00e9mica de Computaci\u00f3n, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Sinaloa, Mazatl\u00e1n 82199, Mexico"},{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda de Sistemas y Computaci\u00f3n, Universidad Cat\u00f3lica del Norte, Antofagasta 1270709, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0923-3025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco","family":"M\u00e9ndez-Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda y Arquitectura, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche 24180, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1586-4496","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel","family":"May-Alarc\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda y Arquitectura, Universidad Aut\u00f3noma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche 24180, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Sharrak, S., and Al Khalili, Y. 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