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K Adamson

Publications and source records attributed to K Adamson.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Comparison of a commercial reversed passive latex agglutination assay to an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli.

A multicenter study was performed to compare the performance of a prototypic reversed passive latex agglutination assay (VTEC Screen "Seiken"; Denka-Seiken, Japan) with the Premier EHEC Enzyme Immunoassay (Meridian Diagnostics, USA) for the detection of Shiga toxin in 554 diarrheal stool samples. Standard culture on sorbitol MacConkey agar and the use of latex agglutination reagents were included to identify the Escherichia coli O157, O26 and O111 serotypes. There was 99% agreement between the VTEC screen and enzyme immunoassay (kappa=0.823). Seventeen samples were positive for toxin by one or both assays. One toxin-positive sample using the enzyme immunoassay and four positive samples using the VTEC Screen could not be confirmed. Serotypes identified included: O157:H7 (n=8), O26 (n=2), O111 (n=1) and O45:H2 (n=1). The VTEC screen is easy to perform and comparable to the Meridian EHEC test for detection of Shiga toxin in clinical samples.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed2001

The clinical application of a dual head gamma camera with coincidence detection in 20 women with suspected ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a dual head coincidence gamma camera in identifying ovarian cancer as a less expensive alternative to the traditional 2-[18F] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG) system using positron emission tomography. DESIGN: Prospective study. POPULATION: Twenty consecutive women suspected of having ovarian carcinoma. Inclusion was based on abnormal serum CA125 (reference range is 0-35 units/L), ultrasound, computerised tomography or clinical findings. METHODS: Women underwent assessment before staging laparotomy. Two nuclear medicine physicians, who were blinded to the pre-operative assessment, reported on 18FDG- dual head coincidence gamma camera imaging. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The histology and operative staging were compared with the 18FDG- dual head coincidence gamma camera findings. RESULTS: Twelve women had pelvic malignancies (nine primary and three recurrences), seven women had benign pathology and one patient had a borderline malignancy. We were able to image accurately all malignant pelvic masses with dual head coincidence gamma camera, as well as accurately demonstrate disease spread. Two of the benign pelvic masses localised 18FDG. The positive predictive value for detecting malignancy was 86%. CONCLUSIONS: Dual head coincidence gamma camera offers accurate and affordable imaging in suspected ovarian masses, with improved specificity over CA125, ultrasound and computerised tomography. These results are similar to those obtained on more expensive dedicated PET systems. We report on a series of patients believed to have primary or recurrent carcinoma and recognise the need to include patients more likely to have benign lesions to assess false positive results. However, we believe that dual head coincidence gamma camera is useful in the pre-operative assessment of women with suspected ovarian cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Predicting coronary disease risk based on short-term RR interval measurements: a neural network approach.

Coronary heart disease is a multifactorial disease and it remains the most common cause of death in many countries. Heart rate variability has been used for non-invasive measurement of parasympathetic activity and prediction of cardiac death. Patterns of heart rate variability associated with respiratory sinus arrhythmia have recently been considered as possible indicators of coronary heart disease risk in asymptomatic subjects. The aim of this work is to detect individuals at varying risk of coronary heart disease based on short-term heart rate variability measurements under controlled respiration. Artificial neural networks are used to recognise Poincaré-plot-encoded heart rate variability patterns related to coronary heart disease risk. The results indicate a relatively coarse binary representation of Poincaré plots could be superior to an analogue encoding which, in principle, carries more information.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1999

Improving clinical decision support through case-based data fusion.

This paper presents an information fusion technique based on a knowledge discovery model, and the case-based reasoning decision framework. Using signal data and database records from the heart disease risk estimation domain, three data fusion methods are discussed. Two of these methods combine information at the retrieval-outcome level, and one method merges data at the discovery-input level. The result of these three models are compared and evaluated against the performance of single-source models. It is shown that the methods that fuse information at the retrieval-outcome level are significantly superior.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Information issues in telemedicine systems.

This paper examines the use of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) for telemedicine from the computer scientist's point of view. As increased bandwidth becomes available at reasonable cost, it becomes possible to employ graphical user interfaces in telemedicine systems. This means that human-computer interaction (HCI) techniques can be applied to the interface design. This paper describes some of these as applied to telemedicine by other authors. HCI techniques can be considered to be part of the development process of telemedicine systems. An integrated, multimedia-based telemedicine system which emulated the concept of a hospital information system would have many benefits, such as a consistent user interface with appropriate clinical metaphors, integrated patient records with facilities to store graphical information, and remote access. Telemedicine has much to offer in terms of providing higher standards of patient care through improved response times by clinicians who have the required information immediately available. The patient also benefits from convenience factors, such as being able to consult locally a remote specialist.

Computer Communication Networks↗