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Biomedical subjects

R Maceratini

Publications and source records attributed to R Maceratini.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Application of a new logic domain method for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

In this paper we describe the application of a new learning tool for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The method adopted operates in the logic domain and presents several interesting features for the development of medical diagnostic systems. We consider a database of 128 patients, 64 of which affected by hepatocellular carcinoma, while the others affected by cirrhosis but not from hepatocellular carcinoma. Each patient is described by a number of attributes measured in non-invasive way. The system, after the training, is able to correctly separate the 64 patients affected by cirrhosis from the others 64 affected by hepatocellular carcinoma and is now ready to produce automatic diagnosis for new patients. The hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most widely spread malignant tumors in the world. The ability to detect the tumor in its early stages in a minimally invasive way is crucial to the treatment of patients with this disease.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

An information system on toxicological risks linked to drug manipulation.

Aim of the project is to define and to implement an information system able to help people, who produce chemotherapic antineoplastic drugs, and health care operators, who manipulate such drugs, to prevent short and long term adverse effects connected to the above mentioned activities. The system is able to give a detailed and updated information about these problems, and to give an up-to date, from a professional point of view, to the users of the system. Also an information system prototype was implemented, which consists of an object-oriented database, a decision support system, able to manage and to plan a periodic control of workers, to verify the adverse effects of the antineoplastic chemotherapic drugs, a management system for the network communications.

Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems↗
PubMed1998

Telematic evolution of day-hospital in oncology.

The telematic evolution of the Day-Hospital can be considered as the virtual hospitalization, implementing the integration between hospital care and home care and predefining an hospital system which "goes to the patient home". In this paper the authors describe tools, characteristics, and advantages of this proposal, as well as the interaction model. Then the medical problem is illustrated: the first model implemented in oncology involves the liver tumors, which are the more frequent malignant neoplasms, and, in particular, the hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC),. The Organization Model, the Information System, the Tools and the Modalities of Telemonitoring for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in telematic day-hospital are still illustrated and a brief conclusion is given.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗
PubMed1997

Hepatocellular carcinoma: the virtual hospitalization in day-hospital.

The virtual hospitalization can be considered as the telematic evolution of the Day-Hospital, implementing the integration between hospital care and home care and predefining an hospital system which "goes to the patient home". In this paper the authors describe characteristics, motivations and advantages of this proposal, as well as the interaction model. Then the medical problem is illustrated: the liver tumors, which are the more frequent malignant neoplasms, and, in particular, the hepatocellular carcinomas, which represent about the 50% of these tumors. The Organization Model, the Information System and the Modalities of Telemonitoring for Hepatocellular Carcinoma are still illustrated and a brief conclusion is given.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
PubMed1995

A survey of telemedicine in Italy.

Italy has a tradition of experimental telemedicine which dates back to the early 1970s. However, despite promising experience, widespread diffusion of telemedicine services has not occurred. The Ministry of Research recognized the potential of telemedicine for improving the quality of health care and reducing costs, and has launched a national plan for financing research and training. The plan is expected to have a major impact on the organization of telemedicine research in Italy. In this paper we describe the current situation, outline the structure of the national plan, and survey various applications in different fields, such as teleconsulting, teleradiology and telemonitoring.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1995

Toward an improvement of life optimizing resource use.

In this paper an object-oriented system for the storing and the managing of epidemiological data in order to decrease the incidence of a given groups of diseases by means of health care strategy application and of the relative health care resource allocation is described. The system starts from the present epidemiological situation of the territory examined and from the real distribution on this territory of human and material health care resources. The health care manager inputs the available budget, some information regarding the population living on this area, other geographical and climatic informations, the values of certain epidemiological parameters of the diseases considered--the system has stored the mathematical and departmental models of these diseases--and the system allocates (using own allocation algorithms) human and material health care resources, optimizing the cost-benefit rate.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1995

Virtual hospitalization: reality or utopia?

In this paper the problem regarding the way in which the increasing capacity and facilities of the telemedicine to link points of care, supporting services and health care sectors, is described. The virtual hospitalization is discussed, as well as its insertion in a new health care system, whose services will provide everyone with effective health care in their homes or in isolated places or in their working places or in emergencies, and which will permit remote consultations between professionals in specialized centers, hospitals and other peripheral points of care.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Expert systems and the pancreatic cancer problem: decision support in the pre-operative diagnosis.

In this paper, after reviewing the main issue in artificial intelligence, decision support systems, medical decision-making, expert systems and some of their applications in medicine, we focus on the diagnostic aspect of pancreatic cancer. We briefly examine the most significant applications both from the oncological and from the diagnostic point of view. We discuss the medical problems mentioning incidence and mortality, aetiological factors and diagnosis, considering the roles of surgery and adjuvant therapies. Finally we justify the decision to develop an expert system in such a medical domain and discuss the SPES (Surgical Pancreatic Expert System) project, its parts dealing with the different medical phases of pancreatic cancer diagnosis and therapy: pre-operative, intra-operative and adjuvant therapies. In particular we discuss diagnostic aspects of pancreatic cancer disease, pointing out the aims of the project, methodologies, tools used and future developments.

Decision Support Techniques↗
PubMed1985

Surgical treatment of liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

The experience with 28 patients undergoing hepatic resection for metastases from colorectal cancer is reported. In 15 cases the metastases were synchronous, in 13 metachronous, appearing 12 to 60 months after surgery of primary cancer. Six patients underwent right lobectomy, 2 left lobectomy, 9 left lateral segmentectomy, 6 right wedge resection and 2 bilateral wedge resection. In 20 cases the lesions were solitary, in 8 multiple. Overall operative mortality was 14.2%. Mean survival for synchronous metastases was 16 months with 3 patients living beyond 12 months, and 26 months for metachronous metastases with 4 patients living beyond 12 months. The obtained results are analyzed on the basis of staging of primary cancer, of the metastatic disease and type of resection, examining the morbidity and cause of long term mortality. It is evidenced that, even if correct pre- and intraoperative staging of metastatic disease is impossible, an aggressive surgical approach is the treatment of choice in surgically resectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1983

Intraoperative high-resolution ultrasonography in the localization of occult endocrine pancreatic tumours.

Intraoperative pancraticosonography was employed in six patients to localize suspected endocrine tumours and to study the specific ultrasonic features. The cases included four insulinomas, one case of occult G-cell apudoma and one case of beta-cell microadenomatosis. Endocrine tumours are generally hypoechoeic and well defined with smooth borders. The study confirms that real-time operative high resolution sonography is a reliable technique to assist in the diagnosis of occult endocrine tumours and to guide the surgical approach.

Adenoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An object oriented decision support system for the planning of health resource allocation.

The health resource allocation problem is discussed in this paper. An object-oriented system, which consists of two parts is proposed and its implemented prototype is illustrated. The first part consists of a Geographical Information System which is able to acquire and store both geographical information regarding the territory under investigation and the socio-epidemiological information and the resource distribution in that moment on the same territory. The second part refers to the strategies and the relative algorithms carried out (using a Decision Support System) to obtain the best solution (allocation of new resources optimizing the cost/benefit ratio) after that the user has fixed a goal (e.g., the decrease of the incidence of a given disease) and has defined some constraints (e.g., a fixed budget, a given set of available resources, etc.). The object-oriented database stores different scenarios, depending on the different goals and constraints defined in input. A user friendly interface was also implemented.

Decision Making, Computer-Assisted↗