Biomedical subjects

S Hajnal

Publications and source records attributed to S Hajnal.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Influence of an anaesthetist on nurse-led, computer-based, pre-operative assessment.

Trained nurses using a rule-based computer program can successfully carry out pre-anaesthesia screening. All medical problems and abnormal laboratory results need to be reviewed by an experienced anaesthetist. Following the introduction of this system, there was a reduction in the frequency of cancellations of patients from elective orthopaedic operating lists from 4.8% to 1.8%, a difference that was statistically significant (p = 0.03, CI = [0.6%, 5.5%]). To minimise cancellations from booked operating lists, a booked admissions policy is essential, so that the anaesthetist who will eventually be responsible for patients with medical problems can be identified. Cancellations cannot be avoided completely because some abnormal conditions arise or deteriorate after completion of the screening process. The anaesthetist responsible for the patient's anaesthetic may have different views of the risks involved from those of the anaesthetist undertaking the screening process.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Measuring image texture to separate "difficult" from "easy" mammograms.

We are investigating computerized techniques for sorting mammograms according to whether the breast tissue is fatty or dense. The hypothesis is that areas of dense tissue are a major factor in making certain mammograms harder for both radiologists and computers to interpret. Being able to identify dense mammograms automatically could permit better use of the time and skills of expert radiologists by allowing the difficult mammograms to be examined by the most experienced readers. In addition, the scope for computer-aided detection of abnormalities might be increased by concentrating on the easier, fatty mammograms. The mammograms used in the experiment were classified independently by two radiologists, who agreed in almost all cases. A number of local statistical and texture measures were then computed for patches from digitizations of these mammograms. One of the measures (local skewness in tiles) gives a good separation between fatty and dense patches. This measure has been incorporated into an automated procedure that separates off approximately two thirds of the fatty mammograms. This finding has been replicated on mammograms taken from a UK screening programme. The relationship between the fatty/dense distinction and the classification proposed by Wolfe is discussed.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMed1994

Prototyping a genetics deductive database.

We are developing a laboratory notebook system known as the Genetics Deductive Database. Currently our prototype provides storage for biological facts and rules with flexible access via an interactive graphical display. We have introduced a formal basis for the representation and reasoning necessary to order genome map data and handle the uncertainty inherent in biological data. We aim to support laboratory activities by introducing an experiment planner into our prototype. The Genetics Deductive Database is built using new database technology which provides an object-oriented conceptual model, a declarative rule language, and a procedural update language. This combination of features allows the implementation of consistency maintenance, automated reasoning, and data verification.

Animals↗