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Biomedical subjects

T Harding

Publications and source records attributed to T Harding.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

The reliability of dangerousness assessments. A decision making exercise.

One hundred and ninety three raters drawn from six countries and representing different professional groups considered 16 case histories. Raters were asked to indicate what degree of 'dangerousness' they attributed to each individual and what they considered to be the optimal management. The level of agreement between raters concerning the assessment of dangerousness was generally low, the level of 60 per cent being reached for only 4 cases out of 16. Psychiatrists did not reach a higher level of agreement on the ratings of dangerousness than non-psychiatrists. Psychiatrists had a tendency to rate individuals as more dangerous than did non-psychiatrists. The results of this exercise do not support the use of 'dangerousness' as a scientifically or operationally valid concept.

Dangerous Behavior↗
PubMed1982

A microcomputer system for prescription, calculation, verification and recording of radiotherapy treatments.

The design of a microcomputer system for the reduction of mistakes in radiotherapy is described. The system covers prescription entry, prescription and treatment calculations, and verification and recording of the treatment set-up. A telecobalt unit was interfaced to the system and in the first 12 months 400 patients have been prescribed and 5000 treatment fields verified. The prescription is entered by the medical officer using an interactive program and this prescription provides the reference for verifying the treatment set-up. The program allows amendments to the prescription to be made easily during the treatment course. The treatment parameters verified are field size, wedge and treatment time. The system uses bar-codes for patient and field identification. A reduction in the number of mistakes has been achieved and future developments are discussed.

Computers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

PRESC: an interactive program for radiation therapy prescriptions.

An interactive program for prescribing radiotherapy treatments has been developed with the aim of improving radiation dose accuracy by preventing mistakes in quantitative data handling and calculations. The program also aims to decrease the time required to prescribe treatments and check the calculations. The interactive dialogue closely follows present, manual methods of prescription. The program provides a comprehensive choice of treatment options which either individually or in combination cover all the treatments carried out on the Cobalt units for which the program was designed. Each of the treatment options has been highly optimized to reduce the amount of data entered and for ease of use. The program allows changes to the prescription at time of entry and during the treatment course. The treatment sheet and patient record resulting from the interactive dialogue are discussed and compared with the existing system. The modular program structure is described and some of the results from use of the program are discussed. Possible future improvements are outlined.

Computers↗