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Biomedical subjects

Y Okuhara

Publications and source records attributed to Y Okuhara.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Increase or decrease of HDL-cholesterol concentrations during pravastatin treatment depending on the pre-treatment HDL cholesterol levels.

OBJECTIVE: The effect of pravastatin was evaluated using patient data accumulated in the data base of a hospital information system (HIS). METHODS: We selected 130 patients treated with pravastatin 10 mg per day, for a minimum period of 4 weeks. RESULTS: In the t test analysis, the reduction rates of total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels for pravastatin administration were 18%, and 27%, respectively. These values were similar to previous reports. The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level, however, did not change significantly, although previous reports have shown an elevation of HDL levels. In an attempt to explain the origin of this difference, we studied the pretreatment value dependence of the cholesterol change using regression analysis. We found that pravastatin raised the HDL level in those cases where pretreatment values were lower than 58 mg.dl-1 and reduced it for higher values. We also showed that the reductions of TC, LDL and triglyceride (TG) levels correlated positively with their pretreatment values.

Anticholesteremic Agents

Waveform changes due to conduction block and their underlying mechanism in spinal somatosensory evoked potential: a computer simulation. Technical note.

Based on a square-wave solid-angle analysis, a simplified mathematical model was produced for computing a sequence of potential change in a volume conductor generated by an impulse traveling along a nerve fiber. A conduction block was simulated as a phenomenon in which a depolarization wavefront stops traveling when it reaches a certain point, although the following repolarization wavefront continues to travel until it reaches the same point. The spinal somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) was produced as an algebraic sum of simulated nerve fiber action potentials (NFAPs). With a conduction block, an NFAP that was normally triphasic showed a positive-negative diphasic wave with reduced negativity at the point of the block, diphasic waves with enhanced negativity at points immediately preceding the block, and initial-positive waves alone or abolition of any wave at points beyond the block. The absence of their terminal-positive phases paradoxically enhanced the negative peak of the spinal SSEPs in a partial block that involved only the constituent fastest fibers, because phase cancellation of the phases between the terminal-positive phases of the fastest fibers and the negative phases of the slower fibers, which normally happens, failed to occur. At the points immediately preceding the block, the identical mechanism sustained the spinal SSEP enhancement even when every fiber was included in the block. The computer model predicted that localization of the precise site of conduction block can be achieved by demonstrating an abrupt reduction in the amplitude of the spinal SSEP, which is accompanied by an increased negative wave caudally and an enhanced monophasic positive wave rostrally.

Computer Simulation

Longitudinal characteristic curve of liver disease.

A longitudinal characteristic curve of chronic liver disease (LCC-LD) is derived for the first time by a new method of time series data analysis, where a hospital information system is utilized as a clinical research application of the database. It describes a typical pattern of development of disease from the beginning of chronic hepatitis to the final stage of cirrhosis. The LCC-LD is obtained by effectively using patient data with various stages of developments of liver disease and the present method is applicable to derive the LCC of other diseases. The obtained LCC-LD may be useful for a clinical decision making support such as the prospective assessment (for example, the onset time of cirrhosis) of liver disease in individual patients, an evaluation of drug effect, etc.

Algorithms

Dynamical monitoring network system for perinatal care.

A new type of monitoring network system for perinatal care is proposed and has been developed. The patient monitoring system and data analyzing system are connected by a local area network (LAN). The doctor can retrieve past sampled data and results of data analysis, and make a detailed analysis at the same time that the patient is being monitored. The mainframe of the hospital information system (HIS) is connected with a data server in the perinatal care area via LAN. The database in perinatal care is supplied to the HIS and the doctor through this monitoring network system. If data sampled at maternity clinics or hospitals are once transmitted to the data server on LAN via the public telephone circuit, these data are available for the specialists on LAN. This function is utilized for supporting the obstetricians.

Computer Systems

Development of a diagnostic and therapeutic simulation system based on patient data and specialist's knowledge. I. Simulation of diagnostic process.

A new simulation system of diagnostic and therapeutic processes is developed. The aim is to train medical students for the practical use of their knowledge, utilizing patient data in a total hospital information system. The knowledge in the system is presented by the specialists for every case. In medical school there are many specialists in various fields. With their cooperation the system can grow up to a comprehensive CAI system for clinical education. The system is designed to work on the mainframe for easiness of development, maintenance and extensions of the system. The present framework has been applied to the simulation of diagnostic process. The usefulness of the present system has been confirmed by specialists and students.

Computer-Assisted Instruction

Fast image accessing based on an analysis of the picture archiving and communications system in Kochi Medical School.

A large-scale picture archiving and communication system was developed by Kochi Medical School. Using JPEG to achieve 90% compression, this system was capable of storing several years worth of CT and MR examination records and eliminated the bottleneck in conventional systems caused by slow data access in the filing system. Under the new system, access of image files from client PCs was checked for bottlenecks. The image file retrieval from the image database on the server was found to require the longest time. Two methods were considered to eliminate this bottleneck. One was a multiimages filing into a file. Another was an image transmission with multiparallel transmission sessions, which is proposed in this article. By adopting the latter method, the system can transmit 50 CT images from the image database server to a client PC in about 10 s.

Humans