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At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Digital echocardiographic communication using multivendor networked DICOM devices.

Digital acquisition, storage, and review of echocardiographic data are feasible in a multivendor networked DICOM environment. The authors' echocardiographic laboratory currently stores 120 studies per day using the ProSolv Echo Management System. Storage and retrieval is realized on standard computer hardware without the necessity for proprietary hardware solutions. DICOM storage has become more efficient as vendor solutions improve. Transmission rates over a 10/100 BT switched network are approximately 0.40 MB/s allowing a complete echo study (~40 MB) to be transferred to the server in approximately 1.5 minutes, however the ability to send data during a study has also been realized by one vendor.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1996

The role of high technology in maintaining esthetic restorations.

Computer technology has revolutionized the way the world does business, allowing us to work faster, smarter, and more efficiently than ever before. Within dentistry, that translates to x-rays that use significantly smaller amounts of ionizing radiation, automated periodontal charting and storage devices, and imaging systems. Perhaps the greatest bottom-line benefit, especially in esthetic dentistry, is that these state-of-the-art developments enable dentists and hygienists to more effectively communicate with patients. The future of any restoration is based on the patient's motivation and ability to maintain an efficient oral hygiene routine. Esthetic restorations demand more vigorous home care programs to maximize their esthetic and functional life expectancy. With computerized images on screen, patients can better visualize the treatment that has been done and come to a realization that the restoration's success rests squarely on their shoulders.

Computer Graphics↗
PubMed2005

Computed Quality Assessment of MPEG4-compressed DICOM Video Data.

Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) has become one of the most popular standards in medicine. This standard specifies the exact procedures in which digital images are exchanged between devices, either using a network or storage medium. Sources for images vary; therefore there exist definitions for the exchange for CR, CT, NMR, angiography, sonography and so on. With its spreading, with the increasing amount of sources included, data volume is increasing, too. This affects storage and traffic. While for long-time storage data compression is generally not accepted at the moment, there are many situations where data compression is possible: Telemedicine for educational purposes (e.g. students at home using low speed internet connections), presentations with standard-resolution video projectors, or even the supply on wards combined receiving written findings. DICOM comprises compression: for still image there is JPEG, for video MPEG-2 is adopted. Within the last years MPEG-2 has been evolved to MPEG-4, which squeezes data even better, but the risk of significant errors increases, too. Within the last years effects of compression have been analyzed for entertainment movies, but these are not comparable to videos of physical examinations (e.g. echocardiography). In medical videos an individual image plays a more important role. Erroneous single images affect total quality even more. Additionally, the effect of compression can not be generalized from one test series to all videos. The result depends strongly on the source. Some investigations have been presented, where different MPEG-4 algorithms compressed videos have been compared and rated manually. But they describe only the results in an elected testbed. In this paper some methods derived from video rating are presented and discussed for an automatically created quality control for the compression of medical videos, primary stored in DICOM containers.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

BCI Meeting 2005--workshop on signals and recording methods.

This paper describes the highlights of presentations and discussions during the Third International BCI Meeting in a workshop that evaluated potential brain-computer interface (BCI) signals and currently available recording methods. It defined the main potential user populations and their needs, addressed the relative advantages and disadvantages of noninvasive and implanted (i.e., invasive) methodologies, considered ethical issues, and focused on the challenges involved in translating BCI systems from the laboratory to widespread clinical use. The workshop stressed the critical importance of developing useful applications that establish the practical value of BCI technology.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1993

infoRAD: computers for clinical practice and education in radiology. Teleradiology, information transfer, and PACS: implications for diagnostic imaging in the 1990s.

Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) provide image viewing at diagnostic, reporting, consultation, and remote workstations; archival on magnetic or optical media by means of short- or long-term storage devices; communications by means of local or wide area networks or public communication services; and integrated systems with modality interfaces and gateways to health care facilities and departmental information systems. Research indicates three basic needs for image and report management: (a) improved communication and turnaround time between radiologists and other imaging specialists and referring physicians, (b) fast reliable access to both current and previously obtained images and reports, and (c) space-efficient archival support. Although PACS considerations are much more complex than those associated with single modalities, the same basic purchase criteria apply. These criteria include technical leadership, image quality, throughput, life cost (eg, initial cost, maintenance, upgrades, and depreciation), and total service. Because a PACS takes much longer to implement than a single modality, the customer and manufacturer must develop a closer working relationship than has been necessary in the past.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed2004

The writer independent online handwriting recognition system frog on hand and cluster generative statistical dynamic time warping.

In this paper, we give a comprehensive description of our writer-independent online handwriting recognition system frog on hand. The focus of this work concerns the presentation of the classification/training approach, which we call cluster generative statistical dynamic time warping (CSDTW). CSDTW is a general, scalable, HMM-based method for variable-sized, sequential data that holistically combines cluster analysis and statistical sequence modeling. It can handle general classification problems that rely on this sequential type of data, e.g., speech recognition, genome processing, robotics, etc. Contrary to previous attempts, clustering and statistical sequence modeling are embedded in a single feature space and use a closely related distance measure. We show character recognition experiments of frog on hand using CSDTW on the UNIPEN online handwriting database. The recognition accuracy is significantly higher than reported results of other handwriting recognition systems. Finally, we describe the real-time implementation of frog on hand on a Linux Compaq iPAQ embedded device.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

[Computerization and the importance of information in health system, as in health care resources registry].

The possibilities of creating a health care resources registry and its operating in Croatia as well as the importance of information in health system are described. At the Croatian Institute of Public Health, monitoring of human resources is performed through the national Health Workers Registry. It also covers basic data on all health units, bed capacities of health facilities included. The initiated health care computerization has urged the idea of forming one more database on physical resources, i.e. on registered medical devices and equipment, more complete. Linking these databases on health resources would produce a single Health Care Resources Registry. The concept views Health Care Resources Registry as part of the overall health information system with centralized information on the health system. The planned development of segments of a single health information system is based on the implementation of the accepted international standards and common network services. Network services that are based on verified Internet technologies are used within a safe, reliable and closed health computer network, which makes up the health intranet (WAN--Wide Area Network). The resource registry is a software solution based on the relational database that monitors history, thus permitting the data collected over a longer period to be analyzed. Such a solution assumes the existence of a directory service, which would replace the current independent software for the Health Workers Registry. In the Health Care Resources Registry, the basic data set encompasses data objects and attributes from the directory service. The directory service is compatible with the LDAP protocol (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), providing services uniformly to the current records on human and physical resources. Through the storage of attributes defined according to the HL7 (Health Level Seven) standard, directory service is accessible to all applications of the health information system. Directory service does not follow the history of attribute changes, and is optimized for a large number of authorizing inquiries. With it, one follows the following objects and attributes: persons, groups of people (patients, physicians, other personnel), roles (right of access and administrator permissions), organizational units, unit locations, devices and services (according to the list of services and procedures). One can add to the Health Care Resource Registry such attributes as are nonessential for inclusion in the directory service, but are of public health value. Authentication, authorization and digital signature are done by means of Smart Cards, which are used as protective elements against access to system functions, and simultaneously as a physical medium for the storage of the official certificate with which documents are signed digitally. As FINA (state financial control agency) has completed a system for certificate issuance and verification, the option of official digital signature is also available as a computer network service. Any changes taking place in the directory service are transferred by XML messages to a separate part of the Registry that reads them and automatically modifies records in the relational database. Because data input and data changes are made in health units, this makes the data updated and directly connected with health working operations. This avoids all one-time data collection campaigns using form filling about the devices and equipment in the future. As it is very difficult to monitor from a central standpoint how accurate and update the information is, it is necessary to delegate the permissions and duties associated with making changes to the directory service. By this organizational setup, the time needed to ensure data quality control is reduced. In the case described, the Health Care Resource Registry becomes an indicator of change, acquiring certain characteristics of an analytical system. An analysis of topical data renders possible proactive action and makes more effective the planning and utilization of available resources. Providing answers on the current data quickly could also be important to solution-seeking in emergencies. The present proposal to establish the Registry is intended to facilitate the future process of planning and striking a balance between investments in human and physical resources. For health expenditure control, having reliable information related to the use and purchase of new medical technology is particularly important. World Health Organization and European Union have also emphasized the need to develop new indicators in this area.

Croatia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Storage options for the healthcare enterprise.

The storage objectives for the healthcare enterprise (HE) are to ensure that information (images and data) are readily available anywhere and at anytime, images and data are secure, and the storage fulfills legal requirements and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These objectives must be satisfied at a minimum economic cost with respect to personnel, hardware, software, space and telecommunications. Many approaches and storage configurations meet these objectives. Which approach is chosen will depend on the size of the institution, patient population, geographic distribution of the institutions (if more than one), type of facility (such as a hospital, outpatient clinic or private imaging center), and financial investment objectives. The quantity of storage required depends on the characteristics of the modalities, the number of imaging devices and databases, the number and location of imaging sites that make up the HE, the size of the data and image, and the projected procedure volume growth. The only certainty with respect to storage requirements is that they will increase significantly with time. The types of storage required in the HE can be described by their functions: Active storage includes both online and long-term storage. Backup images are temporarily backed up on the limited storage capacity of the modality for several days or longer. Additional copies of the study are made on different media (e.g., disk, DVD or tape), in different locations. The process of backing up data and images must be automated. Effective April 21, 2005, HIPAA requires that all healthcare entities have a disaster recovery plan in effect. This requires that a copy of all medical data be secure, retrievable and maintained in a second location, such that if the primary copy of the data is destroyed or made unavailable, the disaster recovery copy would be available. Planning for the HE archive is critical if the HE is to work productively in an integrated digital environment. The information technology department must be an integral part of planning for the HE archive, which must be located in a secure data center and not under the management of any single clinical department. After the technologies currently available are evaluated, it is imperative that the chosen solution is cost-effective and scalable, and that it will allow the HE to take advantage of future storage and storage management technology.

Archives↗
PubMed2000

Electronics using hybrid-molecular and mono-molecular devices.

The semiconductor industry has seen a remarkable miniaturization trend, driven by many scientific and technological innovations. But if this trend is to continue, and provide ever faster and cheaper computers, the size of microelectronic circuit components will soon need to reach the scale of atoms or molecules--a goal that will require conceptually new device structures. The idea that a few molecules, or even a single molecule, could be embedded between electrodes and perform the basic functions of digital electronics--rectification, amplification and storage--was first put forward in the mid-1970s. The concept is now realized for individual components, but the economic fabrication of complete circuits at the molecular level remains challenging because of the difficulty of connecting molecules to one another. A possible solution to this problem is 'mono-molecular' electronics, in which a single molecule will integrate the elementary functions and interconnections required for computation.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

An image processing/stereological analysis system for transmission electron microscopy.

This study examines the feasibility of combining computer image digitization, image enhancement, and point counting stereological techniques to quantify video images from transmission electron microscopes (TEM). The essential hardware consists of an IBM PC/AT, a Matrox imaging board, a digitizing tablet, a high resolution black and white monitor, and a portable mass storage device. In addition a video camera must be mounted to the TEM. The software is written in three modules which have numerous routines for image acquisition, enhancement, and quantification. Quantification is achieved by selecting an electronic lattice and superimposing it on the cell image. A cursor is moved on the lattice (via the digitizing tablet) and the points are entered into a spreadsheet. One of the major limitations of the system was the reduced resolution inherent in the current hardware. However, sampling experiments showed that one could compensate for the reduced resolution by increasing the magnification of the digitized images, and the stereological values from digitized images compared favorably to those from electron micrographs. Furthermore, the system proved advantageous by eliminating the usual darkroom work, and in enhancing low contrast tissue. In spite of several hardware limitations, the concept of quantifying computer digitized TEM images appears promising.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The development of a third generation system for entering microbiology data into a clinical laboratory information system.

Increased demands on technologists' time and the desire to have electronic storage of patient information have led to numerous computer-based efforts to manage microbiology data. Our approach to the design of a new microbiology subsystem has been to maximize the functionality without requiring unusual input devices. DEC VT100-compatible terminals are used for data entry and display. Data are displayed taking advantage of such features of these terminals as reverse video, highlighting, and scroll windowing. Numerous single-key instructions for invoking functions and changing cursor positions have been implemented to minimize keystrokes and to anticipate the entry sequences of the technologists. A program that allows the quick location and display of specimens and results is also included in the package.

Clinical Laboratory Information Systems↗
PubMed2000

ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in acute care settings: dispensing and administration--1999.

Results of the 1999 ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in acute care settings that pertain to drug dispensing and administration practices are presented. Pharmacy directors at 1050 general and children's medical-surgical hospitals in the United States were surveyed by mail. The response rate was 51%. About three-fourths of respondents described their inpatient pharmacy's distribution system as centralized. Of those with centralized distribution, 77.4% indicated that their system was not automated. Decentralized pharmacists were used in 29.4% of the hospitals surveyed; an average of 58.9% of their time was spent on clinical, as opposed to distributive, activities. About 67% of directors reported pharmacy computer access to hospital laboratory data, 38% reported access to automated medication-dispensing-unit data, and 19% reported computer access to hospital outpatient affiliates. Only 13% of hospitals had an electronic medication order-entry system; another 27% reported they were in the process of developing such a system. Decentralized medication storage and distribution devices were used in 49.2% of hospitals, while 7.3% used bedside information systems for medication management. Machine-readable coding was used for inpatient pharmacy dispensing by 8.2% of hospitals. Ninety percent reported a formal, systemwide committee responsible for data collection, review, and evaluation of medication errors. Virtually all respondents (98.7%) reported that their staff initiated manual reports. Only two thirds tracked these reports and reported trends to the staff. Fewer than 15% reported that staff were penalized for making or contributing to an error. Pharmacists are making a significant contribution to the safety of medication distribution and administration. The increased use of technology to improve efficiency and reduce costs will require that pharmacists continue to focus on the impact of changes on the safety of the medication-use system.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1989

Information technology and the future of health services delivery.

This article examines the dramatic ways that information technology will influence clinical care, strategic management, and organization of the health care delivery system in the years ahead. Advancements in microprocessors, telecommunications, mass storage of data and images, and input-output devices will be accompanied by increased use of health-related software packages. Standardized patient record formats and coding systems will facilitate system integration and networking of computers. Clinical decision support systems will assist physicians in medical diagnosis and treatment. Computer-enhanced medical imaging and other noninvasive procedures will reduce surgery, patient pain and discomfort, and lower costs. Automation will get closer to the patient. Management information and decision support systems will be central to effective management in a highly competitive environment. Information systems will support strategic planning, cost control, productivity enhancement, quality improvement, and evaluation of products and services.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed2003

Switching of magnetization by nonlinear resonance studied in single nanoparticles.

Magnetization reversal in magnetic particles is one of the fundamental issues in magnetic data storage. Technological improvements require the understanding of dynamical magnetization reversal processes at nanosecond time scales. New strategies are needed to overcome current limitations. For example, the problem of thermal stability of the magnetization state (superparamagnetic limit) can be pushed down to smaller particle sizes by increasing the magnetic anisotropy. High fields are then needed to reverse the magnetization, which are difficult to achieve in current devices. Here we propose a new method to overcome this limitation. A constant applied field, well below the switching field, combined with a radio-frequency (RF) field pulse can reverse the magnetization of a nanoparticle. The efficiency of this method is demonstrated on a 20-nm-diameter cobalt particle by using the microSQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) technique. Other applications of this method might be nucleation or depinning of domain walls.

Cobalt↗
PubMed1988

Blood glucose self-monitoring. An evaluation of five systems.

Self-monitoring of capillary blood glucose has proved to be of great value to diabetic patients. Primary care physicians should therefore become familiar with the various models of reflectance meters so that they can advise each patient on the most appropriate type, and on its use. Accordingly, the authors reviewed five of the major self-monitoring blood glucose systems: Glucometer II, Accu-Chek II, Diascan-S, Glucochek SC, and Trends-Meter. The protocol for evaluation included quality of hardware, ease of use, standardization, accuracy and precision, manufacture's support, and cost for each test. Major differences among the five systems concerned ease of calibration, size of blood sample required, half-strip capability, upper end linearity, strip timing programs, and strip storage after development. Nevertheless, all devices proved accurate and unquestionably useful in helping patients control their diabetes.

Blood Glucose↗