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Humans↗
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Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
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Low-cost digital impedance meter for the detection of micro-organisms.
The digital impedance meter is a microprocessor-based instrument able to detect, quantify and identify micro-organisms. The equipment makes use of the bipolar technique of measuring the impedance modulus of six cells containing inoculated culture broth. It performs temperature compensation automatically. Growth curves are stored in memory as time course events and can be displayed on any suitable device.
Calibration↗
An artificial neural network for lesion detection on single-photon emission computed tomographic images.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: An artificial neural network (ANN) has been developed to detect nonactive circular lesions on single-slice, single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) images reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP). METHODS: The neural network is a single-layer perception which learns to identify features on the SPECT image using supervised training with a modified delta rule. The network was trained on a set of SPECT images containing clinically realistic levels of noise. The trained network was applied to a set of 120 images, and the detection performance was evaluated at several decision thresholds using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: The trained neural network performed better than human observers for the same detection task with the same images as reflected by a significantly larger ROC curve area. CONCLUSIONS: ANN can be trained successfully to perform lesion detection on reconstructed SPECT images.
Equipment Design↗
A straightforward algorithm for the quantification of power Doppler signals.
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To document a simple algorithm that quantifies power Doppler signals by computer-based statistical image analysis. METHODS: Personal computer-based software was developed. Color pixels representing power Doppler signals were separated from the background gray pixels in power Doppler images converted in BMP format. To avoid misregistration during this segmentation, a threshold value is required to adequately distinguish between gray and color pixels. Equating the intensity of each color pixel to a Power Value (PV), a histogram of Power Values in power Doppler images was obtained. RESULTS: The software was designed to allow users to adjust two thresholds (Difference Threshold and Intensity Threshold) by observing the segmentation results in real time. The software calculates the following indexes within any region of interest as defined by the operator: mean PV, peak PV, standard deviation of PV, percentage power Doppler area, and integrated PV per unit area. CONCLUSIONS: Power Doppler signals can be objectively quantified using this straightforward algorithm. This simple and practical method can be applied to comparative or longitudinal studies upon vascularity or blood flow.
Algorithms↗
An evaluation of commercial school health software for use in multisite research studies.
Multisite research studies are an ideal way to help specialty nursing organizations move toward evidence-based practice. A necessary requisite of such studies, the ability to collect data efficiently and accurately, can be addressed by adapting commercially available software to the research. This article reviews six commercial software packages designed for school nurses as to their appropriateness for use with multisite studies. The three major criteria considered were (a) whether the software is sophisticated enough to meet the demands of research, (b) whether it is user-friendly, and (c) whether it has reasonable technical specifications. The strengths, weaknesses, appropriateness, and costs of each of the products are reviewed.
Medical Records↗
Participatory design of a text message scheduling system to support young people with diabetes.
Effective self-management of diabetes requires considerable behavioural change and continuous support from health professionals, which can be expensive. Information technology has the potential to offer cost-effective patient support, but internet use mostly relies on the active seeking of information. Text messaging offers an ideal channel for delivering 'push' support and facilitating reciprocal communication between patient and health professional. This paper describes a participatory design methodology to develop a text message scheduling system for supporting young people with diabetes. The project illustrates how this familiar design approach can be used in a short-term project to deliver a successful medical application. Close working between clinician and software developer led to successive user-informed iterations as the clinician became more aware of the system's potential and identified barriers. The result was a reliable, functional, acceptable and usable system that was effectively implemented in its intended setting.
Adolescent↗
Improvement in the accuracy of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry for whole body and regional analysis of body composition: validation using piglets and methodologic considerations in infants.
Previously, we conducted dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (Hologic QDR-1000/W) scans and carcass analysis of piglets to evaluate the Pediatric Whole Body software (PedWB) (V5.35) for use in infants. A software upgrade designed for infant whole body (InfWB) (V5.56) led to a reassessment of DXA by: 1) reanalysis of the original scans using InfWB software and 2) comparison of InfWB-estimates of bone mineral content (BMC) and lean and fat mass with chemical analysis. Other assessments included 1) methods of regional analysis and 2) artifacts and the Infant Table Pad in the scan field. The mean coefficients of variation for InfWB whole body measures in small piglets (n = 10, weight 1575 +/- 73 g) and large piglets (n = 10, weight 5894 +/- 208 g) were less than 2.6% except for fat mass which was higher (8.0% versus 6.3% and 6.6% versus 3.5%, respectively) compared with PedWB. In large piglets InfWB produced good estimates of BMC, lean and fat masses. In small piglets, fat mass by InfWB was correlated with chemical analysis, but not by PedWB. There was improvement in the estimation of BMC with InfWB, from 27 +/- 2.2 g to 32 +/- 2.3 g (carcass ash = 38 +/- 3.3 g). Femur BMC analysis by InfWB was precise and was accurate when compared with chemical analysis. Artifacts in the DXA scan field (diapers and blankets) resulted in an increase of the DXA-estimated fat and lean masses. The Infant Table Pad increased the estimate of fat mass in a small piglet by 50%, thus further study is required before it is used routinely. Improvements of the DXA technology have resulted in a more accurate tool, if scanning procedures are carefully implemented.
Absorptiometry, Photon↗
Children using cellular phones: the effects of shortcomings in user interface design.
Differences in cellular phones' complexity and their impact on children's performance are under study in this experiment. Twenty children (age 9-14 years) solved tasks on two phones that were simulated according to existing models on a PC with a touch screen, holding constant display size, fonts, and colors. Actions were logged and analyzed regarding execution time, detour steps, and specific errors. Results show that children using the Siemens C35i with 25% higher complexity (with regard to number of required production rules) spent double the time solving tasks and undertook three times as many detour steps as children using the less complex Nokia 3210. A detailed analysis of user actions revealed that the number of production rules to be learned fails to account for most difficulties. Instead, ambiguous naming, poor categorization of functions, and unclear functionality of keys undermined performance. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidelines to improve the usability of all devices with small displays and hierarchical menu structures, such as cellular phones.
Adolescent↗
[The development of an automatic microscopic urinary sediment analyzer].
This paper introduces an automatic microscopic urinary sediment analyzer. A set of basic algorithms, including pretreatment and picking up characteristics is brought forward to realize the automatic segmentation of urinary sediment. This paper also characterizes the visible components in urinary sediment in morphology and has sum up 7 morphology parameters and a simple method of classification.
Algorithms↗
Visualizing the logic of a clinical guideline: a case study in childhood immunization.
IMM/Graph is a visual model designed to help knowledge-base developers understand and refine the guideline logic for childhood immunization. The IMM/Graph model is domain-specific and was developed to help build a knowledge-based system that makes patient-specific immunization recommendations. A "visual vocabulary" models issues specific to the immunization domain, such as (1) the age a child is first eligible for each vaccination dose, (2) recommended, "past due" and maximum ages, (3) minimum waiting periods between doses, (4) the vaccine brand or preparation to be given, and (5) the various factors affecting the time course of vaccination. Several lessons learned in the course of developing IMM/Graph include the following: (1) The intended use of the model may influence the choice of visual presentation; (2) There is a potentially interesting interplay between the use of visual and textual information in creating the visual model; (3) Visualization may help a development team better understand a complex clinical guideline and may also help highlight areas of incompleteness.
Child, Preschool↗
Real-time emergency telemedicine system: prototype design and functional evaluation.
In this paper, an emergency telemedicine system was designed for the transmission of real-time multimedia for remote consultation, including radiological images, patient records, video-conferencing, full-quality video, ECG, BP, respiration, temperature, SpO(2), systolic and diastolic pressures and heart rate. The standardized, modular, software-based design architecture, without resorting to external hardware compression boards, enables the low-cost implementation of the telemedicine system, using the unified, systematic and compact integration of multimedia on general personal computers. Experimental tests on local networks analyze the technical aspects of designed systems, and inter-hospital experiments demonstrate its clinical usefulness.
Computer Systems↗
Developing a computer-assisted instruction program: a process overview for the radiologist.
Recent advances in computer technology have led to the creation and development of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs, which are rapidly assuming a prominent role in both medical and nonmedical education. The development process includes defining objectives, identifying the target audience, assembling the design team, selecting compatible hardware and software, optimizing image quality, designing a palette, structuring information, and evaluating the program through user feedback. Although the individual radiologist is unlikely to possess all the skills necessary for developing a CAI program, even a basic knowledge of the computer environment is sufficient to enable him or her to become integrally involved in the process. The radiologist as "content expert" can and should participate actively throughout the process to integrate medical content with CAI program design. Indirect involvement might include participation in creative brainstorming sessions; direct involvement might help ensure image quality. A comprehensive understanding of the development process will enable the radiologist to communicate effectively as an educator in the new medium of CAI.
Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
Preparation of cherry-picked combinatorial libraries by string synthesis.
String synthesis [1-3] is an efficient and cheap manual method for preparation of combinatorial libraries by using macroscopic solid support units. Sorting the units between two synthetic steps is an important operation of the procedure. The software developed to guide sorting can be used only when complete combinatorial libraries are prepared. Since very often only selected components of the full libraries are needed, new software was constructed that guides sorting in preparation of non-complete combinatorial libraries. Application of the software is described in details.
Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗
A case-based assistant for diagnosis and analysis of dysmorphic syndromes.
This report describes the development of a case-based reasoning (CBR) system designed to provide assistance to specialists within the dysmorphology field. An interactive CBR model is described which aids medical experts in arriving at potential diagnoses, and has an explicit learning goal in order to provide further analytical assessment of syndrome categories. The complexity of this real world domain has highlighted a number of important empirical issues with respect to CBR techniques, which are discussed along with the system design.
Abnormalities, Multiple↗
Assistant programming software: a new tool for an improved programming of pacemakers.
Programming the new DDD pacemakers is becoming increasingly difficult. One must take into account the pacemaker's complexity, the fact that some parameters are linked to others, and the clinical profile of the patient. This difficult problem will lead to the design of software to assist programming, which will help the implanting physicians in choosing adequate programmed settings adapted to the functioning of the device and to the physiology and pathology of the patient. These programming aides should meet certain basic requirements to make them safe, efficient, and easy to use. One such system designed by ELA Médical, "Programming Assistant" is herein described. The preliminary results of an initial study on the acceptance of this programming aide among physicians involved in cardiac pacing are given and discussed.
Adult↗
Dual-genome primer design for construction of DNA microarrays.
MOTIVATION: Microarray experiments using probes covering a whole transcriptome are expensive to initiate, and a major part of the costs derives from synthesizing gene-specific PCR primers or hybridization probes. The high costs may force researchers to limit their studies to a single organism, although comparing gene expression in different species would yield valuable information. RESULTS: We have developed a method, implemented in the software DualPrime, that reduces the number of primers required to amplify the genes of two different genomes. The software identifies regions of high sequence similarity, and from these regions selects PCR primers shared between the genomes, such that either one or, preferentially, both primers in a given PCR can be used for amplification from both genomes. To assure high microarray probe specificity, the software selects primer pairs that generate products of low sequence similarity to other genes within the same genome. We used the software to design PCR primers for 2182 and 1960 genes from the hyperthermophilic archaea Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, respectively. Primer pairs were shared among 705 pairs of genes, and single primers were shared among 1184 pairs of genes, resulting in a saving of 31% compared to using only unique primers. We also present an alternative primer design method, in which each gene shares primers with two different genes of the other genome, enabling further savings. 3. AVAILABILITY: The software is freely available at http://www.biotech.kth.se/molbio/microarray/.
Algorithms↗
A comprehensive survey of brain interface technology designs.
In this work we present the first comprehensive survey of Brain Interface (BI) technology designs published prior to January 2006. Detailed results from this survey, which was based on the Brain Interface Design Framework proposed by Mason and Birch, are presented and discussed to address the following research questions: (1) which BI technologies are directly comparable, (2) what technology designs exist, (3) which application areas (users, activities and environments) have been targeted in these designs, (4) which design approaches have received little or no research and are possible opportunities for new technology, and (5) how well are designs reported. The results of this work demonstrate that meta-analysis of high-level BI design attributes is possible and informative. The survey also produced a valuable, historical cross-reference where BI technology designers can identify what types of technology have been proposed and by whom.
Biotechnology↗
Laser assessment of leaflet closing motion in prosthetic heart valves.
The dynamics of leaflet motion in heart valve prostheses (HVP), and in particular the closing velocity, is believed to be related to the valve sound and possibly to the phenomenon of valve cavitation. This paper describes a non-intrusive laser sweeping technique enabling the study of leaflet motion. The principle of measurement and the equipment involved are presented, together with the results of two commercially available, 29 mm bileaflet mitral valves, a St. Jude Medical, and an Edwards Duromedic valve. Experiments were carried out in a pulsatile mock flow testing loop designed to mimic physiological pressure waveforms and ventricular contraction. Measurements of heart rate were made in the range 70-120 beats min-1, with a ventricular pressure slope range of 1800-5600 mm Hgs-1 and a cardiac output range of 5.0-7.5 litres min-1. Motion analysis of the measured data focuses on the velocity of the leaflet immediately before closure.
Equipment Design↗