Redesign of a computerized clinical reminder for colorectal cancer screening: a human-computer interaction evaluation

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Based on barriers to the use of computerized clinical decision support (CDS) learned in an earlier field study, we prototyped design enhancements to the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) colorectal cancer (CRC) screening clinical reminder to compare against the VHA's current CRC reminder. Methods In a controlled simulation experiment, 12 primary care providers (PCPs) used prototypes of the current and redesigned CRC screening reminder in a within-subject comparison. Quantitative measurements were based on a usability survey, workload assessment instrument, and workflow integration survey. We also collected qualitative data on both designs. Results Design enhancements to the VHA's existing CRC screening clinical reminder positively impacted aspects of usability and workflow integration but not workload. The qualitative analysis revealed broad support across participants for the design enhancements with specific suggestions for improving the reminder further. Conclusions This study demonstrates the value of a human-computer interaction evaluation in informing the redesign of information tools to foster uptake, integration into workflow, and use in clinical practice. PMID:22126324

Dimensional psychiatry: mental disorders as dysfunctions of basic learning mechanisms.

PubMed

Heinz, Andreas; Schlagenhauf, Florian; Beck, Anne; Wackerhagen, Carolin

2016-08-01

It has been questioned that the more than 300 mental disorders currently listed in international disease classification systems all have a distinct neurobiological correlate. Here, we support the idea that basic dimensions of mental dysfunctions, such as alterations in reinforcement learning, can be identified, which interact with individual vulnerability and psychosocial stress factors and, thus, contribute to syndromes of distress across traditional nosological boundaries. We further suggest that computational modeling of learning behavior can help to identify specific alterations in reinforcement-based decision-making and their associated neurobiological correlates. For example, attribution of salience to drug-related cues associated with dopamine dysfunction in addiction can increase habitual decision-making via promotion of Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer as indicated by computational modeling of the effect of Pavlovian-conditioned stimuli (here affectively positive or alcohol-related cues) on instrumental approach and avoidance behavior. In schizophrenia, reward prediction errors can be modeled computationally and associated with functional brain activation, thus revealing reduced encoding of such learning signals in the ventral striatum and compensatory activation in the frontal cortex. With respect to negative mood states, it has been shown that both reduced functional activation of the ventral striatum elicited by reward-predicting stimuli and stress-associated activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in interaction with reduced serotonin transporter availability and increased amygdala activation by aversive cues contribute to clinical depression; altogether these observations support the notion that basic learning mechanisms, such as Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning and Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer, represent a basic dimension of mental disorders that can be mechanistically characterized using computational modeling and associated with specific clinical syndromes across established nosological boundaries. Instead of pursuing a narrow focus on single disorders defined by clinical tradition, we suggest that neurobiological research should focus on such basic dimensions, which can be studied in and compared among several mental disorders.

A Computer-Based Instrument That Identifies Common Science Misconceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larrabee, Timothy G.; Stein, Mary; Barman, Charles

2006-01-01

This article describes the rationale for and development of a computer-based instrument that helps identify commonly held science misconceptions. The instrument, known as the Science Beliefs Test, is a 47-item instrument that targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy. The use of an online data collection system…

Towards Student Instrumentation of Computer-Based Algebra Systems in University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Sepideh; Thomas, Michael O. J.; Hannah, John

2005-01-01

There are many perceived benefits of using technology, such as computer algebra systems, in undergraduate mathematics courses. However, attaining these benefits sometimes proves elusive. Some of the key variables are the teaching approach and the student instrumentation of the technology. This paper considers the instrumentation of computer-based…

Calibration of a Computer Based Instrumentation for Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forsyth, T. J.; Reynolds, R. S. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

NASA Ames Research Center has been investigating a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) for future use as a Category II/III landing system. The DGPS navigation system was developed and installed on a B200 King Air aircraft. Instrumentation that is not calibrated and verified as a total operating system can have errors or not work correctly. Systems need to be checked for cross talk and that they work together accurately. It is imperative that the instrumentation and computer do not affect aircraft avionics and instrumentation needed for aircraft operation. This paper discusses calibration and verification principles of a computer based instrumentation airborne system.

A critical comparison of clinical decision instruments for computed tomographic scanning in mild closed traumatic brain injury in adolescents and adults.

PubMed

Stein, Sherman C; Fabbri, Andrea; Servadei, Franco; Glick, Henry A

2009-02-01

A number of clinical decision aids have been introduced to limit unnecessary computed tomographic scans in patients with mild traumatic brain injury. These aids differ in the risk factors they use to recommend a scan. We compare the instruments according to their sensitivity and specificity and recommend ones based on incremental benefit of correctly classifying patients as having surgical, nonsurgical, or no intracranial lesions. We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected database from 7,955 patients aged 10 years or older with mild traumatic brain injury to compare sensitivity and specificity of 6 common clinical decision strategies: the Canadian CT Head Rule, the Neurotraumatology Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, the New Orleans, the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study II (NEXUS-II), the National Institute of Clinical Excellence guideline, and the Scandinavian Neurotrauma Committee guideline. Excluded from the database were patients for whom the history of trauma was unclear, the initial Glasgow Coma Scale score was less than 14, the injury was penetrating, vital signs were unstable, or who refused diagnostic tests. Patients revisiting the emergency department within 7 days were counted only once. The percentage of scans that would have been required by applying each of the 6 aids were Canadian CT head rule (high risk only) 53%, Canadian (medium & high risk) 56%, the Neurotraumatology Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies 56%, New Orleans 69%, NEXUS-II 56%, National Institute of Clinical Excellence 71%, and the Scandinavian 50%. The 6 decision aids' sensitivities for surgical hematomas could not be distinguished statistically (P>.05). Sensitivity was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] 96% to 100%) for NEXUS-II, 98.1% (95% CI 93% to 100%) for National Institute of Clinical Excellence, and 99.1% (95% CI 94% to 100%) for the other 4 clinical decision instruments. Sensitivity for any intracranial lesion ranged from 95.7% (95% CI 93% to 97%) (Scandinavian) to 100% (95% CI 98% to 100%) (National Institute of Clinical Excellence). In contrast, specificities varied between 30.9% (95% CI 30% to 32%) (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) and 52.9% (95% CI 52% to 54) (Scandinavian). NEXUS-II and the Scandinavian clinical decision aids displayed the best combination of sensitivity and specificity in this patient population. However, we cannot demonstrate that the higher sensitivity of NEXUS-II for surgical hematomas is statistically significant. Therefore, choosing which of the 2 clinical decision instruments to use must be based on decisionmakers' attitudes toward risk.

Taking a Closer Look.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Karen

1996-01-01

Outlines benefits of integrating optical instruments in computer-based instructional systems in a science classroom including budget, immediacy, pictorial records, and graphic enhancement. Presents examples of investigative activities involving optical instruments and images digitized for computer-based manipulation. (JRH)

Determination of Root Canal Cleanliness by Different Irrigation Methods and Morphometric Analysis of Apical Third.

PubMed

Seixas, Fábio Heredia; Estrela, Carlos; Bueno, Mike Reis; Sousa-Neto, Manoel Damião; Pécora, Jesus Djalma

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to determine the root canal area before and after the instrumentation 1 mm short of the apical foramen by clinical and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) methods, and to evaluate the cleanliness of the apical region in mesiodistal flattened teeth by using optical microscopy. Forty-two human single-canal mandibular incisors were instrumented using the Free Tip Preparation technique up to three, four or five instruments from the initial. Cone beam computed tomography scans were acquired of the samples before and after root canal preparation (RCP). Irrigation was performed by conventional or hydrodynamic means, using 2.5% sodium hypochlorite. The samples were prepared for observation under an optical microscope. Images were digitally obtained, analyzed and the results were submitted to statistical analysis (two-way ANOVA complemented by Bonferroni's post-test). There was no significant difference between the studied anatomical areas with both CBCT and clinical methods. There were no differences between irrigation methods. It was verified differences between instrumentation techniques. Instrumentation with four instruments from the initial instrument determined a significant increase in the contact area when compared to preparation with three instruments, but RCP with 5 instruments did not result in a better cleanliness. The analysis with CBCT was not capable to determine the precise shape of surgical apical area comparing to the clinical method. Both the conventional and hydrodynamic irrigation techniques were not able to promote root canals debris-free. The instruments action in root canal walls was proportional to the number of instruments used from the initial apical instrument.

Computerized patient identification for the EMBRACA clinical trial using real-time data from the PRAEGNANT network for metastatic breast cancer patients.

PubMed

Hein, Alexander; Gass, Paul; Walter, Christina Barbara; Taran, Florin-Andrei; Hartkopf, Andreas; Overkamp, Friedrich; Kolberg, Hans-Christian; Hadji, Peyman; Tesch, Hans; Ettl, Johannes; Wuerstlein, Rachel; Lounsbury, Debra; Lux, Michael P; Lüftner, Diana; Wallwiener, Markus; Müller, Volkmar; Belleville, Erik; Janni, Wolfgang; Fehm, Tanja N; Wallwiener, Diethelm; Ganslandt, Thomas; Ruebner, Matthias; Beckmann, Matthias W; Schneeweiss, Andreas; Fasching, Peter A; Brucker, Sara Y

2016-07-01

As breast cancer is a diverse disease, clinical trials are becoming increasingly diversified and are consequently being conducted in very small subgroups of patients, making study recruitment increasingly difficult. The aim of this study was to assess the use of data from a remote data entry system that serves a large national registry for metastatic breast cancer. The PRAEGNANT network is a real-time registry with an integrated biomaterials bank that was designed as a scientific study and as a means of identifying patients who are eligible for clinical trials, based on clinical and molecular information. Here, we report on the automated use of the clinical data documented to identify patients for a clinical trial (EMBRACA) for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The patients' charts were assessed by two independent physicians involved in the clinical trial and also by a computer program that tested patients for eligibility using a structured query language script. In all, 326 patients from two study sites in the PRAEGNANT network were included in the analysis. Using expert assessment, 120 of the 326 patients (37 %) appeared to be eligible for inclusion in the EMBRACA study; with the computer algorithm assessment, a total of 129 appeared to be eligible. The sensitivity of the computer algorithm was 0.87 and its specificity was 0.88. Using computer-based identification of patients for clinical trials appears feasible. With the instrument's high specificity, its application in a large cohort of patients appears to be feasible, and the workload for reassessing the patients is limited.

Patient-specific instrumentation improved mechanical alignment, while early clinical outcome was comparable to conventional instrumentation in TKA.

PubMed

Anderl, Werner; Pauzenberger, Leo; Kölblinger, Roman; Kiesselbach, Gabriele; Brandl, Georg; Laky, Brenda; Kriegleder, Bernhard; Heuberer, Philipp; Schwameis, Eva

2016-01-01

The aim of this prospective study was to compare early clinical outcome, radiological limb alignment, and three-dimensional (3D)-component positioning between conventional and computed tomography (CT)-based patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) in primary mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Two hundred ninety consecutive patients (300 knees) with severe, debilitating osteoarthritis scheduled for TKA were included in this study using either conventional instrumentation (CVI, n = 150) or PSI (n = 150). Patients were clinically assessed before and 2 years after surgery according to the Knee-Society-Score (KSS) and the visual-analog-scale for pain (VAS). Additionally, the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Oxford-Knee-Score (OKS) were collected at follow-up. To evaluate accuracy of CVI and PSI, hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA) and 3D-component positioning were assessed on postoperative radiographs and CT. Data of 222 knees (CVI: n = 108, PSI: n = 114) were available for analysis after a mean follow-up of 28.6 ± 5.2 months. At the early follow-up, clinical outcome (KSS, VAS, WOMAC, OKS) was comparable between the two groups. Mean HKA-deviation from the targeted neutral mechanical axis (CVI: 2.2° ± 1.7°; PSI: 1.5° ± 1.4°; p < 0.001), rates of outliers (CVI: 22.2%; PSI: 9.6%; p = 0.016), and 3D-component positioning outliers were significantly lower in the PSI group. Non-outliers (HKA: 180° ± 3°) showed better clinical results than outliers at the 2-year follow-up. CT-based PSI compared with CVI improves accuracy of mechanical alignment restoration and 3D-component positioning in primary TKA. While clinical outcome was comparable between the two instrumentation groups at early follow-up, significantly inferior outcome was detected in the subgroup of HKA-outliers. Prospective comparative study, Level II.

Developing and validating an instrument for measuring mobile computing self-efficacy.

PubMed

Wang, Yi-Shun; Wang, Hsiu-Yuan

2008-08-01

IT-related self-efficacy has been found to have a critical influence on system use. However, traditional measures of computer self-efficacy and Internet-related self-efficacy are perceived to be inapplicable in the context of mobile computing and commerce because they are targeted primarily at either desktop computer or wire-based technology contexts. Based on previous research, this study develops and validates a multidimensional instrument for measuring mobile computing self-efficacy (MCSE). This empirically validated instrument will be useful to researchers in developing and testing the theories of mobile user behavior, and to practitioners in assessing the mobile computing self-efficacy of users and promoting the use of mobile commerce systems.

Validation study of an electronic method of condensed outcomes tools reporting in orthopaedics.

PubMed

Farr, Jack; Verma, Nikhil; Cole, Brian J

2013-12-01

Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments are a vital source of data for evaluating the efficacy of medical treatments. Historically, outcomes instruments have been designed, validated, and implemented as paper-based questionnaires. The collection of paper-based outcomes information may result in patients becoming fatigued as they respond to redundant questions. This problem is exacerbated when multiple PRO measures are provided to a single patient. In addition, the management and analysis of data collected in paper format involves labor-intensive processes to score and render the data analyzable. Computer-based outcomes systems have the potential to mitigate these problems by reformatting multiple outcomes tools into a single, user-friendly tool.The study aimed to determine whether the electronic outcomes system presented produces results comparable with the test-retest correlations reported for the corresponding orthopedic paper-based outcomes instruments.The study is designed as a crossover study based on consecutive orthopaedic patients arriving at one of two designated orthopedic knee clinics.Patients were assigned to complete either a paper or a computer-administered questionnaire based on a similar set of questions (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, International Knee Documentation Committee form, 36-Item Short Form survey, version 1, Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale). Each patient completed the same surveys using the other instrument, so that all patients had completed both paper and electronic versions. Correlations between the results from the two modes were studied and compared with test-retest data from the original validation studies.The original validation studies established test-retest reliability by computing correlation coefficients for two administrations of the paper instrument. Those correlation coefficients were all in the range of 0.7 to 0.9, which was deemed satisfactory. The present study computed correlation coefficients between the paper and electronic modes of administration. These correlation coefficients demonstrated similar results with an overall value of 0.86.On the basis of the correlation coefficients, the electronic application of commonly used knee outcome scores compare variably to the traditional paper variants with a high rate of test-retest correlation. This equivalence supports the use of the condensed electronic outcomes system and validates comparison of scores between electronic and paper modes. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

A guide to SPECT equipment for brain imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffer, P.B.; Zubal, G.

1991-12-31

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was started by Kuhl and Edwards about 30 years ago. Their original instrument consisted of four focused Nal probes mounted on a moving gantry. During the 1980s, clinical SPECT imaging was most frequently performed using single-headed Anger-type cameras which were modified for rotational as well as static imaging. Such instruments are still available and may be useful in settings where there are few patients and SPECT is used only occasionally. More frequently, however, dedicated SPECT devices are purchased which optimize equipment potential while being user-friendly. Modern SPECT instrumentation incorporates improvements in the detector, computers,more » mathematical formulations, electronics and display systems. A comprehensive discussion of all aspects of SPECT is beyond the scope of this article. The authors, however, discuss general concepts of SPECT, the current state-of-the-art in clinical SPECT instrumentation, and areas of common misunderstanding. 9 refs.« less

[Cardiovascular circulation feedback control treatment instrument].

PubMed

Ge, Yu-zhi; Zhu, Xing-huan; Sheng, Guo-tai; Cao, Ping-liang; Liu, Dong-sheng; Wu, Zhi-ting

2005-07-01

The cardiovascular circulation feedback control treatment instrument (CFCTI) is an automatic feedback control treatment system, which has the function of monitoring, alarming, trouble self-diagnosis and testing on the line in the closed loop. The instrument is designed based on the successful clinical experiences and the data are inputted into the computer in real-time through a pressure sensor and A/D card. User interface window is set up for the doctor's choosing different medicine. The orders are outputted to control the dose of medicine through the transfusion system. The response to medicine is updated continually. CFCTI can avoid the man-made errors and the long interval of sampling. Its reliability and accuracy in rescuing the critical patients are much higher than the traditional methods.

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in G a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn G . Without going into details here, G incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills. With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in "G" a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn "G". Without going into details here, "G" incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the "perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills." With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

Novel Developments in Instrumentation for PET Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karp, Joel

2013-04-01

Advances in medical imaging, in particular positron emission tomography (PET), have been based on technical developments in physics and instrumentation that have common foundations with detection systems used in other fields of physics. New detector materials are used in PET systems that maximize efficiency, timing characteristics and robustness, and which lead to improved image quality and quantitative accuracy for clinical imaging. Time of flight (TOF) techniques are now routinely used in commercial PET scanners that combine physiological imaging with anatomical imaging provided by x-ray computed tomography. Using new solid-state photo-sensors instead of traditional photo-multiplier tubes makes it possible to combine PET with magnetic resonance imaging which is a significant technical challenge, but one that is creating new opportunities for both research and clinical applications. An overview of recent advances in instrumentation, such as TOF and PET/MR will be presented, along with examples of imaging studies to demonstrate the impact on patient care and basic research of diseases.

Curriculum-Based Measurement: Developing a Computer-Based Assessment Instrument for Monitoring Student Reading Progress on Multiple Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forster, Natalie; Souvignier, Elmar

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the technical adequacy of a computer-based assessment instrument which is based on hierarchical models of text comprehension for monitoring student reading progress following the Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) approach. At intervals of two weeks, 120 third-grade students finished eight CBM tests. To…

Evaluation of Complex Human Performance: The Promise of Computer-Based Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newsom, Robert S.; And Others

1978-01-01

For the training and placement of professional workers, multiple-choice instruments are the norm for wide-scale measurement and evaluation efforts. These instruments contain fundamental problems. Computer-based management simulations may provide solutions to these problems, appear scoreable and reliable, offer increased validity, and are better…

E-pharmacovigilance: development and implementation of a computable knowledge base to identify adverse drug reactions.

PubMed

Neubert, Antje; Dormann, Harald; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Bürkle, Thomas; Rascher, Wolfgang; Sojer, Reinhold; Brune, Kay; Criegee-Rieck, Manfred

2013-09-01

Computer-assisted signal generation is an important issue for the prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). However, due to poor standardization of patients' medical data and a lack of computable medical drug knowledge the specificity of computerized decision support systems for early ADR detection is too low and thus those systems are not yet implemented in daily clinical practice. We report on a method to formalize knowledge about ADRs based on the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPCs) and linking them with structured patient data to generate safety signals automatically and with high sensitivity and specificity. A computable ADR knowledge base (ADR-KB) that inherently contains standardized concepts for ADRs (WHO-ART), drugs (ATC) and laboratory test results (LOINC) was built. The system was evaluated in study populations of paediatric and internal medicine inpatients. A total of 262 different ADR concepts related to laboratory findings were linked to 212 LOINC terms. The ADR knowledge base was retrospectively applied to a study population of 970 admissions (474 internal and 496 paediatric patients), who underwent intensive ADR surveillance. The specificity increased from 7% without ADR-KB up to 73% in internal patients and from 19.6% up to 91% in paediatric inpatients, respectively. This study shows that contextual linkage of patients' medication data with laboratory test results is a useful and reasonable instrument for computer-assisted ADR detection and a valuable step towards a systematic drug safety process. The system enables automated detection of ADRs during clinical practice with a quality close to intensive chart review. © 2013 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

Innovations: clinical computing: an audio computer-assisted self-interviewing system for research and screening in public mental health settings.

PubMed

Bertollo, David N; Alexander, Mary Jane; Shinn, Marybeth; Aybar, Jalila B

2007-06-01

This column describes the nonproprietary software Talker, used to adapt screening instruments to audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) systems for low-literacy populations and other populations. Talker supports ease of programming, multiple languages, on-site scoring, and the ability to update a central research database. Key features include highly readable text display, audio presentation of questions and audio prompting of answers, and optional touch screen input. The scripting language for adapting instruments is briefly described as well as two studies in which respondents provided positive feedback on its use.

Home care nurses' attitudes toward computers. A confirmatory factor analysis of the Stronge and Brodt instrument.

PubMed

Stricklin, Mary Lou; Bierer, S Beth; Struk, Cynthia

2003-01-01

Point-of-care technology for home care use will be the final step in enterprise-wide healthcare electronic communications. Successful implementation of home care point-of-care technology hinges upon nurses' attitudes toward point-of-care technology and its use in clinical practice. This study addresses the factors associated with home care nurses' attitudes using Stronge and Brodt's Nurse Attitudes Toward Computers instrument. In this study, the Nurses Attitudes Toward Computers instrument was administered to a convenience sample of 138 nurses employed by a large midwestern home care agency, with an 88% response rate. Confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the Nurses Attitudes Toward Computers' 3-dimensional factor structure for practicing nurses, which was labeled as nurses' work, security issues, and perceived barriers. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis also suggest that these 3 factors are internally correlated and represent multiple dimensions of a higher order construct labeled as nurses' attitudes toward computers. Additionally, two of these factors, nurses' work and perceived barriers, each appears to explain more variance in nurses' attitudes toward computers than security issues. Instrument reliability was high for the sample (.90), with subscale reliabilities ranging from 86 to 70.

Maladaptive behavioral consequences of conditioned fear-generalization: a pronounced, yet sparsely studied, feature of anxiety pathology.

PubMed

van Meurs, Brian; Wiggert, Nicole; Wicker, Isaac; Lissek, Shmuel

2014-06-01

Fear-conditioning experiments in the anxiety disorders focus almost exclusively on passive-emotional, Pavlovian conditioning, rather than active-behavioral, instrumental conditioning. Paradigms eliciting both types of conditioning are needed to study maladaptive, instrumental behaviors resulting from Pavlovian abnormalities found in clinical anxiety. One such Pavlovian abnormality is generalization of fear from a conditioned danger-cue (CS+) to resembling stimuli. Though lab-based findings repeatedly link overgeneralized Pavlovian-fear to clinical anxiety, no study assesses the degree to which Pavlovian overgeneralization corresponds with maladaptive, overgeneralized instrumental-avoidance. The current effort fills this gap by validating a novel fear-potentiated startle paradigm including Pavlovian and instrumental components. The paradigm is embedded in a computer game during which shapes appear on the screen. One shape paired with electric-shock serves as CS+, and other resembling shapes, presented in the absence of shock, serve as generalization stimuli (GSs). During the game, participants choose whether to behaviorally avoid shock at the cost of poorer performance. Avoidance during CS+ is considered adaptive because shock is a real possibility. By contrast, avoidance during GSs is considered maladaptive because shock is not a realistic prospect and thus unnecessarily compromises performance. Results indicate significant Pavlovian-instrumental relations, with greater generalization of Pavlovian fear associated with overgeneralization of maladaptive instrumental-avoidance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing collaborative computing: development of the Collaborative-Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Israel, Maya; Wherfel, Quentin M.; Shehab, Saadeddine; Ramos, Evan A.; Metzger, Adam; Reese, George C.

2016-07-01

This paper describes the development, validation, and uses of the Collaborative Computing Observation Instrument (C-COI), a web-based analysis instrument that classifies individual and/or collaborative behaviors of students during computing problem-solving (e.g. coding, programming). The C-COI analyzes data gathered through video and audio screen recording software that captures students' computer screens as they program, and their conversations with their peers or adults. The instrument allows researchers to organize and quantify these data to track behavioral patterns that could be further analyzed for deeper understanding of persistence and/or collaborative interactions. The article provides a rationale for the C-COI including the development of a theoretical framework for measuring collaborative interactions in computer-mediated environments. This theoretical framework relied on the computer-supported collaborative learning literature related to adaptive help seeking, the joint problem-solving space in which collaborative computing occurs, and conversations related to outcomes and products of computational activities. Instrument development and validation also included ongoing advisory board feedback from experts in computer science, collaborative learning, and K-12 computing as well as classroom observations to test out the constructs in the C-COI. These processes resulted in an instrument with rigorous validation procedures and a high inter-rater reliability.

Development of the PRE-HIT instrument: patient readiness to engage in health information technology.

PubMed

Koopman, Richelle J; Petroski, Gregory F; Canfield, Shannon M; Stuppy, Julie A; Mehr, David R

2014-01-28

Technology-based aids for lifestyle change are becoming more prevalent for chronic conditions. Important "digital divides" remain, as well as concerns about privacy, data security, and lack of motivation. Researchers need a way to characterize participants' readiness to use health technologies. To address this need, we created an instrument to measure patient readiness to engage with health technologies among adult patients with chronic conditions. Initial focus groups to determine domains, followed by item development and refinement, and exploratory factor analysis to determine final items and factor structure. The development sample included 200 patients with chronic conditions from 6 family medicine clinics. From 98 potential items, 53 best candidate items were examined using exploratory factor analysis. Pearson's Correlation for Test/Retest reliability at 3 months. The final instrument had 28 items that sorted into 8 factors with associated Cronbach's alpha: 1) Health Information Need (0.84), 2) Computer/Internet Experience (0.87), 3) Computer Anxiety (0.82), 4) Preferred Mode of Interaction (0.73), 5) Relationship with Doctor (0.65), 6) Cell Phone Expertise (0.75), 7) Internet Privacy (0.71), and 8) No News is Good News (0.57). Test-retest reliability for the 8 subscales ranged from (0.60 to 0.85). The Patient Readiness to Engage in Health Internet Technology (PRE-HIT) instrument has good psychometric properties and will be an aid to researchers investigating technology-based health interventions. Future work will examine predictive validity.

Development of the PRE-HIT instrument: patient readiness to engage in health information technology

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Technology-based aids for lifestyle change are becoming more prevalent for chronic conditions. Important “digital divides” remain, as well as concerns about privacy, data security, and lack of motivation. Researchers need a way to characterize participants’ readiness to use health technologies. To address this need, we created an instrument to measure patient readiness to engage with health technologies among adult patients with chronic conditions. Methods Initial focus groups to determine domains, followed by item development and refinement, and exploratory factor analysis to determine final items and factor structure. The development sample included 200 patients with chronic conditions from 6 family medicine clinics. From 98 potential items, 53 best candidate items were examined using exploratory factor analysis. Pearson’s Correlation for Test/Retest reliability at 3 months. Results The final instrument had 28 items that sorted into 8 factors with associated Cronbach’s alpha: 1) Health Information Need (0.84), 2) Computer/Internet Experience (0.87), 3) Computer Anxiety (0.82), 4) Preferred Mode of Interaction (0.73), 5) Relationship with Doctor (0.65), 6) Cell Phone Expertise (0.75), 7) Internet Privacy (0.71), and 8) No News is Good News (0.57). Test-retest reliability for the 8 subscales ranged from (0.60 to 0.85). Conclusion The Patient Readiness to Engage in Health Internet Technology (PRE-HIT) instrument has good psychometric properties and will be an aid to researchers investigating technology-based health interventions. Future work will examine predictive validity. PMID:24472182

Clinical, functional, and radiographic outcomes following total knee arthroplasty with patient-specific instrumentation, computer-assisted surgery, and manual instrumentation: a short-term follow-up study.

PubMed

Yaffe, Mark; Luo, Michael; Goyal, Nitin; Chan, Philip; Patel, Anay; Cayo, Max; Stulberg, S David

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical, functional, and radiographic outcomes following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) performed with patient-specific instrumentation (PSI), computer-assisted surgery (CAS), and manual instruments at short-term follow-up. 122 TKAs were performed by a single surgeon: 42 with PSI, 38 with CAS, and 40 with manual instrumentation. Preoperative, 1-month, and 6-month clinical and functional outcomes were measured using the Knee Society scoring system (knee score, function score, range of motion, and pain score). Improvements in clinical and functional outcomes from the preoperative to postoperative period were analyzed. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were measured to evaluate limb and component alignment. Preoperative, 1-month postoperative, and 6-month postoperative knee scores, function scores, range of motion, and pain scores were highest in the PSI group compared to CAS and manual instrumentation. At 6-month follow-up, PSI TKA was associated with a statistically significant improvement in functional score when compared to manual TKA. Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences in improvements among PSI, CAS, and manual TKA groups. The higher preoperative scores in the PSI group limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions from the raw postoperative scores, but analyzing the changes in scores revealed that PSI was associated with a statistically significant improvement in Knee Society Functional score at 6-month post-TKA as compared to CAS or manual TKA. This may be attributable to improvements in component rotation and positioning, improved component size accuracy, or other factors that are not discernible on plain radiograph.

Validating a Computer-Assisted Language Learning Attitude Instrument Used in Iranian EFL Context: An Evidence-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aryadoust, Vahid; Mehran, Parisa; Alizadeh, Mehrasa

2016-01-01

A few computer-assisted language learning (CALL) instruments have been developed in Iran to measure EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' attitude toward CALL. However, these instruments have no solid validity argument and accordingly would be unable to provide a reliable measurement of attitude. The present study aimed to develop a CALL…

Development of a Computer-Assisted Instrumentation Curriculum for Physics Students: Using LabVIEW and Arduino Platform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuan, Wen-Hsuan; Tseng, Chi-Hung; Chen, Sufen; Wong, Ching-Chang

2016-01-01

We propose an integrated curriculum to establish essential abilities of computer programming for the freshmen of a physics department. The implementation of the graphical-based interfaces from Scratch to LabVIEW then to LabVIEW for Arduino in the curriculum "Computer-Assisted Instrumentation in the Design of Physics Laboratories" brings…

A singlechip-computer-controlled conductivity meter based on conductance-frequency transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wenxiang; Hong, Baocai

2005-02-01

A portable conductivity meter controlled by singlechip computer was designed. The instrument uses conductance-frequency transformation method to measure the conductivity of solution. The circuitry is simple and reliable. Another feature of the instrument is that the temperature compensation is realised by changing counting time of the timing counter. The theoretical based and the usage of temperature compensation are narrated.

Design, construction, and technical implementation of a web-based interdisciplinary symptom evaluation (WISE) - a heuristic proposal for orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders.

PubMed

Ettlin, Dominik A; Sommer, Isabelle; Brönnimann, Ben; Maffioletti, Sergio; Scheidt, Jörg; Hou, Mei-Yin; Lukic, Nenad; Steiger, Beat

2016-12-01

Medical symptoms independent of body location burden individuals to varying degrees and may require care by more than one expert. Various paper and computer-based tools exist that aim to comprehensively capture data for optimal clinical management and research. A web-based interdisciplinary symptom evaluation (WISE) was newly designed, constructed, and technically implemented. For worldwide applicability and to avoid copyright infringements, open source software tools and free validated questionnaires available in multiple languages were used. Highly secure data storage limits access strictly to those who use the tool for collecting, storing, and evaluating their data. Concept and implementation is illustrated by a WISE sample tailored for the requirements of a single center in Switzerland providing interdisciplinary care to orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorder patients. By combining a symptom- burden checklist with in-depth questionnaires serving as case-finding instruments, an algorithm was developed that assists in clarifying case complexity and need for targeted expert evaluation. This novel modular approach provides a personalized, response-tailored instrument for the time- and cost-effective collection of symptom-burden focused quantitative data. The tool includes body drawing options and instructional videos. It is applicable for biopsychosocial evaluation in a variety of clinical settings and offers direct feedback by a case report summary. In clinical practice, the new instrument assists in clarifying case complexity and referral need, based on symptom burden and response -tailored case finding. It provides single-case summary reports from a biopsychosocial perspective and includes graphical symptom maps. Secure, centrally stored data collection of anonymous data is possible. The tool enables personalized medicine, facilitates interprofessional education and collaboration, and allows for multicenter patient-reported outcomes research.

Electromagnetic tracking for abdominal interventions in computer aided surgery

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hui; Banovac, Filip; Lin, Ralph; Glossop, Neil; Wood, Bradford J.; Lindisch, David; Levy, Elliot; Cleary, Kevin

2014-01-01

Electromagnetic tracking has great potential for assisting physicians in precision placement of instruments during minimally invasive interventions in the abdomen, since electromagnetic tracking is not limited by the line-of-sight restrictions of optical tracking. A new generation of electromagnetic tracking has recently become available, with sensors small enough to be included in the tips of instruments. To fully exploit the potential of this technology, our research group has been developing a computer aided, image-guided system that uses electromagnetic tracking for visualization of the internal anatomy during abdominal interventions. As registration is a critical component in developing an accurate image-guided system, we present three registration techniques: 1) enhanced paired-point registration (time-stamp match registration and dynamic registration); 2) orientation-based registration; and 3) needle shape-based registration. Respiration compensation is another important issue, particularly in the abdomen, where respiratory motion can make precise targeting difficult. To address this problem, we propose reference tracking and affine transformation methods. Finally, we present our prototype navigation system, which integrates the registration, segmentation, path-planning and navigation functions to provide real-time image guidance in the clinical environment. The methods presented here have been tested with a respiratory phantom specially designed by our group and in swine animal studies under approved protocols. Based on these tests, we conclude that our system can provide quick and accurate localization of tracked instruments in abdominal interventions, and that it offers a user friendly display for the physician. PMID:16829506

Patient care information systems and physicians: the transition from technology icon to health care instrument.

PubMed

Bria, W F

1993-11-01

We have discussed several important transitions now occurring in PCIS that promise to improve the utility and availability of these systems for the average physician. Charles Babbage developed the first computers as "thinking machines" so that we may extend our ability to grapple with more and more complex problems. If current trends continue, we will finally witness the evolution of patient care computing from information icons of the few to clinical instruments improving the quality of medical decision making and care for all patients.

Screening for cognitive impairment in older individuals. Validation study of a computer-based test.

PubMed

Green, R C; Green, J; Harrison, J M; Kutner, M H

1994-08-01

This study examined the validity of a computer-based cognitive test that was recently designed to screen the elderly for cognitive impairment. Criterion-related validity was examined by comparing test scores of impaired patients and normal control subjects. Construct-related validity was computed through correlations between computer-based subtests and related conventional neuropsychological subtests. University center for memory disorders. Fifty-two patients with mild cognitive impairment by strict clinical criteria and 50 unimpaired, age- and education-matched control subjects. Control subjects were rigorously screened by neurological, neuropsychological, imaging, and electrophysiological criteria to identify and exclude individuals with occult abnormalities. Using a cut-off total score of 126, this computer-based instrument had a sensitivity of 0.83 and a specificity of 0.96. Using a prevalence estimate of 10%, predictive values, positive and negative, were 0.70 and 0.96, respectively. Computer-based subtests correlated significantly with conventional neuropsychological tests measuring similar cognitive domains. Thirteen (17.8%) of 73 volunteers with normal medical histories were excluded from the control group, with unsuspected abnormalities on standard neuropsychological tests, electroencephalograms, or magnetic resonance imaging scans. Computer-based testing is a valid screening methodology for the detection of mild cognitive impairment in the elderly, although this particular test has important limitations. Broader applications of computer-based testing will require extensive population-based validation. Future studies should recognize that normal control subjects without a history of disease who are typically used in validation studies may have a high incidence of unsuspected abnormalities on neurodiagnostic studies.

Development of a computer-assisted system for model-based condylar position analysis (E-CPM).

PubMed

Ahlers, M O; Jakstat, H

2009-01-01

Condylar position analysis is a measuring method for the three-dimensional quantitative acquisition of the position of the mandible in different conditions or at different points in time. Originally, the measurement was done based on a model, using special mechanical condylar position measuring instruments, and on a research scale with mechanical-electronic measuring instruments. Today, as an alternative, it is possible to take measurements with electronic measuring instruments applied directly to the patient. The computerization of imaging has also facilitated condylar position measurement by means of three-dimensional data records obtained by imaging examination methods, which has been used in connection with the simulation and quantification of surgical operation results. However, the comparative measurement of the condylar position at different points in time has so far not been possible to the required degree. An electronic measuring instrument, allowing acquisition of the condylar position in clinical routine and facilitating later calibration with measurements from later examinations by data storage and use of precise equalizing systems, was therefore designed by the present authors. This measuring instrument was implemented on the basis of already existing components from the Reference CPM und Cadiax Compact articulator and registration systems (Gamma Dental, Klosterneuburg, Austria) as well as the matching CMD3D evaluation software (dentaConcept, Hamburg).

Real-Time, Sensor-Based Computing in the Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badmus, O. O.; And Others

1996-01-01

Demonstrates the importance of Real-Time, Sensor-Based (RTSB) computing and how it can be easily and effectively integrated into university student laboratories. Describes the experimental processes, the process instrumentation and process-computer interface, the computer and communications systems, and typical software. Provides much technical…

Nuclear medicine in clinical urology and nephrology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tauxe, W.N.; Dubousky, E.V.

This book presents explanations of current procedures involving the kidney with information of the performance of each test, its rationale, and interpretation. The information covers all currently used radiopharmaceuticals, radiation dosimetry, instrumentation, test protocols, and mathematical principles of pathophysiology as they relate to nuclear medicine studies. Information is provided on which radiopharmaceutical, instrument, or computer application to use, and when.

Description of a Computer Program Written for Approach and Landing Test Post Flight Data Extraction of Proximity Separation Aerodynamic Coefficients and Aerodynamic Data Base Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homan, D. J.

1977-01-01

A computer program written to calculate the proximity aerodynamic force and moment coefficients of the Orbiter/Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) vehicles based on flight instrumentation is described. The ground reduced aerodynamic coefficients and instrumentation errors (GRACIE) program was developed as a tool to aid in flight test verification of the Orbiter/SCA separation aerodynamic data base. The program calculates the force and moment coefficients of each vehicle in proximity to the other, using the load measurement system data, flight instrumentation data and the vehicle mass properties. The uncertainty in each coefficient is determined, based on the quoted instrumentation accuracies. A subroutine manipulates the Orbiter/747 Carrier Separation Aerodynamic Data Book to calculate a comparable set of predicted coefficients for comparison to the calculated flight test data.

Development of a Computer-Assisted Instrumentation Curriculum for Physics Students: Using LabVIEW and Arduino Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuan, Wen-Hsuan; Tseng, Chi-Hung; Chen, Sufen; Wong, Ching-Chang

2016-06-01

We propose an integrated curriculum to establish essential abilities of computer programming for the freshmen of a physics department. The implementation of the graphical-based interfaces from Scratch to LabVIEW then to LabVIEW for Arduino in the curriculum `Computer-Assisted Instrumentation in the Design of Physics Laboratories' brings rigorous algorithm and syntax protocols together with imagination, communication, scientific applications and experimental innovation. The effectiveness of the curriculum was evaluated via statistical analysis of questionnaires, interview responses, the increase in student numbers majoring in physics, and performance in a competition. The results provide quantitative support that the curriculum remove huge barriers to programming which occur in text-based environments, helped students gain knowledge of programming and instrumentation, and increased the students' confidence and motivation to learn physics and computer languages.

Augment clinical measurement using a constraint-based esophageal model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kou, Wenjun; Acharya, Shashank; Kahrilas, Peter; Patankar, Neelesh; Pandolfino, John

2017-11-01

Quantifying the mechanical properties of the esophageal wall is crucial to understanding impairments of trans-esophageal flow characteristic of several esophageal diseases. However, these data are unavailable owing to technological limitations of current clinical diagnostic instruments that instead display esophageal luminal cross sectional area based on intraluminal impedance change. In this work, we developed an esophageal model to predict bolus flow and the wall property based on clinical measurements. The model used the constraint-based immersed-boundary method developed previously by our group. Specifically, we first approximate the time-dependent wall geometry based on impedance planimetry data on luminal cross sectional area. We then fed these along with pressure data into the model and computed wall tension based on simulated pressure and flow fields, and the material property based on the strain-stress relationship. As examples, we applied this model to augment FLIP (Functional Luminal Imaging Probe) measurements in three clinical cases: a normal subject, achalasia, and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). Our findings suggest that the wall stiffness was greatest in the EoE case, followed by the achalasia case, and then the normal. This is supported by NIH Grant R01 DK56033 and R01 DK079902.

LabVIEW: a software system for data acquisition, data analysis, and instrument control.

PubMed

Kalkman, C J

1995-01-01

Computer-based data acquisition systems play an important role in clinical monitoring and in the development of new monitoring tools. LabVIEW (National Instruments, Austin, TX) is a data acquisition and programming environment that allows flexible acquisition and processing of analog and digital data. The main feature that distinguishes LabVIEW from other data acquisition programs is its highly modular graphical programming language, "G," and a large library of mathematical and statistical functions. The advantage of graphical programming is that the code is flexible, reusable, and self-documenting. Subroutines can be saved in a library and reused without modification in other programs. This dramatically reduces development time and enables researchers to develop or modify their own programs. LabVIEW uses a large amount of processing power and computer memory, thus requiring a powerful computer. A large-screen monitor is desirable when developing larger applications. LabVIEW is excellently suited for testing new monitoring paradigms, analysis algorithms, or user interfaces. The typical LabVIEW user is the researcher who wants to develop a new monitoring technique, a set of new (derived) variables by integrating signals from several existing patient monitors, closed-loop control of a physiological variable, or a physiological simulator.

Capturing structured, pulmonary disease-specific data elements in electronic health records.

PubMed

Gronkiewicz, Cynthia; Diamond, Edward J; French, Kim D; Christodouleas, John; Gabriel, Peter E

2015-04-01

Electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to improve health-care quality by allowing providers to make better decisions at the point of care based on electronically aggregated data and by facilitating clinical research. These goals are easier to achieve when key, disease-specific clinical information is documented as structured data elements (SDEs) that computers can understand and process, rather than as free-text/natural-language narrative. This article reviews the benefits of capturing disease-specific SDEs. It highlights several design and implementation considerations, including the impact on efficiency and expressivity of clinical documentation and the importance of adhering to data standards when available. Pulmonary disease-specific examples of collection instruments are provided from two commonly used commercial EHRs. Future developments that can leverage SDEs to improve clinical quality and research are discussed.

Development of an Image Colorimeter for Noncontact Skin Color Measurement and Application to the Dermatological Treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akimoto, Makio; Chen, Yu; Miyazaki, Michio; Yamashita, Toyonobu; Miyakawa, Michio; Hata, Mieko

The skin is unique as an organ that is highly accessible to direct visual inspection with light. Visual inspection of cutaneous morphology is the mainstay of clinical dermatology, but relies heavily on subjective assessment by the skilled dermatologists. We present an imaging colorimeter of non-contact skin color measuring system and some experimented results using such instrument. The system is comprised by a video camera, light source, a real-time image processing board, magneto optics disk and personal computer which controls the entire system. The CIE-L*a*b* uniform color space is used. This system is used for monitoring of some clinical diagnosis. The instrument is non-contact, easy to operate, and has a high precision unlike the conventional colorimeters. This instrument is useful for clinical diagnoses, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of treatment.

Visual tracking for multi-modality computer-assisted image guidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basafa, Ehsan; Foroughi, Pezhman; Hossbach, Martin; Bhanushali, Jasmine; Stolka, Philipp

2017-03-01

With optical cameras, many interventional navigation tasks previously relying on EM, optical, or mechanical guidance can be performed robustly, quickly, and conveniently. We developed a family of novel guidance systems based on wide-spectrum cameras and vision algorithms for real-time tracking of interventional instruments and multi-modality markers. These navigation systems support the localization of anatomical targets, support placement of imaging probe and instruments, and provide fusion imaging. The unique architecture - low-cost, miniature, in-hand stereo vision cameras fitted directly to imaging probes - allows for an intuitive workflow that fits a wide variety of specialties such as anesthesiology, interventional radiology, interventional oncology, emergency medicine, urology, and others, many of which see increasing pressure to utilize medical imaging and especially ultrasound, but have yet to develop the requisite skills for reliable success. We developed a modular system, consisting of hardware (the Optical Head containing the mini cameras) and software (components for visual instrument tracking with or without specialized visual features, fully automated marker segmentation from a variety of 3D imaging modalities, visual observation of meshes of widely separated markers, instant automatic registration, and target tracking and guidance on real-time multi-modality fusion views). From these components, we implemented a family of distinct clinical and pre-clinical systems (for combinations of ultrasound, CT, CBCT, and MRI), most of which have international regulatory clearance for clinical use. We present technical and clinical results on phantoms, ex- and in-vivo animals, and patients.

A call for change: clinical evaluation of student registered nurse anesthetists.

PubMed

Collins, Shawn; Callahan, Margaret Faut

2014-02-01

The ability to integrate theory with practice is integral to a student's success. A common reason for attrition from a nurse anesthesia program is clinical issues. To document clinical competence, students are evaluated using various tools. For use of a clinical evaluation tool as possible evidence for a student's dismissal, an important psychometric property to ensure is instrument validity. Clinical evaluation instruments of nurse anesthesia programs are not standardized among programs, which suggests a lack of instrument validity. The lack of established validity of the instruments used to evaluate students' clinical progress brings into question their ability to detect a student who is truly in jeopardy of attrition. Given this possibility, clinical instrument validity warrants research to be fair to students and improve attrition rates based on valid data. This ex post facto study evaluated a 17-item clinical instrument tool to demonstrate the need for validity of clinical evaluation tools. It also compared clinical scores with scores on the National Certification Examination.

Computer-enhanced laparoscopic training system (CELTS): bridging the gap.

PubMed

Stylopoulos, N; Cotin, S; Maithel, S K; Ottensmeye, M; Jackson, P G; Bardsley, R S; Neumann, P F; Rattner, D W; Dawson, S L

2004-05-01

There is a large and growing gap between the need for better surgical training methodologies and the systems currently available for such training. In an effort to bridge this gap and overcome the disadvantages of the training simulators now in use, we developed the Computer-Enhanced Laparoscopic Training System (CELTS). CELTS is a computer-based system capable of tracking the motion of laparoscopic instruments and providing feedback about performance in real time. CELTS consists of a mechanical interface, a customizable set of tasks, and an Internet-based software interface. The special cognitive and psychomotor skills a laparoscopic surgeon should master were explicitly defined and transformed into quantitative metrics based on kinematics analysis theory. A single global standardized and task-independent scoring system utilizing a z-score statistic was developed. Validation exercises were performed. The scoring system clearly revealed a gap between experts and trainees, irrespective of the task performed; none of the trainees obtained a score above the threshold that distinguishes the two groups. Moreover, CELTS provided educational feedback by identifying the key factors that contributed to the overall score. Among the defined metrics, depth perception, smoothness of motion, instrument orientation, and the outcome of the task are major indicators of performance and key parameters that distinguish experts from trainees. Time and path length alone, which are the most commonly used metrics in currently available systems, are not considered good indicators of performance. CELTS is a novel and standardized skills trainer that combines the advantages of computer simulation with the features of the traditional and popular training boxes. CELTS can easily be used with a wide array of tasks and ensures comparability across different training conditions. This report further shows that a set of appropriate and clinically relevant performance metrics can be defined and a standardized scoring system can be designed.

Testing Differential Effects of Computer-Based, Web-Based and Paper-Based Administration of Questionnaire Research Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardre, Patricia L.; Crowson, H. Michael; Xie, Kui; Ly, Cong

2007-01-01

Translation of questionnaire instruments to digital administration systems, both self-contained and web-based, is widespread and increasing daily. However, the literature is lean on controlled empirical studies investigating the potential for differential effects of administrative methods. In this study, two university student samples were…

High-Level Disinfection of Otorhinolaryngology Clinical Instruments: An Evaluation of the Efficacy and Cost-effectiveness of Instrument Storage.

PubMed

Yalamanchi, Pratyusha; Yu, Jason; Chandler, Laura; Mirza, Natasha

2018-01-01

Objectives Despite increasing interest in individual instrument storage, risk of bacterial cross-contamination of otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments has not been assessed. This study is the first to determine the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of standard high-level disinfection and clinic instrument storage. Methods To assess for cross-contamination, surveillance cultures of otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments subject to standard high-level disinfection and storage were obtained at the start and end of the outpatient clinical workday. Rate of microorganism recovery was compared with cultures of instruments stored in individual peel packs and control cultures of contaminated instruments. Based on historical clinic data, the direct allocation method of cost accounting was used to determine aggregate raw material cost and additional labor hours required to process and restock peel-packed instruments. Results Among 150 cultures of standard high-level disinfected and co-located clinic instruments, 3 positive bacterial cultures occurred; 100% of control cultures were positive for bacterial species ( P < .001). There was no statistical difference between surveillance cultures obtained before and after the clinic day. While there was also no significant difference in rate of contamination between peel-packed and co-located instruments, peel packing all instruments requires 6250 additional labor hours, and conservative analyses place the cost of individual semicritical instrument storage at $97,852.50 per year. Discussion With in vitro inoculation of >200 otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments, this study demonstrates that standard high-level disinfection and storage are equally efficacious to more time-consuming and expensive individual instrument storage protocols, such as peel packing, with regard to bacterial contamination. Implications for Practice Standard high-level disinfection and storage are equally effective to labor-intensive and costly individual instrument storage protocols.

Using a decade of data on medical student computer literacy for strategic planning

PubMed Central

Seago, Brenda L.; Schlesinger, Jeanne B.; Hampton, Carol L.

2002-01-01

Purpose: From 1991 through 2000, incoming medical students (M-Is) at the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University have been surveyed with a written questionnaire on their computer literacy. The survey's purpose is to learn the students' levels of knowledge, skill, and experience with computer technology to guide instructional services and facilities. Methodology: The questionnaire was administered during M-I orientation or mailed to students' homes after matriculation. It evolved from sixteen questions in 1991 to twenty-three questions in 2000, with fifteen questions common to all. Results: The average survey response rate was 81% from an average of 177 students. Six major changes were introduced based on information collected from the surveys and advances in technology: production of CD-ROMs distributed to students containing required computer-based instructional programs, delivery of evaluation instruments to students via the Internet, modification of the lab to a mostly PC-based environment, development of an electronic curriculum Website, development of computerized examinations for medical students to prepare them for the computerized national board examinations, and initiation of a personal digital assistant (PDA) project for students to evaluate PDAs' usefulness in clinical settings. Conclusion: The computer literacy survey provides a snapshot of students' past and present use of technology and guidance for the development of services and facilities. PMID:11999178

Using a decade of data on medical student computer literacy for strategic planning.

PubMed

Seago, Brenda L; Schlesinger, Jeanne B; Hampton, Carol L

2002-04-01

From 1991 through 2000, incoming medical students (M-Is) at the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University have been surveyed with a written questionnaire on their computer literacy. The survey's purpose is to learn the students' levels of knowledge, skill, and experience with computer technology to guide instructional services and facilities. The questionnaire was administered during M-I orientation or mailed to students' homes after matriculation. It evolved from sixteen questions in 1991 to twenty-three questions in 2000, with fifteen questions common to all. The average survey response rate was 81% from an average of 177 students. Six major changes were introduced based on information collected from the surveys and advances in technology: production of CD-ROMs distributed to students containing required computer-based instructional programs, delivery of evaluation instruments to students via the Internet, modification of the lab to a mostly PC-based environment, development of an electronic curriculum Website, development of computerized examinations for medical students to prepare them for the computerized national board examinations, and initiation of a personal digital assistant (PDA) project for students to evaluate PDAs' usefulness in clinical settings. The computer literacy survey provides a snapshot of students' past and present use of technology and guidance for the development of services and facilities.

Training simulator for retinal laser photocoagulation: a new approach for surgeons' apprenticeships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubois, Patrick; Meseure, Philippe; Peugnet, Frederic; Rouland, Jean-Francois

1998-06-01

Retinal laser photocoagulation is a current practice in many eye diseases therapy. Its mastering requires a specific training usually made on actual patients with some risks. The authors present a new device aimed to deliver a complete training separated from the therapeutic practice. This training simulator is built around the actual instrument to comply with the required realism. The instrumental functionalities of the device give the residents the same operating conditions as in the actual practice. The eye fundus visualization is simulated by virtual images, based on actual fundus pictures. They are computed at the rate of 10-12 frames/second according to the adjustments and manipulations of the 3-mirror lens made by the operator. All the pictures are combined in a fundus database planned to collect a wide variety of pathologies. The pedagogical functionalities are gathered in the user's interface. The two major guidelines of the developed software was to achieve an easy to use interface and to enforce no 'school dependent' rules of valuation. This new pedagogical instrument runs on PC micro-computers which allows a low- cost technology and could provide a practical training to retinal photocoagulation without the patient. A clinical validation of its pedagogical efficiency is submitted in another abstract.

The evolution of spinal instrumentation for the management of occipital cervical and cervicothoracic junctional injuries.

PubMed

Smucker, Joseph D; Sasso, Rick C

2006-05-15

Independent computer-based literature review of articles pertaining to instrumentation and fusion of junctional injuries of the cervical spine. To review and discuss the evolution of instrumentation techniques and systems used in the treatment of cervical spine junctional injuries. Instrumentation of junctional injuries of the cervical spine has been limited historically by failure to achieve rigid internal fixation in multiple planes. The evolution of these techniques has required increased insight into the morphology and unique biomechanics of the structures to be instrumented. Computer-based literature search of Ovid and PubMed databases. Extensive literature search yielded insights into the evolution of systems initially based on onlay bone graft combined with wiring techniques. Such techniques have come to include systems incorporating rigid, longitudinal struts that accommodate multiplanar screws placed in the lateral masses, pedicles, transarticular regions, and occipital bone. Despite a rapid evolution of techniques and instrumentation technologies, it remains incumbent on the physician to provide the patient with a surgical procedure that balances the likelihood of a favorable outcome with the risk inherent in the implementation of the procedure.

A context-adaptable approach to clinical guidelines.

PubMed

Terenziani, Paolo; Montani, Stefania; Bottrighi, Alessio; Torchio, Mauro; Molino, Gianpaolo; Correndo, Gianluca

2004-01-01

One of the most relevant obstacles to the use and dissemination of clinical guidelines is the gap between the generality of guidelines (as defined, e.g., by physicians' committees) and the peculiarities of the specific context of application. In particular, general guidelines do not take into account the fact that the tools needed for laboratory and instrumental investigations might be unavailable at a given hospital. Moreover, computer-based guideline managers must also be integrated with the Hospital Information System (HIS), and usually different DBMS are adopted by different hospitals. The GLARE (Guideline Acquisition, Representation and Execution) system addresses these issues by providing a facility for automatic resource-based adaptation of guidelines to the specific context of application, and by providing a modular architecture in which only limited and well-localised changes are needed to integrate the system with the HIS at hand.

Project SUN (Students Understanding Nature)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curley, T.; Yanow, G.

1995-01-01

Project SUN is part of NASA's 'Mission to Planet Earth' education outreach effort. It is based on development of low cost, scientifi- cally accurate instrumentation and computer interfacing, coupled with Apple II computers as dedicated data loggers. The project is com- prised of: instruments, interfacing, software, curriculum, a detailed operating manual, and a system of training at the school sites.

Development of low cost instrumentation for non-invasive detection of Helicobacter pylori

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannath, A.; Rutt, H. N.

2007-02-01

A new clinical diagnostic instrument for urea breath test (UBT) based non-invasive detection of Helicobacter Pylori is presented here. Its compact and low cost design makes it an economical and commercial alternative for the more expensive Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS). The instrument is essentially a two channel non-dispersive IR spectrometer that performs high precision ratio measurements of the two carbon isotopomers ( 12CO II and 13CO II) present in exhaled breath. A balanced absorption system configuration was designed where the two channel path lengths would roughly be in the ratio of their concentrations. Equilibrium between the transmitted channel intensities was maintained by using a novel feedback servo mechanism to adjust the length of the 13C channel cell. Extensive computational simulations were performed to study the effect of various possible interferents and their results were considered in the design of the instrument so as to achieve the desired measurement precision of 1%. Specially designed gas cells and a custom made gas filling rig were also developed. A complete virtual interface for both instrument control and data acquisition was implemented in LABVIEW. Initial tests were used to validate the theory and a basic working device was demonstrated.

Psychometric instrumentation: reliability and validity of instruments used for clinical practice, evidence-based practice projects and research studies.

PubMed

Mayo, Ann M

2015-01-01

It is important for CNSs and other APNs to consider the reliability and validity of instruments chosen for clinical practice, evidence-based practice projects, or research studies. Psychometric testing uses specific research methods to evaluate the amount of error associated with any particular instrument. Reliability estimates explain more about how well the instrument is designed, whereas validity estimates explain more about scores that are produced by the instrument. An instrument may be architecturally sound overall (reliable), but the same instrument may not be valid. For example, if a specific group does not understand certain well-constructed items, then the instrument does not produce valid scores when used with that group. Many instrument developers may conduct reliability testing only once, yet continue validity testing in different populations over many years. All CNSs should be advocating for the use of reliable instruments that produce valid results. Clinical nurse specialists may find themselves in situations where reliability and validity estimates for some instruments that are being utilized are unknown. In such cases, CNSs should engage key stakeholders to sponsor nursing researchers to pursue this most important work.

A cyber-physical management system for delivering and monitoring surgical instruments in the OR.

PubMed

Li, Yu-Ting; Jacob, Mithun; Akingba, George; Wachs, Juan P

2013-08-01

The standard practice in the operating room (OR) is having a surgical technician deliver surgical instruments to the surgeon quickly and inexpensively, as required. This human "in the loop" system may result in mistakes (eg, missing information, ambiguity of instructions, and delays). Errors can be reduced or eliminated by integrating information technology (IT) and cybernetics into the OR. Gesture and voice automatic acquisition, processing, and interpretation allow interaction with these new systems without disturbing the normal flow of surgery. This article describes the development of a cyber-physical management system (CPS), including a robotic scrub nurse, to support surgeons by passing surgical instruments during surgery as required and recording counts of surgical instruments into a personal health record (PHR). The robot used responds to hand signals and voice messages detected through sophisticated computer vision and data mining techniques. The CPS was tested during a mock surgery in the OR. The in situ experiment showed that the robot recognized hand gestures reliably (with an accuracy of 97%), it can retrieve instruments as close as 25 mm, and the total delivery time was less than 3 s on average. This online health tool allows the exchange of clinical and surgical information to electronic medical record-based and PHR-based applications among different hospitals, regardless of the style viewer. The CPS has the potential to be adopted in the OR to handle surgical instruments and track them in a safe and accurate manner, releasing the human scrub tech from these tasks.

The Study on Virtual Medical Instrument based on LabVIEW.

PubMed

Chengwei, Li; Limei, Zhang; Xiaoming, Hu

2005-01-01

With the increasing performance of computer, the virtual instrument technology has greatly advanced over the years, and then virtual medical instrument technology becomes available. This paper presents the virtual medical instrument, and then as an example, an application of a signal acquisition, processing and analysis system using LabVIEW is also given.

Implementation of an Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) System in a General Medicine Clinic

PubMed Central

Deamant, C.; Smith, J.; Garcia, D.; Angulo, F.

2015-01-01

Summary Background Routine implementation of instruments to capture patient-reported outcomes could guide clinical practice and facilitate health services research. Audio interviews facilitate self-interviews across literacy levels. Objectives To evaluate time burden for patients, and factors associated with response times for an audio computer-assisted self interview (ACASI) system integrated into the clinical workflow. Methods We developed an ACASI system, integrated with a research data warehouse. Instruments for symptom burden, self-reported health, depression screening, tobacco use, and patient satisfaction were administered through touch-screen monitors in the general medicine clinic at the Cook County Health & Hospitals System during April 8, 2011-July 27, 2012. We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the mean time burden per item and for each module of instruments; we evaluated factors associated with longer response latency. Results Among 1,670 interviews, the mean per-question response time was 18.4 [SD, 6.1] seconds. By multivariable analysis, age was most strongly associated with prolonged response time and increased per decade compared to < 50 years as follows (additional seconds per question; 95% CI): 50–59 years (1.4; 0.7 to 2.1 seconds); 60–69 (3.4; 2.6 to 4.1); 70–79 (5.1; 4.0 to 6.1); and 80–89 (5.5; 4.1 to 7.0). Response times also were longer for Spanish language (3.9; 2.9 to 4.9); no home computer use (3.3; 2.8 to 3.9); and, low mental self-reported health (0.6; 0.0 to 1.1). However, most interviews were completed within 10 minutes. Conclusions An ACASI software system can be included in a patient visit and adds minimal time burden. The burden was greatest for older patients, interviews in Spanish, and for those with less computer exposure. A patient’s self-reported health had minimal impact on response times. PMID:25848420

Implementation of an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) system in a general medicine clinic: patient response burden.

PubMed

Trick, W E; Deamant, C; Smith, J; Garcia, D; Angulo, F

2015-01-01

Routine implementation of instruments to capture patient-reported outcomes could guide clinical practice and facilitate health services research. Audio interviews facilitate self-interviews across literacy levels. To evaluate time burden for patients, and factors associated with response times for an audio computer-assisted self interview (ACASI) system integrated into the clinical workflow. We developed an ACASI system, integrated with a research data warehouse. Instruments for symptom burden, self-reported health, depression screening, tobacco use, and patient satisfaction were administered through touch-screen monitors in the general medicine clinic at the Cook County Health & Hospitals System during April 8, 2011-July 27, 2012. We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the mean time burden per item and for each module of instruments; we evaluated factors associated with longer response latency. Among 1,670 interviews, the mean per-question response time was 18.4 [SD, 6.1] seconds. By multivariable analysis, age was most strongly associated with prolonged response time and increased per decade compared to < 50 years as follows (additional seconds per question; 95% CI): 50-59 years (1.4; 0.7 to 2.1 seconds); 60-69 (3.4; 2.6 to 4.1); 70-79 (5.1; 4.0 to 6.1); and 80-89 (5.5; 4.1 to 7.0). Response times also were longer for Spanish language (3.9; 2.9 to 4.9); no home computer use (3.3; 2.8 to 3.9); and, low mental self-reported health (0.6; 0.0 to 1.1). However, most interviews were completed within 10 minutes. An ACASI software system can be included in a patient visit and adds minimal time burden. The burden was greatest for older patients, interviews in Spanish, and for those with less computer exposure. A patient's self-reported health had minimal impact on response times.

Energy-based dosimetry of low-energy, photon-emitting brachytherapy sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malin, Martha J.

Model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs) for low-energy, photon-emitting brachytherapy sources have advanced to the point where the algorithms may be used in clinical practice. Before these algorithms can be used, a methodology must be established to verify the accuracy of the source models used by the algorithms. Additionally, the source strength metric for these algorithms must be established. This work explored the feasibility of verifying the source models used by MBDCAs by measuring the differential photon fluence emitted from the encapsulation of the source. The measured fluence could be compared to that modeled by the algorithm to validate the source model. This work examined how the differential photon fluence varied with position and angle of emission from the source, and the resolution that these measurements would require for dose computations to be accurate to within 1.5%. Both the spatial and angular resolution requirements were determined. The techniques used to determine the resolution required for measurements of the differential photon fluence were applied to determine why dose-rate constants determined using a spectroscopic technique disagreed with those computed using Monte Carlo techniques. The discrepancy between the two techniques had been previously published, but the cause of the discrepancy was not known. This work determined the impact that some of the assumptions used by the spectroscopic technique had on the accuracy of the calculation. The assumption of isotropic emission was found to cause the largest discrepancy in the spectroscopic dose-rate constant. Finally, this work improved the instrumentation used to measure the rate at which energy leaves the encapsulation of a brachytherapy source. This quantity is called emitted power (EP), and is presented as a possible source strength metric for MBDCAs. A calorimeter that measured EP was designed and built. The theoretical framework that the calorimeter relied upon to measure EP was established. Four clinically relevant 125I brachytherapy sources were measured with the instrument. The accuracy of the measured EP was compared to an air-kerma strength-derived EP to test the accuracy of the instrument. The instrument was accurate to within 10%, with three out of the four source measurements accurate to within 4%.

Perceived problems with computer gaming and internet use among adolescents: measurement tool for non-clinical survey studies

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Existing instruments for measuring problematic computer and console gaming and internet use are often lengthy and often based on a pathological perspective. The objective was to develop and present a new and short non-clinical measurement tool for perceived problems related to computer use and gaming among adolescents and to study the association between screen time and perceived problems. Methods Cross-sectional school-survey of 11-, 13-, and 15-year old students in thirteen schools in the City of Aarhus, Denmark, participation rate 89%, n = 2100. The main exposure was time spend on weekdays on computer- and console-gaming and internet use for communication and surfing. The outcome measures were three indexes on perceived problems related to computer and console gaming and internet use. Results The three new indexes showed high face validity and acceptable internal consistency. Most schoolchildren with high screen time did not experience problems related to computer use. Still, there was a strong and graded association between time use and perceived problems related to computer gaming, console gaming (only boys) and internet use, odds ratios ranging from 6.90 to 10.23. Conclusion The three new measures of perceived problems related to computer and console gaming and internet use among adolescents are appropriate, reliable and valid for use in non-clinical surveys about young people’s everyday life and behaviour. These new measures do not assess Internet Gaming Disorder as it is listed in the DSM and therefore has no parity with DSM criteria. We found an increasing risk of perceived problems with increasing time spent with gaming and internet use. Nevertheless, most schoolchildren who spent much time with gaming and internet use did not experience problems. PMID:24731270

Evidence-Based Diagnosis: Incorporating Diagnostic Instruments into Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doss, Amanda Jensen

2005-01-01

This article is intended to serve as a practical guide for practitioners interested in incorporating evidence-based diagnosis (EBD) instruments into their clinical practices to refine the diagnostic process. Three measures are used to illustrate this process, the DISC-IV (Shaffer et al., 2000), the Schedule for Affective Disorders and…

Interdisciplinary Approach to the Development of Accessible Computer-Administered Measurement Instruments.

PubMed

Magasi, Susan; Harniss, Mark; Heinemann, Allen W

2018-01-01

Principles of fairness in testing require that all test takers, including people with disabilities, have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their capacity on the construct being measured. Measurement design features and assessment protocols can pose barriers for people with disabilities. Fairness in testing is a fundamental validity issue at all phases in the design, administration, and interpretation of measurement instruments in clinical practice and research. There is limited guidance for instrument developers on how to develop and evaluate the accessibility and usability of measurement instruments. This article describes a 6-stage iterative process for developing accessible computer-administered measurement instruments grounded in the procedures implemented across several major measurement initiatives. A key component of this process is interdisciplinary teams of accessibility experts, content and measurement experts, information technology experts, and people with disabilities working together to ensure that measurement instruments are accessible and usable by a wide range of users. The development of accessible measurement instruments is not only an ethical requirement, it also ensures better science by minimizing measurement bias, missing data, and attrition due to mismatches between the target population and test administration platform and protocols. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical applications of gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer/computer systems.

PubMed

Horning, M G; Nowlin, J; Butler, C M; Lertratanangkoon, K; Sommer, K; Hill, R M

1975-08-01

Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer/computer systems can be used to quantify a wide variety of compounds of clinical interest. A quadrupole instrument operated in the chemical ionization (Cl) mode was used in these studies. Because of the sensitivity and specificity of selective ion detection, it is possible to make measurements routinely in the nanogram to picogram range, with 0.1-1.0 ml samples of plasma and 1-5 ml samples or urine. Internal standards, preferably stable-isotope-labeled compounds, were added to the biological samples before isolation was begun. We describe clinical applications of these procedures to problems in toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and perinatal pharmacology.

Content comparison of occupation-based instruments in adult rheumatology and musculoskeletal rehabilitation based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

PubMed

Stamm, Tanja A; Cieza, Alarcos; Machold, Klaus P; Smolen, Josef S; Stucki, Gerold

2004-12-15

To compare the content of clinical, occupation-based instruments that are used in adult rheumatology and musculoskeletal rehabilitation in occupational therapy based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Clinical instruments of occupational performance and occupation in adult rehabilitation and rheumatology were identified in a literature search. All items of these instruments were linked to the ICF categories according to 10 linking rules. On the basis of the linking, the content of these instruments was compared and the relationship between the capacity and performance component explored. The following 7 instruments were identified: the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills, the Sequential Occupational Dexterity Assessment, the Jebson Taylor Hand Function Test, the Moberg Picking Up Test, the Button Test, and the Functional Dexterity Test. The items of the 7 instruments were linked to 53 different ICF categories. Five items could not be linked to the ICF. The areas covered by the 7 occupation-based instruments differ importantly: The main focus of all 7 instruments is on the ICF component activities and participation. Body functions are covered by 2 instruments. Two instruments were linked to 1 single ICF category only. Clinicians and researchers who need to select an occupation-based instrument must be aware of the areas that are covered by this instrument and the potential areas that are not covered at all.

Measuring Quality and Outcomes in Sports Medicine.

PubMed

Ruzbarsky, Joseph J; Marom, Niv; Marx, Robert G

2018-07-01

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are objective metrics critical to evaluating outcomes throughout orthopedic surgery. New instruments continue to emerge, increasing the breadth of information required for those intending to use these measures for research or clinical care. Although earlier metrics were developed using the principles of classic test theory, newer instruments constructed using item response theory are amenable to computer-adaptive testing and may change the way these instruments are administered. This article aims to define the psychometric properties that are important to understand when using all PROMs and to review the most widely used instruments in sports medicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using Rasch Measurement to Develop a Computer Modeling-Based Instrument to Assess Students' Conceptual Understanding of Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Silin; Liu, Xiufeng; Wang, Zuhao; Wang, Xingqiao

2012-01-01

Research suggests that difficulty in making connections among three levels of chemical representations--macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic--is a primary reason for student alternative conceptions of chemistry concepts, and computer modeling is promising to help students make the connections. However, no computer modeling-based assessment…

Vision 20/20: Simultaneous CT-MRI — Next chapter of multimodality imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Ge, E-mail: wangg6@rpi.edu; Xi, Yan; Gjesteby, Lars

Multimodality imaging systems such as positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) and MRI-PET are widely available, but a simultaneous CT-MRI instrument has not been developed. Synergies between independent modalities, e.g., CT, MRI, and PET/SPECT can be realized with image registration, but such postprocessing suffers from registration errors that can be avoided with synchronized data acquisition. The clinical potential of simultaneous CT-MRI is significant, especially in cardiovascular and oncologic applications where studies of the vulnerable plaque, response to cancer therapy, and kinetic and dynamic mechanisms of targeted agents are limited by current imaging technologies. The rationale, feasibility, and realization of simultaneous CT-MRImore » are described in this perspective paper. The enabling technologies include interior tomography, unique gantry designs, open magnet and RF sequences, and source and detector adaptation. Based on the experience with PET-CT, PET-MRI, and MRI-LINAC instrumentation where hardware innovation and performance optimization were instrumental to construct commercial systems, the authors provide top-level concepts for simultaneous CT-MRI to meet clinical requirements and new challenges. Simultaneous CT-MRI fills a major gap of modality coupling and represents a key step toward the so-called “omnitomography” defined as the integration of all relevant imaging modalities for systems biology and precision medicine.« less

Effect of computer use on physician-patient communication using a validated instrument: Patient perspective.

PubMed

Shaarani, Issam; Taleb, Rim; Antoun, Jumana

2017-12-01

Physician-patient communication is essential in the physician-patient relationship. Concerns were raised about the impact of the computer on this relationship with the increase in use of electronic medical records (EMR). Most studies addressed the physician's perspective and only few explored the patient's perspective. This study aims to assess the patient's perspective of the effect of the physician's computer use during the clinical encounter on the interpersonal and communication skills of the physician using a validated communication assessment tool (CAT). This is a cross-sectional survey of three hundred eighty-two patients who visited the family medicine clinics (FMC) at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). At the end of the visit with the physician, the patients were approached by the clinical assistant to fill a paper-based questionnaire privately in the waiting room to measure communication skills of physicians using CAT. Nearly two-thirds of the patients (62%) did not consider that using the computer by their physician during the visit would negatively affect the patient-doctor communication. Patients rated their physician with a higher communication score when there was an ongoing relationship between the physician and the patient. Higher communication scores were reported for extensive use of the computer by the physician to check results (p<0.001), to retrieve patient record information (p<0.001) and to educate patients (p<0.001) as compared to less use. Physician-patient communication was not negatively affected by the physician use of the computer as rated by patients. An ongoing relationship with the physician remains a significant predictor of better physician-patient communication even in the presence of the computer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel system for automatic measuring diopter based on ARM circuit block

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Feng; Zhong, Lei; Chen, Zhe; Xue, Deng-pan; Li, Xiang-ning

2009-07-01

Traditional commercial instruments utilized in vision screening programs cannot satisfy the request for real-time diopter measurement by far, and their success is limited by some defectiveness such as computer-attached, clumsy volume, and low accuracy of parameters measured, etc. In addition, astigmatic eyes cannot be determined in many devices. This paper proposes a new design of diopter measurement system based on SAMSUNG's ARM9 circuit block. There are several contributions in the design. The new developed system has not only the function of automatically measuring diopter, but also the advantages of the low cost, and especially the simplicity and portability. Besides, by placing point sources in three directions, the instrument can determine astigmatic eyes at the same time. Most of the details are introduced as the integrated design of measuring system, interface circuit of embedded system and so on. Through a preliminary experiment, it is proved that the system keeps good feasibility and validity. The maximum deviation of measurement result is 0.344D.The experimental results also demonstrate the system can provide the service needed for real-time applications. The instrument present here is expected to be widely applied in many fields such as the clinic and home healthcare.

Developing a Workflow Composite Score to Measure Clinical Information Logistics. A Top-down Approach.

PubMed

Liebe, J D; Hübner, U; Straede, M C; Thye, J

2015-01-01

Availability and usage of individual IT applications have been studied intensively in the past years. Recently, IT support of clinical processes is attaining increasing attention. The underlying construct that describes the IT support of clinical workflows is clinical information logistics. This construct needs to be better understood, operationalised and measured. It is therefore the aim of this study to propose and develop a workflow composite score (WCS) for measuring clinical information logistics and to examine its quality based on reliability and validity analyses. We largely followed the procedural model of MacKenzie and colleagues (2011) for defining and conceptualising the construct domain, for developing the measurement instrument, assessing the content validity, pretesting the instrument, specifying the model, capturing the data and computing the WCS and testing the reliability and validity. Clinical information logistics was decomposed into the descriptors data and information, function, integration and distribution, which embraced the framework validated by an analysis of the international literature. This framework was refined selecting representative clinical processes. We chose ward rounds, pre- and post-surgery processes and discharge as sample processes that served as concrete instances for the measurements. They are sufficiently complex, represent core clinical processes and involve different professions, departments and settings. The score was computed on the basis of data from 183 hospitals of different size, ownership, location and teaching status. Testing the reliability and validity yielded encouraging results: the reliability was high with r(split-half) = 0.89, the WCS discriminated between groups; the WCS correlated significantly and moderately with two EHR models and the WCS received good evaluation results by a sample of chief information officers (n = 67). These findings suggest the further utilisation of the WCS. As the WCS does not assume ideal workflows as a gold standard but measures IT support of clinical workflows according to validated descriptors a high portability of the WCS to other hospitals in other countries is very likely. The WCS will contribute to a better understanding of the construct clinical information logistics.

Content validation: clarity/relevance, reliability and internal consistency of enunciative signs of language acquisition.

PubMed

Crestani, Anelise Henrich; Moraes, Anaelena Bragança de; Souza, Ana Paula Ramos de

2017-08-10

To analyze the results of the validation of building enunciative signs of language acquisition for children aged 3 to 12 months. The signs were built based on mechanisms of language acquisition in an enunciative perspective and on clinical experience with language disorders. The signs were submitted to judgment of clarity and relevance by a sample of six experts, doctors in linguistic in with knowledge of psycholinguistics and language clinic. In the validation of reliability, two judges/evaluators helped to implement the instruments in videos of 20% of the total sample of mother-infant dyads using the inter-evaluator method. The method known as internal consistency was applied to the total sample, which consisted of 94 mother-infant dyads to the contents of the Phase 1 (3-6 months) and 61 mother-infant dyads to the contents of Phase 2 (7 to 12 months). The data were collected through the analysis of mother-infant interaction based on filming of dyads and application of the parameters to be validated according to the child's age. Data were organized in a spreadsheet and then converted to computer applications for statistical analysis. The judgments of clarity/relevance indicated no modifications to be made in the instruments. The reliability test showed an almost perfect agreement between judges (0.8 ≤ Kappa ≥ 1.0); only the item 2 of Phase 1 showed substantial agreement (0.6 ≤ Kappa ≥ 0.79). The internal consistency for Phase 1 had alpha = 0.84, and Phase 2, alpha = 0.74. This demonstrates the reliability of the instruments. The results suggest adequacy as to content validity of the instruments created for both age groups, demonstrating the relevance of the content of enunciative signs of language acquisition.

Influence of surface finishing on fracture load and failure mode of glass ceramic crowns.

PubMed

Mores, Rafael Tagliari; Borba, Márcia; Corazza, Pedro Henrique; Della Bona, Álvaro; Benetti, Paula

2017-10-01

Ceramic restorations often require adjustments using diamond rotary instruments, which damage the glazed surface. The effect of these adjustments on the fracture behavior of these restorations is unclear. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of induced surface defects on the fracture load and mode of failure of lithium disilicate-based (LDS) glass ceramic restorations. Premolar crowns were obtained from LDS computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing blocks (n=60) and glazed. The crowns were bonded to dentin analog dies and divided into 5 groups (n=12), as follows: glaze; abrasion (diamond rotary instrument 2135); abrasion and reglaze; abrasion and polishing (diamond rotary instrument 2135F, 2135 FF, and polishing devices); and polishing. The topography of the crowns was examined by scanning electron microscopy, and roughness was measured. A compressive load (0.5 mm/min) was applied by a piston to the center of the lingual cusp until fracture. The fracture load was recorded and data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and the Tukey HSD test (α=.05). Fractured crowns were examined to determine the fracture origin. Polishing and/or reglazing resulted in lower roughness than for the abraded group (P<.05), which did not affect the fracture loads (P=.696). Catastrophic fracture with origin at the intaglio surface was the mode of failure for all the crowns. The experiment design successfully submitted the crowns to a clinical stress state, resulting in a clinically relevant failure. Reglazing or polishing were effective in reducing surface defects. Surface treatments had no effect on the immediate catastrophic failure of LDS crowns. Copyright © 2017 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring the validity and reliability of a questionnaire for evaluating veterinary clinical teachers' supervisory skills during clinical rotations.

PubMed

Boerboom, T B B; Dolmans, D H J M; Jaarsma, A D C; Muijtjens, A M M; Van Beukelen, P; Scherpbier, A J J A

2011-01-01

Feedback to aid teachers in improving their teaching requires validated evaluation instruments. When implementing an evaluation instrument in a different context, it is important to collect validity evidence from multiple sources. We examined the validity and reliability of the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) as an instrument to evaluate individual clinical teachers during short clinical rotations in veterinary education. We examined four sources of validity evidence: (1) Content was examined based on theory of effective learning. (2) Response process was explored in a pilot study. (3) Internal structure was assessed by confirmatory factor analysis using 1086 student evaluations and reliability was examined utilizing generalizability analysis. (4) Relations with other relevant variables were examined by comparing factor scores with other outcomes. Content validity was supported by theory underlying the cognitive apprenticeship model on which the instrument is based. The pilot study resulted in an additional question about supervision time. A five-factor model showed a good fit with the data. Acceptable reliability was achievable with 10-12 questionnaires per teacher. Correlations between the factors and overall teacher judgement were strong. The MCTQ appears to be a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate clinical teachers' performance during short rotations.

Toward Automated Computer-Based Visualization and Assessment of Team-Based Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ifenthaler, Dirk

2014-01-01

A considerable amount of research has been undertaken to provide insights into the valid assessment of team performance. However, in many settings, manual and therefore labor-intensive assessment instruments for team performance have limitations. Therefore, automated assessment instruments enable more flexible and detailed insights into the…

An Introduction to the Computerized Assessment of Art-Based Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattson, Donald C.

2012-01-01

This article provides a historical overview of computer-assisted art assessment, introduces the basic concepts of computerized assessment of art-based instruments (CAABI), and offers a tutorial to assist art therapists in the study of its application. Understanding this emergent technology may assist art therapists in overcoming hesitancy in…

The University of Florida's next-generation cryogenic infrared focal plane array controller system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raines, Steven N.; Boreman, Glenn D.; Eikenberry, Stephen S.; Bandyopadhyay, Reba M.; Quijano, Ismael

2008-07-01

The Infrared Instrumentation Group at the University of Florida has substantial experience building IR focal plane array (FPA) controllers and seamlessly integrating them into the instruments that it builds for 8-meter class observatories, including writing device drivers for UNIX-based computer systems. We report on a design study to investigate implementing an ASIC from Teledyne Imaging Systems (TIS) into our IR FPA controller while simultaneously replacing TIS's interface card with one that eliminates the requirement for a Windows-OS computer within the instrument's control system.

Falsification Testing of Instrumental Variables Methods for Comparative Effectiveness Research.

PubMed

Pizer, Steven D

2016-04-01

To demonstrate how falsification tests can be used to evaluate instrumental variables methods applicable to a wide variety of comparative effectiveness research questions. Brief conceptual review of instrumental variables and falsification testing principles and techniques accompanied by an empirical application. Sample STATA code related to the empirical application is provided in the Appendix. Comparative long-term risks of sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones for management of type 2 diabetes. Outcomes include mortality and hospitalization for an ambulatory care-sensitive condition. Prescribing pattern variations are used as instrumental variables. Falsification testing is an easily computed and powerful way to evaluate the validity of the key assumption underlying instrumental variables analysis. If falsification tests are used, instrumental variables techniques can help answer a multitude of important clinical questions. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Operators manual for a computer controlled impedance measurement system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, J.

1987-02-01

Operating instructions of a computer controlled impedance measurement system based in Hewlett Packard instrumentation are given. Hardware details, program listings, flowcharts and a practical application are included.

Selecting relevant and feasible measurement instruments for the revised Dutch clinical practice guideline for physical therapy in patients after stroke.

PubMed

Otterman, Nicoline; Veerbeek, Janne; Schiemanck, Sven; van der Wees, Philip; Nollet, Frans; Kwakkel, Gert

2017-07-01

To select relevant and feasible instruments for the revision of the Dutch clinical practice guideline for physical therapy in patients with stroke. In this implementation study a comprehensive proposal for ICF categories and matching instruments was developed, based on reliability and validity. Relevant instruments were then selected in a consensus round by 11 knowledge brokers who were responsible for the implementation of the selected instruments. The feasibility of the selected instruments was tested by 36 physical therapists at different work settings within stroke services. Finally, instruments that were deemed relevant and feasible were included in the revised guideline. A total of 28 instruments were recommended for inclusion in the revised guideline. Nineteen instruments were retained from the previous guideline. Ten new instruments were tested in clinical practice, seven of which were found feasible. Two more instruments were added after critical appraisal of the set of the measurement instruments. The revised guideline contains 28 relevant and feasible instrument selected and tested in clinical practice by physical therapists. Further education and implementation is needed to integrate instruments in clinical practice. Further research is proposed for developing and implementing a core set of measurement instruments to be used at fixed time points to establish data registries that allow for continuous improvement of rehabilitation for stroke patients. Implications for Rehabilitation The revised Dutch Stroke Physical Therapy Guideline recommends a total of 28 instruments, that are relevant and feasible for clinical practice of physical therapist in the different settings of stroke rehabilitation. The selection of instrument in daily practice should be part of the clinical reasoning process of PTs and be tailored to individual patients' needs and the degree of priority of the affected ICF category. Suggested education strategies for further integration of instruments in of the daily practice of PTs in Stroke Rehabilitation are: 'Training on the job' and 'peer assessment in clinical situations'.

Technologies for Achieving Field Ubiquitous Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagashima, Akira

Although the term “ubiquitous” may sound like jargon used in information appliances, ubiquitous computing is an emerging concept in industrial automation. This paper presents the author's visions of field ubiquitous computing, which is based on the novel Internet Protocol IPv6. IPv6-based instrumentation will realize the next generation manufacturing excellence. This paper focuses on the following five key issues: 1. IPv6 standardization; 2. IPv6 interfaces embedded in field devices; 3. Compatibility with FOUNDATION fieldbus; 4. Network securities for field applications; and 5. Wireless technologies to complement IP instrumentation. Furthermore, the principles of digital plant operations and ubiquitous production to support the above key technologies to achieve field ubiquitous systems are discussed.

Iranian Effective Clinical Nurse Instructor evaluation tool: Development and psychometric testing

PubMed Central

Shahsavari, Hooman; Yekta, Zohreh Parsa; Zare, Zahra; Sigaroodi, Abdolhossain Emami

2014-01-01

Background: Clinical education is the heart of the nursing education program. Effective nursing clinical instructors are needed for graduating the future qualified nurses. There is a well-developed body of knowledge about the effectiveness of clinical teaching and the instructors. However, translating this knowledge into a context-based evaluation tool for measuring the effectiveness of Iranian clinical nursing instructors remains a deficiency. The purpose of this study is to describe the development and psychometric testing process of an instrument to evaluate the characteristics of Iranian effective clinical nurse instructor. Materials and Methods: Following a precise review of Iranian literatures and expert consultation, 83 statements about the characteristics that make clinical nurse instructors effective were extracted. In the next phase, the psychometric properties of the instrument were established by looking at the content validity, face validity, and internal consistency. Content validity of the instrument was assessed based on the comments of an expert panel including 10 nursing faculty members. During this phase, 30 items of the instrument were omitted or merged. Face validity of the instrument was assured based on the advices of 10 nursing students and 10 nursing faculty members. Finally, in the pilot test, the data of 168 filled questionnaires were gathered and analyzed by an exploratory factor analysis to reduce the items and identify the factor structure of the instrument. Results: Through subsequent analyses, of the 83 items, 31 items were merged or omitted. At last, 52 retained items were divided into four subscales including student-centric behaviors, clinical performances, planning ability, and personality traits. The Cronbach's alpha level of the inventory was 0.96, with the value for each domain ranging from 0.87 to 0.94. Conclusions: Iranian Effective Clinical Nurse Instructor evaluation tool has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used in evaluating the effectiveness of clinical nursing instructors. PMID:24834081

A comparison of two computer-automated semen analysis instruments for the evaluation of sperm motion characteristics in the stallion.

PubMed

Jasko, D J; Lein, D H; Foote, R H

1990-01-01

Two commercially available computer-automate semen analysis instruments (CellSoft Automated Semen Analyzer and HTM-2000 Motion Analyzer) were compared for their ability to report similar results based on the analysis of pre-recorded video tapes of extended, motile stallion semen. The determinations of the percentage of motile cells by these instruments were more similar than the comparisons between subjective estimates and either instrument. However, mean values obtained from the same sample may still differ by as much as 30 percentage units between instruments. Instruments varied with regard to the determinations of mean sperm curvilinear velocity and sperm concentration, but mean sperm linearity determinations were similar between the instruments. We concluded that the determinations of sperm motion characteristics by subjective estimation, CellSoft Automated Semen Analyzer, and HTM-2000 Motility Analyzer are often dissimilar, making direct comparisons of results difficult.

Predicting Student Performance in Web-Based Distance Education Courses Based on Survey Instruments Measuring Personality Traits and Technical Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Michael

2008-01-01

Two common web-based surveys, "Is Online Learning Right for Me?' and "What Technical Skills Do I Need?", were combined into a single survey instrument and given to 228 on-campus and 83 distance education students. The students were enrolled in four different classes (business, computer information services, criminal justice, and…

Instrumentation for Verification of Bomb Damage Repair Computer Code.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

record the data, a conventional 14-track FM analog tape recorder was retained. The unknown factors of signal duration, test duration, and signal ...Kirtland Air Force Base computer centers for more detailed analyses. In addition to the analog recorder, signal conditioning equipment and amplifiers were...necessary to allow high quality data to be recorded. An Interrange Instrumentation Group (IRIG) code generator/reader placed a coded signal on the tape

[Design and validation of an instrument to assess families at risk for health problems].

PubMed

Puschel, Klaus; Repetto, Paula; Solar, María Olga; Soto, Gabriela; González, Karla

2012-04-01

There is a paucity of screening instruments with a high clinical predictive value to identify families at risk and therefore, develop focused interventions in primary care. To develop an easy to apply screening instrument with a high clinical predictive value to identify families with a higher health vulnerability. In the first stage of the study an instrument with a high content validity was designed through a review of existent instruments, qualitative interviews with families and expert opinions following a Delphi approach of three rounds. In the second stage, concurrent validity was tested through a comparative analysis between the pilot instrument and a family clinical interview conducted to 300 families randomly selected from a population registered at a primary care clinic in Santiago. The sampling was blocked based on the presence of diabetes, depression, child asthma, behavioral disorders, presence of an older person or the lack of previous conditions among family members. The third stage, was directed to test the clinical predictive validity of the instrument by comparing the baseline vulnerability obtained by the instrument and the change in clinical status and health related quality of life perceptions of the family members after nine months of follow-up. The final SALUFAM instrument included 13 items and had a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.821), high test re-test reproducibility (Pearson correlation: 0.84) and a high clinical predictive value for clinical deterioration (Odds ratio: 1.826; 95% confidence intervals: 1.101-3.029). SALUFAM instrument is applicable, replicable, has a high content validity, concurrent validity and clinical predictive value.

[Virtual reality in ophthalmological education].

PubMed

Wagner, C; Schill, M; Hennen, M; Männer, R; Jendritza, B; Knorz, M C; Bender, H J

2001-04-01

We present a computer-based medical training workstation for the simulation of intraocular eye surgery. The surgeon manipulates two original instruments inside a mechanical model of the eye. The instrument positions are tracked by CCD cameras and monitored by a PC which renders the scenery using a computer-graphic model of the eye and the instruments. The simulator incorporates a model of the operation table, a mechanical eye, three CCD cameras for the position tracking, the stereo display, and a computer. The three cameras are mounted under the operation table from where they can observe the interior of the mechanical eye. Using small markers the cameras recognize the instruments and the eye. Their position and orientation in space is determined by stereoscopic back projection. The simulation runs with more than 20 frames per second and provides a realistic impression of the surgery. It includes the cold light source which can be moved inside the eye and the shadow of the instruments on the retina which is important for navigational purposes.

[Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery].

PubMed

Fujiwara, Takeshi; Kamada, Mayumi; Okuno, Yasushi

2018-04-01

According to the increase of data generated from analytical instruments, application of artificial intelligence(AI)technology in medical field is indispensable. In particular, practical application of AI technology is strongly required in "genomic medicine" and "genomic drug discovery" that conduct medical practice and novel drug development based on individual genomic information. In our laboratory, we have been developing a database to integrate genome data and clinical information obtained by clinical genome analysis and a computational support system for clinical interpretation of variants using AI. In addition, with the aim of creating new therapeutic targets in genomic drug discovery, we have been also working on the development of a binding affinity prediction system for mutated proteins and drugs by molecular dynamics simulation using supercomputer "Kei". We also have tackled for problems in a drug virtual screening. Our developed AI technology has successfully generated virtual compound library, and deep learning method has enabled us to predict interaction between compound and target protein.

State of the art: dual-energy CT of the abdomen.

PubMed

Marin, Daniele; Boll, Daniel T; Mileto, Achille; Nelson, Rendon C

2014-05-01

Recent technologic advances in computed tomography (CT)--enabling the nearly simultaneous acquisition of clinical images using two different x-ray energy spectra--have sparked renewed interest in dual-energy CT. By interrogating the unique characteristics of different materials at different x-ray energies, dual-energy CT can be used to provide quantitative information about tissue composition, overcoming the limitations of attenuation-based conventional single-energy CT imaging. In the past few years, intensive research efforts have been devoted to exploiting the unique and powerful opportunities of dual-energy CT for a variety of clinical applications. This has led to CT protocol modifications for radiation dose reduction, improved diagnostic performance for detection and characterization of diseases, as well as image quality optimization. In this review, the authors discuss the basic principles, instrumentation and design, examples of current clinical applications in the abdomen and pelvis, and future opportunities of dual-energy CT.

Automated novel high-accuracy miniaturized positioning system for use in analytical instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siomos, Konstadinos; Kaliakatsos, John; Apostolakis, Manolis; Lianakis, John; Duenow, Peter

1996-01-01

The development of three-dimensional automotive devices (micro-robots) for applications in analytical instrumentation, clinical chemical diagnostics and advanced laser optics, depends strongly on the ability of such a device: firstly to be positioned with high accuracy, reliability, and automatically, by means of user friendly interface techniques; secondly to be compact; and thirdly to operate under vacuum conditions, free of most of the problems connected with conventional micropositioners using stepping-motor gear techniques. The objective of this paper is to develop and construct a mechanically compact computer-based micropositioning system for coordinated motion in the X-Y-Z directions with: (1) a positioning accuracy of less than 1 micrometer, (the accuracy of the end-position of the system is controlled by a hard/software assembly using a self-constructed optical encoder); (2) a heat-free propulsion mechanism for vacuum operation; and (3) synchronized X-Y motion.

A versatile localization system for microscopic multiparametric analysis of cells.

PubMed

Thaw, H H; Rundquist, I; Johansson, U; Svensson, I; Collins, V P

1983-03-01

A new, simple and relatively inexpensive electronic digital position readout (DPRO) system which can be applied to the rapid localization and recovery of microscopic material is described. It is based upon a commercially available digital position readout system which is routinely utilized by industry for small machine tools and measuring equipment. This has been mounted onto the stage of various microscopic instrumentation to provide X and Y coordinates relative to an arbitrary reference point. The integration of small computers interfaced to scanning interferometric, microdensitometric and fluorescence microscopes were used to demonstrate the reliability, versatility and ease of application of this system to problems of multiparametric measurements and analysis of cultured cells. The system may be expanded and applied to clinical material to obtain automatized, multiparametric measurements of cells in haematology and clinical cytology.

Macintosh/LabVIEW based control and data acquisition system for a single photon counting fluorometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stryjewski, Wieslaw J.

1991-08-01

A flexible software system has been developed for controlling fluorescence decay measurements using the virtual instrument approach offered by LabVIEW. The time-correlated single photon counting instrument operates under computer control in both manual and automatic mode. Implementation time was short and the equipment is now easier to use, reducing the training time required for new investigators. It is not difficult to customize the front panel or adapt the program to a different instrument. We found LabVIEW much more convenient to use for this application than traditional, textual computer languages.

Family physicians' information seeking behaviors: a survey comparison with other specialties.

PubMed

Bennett, Nancy L; Casebeer, Linda L; Kristofco, Robert; Collins, Blanche C

2005-03-22

Using technology to access clinical information has become a critical skill for family physicians. The aims of this study were to assess the way family physicians use the Internet to look for clinical information and how their patterns vary from those of specialists. Further, we sought a better understanding of how family physicians used just-in-time information in clinical practice. A fax survey was provided with 17 items. The survey instrument, adapted from two previous studies, was sent to community-based physicians. The questions measured frequency of use and importance of the Internet, palm computers, Internet CME, and email for information seeking and CME. Barriers to use were explored. Demographic data was gathered concerning gender, years since medical school graduation, practice location, practice type, and practice specialty. Family physicians found the Internet to be useful and important as an information source. They were more likely to search for patient oriented material than were specialists who more often searched literature, journals and corresponded with colleagues. Hand held computers were used by almost half of family physicians. Family physicians consider the Internet important to the practice of medicine, and the majority use it regularly. Their searches differ from colleagues in other specialties with a focus on direct patient care questions. Almost half of family physicians use hand held computers, most often for drug reference.

In vitro and in vivo evaluations of three computer-aided shade matching instruments.

PubMed

Yuan, Kun; Sun, Xiang; Wang, Fu; Wang, Hui; Chen, Ji-hua

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the accuracy and reliability of three computer-aided shade matching instruments (Shadepilot, VITA Easyshade, and ShadeEye NCC) using both in vitro and in vivo models. The in vitro model included the measurement of five VITA Classical shade guides. The in vivo model utilized three instruments to measure the central region of the labial surface of maxillary right central incisors of 85 people. The accuracy and reliability of the three instruments in these two evaluating models were calculated. Significant differences were observed in the accuracy of instruments both in vitro and in vivo. No significant differences were found in the reliability of instruments between and within the in vitro and the in vivo groups. VITA Easyshade was significantly different in accuracy between in vitro and in vivo models, while no significant difference was found for the other two instruments. Shadepilot was the only instrument tested in the present study that showed high accuracy and reliability both in vitro and in vivo. Significant differences were observed in the L*a*b* values of the 85 natural teeth measured using three instruments in the in vivo assessment. The pair-agreement rates of shade matching among the three instruments ranged from 37.7% to 48.2%, and the incidence of identical shade results shared by all three instruments was 25.9%. As different L*a*b* values and shade matching results were reported for the same tooth, a combination of the evaluated shade matching instruments and visual shade confirmation is recommended for clinical use.

Tablet Use within Medicine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogue, Rebecca J.

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the scholarly literature related to tablet computer use in medicine. Forty-four research-based articles were examined for emerging categories and themes. The most studied uses for tablet computers include: patients using tablets to complete diagnostic survey instruments, medical professionals using tablet computers to view…

Brief communication: patient satisfaction with the use of tablet computers: a pilot study in two outpatient home dialysis clinics.

PubMed

Schick-Makaroff, Kara; Molzahn, Anita

2014-01-01

Electronic capture of patients' reports of their health is significant in clinical nephrology research because health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for patients with end-stage renal disease is compromised and assessment by patients of their HRQOL in practice is relatively uncommon. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient satisfaction with and time involved in administering HRQOL and symptom assessment measures using tablet computers in two outpatient home dialysis clinics. A cross-sectional observational study design was employed. The study was conducted in two home dialysis clinics. Fifty-six patients participated in the study; 35 males (63%) and 21 females (37%) with a mean age of 66 ± 12 (36-90 years old) were included. Forty-nine participants were on peritoneal dialysis (87%), 6 on home hemodialysis (11%), and 1 on nocturnal home hemodialysis (2%). Measures included the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36), the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Participant's Level of Satisfaction in Using a Tablet Computer. Using a tablet computer, participants completed the three measures. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations were calculated. Participants' satisfaction with use of the tablet computer was high; 66% were "very satisfied", 7% "satisfied", 2% "slightly satisfied", and 18% "neutral". On the 7-point Likert-type scale, the mean satisfaction score was 5.11 (SD = 1.6). Mean time to complete the measures was: Level of Satisfaction 1.15 minutes (SD = 0.41), ESAS 2.55 minutes (SD = 1.04), and KDQOL 9.56 minutes (SD = 2.03); the mean time to complete all three instruments was 13.19 minutes (SD = 2.42). There were no significant correlations between level of satisfaction and age, gender, HRQOL, time taken to complete surveys, computer experience, or comfort with technology. Comfort with technology and computer experience were highly correlated, r = .7, p (one-tailed) < 0.01. Limitations include lack of generalizability because of a small self-selected sample of relatively healthy patients and a lack of psychometric testing on the measure of satisfaction. Participants were satisfied with the platform and the time involved for completion of instruments was modest. Routine use of HRQOL measures for clinical purposes may be facilitated through use of tablet computers.

CLOUDCLOUD : general-purpose instrument monitoring and data managing software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dias, António; Amorim, António; Tomé, António

2016-04-01

An effective experiment is dependent on the ability to store and deliver data and information to all participant parties regardless of their degree of involvement in the specific parts that make the experiment a whole. Having fast, efficient and ubiquitous access to data will increase visibility and discussion, such that the outcome will have already been reviewed several times, strengthening the conclusions. The CLOUD project aims at providing users with a general purpose data acquisition, management and instrument monitoring platform that is fast, easy to use, lightweight and accessible to all participants of an experiment. This work is now implemented in the CLOUD experiment at CERN and will be fully integrated with the experiment as of 2016. Despite being used in an experiment of the scale of CLOUD, this software can also be used in any size of experiment or monitoring station, from single computers to large networks of computers to monitor any sort of instrument output without influencing the individual instrument's DAQ. Instrument data and meta data is stored and accessed via a specially designed database architecture and any type of instrument output is accepted using our continuously growing parsing application. Multiple databases can be used to separate different data taking periods or a single database can be used if for instance an experiment is continuous. A simple web-based application gives the user total control over the monitored instruments and their data, allowing data visualization and download, upload of processed data and the ability to edit existing instruments or add new instruments to the experiment. When in a network, new computers are immediately recognized and added to the system and are able to monitor instruments connected to them. Automatic computer integration is achieved by a locally running python-based parsing agent that communicates with a main server application guaranteeing that all instruments assigned to that computer are monitored with parsing intervals as fast as milliseconds. This software (server+agents+interface+database) comes in easy and ready-to-use packages that can be installed in any operating system, including Android and iOS systems. This software is ideal for use in modular experiments or monitoring stations with large variability in instruments and measuring methods or in large collaborations, where data requires homogenization in order to be effectively transmitted to all involved parties. This work presents the software and provides performance comparison with previously used monitoring systems in the CLOUD experiment at CERN.

Diagnostic imaging applications; Proceedings of the Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 8, 9, 1984

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckenbach, E. S. (Editor)

1984-01-01

It is more important than ever that engineers have an understanding of the future needs of clinical and research medicine, and that physicians know somthing about probable future developments in instrumentation capabilities. Only by maintaining such a dialog can the most effective application of technological advances to medicine be achieved. This workshop attempted to provide this kind of information transfer in the limited field of diagnostic imaging. Biomedical research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is discussed, taking into account imaging results from space exploration missions, as well as biomedical research tasks based in these technologies. Attention is also given to current and future indications for magnetic resonance in medicine, high speed quantitative digital microscopy, computer processing of radiographic images, computed tomography and its modern applications, position emission tomography, and developments related to medical ultrasound.

Development and initial evaluation of an instrument to assess physiotherapists' clinical reasoning focused on clients' behavior change.

PubMed

Elvén, Maria; Hochwälder, Jacek; Dean, Elizabeth; Söderlund, Anne

2018-05-01

A systematically developed and evaluated instrument is needed to support investigations of physiotherapists' clinical reasoning integrated with the process of clients' behavior change. This study's aim was to develop an instrument to assess physiotherapy students' and physiotherapists' clinical reasoning focused on clients' activity-related behavior and behavior change, and initiate its evaluation, including feasibility and content validity. The study was conducted in three phases: 1) determination of instrument structure and item generation, based on a model, guidelines for assessing clinical reasoning, and existing measures; 2) cognitive interviews with five physiotherapy students to evaluate item understanding and feasibility; and 3) a Delphi process with 18 experts to evaluate content relevance. Phase 1 resulted in an instrument with four domains: Physiotherapist; Input from client; Functional behavioral analysis; and Strategies for behavior change. The instrument consists of case scenarios followed by items in which key features are identified, prioritized, or interpreted. Phase 2 resulted in revisions of problems and approval of feasibility. Phase 3 demonstrated high level of consensus regarding the instrument's content relevance. This feasible and content-validated instrument shows potential for use in investigations of physiotherapy students' and physiotherapists' clinical reasoning, however continued development and testing are needed.

Methods to Develop the Eye-tem Bank to Measure Ophthalmic Quality of Life.

PubMed

Khadka, Jyoti; Fenwick, Eva; Lamoureux, Ecosse; Pesudovs, Konrad

2016-12-01

There is an increasing demand for high-standard, comprehensive, and reliable patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments in all the disciplines of health care including in ophthalmology and optometry. Over the past two decades, a plethora of PRO instruments have been developed to assess the impact of eye diseases and their treatments. Despite this large number of instruments, significant shortcomings exist for the measurement of ophthalmic quality of life (QoL). Most PRO instruments are short-form instruments designed for clinical use, but this limits their content coverage often poorly targeting any study population other than that which they were developed for. Also, existing instruments are static paper and pencil based and unable to be updated easily leading to outdated and irrelevant item content. Scores obtained from different PRO instruments may not be directly comparable. These shortcomings can be addressed using item banking implemented with computer-adaptive testing (CAT). Therefore, we designed a multicenter project (The Eye-tem Bank project) to develop and validate such PROs to enable comprehensive measurement of ophthalmic QoL in eye diseases. Development of the Eye-tem Bank follows four phases: Phase I, Content Development; Phase II, Pilot Testing and Item Calibration; Phase III, Validation; and Phase IV, Evaluation. This project will deliver technologically advanced comprehensive QoL PROs in the form of item banking implemented via a CAT system in eye diseases. Here, we present a detailed methodological framework of this project.

The Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System P-V-T Propellant Quantity Gaging Accuracy and Leak Detection Allowance for Four Instrumentation Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duhon, D. D.

1975-01-01

The shuttle orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pressure-volume-temperature (P-V-T) propellant gaging module computes the quantity of usable OMS propellant remaining based on the real gas P-V-T relationship for the propellant tank pressurant, helium. The OMS P-V-T propellant quantity gaging error was determined for four sets of instrumentation configurations and accuracies with the propellant tank operating in the normal constant pressure mode and in the blowdown mode. The instrumentation inaccuracy allowance for propellant leak detection was also computed for these same four sets of instrumentation. These gaging errors and leak detection allowances are presented in tables designed to permit a direct comparison of the effectiveness of the four instrumentation sets. The results show the magnitudes of the improvements in propellant quantity gaging accuracies and propellant leak detection allowances which can be achieved by employing more accurate pressure and temperature instrumentation.

Advanced CO2 removal process control and monitor instrumentation development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heppner, D. B.; Dalhausen, M. J.; Klimes, R.

1982-01-01

A progam to evaluate, design and demonstrate major advances in control and monitor instrumentation was undertaken. A carbon dioxide removal process, one whose maturity level makes it a prime candidate for early flight demonstration was investigated. The instrumentation design incorporates features which are compatible with anticipated flight requirements. Current electronics technology and projected advances are included. In addition, the program established commonality of components for all advanced life support subsystems. It was concluded from the studies and design activities conducted under this program that the next generation of instrumentation will be greatly smaller than the prior one. Not only physical size but weight, power and heat rejection requirements were reduced in the range of 80 to 85% from the former level of research and development instrumentation. Using a microprocessor based computer, a standard computer bus structure and nonvolatile memory, improved fabrication techniques and aerospace packaging this instrumentation will greatly enhance overall reliability and total system availability.

Stress Computed Tomography Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: A New Topic in Cardiology.

PubMed

Seitun, Sara; Castiglione Morelli, Margherita; Budaj, Irilda; Boccalini, Sara; Galletto Pregliasco, Athena; Valbusa, Alberto; Cademartiri, Filippo; Ferro, Carlo

2016-02-01

Since its introduction about 15 years ago, coronary computed tomography angiography has become today the most accurate clinical instrument for noninvasive assessment of coronary atherosclerosis. Important technical developments have led to a continuous stream of new clinical applications together with a significant reduction in radiation dose exposure. Latest generation computed tomography scanners (≥ 64 slices) allow the possibility of performing static or dynamic perfusion imaging during stress by using coronary vasodilator agents (adenosine, dipyridamole, or regadenoson), combining both functional and anatomical information in the same examination. In this article, the emerging role and state-of-the-art of myocardial computed tomography perfusion imaging are reviewed and are illustrated by clinical cases from our experience with a second-generation dual-source 128-slice scanner (Somatom Definition Flash, Siemens; Erlangen, Germany). Technical aspects, data analysis, diagnostic accuracy, radiation dose and future prospects are reviewed. Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Use of an interactive tool to assess patients' willingness-to-pay.

PubMed

Matthews, D; Rocchi, A; Wang, E C; Gafni, A

2001-10-01

Assessment of willingness to pay (WTP) has become an important issue in health care technology assessment and in providing insight into the risks and benefits of treatment options. We have accordingly explored the use of an interactive method for assessment of WTP. To illustrate our methodology, we describe the development and testing of an interactive tool to administer a WTP survey in a dental setting. The tool was developed to measure patient preference and strength of preference for three dental anesthetic options in a research setting. It delivered written and verbal formats simultaneously, including information about the risks and benefits of treatment options, insurance, and user-based WTP scenarios and questions on previous dental experience. Clinical information was presented using a modified decision aid. Subjects could request additional clinical information and review this information throughout the survey. Information and question algorithms were individualized, depending on the subject's reported clinical status and previous responses. Initial pretesting resulted in substantial modifications to the initial tool: shortening the clinical information (by making more of it optional reading) and personalizing the text to more fully engage the user. In terms of results 196 general population subjects were recruited using random-digit dialing in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Comprehension was tested to ensure the instrument clearly conveyed the clinical information; the average score was 97%. Subjects rated the instrument as easy/very easy to use (99%), interesting/very interesting (91%), and neither long nor short (72.4%). Most subjects were comfortable/very comfortable with a computer (84%). Indirect evaluation revealed most subjects completed the survey in the expected time (30 min). Additional information was requested by 50% of subjects, an average of 2.9 times each. Most subjects wanted this type of information available in the provider's office for use in clinical decision making (92%). Despite extensive pretesting, three "bugs" remained undiscovered until live use. We have demonstrated that the detailed information, complex algorithms, and cognitively challenging questions involved in a WTP survey can be successfully administered using a tailor-made, patient-based, interactive computer tool. Key lessons regarding the use of such tools include allowing the user to set the pace of information flow and tailor the content, engaging the user by personalizing the textual information, inclusion of tests of comprehension and offering opportunities for correction, and pretesting by fully mimicking the live environment.

Adaptation from Paper-Pencil to Web-Based Administration of a Parent-Completed Developmental Questionnaire for Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yovanoff, Paul; Squires, Jane; McManus, Suzanne

2013-01-01

Adapting traditional paper-pencil instruments to computer-based environments has received considerable attention from the research community due to the possible administration mode effects on obtained measures. When differences due to mode of completion (i.e., paper-pencil, computer-based) are present, threats to measurement validity are posed. In…

LCC-Demons: a robust and accurate symmetric diffeomorphic registration algorithm.

PubMed

Lorenzi, M; Ayache, N; Frisoni, G B; Pennec, X

2013-11-01

Non-linear registration is a key instrument for computational anatomy to study the morphology of organs and tissues. However, in order to be an effective instrument for the clinical practice, registration algorithms must be computationally efficient, accurate and most importantly robust to the multiple biases affecting medical images. In this work we propose a fast and robust registration framework based on the log-Demons diffeomorphic registration algorithm. The transformation is parameterized by stationary velocity fields (SVFs), and the similarity metric implements a symmetric local correlation coefficient (LCC). Moreover, we show how the SVF setting provides a stable and consistent numerical scheme for the computation of the Jacobian determinant and the flux of the deformation across the boundaries of a given region. Thus, it provides a robust evaluation of spatial changes. We tested the LCC-Demons in the inter-subject registration setting, by comparing with state-of-the-art registration algorithms on public available datasets, and in the intra-subject longitudinal registration problem, for the statistically powered measurements of the longitudinal atrophy in Alzheimer's disease. Experimental results show that LCC-Demons is a generic, flexible, efficient and robust algorithm for the accurate non-linear registration of images, which can find several applications in the field of medical imaging. Without any additional optimization, it solves equally well intra & inter-subject registration problems, and compares favorably to state-of-the-art methods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

LTPP Computed Parameter: Moisture Content

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

A study was conducted to compute in situ soil parameters based on time domain reflectometry (TDR) traces obtained from Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) test sections instrumented for the seasonal monitoring program (SMP). Ten TDR sensors were in...

77 FR 30540 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Cognitive Testing of Instrumentation and Materials for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-23

... methods of administration (e.g., computer assisted personal interviews [CAPI], audio computer assisted self-interviews [ACASI], web-based interviews). Cognitive testing of these materials and methods will...

New type of measuring and intelligent instrument for curing tobacco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Chui-Jie; Huang, Xieqing; Chen, Tianning; Xia, Hong

1993-09-01

A new type of measuring intelligent instrument for cured tobacco is presented in this paper. Based on fuzzy linguistic control principles the instrument is used to controlling the temperature and humidity during cured tobacco taking 803 1 singlechip computer as a center controller. By using methods of fuzzy weighted factors the cross coupling in curing procedures is decoupled. Results that the instrument has producted indicate the fuzzy controller in the instrument has perfect performance for process of cured tobacco as shown in figure

Application of tissue mesodissection to molecular cancer diagnostics.

PubMed

Krizman, David; Adey, Nils; Parry, Robert

2015-02-01

To demonstrate clinical application of a mesodissection platform that was developed to combine advantages of laser-based instrumentation with the speed/ease of manual dissection for automated dissection of tissue off standard glass slides. Genomic analysis for KRAS gene mutation was performed on formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) cancer patient tissue that was dissected using the mesodissection platform. Selected reaction monitoring proteomic analysis for quantitative Her2 protein expression was performed on FFPE patient tumour tissue dissected by a laser-based instrument and the MilliSect instrument. Genomic analysis demonstrates highly confident detection of KRAS mutation specifically in lung cancer cells and not the surrounding benign, non-tumour tissue. Proteomic analysis demonstrates Her2 quantitative protein expression in breast cancer cells dissected manually, by laser-based instrumentation and by MilliSect instrumentation (mesodissection). Slide-mounted tissue dissection is commonly performed using laser-based instruments or manually scraping tissue by scalpel. Here we demonstrate that the mesodissection platform as performed by the MilliSect instrument for tissue dissection is cost-effective; it functions comparably to laser-based dissection and which can be adopted into a clinical diagnostic workflow. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Implementation of real-time digital endoscopic image processing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Chul Gyu; Lee, Young Mook; Lee, Sang Min; Kim, Won Ky; Lee, Jae Ho; Lee, Myoung Ho

1997-10-01

Endoscopy has become a crucial diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in clinical areas. Over the past four years, we have developed a computerized system to record and store clinical data pertaining to endoscopic surgery of laparascopic cholecystectomy, pelviscopic endometriosis, and surgical arthroscopy. In this study, we developed a computer system, which is composed of a frame grabber, a sound board, a VCR control board, a LAN card and EDMS. Also, computer system controls peripheral instruments such as a color video printer, a video cassette recorder, and endoscopic input/output signals. Digital endoscopic data management system is based on open architecture and a set of widely available industry standards; namely Microsoft Windows as an operating system, TCP/IP as a network protocol and a time sequential database that handles both images and speech. For the purpose of data storage, we used MOD and CD- R. Digital endoscopic system was designed to be able to store, recreate, change, and compress signals and medical images. Computerized endoscopy enables us to generate and manipulate the original visual document, making it accessible to a virtually unlimited number of physicians.

Instrumentation for detailed bridge-scour measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landers, Mark N.; Mueller, David S.; Trent, Roy E.; ,

1993-01-01

A portable instrumentation system is being developed to obtain channel bathymetry during floods for detailed bridge-scour measurements. Portable scour measuring systems have four components: sounding instrument, horizontal positioning instrument, deployment mechanisms, and data storage device. The sounding instrument will be a digital fathometer. Horizontal position will be measured using a range-azimuth based hydrographic survey system. The deployment mechanism designed for this system is a remote-controlled boat using a small waterplane area, twin-hull design. An on-board computer and radio will monitor the vessel instrumentation, record measured data, and telemeter data to shore.

Automation in clinical biochemistry: core, peripheral, STAT, and specialist laboratories in Australia.

PubMed

Streitberg, George S; Angel, Lyndall; Sikaris, Kenneth A; Bwititi, Phillip T

2012-10-01

Pathology has developed substantially since the 1990s with the introduction of total laboratory automation (TLA), in response to workloads and the need to improve quality. TLA has enhanced core laboratories, which evolved from discipline-based laboratories. Work practices have changed, with central reception now loading samples onto the Inlet module of the TLA. It is important to continually appraise technology. This study looked at the impact of technology using a self-administered survey to seniors in clinical biochemistry in NATA GX/GY-classified laboratories in Australia. The responses were yes, no, or not applicable and are expressed as percentages of responses. Some of the questions sourced for descriptive answers. Eighty-one laboratories responded, and the locations were 63%, 33%, and 4% in capital cities, regional cities, and country towns, respectively. Forty-two percent were public and 58% private. Clinical biochemistry was in all core laboratories of various sizes, and most performed up to 20 tests per sample. Thirty percent of the 121 surveyed laboratories had plans to install an automated line. Fifty-eight percent had hematology and biochemistry instrumentations in their peripheral laboratory, and 16% had a STAT laboratory on the same site as the core laboratory. There were varied instruments in specialist laboratories, and analyzers with embedded computers were in all laboratories. Medium and large laboratories had workstations with integrated instruments, and some large laboratories had TLA. Technology evolution and rising demand for pathology services make it imperative for laboratories to embrace such changes and reorganize the laboratories to take into account point-of-care testing and the efficiencies of core laboratories and TLA.

The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) and how to select an outcome measurement instrument.

PubMed

Mokkink, Lidwine B; Prinsen, Cecilia A C; Bouter, Lex M; Vet, Henrica C W de; Terwee, Caroline B

2016-01-19

COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) is an initiative of an international multidisciplinary team of researchers who aim to improve the selection of outcome measurement instruments both in research and in clinical practice by developing tools for selecting the most appropriate available instrument. In this paper these tools are described, i.e. the COSMIN taxonomy and definition of measurement properties; the COSMIN checklist to evaluate the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties; a search filter for finding studies on measurement properties; a protocol for systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments; a database of systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments; and a guideline for selecting outcome measurement instruments for Core Outcome Sets in clinical trials. Currently, we are updating the COSMIN checklist, particularly the standards for content validity studies. Also new standards for studies using Item Response Theory methods will be developed. Additionally, in the future we want to develop standards for studies on the quality of non-patient reported outcome measures, such as clinician-reported outcomes and performance-based outcomes. In summary, we plea for more standardization in the use of outcome measurement instruments, for conducting high quality systematic reviews on measurement instruments in which the best available outcome measurement instrument is recommended, and for stopping the use of poor outcome measurement instruments.

The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) and how to select an outcome measurement instrument

PubMed Central

Mokkink, Lidwine B.; Prinsen, Cecilia A. C.; Bouter, Lex M.; de Vet, Henrica C. W.; Terwee, Caroline B.

2016-01-01

Background: COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) is an initiative of an international multidisciplinary team of researchers who aim to improve the selection of outcome measurement instruments both in research and in clinical practice by developing tools for selecting the most appropriate available instrument. Method: In this paper these tools are described, i.e. the COSMIN taxonomy and definition of measurement properties; the COSMIN checklist to evaluate the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties; a search filter for finding studies on measurement properties; a protocol for systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments; a database of systematic reviews of outcome measurement instruments; and a guideline for selecting outcome measurement instruments for Core Outcome Sets in clinical trials. Currently, we are updating the COSMIN checklist, particularly the standards for content validity studies. Also new standards for studies using Item Response Theory methods will be developed. Additionally, in the future we want to develop standards for studies on the quality of non-patient reported outcome measures, such as clinician-reported outcomes and performance-based outcomes. Conclusions: In summary, we plea for more standardization in the use of outcome measurement instruments, for conducting high quality systematic reviews on measurement instruments in which the best available outcome measurement instrument is recommended, and for stopping the use of poor outcome measurement instruments. PMID:26786084

The Application of Web-based Computer-assisted Instruction Courseware within Health Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiuyan, Guo

Health assessment is a clinical nursing course and places emphasis on clinical skills. The application of computer-assisted instruction in the field of nursing teaching solved the problems in the traditional lecture class. This article stated teaching experience of web-based computer-assisted instruction, based upon a two-year study of computer-assisted instruction courseware use within the course health assessment. The computer-assisted instruction courseware could develop teaching structure, simulate clinical situations, create teaching situations and facilitate students study.

Compact tracking of surgical instruments through structured markers.

PubMed

Alberto Borghese, N; Frosio, I

2013-07-01

Virtual and augmented reality surgery calls for reliable and efficient tracking of the surgical instruments in the virtual or real operating theatre. The most diffused approach uses three or more not aligned markers, attached to each instrument and surveyed by a set of cameras. However, the structure required to carry the markers does modify the instrument's mass distribution and can interfere with surgeon movements. To overcome these problems, we propose here a new methodology, based on structured markers, to compute the six degrees of freedom of a surgical instrument. Two markers are attached on the instrument axis and one of them has a stripe painted over its surface. We also introduce a procedure to compute with high accuracy the markers center on the cameras image, even when partially occluded by the instrument's axis or by other structures. Experimental results demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the proposed approach. The introduction of structured passive markers can open new possibilities to accurate tracking, combining markers detection with real-time image processing.

Validation of a clinical screening instrument for tumour predisposition syndromes in patients with childhood cancer (TuPS): protocol for a prospective, observational, multicentre study

PubMed Central

Postema, Floor A M; Hopman, Saskia M J; de Borgie, Corianne A J M; Hammond, Peter; Hennekam, Raoul C; Merks, Johannes H M; Aalfs, Cora M; Anninga, Jakob K; Berger, Lieke PV; Bleeker, Fonnet E; de Bont, Eveline SJM; de Borgie, Corianne AJM; Dommering, Charlotte J; van Eijkelenburg, Natasha KA; Hammond, Peter; Hennekam, Raoul C; van den Heuvel-Eibrink, Marry M; Hopman, Saskia MJ; Jongmans, Marjolijn CJ; Kors, Wijnanda A; Letteboer, Tom GW; Loeffen, Jan LCM; Merks, Johannes HM; Olderode-Berends, Maran JW; Postema, Floor AM; Wagner, Anja

2017-01-01

Introduction Recognising a tumour predisposition syndrome (TPS) in patients with childhood cancer is of significant clinical relevance, as it affects treatment, prognosis and facilitates genetic counselling. Previous studies revealed that only half of the known TPSs are recognised during standard paediatric cancer care. In current medical practice it is impossible to refer every patient with childhood cancer to a clinical geneticist, due to limited capacity for routine genetic consultation. Therefore, we have developed a screening instrument to identify patients with childhood cancer with a high probability of having a TPS. The aim of this study is to validate the clinical screening instrument for TPS in patients with childhood cancer. Methods and analysis This study is a prospective nationwide cohort study including all newly diagnosed patients with childhood cancer in the Netherlands. The screening instrument consists of a checklist, two- and three-dimensional photographic series of the patient. 2 independent clinical geneticists will assess the content of the screening instrument. If a TPS is suspected based on the instrument data and thus further evaluation is indicated, the patient will be invited for full genetic consultation. A negative control group consists of 20% of the patients in whom a TPS is not suspected based on the instrument; they will be randomly invited for full genetic consultation. Primary outcome measurement will be sensitivity of the instrument. Ethics and dissemination The Medical Ethical Committee of the Academic Medical Centre stated that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act does not apply to this study and that official approval of this study by the Committee was not required. The results will be offered for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presented at International Conferences on Oncology and Clinical Genetics. The clinical data gathered in this study will be available for all participating centres. Trial registration number NTR5605. PMID:28110285

The impact of clinical use on the torsional behavior of Reciproc and WaveOne instruments.

PubMed

Magalhães, Rafael Rodrigues Soares de; Braga, Lígia Carolina Moreira; Pereira, Érika Sales Joviano; Peixoto, Isabella Faria da Cunha; Buono, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; Bahia, Maria Guiomar de Azevedo

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of clinical use, in vivo, on the torsional behavior of Reciproc and WaveOne instruments considering the possibility that they degraded with use. Diameter at each millimeter, pitch length, and area at 3 mm from the tip were determined for both types of instruments. Twenty-four instruments, size 25, 0.08 taper, of each system were divided into two groups (n=12 each): Control Group (CG), in which new Reciproc (RC) and WaveOne Primary (WO) instruments were tested in torsion until rupture based on ISO 3630-1; and Experimental Group (EG), in which each new instrument was clinically used to clean and shape the root canals of one molar. After clinical use, the instruments were analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopy and subsequently tested in torsion until fracture. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance at a=.05. WO instruments showed significantly higher mean values of cross-sectional area A3 (P=0.000) and smaller pitch lengths than RC instruments with no statistically significant differences in the diameter at D3 (P=0.521). No significant differences in torsional resistance between the RC and WO new instruments (P=0.134) were found. The clinical use resulted in a tendency of reduction in the maximum torque of the analyzed instruments but no statistically significant difference was observed between them (P=0.327). During the preparation of the root canals, two fractured RC instruments and longitudinal and transversal cracks in RC and WO instruments were observed through SEM analysis. After clinical use, no statistically significant reduction in the torsional resistance was observed.

Computer Series, 13.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, John W., Ed.

1981-01-01

Provides short descriptions of chemists' applications of computers in instruction: an interactive instructional program for Instrumental-Qualitative Organic Analysis; question-and-answer exercises in organic chemistry; computerized organic nomenclature drills; integration of theoretical and descriptive materials; acid-base titration simulation;…

Catheter-based photoacoustic endoscope

PubMed Central

Yang, Joon-Mo; Li, Chiye; Chen, Ruimin; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K. Kirk; Wang, Lihong V.

2014-01-01

Abstract. We report a flexible shaft-based mechanical scanning photoacoustic endoscopy (PAE) system that can be potentially used for imaging the human gastrointestinal tract via the instrument channel of a clinical video endoscope. The development of such a catheter endoscope has been an important challenge to realize the technique’s benefits in clinical settings. We successfully implemented a prototype PAE system that has a 3.2-mm diameter and 2.5-m long catheter section. As the instrument’s flexible shaft and scanning tip are fully encapsulated in a plastic catheter, it easily fits within the 3.7-mm diameter instrument channel of a clinical video endoscope. Here, we demonstrate the intra-instrument channel workability and in vivo animal imaging capability of the PAE system. PMID:24887743

Model-Based and Model-Free Pavlovian Reward Learning: Revaluation, Revision and Revelation

PubMed Central

Dayan, Peter; Berridge, Kent C.

2014-01-01

Evidence supports at least two methods for learning about reward and punishment and making predictions for guiding actions. One method, called model-free, progressively acquires cached estimates of the long-run values of circumstances and actions from retrospective experience. The other method, called model-based, uses representations of the environment, expectations and prospective calculations to make cognitive predictions of future value. Extensive attention has been paid to both methods in computational analyses of instrumental learning. By contrast, although a full computational analysis has been lacking, Pavlovian learning and prediction has typically been presumed to be solely model-free. Here, we revise that presumption and review compelling evidence from Pavlovian revaluation experiments showing that Pavlovian predictions can involve their own form of model-based evaluation. In model-based Pavlovian evaluation, prevailing states of the body and brain influence value computations, and thereby produce powerful incentive motivations that can sometimes be quite new. We consider the consequences of this revised Pavlovian view for the computational landscape of prediction, response and choice. We also revisit differences between Pavlovian and instrumental learning in the control of incentive motivation. PMID:24647659

Model-based and model-free Pavlovian reward learning: revaluation, revision, and revelation.

PubMed

Dayan, Peter; Berridge, Kent C

2014-06-01

Evidence supports at least two methods for learning about reward and punishment and making predictions for guiding actions. One method, called model-free, progressively acquires cached estimates of the long-run values of circumstances and actions from retrospective experience. The other method, called model-based, uses representations of the environment, expectations, and prospective calculations to make cognitive predictions of future value. Extensive attention has been paid to both methods in computational analyses of instrumental learning. By contrast, although a full computational analysis has been lacking, Pavlovian learning and prediction has typically been presumed to be solely model-free. Here, we revise that presumption and review compelling evidence from Pavlovian revaluation experiments showing that Pavlovian predictions can involve their own form of model-based evaluation. In model-based Pavlovian evaluation, prevailing states of the body and brain influence value computations, and thereby produce powerful incentive motivations that can sometimes be quite new. We consider the consequences of this revised Pavlovian view for the computational landscape of prediction, response, and choice. We also revisit differences between Pavlovian and instrumental learning in the control of incentive motivation.

Gender Differences in Measuring Adolescent Drug Abuse and Related Psychosocial Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botzet, Andria, M.; Winters, Ken C.; Stinchfield, Randy

2006-01-01

Although gender issues have been addressed in clinical drug abuse literature, very little research has focused on gender differences in terms of the psychometric properties of assessment instruments. If boys and girls interpret instruments differently, the accuracy of clinical evaluation, referral, and treatment decisions based on these measures…

Field evaluation of boat-mounted acoustic Doppler instruments used to measure streamflow

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mueller, D.S.; ,

2003-01-01

The use of instruments based on the Doppler principle for measuring water velocity and computing discharge is common within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The instruments and software have changed appreciably during the last 5 years; therefore, the USGS has begun field validation of the instruments used to make discharge measurements from a moving boat. Instruments manufactured by SonTek/YSI and RD Instruments, Inc. were used to collect discharge data at five different sites. One or more traditional discharge measurements were made using a Price AA current meter and standard USGS procedures concurrent with the acoustic instruments at each site. Discharges measured with the acoustic instruments were compared with discharges measured with Price AA current meters and the USGS stage-discharge rating for each site. The mean discharges measured by each acoustic instrument were within 5 percent of the Price AA-based measurement and (or) discharge from the stage-discharge rating.

An Antibiotic Resource Program for Students of the Health Professions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tritz, Gerald J.

1986-01-01

Provides a description of a computer program developed to supplement instruction in testing of antibiotics on clinical isolates of microorganisms. The program is a simulation and database for interpretation of experimental data designed to enhance laboratory learning and prepare future physicians to use computerized diagnostic instrumentation and…

Optical imaging probes in oncology

PubMed Central

Martelli, Cristina; Dico, Alessia Lo; Diceglie, Cecilia; Lucignani, Giovanni; Ottobrini, Luisa

2016-01-01

Cancer is a complex disease, characterized by alteration of different physiological molecular processes and cellular features. Keeping this in mind, the possibility of early identification and detection of specific tumor biomarkers by non-invasive approaches could improve early diagnosis and patient management. Different molecular imaging procedures provide powerful tools for detection and non-invasive characterization of oncological lesions. Clinical studies are mainly based on the use of computed tomography, nuclear-based imaging techniques and magnetic resonance imaging. Preclinical imaging in small animal models entails the use of dedicated instruments, and beyond the already cited imaging techniques, it includes also optical imaging studies. Optical imaging strategies are based on the use of luminescent or fluorescent reporter genes or injectable fluorescent or luminescent probes that provide the possibility to study tumor features even by means of fluorescence and luminescence imaging. Currently, most of these probes are used only in animal models, but the possibility of applying some of them also in the clinics is under evaluation. The importance of tumor imaging, the ease of use of optical imaging instruments, the commercial availability of a wide range of probes as well as the continuous description of newly developed probes, demonstrate the significance of these applications. The aim of this review is providing a complete description of the possible optical imaging procedures available for the non-invasive assessment of tumor features in oncological murine models. In particular, the characteristics of both commercially available and newly developed probes will be outlined and discussed. PMID:27145373

The NASA modern technology rotors program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watts, M. E.; Cross, J. L.

1986-01-01

Existing data bases regarding helicopters are based on work conducted on 'old-technology' rotor systems. The Modern Technology Rotors (MTR) Program is to provide extensive data bases on rotor systems using present and emerging technology. The MTR is concerned with modern, four-bladed, rotor systems presently being manufactured or under development. Aspects of MTR philosophy are considered along with instrumentation, the MTR test program, the BV 360 Rotor, and the UH-60 Black Hawk. The program phases include computer modelling, shake test, model-scale test, minimally instrumented flight test, extensively pressure-instrumented-blade flight test, and full-scale wind tunnel test.

Bedside imaging of intracranial hemorrhage in the neonate using light: comparison with ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Hintz, S R; Cheong, W F; van Houten, J P; Stevenson, D K; Benaron, D A

1999-01-01

Medical optical imaging (MOI) uses light emitted into opaque tissues to determine the interior structure. Previous reports detailed a portable time-of-flight and absorbance system emitting pulses of near infrared light into tissues and measuring the emerging light. Using this system, optical images of phantoms, whole rats, and pathologic neonatal brain specimens have been tomographically reconstructed. We have now modified the existing instrumentation into a clinically relevant headband-based system to be used for optical imaging of structure in the neonatal brain at the bedside. Eight medical optical imaging studies in the neonatal intensive care unit were performed in a blinded clinical comparison of optical images with ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Optical images were interpreted as correct in six of eight cases, with one error attributed to the age of the clot, and one small clot not seen. In addition, one disagreement with ultrasound, not reported as an error, was found to be the result of a mislabeled ultrasound report rather than because of an inaccurate optical scan. Optical scan correlated well with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings in one patient. We conclude that light-based imaging using a portable time-of-flight system is feasible and represents an important new noninvasive diagnostic technique, with potential for continuous monitoring of critically ill neonates at risk for intraventricular hemorrhage or stroke. Further studies are now underway to further investigate the functional imaging capabilities of this new diagnostic tool.

Transformation of personal computers and mobile phones into genetic diagnostic systems.

PubMed

Walker, Faye M; Ahmad, Kareem M; Eisenstein, Michael; Soh, H Tom

2014-09-16

Molecular diagnostics based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) offer rapid and sensitive means for detecting infectious disease, but prohibitive costs have impeded their use in resource-limited settings where such diseases are endemic. In this work, we report an innovative method for transforming a desktop computer and a mobile camera phone--devices that have become readily accessible in developing countries--into a highly sensitive DNA detection system. This transformation was achieved by converting a desktop computer into a de facto thermal cycler with software that controls the temperature of the central processing unit (CPU), allowing for highly efficient PCR. Next, we reconfigured the mobile phone into a fluorescence imager by adding a low-cost filter, which enabled us to quantitatively measure the resulting PCR amplicons. Our system is highly sensitive, achieving quantitative detection of as little as 9.6 attograms of target DNA, and we show that its performance is comparable to advanced laboratory instruments at approximately 1/500th of the cost. Finally, in order to demonstrate clinical utility, we have used our platform for the successful detection of genomic DNA from the parasite that causes Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, directly in whole, unprocessed human blood at concentrations 4-fold below the clinical titer of the parasite.

Transformation of Personal Computers and Mobile Phones into Genetic Diagnostic Systems

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Molecular diagnostics based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) offer rapid and sensitive means for detecting infectious disease, but prohibitive costs have impeded their use in resource-limited settings where such diseases are endemic. In this work, we report an innovative method for transforming a desktop computer and a mobile camera phone—devices that have become readily accessible in developing countries—into a highly sensitive DNA detection system. This transformation was achieved by converting a desktop computer into a de facto thermal cycler with software that controls the temperature of the central processing unit (CPU), allowing for highly efficient PCR. Next, we reconfigured the mobile phone into a fluorescence imager by adding a low-cost filter, which enabled us to quantitatively measure the resulting PCR amplicons. Our system is highly sensitive, achieving quantitative detection of as little as 9.6 attograms of target DNA, and we show that its performance is comparable to advanced laboratory instruments at approximately 1/500th of the cost. Finally, in order to demonstrate clinical utility, we have used our platform for the successful detection of genomic DNA from the parasite that causes Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, directly in whole, unprocessed human blood at concentrations 4-fold below the clinical titer of the parasite. PMID:25223929

Comparison of commonly used orthopaedic outcome measures using palm-top computers and paper surveys.

PubMed

Saleh, Khaled J; Radosevich, David M; Kassim, Rida A; Moussa, Mohamed; Dykes, Darrell; Bottolfson, Helena; Gioe, Terence J; Robinson, Harry

2002-11-01

Measuring patient-perceived outcomes following orthopaedic procedures have become an important component of clinical research and patient care. General and disease-specific outcomes measures have been developed and applied in orthopaedics to assess the patients' perceived health status. Unfortunately, paper-based, self-administered instruments remain inefficient for collecting data because of: (a) missing data (b) respondent error, and (c) the costs to administer and enter data. To study the comparability of palm-top computer devices and paper-pencil self-administered questionnaires in the collection of health-related quality of life (HRQL) information from patients. The comparability of administering HRQL questionnaires using palm-top computer and traditional paper-based forms was tested in a sample of 96 patients with complaints of hip and/or knee pain. Each patient completed mailed versions of the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), 36-item Health Survey (SF-36), and Western Ontario and McMasters University Arthritis Index (WOMAC) three weeks prior to presenting to clinic. At the clinic they were asked to complete the same outcomes measures using the palm-top computer or a paper-and-pencil version. In the analysis, scale distributions, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency and retest reliability of scales were compared across the two data collection methods. Because the baseline characteristics of the groups were not strictly comparable according to age, the data were analyzed for the entire sample and stratified according to age. Few statistically significant differences were found for the means, variances and intra-class correlation coefficients between the methods of administration. While the scale distribution between the two methods was comparable, the internal consistency of the scales was dissimilar. Administration of HRQL questionnaires using portable palm-top computer devices has the potential advantage of decreased cost and convenience. These data lend some support for the comparability of palm-top computers and paper surveys for outcomes measures widely used in the field of orthopaedic surgery. The present study identified the lack of reliability across modes of administration that requires further study in a randomized comparability trial. These mode effects are important for orthopaedic surgeons to appreciate before implementing innovative data-capture technologies in their practices.

A Computational Model of Reasoning from the Clinical Literature

PubMed Central

Rennels, Glenn D.

1986-01-01

This paper explores the premise that a formalized representation of empirical studies can play a central role in computer-based decision support. The specific motivations underlying this research include the following propositions: 1. Reasoning from experimental evidence contained in the clinical literature is central to the decisions physicians make in patient care. 2. A computational model, based upon a declarative representation for published reports of clinical studies, can drive a computer program that selectively tailors knowledge of the clinical literature as it is applied to a particular case. 3. The development of such a computational model is an important first step toward filling a void in computer-based decision support systems. Furthermore, the model may help us better understand the general principles of reasoning from experimental evidence both in medicine and other domains. Roundsman is a developmental computer system which draws upon structured representations of the clinical literature in order to critique plans for the management of primary breast cancer. Roundsman is able to produce patient-specific analyses of breast cancer management options based on the 24 clinical studies currently encoded in its knowledge base. The Roundsman system is a first step in exploring how the computer can help to bring a critical analysis of the relevant literature to the physician, structured around a particular patient and treatment decision.

The efficacy of high-fidelity simulation on psychomotor clinical performance improvement of undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Vincent, Mary Anne; Sheriff, Susan; Mellott, Susan

2015-02-01

High-fidelity simulation has become a growing educational modality among institutions of higher learning ever since the Institute of Medicine recommended that it be used to improve patient safety in 2000. However, there is limited research on the effect of high-fidelity simulation on psychomotor clinical performance improvement of undergraduate nursing students being evaluated by experts using reliable and valid appraisal instruments. The purpose of this integrative review and meta-analysis is to explore what researchers have established about the impact of high-fidelity simulation on improving the psychomotor clinical performance of undergraduate nursing students. Only eight of the 1120 references met inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis using Hedges' g to compute the effect size and direction of impact yielded a range of -0.26 to +3.39. A positive effect was shown in seven of eight studies; however, there were five different research designs and six unique appraisal instruments used among these studies. More research is necessary to determine if high-fidelity simulation improves psychomotor clinical performance in undergraduate nursing students. Nursing programs from multiple sites having a standardized curriculum and using the same appraisal instruments with established reliability and validity are ideal for this work.

Long term pavement performance computed parameter : moisture content

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

A study was conducted to compute in situ soil parameters based on time domain reflectometry (TDR) traces obtained from Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) test sections instrumented for the seasonal monitoring program (SMP). Ten TDR sensors were in...

[Application of virtual instrumentation technique in toxicological studies].

PubMed

Moczko, Jerzy A

2005-01-01

Research investigations require frequently direct connection of measuring equipment to the computer. Virtual instrumentation technique considerably facilitates programming of sophisticated acquisition-and-analysis procedures. In standard approach these two steps are performed subsequently with separate software tools. The acquired data are transfered with export / import procedures of particular program to the another one which executes next step of analysis. The described procedure is cumbersome, time consuming and may be potential source of the errors. In 1987 National Instruments Corporation introduced LabVIEW language based on the concept of graphical programming. Contrary to conventional textual languages it allows the researcher to concentrate on the resolved problem and omit all syntactical rules. Programs developed in LabVIEW are called as virtual instruments (VI) and are portable among different computer platforms as PCs, Macintoshes, Sun SPARCstations, Concurrent PowerMAX stations, HP PA/RISK workstations. This flexibility warrants that the programs prepared for one particular platform would be also appropriate to another one. In presented paper basic principles of connection of research equipment to computer systems were described.

Analytic Method for Computing Instrument Pointing Jitter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bayard, David

2003-01-01

A new method of calculating the root-mean-square (rms) pointing jitter of a scientific instrument (e.g., a camera, radar antenna, or telescope) is introduced based on a state-space concept. In comparison with the prior method of calculating the rms pointing jitter, the present method involves significantly less computation. The rms pointing jitter of an instrument (the square root of the jitter variance shown in the figure) is an important physical quantity which impacts the design of the instrument, its actuators, controls, sensory components, and sensor- output-sampling circuitry. Using the Sirlin, San Martin, and Lucke definition of pointing jitter, the prior method of computing the rms pointing jitter involves a frequency-domain integral of a rational polynomial multiplied by a transcendental weighting function, necessitating the use of numerical-integration techniques. In practice, numerical integration complicates the problem of calculating the rms pointing error. In contrast, the state-space method provides exact analytic expressions that can be evaluated without numerical integration.

Monte Carlo Simulations and Generation of the SPI Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturner, S. J.; Shrader, C. R.; Weidenspointner, G.; Teegarden, B. J.; Attie, D.; Diehl, R.; Ferguson, C.; Jean, P.; vonKienlin, A.

2003-01-01

In this paper we discuss the methods developed for the production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response. The response files were produced using a suite of Monte Carlo simulation software developed at NASA/GSFC based on the GEANT-3 package available from CERN. The production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response also required the development of a detailed computer mass model for SPI. We discuss our extensive investigations into methods to reduce both the computation time and storage requirements for the SPI response. We also discuss corrections to the simulated response based on our comparison of ground and inflight calibration data with MGEANT simulation.

Monte Carlo Simulations and Generation of the SPI Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturner, S. J.; Shrader, C. R.; Weidenspointner, G.; Teegarden, B. J.; Attie, D.; Cordier, B.; Diehl, R.; Ferguson, C.; Jean, P.; vonKienlin, A.

2003-01-01

In this paper we discuss the methods developed for the production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response. The response files were produced using a suite of Monte Carlo simulation software developed at NASA/GSFC based on the GEANT-3 package available from CERN. The production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response also required the development of a detailed computer mass model for SPI. We discuss ow extensive investigations into methods to reduce both the computation time and storage requirements for the SPI response. We also discuss corrections to the simulated response based on our comparison of ground and infiight Calibration data with MGEANT simulations.

Use of electronic microprocessor-based instrumentation by the U.S. geological survey for hydrologic data collection

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shope, William G.; ,

1991-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey is acquiring a new generation of field computers and communications software to support hydrologic data-collection at field locations. The new computer hardware and software mark the beginning of the Survey's transition from the use of electromechanical devices and paper tapes to electronic microprocessor-based instrumentation. Software is being developed for these microprocessors to facilitate the collection, conversion, and entry of data into the Survey's National Water Information System. The new automated data-collection process features several microprocessor-controlled sensors connected to a serial digital multidrop line operated by an electronic data recorder. Data are acquired from the sensors in response to instructions programmed into the data recorder by the user through small portable lap-top or hand-held computers. The portable computers, called personal field computers, also are used to extract data from the electronic recorders for transport by courier to the office computers. The Survey's alternative to manual or courier retrieval is the use of microprocessor-based remote telemetry stations. Plans have been developed to enhance the Survey's use of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite telemetry by replacing the present network of direct-readout ground stations with less expensive units. Plans also provide for computer software that will support other forms of telemetry such as telephone or land-based radio.

Single-crystal diffraction instrument TriCS at SINQ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schefer, J.; Könnecke, M.; Murasik, A.; Czopnik, A.; Strässle, Th; Keller, P.; Schlumpf, N.

2000-03-01

The single-crystal diffractometer TriCS at the Swiss Continuous Spallation Source (SINQ) is presently in the commissioning phase. A two-dimensional wire detector produced by EMBL was delivered in March 1999. The instrument is presently tested with a single detector. First measurements on magnetic structures have been performed. The instrument is remotely controlled using JAVA-based software and a UNIX DEC-α host computer.

Foundation, Organization, and Purpose of the National Consortium for Computer-Based Musical Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hofstetter, Fred T.

1976-01-01

This paper begins with a look at the present state of computer applications to music education. Instructional systems for instrumental music, music fundamentals, ear-training, set theory, composition, analysis, information retrieval, automated music printing and computer-managed instruction are discussed. The functions of the NCCBMI are described.…

Evaluation of Orthopedic Metal Artifact Reduction Application in Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Reconstruction of Spinal Instrumentation: A Single Saudi Center Experience.

PubMed

Ali, Amir Monir

2018-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the commercially available orthopedic metal artifact reduction (OMAR) technique in postoperative three-dimensional computed tomography (3DCT) reconstruction studies after spinal instrumentation and to investigate its clinical application. One hundred and twenty (120) patients with spinal metallic implants were included in the study. All had 3DCT reconstruction examinations using the OMAR software after obtaining the informed consents and approval of the Institution Ethical Committee. The degree of the artifacts, the related muscular density, the clearness of intermuscular fat planes, and definition of the adjacent vertebrae were qualitatively evaluated. The diagnostic satisfaction and quality of the 3D reconstruction images were thoroughly assessed. The majority (96.7%) of 3DCT reconstruction images performed were considered satisfactory to excellent for diagnosis. Only 3.3% of the reconstructed images had rendered unacceptable diagnostic quality. OMAR can effectively reduce metallic artifacts in patients with spinal instrumentation with highly diagnostic 3DCT reconstruction images.

EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface to support post-stroke motor rehabilitation of the upper limb.

PubMed

Cincotti, F; Pichiorri, F; Aricò, P; Aloise, F; Leotta, F; de Vico Fallani, F; Millán, J del R; Molinari, M; Mattia, D

2012-01-01

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) process brain activity in real time, and mediate non-muscular interaction between and individual and the environment. The subserving algorithms can be used to provide a quantitative measurement of physiological or pathological cognitive processes - such as Motor Imagery (MI) - and feed it back the user. In this paper we propose the clinical application of a BCI-based rehabilitation device, to promote motor recovery after stroke. The BCI-based device and the therapy exploiting its use follow the same principles that drive classical neuromotor rehabilitation, and (i) provides the physical therapist with a monitoring instrument, to assess the patient's participation in the rehabilitative cognitive exercise; (ii) assists the patient in the practice of MI. The device was installed in the ward of a rehabilitation hospital and a group of 29 patients were involved in its testing. Among them, eight have already undergone a one-month training with the device, as an add-on to the regular therapy. An improved system, which includes analysis of Electromyographic (EMG) patterns and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) of the arm muscles, is also under clinical evaluation. We found that the rehabilitation exercise based on BCI-mediated neurofeedback mechanisms enables a better engagement of motor areas with respect to motor imagery alone and thus it can promote neuroplasticity in brain regions affected by a cerebrovascular accident. Preliminary results also suggest that the functional outcome of motor rehabilitation may be improved by the use of the proposed device.

In-Training Assessment Using Direct Observation of Single-Patient Encounters: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelgrim, E. A. M.; Kramer, A. W. M.; Mokkink, H. G. A.; van den Elsen, L.; Grol, R. P. T. M.; van der Vleuten, C. P. M.

2011-01-01

We reviewed the literature on instruments for work-based assessment in single clinical encounters, such as the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX), and examined differences between these instruments in characteristics and feasibility, reliability, validity and educational effect. A PubMed search of the literature published before 8…

Development and Initial Testing of a Structured Clinical Observation Tool to Assess Pharmacotherapy Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, John Q.; Lieu, Sandra; O'Sullivan, Patricia; Tong, Lowell

2011-01-01

Objective: The authors developed and tested the feasibility and utility of a new direct-observation instrument to assess trainee performance of a medication management session. Methods: The Psychopharmacotherapy-Structured Clinical Observation (P-SCO) instrument was developed based on multiple sources of expertise and then implemented in 4…

The Time on Task Effect in Reading and Problem Solving Is Moderated by Task Difficulty and Skill: Insights from a Computer-Based Large-Scale Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhammer, Frank; Naumann, Johannes; Stelter, Annette; Tóth, Krisztina; Rölke, Heiko; Klieme, Eckhard

2014-01-01

Computer-based assessment can provide new insights into behavioral processes of task completion that cannot be uncovered by paper-based instruments. Time presents a major characteristic of the task completion process. Psychologically, time on task has 2 different interpretations, suggesting opposing associations with task outcome: Spending more…

A Low-Cost Computer-Controlled Arduino-Based Educational Laboratory System for Teaching the Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Cells

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zachariadou, K.; Yiasemides, K.; Trougkakos, N.

2012-01-01

We present a low-cost, fully computer-controlled, Arduino-based, educational laboratory (SolarInsight) to be used in undergraduate university courses concerned with electrical engineering and physics. The major goal of the system is to provide students with the necessary instrumentation, software tools and methodology in order to learn fundamental…

Students' Perceptions of Computer-Based Learning Environments, Their Attitude towards Business Statistics, and Their Academic Achievement: Implications from a UK University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, ThuyUyen H.; Charity, Ian; Robson, Andrew

2016-01-01

This study investigates students' perceptions of computer-based learning environments, their attitude towards business statistics, and their academic achievement in higher education. Guided by learning environments concepts and attitudinal theory, a theoretical model was proposed with two instruments, one for measuring the learning environment and…

The Structured Interview & Scoring Tool-Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (SIST-M): development, reliability, and cross-sectional validation of a brief structured clinical dementia rating interview.

PubMed

Okereke, Olivia I; Copeland, Maura; Hyman, Bradley T; Wanggaard, Taylor; Albert, Marilyn S; Blacker, Deborah

2011-03-01

The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and CDR Sum-of-Boxes can be used to grade mild but clinically important cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer disease. However, sensitive clinical interview formats are lengthy. To develop a brief instrument for obtaining CDR scores and to assess its reliability and cross-sectional validity. Using legacy data from expanded interviews conducted among 347 community-dwelling older adults in a longitudinal study, we identified 60 questions (from a possible 131) about cognitive functioning in daily life using clinical judgment, inter-item correlations, and principal components analysis. Items were selected in 1 cohort (n=147), and a computer algorithm for generating CDR scores was developed in this same cohort and re-run in a replication cohort (n=200) to evaluate how well the 60 items retained information from the original 131 items. Short interviews based on the 60 items were then administered to 50 consecutively recruited older individuals, with no symptoms or mild cognitive symptoms, at an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Clinical Dementia Rating scores based on short interviews were compared with those from independent long interviews. In the replication cohort, agreement between short and long CDR interviews ranged from κ=0.65 to 0.79, with κ=0.76 for Memory, κ=0.77 for global CDR, and intraclass correlation coefficient for CDR Sum-of-Boxes=0.89. In the cross-sectional validation, short interview scores were slightly lower than those from long interviews, but good agreement was observed for global CDR and Memory (κ≥0.70) as well as for CDR Sum-of-Boxes (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.73). The Structured Interview & Scoring Tool-Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is a brief, reliable, and sensitive instrument for obtaining CDR scores in persons with symptoms along the spectrum of mild cognitive change.

Experimental image alignment system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moyer, A. L.; Kowel, S. T.; Kornreich, P. G.

1980-01-01

A microcomputer-based instrument for image alignment with respect to a reference image is described which uses the DEFT sensor (Direct Electronic Fourier Transform) for image sensing and preprocessing. The instrument alignment algorithm which uses the two-dimensional Fourier transform as input is also described. It generates signals used to steer the stage carrying the test image into the correct orientation. This algorithm has computational advantages over algorithms which use image intensity data as input and is suitable for a microcomputer-based instrument since the two-dimensional Fourier transform is provided by the DEFT sensor.

In defense of the stethoscope.

PubMed

Murphy, Raymond Lh

2008-03-01

The stethoscope is widely considered to be an unreliable instrument. Many studies document the significant observer variability in its use. Numerous other diagnostic tools are available that are generally regarded to provide more reliable diagnostic information. Some even argue that teaching of the ancient art should be de-emphasized in medical schools. Yet auscultation with an acoustic stethoscope can provide important, even life-saving, information. The purpose of this article is to present evidence that supports the use of the stethoscope in clinical medicine. The argument for the stethoscope will be made by presenting relevant investigations, including clinical studies acknowledged to meet the criteria of evidence-based medicine. It will focus on studies that have employed computerized acoustic technology to correlate lung sounds with disease states. This technology has advanced in recent years, which has stimulated a resurgence of interest in auscultation. Numerous studies have been done that utilized objective methods that circumvented the problem of observer variability. There is now a good deal of scientific evidence to support the hypothesis that lung sounds contain information that is clinically useful. This technology also allows this information to be collected more efficiently than previously possible. Advances in educational technology have made it possible to impart information on auscultation much more easily than was possible in the past. Contrary to predictions, the stethoscope is not likely to be relegated to the museum shelf in the near future. Computer technology is making it an even more useful clinical instrument.

On the development of a computer-based handwriting assessment tool to objectively quantify handwriting proficiency in children.

PubMed

Falk, Tiago H; Tam, Cynthia; Schellnus, Heidi; Chau, Tom

2011-12-01

Standardized writing assessments such as the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment (MHA) can inform interventions for handwriting difficulties, which are prevalent among school-aged children. However, these tests usually involve the laborious task of subjectively rating the legibility of the written product, precluding their practical use in some clinical and educational settings. This study describes a portable computer-based handwriting assessment tool to objectively measure MHA quality scores and to detect handwriting difficulties in children. Several measures are proposed based on spatial, temporal, and grip force measurements obtained from a custom-built handwriting instrument. Thirty-five first and second grade students participated in the study, nine of whom exhibited handwriting difficulties. Students performed the MHA test and were subjectively scored based on speed and handwriting quality using five primitives: legibility, form, alignment, size, and space. Several spatial parameters are shown to correlate significantly (p<0.001) with subjective scores obtained for alignment, size, space, and form. Grip force and temporal measures, in turn, serve as useful indicators of handwriting legibility and speed, respectively. Using only size and space parameters, promising discrimination between proficient and non-proficient handwriting can be achieved. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Open Perimetry Interface: an enabling tool for clinical visual psychophysics.

PubMed

Turpin, Andrew; Artes, Paul H; McKendrick, Allison M

2012-01-01

Perimeters are commercially available instruments for measuring various attributes of the visual field in a clinical setting. They have several advantages over traditional lab-based systems for conducting vision experiments, including built-in gaze tracking and calibration, polished appearance, and attributes to increase participant comfort. Prior to this work, there was no standard to control such instruments, making it difficult and time consuming to use them for novel psychophysical experiments. This paper introduces the Open Perimetry Interface (OPI), a standard set of functions that can be used to control perimeters. Currently the standard is partially implemented in the open-source programming language R on two commercially available instruments: the Octopus 900 (a projection-based bowl perimeter produced by Haag-Streit, Switzerland) and the Heidelberg Edge Perimeter (a CRT-based system produced by Heidelberg Engineering, Germany), allowing these instruments to be used as a platform for psychophysical experimentation.

Mass spectrometry. [review of techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burlingame, A. L.; Kimble, B. J.; Derrick, P. J.

1976-01-01

Advances in mass spectrometry (MS) and its applications over the past decade are reviewed in depth, with annotated literature references. New instrumentation and techniques surveyed include: modulated-beam MS, chromatographic MS on-line computer techniques, digital computer-compatible quadrupole MS, selected ion monitoring (mass fragmentography), and computer-aided management of MS data and interpretation. Areas of application surveyed include: organic MS and electron impact MS, field ionization kinetics, appearance potentials, translational energy release, studies of metastable species, photoionization, calculations of molecular orbitals, chemical kinetics, field desorption MS, high pressure MS, ion cyclotron resonance, biochemistry, medical/clinical chemistry, pharmacology, and environmental chemistry and pollution studies.

The impact of clinical use on the torsional behavior of Reciproc and WaveOne instruments

PubMed Central

de MAGALHÃES, Rafael Rodrigues Soares; BRAGA, Lígia Carolina Moreira; PEREIRA, Érika Sales Joviano; PEIXOTO, Isabella Faria da Cunha; BUONO, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; BAHIA, Maria Guiomar de Azevedo

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Torsional overload is a fracture representative parameter for instruments in single-file techniques. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the influence of clinical use, in vivo, on the torsional behavior of Reciproc and WaveOne instruments considering the possibility that they degraded with use. Material and Methods Diameter at each millimeter, pitch length, and area at 3 mm from the tip were determined for both types of instruments. Twenty-four instruments, size 25, 0.08 taper, of each system were divided into two groups (n=12 each): Control Group (CG), in which new Reciproc (RC) and WaveOne Primary (WO) instruments were tested in torsion until rupture based on ISO 3630-1; and Experimental Group (EG), in which each new instrument was clinically used to clean and shape the root canals of one molar. After clinical use, the instruments were analyzed using optical and scanning electron microscopy and subsequently tested in torsion until fracture. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance at a=.05. Results WO instruments showed significantly higher mean values of cross-sectional area A3 (P=0.000) and smaller pitch lengths than RC instruments with no statistically significant differences in the diameter at D3 (P=0.521). No significant differences in torsional resistance between the RC and WO new instruments (P=0.134) were found. The clinical use resulted in a tendency of reduction in the maximum torque of the analyzed instruments but no statistically significant difference was observed between them (P=0.327). During the preparation of the root canals, two fractured RC instruments and longitudinal and transversal cracks in RC and WO instruments were observed through SEM analysis. Conclusion After clinical use, no statistically significant reduction in the torsional resistance was observed. PMID:27556200

Cardiac computed tomography of an asymptomatic 48-year-old woman with ALCAPA syndrome.

PubMed

Sajjadieh Khajouei, Amirreza; Samie-Nasab, Mohammadreza; Behjati, Mohaddeseh; Biederman, Robert W

2016-12-01

Untreated ALCAPA cases most often die in infancy. Adults with untreated ALCAPA commonly present with mitral regurgitation, severe left ventricular dysfunction, and sometimes myocardial infarction. Herein, we present an asymptomatic adult female with ALCAPA recognized through cardiac computed tomography (CT). In ALCAPA, like other coronary anomalies, cardiac CT is often instrumental in providing unique noninvasive and clinically relevant evaluation. Herein, we present an atypical presentation of an asymptomatic middle-aged adult female with ALCAPA. © 2016, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measurement Issues: Screening and diagnostic instruments for autism spectrum disorders – lessons from research and practice

PubMed Central

Charman, Tony; Gotham, Katherine

2012-01-01

Background and Scope Significant progress has been made over the past two decades in the development of screening and diagnostic instruments for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This article reviews this progress, including recent innovations, focussing on those instruments for which the strongest research data on validity exists, and then turns to addressing issues arising from their use in clinical settings. Findings Research studies have evaluated the ability of screens to prospectively identify cases of ASD in population-based and clinically-referred samples, as well as the accuracy of diagnostic instruments to map onto ‘gold standard’ clinical best estimate diagnosis. However, extension of the findings to clinical services must be done with caution, with a full understanding that instrument properties are sample-specific. Furthermore, we are limited by the lack of a true test for ASD, which remains a behaviourally-defined disorder. In addition screening and diagnostic instruments help clinicians least in the cases where they are most in want of direction, since their accuracy will always be lower for marginal cases. Conclusion Instruments help clinicians to collect detailed, structured information and increase accuracy and reliability of referral for in-depth assessment and recommendations for support, but further research is needed to refine their effective use in clinical settings. PMID:23539140

The development of an instrument for evaluating clinical teachers: involving stakeholders to determine content validity.

PubMed

Stalmeijer, Renée E; Dolmans, Diana H J M; Wolfhagen, Ineke H A P; Muijtjens, Arno M M; Scherpbier, Albert J J A

2008-01-01

Research indicates that the quality of supervision strongly influences the learning of medical students in clinical practice. Clinical teachers need feedback to improve their supervisory skills. The available instruments either lack a clear theoretical framework or are not suitable for providing feedback to individual teachers. We developed an evaluation instrument based on the 'cognitive apprenticeship model'. The aim was to estimate the content validity of the developed instrument. Item relevance was rated on a five-point scale (1 = highly irrelevant, 5 = highly relevant) by three groups of stakeholders in undergraduate clinical teaching: educationalists (N = 12), doctors (N = 16) and students (N = 12). Additionally, stakeholders commented on content, wording and omission of items. The items were generally rated as very relevant (Mean = 4.3, SD = 0.38, response = 95%) and any differences between the stakeholder groups were small. The results led to elimination of 4 items, rewording of 13 items and addition of 1 item. The cognitive apprenticeship model appears to offer a useful framework for the development of an evaluation instrument aimed at providing feedback to individual clinical teachers on the quality of student supervision. Further studies in larger populations will have to establish the instrument's statistical validity and generalizability.

Latest trends in craniomaxillofacial surgical instrumentation.

PubMed

Yim, Michael; Demke, Joshua

2012-08-01

To review the past year's literature regarding recent innovations in surgical instrumentation for craniomaxillofacial surgery. Current advances in surgical instrumentation have led to many improvements in the field, allowing greater visualization and precision both before and during procedures. One of the common goals is to achieve excellent outcomes with minimal complications, while at the same time minimizing invasiveness of surgery. Highlighted innovations include greater capacities for acquisition of data, leading to improved imaging modalities and expansion of computer-assisted surgical techniques; continued developments in biomaterials used in various reconstructions; and novel uses of bone cutting and bone fixation instrumentation. Technology in the field of craniomaxillofacial surgery is developing rapidly, leading to novel instrumentation being utilized across a broad spectrum of areas. Published data have been encouraging to date, indicating an ever increasing adaptation of these innovations in clinical practice. Future efforts need to focus on cost-benefit analysis and constructing larger-scale studies to better understand effectiveness and patient outcomes.

Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of Clinical Competencies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scofield, Michael E.; Yoxtheimer, Linda L.

1983-01-01

Reviewed 149 studies which measured counselor or therapist competencies and examined them for evidence of the reliability and validity associated with the assessment instruments. Only 43 percent of the measurements included reliability data computed at the time they were used, and only 12 percent were accompanied by evidence of their validity.…

5 CFR 847.906 - How is the present value of a deferred annuity without credit for NAFI service computed?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES Computing the Retirement... of the exponential function in which— (1) The base is one plus the assumed interest rate under 5 CFR...

5 CFR 847.906 - How is the present value of a deferred annuity without credit for NAFI service computed?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... COVERAGE BY CURRENT AND FORMER EMPLOYEES OF NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES Computing the Retirement... of the exponential function in which— (1) The base is one plus the assumed interest rate under 5 CFR...

102. VIEW OF GRANETZ 'EVENTRECORDER' COMPUTER AND GENERAL ELECTRIC PRINTERS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

102. VIEW OF GRANETZ 'EVENT-RECORDER' COMPUTER AND GENERAL ELECTRIC PRINTERS FOR GRANETZ OUTPUT LOCATED NEAR EAST WALL OF LANDLINE INSTRUMENTATION ROOM - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Evaluation of Computer-Based Training for Health Workers in Echocardiography for RHD.

PubMed

Engelman, Daniel; Okello, Emmy; Beaton, Andrea; Selnow, Gary; Remenyi, Bo; Watson, Caroline; Longenecker, Chris T; Sable, Craig; Steer, Andrew C

2017-03-01

The implementation of screening for rheumatic heart disease at a population-scale would require a considerable increase in human resources. Training nonexpert staff in echocardiography requires appropriate methods and materials. This pre/post study aims to measure the change in the knowledge and confidence of a group of health workers after a computer-assisted training intervention in basic echocardiography for rheumatic heart disease. A syllabus of self-guided, computer-based modules to train nonexpert health workers in basic echocardiography for rheumatic heart disease was developed. Thirty-eight health workers from Uganda participated in the training. Using a pre/post design, identical test instruments were administered before and after the training intervention, assessing the knowledge (using multiple-choice questions) and confidence (using Likert scale questions) in clinical science and echocardiography. The mean total score on knowledge tests rose from 44.8% to 85.4% (mean difference: 40.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 35.4% to 45.8%), with strong evidence for an increase in scores across all knowledge theme areas (p < 0.001). Increased confidence with each key aspect was reported, and there was strong evidence for an increase in the mean score for confidence scales in clinical science (difference: 7.1, 95% CI: 6.2 to 8.0; p < 0.001) and echocardiography (difference: 18.3, 95% CI: 16.6 to 20.0; p < 0.001). The training program was effective at increasing knowledge and confidence for basic echocardiography in nonexpert health workers. Use of computer-assisted learning may reduce the human resource requirements for training staff in echocardiography. Copyright © 2016 World Heart Federation (Geneva). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical significance of sleep bruxism on several occlusal and functional parameters.

PubMed

Ommerborn, Michelle A; Giraki, Maria; Schneider, Christine; Fuck, Lars Michael; Zimmer, Stefan; Franz, Matthias; Raab, Wolfgang Hans-michael; Schaefer, Ralf

2010-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between various functional and occlusal parameters and sleep bruxism. Thirty-nine (39) sleep bruxism patients and 30 controls participated in this investigation. The assessment of sleep bruxism was performed using the Bruxcore Bruxism-Monitoring Device (BBMD) combined with a new computer-based analyzing method. Sixteen functional and/or occlusal parameters were recorded. With a mean slide of 0.95 mm in the sleep bruxism group and a mean slide of 0.42 mm in the control group (Mann Whitney U test; p<0.003), results solely demonstrated a significant group difference regarding the length of a slide from centric occlusion to maximum intercuspation. The results suggest that the slightly pronounced slide could be of clinical importance in the development of increased wear facets in patients with current sleep bruxism activity. Following further evaluation including polysomnographic recordings, the BBMD combined with this new analyzing technique seems to be a clinically feasible instrument that allows the practitioner to quantify abrasion over a short period.

Inertial Pointing and Positioning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yee, Robert (Inventor); Robbins, Fred (Inventor)

1998-01-01

An inertial pointing and control system and method for pointing to a designated target with known coordinates from a platform to provide accurate position, steering, and command information. The system continuously receives GPS signals and corrects Inertial Navigation System (INS) dead reckoning or drift errors. An INS is mounted directly on a pointing instrument rather than in a remote location on the platform for-monitoring the terrestrial position and instrument attitude. and for pointing the instrument at designated celestial targets or ground based landmarks. As a result. the pointing instrument and die INS move independently in inertial space from the platform since the INS is decoupled from the platform. Another important characteristic of the present system is that selected INS measurements are combined with predefined coordinate transformation equations and control logic algorithms under computer control in order to generate inertial pointing commands to the pointing instrument. More specifically. the computer calculates the desired instrument angles (Phi, Theta. Psi). which are then compared to the Euler angles measured by the instrument- mounted INS. and forms the pointing command error angles as a result of the compared difference.

Neurologic examination and instrument-based measurements in the evaluation of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow.

PubMed

Omejec, Gregor; Podnar, Simon

2018-06-01

The aim of the study was to compare the utility of instrument-based assessment of peripheral nerve function with the neurologic examination in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE). We prospectively recruited consecutive patients with suspected UNE, performed a neurologic examination, and performed instrument-based measurements (muscle cross-sectional area by ultrasonography, muscle strength by dynamometry, and sensation using monofilaments). We found good correlations between clinical estimates and corresponding instrument-based measurements, with similar ability to diagnose UNE and predict UNE pathophysiology. Although instrument-based methods provide quantitative evaluation of peripheral nerve function, we did not find them to be more sensitive or specific in the diagnosis of UNE than the standard neurologic examination. Likewise, instrument-based methods were not better able to differentiate between groups of UNE patients with different pathophysiologies. Muscle Nerve 57: 951-957, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reliability and validity of the C-BiLLT: a new instrument to assess comprehension of spoken language in young children with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs.

PubMed

Geytenbeek, Joke J; Mokkink, Lidwine B; Knol, Dirk L; Vermeulen, R Jeroen; Oostrom, Kim J

2014-09-01

In clinical practice, a variety of diagnostic tests are available to assess a child's comprehension of spoken language. However, none of these tests have been designed specifically for use with children who have severe motor impairments and who experience severe difficulty when using speech to communicate. This article describes the process of investigating the reliability and validity of the Computer-Based Instrument for Low Motor Language Testing (C-BiLLT), which was specifically developed to assess spoken Dutch language comprehension in children with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs. The study included 806 children with typical development, and 87 nonspeaking children with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs, and was designed to provide information on the psychometric qualities of the C-BiLLT. The potential utility of the C-BiLLT as a measure of spoken Dutch language comprehension abilities for children with cerebral palsy and complex communication needs is discussed.

The clinical learning environment and supervision by staff nurses: developing the instrument.

PubMed

Saarikoski, Mikko; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

2002-03-01

The aims of this study were (1) to describe students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment and clinical supervision and (2) to develop an evaluation scale by using the empirical results of this study. The data were collected using the Clinical Learning Environment and Supervision instrument (CLES). The instrument was based on the literature review of earlier studies. The derived instrument was tested empirically in a study involving nurse students (N=416) from four nursing colleges in Finland. The results demonstrated that the method of supervision, the number of separate supervision sessions and the psychological content of supervisory contact within a positive ward atmosphere are the most important variables in the students' clinical learning. The results also suggest that ward managers can create the conditions of a positive ward culture and a positive attitude towards students and their learning needs. The construct validity of the instrument was analysed by using exploratory factor analysis. The analysis indicated that the most important factor in the students' clinical learning is the supervisory relationship. The two most important factors constituting a 'good' clinical learning environment are the management style of the ward manager and the premises of nursing on the ward. The results of the factor analysis support the theoretical construction of the clinical learning environment modelled by earlier empirical studies.

The development and psychometric testing of a theory-based instrument to evaluate nurses' perception of clinical reasoning competence.

PubMed

Liou, Shwu-Ru; Liu, Hsiu-Chen; Tsai, Hsiu-Min; Tsai, Ying-Huang; Lin, Yu-Ching; Chang, Chia-Hao; Cheng, Ching-Yu

2016-03-01

The purpose of the study was to develop and psychometrically test the Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale. Clinical reasoning is an essential skill for providing safe and quality patient care. Identifying pre-graduates' and nurses' needs and designing training courses to improve their clinical reasoning competence becomes a critical task. However, there is no instrument focusing on clinical reasoning in the nursing profession. Cross-sectional design was used. This study included the development of the scale, a pilot study that preliminary tested the readability and reliability of the developed scale and a main study that implemented and tested the psychometric properties of the developed scale. The Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale was developed based on the Clinical Reasoning Model. The scale includes 15 items using a Likert five-point scale. Data were collected from 2013-2014. Two hundred and fifty-one participants comprising clinical nurses and nursing pre-graduates completed and returned the questionnaires in the main study. The instrument was tested for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Its validity was tested with content, construct and known-groups validity. One factor emerged from the factor analysis. The known-groups validity was confirmed. The Cronbach's alpha for the entire instrument was 0·9. The reliability and validity of the Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale were supported. The scale is a useful tool and can be easily administered for the self-assessment of clinical reasoning competence of clinical nurses and future baccalaureate nursing graduates. Study limitations and further recommendations are discussed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Visitor's Computer Guidelines | CTIO

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Visitor's Computer Guidelines Network Connection Request Instruments Instruments by Telescope IR Instruments Logs Tololo Kaxis Webcam NOAO Newsletters NOAO Data Archive Astronomical Links Visitor's Computer ‹› You are here CTIO Home » Astronomers » Visitor's Computer Guidelines Visitor's Computer

Preliminary report of a Web-based instrument to assess and teach knowledge and clinical thinking to medical student

PubMed Central

Tokunaga, Hironobu; Ando, Hirotaka; Obika, Mikako; Miyoshi, Tomoko; Tokuda, Yasuharu; Bautista, Miho; Kataoka, Hitomi; Terasawa, Hidekazu

2014-01-01

Objectives We report the preliminary development of a unique Web-based instrument for assessing and teaching knowledge and developing clinical thinking called the “Sequential Questions and Answers” (SQA) test. Included in this feasibility report are physicians’ answers to the Sequential Questions and Answers pre- and posttests and their brief questionnaire replies. Methods The authors refined the SQA test case scenario for content, ease of modifications of case scenarios, test uploading and answer retrieval. Eleven geographically distant physicians evaluated the SQA test, taking the pretest and posttest within two weeks. These physicians completed a brief questionnaire about the SQA test. Results Eleven physicians completed the SQA pre- and posttest; all answers were downloaded for analysis. They reported the ease of website login and navigating within the test module together with many helpful suggestions. Their average posttest score gain was 53% (p=0.012). Conclusions We report the successful launch of a unique Web-based instrument referred to as the Sequential Questions and Answers test. This distinctive test combines teaching organization of the clinical narrative into an assessment tool that promotes acquiring medical knowledge and clinical thinking. We successfully demonstrated the feasibility of geographically distant physicians to access the SQA instrument. The physicians’ helpful suggestions will be added to future SQA test versions. Medical schools might explore the integration of this multi-language-capable SQA assessment and teaching instrument into their undergraduate medical curriculum. PMID:25341203

The Sound Access Parent Outcomes Instrument (SAPOI): Construction of a new instrument for children with severe multiple disabilities who use cochlear implants or hearing aids.

PubMed

Hayward, Denyse V; Ritter, Kathryn; Mousavi, Amin; Vatanapour, Shabnam

2016-01-01

To report on the Phase 2 development of the Sound Access Parent Outcomes Instrument (SAPOI), a new instrument focused on formalizing outcomes that parents of children with severe multiple disabilities (SMD) who use amplification prioritize as important. Phase 2 of this project involved item selection and refinement of the SAPOI based on (a) Phase 1 study participant input, (b) clinical specialist feedback, and (c) test-retest instrument reliability. Phase 1 participant responses were utilized to construct a draft version of the SAPOI. Next, clinical specialists examined the instrument for content validity and utility and instrument reliability was examined through a test-retest process with parents of children with SMD. The draft SAPOI was constructed based on Phase 1 participant input. Clinical specialists supported content validity and utility of the instrument and the inclusion of 19 additional items across four categories, namely Child Affect, Child Interaction, Parent Well-being, and Child's Device Use. The SAPOI was completed twice at one-month intervals by parents of children with SMD to examine instrument reliability across the four categories (Child Affect, Child Interaction, Parent Well-being, and Child's Device Use). Instrument reliability was strong-to-excellent across all four sections. The SAPOI shows promise as a much-needed addition to the assessment battery currently used for children with SMD who use cochlear implants and hearing aids. It provides valuable information regarding outcomes resulting from access to sound in this population that currently used assessments do not identify.

COED Transactions, Vol. XI, No. 2, February 1979. A Student Designed Microcomputer Based Data Acquisition System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Eugene E., Ed.

In context of an instrumentation course, four ocean engineering students set out to design and construct a micro-computer based data acquisition system that would be compatible with the University's CYBER host computer. The project included hardware design in the area of sampling, analog-to-digital conversion and timing coordination. It also…

Computer Aided Drafting Curriculum for Vocational Drafting. A Competency Based Unit of Instruction. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peck, Greg

This document contains (1) the final report of a project to develop a computer-aided drafting (CAD) curriculum and (2) a competency-based unit of instruction for use with the CADAPPLE system. The final report states the problem and project objective, presents conclusions and recommendations, and includes survey instruments. The unit is designed…

Quantitative Analysis of Transnasal Anterior Skull Base Approach: Report of Technology for Intraoperative Assessment of Instrument Motion.

PubMed

Berens, Angelique M; Harbison, Richard Alex; Li, Yangming; Bly, Randall A; Aghdasi, Nava; Ferreira, Manuel; Hannaford, Blake; Moe, Kris S

2017-08-01

To develop a method to measure intraoperative surgical instrument motion. This model will be applicable to the study of surgical instrument kinematics including surgical training, skill verification, and the development of surgical warning systems that detect aberrant instrument motion that may result in patient injury. We developed an algorithm to automate derivation of surgical instrument kinematics in an endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery model. Surgical instrument motion was recorded during a cadaveric endoscopic transnasal approach to the pituitary using a navigation system modified to record intraoperative time-stamped Euclidian coordinates and Euler angles. Microdebrider tip coordinates and angles were referenced to the cadaver's preoperative computed tomography scan allowing us to assess surgical instrument kinematics over time. A representative cadaveric endoscopic endonasal approach to the pituitary was performed to demonstrate feasibility of our algorithm for deriving surgical instrument kinematics. Technical feasibility of automatically measuring intraoperative surgical instrument motion and deriving kinematics measurements was demonstrated using standard navigation equipment.

Fundamentals of Clinical Outcomes Assessment for Spinal Disorders: Clinical Outcome Instruments and Applications

PubMed Central

Vavken, Patrick; Ganal-Antonio, Anne Kathleen B.; Quidde, Julia; Shen, Francis H.; Chapman, Jens R.; Samartzis, Dino

2015-01-01

Study Design A broad narrative review. Objectives Outcome assessment in spinal disorders is imperative to help monitor the safety and efficacy of the treatment in an effort to change the clinical practice and improve patient outcomes. The following article, part two of a two-part series, discusses the various outcome tools and instruments utilized to address spinal disorders and their management. Methods A thorough review of the peer-reviewed literature was performed, irrespective of language, addressing outcome research, instruments and tools, and applications. Results Numerous articles addressing the development and implementation of health-related quality-of-life, neck and low back pain, overall pain, spinal deformity, and other condition-specific outcome instruments have been reported. Their applications in the context of the clinical trial studies, the economic analyses, and overall evidence-based orthopedics have been noted. Additional issues regarding the problems and potential sources of bias utilizing outcomes scales and the concept of minimally clinically important difference were discussed. Conclusion Continuing research needs to assess the outcome instruments and tools used in the clinical outcome assessment for spinal disorders. Understanding the fundamental principles in spinal outcome assessment may also advance the field of “personalized spine care.” PMID:26225283

Automation in clinical bacteriology: what system to choose?

PubMed

Greub, G; Prod'hom, G

2011-05-01

With increased activity and reduced financial and human resources, there is a need for automation in clinical bacteriology. Initial processing of clinical samples includes repetitive and fastidious steps. These tasks are suitable for automation, and several instruments are now available on the market, including the WASP (Copan), Previ-Isola (BioMerieux), Innova (Becton-Dickinson) and Inoqula (KIESTRA) systems. These new instruments allow efficient and accurate inoculation of samples, including four main steps: (i) selecting the appropriate Petri dish; (ii) inoculating the sample; (iii) spreading the inoculum on agar plates to obtain, upon incubation, well-separated bacterial colonies; and (iv) accurate labelling and sorting of each inoculated media. The challenge for clinical bacteriologists is to determine what is the ideal automated system for their own laboratory. Indeed, different solutions will be preferred, according to the number and variety of samples, and to the types of sample that will be processed with the automated system. The final choice is troublesome, because audits proposed by industrials risk being biased towards the solution proposed by their company, and because these automated systems may not be easily tested on site prior to the final decision, owing to the complexity of computer connections between the laboratory information system and the instrument. This article thus summarizes the main parameters that need to be taken into account for choosing the optimal system, and provides some clues to help clinical bacteriologists to make their choice. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Improving communication when seeking informed consent: a randomised controlled study of a computer-based method for providing information to prospective clinical trial participants.

PubMed

Karunaratne, Asuntha S; Korenman, Stanley G; Thomas, Samantha L; Myles, Paul S; Komesaroff, Paul A

2010-04-05

To assess the efficacy, with respect to participant understanding of information, of a computer-based approach to communication about complex, technical issues that commonly arise when seeking informed consent for clinical research trials. An open, randomised controlled study of 60 patients with diabetes mellitus, aged 27-70 years, recruited between August 2006 and October 2007 from the Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Alfred Hospital and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne. Participants were asked to read information about a mock study via a computer-based presentation (n = 30) or a conventional paper-based information statement (n = 30). The computer-based presentation contained visual aids, including diagrams, video, hyperlinks and quiz pages. Understanding of information as assessed by quantitative and qualitative means. Assessment scores used to measure level of understanding were significantly higher in the group that completed the computer-based task than the group that completed the paper-based task (82% v 73%; P = 0.005). More participants in the group that completed the computer-based task expressed interest in taking part in the mock study (23 v 17 participants; P = 0.01). Most participants from both groups preferred the idea of a computer-based presentation to the paper-based statement (21 in the computer-based task group, 18 in the paper-based task group). A computer-based method of providing information may help overcome existing deficiencies in communication about clinical research, and may reduce costs and improve efficiency in recruiting participants for clinical trials.

Developing Simulations in Multi-User Virtual Environments to Enhance Healthcare Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Luke

2011-01-01

Computer-based clinical simulations are a powerful teaching and learning tool because of their ability to expand healthcare students' clinical experience by providing practice-based learning. Despite the benefits of traditional computer-based clinical simulations, there are significant issues that arise when incorporating them into a flexible,…

Integration of Web-based and PC-based clinical research databases.

PubMed

Brandt, C A; Sun, K; Charpentier, P; Nadkarni, P M

2004-01-01

We have created a Web-based repository or data library of information about measurement instruments used in studies of multi-factorial geriatric health conditions (the Geriatrics Research Instrument Library - GRIL) based upon existing features of two separate clinical study data management systems. GRIL allows browsing, searching, and selecting measurement instruments based upon criteria such as keywords and areas of applicability. Measurement instruments selected can be printed and/or included in an automatically generated standalone microcomputer database application, which can be downloaded by investigators for use in data collection and data management. Integration of database applications requires the creation of a common semantic model, and mapping from each system to this model. Various database schema conflicts at the table and attribute level must be identified and resolved prior to integration. Using a conflict taxonomy and a mapping schema facilitates this process. Critical conflicts at the table level that required resolution included name and relationship differences. A major benefit of integration efforts is the sharing of features and cross-fertilization of applications created for similar purposes in different operating environments. Integration of applications mandates some degree of metadata model unification.

Real-Time Data Warehousing and On-Line Analytical Processing at Aberdeen Test Center’s Distributed Center

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-01

data collected via on-board instrumentation -VxWorks based computer. Each instrument produces a continuous time history record of up to 250...data in multidimensional hierarchies and views. UGC 2005 Institute a high performance data warehouse • PostgreSQL 7.4 installed on dedicated filesystem

Clinical utility of measures of breathlessness.

PubMed

Cullen, Deborah L; Rodak, Bernadette

2002-09-01

The clinical utility of measures of dyspnea has been debated in the health care community. Although breathlessness can be evaluated with various instruments, the most effective dyspnea measurement tool for patients with chronic lung disease or for measuring treatment effectiveness remains uncertain. Understanding the evidence for the validity and reliability of these instruments may provide a basis for appropriate clinical application. Evaluate instruments designed to measure breathlessness, either as single-symptom or multidimensional instruments, based on psychometrics foundations such as validity, reliability, and discriminative and evaluative properties. Classification of each dyspnea measurement instrument will recommend clinical application in terms of exercise, benchmarking patients, activities of daily living, patient outcomes, clinical trials, and responsiveness to treatment. Eleven dyspnea measurement instruments were selected. Each instrument was assessed as discriminative or evaluative and then analyzed as to its psychometric properties and purpose of design. Descriptive data from all studies were described according to their primary patient application (ie, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, or other patient populations). The Borg Scale and the Visual Analogue Scale are applicable to exertion and thus can be applied to any cardiopulmonary patient to determine dyspnea. All other measures were determined appropriate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, whereas the Shortness of Breath Questionnaire can be applied to cystic fibrosis and lung transplant patients. The most appropriate utility for all instruments was measuring the effects on activities of daily living and for benchmarking patient progress. Instruments that quantify function and health-related quality of life have great utility for documenting outcomes but may be limited as to documenting treatment responsiveness in terms of clinically important changes. The dyspnea measurement instruments we studied meet important standards of validity and reliability. Discriminative measures have limited clinical utility and, when used for populations or conditions for which they are not designed or validated, the data collected may not be clinically relevant. Evaluative measures have greater clinical utility and can be applied for outcome purposes. Measures should be applied to the populations and conditions for which they were designed. The relationship between clinical therapies and the measurement of dyspnea as an outcome can develop as respiratory therapists become more comfortable with implementing dyspnea measurement instruments and use the data to improve patient treatment. Dyspnea evaluation should be considered for all clinical practice guidelines and care pathways.

A scalable correlator for multichannel diffuse correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Stapels, Christopher J; Kolodziejski, Noah J; McAdams, Daniel; Podolsky, Matthew J; Fernandez, Daniel E; Farkas, Dana; Christian, James F

2016-02-01

Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) is a technique which enables powerful and robust non-invasive optical studies of tissue micro-circulation and vascular blood flow. The technique amounts to autocorrelation analysis of coherent photons after their migration through moving scatterers and subsequent collection by single-mode optical fibers. A primary cost driver of DCS instruments are the commercial hardware-based correlators, limiting the proliferation of multi-channel instruments for validation of perfusion analysis as a clinical diagnostic metric. We present the development of a low-cost scalable correlator enabled by microchip-based time-tagging, and a software-based multi-tau data analysis method. We will discuss the capabilities of the instrument as well as the implementation and validation of 2- and 8-channel systems built for live animal and pre-clinical settings.

Development of a PC-based ground support system for a small satellite instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deschambault, Robert L.; Gregory, Philip R.; Spenler, Stephen; Whalen, Brian A.

1993-11-01

The importance of effective ground support for the remote control and data retrieval of a satellite instrument cannot be understated. Problems with ground support may include the need to base personnel at a ground tracking station for extended periods, and the delay between the instrument observation and the processing of the data by the science team. Flexible solutions to such problems in the case of small satellite systems are provided by using low-cost, powerful personal computers and off-the-shelf software for data acquisition and processing, and by using Internet as a communication pathway to enable scientists to view and manipulate satellite data in real time at any ground location. The personal computer based ground support system is illustrated for the case of the cold plasma analyzer flown on the Freja satellite. Commercial software was used as building blocks for writing the ground support equipment software. Several levels of hardware support, including unit tests and development, functional tests, and integration were provided by portable and desktop personal computers. Satellite stations in Saskatchewan and Sweden were linked to the science team via phone lines and Internet, which provided remote control through a central point. These successful strategies will be used on future small satellite space programs.

Non-photorealistic rendering of virtual implant models for computer-assisted fluoroscopy-based surgical procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Guoyan

2007-03-01

Surgical navigation systems visualize the positions and orientations of surgical instruments and implants as graphical overlays onto a medical image of the operated anatomy on a computer monitor. The orthopaedic surgical navigation systems could be categorized according to the image modalities that are used for the visualization of surgical action. In the so-called CT-based systems or 'surgeon-defined anatomy' based systems, where a 3D volume or surface representation of the operated anatomy could be constructed from the preoperatively acquired tomographic data or through intraoperatively digitized anatomy landmarks, a photorealistic rendering of the surgical action has been identified to greatly improve usability of these navigation systems. However, this may not hold true when the virtual representation of surgical instruments and implants is superimposed onto 2D projection images in a fluoroscopy-based navigation system due to the so-called image occlusion problem. Image occlusion occurs when the field of view of the fluoroscopic image is occupied by the virtual representation of surgical implants or instruments. In these situations, the surgeon may miss part of the image details, even if transparency and/or wire-frame rendering is used. In this paper, we propose to use non-photorealistic rendering to overcome this difficulty. Laboratory testing results on foamed plastic bones during various computer-assisted fluoroscopybased surgical procedures including total hip arthroplasty and long bone fracture reduction and osteosynthesis are shown.

The Application Design of Solar Radio Spectrometer Based on FPGA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Q. F.; Chen, R. J.; Zhao, Y. C.; Feng, S. W.; Chen, Y.; Song, Y.

2017-10-01

The Solar radio spectrometer is the key instrument to observe solar radio. By programing the computer software, we control the AD signal acquisition card which is based on FPGA to get a mass of data. The data are transferred by using PCI-E port. This program has realized the function of timing data collection, finding data in specific time and controlling acquisition meter in real time. It can also map the solar radio power intensity graph. By doing the experiment, we verify the reliability of solar radio spectrum instrument, in the meanwhile, the instrument simplifies the operation in observing the sun.

Toward real-time diffuse optical tomography: accelerating light propagation modeling employing parallel computing on GPU and CPU.

PubMed

Doulgerakis, Matthaios; Eggebrecht, Adam; Wojtkiewicz, Stanislaw; Culver, Joseph; Dehghani, Hamid

2017-12-01

Parameter recovery in diffuse optical tomography is a computationally expensive algorithm, especially when used for large and complex volumes, as in the case of human brain functional imaging. The modeling of light propagation, also known as the forward problem, is the computational bottleneck of the recovery algorithm, whereby the lack of a real-time solution is impeding practical and clinical applications. The objective of this work is the acceleration of the forward model, within a diffusion approximation-based finite-element modeling framework, employing parallelization to expedite the calculation of light propagation in realistic adult head models. The proposed methodology is applicable for modeling both continuous wave and frequency-domain systems with the results demonstrating a 10-fold speed increase when GPU architectures are available, while maintaining high accuracy. It is shown that, for a very high-resolution finite-element model of the adult human head with ∼600,000 nodes, consisting of heterogeneous layers, light propagation can be calculated at ∼0.25  s/excitation source. (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

A computationally inexpensive model for estimating dimensional measurement uncertainty due to x-ray computed tomography instrument misalignments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ametova, Evelina; Ferrucci, Massimiliano; Chilingaryan, Suren; Dewulf, Wim

2018-06-01

The recent emergence of advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing and an increased demand on the integrity of components have motivated research on the application of x-ray computed tomography (CT) for dimensional quality control. While CT has shown significant empirical potential for this purpose, there is a need for metrological research to accelerate the acceptance of CT as a measuring instrument. The accuracy in CT-based measurements is vulnerable to the instrument geometrical configuration during data acquisition, namely the relative position and orientation of x-ray source, rotation stage, and detector. Consistency between the actual instrument geometry and the corresponding parameters used in the reconstruction algorithm is critical. Currently available procedures provide users with only estimates of geometrical parameters. Quantification and propagation of uncertainty in the measured geometrical parameters must be considered to provide a complete uncertainty analysis and to establish confidence intervals for CT dimensional measurements. In this paper, we propose a computationally inexpensive model to approximate the influence of errors in CT geometrical parameters on dimensional measurement results. We use surface points extracted from a computer-aided design (CAD) model to model discrepancies in the radiographic image coordinates assigned to the projected edges between an aligned system and a system with misalignments. The efficacy of the proposed method was confirmed on simulated and experimental data in the presence of various geometrical uncertainty contributors.

[Software for performing a global phenotypic and genotypic nutritional assessment].

PubMed

García de Diego, L; Cuervo, M; Martínez, J A

2013-01-01

The nutritional assessment of a patient needs the simultaneous managing a extensive information and a great number of databases, as both aspects of the process of nutrition and the clinical situation of the patient are analyzed. The introduction of computers in the nutritional area constitutes an extraordinary advance in the administration of nutrition information, providing a complete assessment of nutritional aspects in a quick and easy way. To develop a computer program that can be used as a tool for assessing the nutritional status of the patient, the education of clinical staff, for epidemiological studies and for educational purposes. Based on a computer program which assists the health specialist to perform a full nutritional evaluation of the patient, through the registration and assessment of the phenotypic and genotypic features. The application provides nutritional prognosis based on anthropometric and biochemical parameters, images of states of malnutrition, questionnaires to characterize diseases, diagnostic criteria, identification of alleles associated with the development of specific metabolic illnesses and questionnaires of quality of life, for a custom actuation. The program includes, as part of the nutritional assessment of the patient, food intake analysis, design of diets and promotion of physical activity, introducing food frequency questionnaires, dietary recalls, healthy eating indexes, model diets, fitness tests, and recommendations, recalls and questionnaires of physical activity. A computer program performed under Java Swing, using SQLite database and some external libraries such as JfreeChart for plotting graphs. This brand new designed software is composed of five blocks categorized into ten modules named: Patients, Anthropometry, Clinical History, Biochemistry, Dietary History, Diagnostic (with genetic make up), Quality of life, Physical activity, Energy expenditure and Diets. Each module has a specific function which evaluates a different aspect of the nutritional status of the patient. UNyDIET is a global computer program, customized and upgradeable, easy to use and versatile, aimed to health specialists, medical staff, dietitians, nutritionists, scientists and educators. This tool can be used as a working instrument in programs promoting health, nutritional and clinical assessments as well as in the evaluation of health care quality, in epidemiological studies, in nutrition intervention programs and teaching. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Operationalizing hippocampal volume as an enrichment biomarker for amnestic MCI trials: effect of algorithm, test-retest variability and cut-point on trial cost, duration and sample size

PubMed Central

Yu, P.; Sun, J.; Wolz, R.; Stephenson, D.; Brewer, J.; Fox, N.C.; Cole, P.E.; Jack, C.R.; Hill, D.L.G.; Schwarz, A.J.

2014-01-01

Objective To evaluate the effect of computational algorithm, measurement variability and cut-point on hippocampal volume (HCV)-based patient selection for clinical trials in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods We used normal control and amnestic MCI subjects from ADNI-1 as normative reference and screening cohorts. We evaluated the enrichment performance of four widely-used hippocampal segmentation algorithms (FreeSurfer, HMAPS, LEAP and NeuroQuant) in terms of two-year changes in MMSE, ADAS-Cog and CDR-SB. We modeled the effect of algorithm, test-retest variability and cut-point on sample size, screen fail rates and trial cost and duration. Results HCV-based patient selection yielded not only reduced sample sizes (by ~40–60%) but also lower trial costs (by ~30–40%) across a wide range of cut-points. Overall, the dependence on the cut-point value was similar for the three clinical instruments considered. Conclusion These results provide a guide to the choice of HCV cut-point for aMCI clinical trials, allowing an informed trade-off between statistical and practical considerations. PMID:24211008

Developing dementia prevention trials: baseline report of the Home-Based Assessment study.

PubMed

Sano, Mary; Egelko, Susan; Donohue, Michael; Ferris, Steven; Kaye, Jeffrey; Hayes, Tamara L; Mundt, James C; Sun, Chung-Kai; Paparello, Silvia; Aisen, Paul S

2013-01-01

This report describes the baseline experience of the multicenter, Home-Based Assessment study, designed to develop methods for dementia prevention trials using novel technologies for test administration and data collection. Nondemented individuals of 75 years of age or more were recruited and evaluated in-person using established clinical trial outcomes of cognition and function, and randomized to one of 3 assessment methodologies: (1) mail-in questionnaire/live telephone interviews [mail-in/phone (MIP)]; (2) automated telephone with interactive voice recognition; and (3) internet-based computer Kiosk. Brief versions of cognitive and noncognitive outcomes were adapted to each methodology and administered at baseline and repeatedly over a 4-year period. "Efficiency" measures assessed the time from screening to baseline, and staff time required for each methodology. A total of 713 individuals signed consent and were screened; 640 met eligibility and were randomized to one of 3 assessment arms; and 581 completed baseline. Dropout, time from screening to baseline, and total staff time were highest among those assigned to internet-based computer Kiosk. However, efficiency measures were driven by nonrecurring start-up activities suggesting that differences may be mitigated over a long trial. Performance among Home-Based Assessment instruments collected through different technologies will be compared with established outcomes over this 4-year study.

Planning the Surgical Correction of Spinal Deformities: Toward the Identification of the Biomechanical Principles by Means of Numerical Simulation

PubMed Central

Galbusera, Fabio; Bassani, Tito; La Barbera, Luigi; Ottardi, Claudia; Schlager, Benedikt; Brayda-Bruno, Marco; Villa, Tomaso; Wilke, Hans-Joachim

2015-01-01

In decades of technical developments after the first surgical corrections of spinal deformities, the set of devices, techniques, and tools available to the surgeons has widened dramatically. Nevertheless, the rate of complications due to mechanical failure of the fixation or the instrumentation remains rather high. Indeed, basic and clinical research about the principles of deformity correction and the optimal surgical strategies (i.e., the choice of the fusion length, the most appropriate instrumentation, and the degree of tolerable correction) did not progress as much as the implantable devices and the surgical techniques. In this work, a software approach for the biomechanical simulation of the correction of patient-specific spinal deformities aimed to the identification of its biomechanical principles is presented. The method is based on three-dimensional reconstructions of the spinal anatomy obtained from biplanar radiographic images. A user-friendly graphical user interface allows for the planning of the desired deformity correction and to simulate the implantation of pedicle screws. Robust meshing of the instrumented spine is provided by using consolidated computational geometry and meshing libraries. Based on a finite element simulation, the program is able to predict the loads and stresses acting in the instrumentation as well as those in the biological tissues. A simple test case (reduction of a low-grade spondylolisthesis at L3–L4) was simulated as a proof of concept, and showed plausible results. Despite the numerous limitations of this approach which will be addressed in future implementations, the preliminary outcome is promising and encourages a wide effort toward its refinement. PMID:26579518

Molecular factor computing for predictive spectroscopy.

PubMed

Dai, Bin; Urbas, Aaron; Douglas, Craig C; Lodder, Robert A

2007-08-01

The concept of molecular factor computing (MFC)-based predictive spectroscopy was demonstrated here with quantitative analysis of ethanol-in-water mixtures in a MFC-based prototype instrument. Molecular computing of vectors for transformation matrices enabled spectra to be represented in a desired coordinate system. New coordinate systems were selected to reduce the dimensionality of the spectral hyperspace and simplify the mechanical/electrical/computational construction of a new MFC spectrometer employing transmission MFC filters. A library search algorithm was developed to calculate the chemical constituents of the MFC filters. The prototype instrument was used to collect data from 39 ethanol-in-water mixtures (range 0-14%). For each sample, four different voltage outputs from the detector (forming two factor scores) were measured by using four different MFC filters. Twenty samples were used to calibrate the instrument and build a multivariate linear regression prediction model, and the remaining samples were used to validate the predictive ability of the model. In engineering simulations, four MFC filters gave an adequate calibration model (r2 = 0.995, RMSEC = 0.229%, RMSECV = 0.339%, p = 0.05 by f test). This result is slightly better than a corresponding PCR calibration model based on corrected transmission spectra (r2 = 0.993, RMSEC = 0.359%, RMSECV = 0.551%, p = 0.05 by f test). The first actual MFC prototype gave an RMSECV = 0.735%. MFC was a viable alternative to conventional spectrometry with the potential to be more simply implemented and more rapid and accurate.

Use of Transportable Radiation Detection Instruments to Assess Internal Contamination from Intakes of Radionuclides Part II: Calibration Factors and ICAT Computer Program.

PubMed

Anigstein, Robert; Olsher, Richard H; Loomis, Donald A; Ansari, Armin

2016-12-01

The detonation of a radiological dispersion device or other radiological incidents could result in widespread releases of radioactive materials and intakes of radionuclides by affected individuals. Transportable radiation monitoring instruments could be used to measure radiation from gamma-emitting radionuclides in the body for triaging individuals and assigning priorities to their bioassay samples for in vitro assessments. The present study derived sets of calibration factors for four instruments: the Ludlum Model 44-2 gamma scintillator, a survey meter containing a 2.54 × 2.54-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Captus 3000 thyroid uptake probe, which contains a 5.08 × 5.08-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Transportable Portal Monitor Model TPM-903B, which contains two 3.81 × 7.62 × 182.9-cm polyvinyltoluene plastic scintillators; and a generic instrument, such as an ionization chamber, that measures exposure rates. The calibration factors enable these instruments to be used for assessing inhaled or ingested intakes of any of four radionuclides: Co, I, Cs, and Ir. The derivations used biokinetic models embodied in the DCAL computer software system developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNPX radiation transport code. The three physical instruments were represented by MCNP models that were developed previously. The affected individuals comprised children of five ages who were represented by the revised Oak Ridge National Laboratory pediatric phantoms, and adult men and adult women represented by the Adult Reference Computational Phantoms described in Publication 110 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. These calibration factors can be used to calculate intakes; the intakes can be converted to committed doses by the use of tabulated dose coefficients. These calibration factors also constitute input data to the ICAT computer program, an interactive Microsoft Windows-based software package that estimates intakes of radionuclides and cumulative and committed effective doses, based on measurements made with these instruments. This program constitutes a convenient tool for assessing intakes and doses without consulting tabulated calibration factors and dose coefficients.

USE OF TRANSPORTABLE RADIATION DETECTION INSTRUMENTS TO ASSESS INTERNAL CONTAMINATION FROM INTAKES OF RADIONUCLIDES PART II: CALIBRATION FACTORS AND ICAT COMPUTER PROGRAM

PubMed Central

Anigstein, Robert; Olsher, Richard H.; Loomis, Donald A.; Ansari, Armin

2017-01-01

The detonation of a radiological dispersion device or other radiological incidents could result in widespread releases of radioactive materials and intakes of radionuclides by affected individuals. Transportable radiation monitoring instruments could be used to measure radiation from gamma-emitting radionuclides in the body for triaging individuals and assigning priorities to their bioassay samples for in vitro assessments. The present study derived sets of calibration factors for four instruments: the Ludlum Model 44-2 gamma scintillator, a survey meter containing a 2.54 × 2.54-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Captus 3000 thyroid uptake probe, which contains a 5.08 × 5.08-cm NaI(Tl) crystal; the Transportable Portal Monitor Model TPM-903B, which contains two 3.81 × 7.62 × 182.9-cm polyvinyltoluene plastic scintillators; and a generic instrument, such as an ionization chamber, that measures exposure rates. The calibration factors enable these instruments to be used for assessing inhaled or ingested intakes of any of four radionuclides: 60Co, 131I, 137Cs, and 192Ir. The derivations used biokinetic models embodied in the DCAL computer software system developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNPX radiation transport code. The three physical instruments were represented by MCNP models that were developed previously. The affected individuals comprised children of five ages who were represented by the revised Oak Ridge National Laboratory pediatric phantoms, and adult men and adult women represented by the Adult Reference Computational Phantoms described in Publication 110 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. These calibration factors can be used to calculate intakes; the intakes can be converted to committed doses by the use of tabulated dose coefficients. These calibration factors also constitute input data to the ICAT computer program, an interactive Microsoft Windows-based software package that estimates intakes of radionuclides and cumulative and committed effective doses, based on measurements made with these instruments. This program constitutes a convenient tool for assessing intakes and doses without consulting tabulated calibration factors and dose coefficients. PMID:27798478

dETECT: A Model for the Evaluation of Instructional Units for Teaching Computing in Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Wangenheim, Christiane G.; Petri, Giani; Zibertti, André W.; Borgatto, Adriano F.; Hauck, Jean C. R.; Pacheco, Fernando S.; Filho, Raul Missfeldt

2017-01-01

The objective of this article is to present the development and evaluation of dETECT (Evaluating TEaching CompuTing), a model for the evaluation of the quality of instructional units for teaching computing in middle school based on the students' perception collected through a measurement instrument. The dETECT model was systematically developed…

Management and Analysis of Biological and Clinical Data: How Computer Science May Support Biomedical and Clinical Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veltri, Pierangelo

The use of computer based solutions for data management in biology and clinical science has contributed to improve life-quality and also to gather research results in shorter time. Indeed, new algorithms and high performance computation have been using in proteomics and genomics studies for curing chronic diseases (e.g., drug designing) as well as supporting clinicians both in diagnosis (e.g., images-based diagnosis) and patient curing (e.g., computer based information analysis on information gathered from patient). In this paper we survey on examples of computer based techniques applied in both biology and clinical contexts. The reported applications are also results of experiences in real case applications at University Medical School of Catanzaro and also part of experiences of the National project Staywell SH 2.0 involving many research centers and companies aiming to study and improve citizen wellness.

Development of a simple 12-item theory-based instrument to assess the impact of continuing professional development on clinical behavioral intentions.

PubMed

Légaré, France; Borduas, Francine; Freitas, Adriana; Jacques, André; Godin, Gaston; Luconi, Francesca; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Decision-makers in organizations providing continuing professional development (CPD) have identified the need for routine assessment of its impact on practice. We sought to develop a theory-based instrument for evaluating the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions. Our multipronged study had four phases. 1) We systematically reviewed the literature for instruments that used socio-cognitive theories to assess healthcare professionals' clinically-oriented behavioral intentions and/or behaviors; we extracted items relating to the theoretical constructs of an integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors and removed duplicates. 2) A committee of researchers and CPD decision-makers selected a pool of items relevant to CPD. 3) An international group of experts (n = 70) reached consensus on the most relevant items using electronic Delphi surveys. 4) We created a preliminary instrument with the items found most relevant and assessed its factorial validity, internal consistency and reliability (weighted kappa) over a two-week period among 138 physicians attending a CPD activity. Out of 72 potentially relevant instruments, 47 were analyzed. Of the 1218 items extracted from these, 16% were discarded as improperly phrased and 70% discarded as duplicates. Mapping the remaining items onto the constructs of the integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors yielded a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 275 items per construct. The partnership committee retained 61 items covering all seven constructs. Two iterations of the Delphi process produced consensus on a provisional 40-item questionnaire. Exploratory factorial analysis following test-retest resulted in a 12-item questionnaire. Cronbach's coefficients for the constructs varied from 0.77 to 0.85. A 12-item theory-based instrument for assessing the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions showed adequate validity and reliability. Further studies could assess its responsiveness to behavior change following CPD activities and its capacity to predict health professionals' clinical performance.

Development of a Simple 12-Item Theory-Based Instrument to Assess the Impact of Continuing Professional Development on Clinical Behavioral Intentions

PubMed Central

Légaré, France; Borduas, Francine; Freitas, Adriana; Jacques, André; Godin, Gaston; Luconi, Francesca; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Background Decision-makers in organizations providing continuing professional development (CPD) have identified the need for routine assessment of its impact on practice. We sought to develop a theory-based instrument for evaluating the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions. Methods and Findings Our multipronged study had four phases. 1) We systematically reviewed the literature for instruments that used socio-cognitive theories to assess healthcare professionals' clinically-oriented behavioral intentions and/or behaviors; we extracted items relating to the theoretical constructs of an integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors and removed duplicates. 2) A committee of researchers and CPD decision-makers selected a pool of items relevant to CPD. 3) An international group of experts (n = 70) reached consensus on the most relevant items using electronic Delphi surveys. 4) We created a preliminary instrument with the items found most relevant and assessed its factorial validity, internal consistency and reliability (weighted kappa) over a two-week period among 138 physicians attending a CPD activity. Out of 72 potentially relevant instruments, 47 were analyzed. Of the 1218 items extracted from these, 16% were discarded as improperly phrased and 70% discarded as duplicates. Mapping the remaining items onto the constructs of the integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviors yielded a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 275 items per construct. The partnership committee retained 61 items covering all seven constructs. Two iterations of the Delphi process produced consensus on a provisional 40-item questionnaire. Exploratory factorial analysis following test-retest resulted in a 12-item questionnaire. Cronbach's coefficients for the constructs varied from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion A 12-item theory-based instrument for assessing the impact of CPD activities on health professionals' clinical behavioral intentions showed adequate validity and reliability. Further studies could assess its responsiveness to behavior change following CPD activities and its capacity to predict health professionals' clinical performance. PMID:24643173

The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) statement to assess clinical signs of atopic eczema in trials.

PubMed

Schmitt, Jochen; Spuls, Phyllis I; Thomas, Kim S; Simpson, Eric; Furue, Masutaka; Deckert, Stefanie; Dohil, Magdalene; Apfelbacher, Christian; Singh, Jasvinder A; Chalmers, Joanne; Williams, Hywel C

2014-10-01

The lack of core outcome sets for atopic eczema (AE) is a major obstacle for advancing evidence-based treatment. The global Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative has already defined clinical signs, symptoms, quality of life, and long-term control of flares as core outcome domains for AE trials. This article deals with the standardization of measurement instruments to assess clinical signs of AE. To resolve the current lack of standardization of the assessment of clinical signs of AE, we followed a structured process of systematic reviews and international consensus sessions to identify 1 core outcome measurement instrument for assessment of clinical signs in all future AE trials. Systematic reviews indicated that from 16 different instruments identified to assess clinical signs of AE, only the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and the objective Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index were identified as extensively validated. The EASI has adequate validity, responsiveness, internal consistency, and intraobserver reliability. The objective SCORAD index has adequate validity, responsiveness, and interobserver reliability but unclear intraobserver reliability to measure clinical signs of AE. In an international consensus study, patients, physicians, nurses, methodologists, and pharmaceutical industry representatives agreed that the EASI is the preferred core instrument to measure clinical signs in all future AE trials. All stakeholders involved in designing, reporting, and using clinical trials on AE are asked to comply with this consensus to enable better evidence-based decision making, clearer scientific communication, and improved patient care. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computation of Southern Pine Site Index Using a TI-59 Calculator

Treesearch

Robert M. Farrar

1983-01-01

A program is described that permits computation of site index in the field using a Texas Instruments model TI-59 programmable, hand-held, battery-powered calculator. Based on a series of equations developed by R.M. Farrar, Jr., for the site index curves in USDA Miscellaneous Publication 50, the program can accommodate any index base age, tree age, and height within...

Health Literacy and Cancer Prevention: Two New Instruments to Assess Comprehension

PubMed Central

Mazor, Kathleen M.; Roblin, Douglas W.; Williams, Andrew E.; Greene, Sarah M.; Gaglio, Bridget; Field, Terry S.; Costanza, Mary E.; Han, Paul K. J.; Saccoccio, Laura; Calvi, Josephine; Cove, Erica; Cowan, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Objectives Ability to understand spoken health information is an important facet of health literacy, but to date, no instrument has been available to quantify patients’ ability in this area. We sought to develop a test to assess comprehension of spoken health messages related to cancer prevention and screening to fill this gap, and a complementary test of comprehension of written health messages. Methods We used the Sentence Verification Technique to write items based on realistic health messages about cancer prevention and screening, including media messages, clinical encounters and clinical print materials. Items were reviewed, revised, and pre-tested. Adults aged 40 to 70 participated in a pilot administration in Georgia, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. Results The Cancer Message Literacy Test-Listening is self-administered via touchscreen laptop computer. No reading is required. It takes approximately 1 hour. The Cancer Message Literacy Test-Reading is self-administered on paper. It takes approximately 10 minutes. Conclusions These two new tests will allow researchers to assess comprehension of spoken health messages, to examine the relationship between listening and reading literacy, and to explore the impact of each form of literacy on health-related outcomes. Practice Implications Researchers and clinicians now have a means of measuring comprehension of spoken health information. PMID:22244323

Planning nonlinear access paths for temporal bone surgery.

PubMed

Fauser, Johannes; Sakas, Georgios; Mukhopadhyay, Anirban

2018-05-01

Interventions at the otobasis operate in the narrow region of the temporal bone where several highly sensitive organs define obstacles with minimal clearance for surgical instruments. Nonlinear trajectories for potential minimally invasive interventions can provide larger distances to risk structures and optimized orientations of surgical instruments, thus improving clinical outcomes when compared to existing linear approaches. In this paper, we present fast and accurate planning methods for such nonlinear access paths. We define a specific motion planning problem in [Formula: see text] with notable constraints in computation time and goal pose that reflect the requirements of temporal bone surgery. We then present [Formula: see text]-RRT-Connect: two suitable motion planners based on bidirectional Rapidly exploring Random Tree (RRT) to solve this problem efficiently. The benefits of [Formula: see text]-RRT-Connect are demonstrated on real CT data of patients. Their general performance is shown on a large set of realistic synthetic anatomies. We also show that these new algorithms outperform state-of-the-art methods based on circular arcs or Bézier-Splines when applied to this specific problem. With this work, we demonstrate that preoperative and intra-operative planning of nonlinear access paths is possible for minimally invasive surgeries at the otobasis.

Design and development of a computer-based clinical referral system for use within a physician hospital organization.

PubMed

Sittig, D F; Franklin, M; Turetsky, M; Sussman, A J; Bates, D W; Komaroff, A L; Teich, J M

1998-01-01

The process of creating a clinical referral for a patient and the transfer of information from the primary care physician to the specialist and back again is a key component in the struggle to deliver less costly and more effective clinical care. We have created a computer-based clinical referral application which facilitates 1) identifying an appropriate specialist; 2) collecting the clinical, demographic, and financial data required to generate a referral; and 3) transferring the information between the specialist and the primary care physician. Preliminary results indicate that the new computer-based process is faster.

Workflow computing. Improving management and efficiency of pathology diagnostic services.

PubMed

Buffone, G J; Moreau, D; Beck, J R

1996-04-01

Traditionally, information technology in health care has helped practitioners to collect, store, and present information and also to add a degree of automation to simple tasks (instrument interfaces supporting result entry, for example). Thus commercially available information systems do little to support the need to model, execute, monitor, coordinate, and revise the various complex clinical processes required to support health-care delivery. Workflow computing, which is already implemented and improving the efficiency of operations in several nonmedical industries, can address the need to manage complex clinical processes. Workflow computing not only provides a means to define and manage the events, roles, and information integral to health-care delivery but also supports the explicit implementation of policy or rules appropriate to the process. This article explains how workflow computing may be applied to health-care and the inherent advantages of the technology, and it defines workflow system requirements for use in health-care delivery with special reference to diagnostic pathology.

Patient-specific targeting guides compared with traditional instrumentation for glenoid component placement in shoulder arthroplasty: a multi-surgeon study in 70 arthritic cadaver specimens.

PubMed

Throckmorton, Thomas W; Gulotta, Lawrence V; Bonnarens, Frank O; Wright, Stephen A; Hartzell, Jeffrey L; Rozzi, William B; Hurst, Jason M; Frostick, Simon P; Sperling, John W

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of patient-specific guides for total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) with traditional instrumentation in arthritic cadaver shoulders. We hypothesized that the patient-specific guides would place components more accurately than standard instrumentation. Seventy cadaver shoulders with radiographically confirmed arthritis were randomized in equal groups to 5 surgeons of varying experience levels who were not involved in development of the patient-specific guidance system. Specimens were then randomized to patient-specific guides based off of computed tomography scanning, standard instrumentation, and anatomic TSA or reverse TSA. Variances in version or inclination of more than 10° and more than 4 mm in starting point were considered indications of significant component malposition. TSA glenoid components placed with patient-specific guides averaged 5° of deviation from the intended position in version and 3° in inclination; those with standard instrumentation averaged 8° of deviation in version and 7° in inclination. These differences were significant for version (P = .04) and inclination (P = .01). Multivariate analysis of variance to compare the overall accuracy for the entire cohort (TSA and reverse TSA) revealed patient-specific guides to be significantly more accurate (P = .01) for the combined vectors of version and inclination. Patient-specific guides also had fewer instances of significant component malposition than standard instrumentation did. Patient-specific targeting guides were more accurate than traditional instrumentation and had fewer instances of component malposition for glenoid component placement in this multi-surgeon cadaver study of arthritic shoulders. Long-term clinical studies are needed to determine if these improvements produce improved functional outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching computer interfacing with virtual instruments in an object-oriented language.

PubMed Central

Gulotta, M

1995-01-01

LabVIEW is a graphic object-oriented computer language developed to facilitate hardware/software communication. LabVIEW is a complete computer language that can be used like Basic, FORTRAN, or C. In LabVIEW one creates virtual instruments that aesthetically look like real instruments but are controlled by sophisticated computer programs. There are several levels of data acquisition VIs that make it easy to control data flow, and many signal processing and analysis algorithms come with the software as premade VIs. In the classroom, the similarity between virtual and real instruments helps students understand how information is passed between the computer and attached instruments. The software may be used in the absence of hardware so that students can work at home as well as in the classroom. This article demonstrates how LabVIEW can be used to control data flow between computers and instruments, points out important features for signal processing and analysis, and shows how virtual instruments may be used in place of physical instrumentation. Applications of LabVIEW to the teaching laboratory are also discussed, and a plausible course outline is given. PMID:8580361

Teaching computer interfacing with virtual instruments in an object-oriented language.

PubMed

Gulotta, M

1995-11-01

LabVIEW is a graphic object-oriented computer language developed to facilitate hardware/software communication. LabVIEW is a complete computer language that can be used like Basic, FORTRAN, or C. In LabVIEW one creates virtual instruments that aesthetically look like real instruments but are controlled by sophisticated computer programs. There are several levels of data acquisition VIs that make it easy to control data flow, and many signal processing and analysis algorithms come with the software as premade VIs. In the classroom, the similarity between virtual and real instruments helps students understand how information is passed between the computer and attached instruments. The software may be used in the absence of hardware so that students can work at home as well as in the classroom. This article demonstrates how LabVIEW can be used to control data flow between computers and instruments, points out important features for signal processing and analysis, and shows how virtual instruments may be used in place of physical instrumentation. Applications of LabVIEW to the teaching laboratory are also discussed, and a plausible course outline is given.

Design of a portable fluoroquinolone analyzer based on terbium-sensitized luminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Guoying

2007-09-01

A portable fluoroquinolone (FQ) analyzer is designed and prototyped based on terbium-sensitized luminescence (TSL). The excitation source is a 327-nm light emitting diode (LED) operated in pulsed mode; and the luminescence signal is detected by a photomultiplier tube (PMT). In comparison to a conventional xenon flashlamp, an LED is small, light, robust, and energy efficient. More importantly, its narrow emission bandwidth and low residual radiation reduce background signal. In pulse mode, an LED operates at a current 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than that of a xenon flashlamp, thus minimizing electromagnetic interference (EMI) to the detector circuitry. The PMT is gated to minimize its response to the light source. These measures lead to reduced background noise in time domain. To overcome pulse-to-pulse variation signal normalization is implemented based on individual pulse energy. Instrument operation and data processing are controlled by a computer running a custom LabVIEW program. Enrofloxacin (ENRO) is used as a model analyte to evaluate instrument performance. The integrated TSL intensity reveals a linear dependence up to 2 ppm. A 1.1-ppb limit of detection (LOD) is achieved with relative standard deviation (RSD) averaged at 5.1%. The background noise corresponds to ~5 ppb. At 19 lbs, this portable analyzer is field deployable for agriculture, environmental and clinical analyses.

RchyOptimyx: Cellular Hierarchy Optimization for Flow Cytometry

PubMed Central

Aghaeepour, Nima; Jalali, Adrin; O’Neill, Kieran; Chattopadhyay, Pratip K.; Roederer, Mario; Hoos, Holger H.; Brinkman, Ryan R.

2013-01-01

Analysis of high-dimensional flow cytometry datasets can reveal novel cell populations with poorly understood biology. Following discovery, characterization of these populations in terms of the critical markers involved is an important step, as this can help to both better understand the biology of these populations and aid in designing simpler marker panels to identify them on simpler instruments and with fewer reagents (i.e., in resource poor or highly regulated clinical settings). However, current tools to design panels based on the biological characteristics of the target cell populations work exclusively based on technical parameters (e.g., instrument configurations, spectral overlap, and reagent availability). To address this shortcoming, we developed RchyOptimyx (cellular hieraRCHY OPTIMization), a computational tool that constructs cellular hierarchies by combining automated gating with dynamic programming and graph theory to provide the best gating strategies to identify a target population to a desired level of purity or correlation with a clinical outcome, using the simplest possible marker panels. RchyOptimyx can assess and graphically present the trade-offs between marker choice and population specificity in high-dimensional flow or mass cytometry datasets. We present three proof-of-concept use cases for RchyOptimyx that involve 1) designing a panel of surface markers for identification of rare populations that are primarily characterized using their intracellular signature; 2) simplifying the gating strategy for identification of a target cell population; 3) identification of a non-redundant marker set to identify a target cell population. PMID:23044634

A Laboratory Application of Microcomputer Graphics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gehring, Kalle B.; Moore, John W.

1983-01-01

A PASCAL graphics and instrument interface program for a Z80/S-100 based microcomputer was developed. The computer interfaces to a stopped-flow spectrophotometer replacing a storage oscilloscope and polaroid camera. Applications of this system are discussed, indicating that graphics and analog-to-digital boards have transformed the computer into…

Assessing Computer Literacy: A Validated Instrument and Empirical Results.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabriel, Roy M.

1985-01-01

Describes development of a comprehensive computer literacy assessment battery for K-12 curriculum based on objectives of a curriculum implemented in the Worldwide Department of Defense Dependents Schools system. Test development and field test data are discussed and a correlational analysis which assists in interpretation of test results is…

Evaluation of the Self-Adjusting File system (SAF) for the instrumentation of primary molar root canals: a micro-computed tomographic study.

PubMed

Kaya, E; Elbay, M; Yiğit, D

2017-06-01

The Self-Adjusting File (SAF) system has been recommended for use in permanent teeth since it offers more conservative and effective root-canal preparation when compared to traditional rotary systems. However, no study had evaluated the usage of SAF in primary teeth. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the use of SAF, K file (manual instrumentation) and Profile (traditional rotary instrumentation) systems for primary-tooth root-canal preparation in terms of instrumentation time and amounts of dentin removed using micro-computed tomography (μCT) technology. Study Design: The study was conducted with 60 human primary mandibular second molar teeth divided into 3 groups according to instrumentation technique: Group I: SAF (n=20); Group II: K file (n=20); Group III; Profile (n=20). Teeth were embedded in acrylic blocks and scanned with a μCT scanner prior to instrumentation. All distal root canals were prepared up to size 30 for K file,.04/30 for Profile and 2 mm thickness, size 25 for SAF; instrumentation time was recorded for each tooth, and a second μCT scan was performed after instrumentation was complete. Amounts of dentin removed were measured using the three-dimensional images by calculating the difference in root-canal volume before and after preparation. Data was statistically analysed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Manual instrumentation (K file) resulted in significantly more dentin removal when compared to rotary instrumentation (Profile and SAF), while the SAF system generated significantly less dentin removal than both manual instrumentation (K file) and traditional rotary instrumentation (Profile) (p<.05). Instrumentation time was significantly greater with manual instrumentation when compared to rotary instrumentation (p<.05), whereas instrumentation time did not differ significantly between the Profile and SAF systems. Within the experimental conditions of the present study, the SAF seems as a useful system for root-canal instrumentation in primary molars because it removed less dentin than other systems, which is especially important for the relatively thin-walled canals of primary teeth, and because it involves less clinical time, which is particularly important in the treatment of paediatric patients.

Software for Testing Electroactive Structural Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moses, Robert W.; Fox, Robert L.; Dimery, Archie D.; Bryant, Robert G.; Shams, Qamar

2003-01-01

A computer program generates a graphical user interface that, in combination with its other features, facilitates the acquisition and preprocessing of experimental data on the strain response, hysteresis, and power consumption of a multilayer composite-material structural component containing one or more built-in sensor(s) and/or actuator(s) based on piezoelectric materials. This program runs in conjunction with Lab-VIEW software in a computer-controlled instrumentation system. For a test, a specimen is instrumented with appliedvoltage and current sensors and with strain gauges. Once the computational connection to the test setup has been made via the LabVIEW software, this program causes the test instrumentation to step through specified configurations. If the user is satisfied with the test results as displayed by the software, the user activates an icon on a front-panel display, causing the raw current, voltage, and strain data to be digitized and saved. The data are also put into a spreadsheet and can be plotted on a graph. Graphical displays are saved in an image file for future reference. The program also computes and displays the power and the phase angle between voltage and current.

Musical instruments put in a new light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chalmers, Matthew

2012-10-01

Hundreds of years old and worth millions of pounds, violins prized by the world's top musicians have been shown to benefit from the occasional health check. Since the late 1990s many violins have undergone hospital-based X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans that reveal an instrument's condition and history, as well as the source of its unique acoustic properties.

Assessment of cognition in mild cognitive impairment: A comparative study

PubMed Central

Snyder, Peter J.; Jackson, Colleen E.; Petersen, Ronald C.; Khachaturian, Ara S.; Kaye, Jeffrey; Albert, Marilyn S.; Weintraub, Sandra

2014-01-01

The demand for rapidly administered, sensitive, and reliable cognitive assessments that are specifically designed for identifying individuals in the earliest stages of cognitive decline (and to measure subtle change over time) has escalated as the emphasis in Alzheimer’s disease clinical research has shifted from clinical diagnosis and treatment toward the goal of developing presymptomatic neuroprotective therapies. To meet these changing clinical requirements, cognitive measures or tailored batteries of tests must be validated and determined to be fit-for-use for the discrimination between cognitively healthy individuals and persons who are experiencing very subtle cognitive changes that likely signal the emergence of early mild cognitive impairment. We sought to collect and review data systematically from a wide variety of (mostly computer-administered) cognitive measures, all of which are currently marketed or distributed with the claims that these instruments are sensitive and reliable for the early identification of disease or, if untested for this purpose, are promising tools based on other variables. The survey responses for 16 measures/batteries are presented in brief in this review; full survey responses and summary tables are archived and publicly available on the Campaign to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease by 2020 Web site (http://pad2020.org). A decision tree diagram highlighting critical decision points for selecting measures to meet varying clinical trials requirements has also been provided. Ultimately, the survey questionnaire, framework, and decision guidelines provided in this review should remain as useful aids for the evaluation of any new or updated sets of instruments in the years to come. PMID:21575877

How parental attitudes affect the risky computer and Internet usage patterns of adolescents: a population-based study in the Bursa District of Turkey.

PubMed

Uncu, Yeşim; Vural, Pinar; Büyükuysal, Cağatay; Alper, Züleyha; Kiliç, Emine Zinnur

2014-12-01

We aimed to evaluate the computer usage patterns of adolescents and to determine the effects of family life and parental attitude on these patterns. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, population-based survey that included 935 children between 11 and 16 years of age who were students in the second level of primary school and their parents as well. The following instruments were used in the survey: student and parent questionnaires on computer usage patterns and the Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) to assess parental attitudes towards child-rearing and family life. Of the study population, the majority of the students had a computer in their homes and spent a lot of time on the Internet. Parental control over the amount of time spent on the Internet and the websites that were visited had sometimes limited and contradictory effects on computer usage among the students. A democratic parental attitude was the best approach. Using the computer as a reward or punishment had a negative impact on the children's computer usage patterns. Although parents are confused concerning the benefits and harms of the Internet for their children and not certain how to manage their children's use of the computer and safe navigation of the Internet, a democratic parental attitude appears to be the best approach for reaching the most beneficial computer usage patterns for students.

A Grid Infrastructure for Supporting Space-based Science Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradford, Robert N.; Redman, Sandra H.; McNair, Ann R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Emerging technologies for computational grid infrastructures have the potential for revolutionizing the way computers are used in all aspects of our lives. Computational grids are currently being implemented to provide a large-scale, dynamic, and secure research and engineering environments based on standards and next-generation reusable software, enabling greater science and engineering productivity through shared resources and distributed computing for less cost than traditional architectures. Combined with the emerging technologies of high-performance networks, grids provide researchers, scientists and engineers the first real opportunity for an effective distributed collaborative environment with access to resources such as computational and storage systems, instruments, and software tools and services for the most computationally challenging applications.

A computer-based physics laboratory apparatus: Signal generator software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanakittiviroon, Tharest; Liangrocapart, Sompong

2005-09-01

This paper describes a computer-based physics laboratory apparatus to replace expensive instruments such as high-precision signal generators. This apparatus uses a sound card in a common personal computer to give sinusoidal signals with an accurate frequency that can be programmed to give different frequency signals repeatedly. An experiment on standing waves on an oscillating string uses this apparatus. In conjunction with interactive lab manuals, which have been developed using personal computers in our university, we achieve a complete set of low-cost, accurate, and easy-to-use equipment for teaching a physics laboratory.

Event-based Plausibility Immediately Influences On-line Language Comprehension

PubMed Central

Matsuki, Kazunaga; Chow, Tracy; Hare, Mary; Elman, Jeffrey L.; Scheepers, Christoph; McRae, Ken

2011-01-01

In some theories of sentence comprehension, linguistically-relevant lexical knowledge such as selectional restrictions is privileged in terms of the time-course of its access and influence. We examined whether event knowledge computed by combining multiple concepts can rapidly influence language understanding even in the absence of selectional restriction violations. Specifically, we investigated whether instruments can combine with actions to influence comprehension of ensuing patients. Instrument-verb-patient triplets were created in a norming study designed to tap directly into event knowledge. In self-paced reading (Experiment 1), participants were faster to read patient nouns such as hair when they were typical of the instrument-action pair (Donna used the shampoo to wash vs. the hose to wash). Experiment 2 showed that these results were not due to direct instrument-patient relations. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 1 using eyetracking, with effects of event typicality observed in first fixation and gaze durations on the patient noun. This research demonstrates that conceptual event-based expectations are computed and used rapidly and dynamically during on-line language comprehension. We discuss relationships among plausibility and predictability, as well as their implications. We conclude that selectional restrictions may be best considered as event-based conceptual knowledge, rather than lexical-grammatical knowledge. PMID:21517222

The evolution of violence risk assessment.

PubMed

Monahan, John; Skeem, Jennifer L

2014-10-01

Many instruments have been published in recent years to improve the ability of mental health clinicians to estimate the likelihood that an individual will behave violently toward others. Increasingly, these instruments are being applied in response to laws that require specialized risk assessments. In this review, we present a framework that goes beyond the "clinical" and "actuarial" dichotomy to describe a continuum of structured approaches to risk assessment. Despite differences among them, there is little evidence that one instrument predicts violence better than another. We believe that these group-based instruments are useful for assessing an individual's risk, and that the instrument should be chosen based on the purpose of the assessment.

A Flexible and Non-instrusive Approach for Computing Complex Structural Coverage Metrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whalen, Michael W.; Person, Suzette J.; Rungta, Neha; Staats, Matt; Grijincu, Daniela

2015-01-01

Software analysis tools and techniques often leverage structural code coverage information to reason about the dynamic behavior of software. Existing techniques instrument the code with the required structural obligations and then monitor the execution of the compiled code to report coverage. Instrumentation based approaches often incur considerable runtime overhead for complex structural coverage metrics such as Modified Condition/Decision (MC/DC). Code instrumentation, in general, has to be approached with great care to ensure it does not modify the behavior of the original code. Furthermore, instrumented code cannot be used in conjunction with other analyses that reason about the structure and semantics of the code under test. In this work, we introduce a non-intrusive preprocessing approach for computing structural coverage information. It uses a static partial evaluation of the decisions in the source code and a source-to-bytecode mapping to generate the information necessary to efficiently track structural coverage metrics during execution. Our technique is flexible; the results of the preprocessing can be used by a variety of coverage-driven software analysis tasks, including automated analyses that are not possible for instrumented code. Experimental results in the context of symbolic execution show the efficiency and flexibility of our nonintrusive approach for computing code coverage information

A critical analysis of the internal logic in the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) composite score and suggested solutions.

PubMed

Siordia, Carlos

2016-06-01

An individual's ability to live independently is commonly measured in health research interested in identifying risk factors associated with disablement processes. In order to inform clinical practice, population research has attempted to identify the contraction of "lived-space" by using various survey instruments. Studies assessing habitual movements over the environment with the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) survey instrument should carefully consider how the LSA Composite Score (LSA-CS) is computed. Until now, no publication has carefully delineated the assumptions guiding the internal logic used in the computation of the LSA-CS. Because the internal logic of the LSA may need further justification, a non-data-editing scoring algorithm should be considered. Compute LSA-CS by only using non-edited data. Paper first delineates the logic guiding the algorithm used in the formation of the LSA-CS and explains how the scoring creates and changes participant responses when they conflict with its internal logic. An easy-to-use SAS® 9.3 program for estimating a Non-Data-Edited LSA-CS (NDE-LSA-CS) is also presented. Researchers interested in assessing lived-space should carefully consider if the internal logic of the LSA-CS is warranted. Clinicians should know it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of outcome measures used when deciding on whether to apply the results of research to direct clinical practice. © The Author(s) 2015.

Construction and Validation of the Clinical Judgment Skill Inventory: Clinical Judgment Skill Competencies That Measure Counselor Debiasing Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Bryan S.; Leahy, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Purpose: To construct and validate a new self-report instrument, the Clinical Judgment Skill Inventory (CJSI), inclusive of clinical judgment skill competencies that address counselor biases and evidence-based strategies. Method: An Internet-based survey design was used and an exploratory factor analysis was performed on a sample of rehabilitation…

Development of a Patient-Reported Outcome Instrument to Evaluate Symptoms of Advanced NSCLC: Qualitative Research and Content Validity of the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Symptom Assessment Questionnaire (NSCLC-SAQ)

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Thomas M.; DeBusk, Kendra P.A.; Liepa, Astra M.; Scanlon, Michael; Coons, Stephen Joel

2016-01-01

PURPOSE To describe the process and results of the preliminary qualitative development of a new symptom-based PRO measure intended to assess treatment benefit in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) clinical trials. METHODS Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with adult NSCLC (Stage I–IV) patients in the US. Experienced interviewers conducted concept elicitation (CE) and cognitive interviews using semi-structured interview guides. The CE interview guide was used to elicit spontaneous reports of symptom experiences along with probing to further explore and confirm concepts. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed by professional qualitative coders using Atlas.ti software, and were summarized by like-content using an iterative coding framework. Data from the CE interviews were considered alongside existing literature and clinical expert opinion during an item-generation process, leading to development of a preliminary version of the NSCLC Symptom Assessment Questionnaire (NSCLC-SAQ). Three waves of cognitive interviews were conducted to evaluate concept relevance, item interpretability, and structure of the draft items to facilitate further instrument refinement. FINDINGS Fifty-one patients (mean age 64.9 [SD=11.2]; 51.0% female) participated in the CE interviews. A total of 1,897 expressions of NSCLC-related symptoms were identified and coded in interview transcripts, representing approximately 42 distinct symptom concepts. A 9-item initial draft instrument was developed for testing in three waves of cognitive interviews with additional NSCLC patients (n=20), during which both paper and electronic versions of the instrument were evaluated and refined. Participant responses and feedback during cognitive interviews led to the removal of 2 items and substantial modifications to others. IMPLICATIONS The NSCLC-SAQ is a 7-item PRO measure intended for use in advanced NSCLC clinical trials to support medical product labelling. The NSCLC-SAQ uses a 7-day recall period and verbal rating scales. It was developed in accordance with the FDA’s PRO Guidance and scientific best practices, and the resulting qualitative interview data provide evidence of content validity. The NSCLC-SAQ has been prepared in both paper and electronic administration formats and a tablet computer-based version is currently undergoing quantitative testing to confirm its measurement properties and support FDA qualification. PMID:27041408

Reframing clinical workplace learning using the theory of distributed cognition.

PubMed

Pimmer, Christoph; Pachler, Norbert; Genewein, Urs

2013-09-01

In medicine, knowledge is embodied and socially, temporally, spatially, and culturally distributed between actors and their environment. In addition, clinicians increasingly are using technology in their daily work to gain and share knowledge. Despite these characteristics, surprisingly few studies have incorporated the theory of distributed cognition (DCog), which emphasizes how cognition is distributed in a wider system in the form of multimodal representations (e.g., clinical images, speech, gazes, and gestures) between social actors (e.g., doctors and patients) in the physical environment (e.g., with technological instruments and computers). In this article, the authors provide an example of an interaction between medical actors. Using that example, they then introduce the important concepts of the DCog theory, identifying five characteristics of clinical representations-that they are interwoven, co-constructed, redundantly accessed, intersubjectively shared, and substantiated-and discuss their value for learning. By contrasting these DCog perspectives with studies from the field of medical education, the authors argue that researchers should focus future medical education scholarship on the ways in which medical actors use and connect speech, bodily movements (e.g., gestures), and the visual and haptic structures of their own bodies and of artifacts, such as technological instruments and computers, to construct complex, multimodal representations. They also argue that future scholarship should "zoom in" on detailed, moment-by-moment analysis and, at the same time, "zoom out" following the distribution of cognition through an overall system to develop a more integrated view of clinical workplace learning.

NACA Computers Take Readings From Manometer Boards

NASA Image and Video Library

1949-02-21

Female computers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory copy pressure readings from rows of manometers below the 18- by 18-inch Supersonic Wind Tunnel. The computers obtained test data from the manometers and other instruments, made the initial computations, and plotted the information graphically. Based on these computations, the researchers planned their next test or summarized their findings in a report. Manometers were mercury-filled glass tubes that were used to indicate different pressure levels from inside the test facility or from the test article. Manometers look and function very similarly to thermometers. Dozens of pressure sensing instruments were installed for each test. Each was connected to a manometer tube located inside the control room. The mercury inside the manometer rose and fell with the pressure levels. The dark mercury can be seen in this photograph at different levels within the tubes. Since this activity was dynamic, it was necessary to note the levels at given points during the test. This was done using both computer notations and photography.

Contact angle measurement with a smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, H.; Muros-Cobos, Jesus L.; Amirfazli, A.

2018-03-01

In this study, a smartphone-based contact angle measurement instrument was developed. Compared with the traditional measurement instruments, this instrument has the advantage of simplicity, compact size, and portability. An automatic contact point detection algorithm was developed to allow the instrument to correctly detect the drop contact points. Two different contact angle calculation methods, Young-Laplace and polynomial fitting methods, were implemented in this instrument. The performance of this instrument was tested first with ideal synthetic drop profiles. It was shown that the accuracy of the new system with ideal synthetic drop profiles can reach 0.01% with both Young-Laplace and polynomial fitting methods. Conducting experiments to measure both static and dynamic (advancing and receding) contact angles with the developed instrument, we found that the smartphone-based instrument can provide accurate and practical measurement results as the traditional commercial instruments. The successful demonstration of use of a smartphone (mobile phone) to conduct contact angle measurement is a significant advancement in the field as it breaks the dominate mold of use of a computer and a bench bound setup for such systems since their appearance in 1980s.

Contact angle measurement with a smartphone.

PubMed

Chen, H; Muros-Cobos, Jesus L; Amirfazli, A

2018-03-01

In this study, a smartphone-based contact angle measurement instrument was developed. Compared with the traditional measurement instruments, this instrument has the advantage of simplicity, compact size, and portability. An automatic contact point detection algorithm was developed to allow the instrument to correctly detect the drop contact points. Two different contact angle calculation methods, Young-Laplace and polynomial fitting methods, were implemented in this instrument. The performance of this instrument was tested first with ideal synthetic drop profiles. It was shown that the accuracy of the new system with ideal synthetic drop profiles can reach 0.01% with both Young-Laplace and polynomial fitting methods. Conducting experiments to measure both static and dynamic (advancing and receding) contact angles with the developed instrument, we found that the smartphone-based instrument can provide accurate and practical measurement results as the traditional commercial instruments. The successful demonstration of use of a smartphone (mobile phone) to conduct contact angle measurement is a significant advancement in the field as it breaks the dominate mold of use of a computer and a bench bound setup for such systems since their appearance in 1980s.

[Isolation and identification methods of enterobacteria group and its technological advancement].

PubMed

Furuta, Itaru

2007-08-01

In the last half-century, isolation and identification methods of enterobacteria groups have markedly improved by technological advancement. Clinical microbiology tests have changed overtime from tube methods to commercial identification kits and automated identification. Tube methods are the original method for the identification of enterobacteria groups, that is, a basically essential method to recognize bacterial fermentation and biochemical principles. In this paper, traditional tube tests are discussed, such as the utilization of carbohydrates, indole, methyl red, and citrate and urease tests. Commercial identification kits and automated instruments by computer based analysis as current methods are also discussed, and those methods provide rapidity and accuracy. Nonculture techniques of nucleic acid typing methods using PCR analysis, and immunochemical methods using monoclonal antibodies can be further developed.

In vitro comparative study of manual and mechanical rotary instrumentation of root canals using computed tomography.

PubMed

Limongi, Orlando; de Albuquerque, Diana Santana; Baratto Filho, Flares; Vanni, José Roberto; de Oliveira, Elias P Motcy; Barletta, Fernando Branco

2007-01-01

This in vitro study compared, using computed tomography (CT), the amount of dentin removed from root canal walls by manual and mechanical rotary instrumentation techniques. Forty mandibular incisors with dental crown and a single canal were selected. The teeth were randomly assigned to two groups, according to the technique used for root canal preparation: Group I - manual instrumentation with stainless steel files; Group II - mechanical instrumentation with RaCe rotary nickel-titanium instruments. In each tooth, root dentin thickness of the buccal, lingual, mesial and distal surfaces in the apical, middle and cervical thirds of the canal was measured (in mm) using a multislice CT scanner (Siemens Emotion, Duo). Data were stored in the SPSS v. 11.5 and SigmaPlot 2001 v. 7.101 softwares. After crown opening, working length was determined, root canals were instrumented and new CT scans were taken for assessment of root dentin thickness. Pre- and post-instrumentation data were compared and analyzed statistically by ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc test for significant differences (p=0.05). Based on the findings of this study, it may be concluded that regarding dentin removal from root canal walls during instrumentation, neither of the techniques can be considered more effective than the other.

Mobile device-based optical instruments for agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumriddetchkajorn, Sarun

2013-05-01

Realizing that a current smart-mobile device such as a cell phone and a tablet can be considered as a pocket-size computer embedded with a built-in digital camera, this paper reviews and demonstrates on how a mobile device can be specifically functioned as a portable optical instrument for agricultural applications. The paper highlights several mobile device-based optical instruments designed for searching small pests, measuring illumination level, analyzing spectrum of light, identifying nitrogen status in the rice field, estimating chlorine in water, and determining ripeness level of the fruit. They are suitable for individual use as well as for small and medium enterprises.

Psychiatrists’ Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice

PubMed Central

Fochtmann, Laura J.; Clarke, Diana E.; Barber, Keila; Hong, Seung-Hee; Yager, Joel; Mościcki, Eve K.; Plovnick, Robert M.

2015-01-01

This report highlights findings from the Study of Psychiatrists’ Use of Informational Resources in Clinical Practice, a cross-sectional Web- and paper-based survey that examined psychiatrists’ comfort using computers and other electronic devices in clinical practice. One-thousand psychiatrists were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and asked to complete the survey between May and August, 2012. A total of 152 eligible psychiatrists completed the questionnaire (response rate 22.2 %). The majority of psychiatrists reported comfort using computers for educational and personal purposes. However, 26 % of psychiatrists reported not using or not being comfortable using computers for clinical functions. Psychiatrists under age 50 were more likely to report comfort using computers for all purposes than their older counterparts. Clinical tasks for which computers were reportedly used comfortably, specifically by psychiatrists younger than 50, included documenting clinical encounters, prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, accessing read-only patient information (e.g., test results), conducting internet searches for general clinical information, accessing online patient educational materials, and communicating with patients or other clinicians. Psychiatrists generally reported comfort using computers for personal and educational purposes. However, use of computers in clinical care was less common, particularly among psychiatrists 50 and older. Information and educational resources need to be available in a variety of accessible, user-friendly, computer and non-computer-based formats, to support use across all ages. Moreover, ongoing training and technical assistance with use of electronic and mobile device technologies in clinical practice is needed. Research on barriers to clinical use of computers is warranted. PMID:26667248

Psychiatrists' Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice.

PubMed

Duffy, Farifteh F; Fochtmann, Laura J; Clarke, Diana E; Barber, Keila; Hong, Seung-Hee; Yager, Joel; Mościcki, Eve K; Plovnick, Robert M

2016-09-01

This report highlights findings from the Study of Psychiatrists' Use of Informational Resources in Clinical Practice, a cross-sectional Web- and paper-based survey that examined psychiatrists' comfort using computers and other electronic devices in clinical practice. One-thousand psychiatrists were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and asked to complete the survey between May and August, 2012. A total of 152 eligible psychiatrists completed the questionnaire (response rate 22.2 %). The majority of psychiatrists reported comfort using computers for educational and personal purposes. However, 26 % of psychiatrists reported not using or not being comfortable using computers for clinical functions. Psychiatrists under age 50 were more likely to report comfort using computers for all purposes than their older counterparts. Clinical tasks for which computers were reportedly used comfortably, specifically by psychiatrists younger than 50, included documenting clinical encounters, prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, accessing read-only patient information (e.g., test results), conducting internet searches for general clinical information, accessing online patient educational materials, and communicating with patients or other clinicians. Psychiatrists generally reported comfort using computers for personal and educational purposes. However, use of computers in clinical care was less common, particularly among psychiatrists 50 and older. Information and educational resources need to be available in a variety of accessible, user-friendly, computer and non-computer-based formats, to support use across all ages. Moreover, ongoing training and technical assistance with use of electronic and mobile device technologies in clinical practice is needed. Research on barriers to clinical use of computers is warranted.

A PC-based shutter glasses controller for visual stimulation using multithreading in LabWindows/CVI.

PubMed

Gramatikov, Ivan; Simons, Kurt; Guyton, David; Gramatikov, Boris

2017-05-01

Amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye," is poor vision in an eye from prolonged neurologic suppression. It is a major public health problem, afflicting up to 3.6% of children, and will lead to lifelong visual impairment if not identified and treated in early childhood. Traditional treatment methods, such as occluding or penalizing the good eye with eye patches or blurring eye drops, do not always yield satisfactory results. Newer methods have emerged, based on liquid crystal shutter glasses that intermittently occlude the better eye, or alternately occlude the two eyes, thus stimulating vision in the "lazy" eye. As yet there is no technology that allows easy and efficient optimization of the shuttering characteristics for a given individual. The purpose of this study was to develop an inexpensive, computer-based system to perform liquid crystal shuttering in laboratory and clinical settings to help "wake up" the suppressed eye in amblyopic patients, and to help optimize the individual shuttering parameters such as wave shape, level of transparency/opacity, frequency, and duty cycle of the shuttering. We developed a liquid crystal glasses controller connected by USB cable to a PC computer. It generates the voltage waveforms going to the glasses, and has potentiometer knobs for interactive adjustments by the patient. In order to achieve good timing performance in this bidirectional system, we used multithreading programming techniques with data protection, implemented in LabWindows/CVI. The hardware and software developed were assessed experimentally. We achieved an accuracy of ±1Hz for the frequency, and ±2% for the duty cycle of the occlusion pulses. We consider these values to be satisfactory for the purpose of optimizing the visual stimulation by means of shutter glasses. The system can be used for individual optimization of shuttering attributes by clinicians, for training sessions in clinical settings, or even at home, aimed at stimulating vision in the "lazy" eye. Multithreading offers significant benefits for data acquisition and instrument control, making it possible to implement time-efficient algorithms in inexpensive yet versatile medical instrumentation with only minimum requirements on the hardware. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An exploration of the biomedical optics course construction of undergraduate biomedical engineering program in medical colleges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Shijun; Lyu, Jie; Zhang, Peiming

2017-08-01

In this paper, the teaching goals, teaching contents and teaching methods in biomedical optics course construction are discussed. From the dimension of teaching goals, students should master the principle of optical inspection on the human body, diagnosis and treatment of methodology and instruments, through the study of the theory and practice of this course, and can utilize biomedical optics methods to solve practical problems in the clinical medical engineering practice. From the dimension of teaching contents, based on the characteristics of biomedical engineering in medical colleges, the organic integration of engineering aspects, medical optical instruments, and biomedical aspects dispersed in human anatomy, human physiology, clinical medicine fundamental related to the biomedical optics is build. Noninvasive measurement of the human body composition and noninvasive optical imaging of the human body were taken as actual problems in biomedical optics fields. Typical medical applications such as eye optics and laser medicine were also integrated into the theory and practice teaching. From the dimension of teaching methods, referencing to organ-system based medical teaching mode, optical principle and instrument principle were taught by teachers from school of medical instruments, and the histological characteristics and clinical actual need in areas such as digestive diseases and urinary surgery were taught by teachers from school of basic medicine or clinical medicine of medical colleges. Furthermore, clinical application guidance would be provided by physician and surgeons in hospitals.

Comparison of patient-specific instruments with standard surgical instruments in determining glenoid component position: a randomized prospective clinical trial.

PubMed

Hendel, Michael D; Bryan, Jason A; Barsoum, Wael K; Rodriguez, Eric J; Brems, John J; Evans, Peter J; Iannotti, Joseph P

2012-12-05

Glenoid component malposition for anatomic shoulder replacement may result in complications. The purpose of this study was to define the efficacy of a new surgical method to place the glenoid component. Thirty-one patients were randomized for glenoid component placement with use of either novel three-dimensional computed tomographic scan planning software combined with patient-specific instrumentation (the glenoid positioning system group), or conventional computed tomographic scan, preoperative planning, and surgical technique, utilizing instruments provided by the implant manufacturer (the standard surgical group). The desired position of the component was determined preoperatively. Postoperatively, a computed tomographic scan was used to define and compare the actual implant location with the preoperative plan. In the standard surgical group, the average preoperative glenoid retroversion was -11.3° (range, -39° to 17°). In the glenoid positioning system group, the average glenoid retroversion was -14.8° (range, -27° to 7°). When the standard surgical group was compared with the glenoid positioning system group, patient-specific instrumentation technology significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the average deviation of implant position for inclination and medial-lateral offset. Overall, the average deviation in version was 6.9° in the standard surgical group and 4.3° in the glenoid positioning system group. The average deviation in inclination was 11.6° in the standard surgical group and 2.9° in the glenoid positioning system group. The greatest benefit of patient-specific instrumentation was observed in patients with retroversion in excess of 16°; the average deviation was 10° in the standard surgical group and 1.2° in the glenoid positioning system group (p < 0.001). Preoperative planning and patient-specific instrumentation use resulted in a significant improvement in the selection and use of the optimal type of implant and a significant reduction in the frequency of malpositioned glenoid implants. Novel three-dimensional preoperative planning, coupled with patient and implant-specific instrumentation, allows the surgeon to better define the preoperative pathology, select the optimal implant design and location, and then accurately execute the plan at the time of surgery.

Clinical Computer Systems Survey (CLICS): learning about health information technology (HIT) in its context of use.

PubMed

Lichtner, Valentina; Cornford, Tony; Klecun, Ela

2013-01-01

Successful health information technology (HIT) implementations need to be informed on the context of use and on users' attitudes. To this end, we developed the CLinical Computer Systems Survey (CLICS) instrument. CLICS reflects a socio-technical view of HIT adoption, and is designed to encompass all members of the clinical team. We used the survey in a large English hospital as part of its internal evaluation of the implementation of an electronic patient record system (EPR). The survey revealed extent and type of use of the EPR; how it related to and integrated with other existing systems; and people's views on its use, usability and emergent safety issues. Significantly, participants really appreciated 'being asked'. They also reminded us of the wider range of administrative roles engaged with EPR. This observation reveals pertinent questions as to our understanding of the boundaries between administrative tasks and clinical medicine - what we propose as the field of 'administrative medicine'.

Evaluation of Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy and Comparison to Computational Background Correction Methods Applied to Biochemical Raman Spectra.

PubMed

Cordero, Eliana; Korinth, Florian; Stiebing, Clara; Krafft, Christoph; Schie, Iwan W; Popp, Jürgen

2017-07-27

Raman spectroscopy provides label-free biochemical information from tissue samples without complicated sample preparation. The clinical capability of Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo applications. However, a challenge for in vivo applications is the simultaneous excitation of auto-fluorescence in the majority of tissues of interest, such as liver, bladder, brain, and others. Raman bands are then superimposed on a fluorescence background, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than the Raman signal. To eliminate the disturbing fluorescence background, several approaches are available. Among instrumentational methods shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) has been widely applied and studied. Similarly, computational techniques, for instance extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC), have also been employed to remove undesired background contributions. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental evaluation and comparison of fluorescence background removal approaches for Raman spectra based on SERDS and EMSC.

Evaluation of Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy and Comparison to Computational Background Correction Methods Applied to Biochemical Raman Spectra

PubMed Central

Cordero, Eliana; Korinth, Florian; Stiebing, Clara; Krafft, Christoph; Schie, Iwan W.; Popp, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Raman spectroscopy provides label-free biochemical information from tissue samples without complicated sample preparation. The clinical capability of Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo applications. However, a challenge for in vivo applications is the simultaneous excitation of auto-fluorescence in the majority of tissues of interest, such as liver, bladder, brain, and others. Raman bands are then superimposed on a fluorescence background, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than the Raman signal. To eliminate the disturbing fluorescence background, several approaches are available. Among instrumentational methods shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) has been widely applied and studied. Similarly, computational techniques, for instance extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC), have also been employed to remove undesired background contributions. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental evaluation and comparison of fluorescence background removal approaches for Raman spectra based on SERDS and EMSC. PMID:28749450

Integrated instrumentation & computation environment for GRACE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhekne, P. S.

2002-03-01

The project GRACE (Gamma Ray Astrophysics with Coordinated Experiments) aims at setting up a state of the art Gamma Ray Observatory at Mt. Abu, Rajasthan for undertaking comprehensive scientific exploration over a wide spectral window (10's keV - 100's TeV) from a single location through 4 coordinated experiments. The cumulative data collection rate of all the telescopes is expected to be about 1 GB/hr, necessitating innovations in the data management environment. As real-time data acquisition and control as well as off-line data processing, analysis and visualization environment of these systems is based on the us cutting edge and affordable technologies in the field of computers, communications and Internet. We propose to provide a single, unified environment by seamless integration of instrumentation and computations by taking advantage of the recent advancements in Web based technologies. This new environment will allow researchers better acces to facilities, improve resource utilization and enhance collaborations by having identical environments for online as well as offline usage of this facility from any location. We present here a proposed implementation strategy for a platform independent web-based system that supplements automated functions with video-guided interactive and collaborative remote viewing, remote control through virtual instrumentation console, remote acquisition of telescope data, data analysis, data visualization and active imaging system. This end-to-end web-based solution will enhance collaboration among researchers at the national and international level for undertaking scientific studies, using the telescope systems of the GRACE project.

Quantitative imaging of the human upper airway: instrument design and clinical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leigh, M. S.; Armstrong, J. J.; Paduch, A.; Sampson, D. D.; Walsh, J. H.; Hillman, D. R.; Eastwood, P. R.

2006-08-01

Imaging of the human upper airway is widely used in medicine, in both clinical practice and research. Common imaging modalities include video endoscopy, X-ray CT, and MRI. However, no current modality is both quantitative and safe to use for extended periods of time. Such a capability would be particularly valuable for sleep research, which is inherently reliant on long observation sessions. We have developed an instrument capable of quantitative imaging of the human upper airway, based on endoscopic optical coherence tomography. There are no dose limits for optical techniques, and the minimally invasive imaging probe is safe for use in overnight studies. We report on the design of the instrument and its use in preliminary clinical studies, and we present results from a range of initial experiments. The experiments show that the instrument is capable of imaging during sleep, and that it can record dynamic changes in airway size and shape. This information is useful for research into sleep disorders, and potentially for clinical diagnosis and therapies.

Computer-Based Training at a Military Medical Center: Understanding Decreased Participation in Training among Staff and Ways to Improve Completion Rates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lavender, Julie

2013-01-01

Military health care facilities make extensive use of computer-based training (CBT) for both clinical and non-clinical staff. Despite evidence identifying various factors that may impact CBT, the problem is unclear as to what factors specifically influence employee participation in computer-based training. The purpose of this mixed method case…

Controlling CAMAC instrumentation through the USB port

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribas, R. V.

2012-02-01

A programmable device to interface CAMAC instrumentation to the USB port of computers, without the need of heavy, noisy and expensive CAMAC crates is described in this article. Up to four single-width modules can be used. Also, all software necessary for a multi-parametric data acquisition system was developed. A standard crate-controller based on the same project is being designed.

Optical testing of aspheres based on photochromic computer-generated holograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pariani, Giorgio; Bianco, Andrea; Bertarelli, Chiara; Spanó, Paolo; Molinari, Emilio

2010-07-01

Aspherical optics are widely used in modern optical telescopes and instrumentation because of their ability to reduce aberrations with a simple optical system. Testing their optical quality through null interferometry is not trivial as reference optics are not available. Computer-Generated Holograms (CGHs) are efficient devices that allow to generate a well-defined optical wavefront. We developed rewritable Computer Generated Holograms for the interferometric test of aspheres based on photochromic layers. These photochromic holograms are cost-effective and the method of production does not need any post exposure process.

Derivation of Design Loads and Random Vibration specifications for Spacecraft Instruments and Sub-Units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fransen, S.; Yamawaki, T.; Akagi, H.; Eggens, M.; van Baren, C.

2014-06-01

After a first estimation based on statistics, the design loads for instruments are generally estimated by coupled spacecraft/instrument sine analysis once an FE-model of the spacecraft is available. When the design loads for the instrument have been derived, the next step in the process is to estimate the random vibration environment at the instrument base and to compute the RMS load at the centre of gravity of the instrument by means of vibro-acoustic analysis. Finally the design loads of the light-weight sub-units of the instrument can be estimated through random vibration analysis at instrument level, taking into account the notches required to protect the instrument interfaces in the hard- mounted random vibration test. This paper presents the aforementioned steps of instrument and sub-units loads derivation in the preliminary design phase of the spacecraft and identifies the problems that may be encountered in terms of design load consistency between low-frequency and high-frequency environments. The SpicA FAR-infrared Instrument (SAFARI) which is currently developed for the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will be used as a guiding example.

Clinical chemistry through Clinical Chemistry: a journal timeline.

PubMed

Rej, Robert

2004-12-01

The establishment of the modern discipline of clinical chemistry was concurrent with the foundation of the journal Clinical Chemistry and that of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in the late 1940s and early 1950s. To mark the 50th volume of this Journal, I chronicle and highlight scientific milestones, and those within the discipline, as documented in the pages of Clinical Chemistry. Amazing progress has been made in the field of laboratory diagnostics over these five decades, in many cases paralleling-as well as being bolstered by-the rapid pace in the development of computer technologies. Specific areas of laboratory medicine particularly well represented in Clinical Chemistry include lipids, endocrinology, protein markers, quality of laboratory measurements, molecular diagnostics, and general advances in methodology and instrumentation.

[Evidence-based cardiology: practical applications from epidemiology. III. Diagnostic capacity of a clinical test].

PubMed

Rodríguez-Escudero, Juan Pablo; López-Jiménez, Francisco; Trejo-Gutiérrez, Jorge F

2011-01-01

This article reviews different characteristics of validity in a clinical diagnostic test. In particular, we emphasize the likelihood ratio as an instrument that facilitates the use of epidemiologic concepts in clinical diagnosis.

Instruments to assess the perception of physicians in the decision-making process of specific clinical encounters: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Légaré, France; Moher, David; Elwyn, Glyn; LeBlanc, Annie; Gravel, Karine

2007-01-01

Background The measurement of processes and outcomes that reflect the complexity of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters is an important area of research to pursue. A systematic review was conducted to identify instruments that assess the perception physicians have of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. Methods For every year available up until April 2007, PubMed, PsycINFO, Current Contents, Dissertation Abstracts and Sociological Abstracts were searched for original studies in English or French. Reference lists from retrieved studies were also consulted. Studies were included if they reported a self-administered instrument evaluating physicians' perceptions of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters, contained sufficient description to permit critical appraisal and presented quantitative results based on administering the instrument. Two individuals independently assessed the eligibility of the instruments and abstracted information on their conceptual underpinnings, main evaluation domain, development, format, reliability, validity and responsiveness. They also assessed the quality of the studies that reported on the development of the instruments with a modified version of STARD. Results Out of 3431 records identified and screened for evaluation, 26 potentially relevant instruments were assessed; 11 met the inclusion criteria. Five instruments were published before 1995. Among those published after 1995, five offered a corresponding patient version. Overall, the main evaluation domains were: satisfaction with the clinical encounter (n = 2), mutual understanding between health professional and patient (n = 2), mental workload (n = 1), frustration with the clinical encounter (n = 1), nurse-physician collaboration (n = 1), perceptions of communication competence (n = 2), degree of comfort with a decision (n = 1) and information on medication (n = 1). For most instruments (n = 10), some reliability and validity criteria were reported in French or English. Overall, the mean number of items on the modified version of STARD was 12.4 (range: 2 to 18). Conclusion This systematic review provides a critical appraisal and repository of instruments that assess the perception physicians have of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. More research is needed to pursue the validation of the existing instruments and the development of patient versions. This will help researchers capture the complexity of the decision-making process within specific clinical encounters. PMID:17937801

The Computer-based Lecture

PubMed Central

Wofford, Marcia M; Spickard, Anderson W; Wofford, James L

2001-01-01

Advancing computer technology, cost-containment pressures, and desire to make innovative improvements in medical education argue for moving learning resources to the computer. A reasonable target for such a strategy is the traditional clinical lecture. The purpose of the lecture, the advantages and disadvantages of “live” versus computer-based lectures, and the technical options in computerizing the lecture deserve attention in developing a cost-effective, complementary learning strategy that preserves the teacher-learner relationship. Based on a literature review of the traditional clinical lecture, we build on the strengths of the lecture format and discuss strategies for converting the lecture to a computer-based learning presentation. PMID:11520384

Big Computing in Astronomy: Perspectives and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pankratius, Victor

2014-06-01

Hardware progress in recent years has led to astronomical instruments gathering large volumes of data. In radio astronomy for instance, the current generation of antenna arrays produces data at Tbits per second, and forthcoming instruments will expand these rates much further. As instruments are increasingly becoming software-based, astronomers will get more exposed to computer science. This talk therefore outlines key challenges that arise at the intersection of computer science and astronomy and presents perspectives on how both communities can collaborate to overcome these challenges.Major problems are emerging due to increases in data rates that are much larger than in storage and transmission capacity, as well as humans being cognitively overwhelmed when attempting to opportunistically scan through Big Data. As a consequence, the generation of scientific insight will become more dependent on automation and algorithmic instrument control. Intelligent data reduction will have to be considered across the entire acquisition pipeline. In this context, the presentation will outline the enabling role of machine learning and parallel computing.BioVictor Pankratius is a computer scientist who joined MIT Haystack Observatory following his passion for astronomy. He is currently leading efforts to advance astronomy through cutting-edge computer science and parallel computing. Victor is also involved in projects such as ALMA Phasing to enhance the ALMA Observatory with Very-Long Baseline Interferometry capabilities, the Event Horizon Telescope, as well as in the Radio Array of Portable Interferometric Detectors (RAPID) to create an analysis environment using parallel computing in the cloud. He has an extensive track record of research in parallel multicore systems and software engineering, with contributions to auto-tuning, debugging, and empirical experiments studying programmers. Victor has worked with major industry partners such as Intel, Sun Labs, and Oracle. He holds a distinguished doctorate and a Habilitation degree in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe. Contact him at pankrat@mit.edu, victorpankratius.com, or Twitter @vpankratius.

How does implant distribution affect 3D correction and bone-screw forces in thoracic adolescent idiopathic scoliosis spinal instrumentation?

PubMed

Le Navéaux, Franck; Larson, A Noelle; Labelle, Hubert; Wang, Xiaoyu; Aubin, Carl-Éric

2016-11-01

Optimal implant densities and configurations for thoracic spine instrumentation to treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis remain unknown. The objective was to computationally assess the biomechanical effects of implant distribution on 3D curve correction and bone-implant forces. 3D patient-specific biomechanical spine models based on a multibody dynamic approach were created for 9 Lenke 1 patients who underwent posterior instrumentation (main thoracic Cobb: 43°-70°). For each case, a factorial design of experiments was used to generate 128 virtual implant configurations representative of existing implant patterns used in clinical practice. All instances except implant configuration were the same for each surgical scenario simulation. Simulation of the 128 implant configurations scenarios (mean implant density=1.32, range: 0.73-2) revealed differences of 2° to 10° in Cobb angle correction, 2° to 7° in thoracic kyphosis and 2° to 7° in apical vertebral rotation. The use of more implants, at the concave side only, was associated with higher Cobb angle correction (r=-0.41 to -0.90). Increased implant density was associated with higher apical vertebral rotation correction for seven cases (r=-0.20 to -0.48). It was also associated with higher bone-screw forces (r=0.22 to 0.64), with an average difference between the least and most constrained instrumentation constructs of 107N per implant at the end of simulated instrumentation. Low-density constructs, with implants mainly placed on the concave side, resulted in similar simulated curve correction as the higher-density patterns. Increasing the number of implants allows for only limited improvement of 3D correction and overconstrains the instrumentation construct, resulting in increased forces on the implants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic literature review and assessment of patient-reported outcome instruments in sickle cell disease.

PubMed

Sarri, Grammati; Bhor, Menaka; Abogunrin, Seye; Farmer, Caroline; Nandal, Savita; Halloway, Rashid; Revicki, Dennis A

2018-05-21

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a chronic condition associated with high mortality and morbidity. It is characterized by acute clinical symptoms such as painful vaso-occlusive crises, which can impair health-related quality of life (HRQL). This study was conducted to identify validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments for use in future trials of potential treatments for SCD. A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed using MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify United States (US)-based studies published in English between 1997 and 2017 that reported on validated PRO instruments used in randomized controlled trials and real-world settings. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to assess the quality of PRO instruments. The SLR included 21 studies assessing the psychometric properties of 24 PRO instruments. Fifteen of those instruments were developed and validated for adults and 10 for children (one instrument was used in both children and young adults aged up to 21 years). Only five of the 15 adult instruments and three of the 10 pediatric instruments were developed specifically for SCD. For most instruments, there were few or no data on validation conducted in SCD development cohorts. Of the 24 PRO instruments identified, 16 had strong internal reliability (Cronbach's α ≥0.80). There was often insufficient information to assess the content validity, construct validity, responsiveness, or test-retest reliability of the instruments identified for both child and adult populations. No validated PRO instruments measuring caregiver burden in SCD were identified. The evidence on the psychometric properties of PRO instruments was limited. However, the results of this SLR provide key information on such tools to help inform the design of future clinical trials for patients with SCD in the US.

An affordable cuff-less blood pressure estimation solution.

PubMed

Jain, Monika; Kumar, Niranjan; Deb, Sujay

2016-08-01

This paper presents a cuff-less hypertension pre-screening device that non-invasively monitors the Blood Pressure (BP) and Heart Rate (HR) continuously. The proposed device simultaneously records two clinically significant and highly correlated biomedical signals, viz., Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Photoplethysmogram (PPG). The device provides a common data acquisition platform that can interface with PC/laptop, Smart phone/tablet and Raspberry-pi etc. The hardware stores and processes the recorded ECG and PPG in order to extract the real-time BP and HR using kernel regression approach. The BP and HR estimation error is measured in terms of normalized mean square error, Error Standard Deviation (ESD) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE), with respect to a clinically proven digital BP monitor (OMRON HBP1300). The computed error falls under the maximum standard allowable error mentioned by Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation; MAE <; 5 mmHg and ESD <; 8mmHg. The results are validated using two-tailed dependent sample t-test also. The proposed device is a portable low-cost home and clinic bases solution for continuous health monitoring.

[Physiotherapeutic assessment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome : Development of a standardized physiotherapeutic assessment instrument for interprofessional cooperation in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome].

PubMed

Klotz, S G R; Ketels, G; Richardsen, B; Löwe, B; Brünahl, C A

2018-04-24

The chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) can be associated with physiotherapeutic findings. An interprofessional approach is recommended for patients with CPPS; however, no standardized physiotherapeutic assessment and documentation instrument for specific physiotherapeutic assessments exist, which is not only the foundation for physiotherapy but also for interprofessional communication. The aim was the development of a physiotherapeutic assessment instrument for patients with CPPS and therefore, to create a tool for clinical use, research and interprofessional communication. Based on an explorative literature search and an expert consensus, the first version of the instrument was developed as part of a specialized outpatient clinic. This version was applied clinically for 13 months, edited and finalized after another expert consensus. The developed instrument Physical Therapy Assessment for Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (PTA-CPPS) lists external and internal groups of muscles for a systematic assessment of myofascial findings. Functional capacity, breathing movements as well as scars and regions of pain are recorded. A manual for the assessment protocol was developed as accompanying material. The developed instrument provides for the first time a physiotherapeutic assessment tool for patients with CPPS for interprofessional clinical and scientific use.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM).

PubMed

Strand, Pia; Sjöborg, Karolina; Stalmeijer, Renée; Wichmann-Hansen, Gitte; Jakobsson, Ulf; Edgren, Gudrun

2013-12-01

There is a paucity of instruments designed to evaluate the multiple dimensions of the workplace as an educational environment for undergraduate medical students. The aim was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument to measure how undergraduate medical students perceive the clinical workplace environment, based on workplace learning theories and empirical findings. Development of the instrument relied on established standards including theoretical and empirical grounding, systematic item development and expert review at various stages to ensure content validity. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed using a series of steps from conceptualization through psychometric analysis of scores in a Swedish medical student population. The final result was a 25-item instrument with two overarching dimensions, experiential learning and social participation, and four subscales that coincided well with theory and empirical findings: Opportunities to learn in and through work & quality of supervision; Preparedness for student entry; Workplace interaction patterns & student inclusion; and Equal treatment. Evidence from various sources supported content validity, construct validity and reliability of the instrument. The Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure represents a valid, reliable and feasible multidimensional instrument for evaluation of the clinical workplace as a learning environment for undergraduate medical students. Further validation in different populations using various psychometric methods is needed.

Design and implementation of ATCA-based 100Gbps DP-QPSK optical signal test instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Shaojing; Qin, Jiangyi; Huang, Zhiping; Liu, Chenwu

2014-11-01

In order to achieve the receiving task of 100Gbps Dual Polarization-Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DP-QPSK) optical signal acquisition instrument, improve acquisition performance of the instrument, this paper has deeply researched DP-QPSK modulation principles, demodulation techniques and the key technologies of optical signal acquisition. The theories of DP-QPSK optical signal transmission are researched. The DP-QPSK optical signal transmission model is deduced. And the clock and data recovery in high-speed data acquisition and offset correction of multi-channel data are researched. By reasonable hardware circuit design and software system construction, the utilization of high performance Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA), this paper proposes a 100Gbps DP-QPSK optical signal acquisition instrument which is based on ATCA. The implementations of key modules are presented by comparison and argumentation. According to the modularization idea, the instrument can be divided into eight modules. Each module performs the following functions. (1) DP-QPSK coherent detection demodulation module; (2) deceleration module; (3) FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); (4) storage module; (5) data transmission module; (6) clock module; (7) power module; (8) JTAG debugging, configuration module; What is more, this paper has put forward two solutions to test optical signal acquisition instrument performance. The first scenario is based on a standard STM-256 optical signal format and exploits the SignalTap of QuartusII software to monitor the optical signal data. Another scenario is to use a pseudo-random signal series to generate data, acquisition module acquires a certain amount of data signals, and then the signals are transferred to a computer by the Gigabit Ethernet to analyze. Two testing results show that the bit error rate of optical signal acquisition instrument is low. And the instrument fully meets the requirements of signal receiving system. At the same time this design has an important significance in practical applications.

Instrumented socket inserts for sensing interaction at the limb-socket interface.

PubMed

Swanson, Eric C; McLean, Jake B; Allyn, Katheryn J; Redd, Christian B; Sanders, Joan E

2018-01-01

The objective of this research was to investigate a strategy for designing and fabricating computer-manufactured socket inserts that were embedded with sensors for field monitoring of limb-socket interactions of prosthetic users. An instrumented insert was fabricated for a single trans-tibial prosthesis user that contained three sensor types (proximity sensor, force sensing resistor, and inductive sensor), and the system was evaluated through a sequence of laboratory clinical tests and two days of field use. During in-lab tests 3 proximity sensors accurately distinguish between don and doff states; 3 of 4 force sensing resistors measured gradual pressure increases as weight-bearing increased; and the inductive sensor indicated that as prosthetic socks were added the limb moved farther out of the socket and pistoning amplitude decreased. Multiple sensor types were necessary in analysis of field collected data to interpret how sock changes affected limb-socket interactions. Instrumented socket inserts, with sensors selected to match clinical questions of interest, have the potential to provide important insights to improve patient care. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The instrument for investigating magnetic fields of isochronous cyclotrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avreline, N. V.

2017-12-01

A new instrument was designed and implemented in order to increase the measurement accuracy of magnetic field maps for isochronous Cyclotrons manufactured by Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc. This instrument uses the Hall Probe (HP) from New Zealand manufacturer Group3. The specific probe used is MPT-141 HP and can measure magnetic field in the range from 2G to 21kG. Use of a fast ADC NI9239 module and error reduction algorithms, based on a polynomial regression method, allowed to reduce the noise to 0.2G. The design of this instrument allows to measure high gradient magnetic fields, as the resolution of the HP arm angle is within 0.0005° and the radial position resolution is within 25μm. A set of National Instrument interfaces connected to a desktop computer through a network are used as base control and data acquisition systems.

Catecholaminergic challenge uncovers distinct Pavlovian and instrumental mechanisms of motivated (in)action.

PubMed

Swart, Jennifer C; Froböse, Monja I; Cook, Jennifer L; Geurts, Dirk Em; Frank, Michael J; Cools, Roshan; den Ouden, Hanneke Em

2017-05-15

Catecholamines modulate the impact of motivational cues on action. Such motivational biases have been proposed to reflect cue-based, 'Pavlovian' effects. Here, we assess whether motivational biases may also arise from asymmetrical instrumental learning of active and passive responses following reward and punishment outcomes. We present a novel paradigm, allowing us to disentangle the impact of reward and punishment on instrumental learning from Pavlovian response biasing. Computational analyses showed that motivational biases reflect both Pavlovian and instrumental effects: reward and punishment cues promoted generalized (in)action in a Pavlovian manner, whereas outcomes enhanced instrumental (un)learning of chosen actions. These cue- and outcome-based biases were altered independently by the catecholamine enhancer melthylphenidate. Methylphenidate's effect varied across individuals with a putative proxy of baseline dopamine synthesis capacity, working memory span. Our study uncovers two distinct mechanisms by which motivation impacts behaviour, and helps refine current models of catecholaminergic modulation of motivated action.

Reconfigurable Computing As an Enabling Technology for Single-Photon-Counting Laser Altimetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Wesley; Hicks, Edward; Pinchinat, Maxime; Dabney, Philip; McGarry, Jan; Murray, Paul

2003-01-01

Single-photon-counting laser altimetry is a new measurement technique offering significant advantages in vertical resolution, reducing instrument size, mass, and power, and reducing laser complexity as compared to analog or threshold detection laser altimetry techniques. However, these improvements come at the cost of a dramatically increased requirement for onboard real-time data processing. Reconfigurable computing has been shown to offer considerable performance advantages in performing this processing. These advantages have been demonstrated on the Multi-KiloHertz Micro-Laser Altimeter (MMLA), an aircraft based single-photon-counting laser altimeter developed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center with several potential spaceflight applications. This paper describes how reconfigurable computing technology was employed to perform MMLA data processing in real-time under realistic operating constraints, along with the results observed. This paper also expands on these prior results to identify concepts for using reconfigurable computing to enable spaceflight single-photon-counting laser altimeter instruments.

Application of Digital Anthropometry for Craniofacial Assessment

PubMed Central

Jayaratne, Yasas S. N.; Zwahlen, Roger A.

2014-01-01

Craniofacial anthropometry is an objective technique based on a series of measurements and proportions, which facilitate the characterization of phenotypic variation and quantification of dysmorphology. With the introduction of stereophotography, it is possible to acquire a lifelike three-dimensional (3D) image of the face with natural color and texture. Most of the traditional anthropometric landmarks can be identified on these 3D photographs using specialized software. Therefore, it has become possible to compute new digital measurements, which were not feasible with traditional instruments. The term “digital anthropometry” has been used by researchers based on such systems to separate their methods from conventional manual measurements. Anthropometry has been traditionally used as a research tool. With the advent of digital anthropometry, this technique can be employed in several disciplines as a noninvasive tool for quantifying facial morphology. The aim of this review is to provide a broad overview of digital anthropometry and discuss its clinical applications. PMID:25050146

Computer-Aided Instruction in Automated Instrumentation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephenson, David T.

1986-01-01

Discusses functions of automated instrumentation systems, i.e., systems which combine electrical measuring instruments and a controlling computer to measure responses of a unit under test. The computer-assisted tutorial then described is programmed for use on such a system--a modern microwave spectrum analyzer--to introduce engineering students to…

Computer Center: Software Review: The DynaPulse 200M.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pankiewicz, Philip R., Ed.

1995-01-01

Reviews the DynaPulse 200M Education Edition microcomputer-based laboratory, which combines interactive software with curriculum and medical instrumentation to teach students about the cardiovascular system. (MKR)

A real-time compliance mapping system using standard endoscopic surgical forceps.

PubMed

Fakhry, Morkos; Bello, Fernando; Hanna, George B

2009-04-01

In endoscopic surgery, the use of long surgical instruments through access ports diminishes tactile feedback and degrades the surgeon's ability to identify hidden tissue abnormalities. To overcome this constraint, we developed a real-time compliance mapping system that is composed of: 1) a standard surgical instrument with a high-precision sensor configuration design; 2) real-time objective interpretation of the output signals for tissue identification; and 3) a novel human-computer interaction technique using interactive voice and handle force monitoring techniques to suit operating theater working environment. The system was calibrated and used in clinical practice in four routine endoscopic human procedures. In a laboratory-based experiment to compare the tissue discriminatory power of the system with that of surgeons' hands, the system's tissue discriminatory power was three times more sensitive and 10% less specific. The data acquisition precision was tested using principal component analysis (R(2)X = 0.975, Q2 [cumulative (cum)] = 0.808 ) and partial least square discriminate analysis (R(2)X = 0.903, R(2)Y = 0.729, Q2 (cum) = 0.572).

Navigation of guidewires and catheters in the body during intervention procedures: a review of computer-based models.

PubMed

Sharei, Hoda; Alderliesten, Tanja; van den Dobbelsteen, John J; Dankelman, Jenny

2018-01-01

Guidewires and catheters are used during minimally invasive interventional procedures to traverse in vascular system and access the desired position. Computer models are increasingly being used to predict the behavior of these instruments. This information can be used to choose the right instrument for each case and increase the success rate of the procedure. Moreover, a designer can test the performance of instruments before the manufacturing phase. A precise model of the instrument is also useful for a training simulator. Therefore, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches used to model guidewires and catheters, a literature review of the existing techniques has been performed. The literature search was carried out in Google Scholar and Web of Science and limited to English for the period 1960 to 2017. For a computer model to be used in practice, it should be sufficiently realistic and, for some applications, real time. Therefore, we compared different modeling techniques with regard to these requirements, and the purposes of these models are reviewed. Important factors that influence the interaction between the instruments and the vascular wall are discussed. Finally, different ways used to evaluate and validate the models are described. We classified the developed models based on their formulation into finite-element method (FEM), mass-spring model (MSM), and rigid multibody links. Despite its numerical stability, FEM requires a very high computational effort. On the other hand, MSM is faster but there is a risk of numerical instability. The rigid multibody links method has a simple structure and is easy to implement. However, as the length of the instrument is increased, the model becomes slower. For the level of realism of the simulation, friction and collision were incorporated as the most influential forces applied to the instrument during the propagation within a vascular system. To evaluate the accuracy, most of the studies compared the simulation results with the outcome of physical experiments on a variety of phantom models, and only a limited number of studies have done face validity. Although a subset of the validated models is considered to be sufficiently accurate for the specific task for which they were developed and, therefore, are already being used in practice, these models are still under an ongoing development for improvement. Realism and computation time are two important requirements in catheter and guidewire modeling; however, the reviewed studies made a trade-off depending on the purpose of their model. Moreover, due to the complexity of the interaction with the vascular system, some assumptions have been made regarding the properties of both instruments and vascular system. Some validation studies have been reported but without a consistent experimental methodology.

Human-Centered Design of Human-Computer-Human Dialogs in Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Christine M.

1998-01-01

A series of ongoing research programs at Georgia Tech established a need for a simulation support tool for aircraft computer-based aids. This led to the design and development of the Georgia Tech Electronic Flight Instrument Research Tool (GT-EFIRT). GT-EFIRT is a part-task flight simulator specifically designed to study aircraft display design and single pilot interaction. ne simulator, using commercially available graphics and Unix workstations, replicates to a high level of fidelity the Electronic Flight Instrument Systems (EFIS), Flight Management Computer (FMC) and Auto Flight Director System (AFDS) of the Boeing 757/767 aircraft. The simulator can be configured to present information using conventional looking B757n67 displays or next generation Primary Flight Displays (PFD) such as found on the Beech Starship and MD-11.

Web-Enabled Optoelectronic Particle-Fallout Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lineberger, Lewis P.

2008-01-01

A Web-enabled optoelectronic particle- fallout monitor has been developed as a prototype of future such instruments that (l) would be installed in multiple locations for which assurance of cleanliness is required and (2) could be interrogated and controlled in nearly real time by multiple remote users. Like prior particle-fallout monitors, this instrument provides a measure of particles that accumulate on a surface as an indication of the quantity of airborne particulate contaminants. The design of this instrument reflects requirements to: Reduce the cost and complexity of its optoelectronic sensory subsystem relative to those of prior optoelectronic particle fallout monitors while maintaining or improving capabilities; Use existing network and office computers for distributed display and control; Derive electric power for the instrument from a computer network, a wall outlet, or a battery; Provide for Web-based retrieval and analysis of measurement data and of a file containing such ancillary data as a log of command attempts at remote units; and Use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for maximum performance and minimal network overhead.

Implementation of the beamline controls at the Florence accelerator laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carraresi, L.; Mirto, F. A.

2008-05-01

The new Tandetron accelerator in Florence, with many different beamlines, has required a new organization of all the control signals of the used equipment (slow control). We present our solution, which allows us the control of all the employed instruments simultaneously from a number of different workplaces. All of our equipment has been designed to be Ethernet based and this is the key to accomplish two very important requirements: simultaneous remote control from many computers and electrical isolation to achieve a lower noise level. The control of the instruments requires only one Ethernet network and no particular interfaces or drivers on the computers.

Behavior Contracts and Computer Based Data Management: Can They Effect Improvements in an After School Music Program?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franklin, Cindy A.

The behavior and rehearsal habits of elementary level instrumental music students were addressed by the implementation of a behavior contract and computer managed recordkeeping system. A contract was developed following the principles of the "Assertive Discipline" system. Rewards and incentives were used to reinforce positive student behavior.…

Was that CT? Assessing Computational Thinking Patterns through Video-Based Prompts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Krista Sekeres

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate student understanding and application of computational thinking patterns to novel situations. Over 500 students, who had just designed and programmed a Frogger-style game using the AgentSheets platform, responded to a newly developed video-prompt survey instrument administered in the Fall 2010 semester.…

Correlation between Computer and Mathematical Literacy Levels of 6th Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ic, Unal; Tutak, Tayfun

2018-01-01

Literacy has been defined in the literature frequently. Each new interpretation leads to the idea that the definition can change based on the relevant environment, instruments used and/or the intended objective and there might be different types of literacy including computer literacy, media literacy and visual literacy (Reinking, McKenna, Labbo…

[The Basel Screening Instrument for Psychosis (BSIP): development, structure, reliability and validity].

PubMed

Riecher-Rössler, A; Aston, J; Ventura, J; Merlo, M; Borgwardt, S; Gschwandtner, U; Stieglitz, R-D

2008-04-01

Early detection of psychosis is of growing clinical importance. So far there is, however, no screening instrument for detecting individuals with beginning psychosis in the atypical early stages of the disease with sufficient validity. We have therefore developed the Basel Screening Instrument for Psychosis (BSIP) and tested its feasibility, interrater-reliability and validity. Aim of this paper is to describe the development and structure of the instrument, as well as to report the results of the studies on reliability and validity. The instrument was developed based on a comprehensive search of literature on the most important risk factors and early signs of schizophrenic psychoses. The interraterreliability study was conducted on 24 psychiatric cases. Validity was tested based on 206 individuals referred to our early detection clinic from 3/1/2000 until 2/28/2003. We identified seven categories of relevance for early detection of psychosis and used them to construct a semistructured interview. Interrater-reliability for high risk individuals was high (Kappa .87). Predictive validity was comparable to other, more comprehensive instruments: 16 (32 %) of 50 individuals classified as being at risk for psychosis by the BSIP have in fact developed frank psychosis within an follow-up period of two to five years. The BSIP is the first screening instrument for the early detection of psychosis which has been validated based on transition to psychosis. The BSIP is easy to use by experienced psychiatrists and has a very good interrater-reliability and predictive validity.

Combined multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging and computed tomography system for intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McClatchy, D. M.; Rizzo, E. J.; Krishnaswamy, V.; Kanick, S. C.; Wells, W. A.; Paulsen, K. D.; Pogue, B. W.

2017-02-01

There is a dire clinical need for surgical margin guidance in breast conserving therapy (BCT). We present a multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) system, spanning the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, combined with a shielded X-ray computed tomography (CT) system, designed for intraoperative breast tumor margin assessment. While the CT can provide a volumetric visualization of the tumor core and its spiculations, the co-registered SFDI can provide superficial and quantitative information about localized changes tissue morphology from light scattering parameters. These light scattering parameters include both model-based parameters of sub-diffusive light scattering related to the particle size scale distribution and also textural information of the high spatial frequency reflectance. Because the SFDI and CT components are rigidly fixed, a simple transformation can be used to simultaneously display the SFDI and CT data in the same coordinate system. This is achieved through the Visualization Toolkit (vtk) file format in the open-source Slicer medical imaging software package. In this manuscript, the instrumentation, data processing, and preliminary human specimen data will be presented. The ultimate goal of this work is to evaluate this technology in a prospective clinical trial, and the current limitations and engineering solutions to meet this goal will also be discussed.

A Computer Simulation of Community Pharmacy Practice for Educational Use.

PubMed

Bindoff, Ivan; Ling, Tristan; Bereznicki, Luke; Westbury, Juanita; Chalmers, Leanne; Peterson, Gregory; Ollington, Robert

2014-11-15

To provide a computer-based learning method for pharmacy practice that is as effective as paper-based scenarios, but more engaging and less labor-intensive. We developed a flexible and customizable computer simulation of community pharmacy. Using it, the students would be able to work through scenarios which encapsulate the entirety of a patient presentation. We compared the traditional paper-based teaching method to our computer-based approach using equivalent scenarios. The paper-based group had 2 tutors while the computer group had none. Both groups were given a prescenario and postscenario clinical knowledge quiz and survey. Students in the computer-based group had generally greater improvements in their clinical knowledge score, and third-year students using the computer-based method also showed more improvements in history taking and counseling competencies. Third-year students also found the simulation fun and engaging. Our simulation of community pharmacy provided an educational experience as effective as the paper-based alternative, despite the lack of a human tutor.

The Mixed Instrumental Controller: Using Value of Information to Combine Habitual Choice and Mental Simulation

PubMed Central

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Rigoli, Francesco; Chersi, Fabian

2013-01-01

Instrumental behavior depends on both goal-directed and habitual mechanisms of choice. Normative views cast these mechanisms in terms of model-free and model-based methods of reinforcement learning, respectively. An influential proposal hypothesizes that model-free and model-based mechanisms coexist and compete in the brain according to their relative uncertainty. In this paper we propose a novel view in which a single Mixed Instrumental Controller produces both goal-directed and habitual behavior by flexibly balancing and combining model-based and model-free computations. The Mixed Instrumental Controller performs a cost-benefits analysis to decide whether to chose an action immediately based on the available “cached” value of actions (linked to model-free mechanisms) or to improve value estimation by mentally simulating the expected outcome values (linked to model-based mechanisms). Since mental simulation entails cognitive effort and increases the reward delay, it is activated only when the associated “Value of Information” exceeds its costs. The model proposes a method to compute the Value of Information, based on the uncertainty of action values and on the distance of alternative cached action values. Overall, the model by default chooses on the basis of lighter model-free estimates, and integrates them with costly model-based predictions only when useful. Mental simulation uses a sampling method to produce reward expectancies, which are used to update the cached value of one or more actions; in turn, this updated value is used for the choice. The key predictions of the model are tested in different settings of a double T-maze scenario. Results are discussed in relation with neurobiological evidence on the hippocampus – ventral striatum circuit in rodents, which has been linked to goal-directed spatial navigation. PMID:23459512

The mixed instrumental controller: using value of information to combine habitual choice and mental simulation.

PubMed

Pezzulo, Giovanni; Rigoli, Francesco; Chersi, Fabian

2013-01-01

Instrumental behavior depends on both goal-directed and habitual mechanisms of choice. Normative views cast these mechanisms in terms of model-free and model-based methods of reinforcement learning, respectively. An influential proposal hypothesizes that model-free and model-based mechanisms coexist and compete in the brain according to their relative uncertainty. In this paper we propose a novel view in which a single Mixed Instrumental Controller produces both goal-directed and habitual behavior by flexibly balancing and combining model-based and model-free computations. The Mixed Instrumental Controller performs a cost-benefits analysis to decide whether to chose an action immediately based on the available "cached" value of actions (linked to model-free mechanisms) or to improve value estimation by mentally simulating the expected outcome values (linked to model-based mechanisms). Since mental simulation entails cognitive effort and increases the reward delay, it is activated only when the associated "Value of Information" exceeds its costs. The model proposes a method to compute the Value of Information, based on the uncertainty of action values and on the distance of alternative cached action values. Overall, the model by default chooses on the basis of lighter model-free estimates, and integrates them with costly model-based predictions only when useful. Mental simulation uses a sampling method to produce reward expectancies, which are used to update the cached value of one or more actions; in turn, this updated value is used for the choice. The key predictions of the model are tested in different settings of a double T-maze scenario. Results are discussed in relation with neurobiological evidence on the hippocampus - ventral striatum circuit in rodents, which has been linked to goal-directed spatial navigation.

Comparative examination of the accuracy of a mechanical and an optical system in CT and MRT based instrument navigation.

PubMed

Hassfeld, S; Mühling, J

2000-12-01

The aim of an intraoperative instrument navigation system is to support the surgeon in the localization of anatomical regions and to guide the use of surgical instruments. An overview of technical principles and literature reports on various navigation systems is provided here. The navigation accuracy (tested on a plastic phantom under simulated operating room conditions) of the mechanical Viewing Wand system and the optical SPOCS system amounts to 1 to 3 mm for computerized tomography (CT) data, with a significant inverse dependence on the layer thickness. The values for magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) data are significantly higher. In regard to the choice of registration points, a statistically inverse dependence exists between the number of points and the distance between the points. During the time period between autumn 1993 and mid-1999, more than 120 clinical applications were performed. The intraoperative accuracy was in the range of < or = 3 mm. Registering the patient position with preoperatively inserted screw markers achieved accuracy values of < or = 2 mm. The instrument navigation technique has proved to be very advantageous for the spatial orientation of the surgeons. The possibility of checking resection borders has opened up new perspectives in tumor surgery. A quality improvement and a reduction of the operational risks as well as a considerable decline in the stress placed on the patient can be expected in the near future due the techniques of computer-assisted surgery.

Intraoperative brain tumor resection cavity characterization with conoscopic holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, Amber L.; Burgner, Jessica; Chen, Ishita; Pheiffer, Thomas S.; Sun, Kay; Thompson, Reid C.; Webster, Robert J., III; Miga, Michael I.

2012-02-01

Brain shift compromises the accuracy of neurosurgical image-guided interventions if not corrected by either intraoperative imaging or computational modeling. The latter requires intraoperative sparse measurements for constraining and driving model-based compensation strategies. Conoscopic holography, an interferometric technique that measures the distance of a laser light illuminated surface point from a fixed laser source, was recently proposed for non-contact surface data acquisition in image-guided surgery and is used here for validation of our modeling strategies. In this contribution, we use this inexpensive, hand-held conoscopic holography device for intraoperative validation of our computational modeling approach to correcting for brain shift. Laser range scan, instrument swabbing, and conoscopic holography data sets were collected from two patients undergoing brain tumor resection therapy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The results of our study indicate that conoscopic holography is a promising method for surface acquisition since it requires no contact with delicate tissues and can characterize the extents of structures within confined spaces. We demonstrate that for two clinical cases, the acquired conoprobe points align with our model-updated images better than the uncorrected images lending further evidence that computational modeling approaches improve the accuracy of image-guided surgical interventions in the presence of soft tissue deformations.

Stakeholder Perspectives on Workplace-Based Performance Assessment: Towards a Better Understanding of Assessor Behaviour

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jonge, Laury P. J. W. M.; Timmerman, Angelique A.; Govaerts, Marjan J. B.; Muris, Jean W. M.; Muijtjens, Arno M. M.; Kramer, Anneke W. M.; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.

2017-01-01

Workplace-Based Assessment (WBA) plays a pivotal role in present-day competency-based medical curricula. Validity in WBA mainly depends on how stakeholders (e.g. clinical supervisors and learners) use the assessments--rather than on the intrinsic qualities of instruments and methods. Current research on assessment in clinical contexts seems to…

Scale Development of a Measure to Assess Community-Based and Clinical Intervention Group Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Patrick A.; Hansen, Nathan B.; Tarakeshwar, Nalini; Neufeld, Sharon; Kochman, Arlene; Sikkema, Kathleen J.

2008-01-01

Though group interventions are widely used in community-based and clinical settings, there are few brief instruments for assessing the group environment. Two studies on the development of a brief measure to assess intervention group environments are described, and psychometric properties of the new scale are presented. The new measure is based on…

Development of Validated Computer-based Preoperative Predictive Model for Proximal Junction Failure (PJF) or Clinically Significant PJK With 86% Accuracy Based on 510 ASD Patients With 2-year Follow-up.

PubMed

Scheer, Justin K; Osorio, Joseph A; Smith, Justin S; Schwab, Frank; Lafage, Virginie; Hart, Robert A; Bess, Shay; Line, Breton; Diebo, Bassel G; Protopsaltis, Themistocles S; Jain, Amit; Ailon, Tamir; Burton, Douglas C; Shaffrey, Christopher I; Klineberg, Eric; Ames, Christopher P

2016-11-15

A retrospective review of large, multicenter adult spinal deformity (ASD) database. The aim of this study was to build a model based on baseline demographic, radiographic, and surgical factors that can predict clinically significant proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) and proximal junctional failure (PJF). PJF and PJK are significant complications and it remains unclear what are the specific drivers behind the development of either. There exists no predictive model that could potentially aid in the clinical decision making for adult patients undergoing deformity correction. Inclusion criteria: age ≥18 years, ASD, at least four levels fused. Variables included in the model were demographics, primary/revision, use of three-column osteotomy, upper-most instrumented vertebra (UIV)/lower-most instrumented vertebra (LIV) levels and UIV implant type (screw, hooks), number of levels fused, and baseline sagittal radiographs [pelvic tilt (PT), pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis (PI-LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA)]. PJK was defined as an increase from baseline of proximal junctional angle ≥20° with concomitant deterioration of at least one SRS-Schwab sagittal modifier grade from 6 weeks postop. PJF was defined as requiring revision for PJK. An ensemble of decision trees were constructed using the C5.0 algorithm with five different bootstrapped models, and internally validated via a 70 : 30 data split for training and testing. Accuracy and the area under a receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated. Five hundred ten patients were included, with 357 for model training and 153 as testing targets (PJF: 37, PJK: 102). The overall model accuracy was 86.3% with an AUC of 0.89 indicating a good model fit. The seven strongest (importance ≥0.95) predictors were age, LIV, pre-operative SVA, UIV implant type, UIV, pre-operative PT, and pre-operative PI-LL. A successful model (86% accuracy, 0.89 AUC) was built predicting either PJF or clinically significant PJK. This model can set the groundwork for preop point of care decision making, risk stratification, and need for prophylactic strategies for patients undergoing ASD surgery. 3.

Validation and Assessment of a Technology Familiarity Score in Patients Attending a Symptomatic Breast Clinic.

PubMed

O'Brien, C; Kelly, J; Lehane, E A; Livingstone, V; Cotter, B; Butt, A; Kelly, L; Corrigan, M A

2015-10-01

New media technologies (computers, mobile phones and the internet) have the potential to transform the healthcare information needs of patients with breast disease (Ferlay et al. in Eur J Cancer 49:1374-1403, 2013). However, patients' current level of use and their willingness to accept new media for education and communication remain unknown. This was a single-centre clinic-based prospective cross-sectional study. A previously developed instrument was modified, validated and tested on patients attending a symptomatic breast clinic. The instrument was evaluated on 200 symptomatic breast patients. The commonest outlets for education were staff (95 %), leaflets (69 %) and websites (59 %). Websites are more likely to be consulted by younger patients (<47 years), and patients who were working, students or homemakers (p < 0.05). Patients rated usefulness of information media in this order: (1) print, (2) phone, (3) website, (4) email, (5) text and (6) apps. Patients who were new to the clinic were more likely to find text messaging and emailing useful (n < 0.05). Younger patients (<47 years) are more likely to find text messages, apps, websites and email useful (p < 0.05). Urban patients are more likely to find websites and email useful (p < 0.05). Patients with higher education were more likely to favour apps, websites and email (p < 0.05). Smartphone owners were significantly more likely to rate text messaging, apps, websites and email as useful media (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates that new media technology use among breast patients is expanding as expected along generational trends. As such its' further integration into healthcare systems can potentially ameliorate patient education and communication.

Energy sources for laparoscopic colectomy: a prospective randomized comparison of conventional electrosurgery, bipolar computer-controlled electrosurgery and ultrasonic dissection. Operative outcome and costs analysis.

PubMed

Targarona, Eduardo Ma; Balague, Carmen; Marin, Juan; Neto, Rene Berindoague; Martinez, Carmen; Garriga, Jordi; Trias, Manuel

2005-12-01

The development of operative laparoscopic surgery is linked to advances in ancillary surgical instrumentation. Ultrasonic energy devices avoid the use of electricity and provide effective control of small- to medium-sized vessels. Bipolar computer-controlled electrosurgical technology eliminates the disadvantages of electrical energy, and a mechanical blade adds a cutting action. This instrument can provide effective hemostasis of large vessels up to 7 mm. Such devices significantly increase the cost of laparoscopic procedures, however, and the amount of evidence-based information on this topic is surprisingly scarce. This study compared the effectiveness of three different energy sources on the laparoscopic performance of a left colectomy. The trial included 38 nonselected patients with a disease of the colon requiring an elective segmental left-sided colon resection. Patients were preoperatively randomized into three groups. Group I had electrosurgery; vascular dissection was performed entirely with an electrosurgery generator, and vessels were controlled with clips. Group II underwent computer-controlled bipolar electrosurgery; vascular and mesocolon section was completed by using the 10-mm Ligasure device alone. In group III, 5-mm ultrasonic shears (Harmonic Scalpel) were used for bowel dissection, vascular pedicle dissection, and mesocolon transection. The mesenteric vessel pedicle was controlled with an endostapler. Demographics (age, sex, body mass index, comorbidity, previous surgery and diagnoses requiring surgery) were recorded, as were surgical details (operative time, conversion, blood loss), additional disposable instruments (number of trocars, EndoGIA charges, and clip appliers), and clinical outcome. Intraoperative economic costs were also evaluated. End points of the trial were operative time and intraoperative blood loss, and an intention-to-treat principle was followed. The three groups were well matched for demographic and pathologic features. Surgical time was significantly longer in patients operated on with conventional electrosurgery vs the Harmonic Scalpel or computed-based bipolar energy devices. This finding correlated with a significant reduction in intraoperative blood loss. Conversion to other endoscopic techniques was more frequent in Group I; however, conversion to open surgery was similar in all three groups. No intraoperative accident related to the use of the specific device was observed in any group. Immediate outcome was similar in the three groups, without differences in morbidity, mortality, or hospital stay. Analysis of operative costs showed no significant differences between the three groups. High-energy power sources specifically adapted for endoscopic surgery reduce operative time and blood loss and may be considered cost-effective when left colectomy is used as a model.

Implications of technology in music therapy practice and research for music therapy education: a review of literature.

PubMed

Crowe, Barbara J; Rio, Robin

2004-01-01

This article reviews the use of technology in music therapy practice and research for the purpose of providing music therapy educators and clinicians with specific and accurate accounts of the types and benefits of technology being used in various settings. Additionally, this knowledge will help universities comply with National Association of Schools of Music requirements and help to standardize the education and training of music therapists in this rapidly changing area. Information was gathered through a literature review of music therapy and related professional journals and a wide variety of books and personal communications. More data were gathered in a survey requesting information on current use of technology in education and practice. This solicitation was sent to all American Music Therapy Association approved universities and clinical training directors. Technology applications in music therapy are organized according to the following categories: (a) adapted musical instruments, (b) recording technology, (c) electric/electronic musical instruments, (d) computer applications, (e) medical technology, (f) assistive technology for the disabled, and (g) technology-based music/sound healing practices. The literature reviewed covers 177 books and articles from a span of almost 40 years. Recommendations are made for incorporating technology into music therapy course work and for review and revision of AMTA competencies. The need for an all-encompassing clinical survey of the use of technology in current music therapy practice is also identified.

The Precise Repositioning Instrument for Genioplasty and a Three-Dimensional Printing Technique for Treatment of Complex Facial Asymmetry.

PubMed

Wang, Lin; Tian, Dan; Sun, Xiumei; Xiao, Yanju; Chen, Li; Wu, Guomin

2017-08-01

Facial asymmetry is very common in maxillofacial deformities. It is difficult to achieve accurate reconstruction. With the help of 3D printing models and surgical templates, the osteotomy line and the amount of bone grinding can be accurate. Also, by means of the precise repositioning instrument, the repositioning of genioplasty can be accurate and quick. In this study, we present a three-dimensional printing technique and the precise repositioning instrument to guide the osteotomy and repositioning, and illustrate their feasibility and validity. Eight patients with complex facial asymmetries were studied. A precise 3D printing model was obtained. We made the preoperative design and surgical templates according to it. The surgical templates and precise repositioning instrument were used to obtain an accurate osteotomy and repositioning during the operation. Postoperative measurements were made based on computed tomographic data, including chin point deviation as well as the symmetry of the mandible evaluated by 3D curve functions. All patients obtained satisfactory esthetic results, and no recurrences occurred during follow-up. The results showed that we achieved clinically acceptable precision for the mandible and chin. The mean and SD of ICC between R-Post and L-Post were 0.973 ± 0.007. The mean and SD of chin point deviation 6 months after the operation were 0.63 ± 0.19 mm. The results of this study suggest that the three-dimensional printing technique and the precise repositioning instrument could aid in making better operation designs and more accurate manipulation in orthognathic surgery for complex facial asymmetry. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

An in silico method to identify computer-based protocols worthy of clinical study: An insulin infusion protocol use case

PubMed Central

Wong, Anthony F; Pielmeier, Ulrike; Haug, Peter J; Andreassen, Steen

2016-01-01

Objective Develop an efficient non-clinical method for identifying promising computer-based protocols for clinical study. An in silico comparison can provide information that informs the decision to proceed to a clinical trial. The authors compared two existing computer-based insulin infusion protocols: eProtocol-insulin from Utah, USA, and Glucosafe from Denmark. Materials and Methods The authors used eProtocol-insulin to manage intensive care unit (ICU) hyperglycemia with intravenous (IV) insulin from 2004 to 2010. Recommendations accepted by the bedside clinicians directly link the subsequent blood glucose values to eProtocol-insulin recommendations and provide a unique clinical database. The authors retrospectively compared in silico 18 984 eProtocol-insulin continuous IV insulin infusion rate recommendations from 408 ICU patients with those of Glucosafe, the candidate computer-based protocol. The subsequent blood glucose measurement value (low, on target, high) was used to identify if the insulin recommendation was too high, on target, or too low. Results Glucosafe consistently provided more favorable continuous IV insulin infusion rate recommendations than eProtocol-insulin for on target (64% of comparisons), low (80% of comparisons), or high (70% of comparisons) blood glucose. Aggregated eProtocol-insulin and Glucosafe continuous IV insulin infusion rates were clinically similar though statistically significantly different (Wilcoxon signed rank test P = .01). In contrast, when stratified by low, on target, or high subsequent blood glucose measurement, insulin infusion rates from eProtocol-insulin and Glucosafe were statistically significantly different (Wilcoxon signed rank test, P < .001), and clinically different. Discussion This in silico comparison appears to be an efficient nonclinical method for identifying promising computer-based protocols. Conclusion Preclinical in silico comparison analytical framework allows rapid and inexpensive identification of computer-based protocol care strategies that justify expensive and burdensome clinical trials. PMID:26228765

Computational models of the pulmonary circulation: Insights and the move towards clinically directed studies

PubMed Central

Tawhai, Merryn H.; Clark, Alys R.; Burrowes, Kelly S.

2011-01-01

Biophysically-based computational models provide a tool for integrating and explaining experimental data, observations, and hypotheses. Computational models of the pulmonary circulation have evolved from minimal and efficient constructs that have been used to study individual mechanisms that contribute to lung perfusion, to sophisticated multi-scale and -physics structure-based models that predict integrated structure-function relationships within a heterogeneous organ. This review considers the utility of computational models in providing new insights into the function of the pulmonary circulation, and their application in clinically motivated studies. We review mathematical and computational models of the pulmonary circulation based on their application; we begin with models that seek to answer questions in basic science and physiology and progress to models that aim to have clinical application. In looking forward, we discuss the relative merits and clinical relevance of computational models: what important features are still lacking; and how these models may ultimately be applied to further increasing our understanding of the mechanisms occurring in disease of the pulmonary circulation. PMID:22034608

Quantifying learning in medical students during a critical care medicine elective: a comparison of three evaluation instruments.

PubMed

Rogers, P L; Jacob, H; Rashwan, A S; Pinsky, M R

2001-06-01

To compare three different evaluative instruments and determine which is able to measure different aspects of medical student learning. Student learning was evaluated by using written examinations, objective structured clinical examination, and patient simulator that used two clinical scenarios before and after a structured critical care elective, by using a crossover design. Twenty-four 4th-yr students enrolled in the critical care medicine elective. All students took a multiple-choice written examination; evaluated a live simulated critically ill patient, requested data from a nurse, and intervened as appropriate at different stations (objective structured clinical examination); and evaluated the computer-controlled patient simulator and intervened as appropriate. Students' knowledge was assessed by using a multiple-choice examination containing the same data incorporated into the other examinations. Student performance on the objective structured clinical examination was evaluated at five stations. Both objective structured clinical examination and simulator tests were videotaped for subsequent scores of responses, quality of responses, and response time. The videotapes were reviewed for specific behaviors by faculty masked to time of examination. Students were expected to perform the following: a) assess airway, breathing, and circulation; b) prepare a mannequin for intubation; c) provide appropriate ventilator settings; d) manage hypotension; and e) request, interpret, and provide appropriate intervention for pulmonary artery catheter data. Students were expected to perform identical behaviors during the simulator examination; however, the entire examination was performed on the whole-body computer-controlled mannequin. The primary outcome measure was the difference in examination scores before and after the rotation. The mean preelective scores were 77 +/- 16%, 47 +/- 15%, and 41 +/- 14% for the written examination, objective structured clinical examination, and simulator, respectively, compared with 89 +/- 11%, 76 +/- 12%, and 62 +/- 15% after the elective (p <.0001). Prerotation scores for the written examination were significantly higher than the objective structured clinical examination or the simulator; postrotation scores were highest for the written examination and lowest for the simulator. Written examinations measure acquisition of knowledge but fail to predict if students can apply knowledge to problem solving, whereas both the objective structured clinical examination and the computer-controlled patient simulator can be used as effective performance evaluation tools.

Clinical implementation of a GPU-based simplified Monte Carlo method for a treatment planning system of proton beam therapy.

PubMed

Kohno, R; Hotta, K; Nishioka, S; Matsubara, K; Tansho, R; Suzuki, T

2011-11-21

We implemented the simplified Monte Carlo (SMC) method on graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture under the computer-unified device architecture platform developed by NVIDIA. The GPU-based SMC was clinically applied for four patients with head and neck, lung, or prostate cancer. The results were compared to those obtained by a traditional CPU-based SMC with respect to the computation time and discrepancy. In the CPU- and GPU-based SMC calculations, the estimated mean statistical errors of the calculated doses in the planning target volume region were within 0.5% rms. The dose distributions calculated by the GPU- and CPU-based SMCs were similar, within statistical errors. The GPU-based SMC showed 12.30-16.00 times faster performance than the CPU-based SMC. The computation time per beam arrangement using the GPU-based SMC for the clinical cases ranged 9-67 s. The results demonstrate the successful application of the GPU-based SMC to a clinical proton treatment planning.

Development and validation of self-reported line drawings of the modified Beighton score for the assessment of generalised joint hypermobility.

PubMed

Cooper, Dale J; Scammell, Brigitte E; Batt, Mark E; Palmer, Debbie

2018-01-17

The impracticalities and comparative expense of carrying out a clinical assessment is an obstacle in many large epidemiological studies. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a series of electronic self-reported line drawing instruments based on the modified Beighton scoring system for the assessment of self-reported generalised joint hypermobility. Five sets of line drawings were created to depict the 9-point Beighton score criteria. Each instrument consisted of an explanatory question whereby participants were asked to select the line drawing which best represented their joints. Fifty participants completed the self-report online instrument on two occasions, before attending a clinical assessment. A blinded expert clinical observer then assessed participants' on two occasions, using a standardised goniometry measurement protocol. Validity of the instrument was assessed by participant-observer agreement and reliability by participant repeatability and observer repeatability using unweighted Cohen's kappa (k). Validity and reliability were assessed for each item in the self-reported instrument separately, and for the sum of the total scores. An aggregate score for generalised joint hypermobility was determined based on a Beighton score of 4 or more out of 9. Observer-repeatability between the two clinical assessments demonstrated perfect agreement (k 1.00; 95% CI 1.00, 1.00). Self-reported participant-repeatability was lower but it was still excellent (k 0.91; 95% CI 0.74, 1.00). The participant-observer agreement was excellent (k 0.96; 95% CI 0.87, 1.00). Validity was excellent for the self-report instrument, with a good sensitivity of 0.87 (95% CI 0.81, 0.91) and excellent specificity of 0.99 (95% CI 0.98, 1.00). The self-reported instrument provides a valid and reliable assessment of the presence of generalised joint hypermobility and may have practical use in epidemiological studies.

Mirror Measurement Device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract led to a commercially available instrument used to measure the shape profile of mirror surfaces in scientific instruments. Bauer Associates, Inc.'s Bauer Model 200 Profilometer is based upon a different measurement concept. The local curvature of the mirror's surface is measured at many points, and the collection of data is computer processed to yield the desired shape profile. (Earlier profilometers are based on the principle of interferometry.) The system is accurate and immune to problems like vibration and turbulence. Two profilometers are currently marketed, and a third will soon be commercialized.

NASA's Integrated Instrument Simulator Suite for Atmospheric Remote Sensing from Spaceborne Platforms (ISSARS) and Its Role for the ACE and GPM Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanelli, Simone; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Hostetler, Chris; Kuo, Kwo-Sen; Matsui, Toshihisa; Jacob, Joseph C.; Niamsuwam, Noppasin; Johnson, Michael P.; Hair, John; Butler, Carolyn;

The main challenges that remain in applying high-throughput sequencing to clinical diagnostics.

PubMed

Loeffelholz, Michael; Fofanov, Yuriy

2015-01-01

Over the last 10 years, the quality, price and availability of high-throughput sequencing instruments have improved to the point that this technology may be close to becoming a routine tool in the diagnostic microbiology laboratory. Two groups of challenges, however, have to be resolved in order to move this powerful research technology into routine use in the clinical microbiology laboratory. The computational/bioinformatics challenges include data storage cost and privacy concerns, requiring analysis to be performed without access to cloud storage or expensive computational infrastructure. The logistical challenges include interpretation of complex results and acceptance and understanding of the advantages and limitations of this technology by the medical community. This article focuses on the approaches to address these challenges, such as file formats, algorithms, data collection, reporting and good laboratory practices.

Computational biology for cardiovascular biomarker discovery.

PubMed

Azuaje, Francisco; Devaux, Yvan; Wagner, Daniel

2009-07-01

Computational biology is essential in the process of translating biological knowledge into clinical practice, as well as in the understanding of biological phenomena based on the resources and technologies originating from the clinical environment. One such key contribution of computational biology is the discovery of biomarkers for predicting clinical outcomes using 'omic' information. This process involves the predictive modelling and integration of different types of data and knowledge for screening, diagnostic or prognostic purposes. Moreover, this requires the design and combination of different methodologies based on statistical analysis and machine learning. This article introduces key computational approaches and applications to biomarker discovery based on different types of 'omic' data. Although we emphasize applications in cardiovascular research, the computational requirements and advances discussed here are also relevant to other domains. We will start by introducing some of the contributions of computational biology to translational research, followed by an overview of methods and technologies used for the identification of biomarkers with predictive or classification value. The main types of 'omic' approaches to biomarker discovery will be presented with specific examples from cardiovascular research. This will include a review of computational methodologies for single-source and integrative data applications. Major computational methods for model evaluation will be described together with recommendations for reporting models and results. We will present recent advances in cardiovascular biomarker discovery based on the combination of gene expression and functional network analyses. The review will conclude with a discussion of key challenges for computational biology, including perspectives from the biosciences and clinical areas.

Automated assessment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia: Evaluating the responsiveness of video-based features.

PubMed

Li, Michael H; Mestre, Tiago A; Fox, Susan H; Taati, Babak

2018-05-05

Technological solutions for quantifying Parkinson's disease (PD) symptoms may provide an objective means to track response to treatment, including side effects such as levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Vision-based systems are advantageous as they do not require physical contact with the body and have minimal instrumentation compared to wearables. We have developed a vision-based system to quantify a change in dyskinesia as reported by patients using 2D videos of clinical assessments during acute levodopa infusions. Nine participants with PD completed a total of 16 levodopa infusions, where they were asked to report important changes in dyskinesia (i.e. onset and remission). Participants were simultaneously rated using the UDysRS Part III (from video recordings analyzed post-hoc). Body joint positions and movements were tracked using a state-of-the-art deep learning pose estimation algorithm applied to the videos. 416 features (e.g. kinematics, frequency distribution) were extracted to characterize movements. The sensitivity and specificity of each feature to patient-reported changes in dyskinesia severity was computed and compared with physician-rated results. Features achieved similar or superior performance to the UDysRS for detecting the onset and remission of dyskinesia. The best AUC for detecting onset of dyskinesia was 0.822 and for remission of dyskinesia was 0.958, compared to 0.826 and 0.802 for the UDysRS. Video-based features may provide an objective means of quantifying the severity of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, and have responsiveness as good or better than the clinically-rated UDysRS. The results demonstrate encouraging evidence for future integration of video-based technology into clinical research and eventually clinical practice. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and validation of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale for Taiwanese elementary school students.

PubMed

Chang, Chiung-Sui

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale (CTLS) for elementary school students. The instrument included five CTLS dimensions (subscales): the technology operation skills, the computer usages concepts, the attitudes toward computer technology, the learning with technology, and the Internet operation skills. Participants were 1,539 elementary school students in Taiwan. Data analysis indicated that the instrument developed in the study had satisfactory validity and reliability. Correlations analysis supported the legitimacy of using multiple dimensions in representing students' computer technology literacy. Significant differences were found between male and female students, and between grades on some CTLS dimensions. Suggestions are made for use of the instrument to examine complicated interplays between students' computer behaviors and their computer technology literacy.

NOSTOS: a paper-based ubiquitous computing healthcare environment to support data capture and collaboration.

PubMed

Bång, Magnus; Larsson, Anders; Eriksson, Henrik

2003-01-01

In this paper, we present a new approach to clinical workplace computerization that departs from the window-based user interface paradigm. NOSTOS is an experimental computer-augmented work environment designed to support data capture and teamwork in an emergency room. NOSTOS combines multiple technologies, such as digital pens, walk-up displays, headsets, a smart desk, and sensors to enhance an existing paper-based practice with computer power. The physical interfaces allow clinicians to retain mobile paper-based collaborative routines and still benefit from computer technology. The requirements for the system were elicited from situated workplace studies. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of augmenting a paper-based clinical work environment.

A Macintosh based data system for array spectrometers (Poster)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bregman, J.; Moss, N.

An interactive data aquisition and reduction system has been assembled by combining a Macintosh computer with an instrument controller (an Apple II computer) via an RS-232 interface. The data system provides flexibility for operating different linear array spectrometers. The standard Macintosh interface is used to provide ease of operation and to allow transferring the reduced data to commercial graphics software.

Sensitivity, Specificity, and Receiver Operating Characteristics: A Primer for Neuroscience Nurses.

PubMed

McNett, Molly; Amato, Shelly; Olson, DaiWai M

2017-04-01

It is important for neuroscience nurses to have a solid understanding of the instruments they use in clinical practice. Specifically, when reviewing reports of research instruments, nurses should be knowledgeable of analytical terms when determining the applicability of instruments for use in clinical practice. The purpose of this article is to review 3 such analytical terms: sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curves. Examples of how these terms are used in the neuroscience literature highlight the relevance of these terms to neuroscience nursing practice. As the role of the nurse continues to expand, it is important not to simply accept all instruments as valid but to be able to critically evaluate their properties for applicability to nursing practice and evidence-based care of our patients.

Psychometric Properties of Difficulties of Working with Patients with Personality Disorders and Attitudes Towards Patients with Personality Disorders Scales.

PubMed

Eren, Nurhan

2014-12-01

In this study, we aimed to develop two reliable and valid assessment instruments for investigating the level of difficulties mental health workers experience while working with patients with personality disorders and the attitudes they develop tt the patients. The research was carried out based on the general screening model. The study sample consisted of 332 mental health workers in several mental health clinics of Turkey, with a certain amount of experience in working with personality disorders, who were selected with a random assignment method. In order to collect data, the Personal Information Questionnaire, Difficulty of Working with Personality Disorders Scale (PD-DWS), and Attitudes Towards Patients with Personality Disorders Scale (PD-APS), which are being examined for reliability and validity, were applied. To determine construct validity, the Adjective Check List, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and State and Trait Anxiety Inventory were used. Explanatory factor analysis was used for investigating the structural validity, and Cronbach alpha, Spearman-Brown, Guttman Split-Half reliability analyses were utilized to examine the reliability. Also, item reliability and validity computations were carried out by investigating the corrected item-total correlations and discriminative indexes of the items in the scales. For the PD-DWS KMO test, the value was .946; also, a significant difference was found for the Bartlett sphericity test (p<.001). The computed test-retest coefficient reliability was .702; the Cronbach alpha value of the total test score was .952. For PD-APS KMO, the value was .925; a significant difference was found in Bartlett sphericity test (p<.001); the computed reliability coefficient based on continuity was .806; and the Cronbach alpha value of the total test score was .913. Analyses on both scales were based on total scores. It was found that PD-DWS and PD-APS have good psychometric properties, measuring the structure that is being investigated, are compatible with other scales, have high levels of internal reliability between their items, and are consistent across time. Therefore, it was concluded that both scales are valid and reliable instruments.

Cumulus cloud base height estimation from high spatial resolution Landsat data - A Hough transform approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berendes, Todd; Sengupta, Sailes K.; Welch, Ron M.; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Navar, Murgesh

1992-01-01

A semiautomated methodology is developed for estimating cumulus cloud base heights on the basis of high spatial resolution Landsat MSS data, using various image-processing techniques to match cloud edges with their corresponding shadow edges. The cloud base height is then estimated by computing the separation distance between the corresponding generalized Hough transform reference points. The differences between the cloud base heights computed by these means and a manual verification technique are of the order of 100 m or less; accuracies of 50-70 m may soon be possible via EOS instruments.

Nuclear Science Symposium, 31st and Symposium on Nuclear Power Systems, 16th, Orlando, FL, October 31-November 2, 1984, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biggerstaff, J. A. (Editor)

1985-01-01

Topics related to physics instrumentation are discussed, taking into account cryostat and electronic development associated with multidetector spectrometer systems, the influence of materials and counting-rate effects on He-3 neutron spectrometry, a data acquisition system for time-resolved muscle experiments, and a sensitive null detector for precise measurements of integral linearity. Other subjects explored are concerned with space instrumentation, computer applications, detectors, instrumentation for high energy physics, instrumentation for nuclear medicine, environmental monitoring and health physics instrumentation, nuclear safeguards and reactor instrumentation, and a 1984 symposium on nuclear power systems. Attention is given to the application of multiprocessors to scientific problems, a large-scale computer facility for computational aerodynamics, a single-board 32-bit computer for the Fastbus, the integration of detector arrays and readout electronics on a single chip, and three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation of the electron avalanche in a proportional counter.

“Evidence-Based Dentistry in Oral Surgery: Could We Do Better?”

PubMed Central

Nocini, Pier Francesco; Verlato, Giuseppe; Frustaci, Andrea; de Gemmis, Antonio; Rigoni, Giovanni; De Santis, Daniele

2010-01-01

Evidence-based Dentistry (EBD), like Evidence-based Medicine (EBM), was born in order to seek the “best available research evidence” in the field of dentistry both in research and clinical routine. But evidence is not clearly measurable in all fields of healthcare: in particular, while drug effect is rather independent from clinician’s characteristics, the effectiveness of surgical procedures is strictly related to surgeon’s expertise, which is difficult to quantify. The research problems of dentistry have a lot in common with other surgical fields, where at the moment the best therapeutic recommendations and guidelines originates from an integration of evidence-based medicine and data from consensus conferences. To cope with these problems, new instruments have been developed, aimed at standardizing clinical procedures (CAD-CAM technology) and at integrating EBM achievements with the opinions of expert clinicians (GRADE System). One thing we have to remember however: it is necessary to use the instruments developed by evidence-based medicine but is impossible to produce sound knowledge without considering clinical expertise and quality of surgical procedures simultaneously. Only in this way we will obtain an evidence-based dentistry both in dental research and clinical practice, which is up to third millennium standards. PMID:20871758

Assessment of nasalance and nasality in patients with a repaired cleft palate.

PubMed

Sinko, Klaus; Gruber, Maike; Jagsch, Reinhold; Roesner, Imme; Baumann, Arnulf; Wutzl, Arno; Denk-Linnert, Doris-Maria

2017-07-01

In patients with a repaired cleft palate, nasality is typically diagnosed by speech language pathologists. In addition, there are various instruments to objectively diagnose nasalance. To explore the potential of nasalance measurements after cleft palate repair by NasalView ® , we correlated perceptual nasality and instrumentally measured nasalance of eight speech items and determined the relationship between sensitivity and specificity of the nasalance measures by receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analyses and AUC (area under the curve) computation for each single test item and specific item groups. We recruited patients with a primarily repaired cleft palate receiving speech therapy during follow-up. During a single day visit, perceptive and instrumental assessments were obtained in 36 patients and analyzed. The individual perceptual nasality was assigned to one of four categories; the corresponding instrumental nasalance measures for the eight specific speech items were expressed on a metric scale (1-100). With reference to the perceptual diagnoses, we observed 3 nasal and one oral test item with high sensitivity. However, the specificity of the nasality indicating measures was rather low. The four best speech items with the highest sensitivity provided scores ranging from 96.43 to 100%, while the averaged sensitivity of all eight items was below 90%. We conclude that perceptive evaluation of nasality remains state of the art. For clinical follow-up, instrumental nasalance assessment can objectively document subtle changes by analysis of four speech items only. Further studies are warranted to determine the applicability of instrumental nasalance measures in the clinical routine, using discriminative items only.

21 CFR 862.2570 - Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test... Laboratory Instruments § 862.2570 Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems. (a) Identification. Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems is a device intended to measure and sort multiple signals...

21 CFR 862.2570 - Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test... Laboratory Instruments § 862.2570 Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems. (a) Identification. Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems is a device intended to measure and sort multiple signals...

21 CFR 862.2570 - Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test... Laboratory Instruments § 862.2570 Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems. (a) Identification. Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems is a device intended to measure and sort multiple signals...

21 CFR 862.2570 - Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test... Laboratory Instruments § 862.2570 Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems. (a) Identification. Instrumentation for clinical multiplex test systems is a device intended to measure and sort multiple signals...

Navigated versus conventional total knee arthroplasty: A prospective study at three years follow-up.

PubMed

Martín-Hernández, C; Sanz-Sainz, M; Revenga-Giertych, C; Hernández-Vaquero, D; Fernández-Carreira, J M; Albareda-Albareda, J; Castillo-Palacios, A; Ranera-Garcia, M

2018-03-28

Computer-assisted surgery application in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has shown more accurate implant alignment compared with conventional instrumentation and is associated with more homogeneous alignment results. Although longer implant survival and superior clinical outcomes should be expected from navigated TKA, currently available evidence does not support this hypothesis. The aim of this study was to compare navigated TKA with conventional TKA regarding clinical and radiological outcomes after a 3-year follow-up under the hypothesis that navigated TKA would provide better outcomes than conventional TKA. In a prospective multicentre study, 119 patients underwent navigated TKA and 80 patients received conventional instrumentation. Patients were evaluated at the baseline and at postoperative months 3, 12, 24, and 36. Analysis included the American Knee Society Score (KSS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Short Form-12 (SF12) Health Survey, and radiographic assessment. All clinical scores improved significantly for all patients during the follow-up but were significantly better in the navigation group. The percentage of patients showing a mechanical axis between 3° of varus and 3° of valgus was significantly higher in the ATR group (93%) than in the conventional TKA group (71%) (P<.01). The use of computer-assisted surgery in TKA provides more accurate mechanical alignment and superior short-term functional outcomes compared to conventional TKA. Copyright © 2018 SECOT. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

A Roadmap for the Development of Applied Computational Psychiatry.

PubMed

Paulus, Martin P; Huys, Quentin J M; Maia, Tiago V

2016-09-01

Computational psychiatry is a burgeoning field that utilizes mathematical approaches to investigate psychiatric disorders, derive quantitative predictions, and integrate data across multiple levels of description. Computational psychiatry has already led to many new insights into the neurobehavioral mechanisms that underlie several psychiatric disorders, but its usefulness from a clinical standpoint is only now starting to be considered. Examples of computational psychiatry are highlighted, and a phase-based pipeline for the development of clinical computational-psychiatry applications is proposed, similar to the phase-based pipeline used in drug development. It is proposed that each phase has unique endpoints and deliverables, which will be important milestones to move tasks, procedures, computational models, and algorithms from the laboratory to clinical practice. Application of computational approaches should be tested on healthy volunteers in Phase I, transitioned to target populations in Phase IB and Phase IIA, and thoroughly evaluated using randomized clinical trials in Phase IIB and Phase III. Successful completion of these phases should be the basis of determining whether computational models are useful tools for prognosis, diagnosis, or treatment of psychiatric patients. A new type of infrastructure will be necessary to implement the proposed pipeline. This infrastructure should consist of groups of investigators with diverse backgrounds collaborating to make computational psychiatry relevant for the clinic.

Cyclic fatigue of ProFile rotary instruments after prolonged clinical use.

PubMed

Gambarini, G

2001-07-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate resistance to cyclic fatigue of new and used ProFile Ni-Ti rotary instruments. Used instruments were operated in 10 clinical cases using passive instrumentation and a crown-down preparation technique. Cyclic fatigue testing of new and used engine-driven instruments was then performed with a specific device which allowed the instruments to rotate freely inside a stainless steel artificial canal, whilst maintaining conditions close to the clinical situation. Instruments were rotated until fracture occurred and time to fracture was visually recorded with a chronometer. A significant reduction of rotation time to breakage (life span) was noted between new and used instruments. In all sizes new instruments were significantly more resistant than used ones (two-sample t-test, P < 0.01). No instrument underwent intracanal failure during clinical use. Prolonged clinical use of Ni-Ti engine-driven instruments significantly reduced their cyclic fatigue resistance. Nevertheless, each rotary instrument was successfully operated in up to 10 clinical cases without any intracanal failure.

Computational intelligence for the Balanced Scorecard: studying performance trends of hemodialysis clinics.

PubMed

Cattinelli, Isabella; Bolzoni, Elena; Chermisi, Milena; Bellocchio, Francesco; Barbieri, Carlo; Mari, Flavio; Amato, Claudia; Menzer, Marcus; Stopper, Andrea; Gatti, Emanuele

2013-07-01

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a general, widely employed instrument for enterprise performance monitoring based on the periodic assessment of strategic Key Performance Indicators that are scored against preset targets. The BSC is currently employed as an effective management support tool within Fresenius Medical Care (FME) and is routinely analyzed via standard statistical methods. More recently, the application of computational intelligence techniques (namely, self-organizing maps) to BSC data has been proposed as a way to enhance the quantity and quality of information that can be extracted from it. In this work, additional methods are presented to analyze the evolution of clinic performance over time. Performance evolution is studied at the single-clinic level by computing two complementary indexes that measure the proportion of time spent within performance clusters and improving/worsening trends. Self-organizing maps are used in conjunction with these indexes to identify the specific drivers of the observed performance. The performance evolution for groups of clinics is modeled under a probabilistic framework by resorting to Markov chain properties. These allow a study of the probability of transitioning between performance clusters as time progresses for the identification of the performance level that is expected to become dominant over time. We show the potential of the proposed methods through illustrative results derived from the analysis of BSC data of 109 FME clinics in three countries. We were able to identify the performance drivers for specific groups of clinics and to distinguish between countries whose performances are likely to improve from those where a decline in performance might be expected. According to the stationary distribution of the Markov chain, the expected trend is best in Turkey (where the highest performance cluster has the highest probability, P=0.46), followed by Portugal (where the second best performance cluster dominates, with P=0.50), and finally Italy (where the second best performance cluster has P=0.34). These results highlight the ability of the proposed methods to extract insights about performance trends that cannot be easily extrapolated using standard analyses and that are valuable in directing management strategies within a continuous quality improvement policy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Space and Earth Sciences, Computer Systems, and Scientific Data Analysis Support, Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estes, Ronald H. (Editor)

1993-01-01

This Final Progress Report covers the specific technical activities of Hughes STX Corporation for the last contract triannual period of 1 June through 30 Sep. 1993, in support of assigned task activities at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It also provides a brief summary of work throughout the contract period of performance on each active task. Technical activity is presented in Volume 1, while financial and level-of-effort data is presented in Volume 2. Technical support was provided to all Division and Laboratories of Goddard's Space Sciences and Earth Sciences Directorates. Types of support include: scientific programming, systems programming, computer management, mission planning, scientific investigation, data analysis, data processing, data base creation and maintenance, instrumentation development, and management services. Mission and instruments supported include: ROSAT, Astro-D, BBXRT, XTE, AXAF, GRO, COBE, WIND, UIT, SMM, STIS, HEIDI, DE, URAP, CRRES, Voyagers, ISEE, San Marco, LAGEOS, TOPEX/Poseidon, Pioneer-Venus, Galileo, Cassini, Nimbus-7/TOMS, Meteor-3/TOMS, FIFE, BOREAS, TRMM, AVHRR, and Landsat. Accomplishments include: development of computing programs for mission science and data analysis, supercomputer applications support, computer network support, computational upgrades for data archival and analysis centers, end-to-end management for mission data flow, scientific modeling and results in the fields of space and Earth physics, planning and design of GSFC VO DAAC and VO IMS, fabrication, assembly, and testing of mission instrumentation, and design of mission operations center.

Computer sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Paul H.

1988-01-01

The Computer Science Program provides advanced concepts, techniques, system architectures, algorithms, and software for both space and aeronautics information sciences and computer systems. The overall goal is to provide the technical foundation within NASA for the advancement of computing technology in aerospace applications. The research program is improving the state of knowledge of fundamental aerospace computing principles and advancing computing technology in space applications such as software engineering and information extraction from data collected by scientific instruments in space. The program includes the development of special algorithms and techniques to exploit the computing power provided by high performance parallel processors and special purpose architectures. Research is being conducted in the fundamentals of data base logic and improvement techniques for producing reliable computing systems.

Development of an instrument to measure the use of behaviors taught in the American Physical Therapy Association Clinical Instructor Education and Credentialing Program (APTA CIECP): a pilot study.

PubMed

Bridges, Patricia H; Carter, Vincent; Rehm, Stephanie; Tintl, Sara Bowers; Halperin, Rebecca; Kniesly, Elizabeth; Pelino, Soni

2013-01-01

Conduct a pilot study to establish the reliability and validity of a survey instrument that directly measures the objectives and content of the APTA CIECP; and measure the self-reported frequency of use of the behaviors taught in the APTA CIECP. Eighteen (18) APTA credentialed CIs. Develop a web-based survey consisting of 58 items representative of the behaviors taught in the APTA CIECP and 8 demographic characteristics. Establish the content validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Conduct a descriptive analysis of the frequency of self-reported use of the behaviors. The APTA Clinical Instructor Education Board (CIEB) reviewed the items and determined that the items matched the objectives and content of the APTA CIECP, thereby establishing content validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79-0.90 confirmed the reliability. The overall mean for all items on a 1-6 scale was 4.81. The content validity and reliability of the survey instrument were established. The outcomes of this pilot study suggest that when measured by a valid and reliable instrument that is representative of the objectives and content of the CIECP, the behaviors taught in the CIECP are being applied in the clinical setting by APTA credentialed clinical instructors.

Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes: development of a patient-reported outcomes instrument to assess the pattern and severity of clinical disease activity.

PubMed

Hoffman, Hal M; Wolfe, Frederick; Belomestnov, Pavel; Mellis, Scott J

2008-09-01

Development of an instrument for characterization of symptom patterns and severity in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS). Two generations of daily health assessment forms (DHAFs) were evaluated in this study. The first-generation DHAF queried 11 symptoms. Analyses of results obtained with that instrument identified five symptoms included in a revised second-generation DHAF that was tested for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. This DHAF was also assessed during the initial portion of a phase 3 clinical study of CAPS treatment. Forty-eight CAPS patients provided data for the first-generation DHAFs. Five symptoms (rash, fever, joint pain, eye redness/pain, and fatigue) were included in the revised second-generation DHAF. Symptom severity was highly variable during all study phases with as many as 89% of patients reporting at least one symptom flare, and percentages of days with flares reaching 58% during evaluation of the second-generation instrument. Mean composite key symptom scores (KSSs) computed during evaluation of the second-generation DHAF correlated well with Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity (r=0.91, p<0.0001) and patient reports of limitations of daily activities (r=0.68, p<0.0001). Test-retest reliability and Cronbach's alpha's were high (0.93 and 0.94, respectively) for the second-generation DHAF. Further evaluation of this DHAF during a baseline period and placebo treatment in a phase 3 clinical study of CAPS patients indicated strong correlations between baseline KSS and Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity. Cronbach's alpha's at baseline and test-retest reliability were also high. Potentially important study limitations include small sample size, the lack of a standard tool for CAPS symptom assessment against which to validate the DHAF, and no assessment of the instrument's responsivity to CAPS therapy. The DHAF is a new instrument that may be useful for capturing symptom patterns and severity in CAPS patients and monitoring responses to therapies for these conditions.

An OSEE Based Portable Surface Contamination Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perey, Daniel F.

1997-01-01

Many industrial and aerospace processes involving the joining of materials, require sufficient surface cleanliness to insure proper bonding. Processes as diverse as painting, welding, or the soldering of electronic circuits will be compromised if prior inspection and removal of surface contaminants is inadequate. As process requirements become more stringent and the number of different materials and identified contaminants increases, various instruments and techniques have been developed for improved inspection. One such technique based on the principle of Optically Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE) has been explored for a number of years as a tool for surface contamination monitoring. Some of the benefits of OSEE are: it's non-contacting; requires little operator training; and has very high contamination sensitivity. This paper describes the development of a portable OSEE based surface contamination monitor. The instrument is suitable for both hand-held and robotic inspections with either manual or automated control of instrument operation. In addition, instrument output data is visually displayed to the operator and may be output to an external computer for archiving or analysis.

Multivariate evaluation of the cutting performance of rotary instruments with electric and air-turbine handpieces.

PubMed

Funkenbusch, Paul D; Rotella, Mario; Chochlidakis, Konstantinos; Ercoli, Carlo

2016-10-01

Laboratory studies of tooth preparation often involve single values for all variables other than the one being tested. In contrast, in clinical settings, not all variables can be adequately controlled. For example, a new dental rotary cutting instrument may be tested in the laboratory by making a specific cut with a fixed force, but, in clinical practice, the instrument must make different cuts with individual dentists applying different forces. Therefore, the broad applicability of laboratory results to diverse clinical conditions is uncertain and the comparison of effects across studies difficult. The purpose of this in vitro study was to examine the effects of 9 process variables on the dental cutting of rotary cutting instruments used with an electric handpiece and compare them with those of a previous study that used an air-turbine handpiece. The effects of 9 key process variables on the efficiency of a simulated dental cutting operation were measured. A fractional factorial experiment was conducted by using an electric handpiece in a computer-controlled, dedicated testing apparatus to simulate dental cutting procedures with Macor blocks as the cutting substrate. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the statistical significance (α=.05). Four variables (targeted applied load, cut length, diamond grit size, and cut type) consistently produced large, statistically significant effects, whereas 5 variables (rotation per minute, number of cooling ports, rotary cutting instrument diameter, disposability, and water flow rate) produced relatively small, statistically insignificant effects. These results are generally similar to those previously found for an air-turbine handpiece. Regardless of whether an electric or air-turbine handpiece was used, the control exerted by the dentist, simulated in this study by targeting a specific level of applied force, was the single most important factor affecting cutting efficiency. Cutting efficiency was also significantly affected by factors simulating patient/clinical circumstances and hardware choices. These results highlight the greater importance of local clinical conditions (procedure, dentist) in understanding dental cutting as opposed to other hardware-related factors. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instrument Systems Analysis and Verification Facility (ISAVF) users guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, J. F.; Thomason, J. O.; Wolfgang, J. L.

1985-01-01

The ISAVF facility is primarily an interconnected system of computers, special purpose real time hardware, and associated generalized software systems, which will permit the Instrument System Analysts, Design Engineers and Instrument Scientists, to perform trade off studies, specification development, instrument modeling, and verification of the instrument, hardware performance. It is not the intent of the ISAVF to duplicate or replace existing special purpose facilities such as the Code 710 Optical Laboratories or the Code 750 Test and Evaluation facilities. The ISAVF will provide data acquisition and control services for these facilities, as needed, using remote computer stations attached to the main ISAVF computers via dedicated communication lines.

Catecholaminergic challenge uncovers distinct Pavlovian and instrumental mechanisms of motivated (in)action

PubMed Central

Swart, Jennifer C; Froböse, Monja I; Cook, Jennifer L; Geurts, Dirk EM; Frank, Michael J; Cools, Roshan; den Ouden, Hanneke EM

2017-01-01

Catecholamines modulate the impact of motivational cues on action. Such motivational biases have been proposed to reflect cue-based, ‘Pavlovian’ effects. Here, we assess whether motivational biases may also arise from asymmetrical instrumental learning of active and passive responses following reward and punishment outcomes. We present a novel paradigm, allowing us to disentangle the impact of reward and punishment on instrumental learning from Pavlovian response biasing. Computational analyses showed that motivational biases reflect both Pavlovian and instrumental effects: reward and punishment cues promoted generalized (in)action in a Pavlovian manner, whereas outcomes enhanced instrumental (un)learning of chosen actions. These cue- and outcome-based biases were altered independently by the catecholamine enhancer melthylphenidate. Methylphenidate’s effect varied across individuals with a putative proxy of baseline dopamine synthesis capacity, working memory span. Our study uncovers two distinct mechanisms by which motivation impacts behaviour, and helps refine current models of catecholaminergic modulation of motivated action. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22169.001 PMID:28504638

Technician Program Uses Advanced Instruments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stinson, Stephen

1981-01-01

Describes various aspects of a newly-developed computer-assisted drafting/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) facility in the chemical engineering technology department at Broome Community College, Binghamton, New York. Stresses the use of new instruments such as microcomputers and microprocessor-equipped instruments. (CS)

Instruments evaluating the quality of the clinical learning environment in nursing education: A systematic review of psychometric properties.

PubMed

Mansutti, Irene; Saiani, Luisa; Grassetti, Luca; Palese, Alvisa

2017-03-01

The clinical learning environment is fundamental to nursing education paths, capable of affecting learning processes and outcomes. Several instruments have been developed in nursing education, aimed at evaluating the quality of the clinical learning environments; however, no systematic review of the psychometric properties and methodological quality of these studies has been performed to date. The aims of the study were: 1) to identify validated instruments evaluating the clinical learning environments in nursing education; 2) to evaluate critically the methodological quality of the psychometric property estimation used; and 3) to compare psychometric properties across the instruments available. A systematic review of the literature (using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines) and an evaluation of the methodological quality of psychometric properties (using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines). The Medline and CINAHL databases were searched. Eligible studies were those that satisfied the following criteria: a) validation studies of instruments evaluating the quality of clinical learning environments; b) in nursing education; c) published in English or Italian; d) before April 2016. The included studies were evaluated for the methodological quality of the psychometric properties measured and then compared in terms of both the psychometric properties and the methodological quality of the processes used. The search strategy yielded a total of 26 studies and eight clinical learning environment evaluation instruments. A variety of psychometric properties have been estimated for each instrument, with differing qualities in the methodology used. Concept and construct validity were poorly assessed in terms of their significance and rarely judged by the target population (nursing students). Some properties were rarely considered (e.g., reliability, measurement error, criterion validity), whereas others were frequently estimated, but using different coefficients and statistical analyses (e.g., internal consistency, structural validity), thus rendering comparison across instruments difficult. Moreover, the methodological quality adopted in the property assessments was poor or fair in most studies, compromising the goodness of the psychometric values estimated. Clinical learning placements represent the key strategies in educating the future nursing workforce: instruments evaluating the quality of the settings, as well as their capacity to promote significant learning, are strongly recommended. Studies estimating psychometric properties, using an increased quality of research methodologies are needed in order to support nursing educators in the process of clinical placements accreditation and quality improvement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the Army Aviation Instructors’ Conference

DTIC Science & Technology

1968-01-01

Aviation Test Board is located at Cairns. There are about 220 aircraft based at Cairns, and it is the site of our radar approach control. The Cairns...at Fort Wolters, the student will fly either the TH-55, the OH-13, or the OH-23. The student goes out and practices his approaches , landing, and...computer out operations. Instrument Flight: This includes instrument approaches without ground navigational radio aids, using the self-contained

Speckle interferometry. Data acquisition and control for the SPID instrument.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altarac, S.; Tallon, M.; Thiebaut, E.; Foy, R.

1998-08-01

SPID (SPeckle Imaging by Deconvolution) is a new speckle camera currently under construction at CRAL-Observatoire de Lyon. Its high spectral resolution and high image restoration capabilities open new astrophysical programs. The instrument SPID is composed of four main optical modules which are fully automated and computer controlled by a software written in Tcl/Tk/Tix and C. This software provides an intelligent assistance to the user by choosing observational parameters as a function of atmospheric parameters, computed in real time, and the desired restored image quality. Data acquisition is made by a photon-counting detector (CP40). A VME-based computer under OS9 controls the detector and stocks the data. The intelligent system runs under Linux on a PC. A slave PC under DOS commands the motors. These 3 computers communicate through an Ethernet network. SPID can be considered as a precursor for VLT's (Very Large Telescope, four 8-meter telescopes currently built in Chile by European Southern Observatory) very high spatial resolution camera.

Address tracing for parallel machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stunkel, Craig B.; Janssens, Bob; Fuchs, W. Kent

1991-01-01

Recently implemented parallel system address-tracing methods based on several metrics are surveyed. The issues specific to collection of traces for both shared and distributed memory parallel computers are highlighted. Five general categories of address-trace collection methods are examined: hardware-captured, interrupt-based, simulation-based, altered microcode-based, and instrumented program-based traces. The problems unique to shared memory and distributed memory multiprocessors are examined separately.

An FPGA-based instrumentation platform for use at deep cryogenic temperatures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Conway Lamb, I. D.; Colless, J. I.; Hornibrook, J. M.

2016-01-15

We describe the operation of a cryogenic instrumentation platform incorporating commercially available field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The functionality of the FPGAs at temperatures approaching 4 K enables signal routing, multiplexing, and complex digital signal processing in close proximity to cooled devices or detectors within the cryostat. The performance of the FPGAs in a cryogenic environment is evaluated, including clock speed, error rates, and power consumption. Although constructed for the purpose of controlling and reading out quantum computing devices with low latency, the instrument is generic enough to be of broad use in a range of cryogenic applications.

Systematic review of measurement properties of self-reported instruments for evaluating self-care in adults.

PubMed

Matarese, Maria; Lommi, Marzia; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

2017-06-01

The aims of this study were as follows: to identify instruments developed to assess self-care in healthy adults; to determine the theory on which they were based; their validity and reliability properties and to synthesize the evidence on their measurement properties. Many instruments have been developed to assess self-care in many different populations and conditions. Clinicians and researchers should select the most appropriate self-care instrument based on the knowledge of their measurement properties. Systematic review of measurement instruments according to the protocol recommended by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) panel. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus and CINAHL databases were searched from inception to December 2015. Studies testing measurement properties of self-report instruments assessing self-care in healthy adults, published in the English language and in peer review journals were selected. Two reviewers independently appraised the methodological quality of the studies with the COSMIN checklist and the quality of results using specific quality criteria. Twenty-six articles were included in the review testing the measurement properties of nine instruments. Seven instruments were based on Orem's Self-care theory. Not all the measurement properties were evaluated for the identified instruments. No self-care instrument showed strong evidence supporting the evaluated measurement properties. Despite the development of several instruments to assess self-care in the adult population, no instrument can be fully recommended to clinical nurses and researchers. Further studies of high methodological quality are needed to confirm the measurement properties of these instruments. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A laser-based ice shape profilometer for use in icing wind tunnels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hovenac, Edward A.; Vargas, Mario

1995-01-01

A laser-based profilometer was developed to measure the thickness and shape of ice accretions on the leading edge of airfoils and other models in icing wind tunnels. The instrument is a hand held device that is connected to a desk top computer with a 10 meter cable. It projects a laser line onto an ice shape and used solid state cameras to detect the light scattered by the ice. The instrument corrects the image for camera angle distortions, displays an outline of the ice shape on the computer screen, saves the data on a disk, and can print a full scale drawing of the ice shape. The profilometer has undergone extensive testing in the laboratory and in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. Results of the tests show very good agreement between profilometer measurements and known simulated ice shapes and fair agreement between profilometer measurements and hand tracing techniques.

A distributed, graphical user interface based, computer control system for atomic physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keshet, Aviv; Ketterle, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Atomic physics experiments often require a complex sequence of precisely timed computer controlled events. This paper describes a distributed graphical user interface-based control system designed with such experiments in mind, which makes use of off-the-shelf output hardware from National Instruments. The software makes use of a client-server separation between a user interface for sequence design and a set of output hardware servers. Output hardware servers are designed to use standard National Instruments output cards, but the client-server nature should allow this to be extended to other output hardware. Output sequences running on multiple servers and output cards can be synchronized using a shared clock. By using a field programmable gate array-generated variable frequency clock, redundant buffers can be dramatically shortened, and a time resolution of 100 ns achieved over effectively arbitrary sequence lengths.

A distributed, graphical user interface based, computer control system for atomic physics experiments.

PubMed

Keshet, Aviv; Ketterle, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Atomic physics experiments often require a complex sequence of precisely timed computer controlled events. This paper describes a distributed graphical user interface-based control system designed with such experiments in mind, which makes use of off-the-shelf output hardware from National Instruments. The software makes use of a client-server separation between a user interface for sequence design and a set of output hardware servers. Output hardware servers are designed to use standard National Instruments output cards, but the client-server nature should allow this to be extended to other output hardware. Output sequences running on multiple servers and output cards can be synchronized using a shared clock. By using a field programmable gate array-generated variable frequency clock, redundant buffers can be dramatically shortened, and a time resolution of 100 ns achieved over effectively arbitrary sequence lengths.

Development and clinical study of mobile 12-lead electrocardiography based on cloud computing for cardiac emergency.

PubMed

Fujita, Hideo; Uchimura, Yuji; Waki, Kayo; Omae, Koji; Takeuchi, Ichiro; Ohe, Kazuhiko

2013-01-01

To improve emergency services for accurate diagnosis of cardiac emergency, we developed a low-cost new mobile electrocardiography system "Cloud Cardiology®" based upon cloud computing for prehospital diagnosis. This comprises a compact 12-lead ECG unit equipped with Bluetooth and Android Smartphone with an application for transmission. Cloud server enables us to share ECG simultaneously inside and outside the hospital. We evaluated the clinical effectiveness by conducting a clinical trial with historical comparison to evaluate this system in a rapid response car in the real emergency service settings. We found that this system has an ability to shorten the onset to balloon time of patients with acute myocardial infarction, resulting in better clinical outcome. Here we propose that cloud-computing based simultaneous data sharing could be powerful solution for emergency service for cardiology, along with its significant clinical outcome.

Perceptions about computers and the internet in a pediatric clinic population.

PubMed

Carroll, Aaron E; Zimmerman, Frederick J; Rivara, Frederick P; Ebel, Beth E; Christakis, Dimitri A

2005-01-01

A digital divide with respect to computer and Internet access has been noted in numerous studies and reports. Equally important to ownership is comfort with computers and Internet technology, and concerns about privacy of personal data. To measure how households in a pediatric clinic vary in their attitudes toward computers, concerns about Internet confidentiality, and comfort using the Internet and whether these views are associated with household income or education. A phone survey was administered to a population-based sample of parents with children aged 0 to 11 years. All children received medical care from a community-based clinic network serving patients in King County, Wash. Eighty-eight percent of respondents used a computer once a week or more, and 83% of respondents reported favorable feelings toward computers. Although 97% of respondents were willing to share personal information over the Internet, many respondents considered data security important. While household income and parental education were associated with comfort and familiarity with computers, the effect is small. Respondents who already owned a computer and had Internet access did not differ in their perceptions according to socioeconomic or educational attainment. Most families like using computers and feel comfortable using the Internet regardless of socioeconomic status. Fears about the digital divide's impact on the attitudes of parents toward computers or their comfort using the Internet should not be seen as a barrier to developing Internet-based health interventions for a pediatric clinic population.

Computer-aided diagnosis: A survey with bibliometric analysis.

PubMed

Takahashi, Ryohei; Kajikawa, Yuya

2017-05-01

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has been a promising area of research over the last two decades. However, CAD is a very complicated subject because it involves a number of medicine and engineering-related fields. To develop a research overview of CAD, we conducted a literature survey with bibliometric analysis, which we report here. Our study determined that CAD research has been classified and categorized according to disease type and imaging modality. This classification began with the CAD of mammograms and eventually progressed to that of brain disease. Furthermore, based on our results, we discuss future directions and opportunities for CAD research. First, in contrast to the typical hypothetical approach, the data-driven approach has shown promise. Second, the normalization of the test datasets and an evaluation method is necessary when adopting an algorithm and a system. Third, we discuss opportunities for the co-evolution of CAD research and imaging instruments-for example, the CAD of bones and pancreatic cancer. Fourth, the potential of synergy with CAD and clinical decision support systems is also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bayesian prediction of placebo analgesia in an instrumental learning model

PubMed Central

Jung, Won-Mo; Lee, Ye-Seul; Wallraven, Christian; Chae, Younbyoung

2017-01-01

Placebo analgesia can be primarily explained by the Pavlovian conditioning paradigm in which a passively applied cue becomes associated with less pain. In contrast, instrumental conditioning employs an active paradigm that might be more similar to clinical settings. In the present study, an instrumental conditioning paradigm involving a modified trust game in a simulated clinical situation was used to induce placebo analgesia. Additionally, Bayesian modeling was applied to predict the placebo responses of individuals based on their choices. Twenty-four participants engaged in a medical trust game in which decisions to receive treatment from either a doctor (more effective with high cost) or a pharmacy (less effective with low cost) were made after receiving a reference pain stimulus. In the conditioning session, the participants received lower levels of pain following both choices, while high pain stimuli were administered in the test session even after making the decision. The choice-dependent pain in the conditioning session was modulated in terms of both intensity and uncertainty. Participants reported significantly less pain when they chose the doctor or the pharmacy for treatment compared to the control trials. The predicted pain ratings based on Bayesian modeling showed significant correlations with the actual reports from participants for both of the choice categories. The instrumental conditioning paradigm allowed for the active choice of optional cues and was able to induce the placebo analgesia effect. Additionally, Bayesian modeling successfully predicted pain ratings in a simulated clinical situation that fits well with placebo analgesia induced by instrumental conditioning. PMID:28225816

The SIST-M: Predictive validity of a brief structured Clinical Dementia Rating interview

PubMed Central

Okereke, Olivia I.; Pantoja-Galicia, Norberto; Copeland, Maura; Hyman, Bradley T.; Wanggaard, Taylor; Albert, Marilyn S.; Betensky, Rebecca A.; Blacker, Deborah

2011-01-01

Background We previously established reliability and cross-sectional validity of the SIST-M (Structured Interview and Scoring Tool–Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center), a shortened version of an instrument shown to predict progression to Alzheimer disease (AD), even among persons with very mild cognitive impairment (vMCI). Objective To test predictive validity of the SIST-M. Methods Participants were 342 community-dwelling, non-demented older adults in a longitudinal study. Baseline Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) ratings were determined by either: 1) clinician interviews or 2) a previously developed computer algorithm based on 60 questions (of a possible 131) extracted from clinician interviews. We developed age+gender+education-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models using CDR-sum-of-boxes (CDR-SB) as the predictor, where CDR-SB was determined by either clinician interview or algorithm; models were run for the full sample (n=342) and among those jointly classified as vMCI using clinician- and algorithm-based CDR ratings (n=156). We directly compared predictive accuracy using time-dependent Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. Results AD hazard ratios (HRs) were similar for clinician-based and algorithm-based CDR-SB: for a 1-point increment in CDR-SB, respective HRs (95% CI)=3.1 (2.5,3.9) and 2.8 (2.2,3.5); among those with vMCI, respective HRs (95% CI) were 2.2 (1.6,3.2) and 2.1 (1.5,3.0). Similarly high predictive accuracy was achieved: the concordance probability (weighted average of the area-under-the-ROC curves) over follow-up was 0.78 vs. 0.76 using clinician-based vs. algorithm-based CDR-SB. Conclusion CDR scores based on items from this shortened interview had high predictive ability for AD – comparable to that using a lengthy clinical interview. PMID:21986342

Developing an instrument to measure effective factors on Clinical Learning.

PubMed

Dadgaran, Ideh; Shirazi, Mandana; Mohammadi, Aeen; Ravari, Ali

2016-07-01

Although nursing students spend a large part of their learning period in the clinical environment, clinical learning has not been perceived by its nature yet. To develop an instrument to measure effective factors on clinical learning in nursing students. This is a mixed methods study performed in 2 steps. First, the researchers defined "clinical learning" in nursing students through qualitative content analysis and designed items of the questionnaire based on semi-structured individual interviews with nursing students. Then, as the second step, psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated using the face validity, content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency evaluated on 227 students from fourth or higher semesters. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then, they were analyzed using Max Qualitative Data Analysis and all of qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS 14. To do the study, we constructed the preliminary questionnaire containing 102 expressions. After determination of face and content validities by qualitative and quantitative approaches, the expressions of the questionnaire were reduced to 45. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was applied. The results indicated that the maximum variance percentage (40.55%) was defined by the first 3 factors while the rest of the total variance percentage (59.45%) was determined by the other 42 factors. Results of exploratory factor analysis of this questionnaire indicated the presence of 3 instructor-staff, students, and educational related factors. Finally, 41 expressions were kept in 3 factor groups. The α-Cronbach coefficient (0.93) confirmed the high internal consistency of the questionnaire. Results indicated that the prepared questionnaire was an efficient instrument in the study of the effective factors on clinical learning as viewed by nursing students since it involves 41 expressions and properties such as instrument design based on perception and experiences of the nursing students about effective factors on clinical learning, definition of facilitator and preventive factors of the clinical learning, simple scoring, suitable validity and reliability, and applicability in different occasions.

Development and Psychometric Properties of the Nursing Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice Questionnaire.

PubMed

Zuriguel-Pérez, Esperanza; Falcó-Pegueroles, Anna; Roldán-Merino, Juan; Agustino-Rodriguez, Sandra; Gómez-Martín, Maria Del Carmen; Lluch-Canut, Maria Teresa

2017-08-01

A complex healthcare environment, with greater need for care based on the patient and evidence-based practice, are factors that have contributed to the increased need for critical thinking in professional competence. At the theoretical level, Alfaro-LeFevre () put forward a model of critical thinking made up of four components. And although these explain the construct, instruments for their empirical measurement are lacking. The purpose of the study was to develop and validate the psychometric properties of an instrument, the Nursing Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice Questionnaire (N-CT-4 Practice), designed to evaluate the critical thinking abilities of nurses in the clinical setting. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A pool of items was generated for evaluation by a panel of experts who considered their validity for the new instrument, which was finally made up of 109 items. Following this, validation was carried out using a sample of 339 nurses at a hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Reliability was determined by means of internal consistency and test-retest stability over time, although the validity of the construct was assessed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The content validity index of the N-CT-4 Practice was .85. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole instrument was .96. The intraclass correlation coefficient was .77. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the instrument was in line with the four-dimensional model proposed by Alfaro-LeFevre (). The psychometric properties of theN-CT-4 Practice uphold its potential for use in measuring critical thinking and in future research related with the examination of critical thinking. © 2017 The Authors Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Sigma Theta Tau International The Honor Society of Nursing.

An infrastructure for the integration of geoscience instruments and sensors on the Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pugliese, R.; Prica, M.; Kourousias, G.; Del Linz, A.; Curri, A.

2009-04-01

The Grid, as a computing paradigm, has long been in the attention of both academia and industry[1]. The distributed and expandable nature of its general architecture result to scalability and more efficient utilisation of the computing infrastructures. The scientific community, including that of geosciences, often handles problems with very high requirements in data processing, transferring, and storing[2,3]. This has raised the interest on Grid technologies but these are often viewed solely as an access gateway to HPC. Suitable Grid infrastructures could provide the geoscience community with additional benefits like those of sharing, remote access and control of scientific systems. These systems can be scientific instruments, sensors, robots, cameras and any other device used in geosciences. The solution for practical, general, and feasible Grid-enabling of such devices requires non-intrusive extensions on core parts of the current Grid architecture. We propose an extended version of an architecture[4] that can serve as the solution to the problem. The solution we propose is called Grid Instrument Element (IE) [5]. It is an addition to the existing core Grid parts; the Computing Element (CE) and the Storage Element (SE) that serve the purposes that their name suggests. The IE that we will be referring to, and the related technologies have been developed in the EU project on the Deployment of Remote Instrumentation Infrastructure (DORII1). In DORII, partners of various scientific communities including those of Earthquake, Environmental science, and Experimental science, have adopted the technology of the Instrument Element in order to integrate to the Grid their devices. The Oceanographic and coastal observation and modelling Mediterranean Ocean Observing Network (OGS2), a DORII partner, is in the process of deploying the above mentioned Grid technologies on two types of observational modules: Argo profiling floats and a novel Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). In this paper i) we define the need for integration of instrumentation in the Grid, ii) we introduce the solution of the Instrument Element, iii) we demonstrate a suitable end-user web portal for accessing Grid resources, iv) we describe from the Grid-technological point of view the process of the integration to the Grid of two advanced environmental monitoring devices. References [1] M. Surridge, S. Taylor, D. De Roure, and E. Zaluska, "Experiences with GRIA—Industrial Applications on a Web Services Grid," e-Science and Grid Computing, First International Conference on e-Science and Grid Computing, 2005, pp. 98-105. [2] A. Chervenak, I. Foster, C. Kesselman, C. Salisbury, and S. Tuecke, "The data grid: Towards an architecture for the distributed management and analysis of large scientific datasets," Journal of Network and Computer Applications, vol. 23, 2000, pp. 187-200. [3] B. Allcock, J. Bester, J. Bresnahan, A.L. Chervenak, I. Foster, C. Kesselman, S. Meder, V. Nefedova, D. Quesnel, and S. Tuecke, "Data management and transfer in high-performance computational grid environments," Parallel Computing, vol. 28, 2002, pp. 749-771. [4] E. Frizziero, M. Gulmini, F. Lelli, G. Maron, A. Oh, S. Orlando, A. Petrucci, S. Squizzato, and S. Traldi, "Instrument Element: A New Grid component that Enables the Control of Remote Instrumentation," Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Symposium on Cluster Computing and the Grid (CCGRID'06)-Volume 00, IEEE Computer Society Washington, DC, USA, 2006. [5] R. Ranon, L. De Marco, A. Senerchia, S. Gabrielli, L. Chittaro, R. Pugliese, L. Del Cano, F. Asnicar, and M. Prica, "A Web-based Tool for Collaborative Access to Scientific Instruments in Cyberinfrastructures." 1 The DORII project is supported by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. RI-213110. URL: http://www.dorii.eu 2 Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale. URL: http://www.ogs.trieste.it

Formative evaluation of the dietary assessment component of Children's and Adolescents' Nutrition Assessment and Advice on the Web (CANAA-W).

PubMed

Vereecken, C; Covents, M; Maes, L; Moyson, T

2014-01-01

The increased availability of computers and the efficiency and user-acceptability of computer-assisted questioning have increased the attractiveness of computer-administered querying for large-scale population nutrition research during the last decade. The Young Adolescents' Nutrition Assessment on Computer (YANA-C), a computer-based 24-h dietary recall, was originally developed to collect dietary data among Belgian-Flemish adolescents. A web-based version was created to collect parentally reported dietary data of preschoolers, called Young Children's Nutrition Assessment on the Web (YCNA-W), which has been improved and adapted for use in young adolescents: Children and Adolescents' Nutrition Assessment and Advice on the Web (CANAA-W). The present study describes recent developments and the formative evaluation of the dietary assessment component. A feasibility questionnaire was completed by 131 children [mean (SD) age: 11.3 (0.7) years] and 53 parents. Eight focus groups were held with children (n = 65) and three with parents (n = 17). Children (C) and parents (P) found the instrument clear (C: 97%; P: 94%), comprehensible (C: 92%; P: 100%), attractive (C: 84%; P: 85%), fun (C: 93%; P: 83%) and easy to complete (C: 91%; P: 83%). There was ample explanation (C: 95%; P: 94%); the pictures were clear (C: 97%; P: 96%); and most respondents found the food items easy to find (C: 71%, P: 85%). The results helped to refine the lay out and structure of the instrument and the list of food items included. Children and parents were enthusiastic. The major challenge will be to convince parents who are less interested in dietary intake and less computer literate to participate in this type of study. Children in this age group (11-12 years) should complete the instrument with assistance from an adult. © 2013 The Authors Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2013 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Computer-Based Readability Testing of Information Booklets for German Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Keinki, Christian; Zowalla, Richard; Pobiruchin, Monika; Huebner, Jutta; Wiesner, Martin

2018-04-12

Understandable health information is essential for treatment adherence and improved health outcomes. For readability testing, several instruments analyze the complexity of sentence structures, e.g., Flesch-Reading Ease (FRE) or Vienna-Formula (WSTF). Moreover, the vocabulary is of high relevance for readers. The aim of this study is to investigate the agreement of sentence structure and vocabulary-based (SVM) instruments. A total of 52 freely available German patient information booklets on cancer were collected from the Internet. The mean understandability level L was computed for 51 booklets. The resulting values of FRE, WSTF, and SVM were assessed pairwise for agreement with Bland-Altman plots and two-sided, paired t tests. For the pairwise comparison, the mean L values are L FRE  = 6.81, L WSTF  = 7.39, L SVM  = 5.09. The sentence structure-based metrics gave significantly different scores (P < 0.001) for all assessed booklets, confirmed by the Bland-Altman analysis. The study findings suggest that vocabulary-based instruments cannot be interchanged with FRE/WSTF. However, both analytical aspects should be considered and checked by authors to linguistically refine texts with respect to the individual target group. Authors of health information can be supported by automated readability analysis. Health professionals can benefit by direct booklet comparisons allowing for time-effective selection of suitable booklets for patients.

Computer aided statistical process control for on-line instrumentation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meils, D.E.

1995-01-01

On-line chemical process instrumentation historically has been used for trending. Recent technological advances in on-line instrumentation have improved the accuracy and reliability of on-line instrumentation. However, little attention has been given to validating and verifying on-line instrumentation. This paper presents two practical approaches for validating instrument performance by comparison of on-line instrument response to either another portable instrument or another bench instrument. Because the comparison of two instruments` performance to each other requires somewhat complex statistical calculations, a computer code (Lab Stats Pack{reg_sign}) is used to simplify the calculations. Lab Stats Pack{reg_sign} also develops control charts that may be usedmore » for continuous verification of on-line instrument performance.« less

Fluorescence Characterization of Clinically-Important Bacteria

PubMed Central

Dartnell, Lewis R.; Roberts, Tom A.; Moore, Ginny; Ward, John M.; Muller, Jan-Peter

2013-01-01

Healthcare-associated infections (HCAI/HAI) represent a substantial threat to patient health during hospitalization and incur billions of dollars additional cost for subsequent treatment. One promising method for the detection of bacterial contamination in a clinical setting before an HAI outbreak occurs is to exploit native fluorescence of cellular molecules for a hand-held, rapid-sweep surveillance instrument. Previous studies have shown fluorescence-based detection to be sensitive and effective for food-borne and environmental microorganisms, and even to be able to distinguish between cell types, but this powerful technique has not yet been deployed on the macroscale for the primary surveillance of contamination in healthcare facilities to prevent HAI. Here we report experimental data for the specification and design of such a fluorescence-based detection instrument. We have characterized the complete fluorescence response of eleven clinically-relevant bacteria by generating excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) over broad wavelength ranges. Furthermore, a number of surfaces and items of equipment commonly present on a ward, and potentially responsible for pathogen transfer, have been analyzed for potential issues of background fluorescence masking the signal from contaminant bacteria. These include bedside handrails, nurse call button, blood pressure cuff and ward computer keyboard, as well as disinfectant cleaning products and microfiber cloth. All examined bacterial strains exhibited a distinctive double-peak fluorescence feature associated with tryptophan with no other cellular fluorophore detected. Thus, this fluorescence survey found that an emission peak of 340nm, from an excitation source at 280nm, was the cellular fluorescence signal to target for detection of bacterial contamination. The majority of materials analysed offer a spectral window through which bacterial contamination could indeed be detected. A few instances were found of potential problems of background fluorescence masking that of bacteria, but in the case of the microfiber cleaning cloth, imaging techniques could morphologically distinguish between stray strands and bacterial contamination. PMID:24098687

Fluorescence characterization of clinically-important bacteria.

PubMed

Dartnell, Lewis R; Roberts, Tom A; Moore, Ginny; Ward, John M; Muller, Jan-Peter

2013-01-01

Healthcare-associated infections (HCAI/HAI) represent a substantial threat to patient health during hospitalization and incur billions of dollars additional cost for subsequent treatment. One promising method for the detection of bacterial contamination in a clinical setting before an HAI outbreak occurs is to exploit native fluorescence of cellular molecules for a hand-held, rapid-sweep surveillance instrument. Previous studies have shown fluorescence-based detection to be sensitive and effective for food-borne and environmental microorganisms, and even to be able to distinguish between cell types, but this powerful technique has not yet been deployed on the macroscale for the primary surveillance of contamination in healthcare facilities to prevent HAI. Here we report experimental data for the specification and design of such a fluorescence-based detection instrument. We have characterized the complete fluorescence response of eleven clinically-relevant bacteria by generating excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) over broad wavelength ranges. Furthermore, a number of surfaces and items of equipment commonly present on a ward, and potentially responsible for pathogen transfer, have been analyzed for potential issues of background fluorescence masking the signal from contaminant bacteria. These include bedside handrails, nurse call button, blood pressure cuff and ward computer keyboard, as well as disinfectant cleaning products and microfiber cloth. All examined bacterial strains exhibited a distinctive double-peak fluorescence feature associated with tryptophan with no other cellular fluorophore detected. Thus, this fluorescence survey found that an emission peak of 340nm, from an excitation source at 280nm, was the cellular fluorescence signal to target for detection of bacterial contamination. The majority of materials analysed offer a spectral window through which bacterial contamination could indeed be detected. A few instances were found of potential problems of background fluorescence masking that of bacteria, but in the case of the microfiber cleaning cloth, imaging techniques could morphologically distinguish between stray strands and bacterial contamination.

Computer-Based Intepretation of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory: Use in Treatment Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Douglas K.; And Others

1988-01-01

Describes computer-based interpretive system for Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) and application in initial phases of clinical assessment and treatment planning. Provides case study. Compares clinical findings at intake with MSI profiles for one couple obtained at termination and follow-up. Considers strengths and limitations of self-report…

Adaptive Instrument Module: Space Instrument Controller "Brain" through Programmable Logic Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Darrin, Ann Garrison; Conde, Richard; Chern, Bobbie; Luers, Phil; Jurczyk, Steve; Mills, Carl; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Adaptive Instrument Module (AIM) will be the first true demonstration of reconfigurable computing with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in space, enabling the 'brain' of the system to evolve or adapt to changing requirements. In partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRC-SS), APL has built the flight version to be flown on the Australian university-class satellite FEDSAT. The AIM provides satellites the flexibility to adapt to changing mission requirements by reconfiguring standardized processing hardware rather than incurring the large costs associated with new builds. This ability to reconfigure the processing in response to changing mission needs leads to true evolveable computing, wherein the instrument 'brain' can learn from new science data in order to perform state-of-the-art data processing. The development of the AIM is significant in its enormous potential to reduce total life-cycle costs for future space exploration missions. The advent of RAM-based FPGAs whose configuration can be changed at any time has enabled the development of the AIM for processing tasks that could not be performed in software. The use of the AIM enables reconfiguration of the FPGA circuitry while the spacecraft is in flight, with many accompanying advantages. The AIM demonstrates the practicalities of using reconfigurable computing hardware devices by conducting a series of designed experiments. These include the demonstration of implementing data compression, data filtering, and communication message processing and inter-experiment data computation. The second generation is the Adaptive Processing Template (ADAPT) which is further described in this paper. The next step forward is to make the hardware itself adaptable and the ADAPT pursues this challenge by developing a reconfigurable module that will be capable of functioning efficiently in various applications. ADAPT will take advantage of radiation tolerant RAM-based field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology to develop a reconfigurable processor that combines the flexibility of a general purpose processor running software with the performance of application specific processing hardware for a variety of high performance computing applications.

[Is evidence-based assessment fact or fiction? A bibliometric analysis of three German journals].

PubMed

Petermann, Franz; Schüssler, Gerhard; Glaesmer, Heide

2008-01-01

Despite the ongoing process for the development and dissemination of empirically supported treatments, little attention has been paid to the development of evidence-based diagnostics. The article aims at evaluating diagnostic procedures and instruments in current clinical research in terms of evidence-based assessment. Volumes 2006 and 2007 of three German psychological journals "Psychotherapeut," "Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Medizinische Psychologie," and "Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie" were screened for empirical reports and articles dealing with diagnostic issues. 93 articles were identified and evaluated. Most studies used psychometrically valid and established instruments for assessment. However, diagnostic interviews were relatively scarce, as were multimodal assessments. Measures used for outcome evaluation often lacked evidence of sensitivity to change. Clinical assessment to date does not meet criteria for evidence-based diagnostics. Implications for research and guideline development are discussed.

Attitudes toward Computer Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

German, Kenneth E.

1988-01-01

Describes the use of the Brown scale and reports the results of its use in an experiment. Describes the instrument and details the experiment. Concludes that the Brown scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring attitude toward computer instruction. A copy of the instrument is included. (CW)

Clinical nursing informatics. Developing tools for knowledge workers.

PubMed

Ozbolt, J G; Graves, J R

1993-06-01

Current research in clinical nursing informatics is proceeding along three important dimensions: (1) identifying and defining nursing's language and structuring its data; (2) understanding clinical judgment and how computer-based systems can facilitate and not replace it; and (3) discovering how well-designed systems can transform nursing practice. A number of efforts are underway to find and use language that accurately represents nursing and that can be incorporated into computer-based information systems. These efforts add to understanding nursing problems, interventions, and outcomes, and provide the elements for databases from which nursing's costs and effectiveness can be studied. Research on clinical judgment focuses on how nurses (perhaps with different levels of expertise) assess patient needs, set goals, and plan and deliver care, as well as how computer-based systems can be developed to aid these cognitive processes. Finally, investigators are studying not only how computers can help nurses with the mechanics and logistics of processing information but also and more importantly how access to informatics tools changes nursing care.

CLINICAL SURFACES - Activity-Based Computing for Distributed Multi-Display Environments in Hospitals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bardram, Jakob E.; Bunde-Pedersen, Jonathan; Doryab, Afsaneh; Sørensen, Steffen

A multi-display environment (MDE) is made up of co-located and networked personal and public devices that form an integrated workspace enabling co-located group work. Traditionally, MDEs have, however, mainly been designed to support a single “smart room”, and have had little sense of the tasks and activities that the MDE is being used for. This paper presents a novel approach to support activity-based computing in distributed MDEs, where displays are physically distributed across a large building. CLINICAL SURFACES was designed for clinical work in hospitals, and enables context-sensitive retrieval and browsing of patient data on public displays. We present the design and implementation of CLINICAL SURFACES, and report from an evaluation of the system at a large hospital. The evaluation shows that using distributed public displays to support activity-based computing inside a hospital is very useful for clinical work, and that the apparent contradiction between maintaining privacy of medical data in a public display environment can be mitigated by the use of CLINICAL SURFACES.

Instrumental Analysis Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munoz de la Pena, Arsenio; Gonzalez-Gomez, David; Munoz de la Pena, David; Gomez-Estern, Fabio; Sequedo, Manuel Sanchez

2013-01-01

designed for automating the collection and assessment of laboratory exercises is presented. This Web-based system has been extensively used in engineering courses such as control systems, mechanics, and computer programming. Goodle GMS allows the students to submit their results to a…

Analog track angle error displays improve simulated GPS approach performance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

Pilots flying non-precision instrument approaches traditionally rely on a course deviation indicator (CDI) analog display of cross track error (XTE) information. THe new generation of GPS based area navigation (RNAV) receivers can also compute accura...

Use of Microcomputers and Personal Computers in Pacing

PubMed Central

Sasmor, L.; Tarjan, P.; Mumford, V.; Smith, E.

1983-01-01

This paper describes the evolution from the early discrete circuit pacemaker of the past to the sophisticated microprocessor based pacemakers of today. The necessary computerized supporting instrumentation is also described. Technological and economical reasons for this evolution are discussed.

Posttraumatic hydrocephalus: a clinical, neuroradiologic, and neuropsychologic assessment of long-term outcome.

PubMed

Mazzini, Letizia; Campini, Riccardo; Angelino, Elisabetta; Rognone, Felice; Pastore, Ilaria; Oliveri, Giuseppe

2003-11-01

To detect the clinical and radiologic characteristics of posttraumatic hydrocephalus (PTH), to define its prognostic value, and to assess the effects of shunt surgery. Correlational study on a prospective cohort. Brain injury rehabilitation center. One hundred forty patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) referred to an inpatient intensive rehabilitation unit of primary care in a university-based system. Not applicable. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), Disability Rating Scale (DRS), FIM instrument, and Neurobehavioural Rating Scale (NRS), as well as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging. PTH was found in 45% of patients. Risk factors for PTH were as follows: age (P<.04), duration of coma (P<.0001), and decompressive craniectomy (P<.0001). PTH correlated with the degree of hypoperfusion in the temporal lobes (P<.001). Patients who showed clinical deterioration improved after surgery. PTH correlated significantly with GOS, DRS, FIM, and NRS (P<.0001) 1 year after the trauma, and it influenced the appearance of posttraumatic epilepsy (P<.02). PTH concerns about 50% of patients with severe TBI. It influences functional and behavioral outcome and the appearance of posttraumatic epilepsy. The selection of patients for surgery can be defined principally on a clinical basis. SPECT may be helpful for differentiating ventricular enlargement due to cortical atrophy and hydrocephalus.

Measuring Attitude toward Computers: The Computer Appreciator-Critic Attitude Scales.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathews, Walter M.; Wolf, Abraham W.

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument that conveniently measures a person's attitude toward computers. The final version of the instrument is composed of 40 items on a Likert-type scale which assign scores to subjects on their "appreciative" and "critical" attitude toward computers. The sample…

Constructing an Evidence-Base for Future CALL Design with "Engineering Power": The Need for More Basic Research and Instrumental Replication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handley, Zöe

2014-01-01

This paper argues that the goal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) research should be to construct a reliable evidence-base with "engineering power" and generality upon which the design of future CALL software and activities can be based. In order to establish such an evidence base for future CALL design, it suggests that CALL…

Goal-Directed Behavior and Instrumental Devaluation: A Neural System-Level Computational Model

PubMed Central

Mannella, Francesco; Mirolli, Marco; Baldassarre, Gianluca

2016-01-01

Devaluation is the key experimental paradigm used to demonstrate the presence of instrumental behaviors guided by goals in mammals. We propose a neural system-level computational model to address the question of which brain mechanisms allow the current value of rewards to control instrumental actions. The model pivots on and shows the computational soundness of the hypothesis for which the internal representation of instrumental manipulanda (e.g., levers) activate the representation of rewards (or “action-outcomes”, e.g., foods) while attributing to them a value which depends on the current internal state of the animal (e.g., satiation for some but not all foods). The model also proposes an initial hypothesis of the integrated system of key brain components supporting this process and allowing the recalled outcomes to bias action selection: (a) the sub-system formed by the basolateral amygdala and insular cortex acquiring the manipulanda-outcomes associations and attributing the current value to the outcomes; (b) three basal ganglia-cortical loops selecting respectively goals, associative sensory representations, and actions; (c) the cortico-cortical and striato-nigro-striatal neural pathways supporting the selection, and selection learning, of actions based on habits and goals. The model reproduces and explains the results of several devaluation experiments carried out with control rats and rats with pre- and post-training lesions of the basolateral amygdala, the nucleus accumbens core, the prelimbic cortex, and the dorso-medial striatum. The results support the soundness of the hypotheses of the model and show its capacity to integrate, at the system-level, the operations of the key brain structures underlying devaluation. Based on its hypotheses and predictions, the model also represents an operational framework to support the design and analysis of new experiments on the motivational aspects of goal-directed behavior. PMID:27803652

Calendar Instruments in Retrospective Web Surveys

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glasner, Tina; van der Vaart, Wander; Dijkstra, Wil

2015-01-01

Calendar instruments incorporate aided recall techniques such as temporal landmarks and visual time lines that aim to reduce response error in retrospective surveys. Those calendar instruments have been used extensively in off-line research (e.g., computer-aided telephone interviews, computer assisted personal interviewing, and paper and pen…

Instrumentation for Airwake Measurements on the Flight Deck of a FFG-7

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-11-01

volatile RAM to the computer hard disk with a unique file name based on time and date. At an opportune time the data file(s) are manually transferred...1967 6 Royal Air Force Manual (Volume D) AP3456D Al-i APPENDIX 1 GENERAL SPECIFICATION FOR VADAR VADAR was developed by the Instrumentation and Trials...TTCP HTP -6) N. Matheson N. Pollock DJ. Sherman Materials Research Laboratory Director/Library Defence Science & Technology Organisation Salisbury

A Brief Review of OPT101 Sensor Application in Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Instrumentation for Intensive Care Unit Clinics

PubMed Central

Li, Ting; Zhong, Fulin; Pan, Boan; Li, Zebin; Huang, Chong; Deng, Zishan

2017-01-01

The optoelectronic sensor OPT101 have merits in advanced optoelectronic response characteristics at wavelength range for medical near-infrared spectroscopy and small-size chip design with build-in trans-impedance amplifier. Our lab is devoted to developing a series of portable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices embedded with OPT101 for applications in intensive care unit clinics, based on NIRS principle. Here we review the characteristics and advantages of OPT101 relative to clinical NIRS instrumentation, and the most recent achievements, including early-diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation of thrombus, noninvasive monitoring of patients' shock severity, and fatigue evaluation. The future prospect on OPT101 improvements in noninvasive clinical applications is also discussed. PMID:28757564

The Radiology Resident iPad Toolbox: an educational and clinical tool for radiology residents.

PubMed

Sharpe, Emerson E; Kendrick, Michael; Strickland, Colin; Dodd, Gerald D

2013-07-01

Tablet computing and mobile resources are the hot topics in technology today, with that interest spilling into the medical field. To improve resident education, a fully configured iPad, referred to as the "Radiology Resident iPad Toolbox," was created and implemented at the University of Colorado. The goal was to create a portable device with comprehensive educational, clinical, and communication tools that would contain all necessary resources for an entire 4-year radiology residency. The device was distributed to a total of 34 radiology residents (8 first-year residents, 8 second-year residents, 9 third-year residents, and 9 fourth-year residents). This article describes the process used to develop and deploy the device, provides a distillation of useful applications and resources decided upon after extensive evaluation, and assesses the impact this device had on resident education. The Radiology Resident iPad Toolbox is a cost-effective, portable, educational instrument that has increased studying efficiency; improved access to study materials such as books, radiology cases, lectures, and web-based resources; and increased interactivity in educational conferences and lectures through the use of audience-response software, with questions geared toward the new ABR board format. This preconfigured tablet fully embraces the technology shift into mobile computing and represents a paradigm shift in educational strategy. Copyright © 2013 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measurement properties of existing clinical assessment methods evaluating scapular positioning and function. A systematic review.

PubMed

Larsen, Camilla Marie; Juul-Kristensen, Birgit; Lund, Hans; Søgaard, Karen

2014-10-01

The aims were to compile a schematic overview of clinical scapular assessment methods and critically appraise the methodological quality of the involved studies. A systematic, computer-assisted literature search using Medline, CINAHL, SportDiscus and EMBASE was performed from inception to October 2013. Reference lists in articles were also screened for publications. From 50 articles, 54 method names were identified and categorized into three groups: (1) Static positioning assessment (n = 19); (2) Semi-dynamic (n = 13); and (3) Dynamic functional assessment (n = 22). Fifteen studies were excluded for evaluation due to no/few clinimetric results, leaving 35 studies for evaluation. Graded according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN checklist), the methodological quality in the reliability and validity domains was "fair" (57%) to "poor" (43%), with only one study rated as "good". The reliability domain was most often investigated. Few of the assessment methods in the included studies that had "fair" or "good" measurement property ratings demonstrated acceptable results for both reliability and validity. We found a substantially larger number of clinical scapular assessment methods than previously reported. Using the COSMIN checklist the methodological quality of the included measurement properties in the reliability and validity domains were in general "fair" to "poor". None were examined for all three domains: (1) reliability; (2) validity; and (3) responsiveness. Observational evaluation systems and assessment of scapular upward rotation seem suitably evidence-based for clinical use. Future studies should test and improve the clinimetric properties, and especially diagnostic accuracy and responsiveness, to increase utility for clinical practice.

Dobson spectrophotometer ozone measurements during international ozone rocketsonde intercomparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parsons, C. L.

1980-01-01

Measurements of the total ozone content of the atmosphere, made with seven ground based instruments at a site near Wallops Island, Virginia, are discussed in terms for serving as control values with which the rocketborne sensor data products can be compared. These products are profiles of O3 concentration with altitude. By integrating over the range of altitudes from the surface to the rocket apogee and by appropriately estimating the residual ozone amount from apogee to the top of the atmosphere, a total ozone amount can be computed from the profiles that can be directly compared with the ground based instrumentation results. Dobson spectrophotometers were used for two of the ground-based instruments. Preliminary data collected during the IORI from Dobson spectrophotometers 72 and 38 are presented. The agreement between the two and the variability of total ozone overburden through the experiment period are discussed.

Enabling Large-Scale Biomedical Analysis in the Cloud

PubMed Central

Lin, Ying-Chih; Yu, Chin-Sheng; Lin, Yen-Jen

2013-01-01

Recent progress in high-throughput instrumentations has led to an astonishing growth in both volume and complexity of biomedical data collected from various sources. The planet-size data brings serious challenges to the storage and computing technologies. Cloud computing is an alternative to crack the nut because it gives concurrent consideration to enable storage and high-performance computing on large-scale data. This work briefly introduces the data intensive computing system and summarizes existing cloud-based resources in bioinformatics. These developments and applications would facilitate biomedical research to make the vast amount of diversification data meaningful and usable. PMID:24288665

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) data storage and analysis using a microcomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massey, D. E.

1986-01-01

A PCM storage device/data analyzer is described. This instrument is a peripheral plug-in board especially built to enable a personal computer to store and analyze data from a PCM source. This board and custom written software turns a computer into a snapshot PCM decommutator. This instrument will take in and store many hundreds or thousands of PCM telemetry data frames, then sift through them over and over again. The data can be converted to any number base and displayed, examined for any bit dropouts or changes in particular words or frames, graphically plotted, or statistically analyzed. This device was designed and built for use on the NASA Sounding Rocket Program for PCM encoder configuration and testing.

Knowledge Translation and Barriers to Imaging Optimization in the Emergency Department: A Research Agenda.

PubMed

Probst, Marc A; Dayan, Peter S; Raja, Ali S; Slovis, Benjamin H; Yadav, Kabir; Lam, Samuel H; Shapiro, Jason S; Farris, Coreen; Babcock, Charlene I; Griffey, Richard T; Robey, Thomas E; Fortin, Emily M; Johnson, Jamlik O; Chong, Suzanne T; Davenport, Moira; Grigat, Daniel W; Lang, Eddy L

2015-12-01

Researchers have attempted to optimize imaging utilization by describing which clinical variables are more predictive of acute disease and, conversely, what combination of variables can obviate the need for imaging. These results are then used to develop evidence-based clinical pathways, clinical decision instruments, and clinical practice guidelines. Despite the validation of these results in subsequent studies, with some demonstrating improved outcomes, their actual use is often limited. This article outlines a research agenda to promote the dissemination and implementation (also known as knowledge translation) of evidence-based interventions for emergency department (ED) imaging, i.e., clinical pathways, clinical decision instruments, and clinical practice guidelines. We convened a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders and held online and telephone discussions over a 6-month period culminating in an in-person meeting at the 2015 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference. We identified the following four overarching research questions: 1) what determinants (barriers and facilitators) influence emergency physicians' use of evidence-based interventions when ordering imaging in the ED; 2) what implementation strategies at the institutional level can improve the use of evidence-based interventions for ED imaging; 3) what interventions at the health care policy level can facilitate the adoption of evidence-based interventions for ED imaging; and 4) how can health information technology, including electronic health records, clinical decision support, and health information exchanges, be used to increase awareness, use, and adherence to evidence-based interventions for ED imaging? Advancing research that addresses these questions will provide valuable information as to how we can use evidence-based interventions to optimize imaging utilization and ultimately improve patient care. © 2015 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Development of Low-Cost Instrumentation for Single Point Autofluorescence Lifetime Measurements.

PubMed

Lagarto, João; Hares, Jonathan D; Dunsby, Christopher; French, Paul M W

2017-09-01

Autofluorescence lifetime measurements, which can provide label-free readouts in biological tissues, contrasting e.g. different types and states of tissue matrix components and different cellular metabolites, may have significant clinical potential for diagnosis and to provide surgical guidance. However, the cost of the instrumentation typically used currently presents a barrier to wider implementation. We describe a low-cost single point time-resolved autofluorescence instrument, exploiting modulated laser diodes for excitation and FPGA-based circuitry for detection, together with a custom constant fraction discriminator. Its temporal accuracy is compared against a "gold-standard" instrument incorporating commercial TCSPC circuitry by resolving the fluorescence decays of reference fluorophores presenting single and double exponential decay profiles. To illustrate the potential to read out intrinsic contrast in tissue, we present preliminary measurements of autofluorescence lifetime measurements of biological tissues ex vivo. We believe that the lower cost of this instrument could enhance the potential of autofluorescence lifetime metrology for clinical deployment and commercial development.

Instrumentation for the analysis of respiratory system disorders during sleep: Design and application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Melo, Pedro Lopes; de Andrade Lemes, Lucas Neves

2002-11-01

Sleep breathing disorders are estimated to be present in 2%-4% of middle-aged adults. Serious adverse consequences, such as systemic arterial hypertension, myocardial infraction, and cerebrovascular disease, can be related to these conditions. Intellectual deficits associated with attention, memory, and problem-solving have also been associated with a poor quality of sleep. The main causes of these disorders are obstructions resulting from repetitive narrowing and closure of the pharyngeal airway, which have been monitored by indirect measurements of temperature, displacement, and other highly invasive procedures. The measurement of mechanical impedance of the respiratory system by the forced oscillation technique (FOT) has recently been suggested to quantify the respiratory obstruction during sleep. It is claimed that the noninvasive and dynamic characteristics of this technique would allow a noninvasive and accurate analysis of these events. In spite of this high scientific and clinical potential, there is no detailed description of a complete instrumentation system to implement this promising technique in sleep studies. In this context, the purpose of this study was twofold: (1) describe the development of a new computer-based system for identification of the mechanical impedance of the respiratory system during sleep by the FOT and (2) evaluate the performance of this device in the description of respiratory events in conditions including no, mild, serious disease, and therapeutic procedures. These evaluations confirmed the desirable features achieved in laboratory tests and the high scientific and clinical potential of this system.

Live interactive computer music performance practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, David

2002-05-01

A live-performance musical instrument can be assembled around current lap-top computer technology. One adds a controller such as a keyboard or other gestural input device, a sound diffusion system, some form of connectivity processor(s) providing for audio I/O and gestural controller input, and reactive real-time native signal processing software. A system consisting of a hand gesture controller; software for gesture analysis and mapping, machine listening, composition, and sound synthesis; and a controllable radiation pattern loudspeaker are described. Interactivity begins in the set up wherein the speaker-room combination is tuned with an LMS procedure. This system was designed for improvisation. It is argued that software suitable for carrying out an improvised musical dialog with another performer poses special challenges. The processes underlying the generation of musical material must be very adaptable, capable of rapid changes in musical direction. Machine listening techniques are used to help the performer adapt to new contexts. Machine learning can play an important role in the development of such systems. In the end, as with any musical instrument, human skill is essential. Practice is required not only for the development of musically appropriate human motor programs but for the adaptation of the computer-based instrument as well.

Systolic Processor Array For Recognition Of Spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chow, Edward T.; Peterson, John C.

1995-01-01

Spectral signatures of materials detected and identified quickly. Spectral Analysis Systolic Processor Array (SPA2) relatively inexpensive and satisfies need to analyze large, complex volume of multispectral data generated by imaging spectrometers to extract desired information: computational performance needed to do this in real time exceeds that of current supercomputers. Locates highly similar segments or contiguous subsegments in two different spectra at time. Compares sampled spectra from instruments with data base of spectral signatures of known materials. Computes and reports scores that express degrees of similarity between sampled and data-base spectra.

Success rates of a mixture of ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, and minocycline antibiotics used in the non-instrumentation endodontic treatment of mandibular primary molars with carious pulpal involvement.

PubMed

Trairatvorakul, Chutima; Detsomboonrat, Palinee

2012-05-01

To evaluate the clinical and radiographic success rates of three mixed antibiotics in the non-instrumentation endodontic treatment of primary mandibular molars at 24-27 months postoperatively. Eighty cariously involved lower primary molars from 58 children (ages 3-8 years) received a 3Mix medicament by non-instrumentation endodontic treatment and were then sealed with glass-ionomer cement and composite resin before permanent restoration with stainless steel crowns. The patients received a clinical and radiographic assessment every 6 months over a 2-year follow-up period with an intra-examiner reliability of 0.83-1.00 (κ value). In 60 cases at 24- to 27-month follow-up, the success rates as determined by clinical and radiographic evaluation were 75% and 36.7%, respectively; however, the overall success rate of 3Mix non-instrumentation endodontic treatment was 36.7% with 15.8% of cases demonstrating a pulpal response of internal resorption. Non-instrumentation endodontic treatment using 3Mix-MP showed good clinical success but had a low success rate based on radiographic evaluation at 2-year follow-up. Hence, 3Mix antibiotic treatment cannot replace a conventional root canal treatment agent as a long-term therapy. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry © 2011 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Computer algorithms and applications used to assist the evaluation and treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a review of published articles 2000-2009.

PubMed

Phan, Philippe; Mezghani, Neila; Aubin, Carl-Éric; de Guise, Jacques A; Labelle, Hubert

2011-07-01

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a complex spinal deformity whose assessment and treatment present many challenges. Computer applications have been developed to assist clinicians. A literature review on computer applications used in AIS evaluation and treatment has been undertaken. The algorithms used, their accuracy and clinical usability were analyzed. Computer applications have been used to create new classifications for AIS based on 2D and 3D features, assess scoliosis severity or risk of progression and assist bracing and surgical treatment. It was found that classification accuracy could be improved using computer algorithms that AIS patient follow-up and screening could be done using surface topography thereby limiting radiation and that bracing and surgical treatment could be optimized using simulations. Yet few computer applications are routinely used in clinics. With the development of 3D imaging and databases, huge amounts of clinical and geometrical data need to be taken into consideration when researching and managing AIS. Computer applications based on advanced algorithms will be able to handle tasks that could otherwise not be done which can possibly improve AIS patients' management. Clinically oriented applications and evidence that they can improve current care will be required for their integration in the clinical setting.

In vivo characterization of colorectal metastases in human liver using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy: toward guidance in oncological procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spliethoff, Jarich W.; de Boer, Lisanne L.; Meier, Mark A. J.; Prevoo, Warner; de Jong, Jeroen; Kuhlmann, Koert; Bydlon, Torre M.; Sterenborg, Henricus J. C. M.; Hendriks, Benno H. W.; Ruers, Theo J. M.

2016-09-01

There is a strong need to develop clinical instruments that can perform rapid tissue assessment at the tip of smart clinical instruments for a variety of oncological applications. This study presents the first in vivo real-time tissue characterization during 24 liver biopsy procedures using diffuse reflectance (DR) spectroscopy at the tip of a core biopsy needle with integrated optical fibers. DR measurements were performed along each needle path, followed by biopsy of the target lesion using the same needle. Interventional imaging was coregistered with the DR spectra. Pathology results were compared with the DR spectroscopy data at the final measurement position. Bile was the primary discriminator between normal liver tissue and tumor tissue. Relative differences in bile content matched with the tissue diagnosis based on histopathological analysis in all 24 clinical cases. Continuous DR measurements during needle insertion in three patients showed that the method can also be applied for biopsy guidance or tumor recognition during surgery. This study provides an important validation step for DR spectroscopy-based tissue characterization in the liver. Given the feasibility of the outlined approach, it is also conceivable to make integrated fiber-optic tools for other clinical procedures that rely on accurate instrument positioning.

A Simulation Tool for the Duties of Computer Specialist Non-Commissioned Officers on a Turkish Air Force Base

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

Interface IFR Instrument Flight Rules LANTIRN Low-Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night MANTIRN Medium Altitude Navigation and...MANTIRN categories, and IFR weather categories. Aside from the category of personnel (computer specialist NCOs rather than pilots), the main...of the node, (2) Adding a description, (3) Implementing event arguments , local variables, and state transitions, (4) Implementing a code that is

Reflections on John Monaghan's "Computer Algebra, Instrumentation, and the Anthropological Approach"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blume, Glen

2007-01-01

Reactions to John Monaghan's "Computer Algebra, Instrumentation and the Anthropological Approach" focus on a variety of issues related to the ergonomic approach (instrumentation) and anthropological approach to mathematical activity and practice. These include uses of the term technique; several possibilities for integration of the two approaches;…

Complete LabVIEW-Controlled HPLC Lab: An Advanced Undergraduate Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beussman, Douglas J.; Walters, John P.

2017-01-01

Virtually all modern chemical instrumentation is controlled by computers. While software packages are continually becoming easier to use, allowing for more researchers to utilize more complex instruments, conveying some level of understanding as to how computers and instruments communicate is still an important part of the undergraduate…

Advanced Methodologies for NASA Science Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurlburt, N. E.; Feigelson, E.; Mentzel, C.

2017-12-01

Most of NASA's commitment to computational space science involves the organization and processing of Big Data from space-based satellites, and the calculations of advanced physical models based on these datasets. But considerable thought is also needed on what computations are needed. The science questions addressed by space data are so diverse and complex that traditional analysis procedures are often inadequate. The knowledge and skills of the statistician, applied mathematician, and algorithmic computer scientist must be incorporated into programs that currently emphasize engineering and physical science. NASA's culture and administrative mechanisms take full cognizance that major advances in space science are driven by improvements in instrumentation. But it is less well recognized that new instruments and science questions give rise to new challenges in the treatment of satellite data after it is telemetered to the ground. These issues might be divided into two stages: data reduction through software pipelines developed within NASA mission centers; and science analysis that is performed by hundreds of space scientists dispersed through NASA, U.S. universities, and abroad. Both stages benefit from the latest statistical and computational methods; in some cases, the science result is completely inaccessible using traditional procedures. This paper will review the current state of NASA and present example applications using modern methodologies.

[Basic concept in computer assisted surgery].

PubMed

Merloz, Philippe; Wu, Hao

2006-03-01

To investigate application of medical digital imaging systems and computer technologies in orthopedics. The main computer-assisted surgery systems comprise the four following subcategories. (1) A collection and recording process for digital data on each patient, including preoperative images (CT scans, MRI, standard X-rays), intraoperative visualization (fluoroscopy, ultrasound), and intraoperative position and orientation of surgical instruments or bone sections (using 3D localises). Data merging based on the matching of preoperative imaging (CT scans, MRI, standard X-rays) and intraoperative visualization (anatomical landmarks, or bone surfaces digitized intraoperatively via 3D localiser; intraoperative ultrasound images processed for delineation of bone contours). (2) In cases where only intraoperative images are used for computer-assisted surgical navigation, the calibration of the intraoperative imaging system replaces the merged data system, which is then no longer necessary. (3) A system that provides aid in decision-making, so that the surgical approach is planned on basis of multimodal information: the interactive positioning of surgical instruments or bone sections transmitted via pre- or intraoperative images, display of elements to guide surgical navigation (direction, axis, orientation, length and diameter of a surgical instrument, impingement, etc. ). And (4) A system that monitors the surgical procedure, thereby ensuring that the optimal strategy defined at the preoperative stage is taken into account. It is possible that computer-assisted orthopedic surgery systems will enable surgeons to better assess the accuracy and reliability of the various operative techniques, an indispensable stage in the optimization of surgery.

BarraCUDA - a fast short read sequence aligner using graphics processing units

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background With the maturation of next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies, the throughput of DNA sequencing reads has soared to over 600 gigabases from a single instrument run. General purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU), extracts the computing power from hundreds of parallel stream processors within graphics processing cores and provides a cost-effective and energy efficient alternative to traditional high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. In this article, we describe the implementation of BarraCUDA, a GPGPU sequence alignment software that is based on BWA, to accelerate the alignment of sequencing reads generated by these instruments to a reference DNA sequence. Findings Using the NVIDIA Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) software development environment, we ported the most computational-intensive alignment component of BWA to GPU to take advantage of the massive parallelism. As a result, BarraCUDA offers a magnitude of performance boost in alignment throughput when compared to a CPU core while delivering the same level of alignment fidelity. The software is also capable of supporting multiple CUDA devices in parallel to further accelerate the alignment throughput. Conclusions BarraCUDA is designed to take advantage of the parallelism of GPU to accelerate the alignment of millions of sequencing reads generated by NGS instruments. By doing this, we could, at least in part streamline the current bioinformatics pipeline such that the wider scientific community could benefit from the sequencing technology. BarraCUDA is currently available from http://seqbarracuda.sf.net PMID:22244497

Computerized data reduction techniques for nadir viewing remote sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tiwari, S. N.; Gormsen, Barbara B.

1985-01-01

Computer resources have been developed for the analysis and reduction of MAPS experimental data from the OSTA-1 payload. The MAPS Research Project is concerned with the measurement of the global distribution of mid-tropospheric carbon monoxide. The measurement technique for the MAPS instrument is based on non-dispersive gas filter radiometer operating in the nadir viewing mode. The MAPS experiment has two passive remote sensing instruments, the prototype instrument which is used to measure tropospheric air pollution from aircraft platforms and the third generation (OSTA) instrument which is used to measure carbon monoxide in the mid and upper troposphere from space platforms. Extensive effort was also expended in support of the MAPS/OSTA-3 shuttle flight. Specific capabilities and resources developed are discussed.

Does attitude matter in computer use in Australian general practice? A zero-inflated Poisson regression analysis.

PubMed

Khan, Asaduzzaman; Western, Mark

The purpose of this study was to explore factors that facilitate or hinder effective use of computers in Australian general medical practice. This study is based on data extracted from a national telephone survey of 480 general practitioners (GPs) across Australia. Clinical functions performed by GPs using computers were examined using a zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression modelling. About 17% of GPs were not using computer for any clinical function, while 18% reported using computers for all clinical functions. The ZIP model showed that computer anxiety was negatively associated with effective computer use, while practitioners' belief about usefulness of computers was positively associated with effective computer use. Being a female GP or working in partnership or group practice increased the odds of effectively using computers for clinical functions. To fully capitalise on the benefits of computer technology, GPs need to be convinced that this technology is useful and can make a difference.

Using the Computer as a Laboratory Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collings, Peter J.; Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr.

1989-01-01

Reports experiences during a two-year period in introducing the computer to the laboratory and students to the computer as a laboratory instrument. Describes a working philosophy, data acquisition system, and experiments. Summarizes the laboratory procedures of nine experiments, covering mechanics, heat, electromagnetism, and optics. (YP)

Single-cell RNA-seq of rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue using low-cost microfluidic instrumentation.

PubMed

Stephenson, William; Donlin, Laura T; Butler, Andrew; Rozo, Cristina; Bracken, Bernadette; Rashidfarrokhi, Ali; Goodman, Susan M; Ivashkiv, Lionel B; Bykerk, Vivian P; Orange, Dana E; Darnell, Robert B; Swerdlow, Harold P; Satija, Rahul

2018-02-23

Droplet-based single-cell RNA-seq has emerged as a powerful technique for massively parallel cellular profiling. While this approach offers the exciting promise to deconvolute cellular heterogeneity in diseased tissues, the lack of cost-effective and user-friendly instrumentation has hindered widespread adoption of droplet microfluidic techniques. To address this, we developed a 3D-printed, low-cost droplet microfluidic control instrument and deploy it in a clinical environment to perform single-cell transcriptome profiling of disaggregated synovial tissue from five rheumatoid arthritis patients. We sequence 20,387 single cells revealing 13 transcriptomically distinct clusters. These encompass an unsupervised draft atlas of the autoimmune infiltrate that contribute to disease biology. Additionally, we identify previously uncharacterized fibroblast subpopulations and discern their spatial location within the synovium. We envision that this instrument will have broad utility in both research and clinical settings, enabling low-cost and routine application of microfluidic techniques.

Inflight IFR procedures simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. C. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

An inflight IFR procedures simulator for generating signals and commands to conventional instruments provided in an airplane is described. The simulator includes a signal synthesizer which generates predetermined simulated signals corresponding to signals normally received from remote sources upon being activated. A computer is connected to the signal synthesizer and causes the signal synthesizer to produce simulated signals responsive to programs fed into the computer. A switching network is connected to the signal synthesizer, the antenna of the aircraft, and navigational instruments and communication devices for selectively connecting instruments and devices to the synthesizer and disconnecting the antenna from the navigational instruments and communication device. Pressure transducers are connected to the altimeter and speed indicator for supplying electrical signals to the computer indicating the altitude and speed of the aircraft. A compass is connected for supply electrical signals for the computer indicating the heading of the airplane. The computer upon receiving signals from the pressure transducer and compass, computes the signals that are fed to the signal synthesizer which, in turn, generates simulated navigational signals.

Integration of analytical instruments with computer scripting.

PubMed

Carvalho, Matheus C

2013-08-01

Automation of laboratory routines aided by computer software enables high productivity and is the norm nowadays. However, the integration of different instruments made by different suppliers is still difficult, because to accomplish it, the user must have knowledge of electronics and/or low-level programming. An alternative approach is to control different instruments without an electronic connection between them, relying only on their software interface on a computer. This can be achieved through scripting, which is the emulation of user operations (mouse clicks and keyboard inputs) on the computer. The main advantages of this approach are its simplicity, which enables people with minimal knowledge of computer programming to employ it, and its universality, which enables the integration of instruments made by different suppliers, meaning that the user is totally free to choose the devices to be integrated. Therefore, scripting can be a useful, accessible, and economic solution for laboratory automation.

Root Canal Transportation and Centering Ability of Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instruments in Mandibular Premolars Assessed Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography.

PubMed

Mamede-Neto, Iussif; Borges, Alvaro Henrique; Guedes, Orlando Aguirre; de Oliveira, Durvalino; Pedro, Fábio Luis Miranda; Estrela, Carlos

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), transportation and centralization of different nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments. One hundred and twenty eight mandibular premolars were selected and instrumented using the following brands of NiTi files: WaveOne, WaveOne Gold, Reciproc, ProTaper Next, ProTaper Gold, Mtwo, BioRaCe and RaCe. CBCT imaging was performed before and after root canal preparation to obtain measurements of mesial and distal dentin walls and calculations of root canal transportation and centralization. A normal distribution of data was confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests, and results were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Statistical significance was set at 5%. ProTaper Gold produced the lowest canal transportation values, and RaCe, the highest. ProTaper Gold files also showed the highest values for centering ability, whereas BioRaCe showed the lowest. No significant differences were found across the different instruments in terms of canal transportation and centering ability (P > 0.05). Based on the methodology employed, all instruments used for root canal preparation of mandibular premolars performed similarly with regard to canal transportation and centering ability.

Design for Run-Time Monitor on Cloud Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Mikyung; Kang, Dong-In; Yun, Mira; Park, Gyung-Leen; Lee, Junghoon

Cloud computing is a new information technology trend that moves computing and data away from desktops and portable PCs into large data centers. The basic principle of cloud computing is to deliver applications as services over the Internet as well as infrastructure. A cloud is the type of a parallel and distributed system consisting of a collection of inter-connected and virtualized computers that are dynamically provisioned and presented as one or more unified computing resources. The large-scale distributed applications on a cloud require adaptive service-based software, which has the capability of monitoring the system status change, analyzing the monitored information, and adapting its service configuration while considering tradeoffs among multiple QoS features simultaneously. In this paper, we design Run-Time Monitor (RTM) which is a system software to monitor the application behavior at run-time, analyze the collected information, and optimize resources on cloud computing. RTM monitors application software through library instrumentation as well as underlying hardware through performance counter optimizing its computing configuration based on the analyzed data.

Suitability of the PROMIS Alcohol Use Short Form for Screening in a HIV Clinical Care Setting*

PubMed Central

Gibbons, Laura E.; Fredericksen, Rob; Merrill, Joseph O.; McCaul, Mary E.; Chander, Geetanjali; Hutton, Heidi; Lober, William B.; Mathews, W. Chris; Mayer, Kenneth; Burkholder, Greer; Willig, James H.; Mugavero, Michael J.; Saag, Michael S.; Kitahata, Mari M.; Edwards, Todd C.; Patrick, Donald L; Crane, Heidi M.; Crane, Paul K.

2016-01-01

Background At-risk alcohol use is important to identify in clinical settings to facilitate interventions. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Alcohol Use Short Form was developed through an item response theory process, but its utility as a screening instrument in clinical care has not been reported. Objective To determine the ability of the PROMIS Alcohol Use Short Form to identify people with current or future at-risk alcohol use defined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test consumption (AUDIT-C) instrument. Methods Observational study of people living with HIV (PLWH) in clinical care at four sites across the US. Patients completed a tablet-based clinical assessment prior to seeing their providers at clinic appointments. We used 3 definitions of clinically-relevant at-risk alcohol use and determined the proportion of PLWH with current or future at-risk drinking identified by the PROMIS instrument. Results Of 2,497 PLWH who endorsed ≥1 drink in the prior 12 months, 1,500 PLWH (60%) endorsed “never” for all PROMIS items. In that group, 26% had clinically-relevant at-risk alcohol use defined by one or more AUDIT-C definitions. At follow-up (N=1,608), high baseline PROMIS scores had 55% sensitivity for at-risk drinking among those with at-risk drinking at baseline, and 22% sensitivity among those without baseline risk. Conclusions The PROMIS Alcohol Use Short Form cannot be used alone to identify PLWH with clinically-relevant at-risk alcohol use. Optimal assessment of problem drinking behavior is not clear, but there does not seem to be an important role for the PROMIS instrument in this clinical setting. PMID:27209223

Computers in medical education 2. Use of a computer package to supplement the clinical experience in a surgical clerkship: an objective evaluation.

PubMed

Devitt, P; Cehic, D; Palmer, E

1998-06-01

Student teaching of surgery has been devolved from the university in an effort to increase and broaden undergraduate clinical experience. In order to ensure uniformity of learning we have defined learning objectives and provided a computer-based package to supplement clinical teaching. A study was undertaken to evaluate the place of computer-based learning in a clinical environment. Twelve modules were provided for study during a 6-week attachment. These covered clinical problems related to cardiology, neurosurgery and gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Eighty-four fourth-year students undertook a pre- and post-test assessment on these three topics as well as acute abdominal pain. No extra learning material on the latter topic was provided during the attachment. While all students showed significant improvement in performance in the post-test assessment, those who had access to the computer material performed significantly better than did the controls. Within the topics, students in both groups performed equally well on the post-test assessment of acute abdominal pain but the control group's performance was significantly lacking on the topic of gastrointestinal haemorrhage, suggesting that the bulk of learning on this subject came from the computer material and little from the clinical attachment. This type of learning resource can be used to supplement the student's clinical experience and at the same time monitor what they learn during clinical clerkships and identify areas of weakness.

Using computer-assisted survey instruments instead of paper and pencil increased completeness of self-administered sexual behavior questionnaires.

PubMed

Spark, Simone; Lewis, Dyani; Vaisey, Alaina; Smyth, Eris; Wood, Anna; Temple-Smith, Meredith; Lorch, Rebecca; Guy, Rebecca; Hocking, Jane

2015-01-01

To compare the data quality, logistics, and cost of a self-administered sexual behavior questionnaire administered either using a computer-assisted survey instrument (CASI) or by paper and pencil in a primary care clinic. A self-administered sexual behavior questionnaire was administered to 16-29 year olds attending general practice. Questionnaires were administered by either paper and pencil (paper) or CASI. A personal digital assistant was used to self-administer the CASI. A total of 4,491 people completed the questionnaire, with 46.9% responses via CASI and 53.2% by paper. Completion of questions was greater for CASI than for paper for sexual behavior questions: number of sexual partners [odds ratio (OR), 6.85; 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.32, 14.11] and ever having had sex with a person of the same gender (OR, 2.89; 95% CI: 1.52, 5.49). The median number of questions answered was higher for CASI than for paper (17.6 vs. 17.2; P < 0.01). CASI was cheaper to run at $8.18 per questionnaire compared with $11.83 for paper. Electronic devices using CASI are a tool that can increase participants' questionnaire responses and deliver more complete data for a sexual behavior questionnaire in primary care clinics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The eSMAF: a software for the assessment and follow-up of functional autonomy in geriatrics

PubMed Central

Boissy, Patrick; Brière, Simon; Tousignant, Michel; Rousseau, Eric

2007-01-01

Background Functional status or disability forms the core of most assessment instruments used to identify mix and level of resources and services needed by older adults who possess common characteristics. The Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF) is a 29-item scale measuring functional ability in five different areas. It has been recommended for use for home care, for allocation of chronic beds, for developing care plans in institutional settings and for epidemiological and evaluative studies. The SMAF can also be used with a case-mix classification system (Iso-SMAF) to allocate resources based on patients' functional autonomy characteristics. The objective of this project was to develop a software version of the SMAF to facilitate the evaluation of the functional status of older adults in health services research and to optimize the clinical decision-making process. Results The eSMAF was developed over an 24-month period using a modified waterfall software engineering process. Requirements and functional specifications were determined using focus groups of stakeholders. Different versions of the software were iteratively field-tested in clinical and research environments and software adaptations made accordingly. User documentation and online help were created to assist the deployment of the software. The software is available in French or English versions under a 30-day unregistered demonstration license or a free restricted registered academic license. It can be used locally on a Windows-based PC or over a network to input SMAF data into a database, search and aggregate client data according to clinical and/or administrative criteria, and generate summary or detailed reports of selected data sets for print or export to another database. Conclusion In the last year, the software has been successfully deployed in the clinical workflow of different institutions in research and clinical applications. The software performed relatively well in terms of stability and performance. Barriers to implementation included antiquated computer hardware, low computer literacy and access to IT support. Key factors for the deployment of the software included standardization of the workflow, user training and support. PMID:17298673

A Virtual Instrument System for Determining Sugar Degree of Honey

PubMed Central

Wu, Qijun; Gong, Xun

2015-01-01

This study established a LabVIEW-based virtual instrument system to measure optical activity through the communication of conventional optical instrument with computer via RS232 port. This system realized the functions for automatic acquisition, real-time display, data processing, results playback, and so forth. Therefore, it improved accuracy of the measurement results by avoiding the artificial operation, cumbersome data processing, and the artificial error in optical activity measurement. The system was applied to the analysis of the batch inspection on the sugar degree of honey. The results obtained were satisfying. Moreover, it showed advantages such as friendly man-machine dialogue, simple operation, and easily expanded functions. PMID:26504615

24-channel dual microcontroller-based voltage controller for ion optics remote control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bengtsson, L.

2018-05-01

The design of a 24-channel voltage control instrument for Wenzel Elektronik N1130 NIM modules is described. This instrument is remote controlled from a LabVIEW GUI on a host Windows computer and is intended for ion optics control in electron affinity measurements on negative ions at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. Each channel has a resolution of 12 bits and has a normally distributed noise with a standard deviation of <1 mV. The instrument is designed as a standard 2-unit NIM module where the electronic hardware consists of a printed circuit board with two asynchronously operating microcontrollers.

Measurement of information and communication technology experience and attitudes to e-learning of students in the healthcare professions: integrative review.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Ann; While, Alison E; Roberts, Julia

2009-04-01

This paper is a report of a review to describe and discuss the psychometric properties of instruments used in healthcare education settings measuring experience and attitudes of healthcare students regarding their information and communication technology skills and their use of computers and the Internet for education. Healthcare professionals are expected to be computer and information literate at registration. A previous review of evaluative studies of computer-based learning suggests that methods of measuring learners' attitudes to computers and computer aided learning are problematic. A search of eight health and social science databases located 49 papers, the majority published between 1995 and January 2007, focusing on the experience and attitudes of students in the healthcare professions towards computers and e-learning. An integrative approach was adopted, with narrative description of findings. Criteria for inclusion were quantitative studies using survey tools with samples of healthcare students and concerning computer and information literacy skills, access to computers, experience with computers and use of computers and the Internet for education purposes. Since the 1980s a number of instruments have been developed, mostly in the United States of America, to measure attitudes to computers, anxiety about computer use, information and communication technology skills, satisfaction and more recently attitudes to the Internet and computers for education. The psychometric properties are poorly described. Advances in computers and technology mean that many earlier tools are no longer valid. Measures of the experience and attitudes of healthcare students to the increased use of e-learning require development in line with computer and technology advances.

NOSTOS: A Paper–Based Ubiquitous Computing Healthcare Environment to Support Data Capture and Collaboration

PubMed Central

Bång, Magnus; Larsson, Anders; Eriksson, Henrik

2003-01-01

In this paper, we present a new approach to clinical workplace computerization that departs from the window–based user interface paradigm. NOSTOS is an experimental computer–augmented work environment designed to support data capture and teamwork in an emergency room. NOSTOS combines multiple technologies, such as digital pens, walk–up displays, headsets, a smart desk, and sensors to enhance an existing paper–based practice with computer power. The physical interfaces allow clinicians to retain mobile paper–based collaborative routines and still benefit from computer technology. The requirements for the system were elicited from situated workplace studies. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of augmenting a paper–based clinical work environment. PMID:14728131

Connecticut permanent long-term bridge monitoring network, volume 1 : monitoring of post-tensioned segmental concrete box-girder bridge - I-95 over the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook (bridge #6200).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

This report describes the instrumentation and data acquisition for an eleven span segmental, post-tensioned : box-girder bridge in Connecticut. Based on a request from the designers, the computer-based remote : monitoring system was developed to coll...

Understanding the Theory and Practice of Molecular Spectroscopy: The Effects of Spectral Bandwidth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirayama, Satoshi; Steer, Ronald P.

2010-01-01

The near-UV spectrum of benzene is used to illustrate the effects of variations in instrument spectral bandwidth on absorbance and molar absorptivity measurements and on the independence of values of quantities such as the oscillator strength that are based on integrated absorptivity. Excel-based computer simulations are provided that help develop…

Recent advances of liquid chromatography-(tandem) mass spectrometry in clinical and forensic toxicology.

PubMed

Peters, Frank T

2011-01-01

Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has become increasingly important in clinical and forensic toxicology as well as doping control and is now a robust and reliable technique for routine analysis in these fields. In recent years, methods for LC-MS(/MS)-based systematic toxicological analysis using triple quadrupole or ion trap instruments have been considerably improved and a new screening approach based on high-resolution MS analysis using benchtop time-of-flight MS instruments has been developed. Moreover, many applications for so-called multi-target screening and/or quantification of drugs, poisons, and or their metabolites in various biomatrices have been published. The present paper will provide an overview and discuss these recent developments focusing on the literature published after 2006. Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Advanced instrumentation for aeronautical propulsion research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, M. J.

1986-01-01

The development and use of advanced instrumentation and measurement systems are key to extending the understanding of the physical phenomena that limit the advancement of aeropropulsion systems. The data collected by using these systems are necessary to verify numerical models and to increase the technologists' intuition into the physical phenomena. The systems must be versatile enough to allow their use with older technology measurement systems, with computer-based data reduction systems, and with existing test facilities. Researchers in all aeropropulsion fields contribute to the development of these systems.

A Portable Surface Contamination Monitor Based on the Principle of Optically Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perey, D. F.

1996-01-01

Many industrial and aerospace processes involving the joining of materials, require sufficient surface cleanliness to insure proper bonding. Processes as diverse as painting, welding, or the soldering of electronic circuits will be compromised if prior inspection and removal of surface contaminants is inadequate. As process requirements become more stringent and the number of different materials and identified contaminants increases, various instruments and techniques have been developed for improved inspection. One such technique, based on the principle of Optically Stimulated Electron Emission (OSEE), has been explored for a number of years as a tool for surface contamination monitoring. Some of the benefits of OSEE are: it is non-contacting; requires little operator training; and has very high contamination sensitivity. This paper describes the development of a portable OSEE based surface contamination monitor. The instrument is suitable for both hand-held and robotic inspections with either manual or automated control of instrument operation. In addition, instrument output data is visually displayed to the operator and may be sent to an external computer for archiving or analysis.

Intraoperative computed tomography with integrated navigation system in spinal stabilizations.

PubMed

Zausinger, Stefan; Scheder, Ben; Uhl, Eberhard; Heigl, Thomas; Morhard, Dominik; Tonn, Joerg-Christian

2009-12-15

STUDY DESIGN.: A prospective interventional case-series study plus a retrospective analysis of historical patients for comparison of data. OBJECTIVE.: To evaluate workflow, feasibility, and clinical outcome of navigated stabilization procedures with data acquisition by intraoperative computed tomography. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Routine fluoroscopy to assess pedicle screw placement is not consistently reliable. Our hypothesis was that image-guided spinal navigation using an intraoperative CT-scanner can improve the safety and precision of spinal stabilization surgery. METHODS.: CT data of 94 patients (thoracolumbar [n = 66], C1/2 [n = 12], cervicothoracic instability [n = 16]) were acquired after positioning the patient in the final surgical position. A sliding gantry 40-slice CT was used for image acquisition. Data were imported to a frameless infrared-based neuronavigation workstation. Intraoperative CT was obtained to assess the accuracy of instrumentation and, if necessary, the extent of decompression. All patients were clinically evaluated by Odom-criteria after surgery and after 3 months. RESULTS.: Computed accuracy of the navigation system reached <2 mm (0.95 +/- 0.3 mm) in all cases. Additional time necessary for the preoperative image acquisition including data transfer was 14 +/- 5 minutes. The duration of interrupting the surgical process for iCT until resumption of surgery was 9 +/- 2.5 minutes. Control-iCT revealed incorrect screw position >/=2 mm without persistent neurologic or vascular damage in 20/414 screws (4.8%) leading to immediate correction of 10 screws (2.4%). Control-iCT changed the course of surgery in 8 cases (8.5% of all patients). The overall revision rate was 8.5% (4 wound revisions, 2 CSF fistulas, and 2 epidural hematomas). There was no reoperation due to implant malposition. According to Odom-criteria all patients experienced a clinical improvement. A retrospective analysis of 182 patients with navigated thoracolumbar transpedicular stabilizations in the preiCT era revealed an overall revision rate of 10.4% with 4.4% of patients requiring screw revision. CONCLUSION.: Intraoperative CT in combination with neuronavigation provides high accuracy of screw placement and thus safety for patients undergoing spinal stabilization. Reoperations due to implant malpositions could be completely avoided. The system can be installed into a pre-existing operating environment without need for special surgical instruments. The procedure is rapid and easy to perform without restricted access to the patient and-by replacing pre- and postoperative imaging-is not associated with an additional exposure to radiation. Multidisciplinary use increases utilization of the system and thus improves cost-efficiency relation.

Personalized Clinical Diagnosis in Data Bases for Treatment Support in Phthisiology.

PubMed

Lugovkina, T K; Skornyakov, S N; Golubev, D N; Egorov, E A; Medvinsky, I D

2016-01-01

The decision-making is a key event in the clinical practice. The program products with clinical decision support models in electronic data-base as well as with fixed decision moments of the real clinical practice and treatment results are very actual instruments for improving phthisiological practice and may be useful in the severe cases caused by the resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The methodology for gathering and structuring of useful information (critical clinical signals for decisions) is described. Additional coding of clinical diagnosis characteristics was implemented for numeric reflection of the personal situations. The created methodology for systematization and coding Clinical Events allowed to improve the clinical decision models for better clinical results.

PERFORMANCE OF A COMPUTER-BASED ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION MEASURES IN TWO COHORTS OF SENIORS

PubMed Central

Espeland, Mark A.; Katula, Jeffrey A.; Rushing, Julia; Kramer, Arthur F.; Jennings, Janine M.; Sink, Kaycee M.; Nadkarni, Neelesh K.; Reid, Kieran F.; Castro, Cynthia M.; Church, Timothy; Kerwin, Diana R.; Williamson, Jeff D.; Marottoli, Richard A.; Rushing, Scott; Marsiske, Michael; Rapp, Stephen R.

2013-01-01

Background Computer-administered assessment of cognitive function is being increasingly incorporated in clinical trials, however its performance in these settings has not been systematically evaluated. Design The Seniors Health and Activity Research Program (SHARP) pilot trial (N=73) developed a computer-based tool for assessing memory performance and executive functioning. The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Seniors (LIFE) investigators incorporated this battery in a full scale multicenter clinical trial (N=1635). We describe relationships that test scores have with those from interviewer-administered cognitive function tests and risk factors for cognitive deficits and describe performance measures (completeness, intra-class correlations). Results Computer-based assessments of cognitive function had consistent relationships across the pilot and full scale trial cohorts with interviewer-administered assessments of cognitive function, age, and a measure of physical function. In the LIFE cohort, their external validity was further demonstrated by associations with other risk factors for cognitive dysfunction: education, hypertension, diabetes, and physical function. Acceptable levels of data completeness (>83%) were achieved on all computer-based measures, however rates of missing data were higher among older participants (odds ratio=1.06 for each additional year; p<0.001) and those who reported no current computer use (odds ratio=2.71; p<0.001). Intra-class correlations among clinics were at least as low (ICC≤0.013) as for interviewer measures (ICC≤0.023), reflecting good standardization. All cognitive measures loaded onto the first principal component (global cognitive function), which accounted for 40% of the overall variance. Conclusion Our results support the use of computer-based tools for assessing cognitive function in multicenter clinical trials of older individuals. PMID:23589390

Reliability and validity of a Tutorial Group Effectiveness Instrument.

PubMed

Singaram, Veena S; Van Der Vleuten, Cees P M; Van Berkel, Henk; Dolmans, Diana H J M

2010-01-01

Tutorial group effectiveness is essential for the success of learning in problem-based learning (PBL). Less effective and dysfunctional groups compromise the quality of students learning in PBL. This article aims to report on the reliability and validity of an instrument aimed at measuring tutorial group effectiveness in PBL. The items within the instrument are clustered around motivational and cognitive factors based on Slavin's theoretical framework. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to estimate the validity of the instrument. Furthermore, generalizability studies were conducted and alpha coefficients were computed to determine the reliability and homogeneity of each factor. The CFA indicated that a three-factor model comprising 19 items showed a good fit with the data. Alpha coefficients per factor were high. The findings of the generalizability studies indicated that at least 9-10 student responses are needed in order to obtain reliable data at the tutorial group level. The instrument validated in this study has the potential to provide faculty and students with diagnostic information and feedback about student behaviors that enhance and hinder tutorial group effectiveness.

Intercomparison of MODIS, MISR, OMI, and CALIPSO aerosol optical depth retrievals for four locations on the Indo-Gangetic plains and validation against AERONET data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bibi, Humera; Alam, Khan; Chishtie, Farrukh; Bibi, Samina; Shahid, Imran; Blaschke, Thomas

2015-06-01

This study provides an intercomparison of aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals from satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) instrumentation over Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, and Kanpur between 2007 and 2013, with validation against AOD observations from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). Both MODIS Deep Blue (MODISDB) and MODIS Standard (MODISSTD) products were compared with the AERONET products. The MODISSTD-AERONET comparisons revealed a high degree of correlation for the four investigated sites at Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, and Kanpur, the MODISDB-AERONET comparisons revealed even better correlations, and the MISR-AERONET comparisons also indicated strong correlations, as did the OMI-AERONET comparisons, while the CALIPSO-AERONET comparisons revealed only poor correlations due to the limited number of data points available. We also computed figures for root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean bias (RMB). Using AERONET data to validate MODISSTD, MODISDB, MISR, OMI, and CALIPSO data revealed that MODISSTD data was more accurate over vegetated locations than over un-vegetated locations, while MISR data was more accurate over areas close to the ocean than over other areas. The MISR instrument performed better than the other instruments over Karachi and Kanpur, while the MODISSTD AOD retrievals were better than those from the other instruments over Lahore and Jaipur. We also computed the expected error bounds (EEBs) for both MODIS retrievals and found that MODISSTD consistently outperformed MODISDB in all of the investigated areas. High AOD values were observed by the MODISSTD, MODISDB, MISR, and OMI instruments during the summer months (April-August); these ranged from 0.32 to 0.78, possibly due to human activity and biomass burning. In contrast, high AOD values were observed by the CALIPSO instrument between September and December, due to high concentrations of smoke and soot aerosols. The variable monthly AOD figures obtained with different sensors indicate overestimation by MODISSTD, MODISDB, OMI, and CALIPSO instruments over Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur and Kanpur, relative to the AERONET data, but underestimation by the MISR instrument.

The development of a clinical outcomes survey research application: Assessment Center.

PubMed

Gershon, Richard; Rothrock, Nan E; Hanrahan, Rachel T; Jansky, Liz J; Harniss, Mark; Riley, William

2010-06-01

The National Institutes of Health sponsored Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) aimed to create item banks and computerized adaptive tests (CATs) across multiple domains for individuals with a range of chronic diseases. Web-based software was created to enable a researcher to create study-specific Websites that could administer PROMIS CATs and other instruments to research participants or clinical samples. This paper outlines the process used to develop a user-friendly, free, Web-based resource (Assessment Center) for storage, retrieval, organization, sharing, and administration of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments. Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions were conducted with representatives from numerous institutions in order to supply a general wish list of features. Use Cases were then written to ensure that end user expectations matched programmer specifications. Program development included daily programmer "scrum" sessions, weekly Usability Acceptability Testing (UAT) and continuous Quality Assurance (QA) activities pre- and post-release. Assessment Center includes features that promote instrument development including item histories, data management, and storage of statistical analysis results. This case study of software development highlights the collection and incorporation of user input throughout the development process. Potential future applications of Assessment Center in clinical research are discussed.

Historical perspective: The pros and cons of conventional outcome measures in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Lim, Shen-Yang; Tan, Ai Huey

2018-01-01

Conventional outcome measures (COMs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) refer to rating scales, questionnaires, patient diaries and clinically-based tests that do not require specialized equipment. It is timely at this juncture - as clinicians and researchers begin to grapple with the "invasion" of digital technologies - to review the strengths and weaknesses of these outcome measures. This paper discusses advances (including an enhanced understanding of PD itself, and the development of clinimetrics as a field) that have led to improvements in the COMs used in PD; their strengths and limitations; and factors to consider when selecting and using a measuring instrument. It is envisaged that in the future, a combination of COMs and technology-based objective measures will be utilized, with different methods having their own strengths and weaknesses. Judgement is required on the part of the clinician and researcher in terms of which instrument(s) are appropriate to use, depending on the particular clinical or research setting or question. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Central Data Processing System (CDPS) user's manual: Solar heating and cooling program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The software and data base management system required to assess the performance of solar heating and cooling systems installed at multiple sites is presented. The instrumentation data associated with these systems is collected, processed, and presented in a form which supported continuity of performance evaluation across all applications. The CDPS consisted of three major elements: communication interface computer, central data processing computer, and performance evaluation data base. Users of the performance data base were identified, and procedures for operation, and guidelines for software maintenance were outlined. The manual also defined the output capabilities of the CDPS in support of external users of the system.

Virtual Instrument for Determining Rate Constant of Second-Order Reaction by pX Based on LabVIEW 8.0.

PubMed

Meng, Hu; Li, Jiang-Yuan; Tang, Yong-Huai

2009-01-01

The virtual instrument system based on LabVIEW 8.0 for ion analyzer which can measure and analyze ion concentrations in solution is developed and comprises homemade conditioning circuit, data acquiring board, and computer. It can calibrate slope, temperature, and positioning automatically. When applied to determine the reaction rate constant by pX, it achieved live acquiring, real-time displaying, automatical processing of testing data, generating the report of results; and other functions. This method simplifies the experimental operation greatly, avoids complicated procedures of manual processing data and personal error, and improves veracity and repeatability of the experiment results.

Feedback-giving behaviour in performance evaluations during clinical clerkships.

PubMed

Bok, Harold G J; Jaarsma, Debbie A D C; Spruijt, Annemarie; Van Beukelen, Peter; Van Der Vleuten, Cees P M; Teunissen, Pim W

2016-01-01

Narrative feedback documented in performance evaluations by the teacher, i.e. the clinical supervisor, is generally accepted to be essential for workplace learning. Many studies have examined factors of influence on the usage of mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) instruments and provision of feedback, but little is known about how these factors influence teachers' feedback-giving behaviour. In this study, we investigated teachers' use of mini-CEX in performance evaluations to provide narrative feedback in undergraduate clinical training. We designed an exploratory qualitative study using an interpretive approach. Focusing on the usage of mini-CEX instruments in clinical training, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore teachers' perceptions. Between February and June 2013, we conducted interviews with 14 clinicians participated as teachers during undergraduate clinical clerkships. Informed by concepts from the literature, we coded interview transcripts and iteratively reduced and displayed data using template analysis. We identified three main themes of interrelated factors that influenced teachers' practice with regard to mini-CEX instruments: teacher-related factors; teacher-student interaction-related factors, and teacher-context interaction-related factors. Four issues (direct observation, relationship between teacher and student, verbal versus written feedback, formative versus summative purposes) that are pertinent to workplace-based performance evaluations were presented to clarify how different factors interact with each other and influence teachers' feedback-giving behaviour. Embedding performance observation in clinical practice and establishing trustworthy teacher-student relationships in more longitudinal clinical clerkships were considered important in creating a learning environment that supports and facilitates the feedback exchange. Teachers' feedback-giving behaviour within the clinical context results from the interaction between personal, interpersonal and contextual factors. Increasing insight into how teachers use mini-CEX instruments in daily practice may offer strategies for creating a professional learning culture in which feedback giving and seeking would be enhanced.

Assessment regarding the use of the computer aided analytical models in the calculus of the general strength of a ship hull

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hreniuc, V.; Hreniuc, A.; Pescaru, A.

2017-08-01

Solving a general strength problem of a ship hull may be done using analytical approaches which are useful to deduce the buoyancy forces distribution, the weighting forces distribution along the hull and the geometrical characteristics of the sections. These data are used to draw the free body diagrams and to compute the stresses. The general strength problems require a large amount of calculi, therefore it is interesting how a computer may be used to solve such problems. Using computer programming an engineer may conceive software instruments based on analytical approaches. However, before developing the computer code the research topic must be thoroughly analysed, in this way being reached a meta-level of understanding of the problem. The following stage is to conceive an appropriate development strategy of the original software instruments useful for the rapid development of computer aided analytical models. The geometrical characteristics of the sections may be computed using a bool algebra that operates with ‘simple’ geometrical shapes. By ‘simple’ we mean that for the according shapes we have direct calculus relations. In the set of ‘simple’ shapes we also have geometrical entities bounded by curves approximated as spline functions or as polygons. To conclude, computer programming offers the necessary support to solve general strength ship hull problems using analytical methods.

The design of a new laser acupuncture instrument based on internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chengwei; Liu, Jiguang; Huang, Zhen; Jin, Zhigao

2006-06-01

Laser acupuncture defined as the stimulation of traditional acupuncture points with low-intensity, non-thermal laser irradiation and the therapeutic use of laser acupuncture is rapidly gaining in popularity. As recovery instrument, physiotherapy instrument has a long curing period but perfect curative effect; furthermore, the treatment scheme needs to he revised on the basis of exchanges between patients and medical staff. In this paper a new laser acupuncture instrument based on Internet is designed. This multi-functional visual physiotherapy system based on embedded TCP/IP protocol, is further developed, which can realize visual real-time communication between patients and doctors with the help of Internet. Patients can enjoy professional medical care at home. Therefore, the equipment is suitable to those where specialists are needed; such as villages, towns, communities, small private clinics, and those families applicable. For such equipment, the key is to design an embedded networked module. The solution of this paper is to design the Ethernet interface based on DSP.

Instrumentation and telemetry systems for free-flight drop model testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hyde, Charles R.; Massie, Jeffrey J.

1993-01-01

This paper presents instrumentation and telemetry system techniques used in free-flight research drop model testing at the NASA Langley Research Center. The free-flight drop model test technique is used to conduct flight dynamics research of high performance aircraft using dynamically scaled models. The free-flight drop model flight testing supplements research using computer analysis and wind tunnel testing. The drop models are scaled to approximately 20 percent of the size of the actual aircraft. This paper presents an introduction to the Free-Flight Drop Model Program which is followed by a description of the current instrumentation and telemetry systems used at the NASA Langley Research Center, Plum Tree Test Site. The paper describes three telemetry downlinks used to acquire the data, video, and radar tracking information from the model. Also described are two telemetry uplinks, one used to fly the model employing a ground-based flight control computer and a second to activate commands for visual tracking and parachute recovery of the model. The paper concludes with a discussion of free-flight drop model instrumentation and telemetry system development currently in progress for future drop model projects at the NASA Langley Research Center.

Convolution kernels for multi-wavelength imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boucaud, A.; Bocchio, M.; Abergel, A.; Orieux, F.; Dole, H.; Hadj-Youcef, M. A.

2016-12-01

Astrophysical images issued from different instruments and/or spectral bands often require to be processed together, either for fitting or comparison purposes. However each image is affected by an instrumental response, also known as point-spread function (PSF), that depends on the characteristics of the instrument as well as the wavelength and the observing strategy. Given the knowledge of the PSF in each band, a straightforward way of processing images is to homogenise them all to a target PSF using convolution kernels, so that they appear as if they had been acquired by the same instrument. We propose an algorithm that generates such PSF-matching kernels, based on Wiener filtering with a tunable regularisation parameter. This method ensures all anisotropic features in the PSFs to be taken into account. We compare our method to existing procedures using measured Herschel/PACS and SPIRE PSFs and simulated JWST/MIRI PSFs. Significant gains up to two orders of magnitude are obtained with respect to the use of kernels computed assuming Gaussian or circularised PSFs. A software to compute these kernels is available at https://github.com/aboucaud/pypher

Design and validation of a standards-based science teacher efficacy instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, Patricia Reda

National standards for K--12 science education address all aspects of science education, with their main emphasis on curriculum---both science subject matter and the process involved in doing science. Standards for science teacher education programs have been developing along a parallel plane, as is self-efficacy research involving classroom teachers. Generally, studies about efficacy have been dichotomous---basing the theoretical underpinnings on the work of either Rotter's Locus of Control theory or on Bandura's explanations of efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy. This study brings all three threads together---K--12 science standards, teacher education standards, and efficacy beliefs---in an instrument designed to measure science teacher efficacy with items based on identified critical attributes of standards-based science teaching and learning. Based on Bandura's explanation of efficacy being task-specific and having outcome expectancy, a developmental, systematic progression from standards-based strategies and activities to tasks to critical attributes was used to craft items for a standards-based science teacher efficacy instrument. Demographic questions related to school characteristics, teacher characteristics, preservice background, science teaching experience, and post-certification professional development were included in the instrument. The instrument was completed by 102 middle level science teachers, with complete data for 87 teachers. A principal components analysis of the science teachers' responses to the instrument resulted in two components: Standards-Based Science Teacher Efficacy: Beliefs About Teaching (BAT, reliability = .92) and Standards-Based Science Teacher Efficacy: Beliefs About Student Achievement (BASA, reliability = .82). Variables that were characteristic of professional development activities, science content preparation, and school environment were identified as members of the sets of variables predicting the BAT and BASA subscales. Correlations were computed for BAT, BASA, and demographic variables to identify relationships between teacher efficacy, teacher characteristics, and school characteristics. Further research is recommended to refine the instrument and apply its use to a larger sample of science teachers. Its further development also has significance for the enhancement of science teacher education programs.

A Computer-Based Atlas of Global Instrumental Climate Data (DB1003)

DOE Data Explorer

Bradley, Raymond S.; Ahern, Linda G.; Keimig, Frank T.

1994-01-01

Color-shaded and contoured images of global, gridded instrumental data have been produced as a computer-based atlas. Each image simultaneously depicts anomaly maps of surface temperature, sea-level pressure, 500-mbar geopotential heights, and percentages of reference-period precipitation. Monthly, seasonal, and annual composites are available in either cylindrical equidistant or northern and southern hemisphere polar projections. Temperature maps are available from 1854 to 1991, precipitation from 1851 to 1989, sea-level pressure from 1899 to 1991, and 500-mbar heights from 1946 to 1991. The source of data for the temperature images is Jones et al.'s global gridded temperature anomalies. The precipitation images were derived from Eischeid et al.'s global gridded precipitation percentages. Grids from the Data Support Section, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) were the sources for the sea-level-pressure and 500-mbar geopotential-height images. All images are in GIF files (1024 × 822 pixels, 256 colors) and can be displayed on many different computer platforms. Each annual subdirectory contains 141 images, each seasonal subdirectory contains 563 images, and each monthly subdirectory contains 1656 images. The entire atlas requires approximately 340 MB of disk space, but users may retrieve any number of images at one time.

Creating a Computer Adaptive Test Version of the Late-Life Function & Disability Instrument

PubMed Central

Jette, Alan M.; Haley, Stephen M.; Ni, Pengsheng; Olarsch, Sippy; Moed, Richard

2009-01-01

Background This study applied Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) methodologies to develop a prototype function and disability assessment instrument for use in aging research. Herein, we report on the development of the CAT version of the Late-Life Function & Disability instrument (Late-Life FDI) and evaluate its psychometric properties. Methods We employed confirmatory factor analysis, IRT methods, validation, and computer simulation analyses of data collected from 671 older adults residing in residential care facilities. We compared accuracy, precision, and sensitivity to change of scores from CAT versions of two Late-Life FDI scales with scores from the fixed-form instrument. Score estimates from the prototype CAT versus the original instrument were compared in a sample of 40 older adults. Results Distinct function and disability domains were identified within the Late-Life FDI item bank and used to construct two prototype CAT scales. Using retrospective data, scores from computer simulations of the prototype CAT scales were highly correlated with scores from the original instrument. The results of computer simulation, accuracy, precision, and sensitivity to change of the CATs closely approximated those of the fixed-form scales, especially for the 10- or 15-item CAT versions. In the prospective study each CAT was administered in less than 3 minutes and CAT scores were highly correlated with scores generated from the original instrument. Conclusions CAT scores of the Late-Life FDI were highly comparable to those obtained from the full-length instrument with a small loss in accuracy, precision, and sensitivity to change. PMID:19038841

Barriers to Healthcare: Instrument Development and Comparison between Autistic Adults and Adults with and without Other Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raymaker, Dora M.; McDonald, Katherine E.; Ashkenazy, Elesia; Gerrity, Martha; Baggs, Amelia M.; Kripke, Clarissa; Hourston, Sarah; Nicolaidis, Christina

2017-01-01

Our objective was to use a community-based participatory research approach to identify and compare barriers to healthcare experienced by autistic adults and adults with and without other disabilities. To do so, we developed a Long- and Short-Form instrument to assess barriers in clinical and research settings. Using the Barriers to Healthcare…

A review of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) with an emphasis on juvenile justice samples.

PubMed

Baum, Linda J; Archer, Robert P; Forbey, Johnathan D; Handel, Richard W

2009-12-01

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) and Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) are frequently used objective personality self-report measures. Given their widespread use, the purpose of the current study was to examine and compare the literature base for the two instruments. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted between the years 1992 and 2007 using the PsycINFO Database. Results indicate the publication of 277 articles, books, book chapters, monographs, and dissertation abstracts on the MMPI-A. This was compared with the results of a comparable search for the MACI, which yielded 84 citations. The literature was further explored by determining the content of the topic areas addressed for both instruments. A particular focus was placed on the utility of the instruments with juvenile justice populations; scale means, standard deviations, and effect sizes calculated from this literature were examined. Results indicate that the use of the MMPI-A is supported by a substantial literature and a growing research base is also available for the MACI. Both instruments appear to provide useful results in juvenile justice settings.

Evaluative studies in nuclear medicine research: emission computed tomography assessment. Final report, January 1-December 31, 1981

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Potchen, E.J.; Harris, G.I.; Gift, D.A.

The report provides information on an assessment of the potential short and long term benefits of emission computed tomography (ECT) in biomedical research and patient care. Work during the past year has been augmented by the development and use of an opinion survey instrument to reach a wider representation of knowledgeable investigators and users of this technology. This survey instrument is reproduced in an appendix. Information derived from analysis of the opinion survey, and used in conjunction with results of independent staff studies of available sources, provides the basis for the discussions given in following sections of PET applications inmore » the brain, of technical factors, and of economic implications. Projections of capital and operating costs on a per study basis were obtained from a computerized, pro forma accounting model and are compared with the survey cost estimates for both research and clinical modes of application. The results of a cash-flow model analysis of the relationship between projected economic benefit of PET research to disease management and the costs associated with such research are presented and discussed.« less

[The operating room of the future].

PubMed

Broeders, I A; Niessen, W; van der Werken, C; van Vroonhoven, T J

2000-01-29

Advances in computer technology will revolutionize surgical techniques in the next decade. The operating room (OR) of the future will be connected with a laboratory where clinical specialists and researchers prepare image-guided interventions and explore the possibilities of these techniques. The virtual reality is linked to the actual situation in the OR with the aid of navigation instruments. During complicated operations the images prepared preoperatively will be corrected during the operation on the basis of the information obtained peroperatively. MRI currently offers maximal possibilities for image-guided surgery of soft tissues. Simpler techniques such as fluoroscopy and echography will become increasingly integrated in computer-assisted peroperative navigation. The development of medical robot systems will make possible microsurgical procedures by the endoscopic route. Tele-manipulation systems will also play a part in the training of surgeons. Design and construction of the OR will be adapted to the surgical technology, and include an information and control unit where preoperative and peroperative data come together and from where the surgeon operates the instruments. Concepts for the future OR should be regularly adjusted to allow for new surgical technology.

Comparative evaluation of the accuracy of linear measurements between cone beam computed tomography and 3D microtomography.

PubMed

Mangione, Francesca; Meleo, Deborah; Talocco, Marco; Pecci, Raffaella; Pacifici, Luciano; Bedini, Rossella

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of artifacts on the accuracy of linear measurements estimated with a common cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system used in dental clinical practice, by comparing it with microCT system as standard reference. Ten bovine bone cylindrical samples containing one implant each, able to provide both points of reference and image quality degradation, have been scanned by CBCT and microCT systems. Thanks to the software of the two systems, for each cylindrical sample, two diameters taken at different levels, by using implants different points as references, have been measured. Results have been analyzed by ANOVA and a significant statistically difference has been found. Due to the obtained results, in this work it is possible to say that the measurements made with the two different instruments are still not statistically comparable, although in some samples were obtained similar performances and therefore not statistically significant. With the improvement of the hardware and software of CBCT systems, in the near future the two instruments will be able to provide similar performances.

Applying Computer-Assisted Musical Instruction to Music Appreciation Course: An Example with Chinese Musical Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Shi-Jer; Guo, Yuan-Chang; Zhu, Yi-Zhen; Shih, Ru-Chu; Dzan, Wei-Yuan

2011-01-01

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of computer-assisted musical instruction (CAMI) in the Learning Chinese Musical Instruments (LCMI) course. The CAMI software for Chinese musical instruments was developed and administered to 228 students in a vocational high school. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design with three…

Instrumentation for Scientific Computing in Neural Networks, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Applied Mathematics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-10-01

include Security Classification) Instrumentation for scientific computing in neural networks, information science, artificial intelligence, and...instrumentation grant to purchase equipment for support of research in neural networks, information science, artificail intellignece , and applied mathematics...in Neural Networks, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Applied Mathematics Contract AFOSR 86-0282 Principal Investigator: Stephen

Assessing clinical reasoning (ASCLIRE): Instrument development and validation.

PubMed

Kunina-Habenicht, Olga; Hautz, Wolf E; Knigge, Michel; Spies, Claudia; Ahlers, Olaf

2015-12-01

Clinical reasoning is an essential competency in medical education. This study aimed at developing and validating a test to assess diagnostic accuracy, collected information, and diagnostic decision time in clinical reasoning. A norm-referenced computer-based test for the assessment of clinical reasoning (ASCLIRE) was developed, integrating the entire clinical decision process. In a cross-sectional study participants were asked to choose as many diagnostic measures as they deemed necessary to diagnose the underlying disease of six different cases with acute or sub-acute dyspnea and provide a diagnosis. 283 students and 20 content experts participated. In addition to diagnostic accuracy, respective decision time and number of used relevant diagnostic measures were documented as distinct performance indicators. The empirical structure of the test was investigated using a structural equation modeling approach. Experts showed higher accuracy rates and lower decision times than students. In a cross-sectional comparison, the diagnostic accuracy of students improved with the year of study. Wrong diagnoses provided by our sample were comparable to wrong diagnoses in practice. We found an excellent fit for a model with three latent factors-diagnostic accuracy, decision time, and choice of relevant diagnostic information-with diagnostic accuracy showing no significant correlation with decision time. ASCLIRE considers decision time as an important performance indicator beneath diagnostic accuracy and provides evidence that clinical reasoning is a complex ability comprising diagnostic accuracy, decision time, and choice of relevant diagnostic information as three partly correlated but still distinct aspects.

Design of Rail Instrumentation for Wind Tunnel Sonic Boom Measurements and Computational-Experimental Comparisons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cliff, Susan E.; Elmiligui, A.; Aftosmis, M.; Morgenstern, J.; Durston, D.; Thomas, S.

2012-01-01

An innovative pressure rail concept for wind tunnel sonic boom testing of modern aircraft configurations with very low overpressures was designed with an adjoint-based solution-adapted Cartesian grid method. The computational method requires accurate free-air calculations of a test article as well as solutions modeling the influence of rail and tunnel walls. Specialized grids for accurate Euler and Navier-Stokes sonic boom computations were used on several test articles including complete aircraft models with flow-through nacelles. The computed pressure signatures are compared with recent results from the NASA 9- x 7-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel using the advanced rail design.

The Mission Operations Planning Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuetzle, James G.

1987-01-01

The Mission Operations Planning Assistant (MOPA) is a knowledge-based system developed to support the planning and scheduling of instrument activities on the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS). The MOPA system represents and maintains instrument plans at two levels of abstraction in order to keep plans comprehensible to both UARS Principal Investigators and Command Management personnel. The hierarchical representation of plans also allows MOPA to automatically create detailed instrument activity plans from which spacecraft command loads may be generated. The MOPA system was developed on a Symbolics 3640 computer using the ZetaLisp and ART languages. MOPA's features include a textual and graphical interface for plan inspection and modification, recognition of instrument operational constraint violations during the planning process, and consistency maintenance between the different planning levels. This paper describes the current MOPA system.

The mission operations planning assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuetzle, James G.

1987-01-01

The Mission Operations Planning Assistant (MOPA) is a knowledge-based system developed to support the planning and scheduling of instrument activities on the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS). The MOPA system represents and maintains instrument plans at two levels of abstraction in order to keep plans comprehensible to both UARS Prinicpal Investigators and Command Management personnel. The hierarchical representation of plans also allows MOPA to automatically create detailed instrument activity plans from which spacecraft command loads may be generated. The MOPA system was developed on a Symbolics 3640 computer using the ZETALISP and ART languages. MOPA's features include a textual and graphical interface for plan inspection and modification, recognition of instrument operational constraint violations during the planning process, and consistency maintenance between the different planning levels. This paper describes the current MOPA system.

Glucose determination in human aqueous humor with Raman spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, James L.; Pelletier, Christine C.; Borchert, Mark

2005-01-01

It has been suggested that spectroscopic analysis of the aqueous humor of the eye could be used to indirectly predict blood glucose levels in diabetics noninvasively. We have been investigating this potential using Raman spectroscopy in combination with partial least squares (PLS) analysis. We have determined that glucose at clinically relevant concentrations can be accurately predicted in human aqueous humor in vitro using a PLS model based on artificial aqueous humor. We have further determined that with proper instrument design, the light energy necessary to achieve clinically acceptable prediction of glucose does not damage the retinas of rabbits and can be delivered at powers below internationally acceptable safety limits. Herein we summarize our current results and address our strategies to improve instrument design. 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

The intelligent, painless, "germ-free" colonoscopy: A Columbus' egg for increasing population adherence to colorectal cancer screening?

PubMed

Perri, Francesco; Iacobellis, Angelo; Gentile, Marco; Tumino, Emanuele; Andriulli, Angelo

2010-12-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Although it is widely accepted that CRC screening in average risk populations lowers CRC incidence and mortality, a disappointedly low adherence rate to both faecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy-based screening programs has been observed in Italy and in other European countries. Main reasons for the low acceptance of colonoscopy-based CRC screening has been ascribed to lack of recommendations given by general practitioners, fear of discomfort or complications, embarrassment, and avoidance of unpleasant preparation. New advances in endoscopic technology such as colon capsule and robotic colonoscopy might represent the ideal tool for CRC screening since they reduce or eliminate procedure-related pain and discomfort. Moreover, no disinfection between procedures is required. Motion of the new probes along the gastrointestinal tract is achieved either in passive modality by utilizing the gut peristalsis (colon capsule) or in active "intelligent" modality by means of computer-assisted propulsion (robotic colonoscopy). In this review, the preliminary clinical results obtained with the new devices are summarized. It is expected that the new instruments will be soon available in clinical practice with the hope of increasing adherence to CRC screening programs. Copyright © 2010 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient specific pointer tool for corrective osteotomy: Quality of symmetry based planning and case study of ulnar reconstruction surgery.

PubMed

Mueller, Samuel; Kahrs, Lueder A; Gaa, Johannes; Ortmaier, Tobias; Clausen, Jan-Dierk; Krettek, Christian

2017-07-01

Malunion after forearm fractures are described to appear in 2% to 10% of cases. Reconstructive surgeries ensure adequate anatomical repositioning. Their importance derives from the fact that malunion can often lead to severe pain as well as deformities causing loss of function and aesthetic issues not only in the forearm, but also the wrist and elbow joint. In this paper a clinical case will be presented using a Patient Specific Instrument (PSI) as navigational aid for reconstructive surgery after malunion of a proximal ulnar fracture combined with allograft surgery of the radial head and radial condyle due to chronic traumatic radial head luxation (Monteggia fracture). A planning method based on symmetry is described and evaluated on twelve Computed Tomographic (CT) data sets of intact forearms. The absolute point to point deviation at distal end of the ulnar styloid process was used as a characteristic value for accuracy evaluation. It is 7.9±4.9mm when using only the proximal end of the ulna for registration. The simulated change of ulnar variance is -1.4±1.9mm. Design and concept of the PSI are proven in a clinical trial. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computer-assisted photogrammetric mapping systems for geologic studies-A progress report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pillmore, C.L.; Dueholm, K.S.; Jepsen, H.S.; Schuch, C.H.

1981-01-01

Photogrammetry has played an important role in geologic mapping for many years; however, only recently have attempts been made to automate mapping functions for geology. Computer-assisted photogrammetric mapping systems for geologic studies have been developed and are currently in use in offices of the Geological Survey of Greenland at Copenhagen, Denmark, and the U.S. Geological Survey at Denver, Colorado. Though differing somewhat, the systems are similar in that they integrate Kern PG-2 photogrammetric plotting instruments and small desk-top computers that are programmed to perform special geologic functions and operate flat-bed plotters by means of specially designed hardware and software. A z-drive capability, in which stepping motors control the z-motions of the PG-2 plotters, is an integral part of both systems. This feature enables the computer to automatically position the floating mark on computer-calculated, previously defined geologic planes, such as contacts or the base of coal beds, throughout the stereoscopic model in order to improve the mapping capabilities of the instrument and to aid in correlation and tracing of geologic units. The common goal is to enhance the capabilities of the PG-2 plotter and provide a means by which geologists can make conventional geologic maps more efficiently and explore ways to apply computer technology to geologic studies. ?? 1981.

Gender Differences in Computer- and Instrumental-Based Musical Composition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shibazaki, Kagari; Marshall, Nigel A.

2013-01-01

Background: Previous studies have argued that technology can be a major support to the music teacher enabling, amongst other things, increased student motivation, higher levels of confidence and more individualised learning to take place [Bolton, J. 2008. "Technologically mediated composition learning: Josh's story." "British…

Students’ Impression towards Science Virtual Test (SVT) on Digestive System Topic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahfira, C.; Sanjaya, Y.; Rusyati, L.

2018-05-01

During the past few years, technology has significantly support the improvements in assessment.Computer-based test (CBT) comes up as a new type of assessment which offers many benefits. The implementation of computer-based test in term of students’ perspective gives rise to numbers of mixed reactions. Students’ impression is one of the essential things for the implementation of SVT. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impression of students toward SVT. The method used in this research was descriptive method. The participant was 98 students from Junior High School “X” in East Bandung. Students’ impression questionnaire was used as the instrument. There are four aspects tested in this instrument which are students’ experience, technical activity, preference and media of SVT. The result shows that SVT generally gives positive impression to students. Students have a positive experience and did not encounter significant problem when implementing SVT. Students prefer to use SVT and students think the media of SVT is already good.

Intraoperative Noise Increases Perceived Task Load and Fatigue in Anesthesiology Residents: A Simulation-Based Study.

PubMed

McNeer, Richard R; Bennett, Christopher L; Dudaryk, Roman

2016-02-01

Operating rooms are identified as being one of the noisiest of clinical environments, and intraoperative noise is associated with adverse effects on staff and patient safety. Simulation-based experiments would offer controllable and safe venues for investigating this noise problem. However, realistic simulation of the clinical auditory environment is rare in current simulators. Therefore, we retrofitted our operating room simulator to be able to produce immersive auditory simulations with the use of typical sound sources encountered during surgeries. Then, we tested the hypothesis that anesthesia residents would perceive greater task load and fatigue while being given simulated lunch breaks in noisy environments rather than in quiet ones. As a secondary objective, we proposed and tested the plausibility of a novel psychometric instrument for the assessment of stress. In this simulation-based, randomized, repeated-measures, crossover study, 2 validated psychometric survey instruments, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), composed of 6 items, and the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI), composed of 5 items, were used to assess perceived task load and fatigue, respectively, in first-year anesthesia residents. Residents completed the psychometric instruments after being given lunch breaks in quiet and noisy intraoperative environments (soundscapes). The effects of soundscape grouping on the psychometric instruments and their comprising items were analyzed with a split-plot analysis. A model for a new psychometric instrument for measuring stress that combines the NASA-TLX and SOFI instruments was proposed, and a factor analysis was performed on the collected data to determine the model's plausibility. Twenty residents participated in this study. Multivariate analysis of variance showed an effect of soundscape grouping on the combined NASA-TLX and SOFI instrument items (P = 0.003) and the comparisons of univariate item reached significance for the NASA Temporal Demand item (P = 0.0004) and the SOFI Lack of Energy item (P = 0.001). Factor analysis extracted 4 factors, which were assigned the following construct names for model development: Psychological Task Load, Psychological Fatigue, Acute Physical Load, and Performance-Chronic Physical Load. Six of the 7 fit tests used in the partial confirmatory factor analysis were positive when we fitted the data to the proposed model, suggesting that further validation is warranted. This study provides evidence that noise during surgery can increase feelings of stress, as measured by perceived task load and fatigue levels, in anesthesiologists and adds to the growing literature pointing to an overall adverse impact of clinical noise on caregivers and patient safety. The psychometric model proposed in this study for assessing perceived stress is plausible based on factor analysis and will be useful for characterizing the impact of the clinical environment on subject stress levels in future investigations.

Dreams In Jungian Psychology: The use of Dreams as an Instrument For Research, Diagnosis and Treatment of Social Phobia.

PubMed

Khodarahimi, Siamak

2009-10-01

The significance of dreams has been explained in psychoanalysis, depth psychology and gestalt therapy. There are many guidelines in analytic psychology for dream interpretation and integration in clinical practice. The present study, based on the Jungian analytic model, incorporated dreams as an instrument for assessment of aetiology, the psychotherapy process and the outcome of treatment for social phobia within a clinical case study. This case study describes the use of dream analysis in treating a female youth with social phobia. The present findings supported the three stage paradigm efficiency in the Jungian model for dream working within a clinical setting, i.e. written details, reassembly with amplification and assimilation. It was indicated that childhood and infantile traumatic events, psychosexual development malfunctions, and inefficient coping skills for solving current life events were expressed in the patient's dreams. Dreams can reflect a patient's aetiology, needs, illness prognosis and psychotherapy outcome. Dreams are an instrument for the diagnosis, research and treatment of mental disturbances in a clinical setting.

Dreams In Jungian Psychology: The use of Dreams as an Instrument For Research, Diagnosis and Treatment of Social Phobia

PubMed Central

Khodarahimi, Siamak

2009-01-01

Background: The significance of dreams has been explained in psychoanalysis, depth psychology and gestalt therapy. There are many guidelines in analytic psychology for dream interpretation and integration in clinical practice. The present study, based on the Jungian analytic model, incorporated dreams as an instrument for assessment of aetiology, the psychotherapy process and the outcome of treatment for social phobia within a clinical case study. Method: This case study describes the use of dream analysis in treating a female youth with social phobia. Results: The present findings supported the three stage paradigm efficiency in the Jungian model for dream working within a clinical setting, i.e. written details, reassembly with amplification and assimilation. It was indicated that childhood and infantile traumatic events, psychosexual development malfunctions, and inefficient coping skills for solving current life events were expressed in the patient’s dreams. Conclusion: Dreams can reflect a patient’s aetiology, needs, illness prognosis and psychotherapy outcome. Dreams are an instrument for the diagnosis, research and treatment of mental disturbances in a clinical setting. PMID:22135511

Exploring Clinical Supervision as Instrument for Effective Teacher Supervision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibara, E. C.

2013-01-01

This paper examines clinical supervision approaches that have the potential to promote and implement effective teacher supervision in Nigeria. The various approaches have been analysed based on the conceptual framework of instructional supervisory behavior. The findings suggest that a clear distinction can be made between the prescriptive and…

An open-access, mobile compatible, electronic patient register for rheumatic heart disease ('eRegister') based on the World Heart Federation's framework for patient registers.

PubMed

van Dam, Joris; Musuku, John; Zühlke, Liesl J; Engel, Mark E; Nestle, Nick; Tadmor, Brigitta; Spector, Jonathan; Mayosi, Bongani M

2015-01-01

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a major disease burden in low-resource settings globally. Patient registers have long been recognised to be an essential instrument in RHD control and elimination programmes, yet to date rely heavily on paper-based data collection and non-networked data-management systems, which limit their functionality. To assess the feasibility and potential benefits of producing an electronic RHD patient register. We developed an eRegister based on the World Heart Federation's framework for RHD patient registers using CommCare, an open-source, cloud-based software for health programmes that supports the development of customised data capture using mobile devices. The resulting eRegistry application allows for simultaneous data collection and entry by field workers using mobile devices, and by providers using computer terminals in clinics and hospitals. Data are extracted from CommCare and are securely uploaded into a cloud-based database that matches the criteria established by the WHF framework. The application can easily be tailored to local needs by modifying existing variables or adding new ones. Compared with traditional paper-based data-collection systems, the eRegister reduces the risk of data error, synchronises in real-time, improves clinical operations and supports management of field team operations. The user-friendly eRegister is a low-cost, mobile, compatible platform for RHD treatment and prevention programmes based on materials sanctioned by the World Heart Federation. Readily adaptable to local needs, this paperless RHD patient register program presents many practical benefits.

The Computer-Based Writing Program: A Clinical Teaching Experience for Education Interns to Develop Professional Knowledge and Skills in Effective Instructional Writing Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Painter, Diane D.

2016-01-01

The four-week university-sponsored summer Computer-based Writing (CBW) Program directed by the head of a special education initial teacher licensure program gave teaching interns opportunities to work with young struggling writers in a supervised clinical setting to address keyboarding skills, writing conventions and knowledge and application of…

An interactive internet-based plate for assessing lunchtime food intake: a validation study on male employees.

PubMed

Svensson, Madeleine; Bellocco, Rino; Bakkman, Linda; Trolle Lagerros, Ylva

2013-01-18

Misreporting food intake is common because most health screenings rely on self-reports. The more accurate methods (eg, weighing food) are costly, time consuming, and impractical. We developed a new instrument for reporting food intake--an Internet-based interactive virtual food plate. The objective of this study was to validate this instrument's ability to assess lunch intake. Participants were asked to compose an ordinary lunch meal using both a virtual and a real lunch plate (with real food on a real plate). The participants ate their real lunch meals on-site. Before and after pictures of the composed lunch meals were taken. Both meals included identical food items. Participants were randomized to start with either instrument. The 2 instruments were compared using correlation and concordance measures (total energy intake, nutritional components, quantity of food, and participant characteristics). A total of 55 men (median age: 45 years, median body mass index [BMI]: 25.8 kg/m(2)) participated. We found an overall overestimation of reported median energy intake using the computer plate (3044 kJ, interquartile range [IQR] 1202 kJ) compared with the real lunch plate (2734 kJ, IQR 1051 kJ, P<.001). Spearman rank correlations and concordance correlations for energy intake and nutritional components ranged between 0.58 to 0.79 and 0.65 to 0.81, respectively. Although it slightly overestimated, our computer plate provides promising results in assessing lunch intake.

Childhood Adversity and Cumulative Life Stress: Risk Factors for Cancer-Related Fatigue.

PubMed

Bower, Julienne E; Crosswell, Alexandra D; Slavich, George M

2014-01-01

Fatigue is a common symptom in healthy and clinical populations, including cancer survivors. However, risk factors for cancer-related fatigue have not been identified. On the basis of research linking stress with other fatigue-related disorders, we tested the hypothesis that stress exposure during childhood and throughout the life span would be associated with fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Stress exposure was assessed using the Stress and Adversity Inventory, a novel computer-based instrument that assesses for 96 types of acute and chronic stressors that may affect health. Results showed that breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue reported significantly higher levels of cumulative lifetime stress exposure, including more stressful experiences in childhood and in adulthood, compared to a control group of nonfatigued survivors. These findings identify a novel risk factor for fatigue in the growing population of cancer survivors and suggest targets for treatment.

Childhood Adversity and Cumulative Life Stress: Risk Factors for Cancer-Related Fatigue

PubMed Central

Bower, Julienne E.; Crosswell, Alexandra D.; Slavich, George M.

2013-01-01

Fatigue is a common symptom in healthy and clinical populations, including cancer survivors. However, risk factors for cancer-related fatigue have not been identified. On the basis of research linking stress with other fatigue-related disorders, we tested the hypothesis that stress exposure during childhood and throughout the life span would be associated with fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Stress exposure was assessed using the Stress and Adversity Inventory, a novel computer-based instrument that assesses for 96 types of acute and chronic stressors that may affect health. Results showed that breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue reported significantly higher levels of cumulative lifetime stress exposure, including more stressful experiences in childhood and in adulthood, compared to a control group of nonfatigued survivors. These findings identify a novel risk factor for fatigue in the growing population of cancer survivors and suggest targets for treatment. PMID:24377083

Developing an instrument to measure effective factors on Clinical Learning

PubMed Central

DADGARAN, IDEH; SHIRAZI, MANDANA; MOHAMMADI, AEEN; RAVARI, ALI

2016-01-01

Introduction Although nursing students spend a large part of their learning period in the clinical environment, clinical learning has not been perceived by its nature yet. To develop an instrument to measure effective factors on clinical learning in nursing students. Methods This is a mixed methods study performed in 2 steps. First, the researchers defined “clinical learning” in nursing students through qualitative content analysis and designed items of the questionnaire based on semi-structured individual interviews with nursing students. Then, as the second step, psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated using the face validity, content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency evaluated on 227 students from fourth or higher semesters. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then, they were analyzed using Max Qualitative Data Analysis and all of qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS 14. Results To do the study, we constructed the preliminary questionnaire containing 102 expressions. After determination of face and content validities by qualitative and quantitative approaches, the expressions of the questionnaire were reduced to 45. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was applied. The results indicated that the maximum variance percentage (40.55%) was defined by the first 3 factors while the rest of the total variance percentage (59.45%) was determined by the other 42 factors. Results of exploratory factor analysis of this questionnaire indicated the presence of 3 instructor-staff, students, and educational related factors. Finally, 41 expressions were kept in 3 factor groups. The α-Cronbach coefficient (0.93) confirmed the high internal consistency of the questionnaire. Conclusion Results indicated that the prepared questionnaire was an efficient instrument in the study of the effective factors on clinical learning as viewed by nursing students since it involves 41 expressions and properties such as instrument design based on perception and experiences of the nursing students about effective factors on clinical learning, definition of facilitator and preventive factors of the clinical learning, simple scoring, suitable validity and reliability, and applicability in different occasions. PMID:27382579

Use of declarative statements in creating and maintaining computer-interpretable knowledge bases for guideline-based care.

PubMed

Tu, Samson W; Hrabak, Karen M; Campbell, James R; Glasgow, Julie; Nyman, Mark A; McClure, Robert; McClay, James; Abarbanel, Robert; Mansfield, James G; Martins, Susana M; Goldstein, Mary K; Musen, Mark A

2006-01-01

Developing computer-interpretable clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to provide decision support for guideline-based care is an extremely labor-intensive task. In the EON/ATHENA and SAGE projects, we formulated substantial portions of CPGs as computable statements that express declarative relationships between patient conditions and possible interventions. We developed query and expression languages that allow a decision-support system (DSS) to evaluate these statements in specific patient situations. A DSS can use these guideline statements in multiple ways, including: (1) as inputs for determining preferred alternatives in decision-making, and (2) as a way to provide targeted commentaries in the clinical information system. The use of these declarative statements significantly reduces the modeling expertise and effort required to create and maintain computer-interpretable knowledge bases for decision-support purpose. We discuss possible implications for sharing of such knowledge bases.

Progress Monitoring Instrument Development: Silent Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, and Reading Comprehension. Technical Report #1110

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nese, Joseph F. T.; Anderson, Daniel; Hoelscher, Kyle; Tindal, Gerald; Alonzo, Julie

2011-01-01

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is designed to measure students' academic status and growth so the effectiveness of instruction may be evaluated. In the most popular forms of reading CBM, the student's oral reading fluency is assessed. This behavior is difficult to sample in a computer-based format, a limitation that may be a function of the…

An Affordable and Portable Thermocycler for Real-Time PCR Made of 3D-Printed Parts and Off-the-Shelf Electronics.

PubMed

Mendoza-Gallegos, Roberto A; Rios, Amelia; Garcia-Cordero, Jose L

2018-05-01

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a sought-after nucleic acid amplification technique used in the detection of several diseases. However, one of the main limitations of this and other nucleic acid amplification assays is the complexity, size, maintenance, and cost of their operational instrumentation. This limits the use of PCR applications in settings that cannot afford the instruments but that may have access to basic electrical, electronic, and optical components and the expertise to build them. To provide a more accessible platform, we developed a low-cost, palm-size, and portable instrument to perform real-time PCR (qPCR). The thermocycler leverages a copper-sheathed power resistor and a computer fan, in tandem with basic electronic components controlled from a single-board computer. The instrument incorporates a 3D-printed chassis and a custom-made fluorescence optical setup based on a CMOS camera and a blue LED. Results are displayed in real-time on a tablet. We also fabricated simple acrylic microdevices consisting of four wells (2 μL in volume each) where PCR reactions take place. To test our instrument, we performed qPCR on a series of cDNA dilutions spanning 4 orders of magnitude, achieving similar limits of detection as those achieved by a benchtop thermocycler. We envision our instrument being utilized to enable routine monitoring and diagnosis of certain diseases in low-resource areas.

Impact of an oil-based lubricant on the effectiveness of the sterilization processes .

PubMed

Rutala, William A; Gergen, Maria F; Weber, David J

2008-01-01

Surgical instruments, including hinged instruments, were inoculated with test microorganisms (ie, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, approximately 2 x 10(6) colony-forming units [cfu]; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, approximately 3 x 10(6) cfu; Escherichia coli, approximately 2 x 10(5) cfu; vancomycin-resistant enterococci, 1 x 10(5) cfu; Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores, 2 x 10(5) cfu or more; or Bacillus atrophaeus spores, 9 x 10(4) cfu or more), coated with an oil-based lubricant (hydraulic fluid), subjected to a sterilization process, and then samples from the instruments were cultured. We found that the oil-based lubricant did not alter the effectiveness of the sterilization process because high numbers of clinically relevant bacteria and standard test spores (which are relatively resistant to the sterilization process) were inactivated.

A Perspective on the Role of Computational Models in Immunology.

PubMed

Chakraborty, Arup K

2017-04-26

This is an exciting time for immunology because the future promises to be replete with exciting new discoveries that can be translated to improve health and treat disease in novel ways. Immunologists are attempting to answer increasingly complex questions concerning phenomena that range from the genetic, molecular, and cellular scales to that of organs, whole animals or humans, and populations of humans and pathogens. An important goal is to understand how the many different components involved interact with each other within and across these scales for immune responses to emerge, and how aberrant regulation of these processes causes disease. To aid this quest, large amounts of data can be collected using high-throughput instrumentation. The nonlinear, cooperative, and stochastic character of the interactions between components of the immune system as well as the overwhelming amounts of data can make it difficult to intuit patterns in the data or a mechanistic understanding of the phenomena being studied. Computational models are increasingly important in confronting and overcoming these challenges. I first describe an iterative paradigm of research that integrates laboratory experiments, clinical data, computational inference, and mechanistic computational models. I then illustrate this paradigm with a few examples from the recent literature that make vivid the power of bringing together diverse types of computational models with experimental and clinical studies to fruitfully interrogate the immune system.

The development and validation of the Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory (CTBI-23): Nurse preceptors' and new graduate nurses' perceptions of precepting.

PubMed

Lee-Hsieh, Jane; O'Brien, Anthony; Liu, Chieh-Yu; Cheng, Su-Fen; Lee, Yea-Wen; Kao, Yu-Hsiu

2016-03-01

Few studies have examined the perceptions of clinical teaching behaviors among both nurse preceptors and preceptees. To develop a Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory (CTBI) for nurse preceptors' self-evaluation, and for new graduate nurse preceptee evaluation of preceptor clinical teaching behaviors and to test the validity and reliability of the CTBI. This study used mixed research techniques in five phases. Phase I: based on a literature review, the researchers developed an instrument to measure clinical teaching behaviors. Phase II: 17 focus group interviews were conducted with 63 preceptors and 24 new graduate nurses from five hospitals across Taiwan. Clinical teaching behavior themes were extracted from the focus group data and integrated into the domains and items of the CTBI. Phase III: two rounds of an expert Delphi study were conducted to determine the content validity of the instrument. Phase IV: a total of 290 nurse preceptors and 260 new graduate nurses were recruited voluntarily in the same five hospitals in Taiwan. Of these, 521 completed questionnaires to test the construct validity of CTBI by using confirmatory factory analysis. Phase V: the internal consistency and reliability of the instrument were tested. CTBI consists of 23 items in six domains: (1) 'Committing to Teaching'; (2) 'Building a Learning Atmosphere'; (3) 'Using Appropriate Teaching Strategies'; (4) 'Guiding Inter-professional Communication'; (5) 'Providing Feedback and Evaluation'; and (6) 'Showing Concern and Support'. The confirmatory factor analysis yielded a good fit and reliable scores for the CTBI-23 model. The CTBI-23 is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying the clinical teaching behaviors of a preceptor as perceived by preceptors and new graduate preceptees. The CTBI-23 depicts clinical teaching behaviors of nurse preceptors in Taiwan. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On Representative Spaceflight Instrument and Associated Instrument Sensor Web Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kizhner, Semion; Patel, Umeshkumar; Vootukuru, Meg

2007-01-01

Sensor Web-based adaptation and sharing of space flight mission resources, including those of the Space-Ground and Control-User communication segment, could greatly benefit from utilization of heritage Internet Protocols and devices applied for Spaceflight (SpaceIP). This had been successfully demonstrated by a few recent spaceflight experiments. However, while terrestrial applications of Internet protocols are well developed and understood (mostly due to billions of dollars in investments by the military and industry), the spaceflight application of Internet protocols is still in its infancy. Progress in the developments of SpaceIP-enabled instrument components will largely determine the SpaceIP utilization of those investments and acceptance in years to come. Likewise SpaceIP, the development of commercial real-time and instrument colocated computational resources, data compression and storage, can be enabled on-board a spacecraft and, in turn, support a powerful application to Sensor Web-based design of a spaceflight instrument. Sensor Web-enabled reconfiguration and adaptation of structures for hardware resources and information systems will commence application of Field Programmable Arrays (FPGA) and other aerospace programmable logic devices for what this technology was intended. These are a few obvious potential benefits of Sensor Web technologies for spaceflight applications. However, they are still waiting to be explored. This is because there is a need for a new approach to spaceflight instrumentation in order to make these mature sensor web technologies applicable for spaceflight. In this paper we present an approach in developing related and enabling spaceflight instrument-level technologies based on the new concept of a representative spaceflight Instrument Sensor Web (ISW).

Use of computers and the Internet for health information by patients with epilepsy.

PubMed

Escoffery, Cam; Diiorio, Colleen; Yeager, Katherine A; McCarty, Frances; Robinson, Elise; Reisinger, Elizabeth; Henry, Thomas; Koganti, Archana

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe computer and Internet use among an online group and a clinic-based group of people with epilepsy. Greater than 95% of the online group and 60% of the clinic group have access to computers and the Internet. More than 99% of the online group and 57% of the clinic group used the Internet to find health information. A majority of people reported being likely to employ an Internet-based self-management program to control their epilepsy. About 43% reported searching for general information on epilepsy, 30% for medication, 23% for specific types of epilepsy, and 20% for treatment. This study found that people with epilepsy have access to computers and the Internet, desire epilepsy-specific information, and are receptive to online health information on how to manage their epilepsy.

Planned change or emergent change implementation approach and nurses' professional clinical autonomy.

PubMed

Luiking, Marie-Louise; Aarts, Leon; Bras, Leo; Grypdonck, Maria; van Linge, Roland

2017-11-01

Nurses' clinical autonomy is considered important for patients' outcome and influenced by the implementation approach of innovations. Emergent change approach with participation in the implementation process is thought to increase clinical autonomy. Planned change approach without this participation is thought not to increase clinical autonomy. Evidence of these effects on clinical autonomy is however limited. To examine the changes in clinical autonomy and in personal norms and values for a planned change and emergent change implementation of an innovation, e.g. intensive insulin therapy. Prospective comparative study with two geographically separated nurses' teams on one intensive care unit (ICU), randomly assigned to the experimental conditions. Data were collected from March 2008 to January 2009. Pre-existing differences in perception of team and innovation characteristics were excluded using instruments based on the innovation contingency model. The Nursing Activity Scale was used to measure clinical autonomy. The Personal Values and Norms instrument was used to assess orientation towards nursing activities and the Team Learning Processes instrument to assess learning as a team. Pre-implementation the measurements did not differ. Post-implementation, clinical autonomy was increased in the emergent change team and decreased in the planned change team. The Personal Values and Norms instrument showed in the emergent change team a decreased hierarchic score and increased developmental and rational scores. In the planned change team the hierarchical and group scores were increased. Learning as a team did not differ between the teams. In both teams there was a change in clinical autonomy and orientation towards nursing activities, in line with the experimental conditions. Emergent change implementation resulted in more clinical autonomy than planned change implementation. If an innovation requires the nurses to make their own clinical decisions, an emergent change implementation should help to establish this clinical autonomy. © 2015 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Performance of a computer-based assessment of cognitive function measures in two cohorts of seniors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Computer-administered assessment of cognitive function is being increasingly incorporated in clinical trials, however its performance in these settings has not been systematically evaluated. The Seniors Health and Activity Research Program (SHARP) pilot trial (N=73) developed a computer-based tool f...

Computer-Based Education for Patients with Hypertension: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saksena, Anuraag

2010-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the benefits of using computer-based interventions to provide patient education to individuals with hypertension. Methods: MEDLINE, Web of Knowledge, CINAHL, ERIC, EMBASE, and PsychINFO were searched from 1995 to April 2009 using keywords related to "computers," "hypertension," "education," and "clinical trial." Additional…

Measuring nursing competencies in the operating theatre: instrument development and psychometric analysis using Item Response Theory.

PubMed

Nicholson, Patricia; Griffin, Patrick; Gillis, Shelley; Wu, Margaret; Dunning, Trisha

2013-09-01

Concern about the process of identifying underlying competencies that contribute to effective nursing performance has been debated with a lack of consensus surrounding an approved measurement instrument for assessing clinical performance. Although a number of methodologies are noted in the development of competency-based assessment measures, these studies are not without criticism. The primary aim of the study was to develop and validate a Performance Based Scoring Rubric, which included both analytical and holistic scales. The aim included examining the validity and reliability of the rubric, which was designed to measure clinical competencies in the operating theatre. The fieldwork observations of 32 nurse educators and preceptors assessing the performance of 95 instrument nurses in the operating theatre were used in the calibration of the rubric. The Rasch model, a particular model among Item Response Models, was used in the calibration of each item in the rubric in an attempt at improving the measurement properties of the scale. This is done by establishing the 'fit' of the data to the conditions demanded by the Rasch model. Acceptable reliability estimates, specifically a high Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient (0.940), as well as empirical support for construct and criterion validity for the rubric were achieved. Calibration of the Performance Based Scoring Rubric using Rasch model revealed that the fit statistics for most items were acceptable. The use of the Rasch model offers a number of features in developing and refining healthcare competency-based assessments, improving confidence in measuring clinical performance. The Rasch model was shown to be useful in developing and validating a competency-based assessment for measuring the competence of the instrument nurse in the operating theatre with implications for use in other areas of nursing practice. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Benchmarking using different measurement instruments and the management of measurement variability].

PubMed

Blankers, M; Barendregt, M; Dekker, J J M

2016-01-01

In mental health care centres in the Netherlands outcome data are collected using a variety of outcome instruments. This may have implications for the comparability of outcome results between different centres. To discuss recent findings regarding the extent to which the eight instruments currently used in clinical practice report comparable results. Our study is based on a combination of literature review and empirical research. The results obtained with the eight instruments are not equivalent. Patients symptom reductions appear larger with some instruments than with others. The current practice of benchmarking in the Dutch mental health system would have greater validity if the number of different instruments would be reduced. State-of-the-art calibration studies are necessary to validate the comparability of the remaining instruments. Ideally, all mental health centres will soon use one instrument per care domain to measure treatment outcome.

Spatial distribution of clinical computer systems in primary care in England in 2016 and implications for primary care electronic medical record databases: a cross-sectional population study.

PubMed

Kontopantelis, Evangelos; Stevens, Richard John; Helms, Peter J; Edwards, Duncan; Doran, Tim; Ashcroft, Darren M

2018-02-28

UK primary care databases (PCDs) are used by researchers worldwide to inform clinical practice. These databases have been primarily tied to single clinical computer systems, but little is known about the adoption of these systems by primary care practices or their geographical representativeness. We explore the spatial distribution of clinical computing systems and discuss the implications for the longevity and regional representativeness of these resources. Cross-sectional study. English primary care clinical computer systems. 7526 general practices in August 2016. Spatial mapping of family practices in England in 2016 by clinical computer system at two geographical levels, the lower Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG, 209 units) and the higher National Health Service regions (14 units). Data for practices included numbers of doctors, nurses and patients, and area deprivation. Of 7526 practices, Egton Medical Information Systems (EMIS) was used in 4199 (56%), SystmOne in 2552 (34%) and Vision in 636 (9%). Great regional variability was observed for all systems, with EMIS having a stronger presence in the West of England, London and the South; SystmOne in the East and some regions in the South; and Vision in London, the South, Greater Manchester and Birmingham. PCDs based on single clinical computer systems are geographically clustered in England. For example, Clinical Practice Research Datalink and The Health Improvement Network, the most popular primary care databases in terms of research outputs, are based on the Vision clinical computer system, used by <10% of practices and heavily concentrated in three major conurbations and the South. Researchers need to be aware of the analytical challenges posed by clustering, and barriers to accessing alternative PCDs need to be removed. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Prediction of future falls in a community dwelling older adult population using instrumented balance and gait analysis.

PubMed

Bauer, C M; Gröger, I; Rupprecht, R; Marcar, V L; Gaßmann, K G

2016-04-01

The role of instrumented balance and gait assessment when screening for prospective fallers is currently a topic of controversial discussion. This study analyzed the association between variables derived from static posturography, instrumented gait analysis and clinical assessments with the occurrence of prospective falls in a sample of community dwelling older people. In this study 84 older people were analyzed. Based on a prospective occurrence of falls, participants were categorized into fallers and non-fallers. Variables derived from clinical assessments, static posturography and instrumented gait analysis were evaluated with respect to the association with the occurrence of prospective falls using a forward stepwise, binary, logistic regression procedure. Fallers displayed a significantly shorter single support time during walking while counting backwards, increased mediolateral to anteroposterior sway amplitude ratio, increased fast mediolateral oscillations and a larger coefficient (Coeff) of sway direction during various static posturography tests. Previous falls were insignificantly associated with the occurrence of prospective falls. Variables derived from posturography and instrumented gait analysis showed significant associations with the occurrence of prospective falls in a sample of community dwelling older adults.

Vernier Caliper and Micrometer Computer Models Using Easy Java Simulation and Its Pedagogical Design Features--Ideas for Augmenting Learning with Real Instruments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wee, Loo Kang; Ning, Hwee Tiang

2014-01-01

This paper presents the customization of Easy Java Simulation models, used with actual laboratory instruments, to create active experiential learning for measurements. The laboratory instruments are the vernier caliper and the micrometer. Three computer model design ideas that complement real equipment are discussed. These ideas involve (1) a…

Prediction of Software Reliability using Bio Inspired Soft Computing Techniques.

PubMed

Diwaker, Chander; Tomar, Pradeep; Poonia, Ramesh C; Singh, Vijander

2018-04-10

A lot of models have been made for predicting software reliability. The reliability models are restricted to using particular types of methodologies and restricted number of parameters. There are a number of techniques and methodologies that may be used for reliability prediction. There is need to focus on parameters consideration while estimating reliability. The reliability of a system may increase or decreases depending on the selection of different parameters used. Thus there is need to identify factors that heavily affecting the reliability of the system. In present days, reusability is mostly used in the various area of research. Reusability is the basis of Component-Based System (CBS). The cost, time and human skill can be saved using Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) concepts. CBSE metrics may be used to assess those techniques which are more suitable for estimating system reliability. Soft computing is used for small as well as large-scale problems where it is difficult to find accurate results due to uncertainty or randomness. Several possibilities are available to apply soft computing techniques in medicine related problems. Clinical science of medicine using fuzzy-logic, neural network methodology significantly while basic science of medicine using neural-networks-genetic algorithm most frequently and preferably. There is unavoidable interest shown by medical scientists to use the various soft computing methodologies in genetics, physiology, radiology, cardiology and neurology discipline. CBSE boost users to reuse the past and existing software for making new products to provide quality with a saving of time, memory space, and money. This paper focused on assessment of commonly used soft computing technique like Genetic Algorithm (GA), Neural-Network (NN), Fuzzy Logic, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). This paper presents working of soft computing techniques and assessment of soft computing techniques to predict reliability. The parameter considered while estimating and prediction of reliability are also discussed. This study can be used in estimation and prediction of the reliability of various instruments used in the medical system, software engineering, computer engineering and mechanical engineering also. These concepts can be applied to both software and hardware, to predict the reliability using CBSE.

Integrated circuit-based instrumentation for microchip capillary electrophoresis.

PubMed

Behnam, M; Kaigala, G V; Khorasani, M; Martel, S; Elliott, D G; Backhouse, C J

2010-09-01

Although electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection has tremendous potential in lab on chip-based point-of-care disease diagnostics, the wider use of microchip electrophoresis has been limited by the size and cost of the instrumentation. To address this challenge, the authors designed an integrated circuit (IC, i.e. a microelectronic chip, with total silicon area of <0.25 cm2, less than 5 mmx5 mm, and power consumption of 28 mW), which, with a minimal additional infrastructure, can perform microchip electrophoresis with LIF detection. The present work enables extremely compact and inexpensive portable systems consisting of one or more complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chips and several other low-cost components. There are, to the authors' knowledge, no other reports of a CMOS-based LIF capillary electrophoresis instrument (i.e. high voltage generation, switching, control and interface circuit combined with LIF detection). This instrument is powered and controlled using a universal serial bus (USB) interface to a laptop computer. The authors demonstrate this IC in various configurations and can readily analyse the DNA produced by a standard medical diagnostic protocol (end-labelled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product) with a limit of detection of approximately 1 ng/microl (approximately 1 ng of total DNA). The authors believe that this approach may ultimately enable lab-on-a-chip-based electrophoretic instruments that cost on the order of several dollars.

The ability of cancer-specific and generic preference-based instruments to discriminate across clinical and self-reported measures of cancer severities

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Objective To evaluate the validity of cancer-specific and generic preference-based instruments to discriminate across different measures of cancer severities. Methods Patients with breast (n = 66), colorectal (n = 57), and lung (n = 61) cancer completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the FACT-G, as well as three generic instruments: the EQ-5D, the SF-6D, and the HUI2/3. Disease severity was quantified using cancer stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) score, and self-reported health status. Comparative analyses confirmed the multi-dimensional conceptualization of the instruments in terms of construct and convergent validity. Results In general, the instruments were able to discriminate across severity measures. The instruments demonstrated moderate to strong correlation with each other (r = 0.37-0.73). Not all of the measures could discriminate between different groups of disease severity: the EQ-5D and SF-6D were less discriminative than the HUI2/3 and the cancer-specific instruments. Conclusion The cancer-specific and generic preference-based instruments demonstrated to be valid in discriminating across levels of ECOG-PS scores and self-reported health states. However, the usefulness of the generic instruments may be limited if they are not able to detect small changes in health status within cancer patients. This raises concerns regarding the appropriateness of these instruments when comparing different cancer treatments within an economic evaluation framework. PMID:22123196

Designed experiment evaluation of key variables affecting the cutting performance of rotary instruments.

PubMed

Funkenbusch, Paul D; Rotella, Mario; Ercoli, Carlo

2015-04-01

Laboratory studies of tooth preparation are often performed under a limited range of conditions involving single values for all variables other than the 1 being tested. In contrast, in clinical settings not all variables can be tightly controlled. For example, a new dental rotary cutting instrument may be tested in the laboratory by making a specific cut with a fixed force, but in clinical practice, the instrument must make different cuts with individual dentists applying a range of different forces. Therefore, the broad applicability of laboratory results to diverse clinical conditions is uncertain and the comparison of effects across studies is difficult. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 9 process variables on dental cutting in a single experiment, allowing each variable to be robustly tested over a range of values for the other 8 and permitting a direct comparison of the relative importance of each on the cutting process. The effects of 9 key process variables on the efficiency of a simulated dental cutting operation were measured. A fractional factorial experiment was conducted by using a computer-controlled, dedicated testing apparatus to simulate dental cutting procedures and Macor blocks as the cutting substrate. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to judge the statistical significance (α=.05). Five variables consistently produced large, statistically significant effects (target applied load, cut length, starting rpm, diamond grit size, and cut type), while 4 variables produced relatively small, statistically insignificant effects (number of cooling ports, rotary cutting instrument diameter, disposability, and water flow rate). The control exerted by the dentist, simulated in this study by targeting a specific level of applied force, was the single most important factor affecting cutting efficiency. Cutting efficiency was also significantly affected by factors simulating patient/clinical circumstances as well as hardware choices. These results highlight the importance of local clinical conditions (procedure, dentist) in understanding dental cutting procedures and in designing adequate experimental methodologies for future studies. Copyright © 2015 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Bandwidth Tactical-Network Data Analysis in a High-Performance-Computing (HPC) Environment: Transport Protocol (Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol [TCP/UDP]) Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

the network Mac8 Medium Access Control ( Mac ) (Ethernet) address observed as destination for outgoing packets subsessionid8 Zero-based index of...15. SUBJECT TERMS tactical networks, data reduction, high-performance computing, data analysis, big data 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17...Integer index of row cts_deid Device (instrument) Identifier where observation took place cts_collpt Collection point or logical observation point on

Intelligent pump test system based on virtual instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jungong; Wang, Shifu; Wang, Zhanlin

2003-09-01

The intelligent pump system is the key component of the aircraft hydraulic system that can solve the problem, such as the temperature sharply increasing. As the performance of the intelligent pump directly determines that of the aircraft hydraulic system and seriously affects fly security and reliability. So it is important to test all kinds of performance parameters of intelligent pump during design and development, while the advanced, reliable and complete test equipments are the necessary instruments for achieving the goal. In this paper, the application of virtual instrument and computer network technology in aircraft intelligent pump test is presented. The composition of the hardware, software, hydraulic circuit in this system are designed and implemented.

Measuring mechanisms for quality assurance in primary care systems in transition: test of a new instrument in Slovenia and Uzbekistan.

PubMed

Kringos, Dionne Sofia; Boerma, Wienke; Pellny, Martina

2009-01-01

This World Health Organization (WHO) study aimed to develop and field test an instrument to assess the availability of structures and mechanisms for managing quality in primary care in countries in transition. The instrument is based on a literature study, consensus meetings with experts, and observations in these countries. It consists of three parts: a semi-structured questionnaire on national policies and mechanisms; a structured questionnaire for general practitioners (GPs); and a structured questionnaire for use with managers of primary care facilities. The instrument has been field tested in 2007 in Slovenia and Uzbekistan. In Slovenia, leadership on quality improvement was weak and local managers reported few incentives and resources to control quality. There was a lack of external support for quality improvement activities. Availability and use of clinical guidelines for GPs were not optimal. GPs found teamwork and communication with patients inadequate. In Uzbekistan, primary care quality and standards in health centres were extensively regulated and laid down in numerous manuals, instructions and other documents. Managers, however, indicated the need for more financial and non-financial levers for quality improvement and they wanted to know more about modern healthcare management. GPs reported strong involvement in activities such as peer review and clinical audit, and reported frequent use of clinical guidelines. Overall, the information gathered with the provisional instrument has resulted in policy recommendations. At the same time, the pilot resulted in improvements to the instrument. Application of the instrument helps decision makers to identify improvement areas in the infrastructure for managing the quality of primary care.

Clinical and laboratory applications of slide-based cytometry with the LSC, SFM, and the iCYTE imaging cytometer instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocsi, Jozsef; Luther, Ed; Mittag, Anja; Jensen, Ingo; Sack, Ulrich; Lenz, Dominik; Trezl, Lajos; Varga, Viktor S.; Molnar, Beea; Tarnok, Attila

2004-06-01

Background: Slide based cytometry (SBC) is a technology for the rapid stoichiometric analysis of cells fixed to surfaces. Its applications are highly versatile and ranges from the clinics to high throughput drug discovery. SBC is realized in different instruments such as the Laser Scanning Cytometer (LSC) and Scanning Fluorescent Microscope (SFM) and the novel inverted microscope based iCyte image cytometer (Compucyte Corp.). Methods: Fluorochrome labeled specimens were immobilized on microscopic slides. They were placed on a conventional fluorescence microscope and analyzed by photomultiplayers or digital camera. Data comparable to flow cytometry were generated. In addition, each individual event could be visualized. Applications: The major advantage of instruments is the combination of two features: a) the minimal sample volume needed, and b) the connection of fluorescence data and morphological information. Rare cells were detected, frequency of apoptosis by myricetin formaldehyde and H2O2 mixtures was determined;. Conclusion: LSC, SFM and the novel iCyte have a wide spectrum of applicability in SBC and can be introduced as a standard technology for multiple settings. In addition, the iCyte and SFM instrument is suited for high throughput screening by automation and may be in future adapted to telepathology due to their high quality images. (This study was supported by the IZKF-Leipzig, Germany and T 034245 OTKA, Hungary)

Teaching Differential Diagnosis by Computer: A Pathophysiological Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goroll, Allan H.; And Others

1977-01-01

An interactive, computer-based teaching exercise in diagnosis that emphasizes pathophysiology in the analysis of clinical data is described. Called the Jaundice Program, its objective is to simplify the pattern recognition problem by relating clinical findings to diagnosis via reference to disease mechanisms. (LBH)

In Silico Augmentation of the Drug Development Pipeline: Examples from the study of Acute Inflammation.

PubMed

An, Gary; Bartels, John; Vodovotz, Yoram

2011-03-01

The clinical translation of promising basic biomedical findings, whether derived from reductionist studies in academic laboratories or as the product of extensive high-throughput and -content screens in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, has reached a period of stagnation in which ever higher research and development costs are yielding ever fewer new drugs. Systems biology and computational modeling have been touted as potential avenues by which to break through this logjam. However, few mechanistic computational approaches are utilized in a manner that is fully cognizant of the inherent clinical realities in which the drugs developed through this ostensibly rational process will be ultimately used. In this article, we present a Translational Systems Biology approach to inflammation. This approach is based on the use of mechanistic computational modeling centered on inherent clinical applicability, namely that a unified suite of models can be applied to generate in silico clinical trials, individualized computational models as tools for personalized medicine, and rational drug and device design based on disease mechanism.

Development and evaluation of an instrument for assessing brief behavioral change interventions.

PubMed

Strayer, Scott M; Martindale, James R; Pelletier, Sandra L; Rais, Salehin; Powell, Jon; Schorling, John B

2011-04-01

To develop an observational coding instrument for evaluating the fidelity and quality of brief behavioral change interventions based on the behavioral theories of the 5 A's, Stages of Change and Motivational Interviewing. Content and face validity were assessed prior to an intervention where psychometric properties were evaluated with a prospective cohort of 116 medical students. Properties assessed included the inter-rater reliability of the instrument, internal consistency of the full scale and sub-scales and descriptive statistics of the instrument. Construct validity was assessed based on student's scores. Inter-rater reliability for the instrument was 0.82 (intraclass correlation). Internal consistency for the full scale was 0.70 (KR20). Internal consistencies for the sub-scales were as follows: MI intervention component (KR20=.7); stage-appropriate MI-based intervention (KR20=.55); MI spirit (KR20=.5); appropriate assessment (KR20=.45) and appropriate assisting (KR20=.56). The instrument demonstrated good inter-rater reliability and moderate overall internal consistency when used to assess performing brief behavioral change interventions by medical students. This practical instrument can be used with minimal training and demonstrates promising psychometric properties when evaluated with medical students counseling standardized patients. Further testing is required to evaluate its usefulness in clinical settings. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation of evidence-based guideline recommendations to address urinary incontinence in nursing home residents according to the ADAPTE-process.

PubMed

Hoedl, Manuela; Schoberer, Daniela; Halfens, Ruud J G; Lohrmann, Christa

2018-04-27

To adapt international guideline recommendations for the conservative management of urinary incontinence (UI), defined as any involuntary loss of urine, in Austrian nursing home residents following the ADAPTE-process. Many international guidelines for managing UI are available. Nevertheless, the international recommendations have not yet been adapted to address the Austrian nursing home context. This crucial adaptation process will enhance the acceptance and applicability of the recommendations as well as encourage adherence among Austrian nurses and nursing home residents. This study is a methodological study based on the ADAPTE-process, including a systematic search, quality appraisal of the guidelines using the Appraisal of Clinical Guidelines for REsearch & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument as well as an external review by means of a Delphi technique. The guidelines had to be topic-relevant, published within the last 3 years and achieve a rigor of development score of 80% using the AGREE II instrument. We searched international guideline databases to identify adequate guidelines. Two raters assessed the quality of each guideline, ascertaining that it fulfilled the inclusion criteria using the AGREE II instrument. We translated the identified recommendations into German and externally reviewed for their applicability in the Austrian context. We identified 1,612 hits in 10 databases. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, we assessed five international clinical guidelines for quality using the AGREE II instrument. One clinical guideline fulfilled the inclusion criteria. This clinical guideline contains 116 recommendations, of which 29 were applicable in the Austrian nursing home setting. We identified only one suitable guideline, possibly due to the stringent nature of the inclusion criteria. However, following low-quality guidelines may result in the use of recommendations that are not based on evidence and, therefore, may lead to suboptimal nursing care and outcomes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Design, implementation, and psychometric analysis of a scoring instrument for simulated pediatric resuscitation: a report from the EXPRESS pediatric investigators.

PubMed

Donoghue, Aaron; Ventre, Kathleen; Boulet, John; Brett-Fleegler, Marisa; Nishisaki, Akira; Overly, Frank; Cheng, Adam

2011-04-01

Robustly tested instruments for quantifying clinical performance during pediatric resuscitation are lacking. Examining Pediatric Resuscitation Education through Simulation and Scripting Collaborative was established to conduct multicenter trials of simulation education in pediatric resuscitation, evaluating performance with multiple instruments, one of which is the Clinical Performance Tool (CPT). We hypothesize that the CPT will measure clinical performance during simulated pediatric resuscitation in a reliable and valid manner. Using a pediatric resuscitation scenario as a basis, a scoring system was designed based on Pediatric Advanced Life Support algorithms comprising 21 tasks. Each task was scored as follows: task not performed (0 points); task performed partially, incorrectly, or late (1 point); and task performed completely, correctly, and within the recommended time frame (2 points). Study teams at 14 children's hospitals went through the scenario twice (PRE and POST) with an interposed 20-minute debriefing. Both scenarios for each of eight study teams were scored by multiple raters. A generalizability study, based on the PRE scores, was conducted to investigate the sources of measurement error in the CPT total scores. Inter-rater reliability was estimated based on the variance components. Validity was assessed by repeated measures analysis of variance comparing PRE and POST scores. Sixteen resuscitation scenarios were reviewed and scored by seven raters. Inter-rater reliability for the overall CPT score was 0.63. POST scores were found to be significantly improved compared with PRE scores when controlled for within-subject covariance (F1,15 = 4.64, P < 0.05). The variance component ascribable to rater was 2.4%. Reliable and valid measures of performance in simulated pediatric resuscitation can be obtained from the CPT. Future studies should examine the applicability of trichotomous scoring instruments to other clinical scenarios, as well as performance during actual resuscitations.

Development of an Undergraduate Course in the Use of Digital Computers With Chemistry Instrumentation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Charles L.

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has proven useful in teaching chemistry instrumentation techniques to undergraduate students. The work completed at the time of this interim report has clearly shown that a general purpose laboratory computer system, equipped with suitable devices to allow direct data input from experiments, can be an effective…

Computers in Louisiana Public Schools: A Trend Analysis, 1980-1990.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Daniel W.

A survey instrument was developed to determine the status of microcomputers in the public schools of Louisiana. The instrument solicited information concerning the number of microcomputers in the schools, the manufacturers of the computers, and how the computers were being used in the school system. The survey was mailed to 66 districts in the…

Person-centred care in nurse-led outpatient rheumatology clinics: Conceptualization and initial development of a measurement instrument.

PubMed

Bala, Sidona-Valentina; Forslind, Kristina; Fridlund, Bengt; Samuelson, Karin; Svensson, Björn; Hagell, Peter

2018-06-01

Person-centred care (PCC) is considered a key component of effective illness management and high-quality care. However, the PCC concept is underdeveloped in outpatient care. In rheumatology, PCC is considered an unmet need and its further development and evaluation is of high priority. The aim of the present study was to conceptualize and operationalize PCC, in order to develop an instrument for measuring patient-perceived PCC in nurse-led outpatient rheumatology clinics. A conceptual outpatient PCC framework was developed, based on the experiences of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), person-centredness principles and existing PCC frameworks. The resulting framework was operationalized into the PCC instrument for outpatient care in rheumatology (PCCoc/rheum), which was tested for acceptability and content validity among 50 individuals with RA attending a nurse-led outpatient clinic. The conceptual framework focuses on the meeting between the person with RA and the nurse, and comprises five interrelated domains: social environment, personalization, shared decision-making, empowerment and communication. Operationalization of the domains into a pool of items generated a preliminary PCCoc/rheum version, which was completed in a mean (standard deviation) of 5.3 (2.5) min. Respondents found items easy to understand (77%) and relevant (93%). The Content Validity Index of the PCCoc/rheum was 0.94 (item level range, 0.87-1.0). About 80% of respondents considered some items redundant. Based on these results, the PCCoc/rheum was revised into a 24-item questionnaire. A conceptual outpatient PCC framework and a 24-item questionnaire intended to measure PCC in nurse-led outpatient rheumatology clinics were developed. The extent to which the questionnaire represents a measurement instrument remains to be tested. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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